I love ribs. Part of me thinks they should be a food group to themselves. But alas that won’t happen. I make ribs a few different ways and am always on the lookout for new ways to make them. Having always lived in an apartment I’ve never been able to do the whole backyard grilling thing and have always relied on my oven to make the rib magic happen. A few months ago Mark Bittman wrote about this method for oven-smoking ribs. I was intrigued.
The recipe seemed super easy. Like no-brainer easy. The rub used things already in my pantry and aside from the ribs I just had to go out and buy wood chips and a disposable roasting pan. I thought wood chips would have been hard to find. Nope! I went to Canadian Tire and they had hickory, mesquite, apple, maple and maybe another kind of wood. I opted for hickory although I pondered the merits of mesquite.
The only part that I thought could potentially be scary was the whole foil tent bit. Oh so not EVEN scary! Bittman talks about using 20 feet of foil. I used maybe 6 feet and was totally fine. The whole contraption came together very easily and stayed put which I really didn’t think it would. As for cooking I decided to err on the side of caution and cook the ribs for the full 3 hours instead of 2.5. I would have been annoyed if after all that time I had a rack of undercooked ribs.
The results were great. Obviously not as good as some of my fave BBQ spots, but for a homemade smoking solution they were pretty good. The ribs weren’t intensely smoky but there was a nice hint of natural smoke. It was subtle but a welcome addition to my rib repertoire. I was so happy with the flavour between the dry rub and the smoke that I didn’t even bother with any sauce.
Oven-Smoked Ribs
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 rack spareribs, 2 to 3 pounds.
1. Heat oven to 225 degrees. While oven heats, mix together dry ingredients and rub them all over pork.
2. Layer bottom of roasting pan with hickory or oak chips and add enough water to create a shallow pool coating bottom of pan and moistening chips; do not drown them.
3. Put a rack over chips and put rubbed meat on rack. Cover entire roasting pan tightly with foil, making a tent at top so smoke-flavored steam can circulate around meat. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat is cooked and tender.
4. Carefully remove foil from pan and run ribs under broiler, watching carefully, until nicely crisp and browned, about 5 minutes.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
Butter tarts are one of those foods that are distinctly Canadian. Whenever I mention them to my American friends they have never heard of them (kind of like with Poutine). The easiest way for me to describe them are kind of like individual pecan pies without the pecans (usually) and runnier. But that doesn’t even begin to capture the deliciousness of butter tarts. For a while I would get butter tarts every Thursday from one of my fave bakeries here in Toronto called The Flaky Tart on Mount Pleasant. This was usually followed up by a yoga class since they were very close to each other. My yoga activity has slowed to a halt so my butter tart consumption has been reduced.
Last week I decided that I would make butter tarts this year. Who knew it would be so soon? I was looking for an activity the other evening and decided that I was up for the task since I had everything in my cupboard to make them. The recipe I used comes from a cookbook I’ve had for YEARS, Canadian Living Cooks Step by Step. I’ve been eyeing this recipe forever and have never made it.
I was so gungho to make butter tarts that I forgot that I don’t make pie crust! Seriously. But without any other option I made my own crust. And it wasn’t even traumatic or that hard. My only beef with the situation was that the recipe said to use shortening AND butter. Shortening is filled with all sorts of hydrogenated oils which I prefer to avoid if I can. Does anyone have any better shortening alternatives? Can I just use butter in place of shortening? So many questions! I’d even be down to use pure lard. Making the crust made me question why I don’t make my own pie crust all the time. It’s probably cheaper to make my own, it tastes better AND it took maybe 10 minutes to assemble and another 5-10 minutes to roll out. Note to self: make my own crusts!
When it comes to butter tarts there are two camps on what the filling should be like: runny or stiff. I don’t like my filling to drip down my arms but I like it to be a but gooey. Apparently more corn syrup makes it runny and more brown sugar makes it stiffer. Good to know. Most recipes call for corn syrup. I get that corn syrup is different from high fructose corn syrup but I try to avoid it where possible too. In my cupboard I had a jar of Lyle’s Golden Syrup which is a cane sugar based syrup that I used in place of corn syrup.
The recipe makes 12 tarts but I only had a 6-cup muffin tin so I made it in two batches. THANK GOODNESS! My first batch cooked very quickly and were a bit burned. Something in my heart told that the Golden Syrup probably sped that up since it is kind of like adding more brown sugar. For the next batch I turned down the oven, added some corn syrup to the mix and cooked the tarts for about 10 minutes. PERFECTION! My first foray into butter tart making was successful. I used pecans instead of raisins (obviously). Next time I think I’ll do half maple syrup and half corn syrup/Golden Syrup… you know, to make it even more Canadian.
These made me so happy!
For more information about butter tarts and some additional recipes check out this article.
Canadian Living Butter Tarts
Makes 12 tarts
For the pastry:
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) cold butter
1/4 cup (50 mL) shortening
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon (5 mL) vinegar
Ice water
For the filling:
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup (50 mL) corn syrup (or up to 1/2 cup/125 mL for more gooey filling)
1 egg
2 tablespoons (25 mL) butter, softened
1 teaspoon (5 mL) each, vanilla and vinegar
Pinch, salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) optional currants, raisins, chopped pecans
1. In a large bowl, whisk flour with salt. With a pastry blender or
2 knives, cut in butter and lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.
2. In a liquid measure, whisk egg yolk with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup (75 mL). Sprinkle over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until pastry holds together. Press into disc; wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Can make ahead to this point up to 3 days in advance.)
3. To make the filling, in a bowl whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, butter, vanilla, vinegar and salt until blended; set aside.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 1/8-inch (3-mm) thickness. Using a 4-inch (10-cm) round cookie cutter (an empty 28-ounce/796-mL can works well) cut out pastry circles and fit into 2 3/4-inch (7-cm) muffin or tart tins that have been greased with butter. Divide currants (or raisins, or pecans) among shells. Spoon in filling to 3/4 full.
5. Bake in bottom third of oven preheated to 450 degreesF (230 degreesC) until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden, about 12 minutes. Let stand on rack for 1 minute, then run a metal spatula around tarts to loosen; carefully slide spatula under tarts and transfer to rack to let cool.
(Recipe from Canadian Living Cooks Step by Step.)
Yes, it’s that time of year again! Last year I did a post about what to serve at your Superbowl party which was a lot of fun for me. This year I figured I would capture the magic one more time!
This year it’s the New Orleans Saints vs. the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. A group of friends are throwing what is sure to be a GREAT party that is the inspiration for this post. There are some great cities involved in the Superbowl this year so why not have your party themed around foods from the cities involved instead of just doing the usual chicken wings and guac?
MIAMI
Whenever I think Miami I sill hear this song by Will Smith… you know it, MIAMI! True story. Miami is filled with tons of good eats. Not only is there a ton of seafood but since the city is filled with people from all over the Caribbean and South and Central America meaning the food takes on those characteristics.
(Photo from RecipeTips.com)
NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans is a pretty awesome food city. I’ve never been but it is without a doubt on my list of food vacations to do in the near future. They have seafood galore, a penchant for sausages and they even eat deep-fried desserts! Sounds like home. Definitely consider putting a touch of NOLA on your Super Bowl party is a good idea.
(Photo via Gourmet Sleuth)
INDIANAPOLIS
Okay, so foods from Indiana was a tricky one. I asked a few people and no one good name a single food from Indiana. I know they have corn and that’s about it. And of course corn doesn’t really help since it’s not even corn season! So I hit up the interwebs and came up with a few regional specialties.
(Photo via Bacon Salt Blog)
Popcorn! (pop it and eat it!)
My quest for the perfect pizza continues. This time the crust recipe came via Everybody Loves Pizza by Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby. I can’t remember exactly how I acquired this book but it was likely during my stint interning in network news or when I worked in the TV production world. Either way I love this book. It’s filled with information about pizza across the U.S. and tons of anecdotes about pizza. At the back of the book are a number of pizza recipes from recognized chefs and restaurants. Of course when I saw a recipe for Mario Batali’s pizza at Otto I knew I had to give it a try.
I’ve made this before and in retrospect I think I always found this recipe too yeasty. Incidentally this time around my yeast was wonky and my dough barely rose causing me to have a pizza cracker! Not stellar and far from perfect. I might try this again with fresher yeast to see how this dough reacts with the pizza stone and the higher cooking temps.
Topping wise the pizza was pretty great! I used mozzarella, goat cheese, mushrooms, spinach and roasted red peppers. It reminds me of the 90s!
So the quest for the perfect pizza continues. As Jay-Z would say… “on to the next one”.
PIZZA CRUST
• 1/4 cup light red wine or white wine
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups double zero flour and 1/2 cup AP flour, sifted together
DIRECTIONS
Combine the wine, water, and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt, and the olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon to make a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir with the spoon for 2-3 minutes to incorporate as much flour as possible.
Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until you have made a smooth, firm dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Set aside to rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes.
Cut the risen dough into 4 equal pieces and knead each portion into a round. Cover again and let rest 15 minutes.
To make the pizzas: Dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. Working one dough round at a time, use your fingers and palms to flatten the dough into a 10 to 12-inch circle, each about 1/8-inch thick.
The other day I was REALLY craving butter tarts but didn’t want to go out and buy some. That’s when I got the brilliant idea of MAKING them. Now since butter tarts a Canadian specialty it’s not that easy to find recipes for them. Well not enough recipes with feedback to be able to discern how delicious the recipes are. I ended up on the Chatelaine website where I came across this recipe for butter-tart bars. I was totally on board with the idea of making bars because I was feeling a bit too lazy to make individual tarts and rolling dough (or whatever is required) so this pat in the pan dough thing was right up my alley.
I halved the recipe and substituted pecans for raisins since raisins freak me out. I guess this turned out a bit like a quick pecan pie more so than like butter tarts. I think next time I would increase the amount of filling because I did miss some of the gooeyness. But seriously, these are pretty delicious. As in I could eat the whole pan tonight kind of delicious. But I won’t because that would be obscene.
Stay tuned, I’m all about making butter tarts from scratch!
GOOEY BUTTER-TART BARS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter , at room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Generous pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup corn syrup
- 2 cups raisins
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two 8-inch square pans or one 9×13-inch pan. Measure 1½ cups flour into a small bowl along with the brown sugar and butter. Stir together until well blended.
- Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pans. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven until light brown and set, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the pans to a rack while preparing the filling. Leave the oven temperature at 350F.
- To make the filling, whisk the eggs with the vanilla and salt until foamy. Beat in the granulated sugar. Gradually beat in remaining flour. Stir in the corn syrup, then raisins. Pour the filling over the partially cooked base.
- Immediately return the pans to the oven and continue baking until the squares are well browned and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 to 23 more minutes. Remove the pan to a rack to cool. The squares will sink slightly and the filling will set as they cool.
- Cut into 32 squares. Serve at room temperature. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
(via Chatelaine)
Doesn’t this look like a Fred Flintstone kind of meal? A big hunk of meat on a bone? I definitely felt like a total cave(wo)man eating this!
A few weeks ago a bunch of got together for an event referred to as Meatluck. So named because every dish from starters to dessert HAD to contain meat. One of my fave dishes of the evening were the lamb shanks. I of course had to get the recipe. Turns out it was a modified version of this Jamie Oliver recipe. I totally love Jamie. Actually, I used to have a pretty ginormous crush on him when he first came on the TV scene. However, I’ve never made one of his recipes. Until now.
This is a super easy recipe to throw together. It literally took me about 15-20 mintues to put it all together. I followed the recipe exactly and didn’t change a thing. At Meatluck the dish was made with Port which would be a good substitute for the white wine. The only downside to this dish is that the cooking time is 2.5 hours. I cheated. I turned the oven up to 375F for the first hour then turned it down to 350F for an hour and it was ready. Granted I checked for doneness using my handy dandy meat thermometer, so I was confident the meat was cooked.
The verdict, this was pretty darned delicious! I’m a sucker for a meal where my veggies cook with my meat. I’m also ALWAYS on board for anything cooked in wine. I served this over polenta and was very happy with the results. I did fine the white wine taste a bit too subtle and “thin”, next time I would consider trying Port. Also, I was too lazy to go to Fiesta Farms to buy Ontario lamb so settled on New Zealand lamb from Whole Foods… I have to admit I prefer the taste of Ontario lamb, it’s a lot less “game-y” than the NZ stuff. Either way, all good.
INCREDIBLE LAMB SHANKS
Ingredients
• 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 150g cold butter
• 15 fresh sage leaves
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 lamb shanks, preferably free-range or organic, crown- or French-trimmed
• 12 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 leek, washed, halved and finely sliced
olive oil
• 2 wineglasses of white wine
Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Pick the leaves off 2 sprigs of rosemary, whiz them with the butter, most of the sage and the thyme in a food processor and season with salt and pepper. Using a small knife, take one of the lamb shanks and cut between the meat and the bone from the base of the shank upwards. You want to create a hole big enough to put your finger in, making a sort of pocket. Do this to all the shanks and divide the flavoured butter between them, pushing it into the pockets. This will give a wonderful flavour to the heart of the shanks.
Tear off four arm-length pieces of tinfoil and fold each in half to give you four A3-sized pieces of foil. Divide the garlic and veg between them, making a pile in the middle of each square. Rub the lamb shanks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then put one on top of each pile of veg and a sprig of rosemary and a few sage leaves on top of that. Carefully pull up the sides of the foil around the shank and pour a swig of wine into each. Gather the foil around the bone, pinching it together tightly. Any excess foil can be torn or cut off with scissors. Repeat for all 4 shanks, then place the foil parcels on a baking tray with the bones facing up. Put in the preheated oven for 2½ hours or until the meat is as tender as can be. Serve the parcels in the middle of the table so that your guests can open them up themselves.
(via jamieoliver.com)
Madangsui
35 West 35th Street
New York, NY
212-564-9333
A few weeks before heading to NYC my friend Devon sent me a link to this review of Madangsui in the NY Times. I’m all for Korean BBQ so quickly put it on our agenda for our NYC “date” night.
Truth be told my experience with Korean BBQ is limited to Korean Grill House in Toronto and their all-you-can eat deals. While this has provided endless entertainment over the years I figured now would be a good time to upgrade.
The space at Madangsui is pretty big but isn’t all that special. It’s essentially rows and rows of tables with a grill in the middle. I didn’t go for decor, I went for lots of meat so it was just fine. We decided to follow the New York Times’ recommendation and started with the Kimchi Juen which are kimchi pancakes. These are served hot and are crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside. I didn’t get a big hit of kimchi flavour which was kind of disappointing but they were delicious nonetheless.
A highlight of the meal is that once you place your order the waiters come back with a whole slew of banchan which are the Korean sides that accompany a restaurant meal. I’m used to getting maybe 6 side dishes but at Mandangsui you get at least 10 or 12! They don’t really tell you what each dish is but sometimes you can figure out. We’re talking everything from kimchi to beansprouts to preserved beans. Totally great stuff for casually snacking on during the meal.
For our entrees we opted to split the Mandangsui Special Combination which was sliced beef and a variety of pork. The experience was interesting. I’m used to Korean BBQ where you cook your own meat which is always fun and makes the meal more interesting. At Mandangsui they do the cooking for you with little communication. I was never quite sure what I was eating or if it was ready to eat! Sometimes they’d move the meat over when it was ready and sometimes they wouldn’t. I’m pretty sure we ate beef short ribs, pork belly, and some other cuts of pork. The portions were generous and the food was good, although I didn’t find it any more impressive than Korean Grill House (which isn’t even that stellar according to folks that know about that sort of thing).
Overall a good meal and surprisingly my first in New York’s KoreaTown. I would love to know how this stacks up to other NYC Korean restaurants.
During the winter months I’m always on the lookout for new soup recipes. Soup is one of my favourite things to eat for lunch during the winter and it tends to be healthy. After a great cup of soup while at Angelica Kitchen in New York, I decided to pull out my copy of their cookbook in search of a delicious soup that I could make myself. I was struck by the chickpea-garlic soup because who really makes chickpea soup? I was up for the challenge.
All was going well until it came time to puree the soup. Perhaps I didn’t have enough liquid leftover after cooking the chickpeas but my soup started to look like hot hummus! Luckily I had some broth on hand and thinned the soup with water and broth. The results were flavourful. The garlic taste wasn’t over the top but was a nice mix of mellow and garlicky. The consistency was a but grainy and not as smooth as I would have liked but I think my chickpeas weren’t tender enough.
I served this with a baguette with melted cheese on top. This meal was the epitome of comfort food. If I had a fireplace and a snuggie I would love to curl up with a hot cup of this soup in front of the fireplace while wearing my snuggie.
Chickpea-Garlic Soup with Rosemary and Olive Oil
2 cups chickpeas
6 cups water
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh rosemary
3-4 fresh sage leaves
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced onions
½ cup garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Rinse chickpeas and combine in a 3-qt pressure cooker with 6 cups water, celery, bay leaf, rosemary, and sage.
Bring to full pressure, lower heat, and cook for 45 minutes. (Chickpeas can also be cooked in a pot until tender. Approx 2 hours).
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a heavy 3-qt saucepan over low heat.
Stir in onions and garlic; continue to cook over the lowest possible heat, stirring from time to time, until the chickpeas are done, up to 40 minutes.
When chickpeas are done, remove and discard the celery and herbs, then add the chickpeas, along with 3 cups cooking water, to the onions and garlic.
Purée the soup with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
(Recipe from “The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant”)
What’s that line from that old movie? “I coulda been a contenda” or something like that… that’s how I felt about this dish. It had all the making for deliciousness but I had to go and screw it up.
I love shrimp. I love cheesy spinach. I love meals that come together quickly. It was natural that I would love this… had I followed directions. Sure, I substituted Parmesan for Romano, but that’s not where things went wrong. It all went awry with the last ingredient… Pernod.
Pernod is an anise-flavoured liquer. At the LCBO it costs $26. Every recipe I have that requires Pernod (which has been about 2) only requires a few tablespoons. I’ve been reluctant to “invest” in a bottle of the stuff. The last time Pernod was an issue I bought anise extract and all was good. This time around not so much. I used about 2 tablespoons and the dish was OVERPOWERED by the stuff. I’m sure if I used Pernod life would have been much better.
I’ll definitely be trying this one again since I love the idea of my vegetable being ready right alongside my protein but I will NOT use anise/fennel extract and will likely not use Pernod either.
Scampi Rockefeller
1/2 pound large uncooked shrimp, shelled, deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 10-ounce package ready-to use fresh spinach leaves, stemmed if desired
1 bunch basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon (or more) white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur
Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly oil 9-inch glass pie plate. Arrange shrimp in prepared plate. Season shrimp lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and green onions and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Add spinach to skillet. Cover and cook until spinach is tender and wilted, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Mix in basil, cheese, hot pepper sauce and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; mix in Pernod. Spoon spinach mixture evenly over shrimp.
Bake until shrimp are just cooked through, approximately 8 minutes.
Bon Appétit
September 1998
A few days ago an intrepid group of food and wine lovers (including me!) got together to head out to Niagara to visit a few vineyards to further our appreciate of Ontario wines and have fun doing it. We managed to visit four wineries each offering a different experience and with their own charm. I’ll admit I know very little about wine but am not one of those people that is intimidated by it or the whole “scene”. I feel the same way about wine as I do about astrophysics, if I apply myself I can master it. This was a great introduction to a variety of wines and really emphasized that wine people (most of them ::cough::) are cool people who are passionate about wine and want to teach others. Thanks to the crew for putting this FANTASTIC outing together! (Fave wines are noted with **)
The first stop brought us to Ravine. I may have incidentally left my heart there as well. When you visit (which you will because it is SO worth the trip) ask whoever is on hand to tell you the story of the house. It’s one of those stories that makes you think it was all meant to be and couldn’t have happened any other way. The house itself has a really rustic and cozy feel to it and even had a fireplace roaring. I’m considering moving in.
We were lucky enough to sample some delicious wine/food pairings that the folks at Ravine have been working on. We were treated to ricotta on toast rounds topped with great olive oil and fresh herbs, a pork rillette with ham hocks and pork belly (did someone say pork belly? music to my ears!), and a chocolate Marquis cake. All were pretty fantastic. The rillette really stood out.
The wines were also great and dare I say I managed to fall in love with a Chardonnay. Ravine’s Chardonnay is not the oaky mess that we’re all used to. From what I hear Ravine has a great (but unavailable) 2007 Riesling that everyone raves about. Their 2008 Riesling is being anticipated by many. Can’t wait to pick up a few bottles for sure.
Adjacent to the main house at Ravine is a lovely cafe that serves an assortment of sandwiches, soups, pastries and other baked goods. You could definitely have a full morning or afternoon at Ravine alone.
Wines Tasted
2008 Reserve Chardonnay **
2007 Cabernet Franc
2007 Reserve Red
The unmentionable…. **
Reif had a very different feel from Ravine the moment I walked in. This of course is understandable since Reif has been around since the 1980s. We were treated to an informative tour by Klaus, the President and Oenologist. Then the folks at Reif captured my heart by hosting an indoor PIG ROAST! After the pig it was onto the ice wine tasting. We were all set to taste four ice wines but then we had a royal treat. By coincidence Klaus had an open bottle of 1990 ice wine that he was willing to share with our group. All I can say is WOW! The consensus among the group was that it smelled/tasted like lychees. So intense and delicious.
Wines Tasted
2008 Riesling Icewine
2007 Vidal Icewine **
2006 Vidal Icewine
2008 Cabernet Franc Icewine **
1990 Vidal Icewine **
When I first walked into 13th Street I wasn’t sure whether I was at winery or an art gallery. The walls are lined with art and the space is beautifully styled. The love for art extends to the property itself where they have a number of sculptures. I spent a good deal of time during the tasting plotting to move into the great room.
We started the tasting with two distinct sparkling wines. I prefered the Cuvee 13 Rose because it was a bit “less intense” than the Premier Cuvee Brut. As for the rest of the selections the two that stuck with me are the Gamay Noir (which I’d be hearing raves about) and the Syrah. I totally heart a Syrah so it’s nice to have a solid Ontario option.
Wines Tasted
2006 Cuvee 13 Rose
2004 Premier Cuvee Brut
2007 Riesling Funk Vineyard
Chardonnay
2007 Gamay Noir **
2007 Syrah **
The last stop of the day was perhaps one of the most informative. We were given a guided tour of the facilities so that we got an idea of the entire wine making process. For a newbie like me this was perfect. We got to see what happens when the grapes come in, how they move through barrels and where they get aged. My photos don’t capture the gorgeousness of the barrels, but trust, they were pretty gorgeous. We sampled a number of wines (which I’ll list below) but it was the Late Harvest Chardonnay that stole my heart and has found its way to my home. I never buy dessert wines because something about having wine with dessert seems so decadent but I may be a convert.
Wines Tasted
Riesling
Chardonnay
2007 Pinot Noir
Late Harvest Chardonnay**
(Yes, as the day wore on the notes began to deteriorate)
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