lunch at a leisurely pace, Casa Mono

On my one free day in New York, a Saturday, we wandered around Union Square, taking in the chess masters and hustlers ...

... before making our way to the wonderful single-macarooned Casa Mono, one of my favourite joints in the city.

There was an abundance of seafood, starting with razor clams and sardines ...

... reaching its peak with intensely savoury and textural pulpo on fennel and grapefruit ...

... before moving onto sweetbreads and quail.

Appetite and thirst were abetted by what else in a tapas bar, but sidra, from bottle and spout ...

... executing the perfect long pour ...

... showing all those pungent pickled fruit notes.

In a word, happiness.

DF

making the pilgrimage to Chambers Street Wines

As part of my day off in New York, I visited the temple of wine retail that is Chambers Street Wine in Lower Manhattan. I'm a bit upset that I didn't get to visit the Met - it'd be criminal if I didn't get to do a bit of wine shopping. So, after a nice, leisurely lunch, we made our way down in search of some old (and odd) bottles to bring back home.

As luck would have it, Dominik Sona of Koehler-Ruprecht from the Pfalz was pouring a range of his wines. We started with his 2010 Pinot Blanc Kabinett Trocken, with lovely lifted fruit and floral aromas. His 2010 Kallstadter Riesling Kabinett Trocken had pure fruit, on a good tensile palate. The 2010 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Kabinett Trocken showed a bit more density, a very elegant style of trocken. And then the granddaddy of them all - the 2008 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spätlese Trocken 'R', a Reserve bottling that utilizes the smallest berries, is aged for at least 4 years before release, and is only produced in agreeable vintages. Impressive weight and precision here, lovely elegance, but certainly a feeling that it's just sleeping now, not ready to open up before 10 years of age - at $82.99 a bottle, one would hope that buyers have great patience to see it unfold to its full potential. And finally, the only wine in the lineup with residual sugar, the 2010 Kallstadter Steinacker Riesling Kabinett, shimmering with tropical fruits on a linear palate. Lovely wines, understated yet showing the charm and elegance of the Pfalz.

The shop is a tiny space, but packed with all sorts of interesting selections. I spent the most time checking out the Barolos - had my hands on a 1967 Burlotto, but ended up going with (on a recommendation) a 1995 Oddero. Picked up a Puffeney Poulsard, as well as a half bottle of 1988 Lamothe-Guignard. The staff were engaged, and fun to talk to. I hate to bash on our folks here, but LCBO Vintages could gain a lot from a visit to these kinds of wine shops. Lots to see, lots to learn here - like the proverbial kid in a candy store (although being a Canadian, it'd be the Bulk Barn).

It was a good day.

DF

long live the World Trade

In light of the events of this week in Boston, we're reminded of the horrors and evils of this world ...

... we're reminded of its senselessness, of its cruelty.

We are all impacted, whether we live in Boston, New York, Toronto, or Shanghai.

But we're also reminded of our resilience, of our hope that humanity is good and pure and still full of promise.

DF

big lights will inspire you

Thinking of Boston, and the bombing victims.

I went to New York for 4 days, just got back. It's been a whirlwind these past 2 weeks ... I got two invites to interview with two schools in New York, with very little time to prep and book. Exciting, always a pleasure to come to New York, even on short notice! Decided to drive down through Kingston this time, and what a good call - much faster and an overall easier drive. Stayed at a hotel in Hell's Kitchen.

Interviews went well. As part of my interview with the second school, I was invited to participate in what they called 'Assessment Day'. The school brought together 18 applicants total, giving us group activities and exercises to do. It was everything I expected - intense, challenging, nerve-wracking - and even some things I didn't expect - collaborative, fun. Meeting my fellow applicants was a great experience, and getting to work (briefly) with my team on a presentation was a great way to get a feel of what it might be to be in the program. And who would have guessed, we had some good Toronto representation. And I scored the 3rd highest quiz!

There was no planning for this trip, no idea of what I wanted to do outside of prepping for these interviews. So on the one free day I did have to walk around, I did the only thing I know how to do - find places to eat and drink. And that I did, if only to make myself happy, because it's about time I start acting a bit more selfishly. A successful trip, I would say. We got back after 10 hours on the road, arriving in Toronto just before 8pm on Sunday. And I can't wait to go back.

DF

dreaming of blue skies

I dream of blue skies ...

... of being on the frontier ...

... and of staying true to classics. Off to New York!

DF

Soave and pizza

2011 Monte Tondo | DOC Soave Classico

We made pizza at home a few weeks ago. It was good - we got stuff from a fancy grocery store (i.e. we didn't cook so much as assemble). Simple, with mushrooms and prosciutto, lots of cheese and basil. And with it, a bottle of Soave. Clean, fresh, and balanced. A simple wine for a simple meal.

I'm tired. And a little anxious. Been anxious for quite a while now. It hardly seems like it's been more than a year since I first started thinking about business school, but looking at the calendar the other day, I was shocked to realize that this time last year, I was about 5 weeks away from taking my GMAT and freaking the fk out. But I survived that, and all that followed during the summer and fall. I've been working on applications for a solid 8 months now. And the process is still ongoing. But I think the next 2 months will be big for me, when the table gets set and wine poured, figuratively speaking.

My mind's a bit of a mess right now ... all almost overwhelming. Almost. So I have to remind myself that all this work, this pain and suffering will be worth it in the end. Because I just want to be happy. Not asking for much. Just happiness, like Soave and pizza.

DF

what with dinner

It's been a shitstorm these past few weeks. But no complaints. Never any complaints. 

I'm headed to New York later this week, to interview with some schools. Very excited for it - as someone told me, it's not about omfg, what are they gonna ask me? but rather, I'm so fking excited to show them what I'm about! Right on. Ready to get at it.

Yesterday, I ran outdoors in the ravine across my house for the first time this year. Spring is really here! Huffed and puffed, but made the run in decent shape. Wore (running) tights for the first time too - legit. It's been a busy weekend. Went with the boys to Niagara on Friday, staying overnight to party and participate in all kinds of debauchery. Not really. We're all good Chinese boys ... what kind of trouble could we possibly get into?! Stopped by Fielding Estate Winery on Saturday morning, on our way back to Toronto. Quite an extensive tasting, which I'll write about later, in detail. Lots of good stuff tasted.

Serving what's supposed to be the right food/wine pairing seems to be what a lot of people are obsessing about these days. It's that whole look how tasteful I am, pats self on back attitude that's so pervasive now - the people who refer to cabernet sauvignon as 'cab' and throw the term 'foodie' around freely. Not the people I want to be spending time with. I'm a throwback, but I can't be the only one who feels that appreciation of cuisine and wine culture involves respecting it.

A Chinese meal is full of surprises - a tableful of dishes that can have dozens of different flavours and textures, ping-ponging between sweet to savoury to spicy. So to decide to fit each dish with his or her own wine is absolute folly. No, what we're going for is versatility, and most importantly when we have guests over, variety. Beer, some kind of simple lager or pilsner, remains the beverage that you can always rely on to go well with everything. The Japanese are still learning how to cook - raw fish isn't exactly cooking - but they've got the right idea about Sapporo/Asahi/Suntory/Kirin/Orion. When looked at critically, all those beers are shit. But on the table, with great food, they serve their purpose beautifully. Because they understand that either of the one - the food or the beer - one always has to serve the other. They cannot be of equal prominence, because you don't want a fucking battle happening on the table. You want a hot, passionate, pleasurable, tangled, mind-blowing union. Shit, we still talking about dinner? You want an orgy on the table, between what you're eating and drinking. Keep the domination/bondage kink out of it. 

So the question is, which (or who) goes on top? The food, or the drink? As much as I'm a wine/cocktail/alcohol guy - it's always about the food. When people rhapsodize about cars, they say You can't drive your house, but you can live in your car. Well, fuck that logic. Because show me a person that can survive off booze. 

One top of the other. As was meant to be. As we all were meant to be.

DF

The 'California Legends' Tasting

A few weeks ago, we went to a tasting of Californian wines held at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum. It was billed as a tasting of the icons of the industry - some of the pioneers, the old-timers who built the reputation of California. I was so pumped to attend - I needed a break from writing applications, and our regular tasting group was in full attendance - not to mention, Calera, Dunn, and Ridge was pouring.

The wines were stunning. I started as always with the chardonnay. I expected a certain style - not necessarily that big, buttery, obnoxious chard stereotype, but a certain sunshine-y style nonetheless -  but the wines delivered (pleasant) surprise after surprise. They were definitely new world chardonnays. Ripe and viscous, with good amounts of caramel and sweetness from the oak. But they're fresh - great acidity with balanced alcohols. Wines that I would easily be comfortable putting away for 10 years. Fabulous. And then came the pinot noirs and cabernet sauvignons. The pinot noir was, as expected, more variable in style. Some super big and overripe, the worst kind of wines - flabby and lifeless. But the best, from Calera, some of the most exciting new world pinot noirs I've ever come across. By that point, I was pretty lubed up, and we had yet to taste the cabernets. The majestic cabernet sauvignons, both varietal and blended wines. My goodness. The quality was just mind-blowing. And the one thing I kept thinking about during the tasting was something I never expected to be the main takeaway: balance. BALANCE, in California. Complex, interesting, balanced wines that showed so much character. Completely changed the way I see these wines, and although expensive, worth every penny. Incredible. I've never come out of a tasting so excited about what I had just tasted, and although my memory of what happened afterwards is a bit hazy, our photos show some of the carnage. Tasting notes from the evening below.

Beringer | Napa Valley
2000 Chabot Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon:  so French, graphite mineralis, lean berry fruit, good structure, fresh and lively; a vibrant wine

Bonaccorsi | Santa Rita Hills
2009 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir: burnt wood, way overripe, physically painful to smell, completely dull and one-dimensional

DF and the great Josh Jensen, Proprietor/Winemaker of Calera

Calera | Central Coast
2011 Chardonnay: so ripe, fragrant of orange and citrus oils, sweet fruit, caramel oak, good acid on a crunchy finish
2009 Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mount Harlan: more depth, fuller and heavier, good tannin structure, a beautiful wine
2007 Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mount Harlan: slightly more vegetal, but showing good tannin, juicy and fresh
2009 De Villiers Pinot Noir, Mount Harlan: big, slightly dried fruit, jammy raisins, with an intense sweet palate

Caymus
2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley: subtle, integrated oak and fruit, very good oak profile
2010 Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands: ripe fruit, slightly jammy here, candied, that big style of red wine that has little varietal character

Chateau Montelena | Napa Valley
2010 Chardonnay: completely subtle, slightly oaky palate, but elegant and harmonious; needs time
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon: subtle fruit, fragrant, on a sweet, elegant and finely structured palate; great potential here

Dominus | Napa Valley
2009 Dominus: the grand vin, tight and a bit closed, lean fruit, very compact at the moment; like a St. Julien with the raciness
2009 Othello: the entry wine, slightly overripe, deep fruit, more of the sunny Californian style here, some savoury, soy elements on the palate, slightly saline
2009 Napanook: from declassified Dominus fruit, this was a revelation; fresh, vibrant nose, beautifully fragrant and minerally; palate is gorgous, sweet and linear, fresh yet fine, dark and underlined with graphite minerality; beautiful!

Duckhorn | Napa Valley
2010 Merlot: soft, round fruit, ripe and sweet, good structure, primary but some potential here

DF and Randy Dunn, Winemaker/Proprietor of Dunn

Dunn | Napa Valley
2002 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon: saline and mineral, lean fruit, wonderfully savoury on the palate, like seaweed and kelp; so elegant, fabulous length, a stunner!
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain: fine and lean fruit, so French here, dark and mineral; ripe on the palate, so integrated and fresh, a truly vibrant wine

DF and the legend, Gary Eberle, Owner/Founder/Winemaker of Eberle

Eberle | Paso Robles
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah: 50/50 of each, fresh, ripe fruit, very juicy here, great balance
2008 Côtes-du-Rôbles: syrah, mourvèdre, and viognier; classic, ripe nose, sweet fruit with an elegance; juicy and surprisingly fine

Frog's Leap | Napa Valley
2012 Sauvignon Blanc: my goodness, booming grassy notes, pungently oily, almost pickled; unsubtle sauvignon aromas to say the least, but good acid, fresh fruit on the palate, almost a bit bi-polar in that aroma and palate have almost no correspondence
2011 Chardonnay: round oak, great acid on the palate, vibrant

Joseph Phelps | Sonoma Coast
2010 Freestone Vineyards Chardonnay: spicy oak, somewhat muted, round palate; good extract, elegant, with great acidity

Kistler | Sonoma Coast
2010 Trenton Roadhouse Chardonnay: spicy oak, nutty and round, good extracted acidity on the finish
2009 Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: good focus, lean and minerally; round oak on the palate, some spice

DF and Stephan Asseo, Owner/Winemaker of L'Aventure

L'Aventure | Paso Robles
2010 Côte-a-Côte: fresh, linear fruit, good sweetness, very good stuff here
2010 Optimus: graphite minerality, intense, rich and filling; elegant palate, wonderful extract and precision on the palate; wonderful and so damn French!
2010 Estate Cuvée: freshness, combined with good ripe fruit; lean but intense

Pahlmeyer | Napa Valley
2010 Chardonnay: subtle, round nose, some minerals, a bit closed at the moment

Paul Hobbs | Sonoma County
2010 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: good colour, very oak, spicy and rich, integrated oak on the palate, finishing slightly bitter

Ridge
2010 Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley: fresh, vibrant, and minerally, like spring water; good tannin, elegant in structure, and very subtle
2009 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Cabernet/Merlot: wow, so earthy, so dense, wonderfully rustic; even slightly stinky, but so good, and so French

Sea Smoke | Santa Rita Hills
2010 Southing Pinot Noir: big name, with equally big prices, but what a disappointment; incredibly jammy and dried out, what's the point
2010 Ten Pinot Noir: at $109, I just don't get it; completely nuked fruit, slightly saline, so overdone and coca-cola-ish as to be undrinkable

Stag's Leap Winery | Napa Valley
2010 Chardonnay: round, integrated fruit, great oak, fresh and structured

DF

harbouring no preconceptions

2011 Casali Borgo Del Boiardo Reggiano | DOC Lambrusco Rosato Secco

Can I share something with you? When a wine is said to be out of fashion ... 9 times out of 10, that's the wine you should be drinking. Lambrusco is one those things that people need to pay more attention to. I mean quality Lambrusco, not that sweet junk. This one, a fabulous sparkling rosé, with delicious berry aromas on a dry palate that finishes with a beautiful lift. Surprisingly firm and structured, staying drinkable and fresh.

That feeling of dryness can be so hard to find. The term dry wine can mean many things - and since it's not really regulated, it can often mean that the wine retains a bit of residual sugar, to help with the texture. So really, we're talking about the perception of dryness. But in the best instances, such as this bottle, a true dryness gives the wine structure, poise, and focus ... all elements of food-friendly, ageable wine. It's fascinating, because this dryness doesn't necessarily mean a mouthful of tannin. In this case, where we're dealing with a rosé sparkling wine (which won't have much tannin to begin with), we see how you can have a wine that is dry, but isn't tannic. A very fine balancing act, but when it all comes together, the result is wonderful, especially with food.

Not following trends, not following the mainstream - what am I, a hipster now? Am not. But if we consciously temper our preconceptions, maybe that's when we get really excited about wines. And maybe the night when we drank this, I was the only one around the table whose eyes lit up. But I'm working on it, this whole thing of encouraging (forcing) the people I eat/drink with to see as I see, taste as I taste.

DF

ritual and gratification

It's been a long few weeks.

Finally, all my business school applications have been sent out. It's been a long, long process. Draining. My brain feels fried. On to the next, because of course there's no break ... waiting for the admissions committee to now review, and give their verdict.

I've been drinking more cocktails lately. Just like that, wine has become a bit of an afterthought – can you believe I just said that?! Haven’t really been in the mood for wine, to tell you the truth. Maybe it’s the stress, maybe it’s because of one late night after another … maybe I’m just finally living up to my (self-proclaimed) wino tag. But cocktails have been doing the job, to the point of obsession. And you know what happens when I get obsessed about something.

There’s been a bit of controversy lately over some comments printed about the decline of wine drinking culture in France. Why don’t I just reprint them, verbatim. From Denis Saverot, editor of La Revue des Vins de France magazine:

It is our bourgeois, technocratic elite with their campaigns against drink-driving and alcoholism, lumping wine in with every other type of alcohol, even though it should be regarded as totally different.

Recently I heard one senior health official saying that wine causes cancer from the very first glass. That coming from a Frenchman. I was flabbergasted. In hock with the health lobby and the politically correct, our elites prefer to keep the country on chemical anti-depressants and wean us off wine.

Just look at the figures. In the 1960s, we were drinking 160 litres each a year and weren't taking any pills. Today we consume 80 million packets of anti-depressants, and wine sales are collapsing.

Wine is the subtlest, most civilized, most noble of anti-depressants. But look at our villages. The village bar has gone, replaced by a pharmacy.

And from Oxford-based French writer Theodore Zeldin:

Companionship has been replaced by networking. Business means busy-ness, and in that way we are becoming like everywhere else.

The old French art de vivre is still there. It's an ideal. It's a bit like the ideal of an English gentleman. You don't often find an English gentleman, but the ideal is there and it informs society as a whole. It is the same with our art de vivre. Of course times have changed, but it still survives. It is that feeling you get in France that in human relations we need to do more than just conduct business. We have a duty to entertain, to converse. And in France - thanks to our education system - we still have that ability to converse in a general, universalist way that has been lost elsewhere.

That is the art de vivre. It is about taking your time. And wine is part of it, because with wine you have to take your time. After all, that is one of the great things about wine. You can't swig it.

Does the France of romantic ideals, the image of the romantics in berets, lounging in a café along the Seine with a cigarette and glass of wine even exist? Does that whole idea that wine remains a common drink of the people, when workers on a lunch break would pop in for un verre de vin rouge, remain relevant? Clearly, not anymore. Modern society simply doesn’t allow for it – no one can afford to slow down and take it easy anymore. This isn’t to say that the old ways were better. Drunk driving is no joke. Nor is clinical depression. But there has to be a balance that can be struck, to actually enjoy ourselves instead of this non-stop hustle of can I meet this deadline, need to send the kids out to their lessons, what did I forget to put in the calendar??? Someone remind me what the point of all this is, why some of my friends are so eager to get married and have kids??!!

So I’ve been drinking more. No real surprise, but I’ve been settling on the classics, the sort of pure expressions of simple, classic cocktails. Martini, Old-fashioned, Manhattan … Gimlet, Tom Collins to deal with the citrus fruit after I finish with the peels. Lots of gin, lots of whiskey, lots of bourbon consumed. And you know what … I think I get it. I think I’m starting to understand why I’ve had this overnight, sub-conscious change in preference, from wine to cocktails. It’s instant satisfaction, isn’t it. It’s the ritual of preparing a cocktail, of carefully assembling not only ingredients but the process. You get exactly what you put in – unlike wine, which requires time, oxygen, whatever, to come around. A cocktail is an instant validation of whether the process has been correctly applied or not. Right. And the booze helps too. All this talk to try to intellectualize and justify why we like wine and cocktails, but all it really comes down to – the absolute truth of it all – is simply that we enjoy drinking. We like the euphoric feelings it gives us, how it makes us seem wittier, funnier, and generally more pleasant. And we like the late nights, when the mysteries of the universe seem to clarify and make sense … after the 5th round of course.

Wine is the subtlest, most civilized, most noble of anti-depressants. But cocktails aren’t that far behind.

DF

Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers

100-96, Toronto.

Went out to my second game of the season on Sunday, hoping for my first look at Rudy Gay in person. He was an unannounced scratch with a stiff back. Good to see Valanciunas and Ross get some extended minutes. I like Lowry - he has heart - but without Calderon, the team's guard play and ball movement has really suffered. Kyrie Irving left with a left shoulder injury, but the Cavs managed to keep it close. Never really a threat though, with Lowry scoring on a spinning fadeaway and Derozan sealing it with 2 free throws for the win, and free pizza. A fun game.

DF

a welcome taste of tradition

2005 R. López De Heredia Viña Cubillo Crianza | DOC Rioja

Every family has mealtime traditions. Those little quirks that get passed down, because that's how we've always done it. My family likes to undercook our greens. We like having lots of seafood for hotpot. We always add a pinch of sugar when we cook. We pride ourselves on making the most amazing clear chicken broths using chicken and only chicken. And we insist on continually wiping down the countertops and stoves as we cook. Matters of habit, perhaps, but these traditions are every bit as important to our cooking as recipes and techniques.

Wine, however, is a new tradition.

As immigrants, we're left to fend for ourselves. There is no template to follow, no support system outside a tight-knit group of friends. We have to figure things out on our own, and yes, that means sometimes it's a free-for-all. And we've adopted wine as a regular part of our routine. Maybe more than a regular part. Ok, so maybe I'm verging on an obsession here, but no one's qualified to make that diagnosis. As a family, we started slowly ... a bottle on the weekends, chosen methodically by region or varietal usually, and always, always drunk with food. About 10 years down, it's developed into something a bit more, but the principle never changes - we drink wine as part of our meal, one enhancing the other. Wine serves an intellectual purpose, certainly, but also works to bring us together, to stimulate good conversation and a sense of family.

I try not to be so rigid when I choose what wine to drink anymore, rather letting my mood guide me. Usually this time of year, I reach for red wine, something structured and dense. Yes, not very imaginative, but then again, my definition of 'density' still falls in with the high acid/moderate alcohol crowd. The cool crowd. This bottle, one of their more simpler cuvées, reminds me of why traditions aren't necessarily exciting or noteworthy, but always comforting and incredibly satisfying. R. López de Heredia is one of the stalwarts of Rioja, holding up the banner for the traditionalists. And while young, this crianza sings of what Rioja wine is, all strawberries and subtle vanilla, fine tannins and linear texture. Finesse, yes, and understatement, totally.

When we have people over for dinner, it's always gratifying to share some of our traditions with them. And although we do little more than pick out bottles off the shelf, I like to think that the wine we serve follows along the same lines - strict purity and authenticity that derives great pleasure.

DF

In the rocks

This is mind-blowing stuff. Grant Achatz and Craig Schoettler of Chicago's Alinea and Aviary work on an egg-shaped ice ball that is hollowed out, allowing you to inject a drink inside. The customer then cracks open the egg in the glass, creating their own drink on the rocks. This is an Old Fashioned cocktail, but as Mr. Schoettler says, there are endless possibilities ... clear ice, coloured ice, ice flavoured with a cocktail ingredient ...

Amazing.

DF

hanging out at Parts & Labour

So we went out to Parts & Labour on Toronto's Queen St. West last week - what a great find. Sitting at the bar, our dinner was so incredibly satisfying. The kind of food that warms you up, fills your soul, makes you happy. From the kale salad to the hanger steak to the sweetbread sliders - happiness.

I was watching the bartender make drinks all night, and man, could she move. So I asked her, do you do an Old Fashioned? Her reply? I'll make the best Old Fashioned you've ever had. Well, she wasn't lying. In a mixing glass, a sugar cube, a few dashes of bitters, and a splash of water, all muddled together. Then, slowly, half a measure of whiskey stirred in with ice - once she achieved the proper temperature and dilution, the other half a measure went in. Strained into a rocks glasses with one large ice cube, and garnished with an orange peel and brandied cherries. A perfect way to end dinner.

Went off into the night buzzing with inspiration.

DF

a night out

'Twas a dark and stormy night last Wednesday ...

... but we managed to get out to Pravda Vodka Bar ...

... where the ghosts of old revolutionary heroes are venerated in busts ...

... where after an uninspired vodka martini, we retired to the warmth of C'est What for a lamb burger and a beautiful Ontario perry.

DF

little Lake Erie and the Ontario style

2011 Cooper's Hawk Riesling | VQA Lake Erie North Shore

Lake Erie North Shore is, as the name suggests, in the southwestern part of Ontario, along Lake Erie. The growing season here is generally the warmest out of the 3 viticultural areas of Ontario (Niagara and Prince Edward County being the other 2), with soils mainly consisting of sandy loam and gravel deposits on top of shale limestone bedrock.

We could go on and on about the specifics of this terroir (see VQA website), but this isn't the way to present the wines. Even living in Toronto, we rarely hear about this region and these wineries, so the question isn't so much about climate, soil, and geography, but rather on how these wines can be successfully marketed. And it's not about the vineyards. Because despite what the VQA and the producers would like to think, these minor areas are not necessarily special.

Canadian wine starts and ends with Niagara and the Okanagan Valley. Period. All these other smaller regions may produce interesting, even good wines, but in the larger Canadian wine industry, their contributions are insignificant. I'm not trying to disparage Lake Erie North Shore by any means ... I'm just certain that trying to convince consumers that the wines coming out of here are at all unique or more profound is not a successful strategy. As someone who constantly rails against homogeneity, I can't believe I'm about to say this ... but these smaller regions need to create a distinct, unified style of wine that is easily recognizable to consumers.

Take this riesling, for example. It fits into that mold of Ontario riesling - clean fruit, slight sweetness, low(ish) alcohol. Relative to a Niagara riesling, you're not getting that extract or minerality, but it's a pleasant enough drink. Consumers want reliability - that's why Yellowtail is such a success. People know that it's shit, just like they know McDonald's isn't real food. But they're also getting exactly what they expect, and really, people aren't all that adventurous when it comes to wine. So when they're looking for a white wine that hovers around $15, this should be the type of wine they're reaching for. When they look at a Lake Erie North Shore riesling, there should be a style associated with it, regardless of which winery it is. It's essentially branding the entire region, and associating it with a certain style of wine. And that's how you're going to move those bottles.

As a wino, I want to be an idealist and be all romantic about wine, but as someone who wants to get into the industry - you've got to find a way to make that money.

DF

contradictions

2010 Marziano Abbona Rinaldi | DOC Barbera d'Alba

Is there a contradiction between wines we admire on an intellectual level, and wines that simply give us pleasure?

I love stinky country wines, I really do. These aromas and flavours used to be simply what the wines were - brettanomyces wasn't something to be scared of. And now most consumers (and winemakers) have not only forgotten how magical a bit of brett can be, but have come to see it as a deadly flaw. Well you shouldn't be afraid of a little stank in wine (or in life). Don't judge a stinky wine too soon - it might surprise you, delight you, and eventually win you over. 

It was fairly late at night, but I wanted to open this wine for a quick taste, in preparation for the next night's dinner. And dammit, it reeked. I would venture to say that this was by far the stinkiest wine I've ever nosed, simply rolling in fumes of manure and barnyard. But Abbona is one of my favourite Piedmontese producers, and I was certain all it needed was some time in the decanter. About 12 hours later, it began rewarding my patience - rich, savoury aromas, full of spice and cured meats. Dark but fresh, with fabulous concentration, harmony, and complexity already.

So yet again, these great producers teach us that even humble varietals yield wines of finesse and beauty. Wonderful, if you have the patience and understanding of how brett affects wine. Don't be afraid of the stink - decant it, and take a look again the next day. Just like how you should never trust a woman who can't fart in front of you. If she's hiding a basic bodily function, what other deep, dark, horrible secrets is she keeping from you?!

So no, wines that we love on a sensual and intellectual level don't have to be exclusive to each other. That would be a shame, wouldn't it. As Depardieu once said, I can live with very little, but I like to have a lot in my glass.

DF

the Old-Fashioned

A true throwback, the Old-Fashioned, in all its variations and subtleties.

DF

Two Italians

Left: 2008 Sampietrana 1952 Riserva | DOC Brindisi | Puglia
Right: 2011 Pelassa Bricco Enrichetta | DOC Langhe

You know sometimes I think wine is a free for all. Sometimes I feel that they make these blends out of necessity instead of any kind of need to express terroir. These wines show zero character from each of its parts ... I suppose the point is to go for something simple, easy to understand, all the things that upwardly-mobile yuppies go for.

The Sampietrana is a blend of negroamaro and montepulciano, but who cares, it's soft and fruity and pleasant. The Pelassa is a blend of equal parts barbera and nebbiolo, but expresses little personality of either. Both the same thing really - solid red wines that don't require much from the drinker.

It's been a long, tiring few days. No rest even on the weekend. Just so much stuff to do around the house, with the cleaning, laundry ... and not even getting to the application work. Yes, still hard at it, a few more schools on the list to apply to, a few more weeks of pain and suffering. I've been drinking pretty hard lately. It's getting to be a problem, even for me. But shit, who wants to live forever.

DF

True Originals No. 1 - The Samurai

DF