Quail on the plate

I did a tasting last night at Mise (their own website is coming soon). We called the tasting “Flights of Fancy”, and the premise was to introduce their new flights of wine. We ended up pairing seven wines off their list with some fabulous food. One pairing in particular was really interesting.

The menu item was quail stuffed with hot Italian sausage, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes. We paired it with one white and one red - the Cave Spring 2002 VQA Chardonnay and the Pasqua ‘Lappacio” Primitivo di Salento. My reasoning was that I’ve enjoyed richer Chardonnays with game birds before, and I thought that the Primitivo would play off well against the slight gaminess of the quail and the spice of the sausage.

Initially, the Chardonnay seemed a bit tired. It’s actually 82% Chardonnay and 18% Chardonnay Musque (a Chardonnay/Muscat hybrid). There was a hint of floral aromas, and it was a bit lighter than expected. But it took on some muskiness after a few minutes in the glass. I wasn’t so impressed and initially ended up writing it off as a bad choice on my part. Cave Spring is usually an excellent vineyard, so I just thought this one didn’t have a long lifespan.

On the other hand, the Primitivo showed beautifully at first. Lots of blackberry and plum aromas, with a long finish that reminded one of the participants of stewed prunes (in a good way). So most of us (myself loudly included) figured it would be a good match with the food.

Then the food came out and I quickly proved myself wrong. The Chardonnay was fantastic with the quail. It took on a rich, buttery flavour which paired perfectly with the gaminess of the quail. Even the rich sausage and pine nut flavours were excellent complements to the wine. My perception of the wine changed completely once I tried it with the food.

On the other hand, the poor Primitivo didn’t fare well at all. Without the food, I loved it. But paired with the quail, it seemed to wilt in the glass, took on floral characteristics and ended up drinking like a low-rent Beaujolais. Quite a difference from what my first impressions were.

So the moral of the story? You can make all the assumptions you want, but be prepared to change your mind once you actually pair a wine up with food. Don’t write off a poor choice immediately, and don’t take a good choice for granted. Don’t get me wrong - the Pasqua is a fabulous wine. It just wasn’t the right wine for this dish.

The flights of wine at Mise are priced between $3.00 and $5.00. You get a smaller pour for a lower price, but by the same token, you can try several different wines before settling on the one you like best. I wish more restaurants would do this. It gives the customer some more room to explore the wine list, and they will usually end up spending more on wine. And for people who are driving, or would just prefer a small glass of wine, it allows them to enjoy the restaurant’s wine as well.

BC Trip Report - Part 2: Tasting Notes

I did enjoy some fabulous wine in British Columbia, although most of it isn’t available here in Manitoba. But I’ll tempt your tastebuds with my descriptions, and urge you to check out these wines if you find yourself in B.C.

First of all, I had one of the best (and most unusual) Canadian Sauvignon Blancs I’ve ever tried. The Township 7 Sauvignon Blanc (2003 vintage) doesn’t seem to be available from retail outlets, but Zin on Robson Street sells it by the glass for $9 (CDN). I did notice other Township 7 wines at Marquis on Davie, and some in Victoria as well.

The wine reminded me of a big glass of bananas. I’ve never experienced such a rich tropical fruit flavour from a Canadian wine before, although the 2003 vintage in the Okanagan was a little hot (to put it mildly). There was a hint of sweetness from the bananas when it first hits your mouth, but it’s quickly washed away by a flood of citrus and some steely mineral flavours. Wow. Pick this up if you come across it. The 2004 vintage is described on their website (link above).

Moving right along, my best meal (in wine terms) was at Bin 941. The last time I was there, the staff recommended the Pirramimma Petit Verdot (they sell it by the glass), which quickly became a favourite. So my dinner companion and I asked the bartender for another recommendation, hoping that our luck would hold out.

She suggested that we try the “Seven Deadly Zins” Zinfandel (Michael David Vineyards), and we did. To her credit, my dinner companion had picked this off the list earlier, while I was leaning towards the d’Arenberg “Custodian” Grenache.

The wine? Imagine a big, chocolaty fruit-bomb of a Cabernet Sauvignon. Then take away the Cabernet fruit and replace it with blackberries. It was like drinking a big glass of smoky blackberry chocolate. Doesn’t that sound tasty?

Seriously though, this was an amazing wine. I’ve never had a Zinfandel with that much “oomph” before. We brought a bottle home with us to celebrate a friend’s graduation, and the wine travelled very well. It set me back $28 at a BC Liquor store, and it’s worth hunting down.

The D’Arenberg “Custodian” Grenache (Australia - but available at the MLCC) was good too, but not as good as the Zinfandel. But I am always amazed at how good the D’Arenberg wines are. From their basic “Stump Jump” red and white blends all the way to their expensive “Icon” lines, this company is doing a great job. They’ve got a Tempranillo/Grenache/Souzao (?) blend that I’d love to try.

Finally, I rediscovered the Mission Hill ‘Five Vineyards’ Cabernet-Merlot. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy Okanagan Valley red wines, and this is not only reasonably priced ($16ish at the MLCC) but it’s worth every penny. Nothing fancy here, just a glass overflowing with plummy goodness. I’d hazard a guess that there’s more Merlot in the blend, because the plums outweigh the hints of black currant that I found. But it’s a bigger wine than you’d expect, with lots of soft tannins. Very tasty and easily available at your local MLCC or private store.

BC Trip Report - Part 1

Some brief observations about wine in BC.

What’s up with the private stores? Victoria is full of them, yet Vancouver seems to only has a few. In fact, I had a hard time finding anywhere to buy wine near my hotel on Robson Street. There’s a good private store (Marquis Wine Cellars) on Davie, and I found a BC Liquor store (government-run) on the street behind my hotel. But that was it. In the densest part of Vancouver, I could only find one private store, with the nearest (but unimpressive) neighbour on the edge of Gastown.

My traveling companion and I hopped on the SeaBus to North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay in the hopes of finding the Liberty Wine Merchants outlet that was rumoured to be there (okay, it was listed in the phone book). Sadly, the outlet had closed down after last Christmas. So we ogled the 95-pound halibut that was for sale in the fish market and caught the boat back to Vancouver.

Contrast that with my experience in Victoria. While wandering around the depths of suburban Oak Bay, I came across two wine stores – right across the street from each other. It seemed like every time I turned around, I found a new wine store. I counted six different stores in my brief time there - and I spent all my time in Oak Bay and downtown Victoria. I have no idea what else is in the metropolitan area.

The prices weren’t too impressive though. One of the stores in Oak Bay was selling Little Penguin Shiraz for $16.75 - on sale. Marquis was quite reasonable, but on the whole, wine prices in BC are higher than in Manitoba (except for BC wines). The selection was OK at best, but nothing like what you’d find in Manitoba. Again, Marquis was the best. The rest of the stores had a much more limited selection.

Tasting notes to follow soon…

British Columbia vs. Ontario

Once again, I have managed to outdo myself in updating this blog. I’ve got about four different posts on the go and haven’t managed to complete one of them. Given that we’re still unpacking the new house, I’m not surprised.

And prepare for more delays, loyal reader (reader’s?). Tomorrow, I leave for a week in British Columbia, home of Canada’s finest wine. I’m not saying that as a shot against Ontario wine, which can be excellent. I think the Ontario industry is more consistent as whole, but individual BC wineries produce Canada’s best wines.

With the exception of Pinot Noir and Gamay (and I’m still not sure about Ontario Pinot Noir), I think BC produces the best reds in Canada. Ontario’s Rieslings and Gewürztraminers are better - no questions asked. But BC produces finer Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Gris. I’ve yet to try an Ontario sparkling wine, but have enjoyed the Stellar’s Jay Brut from BC’s Sumac Ridge many times. So there you have it.

When I’m back, I hope to have some time to actually post some of these tasting notes. And I plan on enjoying lots of good B.C wine when I’m out there too.