Spring Rose
This is an article we have coming out later in the spring…
Spring’s arrival is always an exciting time at the winery! The vines begin to bud, the grounds come back to life and our visitors return to try our new spring releases! The spring we are most excited to release our new rosés; our 2008 Grange of Prince Edward Rosé Brut (our first rosé brut ever) and our 2010 Trumpour’s Mill Rosé. But these are more than just light, fresh, fruity wines- rosés can be some of the best wines to pair with food of all sorts. Hopefully we can inspired to you try some out!
Now, buying rosé can be a little tricky. This is because there are a couple of different ways of producing rosé wine, and these differences make all the difference. The first style is done by blending finished red wine and finished white wine; generally these are sweeter, heavily flavoured and austere; these are generally the ones to avoid. The second style is done with 100% red wine grapes; the grapes spend less time on the skins so they are much less tannic then their red counterparts and generally are drier and more structured than other rosés. These are the ones you want to try and find. As a consumer your best bet is reading the back label; most rosés will give you the blend of grapes on the back label.
Brut rosé has the classic pairing of chocolate and strawberries, but sparkling rosé, and rosé in general make great wines to pair with food. For both still and sparkling, a good rosé is tart, fresh and just a little sweet. Drier styles go great with things like salmon, lobster and Italian pasta dishes (anything with rosé sauce or with a little ricotta). The idea here is that the acidity of the wine will balance the richness or fattiness of the dish. With a rosé that has a little sweetness to it Thai curries and light salads (with a white wine or strawberry vinaigrette and some sliced almonds) are a great combination. Here the pairing works because sweetness cuts the spiciness and acidity of the dishes, and in both cases the acidity of the wine gives it enough backbone to stand up to the strong flavours of the dishes.
Wine and Chocolate
When people think wine and chocolate they think dessert wine and fondue. That is not what I think.
The best chocolates on the market today are 70% plus pure cocoa, and the perceptual sweetness on those sections is very low; this means that the sweetness of the wine can also be low. Dry. I think that dry wines can be great pairings with chocolate.
The key to pairings is balance. For chocolate and wine there are a few elements to play with: sweetness, of course, and then the spice, fruit and other characteristics. Chocolate and wine share these characteristics, so the goal of a pairing is the find the best matches. Chocolatiers use different ingredients to bring out different flavours in their chocolates, using those chocolates with the wines will do the same thing. Here are some idea’s I think are worth a try.
With Gamay, Pinot Noir, Rosé…
Chocolate and spice or espresso. Maybe a cayenne truffles perhaps. I can see this being a great pairing with the rosé. The spice will be balanced by the perceptual sweetness/ fruit of the wines. It will also bring out the spices on the Pinot. Chocolate and espresso; like café mocha or espresso truffles. The pinot is earthy and I think that would be interesting with the espresso chocolate. The earthiness of both the espresso and the wine will play nicely off each other.
Using a little chocolate in dishes like chilli makes an interesting use for this pairing. Or a slightly spicy dark chocolate cake would also be interesting. Or a bread pudding with an espresso-chocolate drizzle…
With the Chardonnay Reserve…
Chocolate and Caramel. Chocolate and white wine isn’t necessarily an obvious pairing, but I think it could work in this case. The caramel could act as an intermediate between the two. Also this chardonnay, while being one of our driest wines, has lots of sweet flavour, so I don’t think the sweetness of the caramel will be a problem. I just read a recipe for a chocolate, caramel, salted-almond tart, and I can see that being a great pairing. Another recipe I just saw? Chocolate, bacon and cashew caramel popcorn. Wouldn’t that make for a nice movie night with a chilled glass of the vic bloc chardonnay?
If you want to try out any of these pairings at home I suggest you find a great local chocolatier- like Mercury Chocolates in Cobourg: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150510170609 or Copper Kettle Chocolates in Picton: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Copper-Kettle-Chocolate-Company/280319281576
Grange Summer Series Matt and Sara Harris
Matt and Sara Harris’ musical interests are vast and varied….Sara grew up listening to re-runs of Lawrence Welk and studied Classical piano…Matt grew up on the other side of the tracks with influences like Bob Marley, James Brown, Wes Montgomery, Steely Danand (because of his mother) Mozart…Sara plays piano and sings and Matt plays guitar, bass, drums, percussion and whatever else he can get his hands on(old water bottles, children’s shakers, harmonica and the occasional trombone…)They have privately taught for years and both played piano and percussion accompaniment at the Quinte Ballet schoolTogether they have not only helped create two beautiful daughters but enjoy making music from jazzy Norah Jonesy to funky original tunes…check out more at www.myspace.com/mattansaraSeriously Cool Chardonnay Media Tasting
“If you missed last year’s historical “Seriously Cool -Ontario Chardonnay” OWS event, you get a second,better chance to taste the best that Canada has to offer… all in one place. This year the Seriously Cool – Great Canadian Chardonnay Grape, take on the Big Apple’s critics and trade. Selected by a panel of experts from the 100 submitted, this year’s top Chardonnays from Ontario and British Columbia will be available for tasting in this dress rehearsal before the wines head to the McGraw Hill building high up in the skyline of New York City in midtown Manhattan. The wineries that will be going to New York City will be pouring their showcase wines for us!” Tuesday, February 22, 2010- 2:00pm to 5:00pm- Toronto Lawn Tennis Club
Wine List:
http://www.ontariowinesociety.com/flyers/seriouslycool-winelist.htm
Eventbrite:
http://seriouslycool2011.eventbrite.com/
Wine List:
http://www.ontariowinesociety.com/flyers/seriouslycool-winelist.htm
Eventbrite:
Grange Summer Series Drew Ackerman
Drew Ackerman has been playing guitar around Prince Edward County for the last25 years as part of solo, duo and trio performances. He was one of theoriginal founders of the Quarter Moon Coffee House in Bloomfield,an open forumset up to help promote live music and local musicians. His taste’s range from playing Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton to Bruce Cockburn and instrumental finger picking styles. Drew has a Studio in Picton where he teaches private/one on oneguitar lessons.
