Adam’s Cellar Notes
2009 GAMAY NOIR PROFILE – March 12, 2011
In PEC words like Terroir, Pinot and Chard are ubiquitous. What is often overlooked is Gamay. Originally from Burgundy, Gamay Noir is an important grape in Prince Edward County. Arguably, Gamay Noir represents the terroir and vintage more than any other varietal. What’s neat is you can look at a glass of Gamay and know what the growing season was like. Darker in hot years, lighter in wet ones; Gamay hides nothing. At The Grange of Prince Edward our Gamay is multi-purposed. It contributes to the beautiful Rose, and as a stand alone varietal with only one degree of separation from Pinot Noir.
The 2009 Trumpours Mill Gamay Noir has a dark ruby/purple colour indicating a long sensible grow season. The aromas are dominated by chocolate covered cherries and spicy strawberry. The palate over-delivers with firm tannins on a solid fruit core ending with a medium, balanced finish. With the 2008 almost sold through, keep an out for the 2009.
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
A Month of Rosé!
This month is about two things here at the grange, rosé and chocolate. For the Valentine’s Day spirit, for the sake of distracting ourselves from the cold with some of our favourite gastronomic things and to remember that spring is just around the corner and with it comes spring releases!
Rosé and Local Truffles
So simple and so lovely; pairing with chocolates is the best of all worlds. For a wine like the rosé though try avoiding anything too bitter or creamy or powerful. Raspberry truffles, cherry truffles, peach truffles, all from Cooper Kettle Chocolate Company work great because they play with the flavours of the wine. White chocolate is also a good combination with this rosé bc of the play between the acidity of the wine and the smooth, creaminess of the chocolate. The fruit on the palate of the wine will balance well with the creaminess as well. Another more playful pairing is the chili truffle from Cooper Kettle. It works well because of the balance between the sweetness on the wine and the heat of the chili. Let us know if you’ve found any good pairings!
This weekend we will be making our own truffles so be on the lookout for pics and come to the winery for a taste!
LCBO Updates- Winter 2010-11
We understand its winter in Canada and it’s hard to make the trek all the way to the winery for a bottle of our wines. Luckily, we have lots of our wines in an LCBO near you! For details and locations click on the links!
2007 Trumpour’s Mill Cabernet Franc
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=173187
2008 Trumpour’s Mill Chardonnay
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=111955
2009 Trumpour’s Mill Pinot Gris
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=69336
2008Trumpour’s Mill Pinot Noir- VINTAGES
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=122283
2008 Turmpour’s Mill Gamay Noir
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=615062
2007 Grange of Prince Edward Victoria Block Chardonnay- VINTAGES (COMING SOON)
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=149021
