Pinot Noir in LCBO May 2011
Trumpour’s Mill Pinot Noir on general list in the LCBO as of May 2011! Tweet @grangewinery when you see it for a chance to win a bottle! Details on the blog!
The Ultimate Gamay Tasting Menu- Showcasing the Versatility of Gamay
the winery on the perfect evening for a gamay tasting
After scouring the internet for new and interesting pairings ideas to match our Trmpour’s Mill Gamay, I have picked a varied list of my favourite dishes to highlight and deconstruct why they work!
Roasted Beet Salad
Why It Works- A great winter option for gamay. Beets can be tricky to pair with, but the earthiness and the acidity of the gamay will work well together to balance the earthy sweet, vegetal quality of the beets, while still holding up to any vinegar that might be in the dish.
Mixed Bean Salad
Why It Works- meaty beans, acidic dressing- this is where gamay really thrives. The gamay will balance these qualities while not over powering the dish.
Antipasto
Why It Works- rich, sometimes spicy, always with olive oil, gamay’s acidic and medium body will work well to hold up to the flavours while at the same time cleanse the palate between bites. A nice quality in a wine when its paired with a tasting plate with lots of components.
Pancetta and Ricotta Ravioli
Why It Works- on one hand you have the cheese and salty meat, but on the other the tomato sauce. Both rich and acidic. Any wine that is paired with a dish like this must have the structure to hold up to those qualities. But these aren’t meat-filled or cheese ravioli, they have some complexity, so its nice to have a wine like the gamay that won’t over power
Pizza Margherita
Why it Works- Our favourite pizza wine. It works like a combination of all the above plates. It has the structure to hold up to rich or acidic components, but doesn’t overwhelm.
Summer BBQ
Why it Works- My favourite reason to have gamay with BBQ? The fact that the flavour works so well when chilled! It’s a great summer wine for this reason. But then its also great with the smokey, charred, spicy, fatty components of the dishes too.
Braised Pork belly with Lentils
Why It Works- Pork belly is a new found favourite around here. We prefer gamay to a white wine with this dish because of the earthy lentils. It totally changes the balance of the dish. But luckily the gamay is light enough not to overpower the subtle flavour of the pork belly.
Lavender Honey Panna Cotta
Why It Works- I found this pairing and was excited to try it. Gamay with dessert wasn’t obvious to me. But what’s perfect about this pairing is that this dish isn’t too sweet. With the lavender and honey it has more of a herbal quality than an obvious sweet one.
Maple in the County mulled wine
Maple in the County was all about chardonnay at The Grange so I decided to try my hand at a maple chardonnay mulled wine. I used the 2006 Victoria Block chard as it was rich and flavourful to begin with.
I think to get maximum flavour from a mulled wine it is best to make a syrup base using a small amount of wine. I started with a 1/2 c. of wine, the peels from 3 clementine oranges, 1 c of sugar, 1/4 c maple syrup, 1 cinnamon stick, some grated nutmeg, 1 vanilla bean pod halved and 6 whole cloves. I warmed the wine to melt the sugar and then boiled everything for 4-5 minutes. I then strained the syrup into a larger pan (you could use a crock pot and added the rest of the wine) I used a total of 2 bottles in this recipe. Warm the wine slowly to the desired temperature and do not boil as you remove the alcohol if you do.
As the weekend was sunny but cold tastings of the mulled wine were popular sipped by the fire.
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.
