À la Sofia

Ah, Coppola's Sofia Mini! Très chic, oui?!

I've been constantly amazed by the growing accessibility of wine to consumers. While I agree that the de-snobbifying of the seemingly esoteric wine world has been fabulous, I can, on occasion, get a little miffed with unnecessary gizmos that look like they came straight off an infomercial (see also: The Hip Sip... don't even get me started.)

Enter Francis Ford's answer to grocery store ease: single-serve cans [with straws attached!] of California bubbles. Eating pizza and don't want to get those Reidels smudged with finger grease?! Crack open a 6 pack of these bad girls to compliment those PBR tallboys. The mini is perfect for a covert picnic operation ('cause hey---they look like petite Coca Cola cans, and who'd drink bubbly with a straw anyway?!) and certainly an entertaining party novelty. The mini is an easy-sipping 11.5% alcohol from a non-traditional "blanc de blanc" blend of Pinot Blanc, Riesling & Muscat. The big-kid's bottle features the same grape varieties in variant percentages. Now this is a de-glamification I can get behind!

Red Wine Time!

Autumn! My brain just flipped the switch from white to red. I literally woke up yesterday with a changed craving (because, you know, who doesn't think about wine first thing in the morning?) The sunlight is fading as summer slips away, and soon I will be enjoying a luscious glass of Cabernet Franc by the space heater fireplace. 'Tis the season for comfy scarves, red meats, fabulous films, and warm sweaters. I love sweaterrrs! These things combined with the atmospheric charm of Fall are best paired with gripping red wine and close friends.

Happy Autumn.

Matchmaking: Pinot + Coho

Always a debacle when you're craving fish and red wine. Lucky for us, we live in Pinot-land, Salmon-country! After summer-mania, it had been a while since we last dined at home. I whipped up some savory faro with spring vegetables (one of my favorite rare-to-find repeat recipes) which I've adapted from Brigit Bins' The New Slow Cooker. And Braun's on fish duty, which before reading some kick-ass tips, seemed quite daunting (something always goes wrong!) Ah, but how lovely the dinner turned out! The fire has been rekindled on my previously waning salmon enthusiasm!

To compliment some gorgeous Coho filets (and for Braun's blind tasting exercise), I chose Sineann's 2009 Schindler Vineyard Pinot Noir. A fabulous flavor team, indeed! We also popped a 2011 Comm G.B. Burlotto Verduno Pelaverga for a little pairing experiment, since we are in no way convinced that Pinot can be the only red with enough lightness and finesse to balance a cut of salmon. We remembered this Piedmontese wine as being a light & spritely, peppery wine, flush with the flavor of nasturtiums. Alas! The food and drink were nary a compliment, as the wine greatly overpowered the delicate dish. The search for a non-Pinot, salmon-worthy red continues!

mmm...

*also, fun fact: Coho salmon is the official animal of Chiba, Japan, and October is salmon-season! I had buckets of fun joining a salmon festival in Northern Japan around this time in 2008. Among the many fish races, various meats on sticks, dancing, and milk drinking competitions, there was also: the catch-your-own-salmon-free-for-all.

Freisa Fresh!

This 2011 Cantina del Pino "Langhe Freisa" is playing to my weaknesses right now...

sniffings: raspberry-caramel white chocolate topped with crushed rosemary.

the tasty bits: gently tannic and lifting--nearly effervescent--on my tongue. Is this fresh, light, blackberry liquer muddled with charred, sultry pepper bacon? With rosemary and lavender garnish?!! I'll have another, please and thank you! I ran across another interesting blogger who described it as "black cherry ice cream that gets you drunk." Note to self: make Langhe Freisa ice cream...

what it's all about: nestled in the hilly Piedmont region of Northern Italy, we find Langhe. The place is known mostly for bubbly wines made of Freisa grapes; wouldn't ya know it, our red Freisa is brilliantly tingly (aka "frizzante")! Did I mention it's totally affordable?

I hate that I discovered this wine on what is literally the last week of summer. Then again---hello perfect thanksgiving wine! And we even caught this in time for Canadian Thanksgiving (10/8/12; also featuring the general harvest foods of turkey & potatoes). Huzzah! I'm going to let this bottle chillax in the fridge for a few while you're carving the turkey!

Game Hen Smack Down

For every food, there is a perfect wine to pair, and we need to taste a lot to find it! On tonights table we've grabbed two Pinots to test out with roasted game hen and warm faro salad.

The wines:

Olivier Jouan "Les Bussieres," 2007 old vine Chambolle Musigny > Burgundy > France.

Spicy cherries and tart persimmons. Soft pomegranate. A nice little wine, but perhaps not the perfect Pinot for our dish!

J. Daan, 2009 Willamette Valley > Oregon.

The clear winner! A brilliant food wine across the board, this wine perfectly balanced each bite with savory herbaceousness. The best part is, I wasn't into the wine on it's own, but the pairing made the best flavors and textures shine. The pairing had Brent's tastebuds tingling: "I feel like I had a cupcake, ate it in bed, spilled it all over my pillow and ate it." I guess... he likes it!

Ah, pairing. It's like super fun, self-imposed homework.