The Food: A five course tasting menu (to be described through pictures)
Course 1 & 2:

Duck with a black olive foam & Smoked salmon in a lemon and cream foam

Course 3:

Crab soup with churros

Course 4:

Filet of beef with a fois gras jus and horseradish cream

Lamb chop and tripe with lambforce meat

Scallops with a wasabi foam and seasonal veggies

Course 5:

Rum cake

Chocolate crème anglaise with merengue, salted chocolate and pop rocks (yes, pop rocks!!!)

Course 6:

Chocolate Mousse with homemade orange suckers in icing sugar

The Wine: Domaine de Nalys Châteauneuf du Pape

Tobacco on the nose, and figs and red fruit on the palate, this went down so well we had to order a second bottle. Jason claimed it went perfectly with his Foie Gras (my fourth course selection lacked Foie Gras, so I can’t confirm) but I enjoyed it was the duck that was brought out in the first course, right through to the chocolate that was served with dessert.

The Meal: Beef Stew w/a sweet date sauce & Roasted Chicken in a mushroom cream sauce

The Wine: Domaine de la Verriere

This wine was local in proximity to Roussillon – as I am assuming 90% of the food we consumed in lunch was as well. The wine itself was very fruity alongside a healthy dose of tannins and structure. When it was paired with the beef stew, the fruitiness from the date sauce canceled out some of the fruit in the wine and pulled out all of the earthy flavours. I’m going to have to rate this as one of my favourite pairings so far!

Perfect inspiration!

So we opted to buy a local free-range chicken, (with no feathers or talons at my request), some fresh and local veggies and some local bull sausage for happy hour.

The Meal: Roasted Chicken w/Veg

The chicken was given a lovely, under the skin, massage of compound butter of Provencal herbs. Then rested on a bed of potatoes, onions, carrots ad tomatoes. After is was baked a gravy was made with the left over juices, mixed with red wine and mushrooms. The gravy was so good we ended up cracking a new loaf of bread to soak it all up.

The Wine: Mas Grange Blance AOC Cotes du Rhone

Wow, what a pairing! Not only did this wine work well in the gravy, it tasted awesome with the entire meal! On the nose the wine came off a little fruit forward, but on the palate tobacco smoke filled our mouths with an afterthought of vanilla. We still have another bottle of this to consume and I don’t think that anyone in the house will object when it appears on the table again – perhaps this time with some dark chocolate!

The Meal: Smoked sausage risotto

Risotto with: white wine, beef broth, smoked sausage, mushrooms, fresh herbs, leeks

The Wine: Brut Rose from Mas de la Dame

For the 8 euros we spent on this sparkling wine it was worth it. High acidity and dry it managed to cut through the fat from the sausage. Probably not the best pairing we’ve had so far but it was still a nice refreshing wine to end the day on.

The Meal: Fresh Green Salads

Three different people, three different salads! Mum’s salad came with goat’s cheese coated in herb de provence, Jason’s with foie gras that melted in your mouth, and mine was a compilation of antipasto meats and cheeses. All three paired well with the bottle of Tavel that was selected.

The Wine: Domaine Mayb Tavel

This rose was a perfect patio wine that at first taste tasted like the sandstone cliffs we were looking at – and on the finish you were left with a mouthful of raspberry and honey. This definitely won’t be the last Tavel that we have this trip!

Dinner 1:
At ‘home’ in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (March 25, 2010)

The Meal: ‘Pasta a la Jason’

Fresh pasta cooked and served with: lobster tail, olive oil, zucchini, fresh herbs, white wine, garlic and tomatoes

The Wine: Beaumes de Venise

A tasty red wine from Côtes du Rhône that had plenty of pepper on the palate. I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a guess that this wine had a higher percentage of Syrah than Grenache, but the berry/fruit from the Genache still let itself be heard.

Le Clos Jordanne is made up of four different vineyards; Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard, Claystone Terrace, La Petite Vineyard and Talon Ridge. When combined, they produce the entry level ‘Village Reserve’ wines, on their own they create ‘Single Vineyard’ wines or ‘Grand Clos’. The vineyards are all situated on the limestone bench of Lake Ontario, similar to the terroir of Burgundy and benefiting from the lake surroundings to help the grapes survive the climate. The grapes are all organically grown, hand picked and hand sorted to minimize damage to the delicate grapes during harvest.

We were introduced to three Pinot Noirs and two Chardonnays by winemaker Thomas Bachelder, whose storytelling drew on everything from his family life to rap music, revealing a true passion for his craft. He was an entertaining host, floating between anecdotes and explanations of the traditional Burgundian methods he uses to showcase the true essence of the grapes, which is nowhere near an over-oaked, New World Wine.

The five wines we had the pleasure of tasting were all from the 2006 vintage, which happened to be a very wet year. To avoid dilution and to increase the concentration of the wine, 10% of the juice was drained to increase the ratio of skins to juice. This process is labour-intensive, but it was an important part in maintaining the quality – and did they ever maintain the quality!

We started with three Pinot Noirs:

• Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 ($30)
• Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Pinot Noir 2006 ($45)
• Le Clos Jordanne Grand Clos Pinot Noir 2006 ($70)

The chefs at the Terminal City Club were kind enough to pair with a trio of goodness, including:

• Wild Mushroom Crustini
• Fraser Valley Duck Breast with potato and black truffle slices
• Five spice-rubbed, braised beef short-rib in a tempura batter

The Village Reserve came packed with bright red fruits, cassis and some surprising floral notes that others pinpointed as ‘rose’. The Single Vineyard Claystone wine added to the Village with more pronounced notes of red berries and mineral. Finally, the Grand Clos finished with sour cherries, cranberry, tangerine and smooth minerals that evolved over the course of the tasting.

The wild mushroom crostini brought forth the herbaceous characters of the Pinots whereas the rareness of the duck enhanced the berry notes of the wine. Finally, the acidity of the wine was able to stand up to the tempura and play on the flavour of the fresh dill-garnished spareribs.

The tasting concluded with two amazing Chardonnays:

• Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Chardonnay ($40)
• Le Clos Jordanne Grand Clos Chardonnay ($65)

This flight was paired with:

• Japanese scallop with brown butter and a sunchoke puree
• Preserved lemon risotto
• Chardonnay poached lobster with black truffle slices

These two showcased the traditional tropical and minerality of a Chardonnay straight from Burgundy. The Single Vineyard had some toasty notes on the finish but nowhere did oak take over the stone-fruit flavours. Both wines packed a nice tight finish that left your mouth watering for more.

Paired with the lemon risotto, the acidity of the wine was tethered and the smoothness of the flavours was able to shine through. This risotto was one of the best pairings of the night, playing exceptionally well with both chardonnays. The black truffles with the chardonnay-poached lobster showcased the mineral components of the Grand Clos and made it seem like the truffles and the grapes had once shared a plot of land.

To quote Mr. Bachelder himself, the exceptional flavour offerings from Le Close Jordanne are very proud to be “something that comes from somewhere” and, in this case, that somewhere is Niagara…and the offerings are very, very good. The next time you see a Le Clos Jordanne on the menu or at the store, do yourself a favour and try out any of their amazing wines – you won’t regret it for a second.

Annoyed with my rookie mistake, I took to the internet to figure out where I went wrong and what the distinct differences are between the two styles of wines.

Happy with my search results, I thought I would share this video of Ben Campbell-Johnston explaining the differences between the two.

Here’s a quick recap on some other random facts I’ve picked up:

Sercial Madeira

• Made in the Madeira Islands of Portugal
• The most dry of the Madeira styles
• Limited residual sugar (0.5 to 1.5°) with high acidity and almond characteristics
• Heated to high temperatures in barrels (estufagem aging process) to introduce oxidization and increase longevity

Oloroso Sherry

• A type of Sherry made from white grapes grown in Jerez, Spain
• Fortified with Brandy after fermentation
• The darker and less ‘yeasty’ variety of dry Sherry wines (when compared to Fino)
• Introduced to oxidization during the aging process in North American oak casks

A few random facts about Tantalus:

• Tantalus is located on the Eastern slopes of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna
• Plantings on their site go back to 1927 making them one of BC’s oldest producing vineyards
• Their flagship vines (Riesling & Pinot Noir) were planted in 1978 and 1983 respectively
• All of their wines are made from organic grapes grown on-site

The first flight that we started with included:
Riesling ‘08 ($22.90)
A lovely mix of bright citrus flavours with the beginning of some petrol tones. Definitely a wine that you could enjoy on it’s own while sitting on a patio or paired up with some sushi or cheese.

Riesling ‘09 (TBA)
We had the opportunity to try out a barrel sample of the ‘09 Riesling, which at it’s young state gave off more fruit tones than it’s ‘08 predecessor. Given some time this could turn out to be another exceptional vintage for Tantalus.

Old Vines Riesling ‘05 ($29.90)
One of our table-mates described the nose on this wine as being similar to the smell of his wetsuit. The Old Vines Riesling was ripe with hints of petrol and diesel, both on the palate and the nose. This wine had a wonderful balance and structure, I’d be excited to see what another 5 years would bring it.

The flight of whites was served with:
Cheeses: Ash Camembert, L’Edel de Cleron, Piave
Meats: Norcino Salami, Piccantino
Condiments: BC Apricot Chutney, Cornichons, Marcona Almonds

The second flight included two Pinot Noirs and an Ice Wine:
Pinot Noir ‘08 (TBA)
The second this wine met my mouth it was love at first taste with it’s smooth flavours and delicte tannins. This wine was explained to us as the ‘Cinderella Story’ of the vineyard, because as the wine was being stored it was moved from the old building into Tantalus’ new facility – because of the movement they weren’t sure how it was going to turn out… If this is what happens when you move wine, I strongly encourage them to build a new facility every year!

Pinot Noir ‘07 ($29.90)
The ‘07 Pinot seemed to have more acidity and ripe red fruit flavours than it’s ‘08 counterpart. Which for my palate meant that I enjoyed it more paired alongside the different meats where the acidity could play with the fat in the meats and the flavour of the fruit in the wine was able to take the stage.

Riesling Ice Wine ‘05 ($69.90)
Approximately 50 cases of this Ice Wine are produced from 5 rows of grapes, it takes them approximately 1.5 hours to pick all of the grapes in -8 to -10 degree weather. Jane described the process as ‘having to wrap up like Kenny from South Park ‘ to endure the cold and then retreat inside for bacon and pancakes. With that being said, the effort was well worth it, producing palate pleasing flavours full of tropical fruits and honey. Paired alongside the Saint Agur blue cheese we were even able to convince the sugar-wary members of our group that dessert wines are approachable and not syrup!

The flight of reds was served with:
Meats: Make Vitow’s Corned Beef, Fuet Catalan, Organic Sherry Beef
Cheeses: Comte, Saint Agur
Condiments: Guiness Mustard, Basque Olives, Similkameen Honey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY!!!!!!

And let’s not lie – we’ve been celebrating since the weekend with a variety of different wine events. Including; a wine party with a pretty sweet cake and a visit to Salt Tasting Room for their cellar series with Tantalus!

So stay tuned, we’re back up and running with some great posts to come later this week!