And Everything Else

Alright, last but not least, all the rest of 'em. There's reviews to get to, so let's do it! 

June 29, 2017

This week, we spied a familiar bottle, one that we saw in Tremblant last year, got it for Round Three of Champagne Thursday there. This year, it was Sieur D'Arques 2015 vintage of Première Bulle. Last year it produced a beautiful picture, this year was a bit more reserved and standard. 

On the ridiculously loud pop, it had a very "creamy" sweet scent, like ice cream, which was a bit strange, but not in a bad way. In the glass it had a lot of tiny sharp bubbles. It had a familiar scent in the glass, which  made us smile: sweet penny candies. Like the teensy Swedish Berries, or the small Big Feet that you used to get at the corner store for a penny (back when pennies were actual money). I also was getting an ever so slight bready scent, Shane was not though. 

The bubbles got a bit creamier in the glass. It had a nice gold colour. This bubbly started out quite sweet, but a nicely tart-dry finish, which was great. We were having trouble identifying the flavours we were getting though. We thought maybe raspberry, but then couldn't decide if it was because it tasted like raspberries or if it was just because of the tart finish being reminiscent of raspberries... 

We liked this one. And would definitely try it again. 

July 1, 2017

Happy 150th Birthday Canada!!! We celebrated this one with an extra special bottle picked up from Vieni Estates a couple weeks prior specifically for this day! Actually, it was crafted by them specifically for this day! It's their Canada 150, a beautiful sparkling red (yippee!! We love love love sparkling reds!). 

On the pop, it smelled like a nice red wine, full of body. It was a gorgeous deep red in the glass, as to be expected. 

On the first couple sips, Shane said that it was very tart, making his cheeks pucker. I thought it was a nice dry red wine, with deep raspberries and cranberries (looking at the bottle after the fact, I impressed myself as it claimed to be currants, raspberries and cherries. Having never had a currant before, I'd equate that to a cranberry.). 

We thought it was a lovely full-bodied red, but felt light in our mouths. Maybe the bubbles helped lighten it up. It tasted slightly oaked, had some tannins running through, and, most importantly, nice light bubbles. After a glass, the raspberries started to come through even more, but less luscious and deep, and more like they've been picked right off the vines. 

Loved it. Glad we picked up two bottles when we were there, so we have some for another time. 

July 6, 2017

This week a gold medal winner in Paris caught our eyes: Charme D'Aliénor's Crémant de Bordeaux. On popping the top, Shane didn't get much coming out, but in the glass I got a very strong pineapple scent (like the sweet, canned, in syrup pineapple). Shane agreed that there were definitely tropical fruits, but wasn't sure if it was specifically pineapple. 

It had a very tart back (right before you swallow and it becomes an after taste). I was still pretty adamant that it was pineapple, but now a bit more sweet-sour. This bubbly had great bubbles, and was very refreshing. A nice and tart flavour that felt like a hot summer day's garden party bubbly. 

After a glass and a half, it was a bit drier than it started, and had a bit less pineapple pulling through, but was still very delicious. We would definitely get this one again. Yum yum. 

July 13, 2017

This week was a busy one, so we didn't get a chance to stop by the LCBO, so we chose something from out little stash at home. We got this one a couple weeks back when we did a small wine tour in the County. This was Broken Stone Winery's Exuberance. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting this winery, and it wasn't just for their extra-cute greeter (yes, it was a dog). The owner was friendly and eager to talk about his wines and family, and all the wines we tasted were fantastic, this sparkling Riesling especially. 

On the pop, Shane didn't get a whole lot of scents coming out of the bottle. In the glass it smelled like a sweet white wine. The first couple sips showed signs of berry candies and tropical fruit. I couldn't ID the fruit so I said pineapple, but Shane didn't agree, even though he also couldn't figure it out.

It had nice bubbles, not as many as some others though, enough to be a nice sparkling but not burn the mouth. We found it got a touch tart (in a good way) throughout the bottle. 

Overall, yes, we quite liked it and would get it again. 

Til next time, keep poppin'!

~S&S

June 29, 2017

• Brand: Sieur D'Arques
• Type of Grape: Not noted
• Sweetness: 7g/L
• Price: $18.95
• Tasting Notes: Very bubbly, fruit candy scents, nice tart finish. Would pair nicely with a dark chocolate ice cream or gelato. 

July 1, 2017

• Brand: Vieni Estates Winery
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir, Baco and Pinot Meunier
• Sweetness: Not noted
• Price: $16.95 at the winery
• Tasting Notes: Lovely light feeling, full bodied sparkling red, raspberry and cranberry forward flavours, would pair well with a cheese fondue beside a fire. Would probably also make a mean sangria. 

July 6, 2017

• Brand: Charme D'Aliénor
• Type of Grape: Semillon and Cabernet Franc
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $16.95
• Tasting Notes: Refreshingly dry, pineapple and tropical fruit aromas, would pair well with a summer afternoon garden party and friends.

July 13, 2017

• Brand: Broken Stone Winery
• Type of Grape: Riesling
• Sweetness: Not noted
• Price: $24.95 at the winery
• Tasting Notes: Lovely tropical flavours, pineapple and berries. Would pair nicely with spicy mango shrimp.

No cork = Sad puppy

These couple weeks saw a cider tour complete with flooded beach, a work party, and a new keg.

June 15, 2017

There wasn't much new at the LCBO this week, so I picked up one that we tried last year when we were in Niagara: Flat Rocks 2010 Riddled. 

Depressed puppy: no cork. This one was a pop-top.

On popping the top, Shane thought maybe it had gone off. In the glass, I got a dry, tart but bready scent. Shane still thought it smelled off. Thankfully for Shane, the scent didn't match the flavour and he didn't think it tasted off. The first sips were "tart, tart, tart". Maybe with notes of apples? We wrote down cranberries, but crossed it out later.

It was very bubbly, which was lovely. It was very light and refreshing. There wasn't much going on flavour-wise. It was tasty and not boring as such, but fairly one-dimensional. 

June 22, 2017

This week we were downtown and found this bling-y bottle: Fantini's Gran Cuvée Rosé, with a "real diamond" on the label (while there is legit bling on the label, I highly doubt it's real). 

On popping the top, Shane got "ridiculous amounts of fruit punch". It was a beautiful colour in the glass, and was very fruity in flavours. It was nicely dry. 

We both quite liked it, right off the get-go, and the first few sips we both thought tasted familiar, but we never were able to figure it out what was so familiar about it. 

It has a rich fruit aftertaste, not very tart, and lingered for quite a while after swallowing. It reminded me of dried fruit, like maybe raisins? 

Shane said "I like this one: bottle's fun, label's fun, colour's great and it's one that people who don't like dry bubblies could like." It's quite fruit forward and lovely. 

~S&S

June 15, 2017

• Brand: Flat Rocks Cellars
• Type of Grape: 
• Sweetness: 15g/L
• Price: $29.95
• Tasting Notes: Dry bready aroma, tart green apples, slightly one-dimensional. 

June 15, 2017

• Brand: Fantini
• Type of Grape: Aglianico del Vulture
• Sweetness: 13g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: A bright and refreshing rosé, fruit forward flavours with a lingering aftertaste. 

A Wedding Weekend

This week was a wedding edition of Champagne Thursday. We were in Ann Arbor celebrating the nuptials of our dear friends Elaine and Mike! Yahoo! #JenkinsDoA2!


June 8, 2017

Awesome cooler bag courtesy
 of The Puddys!! So amazing!

This week was done dock-side, so there are more pictures and fewer notes... 



We brought a bottle of Hinterland's Borealis down to Ann Arbor to enjoy near the water. Mike, the groom, was able to join us, which was lovely. We met up with Elaine shortly after, and we enjoyed a bottle with her later on. 

We've been lucky enough to enjoy this one on a few occasions, and our luck held this time as well. We popped the top on this one and got notes of berries. It always has a lovely colour, a bright but deep pink colour. It had flavours of tart cranberries and raspberries. I found that it was puckering the back of my cheeks from the tartness. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed this bottle, and will get it again when we get the chance. 

The following pics were from Champagne Thursday Part 2, with Elaine, and the gang. The girls and I (and Elaine's dad!) had just been working on the bouquets, hence the beautiful flowers (that is, errr, flower remnants?). Thanks for staging the pics Kate! Beautiful work!

Yup, those are a couple Piggy beer glasses

we're drinking champagne out of! 

Group photo with our makeshift table!

(l-r: me, Shane, Dave (Elaine's dad), Elaine, Mike and Kate!)

This was the champagne for the wedding toast. 

Reunion photo with my boy :)

~S&S

• Brand: Hinterland Wine Company
• Type of Grape: Gamay Noir
• Sweetness: Not Noted
• Price: $23.00
• Tasting Notes: Bright and fruity flavours, a dry and lingering finish. 

2nd Anniversary Bubbly

Along with the theme of today's posts (that's right, multiple), this one is late also. This is our Second Anniversary Post. 

Our 2nd anniversary was a rainy one, which was very fitting as our actual wedding day's weather left a little something to be desired. We took our 2nd year picture for the wall - a few regular ones and then one kind of silly one, which I love. Shane doesn't want the silly one actually being our wall photo though... Bummer. 

We had a lovely steak dinner, with an impressive bottle of wine we found the week before. It had an epic label that matched our wedding logo!! Craziness! I can only imagine if we had found this one two years ago, it would have been ah-mazing (not that it wasn't already, but come on!)!! 

June 27, 2017

So this was obviously not a Thursday, but you can't have an anniversary in our house without bubbly! We didn't go crazy like last year, and kept it at a low price point. We did have a special one though, one that we had picked up from Vieni Estates, one of our favourite wineries. 

The Vieni Momenti Rosé. We have had this before, and quite enjoyed it. This round was no different. On popping the top, Shane said it was very berry forward in scents. Perhaps cherries? Perhaps raspberries? 

In the first couple sips I thought it was a sweet-dry. I said that it was a touch sweeter than we normally enjoy. Shane said that it was yummy (which I agree with) and that it was nice and dry! Not a good start to Year Three if we can't even agree if a bubbly is sweet or dry, yikes!

In either case, it certainly got the saliva going at the back of our mouths. Yum! We finally agreed that it was kind of a sweet-tart candy thing going on, which explained the discrepancy between our sweet vs dry. It was sweet, but had a nice tart-dry finish. It had a nice mouth feel, with soft, slow moving bubbles. Now, I fully understand that's an odd way to describe the bubbles, but I can't think of another way. They weren't sharp and fast, they were kind of lazy and floaty. 

It was a beautiful colour, and we would definitely get this again. Delish. 

Realized we didn't actually
have a pic of the bottle, so
here's the label!

~S&S

• Brand: Vieni Estates
• Type of Grape: Not noted, chances are good it's Vidal and Pinot Grigio, same as their regular Momenti
• Sweetness: 19g/L
• Price: $14.95 at the winery, $17.15 at the LCBO
• Tasting Notes: Delicious, light, berry fruit forward. Lazy bubbles, would pair nicely with brunch!

Three-fer

This set of weeks saw: golfing, gardening, a wine tour (oops), a bachelorette party, and an anniversary of home-ownership! Busy busy, but let's get to it! 

May 18, 2017

This week we picked up a Crémant de Loire by Bouvet. On popping the top, Shane just got a "sweet wine" scent. It was significantly drier than it smelled. 

It had a nice sharp bubbly mouthfeel, and was a sort of sour-tart flavour. Shane thought he got a slight anise after flavour, but I didn't. We weren't picking up on too much on the nose, other than a touch sweet, but it wasn't any particular type of sweet either (like fruity sweet vs. candy sweet). 

We quite liked it, but it didn't really have much going on. Just a sour sparkling wine. 

May 25, 2017

We picked up a bottle of a local winery's bubbly this week: Casa Dea's 2016 Dea's Cuvée. Shane spilled this one on popping the stop, but then it had a green apple scent. In the glass, it was super bubbly, and very pale in colour. 

Shane thought this one tasted like Welches Grape Juice, and I thought that it had a lot of residual sugar in the after-taste. We also thought we might have been getting a bit of an apricot flavour? Shane stated: tart, apples, grape juice as the flavours he was getting. 

We really liked this one, it was quite lovely. One thing we did note at the end was that it was a touch burpy. We also thought it had a very lingering acidic aftertaste, which wasn't so nice, but at the time of drinking, we liked it. 

June 1, 2017

This was the first Champagne Thursday of the Fifth Year in Morven, so we decided this was a medium-special occasion, and splurged for the Kim Crawford 2012 Fizz ($30). 

Upon popping, we were shocked at how bubbly it was, you could hear all the bubbles in the bottle as soon as you popped the cork. Not much scent off the bottle, other than "wine". In the glass, I thought it smelled like stale vitamins, where Shane thought it had a weird sweet-sour taste. It did get a little better into the third glass (but what doesn't?), so first impressions aren't everything... 

We were conflicted on this one. It was a nice enough bottle, I guess, but it wasn't a $30 bottle. We thought it was a nice $15 bottle that we got tricked into paying $30 for. We wouldn't buy it again, but would drink it again if it was served to us. 

That's it for this post, stay tuned, there's still lots in the works! 

~S&S

May 18, 2017

• Brand: Bouvet
• Type of Grape: Chenin Blanc? 
• Sweetness: 12g/L
• Price: $18.95
• Tasting Notes: A nicely tart-sour bubbly, hints at anise. Would pair nicely with a strong caesar salad. 

May 25, 2017

• Brand: Casa Dea
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
• Sweetness: Not sure, wasn't as sweet as their 2015 though (which was 28g/L)
• Price: $18.95 (note: this is for the 2015 bottle)
• Tasting Notes: Nice bubbles, grape juice flavour, scents of green apples. Would pair nicely with a hot afternoon in the sunshine. 

June 1, 2017

• Brand: Kim Crawford
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
• Sweetness: 2g/L
• Price: $29.95
• Tasting Notes: Sour mineral taste, was an alright bubbly. Would pair with bbq shrimp. 

We're late again...

Quick pint up at
Tremblant

Whooops. Big delays. Sorry. It's been a crazy few weeks. There's been flooding, two trips to the mountain, kids, a Mother's Day brunch, and not one, not two, but THREE Champagne Thursdays. Because of that, I'm going to skip right to it. 






April 27, 2017

This week we had a bottle that Shane got for Christmas, the Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Brut. This one started out quite feisty, with a huge pop that, I think, dented the ceiling, but despite the big pop, there wasn't much on the nose from the bottle. In the glass it has a dry doughy scent, and you could clearly see there was a lot of bubbles. 

The first sip was an entertaining one, for me at least: Shane claimed it was "tart" but he looked like he had just eaten a sour candy with the way his mouth was all twisted up. I thought it was a dry tart, with lots of nice bubbles. 

We were getting a couple flavours, and we're not sure if they were right or not. I said crab apples, Shane said a granny smith apple that were maybe starting to ferment (not in a bad way, at least for wine, probably wouldn't be so lovely in the actual apple...). 

There was a familiar flavour in the background that we couldn't quite identify. But we liked it. It had a kind of sour-tart thing going on. It's pretty solid and we'd get it again.

May 4, 2017

This week we had a very exciting one: another Lambrusco! You'll remember this type being one that our Champagne Guy pointed out, and dubbed the experiment, as people either love it or hate it. We obviously loved it. So when Shane saw a new one in the LCBO, he snapped it up: Fiorini's Corte degli Attimi. 

It was so beautiful. We were swooning as soon as we poured it into the glass, a vibrant red, with lots of bubbles coming through. The first couple sips we couldn't get too many flavours out of it. Shane said it tasted like "not sweet Baby Duck" (an inexpensive, sweet rosé bubbly, for when you just need bubbles, but don't need much taste). We both thought a dry, tart red wine flavour... Shocking. 

It had a bit of a red fruit scent going on, but was significantly less fruity than the previous Lambrusco we've had, but still tart, and still dry. As it was warming a touch in the glass, more and more berry aromas were coming through. Some Swedish Berry candy scents, some raspberries, a little of everything. But the taste? Still red wine. 

This one is a tricky one, so be careful. It has a glorious nose, full of fruity tones (after it's not ice cold), but it doesn't taste anything like that. And it's certainly not as sweet. Shane described it as what happens when you smell a flavoured coffee (keep in mind, he drinks his coffee black): It smells glorious and sweet, but unless you put cream and sugar in it, it tastes just like regular coffee. It's all in the nose. 

But we liked it anyways, we would DEFINITELY get this again, and will continue to scoop up any Lambruscos we can find. 

May 11, 2017

This time we had a new (to us) bubbly: Terroir La Baume Saint-Paul's Crémant de Limoux (unable to located a website). On popping the top, Shane said he got sweet donuts. 

In the glass we could see that it was nice and bubbly, and a nice dark golden colour. On the nose it had a slight cider scent, like a Strongbow (not like a hot apple cider). It had a very sweet back taste (like right after you swallow), maybe apples or pineapples? 

It felt quite sweet, and the bubbles seemed quite sharp for a crémant. It had a touch of a sour/tart finish, Shane thought along the lines of a sour pear, I disagreed, but only because for me, pears are a texture more than a flavour... As it warmed up a bit, the bubbles developped a bit of a creamier feel. 

It was good, but the problem was the Lambrusco last week was much better. It's tainted us for a while. I mean, it was fine, but not very exciting. 

Til next time! Hopefully sooner that last time. 

~S&S

April 27, 2017

• Brand: Woodbridge, by Robert Mondavi
• Type of Grape: Not Noted
• Sweetness: 17g/L
• Price: $14.95 (not currently available at the LCBO)
• Tasting Notes: Dry doughy scent, appley flavours. Would pair well with a chicken caesar salad.

May 4, 2017

• Brand: Fiorini
• Type of Grape: Lambrusco
• Sweetness: 7g/L
• Price: $18.95
• Tasting Notes: Glorious lambrusco, bright fruit forward aromas, nicely dry red wine flavours. Would pair well with eggs benedict.

May 11, 2017

• Brand: Terroir la Baume Saint-Paul
• Type of Grape: Not noted
• Sweetness: 10g/L
• Price: $18.95
• Tasting Notes: A nice, relatively sweet (at least it seemed so) bubbly with hints of apple/pineapple. Would pair well with a baguette and tropical fruit chutney.

Sausages, Tremblant, Church Basements and... Champagne!

I'm afraid this is going to have to cover 3 Champagne Thursdays. Things have been crazy busy, and I lost track of the weeks I guess. 

Fun at the glorious Pig's Ear!

So what's happened... We made our way up to Peterborough for a night to say good bye to my beloved Pig's Ear Tavern. Many memories were made (and then subsequently forgotten) here over my university career, and it announced a while back that they had sold the bar, and it would be shut down (to make way for condos I think?). So Shane and I made the trek up to have one last night surrounded by friends and laughter (and horrific music) at the church-basement-esque bar that we'd come to know and love. We even got to stand in line for over an hour before getting in, just to remind us what it was really like during the good 'ol days. 

That's right 118 of
these bad boys!



The kids were over one weekend, and we went to our fifth annual Maple Syrup Festival.  Shane and I had a sausage making weekend over the Easter long weekend (very festive, yes) where we made 7 types totaling 118 sausages (yum! We're set for the next little while!). 

Shane visiting one of the
Tremblant locals. :)

We also made a quick trip up to Tremblant, and although it was rainy and dreary, it was quite relaxing. We are starting to rent our condo, so we were investigating some options. We have decided at this point, AirBnB is the way to go. If you're interested in our listing, you can check it out here, feel free to share! 

Anyways, as there are three reviews to do, let's jump right to it!



April 6, 2017

This week we went for a rosé from South Africa's The House of J.C. Le Roux, Pinot Noir Rosé, 2010. I'm unable to find their page for this bubbly... sorry about that. Shane didn't get much on popping the top, but there was quite a bit of flavour, albeit one-dimensional, in the glass. 

Shane got a scent of a cream soda once it was poured, where I got mostly berries. On the first sip, I said "well... I like it... I think?", I guess it wasn't as clear as it should have been right off the top... But by the end of my notes I have "We like it. Tasty tasty tasty."

There was quite a bit of berry flavours (for me) on the palate, and a lot of Cream Soda flavours (for Shane). Again, we really did like it, but it was a little plain. 

April 13, 2017

This Thursday started out with a bang! Almost literally. The pop under this one was HUGE. Scary huge. It was Muga's Conde De Haro Brut Cava 2013 (also note worthy, April 12 was the 5 year anniversary of our Champagne Thursday flutes, only one casualty as noted here). 

Although there was a big pop, there was no scents behind it. Even in the glass we got very little at first... Shane got "boozy wine" and I thought it had a bit of a sweeter scent. After the first couple tastes, Shane noted that he got hints of raisins (which although are made of grapes, I think we can all agree that they taste VERY different from grapes). I got a bit of a dry and sour flavour at first (I did get a raisin-y flavour after it had warmed up a little). It had lots of nice, big, sharp bubbles, and was a lovely, bright yellow. 

It was fine... not exciting, but decent enough.

April 20, 2017

This week we picked up a prosecco: Torresella's Extra Dry Prosecco Doc (it had a really pretty label). After the reasonably sized pop, Shane said he got a fresh dough scent, which he clarified as being RAW dough,  not baked, otherwise he would've said "bread". 

In the glass, we were divided, he got a dry scent, and I got a sweetish scent. I got a bit of a fruity thing going on in mine, like a severely under-ripe pineapple. Shane said it had a wine-y taste, to which I agreed. 

The bubbles were quite nice, a little creamy but certainly plentiful. It certainly tasted like a prosecco (which is good, because it was), but a little drier than the average prosecco (which is also good). It was good enough although quite one-dimensional. Easy drinking though. 

That's it for now :)
~S&S

April 6, 2017

• Brand: The House of J.C. LeRoux
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir
• Sweetness: 8g/L
• Price: $16.95
• Tasting Notes: Very berry forward bubbly, cream soda with sharp bubbles. Would pair nicely with a fresh loaf of bread and fruits

April 13, 2017

• Brand: Muga
• Type of Grape: Viura and Malvasía
• Sweetness: 2g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: Hints of raisins, a touch of sour fruits, nice bubbles. Would go nicely with figs.

April 20, 2017

• Brand: Torresella
• Type of Grape: Glera
• Sweetness: 14g/L
• Price: $14.95
• Tasting Notes: Nice fresh dough scent in the glass, simple prosecco flavours, slightly fruity. Would pair nicely with a light Caesar salad