A low key weekend and a low key bottle...

This post might actually be on time for once! Hurray for us! Last weekend we had the kids, and so it was relatively quiet, which was a nice change. Although the past couple weekends have been low key, they have still been busy with to-do lists and running around. 

This week has been filled with Christmas luncheons with work (maybe not "filled", but two), some Christmas shopping and general getting ready for the holidays. Unfortunately, it still doesn't LOOK like Christmas around here; dreary, muddy, warm and rainy weather has made it feel more like spring than the middle of December. Oh well, hopefully Mother Nature wakes up soon and realizes which season it's supposed to be. 

December 10, 2015

This week our Champagne Guy sent us home with a bottle from New Zealand, Oyster Bay's Sparkling Cuvée Rosé. We have had the Brut by Oyster Bay before, and it was quite lovely, so we decided to give this one a go as suggested. 

After a lengthy struggle, we finally got the cork out of this one. Not sure why it was so stuck, but there was a bit of a battle going on between Shane and the bottle as to who got to keep it. We won. Well, I suppose Tyson eventually won as he proceeded to chew it to bits (See how happy he is in the picture? That's because a cork is coming his way!).

On the nose it's yeasty, smelling a lot like "dry wine". Strange, eh? In the first couple sips, we got a kind of berry essence. We weren't able to identify it any further though because the essence vanishes before the bubble burn is over (yes, that's the technical term for the quasi-pain that soda pops and sparkling wines gives your mouth when all the little bubbles are busy popping away: bubble burn). The Bubble Burn on this one is quite nice as there are lots and lots of little bubbles. 

This is a fine bubbly, but we probably wouldn't get it again. Not because it's bad, just because it's boring, very Plain Jane. We agree that there are better, more interesting and complex sparkling wines out there with a similar price point. That being said, it is a nice, dry very bubbly sparkling wine. 

~S

• Brand: Oyster Bay
• Type of grape: Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $21.95
• Tasting Notes: Nicely dry sparkling wine, hints of berries. Would pair nicely with a creamy pasta dish or seafood. 

Have We Met Our Match?

So, post Thanksgiving, Shane and I had our Christmas Kick-Off weekend. We did some decorating, baking, building, and buying. It was lovely and relaxing and festive and just what we needed to get in the spirit with the outside looking nothing like Christmas. 

December 3, 2015

This week we celebrated with a new bottle from Portugal. I'll be honest, we bought this one based solely on the sugar content. 2g/L. Let me repeat that: TWO GRAMS PER LITER. Very, very dry. So we were expecting to have found the one bottle that is actually too dry to drink. My my, were we ever wrong. Please keep in mind that this is from our perspective, and our palates, and this is in no way, shape or form saying that it would be enjoyable for everyone... or even the majority of people. 


This week it was Sidónio de Sousa Brut Nature Rosé. We were excited and a bit nervous. We didn't really want to have found our threshold. We pride ourselves on enjoying the most dry of dry bubblies, and were a bit scared that now we'd realize that we're just pretending to like them. That when it came down to the nuts and bolts of it, the brass tacks of dry bubblies, we would actually hate it. Or at least not enjoy it.  


When we popped the top, it smelled very dry (to be expected). It had the most adorable little baby cork, so cute. Tyson destroyed it. Faster and more completely than he has been lately. Must've been a good one. 

The first sip scared us a bit, it was starting to confirm everything we were worried about. That we had met our match. "It's lowering the humidity of the room",  it was so dry. We persevered. A few sips in, giving it air and swirling, we were starting to lose hope.

But then something magical happened. Okay, perhaps not magical, but certainly interesting and somewhat unexpected (by us - the foreshadowing earlier may have clued you in). We started to notice flavours. And not just the flavour "dry". We started to notice sweet (albeit tart, sour candy-esque), fruity flavours. Shane got under-ripe blackberries, and I got more a gooseberry tone (keep in mind, I have only had gooseberries about twice, when I was quite young, and they were ridiculously sour, so that's where I'm drawing my conclusion from). After a glass or two, when the dry-ness really started to even out, Shane said he got more raspberry flavour. 

Overall, yes, we would get this one again, although it certainly wouldn't be for everyone. We quite enjoyed it. 

~S

• Brand: Dulcinea dos Santos Ferriera
• Type of Grape: Not referenced
• Sweetness: 2g/L
• Price: $17.95
• Tasting Notes: Balanced flavour, fruity undertones, even and not acidic. Would pair nicely with a strong cheese, an extra old cheddar perhaps. 

Oopsies!

Late again. Better late on the blog than other things though, I suppose. Last week was a bit of a crazy one, Shane and I, for the first time ever, took off at lunch on Thursday to watch football, eat munchies, and drink beer in celebration of American Football Day (*ahem*Thanksgiving*ahem*)! It was glorious, very relaxing. So relaxing that we took the next day off also. And then on Monday I forgot my notebook at home, so I couldn't do the post... Anyways, at long last, here it is. 

November 26, 2015

This week we celebrated Champagne Thursday with one of our favourite gentlemen: Robert Mondavi. This is a California based winery, and we quite like most (*all*) of the stuff we've tried from them. Last week we saw this sparkling wine, but passed on it to re-try the Momenti. This week we knew we wanted this one. 

When we popped the cork on it, Shane smirked at me and asked what I smelled. I couldn't really smell much yet, but clearly Shane could. He told me he smelled "Carnation Instant Breakfast, the strawberry one". Very specific, there's something up with that man's nose. I ended up getting a quite yeasty and tart smell out of the glass. 

We found the flavour on this brut nice and clean. There wasn't much lingering in the aftertaste which was nice. The bubbles were fantastic and small. In the glass it's very pale, almost colourless. It has a hint of a berry flavour, but hard to say whether that is the actual taste or a trick played by our noses. We did find it was a bit burpy after a couple glasses though. 

Overall, yes, we quite liked it, nice that good ol' Robbie didn't disappoint us!

~S

• Brand: Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi
• Type of Grape: Not detailed
• Sweetness: 17g/L
• Price: $14.95
• Tasting Notes: A lovely clean sparkling wine, tastes drier than it is. Would pair nicely with something creamy: asparagus with Hollandaise sauce perhaps? 

Stars aligned?

So, my deepest apologies about the mix up last week. As I said in my post (that you weren't able to read until now...), I was going away with my mom for the weekend. Shane had wanted to read the post before we put it up, and so I left it in his hands to publish it after editing... Yeah, well, that didn't happen... 

Anyways, I went away with my mom for the weekend, a sewing retreat full of inspiring women making extraordinary quilts and projects. Just beautiful work. It was lovely to catch up with everyone, and get some time dedicated to my own projects that have fallen by the wayside this year. I got some stuff done, but as it's a surprise for a friend, I can't post anything. Remind me after I've given it away and I'll post a picture. 

Shane and my dad had been busy while we were away also, they got a new cupboard put up over our stove, new (to us) tools in the shop, and some other playing. Shane's boys also won their football championship game. 

Phew! Busy busy. 

Onto Champagne Thursday. We decided to repeat the Momenti from the other week, to see if was really as good as we thought the first time, or if all the stars had aligned just right to create this epic, lovely, bubbly week. 


November 19, 2015

So we got the Vieni Estates' Momenti again. On corking the bottle, Shane got a strong puff of berries. It has sweet field berries on the nose in the glass, along with some Granny Smith apples. It's a very pale yellow in the glass. Shane got an exotic fruit aroma when he sniffed. 

This one has lots of lovely bubbles, and still was strong in the tropical fruit Five-Alive juice flavours. There isn't much in the way of a boozy-burn (I'm pretty sure that's the technical term for it?) from this one, which is great. 

This week it didn't spend as much time in the fridge before we got into it, so it wasn't as cold as last time. This led to a more "wine-y" taste and less "fruit juice-y" taste. This isn't a criticism, just an observation. If you're new to the bubblies, I would recommend having this one well chilled to take some of the edge off. We, however, liked it perhaps a bit better this time around, as when it's less chilled it gives the wine flavours a chance to open up. It is certainly a lovely flavoured wine. 

Verdict: Yuppers. Absolutely like this one. It wasn't a fluke the first time brought on by a lonely week, cool house, and tired bodies. 

~S

• Brand: Vieni Estates
• Type of grape: Vidal and Pinot Grigio
• Sweetness: 15g/L
• Price: $13.95
• Tasting Notes: Lovely fruity flavours including field berries, apples, and exotic fruits. Would pair well with brunch or a cheese platter on a hot afternoon. 

Strawberries and Scream

We did it! We made it through another week. Thank goodness it's almost over. Not that it was a bad week, more because Mom and I are going away this weekend, and I'm a touch excited! Not about leaving Shane alone for the weekend, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, I'm sure he'll survive. 

This week's pre-Champagne Thursday was slightly less lavish than last week's mock-charcuterie platter, but the actual Champagne Thursday piece was significantly more successful. Thank heavens. 

November 12, 2015

We were a little more careful with our selection this week. We were leery about straying too far from our comfort zone, so we stuck with a new version of an old favourite. We have tried the Tierra Sur Sparkling Wine before, but this time we opted for their new Rosé. It's a lovely brut from Chile, and since I've been in a pink mood lately (just found out a friend is having a baby girl in the spring!), it seemed quite fitting. 


Popping the cork unleashed a lovely strawberries and cream aroma (well, strawberries and "scream" which was quickly corrected to "cream", silly Shane, it's not Hallowe'en anymore!). When you put your nose in the glass and take a whiff (are you picturing it? Bubbles up the nose!!), it doesn't have the same strawberries and cream scent,  it has a lovely dry, bready scent that has a slightly floral undertone. 

It's a very pretty pink colour in the glass, with lots of little bubbles. It's got a fruity flavour, like hard almost ripe apples, with a nice crisp mouth feel. The dry and crisp flavour leads into a lovely berry finish. 

This is a nice, safe (for us) bottle of bubbly. It is quite dry though, so it wouldn't work for people who prefer the sweeter bottles. 

Verdict: yuppers. The pink is as nice as the blue topped bottle (which we picked up because of the colour of the foil, shh don't tell anyone!). 

~S
PS: Sorry this is so late, I left this to Shane to publish, and he did not... grr.)

• Brand: Santa Alicia
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir
• Sweetness: 12g/L
• Price: $17.95
• Tasting Notes: Lovely dry bubbly, floral fruity aroma, crisp hard apple flavour with a berry finish (would pair nicely with cheesy popcorn, or a dark chocolate mousse - yes, I realize how different those two foods are... I guess that makes this bubble well rounded?)

Beef Stew

Two of our Hallowe'en pumpkins were stolen! STOLEN! Who steals pumpkins nowadays? It wasn't even the witty pumpkin (mine). We looked everywhere as it was quite windy on Hallowe'en night, so we thought maybe they just blew away. But they were not to be found on our lawn, on our neighbours' lawn, across the road... Not even smashed anywhere. Someone really liked our pumpkins, and decided they wanted to own them for the couple hours left on Hallowe'en. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

We've had a few dinners out at friends over the past week. We went over to my godmother's on Friday, and then over to the Puddy's on Tuesday. Delicious food, and good times at both. It was also "Bring your grade 9 to work day" this week, so Nick joined us at work. 

We had a fantastic nibbly dinner last night, we got some cold meats, cheeses, sliced an apple, a glass (or two) of riesling, mmmm. It was awesome. And pretty! 

Unfortunately, the champagne part of Champagne Thursday was significantly less successful. 

November 5, 2015

This week we suffered through a bottle with a very pretty label. It was a bottle from Mexico, and I know what you're thinking: Mexico? World renowned bubblies come from Mexico! Well, I'm not sure that is true, but if it is, this was not one of those bubbles. 

Even Tyson was unimpressed...

Sala Vive is a sparkling from Mexico, made by a branch of the Freixenet estate in Spain. I didn't know this until doing a bit of research this morning. We quite like the Freixenet black bottle, so don't think that this is a review of all their wines. Some are quite lovely. To us, however, this was not one of them. 

It is advertised as an extra dry sparkling wine, which totally appealed to us. In the glass it's a beautiful straw colour with lots of bubbles making their way to the surface. We were excited about it. 

This is where it all started to go sideways. Well, "how did it smell?" you ask? It smelled delicious. But not wine delicious... Irish Beef Stew delicious... Pardon me? Yes. A lovely beefy stew. Specifically the gravy from a tin of beef stew. I got an essence of canned peas mixed in, but for Shane it was strictly stew gravy. It brought back childhood memories for him of his dad opening the tin for lunch... 

Now, I didn't want to write that in the book. I made us drink the whole glass, sniffing and swirling and bubbling before admitting defeat, yup, that's it. I can't put anything else in the book, because that's all it was. 

After we got accustomed to the taste and smell, we didn't hate it... I mean, we didn't like it, but we didn't hate it... it was just very very strange. Something just wasn't quite right... Hahaha, yes, of course we finished it. It would have been wasteful to pour it out. It was similar to the green pepper pizza bubbly we had a while back, we finished that one too, and that was a bigger struggle than the beef stew was.  

Verdict: No. Never again. If I want a beef stew, I'll make one, or open a can. Can't do this one again. But beautiful label. 

~S

• Brand: Freixenet de Mexico 
• Type of Grape: Not advertised
• Sweetness: 15g/L
• Price: $18.95 (Looking at the LCBO website, it was released on our wedding day! How lovely!)
• Tasting Notes: A strong essence of Beef Stew, with canned peas on the nose.

Pre-Hallowe'en!

He was so tiny! 

This was a pretty quiet week for us. The kids were over for the weekend, and I celebrated my 6th anniversary with Tyson. I remember bringing him home, an adorable 6 pound bundle of fur, skin and energy. He's now a handsome 95 pound bundle of cuddles and laziness. Ah, how times change as we age. 

We have a belated Thanksgiving dinner coming up this weekend, and so we've been preparing the turkey, defrosting, soaking him in his brine bath, getting ready to smoke... yum yum. He's going to be delicious. 

Back to the point. 

October 29, 2015

Happy lil' dragon

Being the Thursday before Hallowe'en, we decided it was most fitting for Tyson to wear his costume. He's a dragon this year (not to be confused with the dinosaur costume that he wore last year... which looks very similar... so similar in fact that some could be confused...). 

We celebrated with a bottle of Desiderius's Pongrácz, from South Africa. It had a very tart and dry aroma on the nose. A lovely straw colour, and lots of big bubbles in the glass. 

On first taste it was close your eyes tart-sour. Like you'd just had a super sour candy. Both Shane and I were a bit taken aback by how tart it was. No real flavours came through at first because of this. After a few sips, and a bit of air, the tartness subsided a touch. The main flavour was, well, white wine. There wasn't much in the way of fruit or outside flavours. It was nice, clean and well rounded, but nothing special. 

I think he was tired of
the photo shoot

Verdict: It was okay. The first sips might be off-putting for someone who doesn't drink much bubbly, but overall, nothing special. With all the other options out there, we probably wouldn't get this one again... This would not be suitable for someone who likes sweeter bubblies. 

~S

• Brand: Desiderius, South Africa
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
• Sweetness: 9g/L
• Price: $16.95
• Tasting Notes: Very tart, nicely dry, white wine flavour. Would go nicely with a creamy pasta. 

The Lonely Week is Over

I always knew I was meant to
be a pillow... 

And thank goodness for that! Shane was away on business from Sunday to Wednesday. Normally I'm the one who has left, and so it felt very strange to be in the house with just me, my thoughts and Tyson (at least he was there, couch snuggles are the best!). 

Before Shane left, we had a nice weekend: mom and I went for brunch while dad and Shane cleaned his closet. In a sense... a very loose sense... They built shelves. When we moved in, I picked the closet in our bedroom that had shelves and a bit of room for hanging, which meant that Shane got the closet with just a bar for hanging clothes. Unfortunately, that hasn't been working so well for t-shirts which seemed to be consumed by the growing pile of clothes on the floor. So, when our weekend cleared up, we decided that it was time to fix that. And then we ate wings. Yum. 

Fast forward to Thursday. 

October 22, 2015

Nope, he hasn't moved from that
spot all week

This was a great week for bubbly. Really great. It was an Ontario wine from the Niagara region, Vieni Estate's 2013 Momenti. We had to stop by the LCBO this week to pick up a bottle of Bailey's for a new dessert we're going to try, and saw this beauty in the Vintages section. It was new, the label was pretty, and the price, well, it was outstanding. 

In the glass it's a very pale yellow, but with more colour than the past couple we've had. Very pretty, lots of bubbles. On the nose it has a fruity, hard pear scent. On the palate, it doesn't have the expected pear taste, but Shane identified passion fruit with a bit of banana, which I thought was oddly specific. I didn't get that specific with my tastings but did notice it was heavy in tropical flavours. Shane said it reminded him of the Tropical Citrus Blend of the Five Alive juice. 

It was really good. Really good. Shane must have said "This is really tasty" about 17 times. It's not a super sweet bubbly, the label actually says "extra dry" which I disagree with. We do think though that with the level of tropical fruity flavours, it is one that even someone who prefers the sweet champagnes (like my mom) would enjoy. It's got so much fruity essence that it almost comes across as a fruit wine. 

Verdict: as if it wasn't obvious, yes, we will be getting this again. Heck, we may go pick up a couple bottles to have on hand because we expect it will sell out. 

~S

• Brand: Vieni Estates
• Type of Grape: Vidal & Pinot Grigio
• Sweetness: 15g/L
• Price: $13.95
• Tasting Notes: Very tropical flavours, light and fruity. Would pair well with eggs benedict and salty home fries. 

Hashtag: Thankful

This past weekend was Thanksgiving. A time to join together with friends and family, to celebrate the little things, to be thankful for all that you have. And to eat WAY too much. So, based on those criteria, our Thanksgiving was a huge success. We ate too much ham and potatoes on Saturday with the kids, on Sunday we enjoyed the Packers football game (big win!), and then enjoyed the outside tossing the ball around ourselves. After the kids went back to their mom's, Shane and I had dinner with my parents, where we ate too much turkey, stuffing, cranberries (me, not Shane), potatoes, everything, and then topped it all off with Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. On Monday, we were all ready to do a major houseclean... until we both ran out of steam by about 1:30, so we went and voted, then went on a nice motorcycle ride by the water, sat in the sunshine with a beer, then finished watching Suits (we've been addicted, so it's good to be done!). 


The short work week has certainly felt long enough though, and we're both looking forward to the weekend. 

October 15, 2015

This Thursday was celebrated after we watched the boys' high school football team smoke their competition.

We had been given a bottle of [Yellow tail] Bubbles. This is a nice simple bubbly, easy to drink and enjoy, we've had it a few times in the past (as recently as September). 

In the glass, it's very pale, almost colourless; it has a dry smell, but a sweeter taste. I'm getting a bit of a cold, so my taste and smell is a little off, but in my first sip I got a whack of vitamin taste. Shane did a bit as well, but he said it was more minerally than vitamin-y, which sounds way better :). Although I usually don't like minerally wines, I still enjoyed this one. 

We also noted that it was less sweet than we remembered it being, which, for us, was a good thing. We thought it was very sweet last time, but that didn't come through this time. There's a chance that's because we've had a few sweeter bubbles lately, but maybe just because we had it built up in our heads. Who knows. 

Verdict: Yup, we enjoy it each time we have it. 

~S

• Brand: [yellow tail]
• Type of Grape: Unknown
• Sweetness: 24g/L
• Price: $13.95
• Tasting Notes: Dry nose, sweeter on tongue, minerally flavours. Would pair nicely with a creamy rich pasta. 

Post-Head of the Trent

A lot has happened since my last post. So much so that this is late. Again. Maybe someday I'll learn, but I doubt it. 

Last weekend was my university homecoming, Head of the Trent. Unlike most homecomings, it isn't a football game, but a rowing regatta. But similar to most homecomings, it is usually a drunken fest, followed by more drinking. It was Shane's first time partaking in the shenanigans, but he fit right in. We made a vegetarian chili to have in the crock pot at the hotel for when it was supper time, which was a huge hit. We made it a little atypical in that we roasted squash and sweet potatoes and used cinnamon and nutmeg and harvest-y spices along with the traditional chili flavours. Yum. 

October 8, 2015

This week's Champagne Thursday was celebrated with a bottle from a friend from my university, seems fitting. Jenna got us a bottle of Yellowglen Pink. 

It was quite nice. It was dry on the nose, and wasn't as pink as some other blush bubblies we have had. It was more a rose gold colour, very pretty. 

The bubbles were great, small and plentiful and soft on the tongue. It has a sweet berry flavour, but it isn't a super sweet sparkling wine. (After note: I looked the sweetness level up after finishing the post for the short notes below and was surprised by the sugar content. It certainly has more than it would lead you to believe. Interesting. It comes across much more dry than it is.)

We noted that it had a pleasing yet unidentifiable scent. Later on we decided that it was like smelling a bag of Swedish Berries, yummy! Overall it was quite nice, nothing over the top, and an easy drinker. 

Verdict, sure, we'd get it again. 

~S

• Brand: Yellowglen
• Type of Grape: Variety of different grapes, not mentioned
• Sweetness: 26g/L (sweeter than I expected)
• Price: $11.95
• Tasting Notes: Sweet berry nose, dry on the tongue, nice bubbles, easy to drink. Would pair nicely with salty chips or grilled salmon.

Writer's Block

Another Champagne Thursday is in the books. I'm suffering from a bit of writer's block, so this week we're just going to get down to the nitty-gritty. 

October 1, 2015


This week we enjoyed a nice bottle of bubbly from our friends Lee and Ken: the Michelle Brut Sparkling Wine.  

In the glass it has a very very pale straw colour. It has a dry nose and smells a bit yeasty. Shane said he smelled field berries, but I didn't. 

Upon first sip, it tasted a bit dry, after a glass it mellowed out. It developed a sweet fruity taste, but we couldn't identify which fruit. It had plenty of bubbles, although it didn't have that creamy texture that we like. 

We did notice that we were a bit burpy after this one :)

Verdict: Yes, it's good. It's pretty safe. It doesn't taste dry, but it's not sweet either. 

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm in this post, it's been a long, exhausting week. 

~S

• Brand: Domaine Ste Michelle
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
• Sweetness: 15g/L
• Price: $16.95
• Tasting notes: Nice bubbles, berry essence, neither sweet nor dry. Would go nicely with poutine or salty fries. 

Lost and Found

Wing Night Sauce Selection,
feel free to mix'n'match!

 So there is a moderately good excuse for this post being late. Not a great one, mind you, but oh well. This past Thursday we celebrated Champagne Thursday and Wing Night simultaneously. I forgot my journal for tasting notes, and so used a piece of paper. I then proceeded to lose said piece of paper until Sunday. 

Wing night was a success, we had it at the farm, and Drew and Sarah joined us. Shane won (did you know that Wing Night is competitive? Yeah, some of us make ourselves sick trying to win...), he had 21 wings, 3 pepper poppers, and a self proclaimed although unverified 8 cookies. Drew was a close second with 20 wings, 3 poppers and 3 cookies. 

In any case, the bottle chosen was the bottle that Drew and Sarah gave to us for our wedding. We thought it would be a nice treat for everyone. 

September 24, 2015

This week we had the lovely Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec Champagne. This bottle is sweeter than the Brut we had a few weeks ago. This made it a big hit with the guests of Champagne Thursday. 

Off the top, it has a sweet smell, like ripe yellow apples or a over ripe pear. It has a dark straw colour, and a moderate amount of bubbles. 

In first tasting, the apples are still there, as are the ripe pears. Shane and Sarah also tasted oranges, almost reminiscent of triple sec. 

It's wing night, gotta bring the
reaper sauce

My mom, who doesn't drink much champagne, and really can't do much in the way of bubbles or dry wines, weighed in with "That's nice", which is a bigger deal than it seems. When we've celebrated with her in the past, she has a few sips from one glass and then goes back to whatever she had been drinking before. She said she could drink this for an evening, finished her glass, and had another! I think given the sugar content, drinking this for an evening would leave you with a wicked hangover in the morning... 

I found this one didn't quite have the volume of bubbles I'd have liked, which gave it a smoother mouth feel. As this is a sweeter champagne, the lack of bubbles, although smooth, also gave it a somewhat syrupy mouth feel. 

Because who doesn't want to say
they've drank Veuve straight from
the bottle? Class it up, folks!

Drew and Sarah had tried the brut a while back, and found it very dry. They didn't like it, even with orange juice (I know! The sacrilege!!). They quite enjoyed this one, so that leads me to make the following statement: If you aren't sure that you like dry champagnes, and want to try a Veuve Clicquot, go with this demi-sec rather than the brut. It pains me to say that, because Shane and I both preferred the drier variety, but I think if you are trying to appeal to the greater population, the demi-sec is the way to go. This isn't to say that we didn't enjoy this bottle. The atmosphere was primed to enjoy the bubbly, and we thoroughly did. It was lovely, and I would argue that, for our amateur palates and noses, it has more depth of flavour that the brut, it was easier to pick up on the different fruity notes and aromas than the brut. 


Tyson was absent from the Champagne Wing Thursday, so sad, I know. He and Magic (my parents' dog) don't get along very well, and so he stayed home. That didn't stop us from bringing him his cork though, so don't worry. He enjoyed it briefly, chewing it in half quickly and then discarding it. 

Verdict: Yes, it was a big hit with the guests of Champagne Thursday, it went over better than the brut would have with this crowd. That being said, Shane and I prefer our bubbly a bit drier. 

~S

• Brand: Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin S.A.
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay
• Sweetness: 45g/L
• Price: $74.30
• Tasting Notes: Hints of yellow apples, ripe pears and sweet oranges. Pairs quite nicely with medium spicy wings which cut through some of the sweetness. 

My Handsome Brut

Well, another week is wrapping up. Shane had the kids this past weekend, a rainy and cold time was had by all. I was away with my mom on a motorcycle trip. The rain prevented a few of our activities, but we still have a good time. And, as an added "bonus", I did gain a bit of confidence with respect to riding in the rain. 

This Champagne Thursday was a bit special, we've been busy getting ready for a friend's wedding this coming weekend (getting me a dress - ugh, and gift shopping - because yes, we left it 'til the last minute) and so we haven't really had a relaxing evening. When we got home from our running around, there was a package waiting for us at the post office. So we packed the dog into the car, rolled down the windows and set off to pick up our prize. Turns out, our photographer, Jessica, had express posted our wedding album to us so that it would arrive for Champagne Thursday. So thoughtful and lovely. 

September 17, 2015

This week's bubbly was chosen purely because of the label. We are happy to admit that we do that quite often. This one, oh man, it has the perfect label. The perfect name. The perfect confidence in the description. This week we had Handsome Brut, from Angel's Gate Winery. And man, was he good. 

When my handsome brut popped the cork on this Handsome Brut, he immediately smelled raspberry donuts - tart raspberries and a sweet bready smell. I smelled granny smith apples in the glass, nice and tart. 

Upon drinking, Shane got tart raspberries while I maintained my crisp apples. It made the backs of my cheeks pucker a bit before giving way to a sweeter finish. There are lots of bubbles, medium size, and since it feels a bit sweeter, the bubbles give it a creamy mouth feel. It is a touch light on the acid for us, we like our bubblies to bite back a little bit more than this guy does. It would be great on a cool night, because it's smooth and consistent. 

Verdict: Yes, we'd absolutely get this again, but not on a summery day as it's not as crisp and refreshing as some other choices. It is a little outside of our normal price range though. 

• Brand: Angel's Gate
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay, 100% Ontario grown
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $24.95
• Tasting Notes: Smooth and sweet, hints of tart raspberries, apples and bread, full bodied, creamy mouth-feel. Would be great with a warm seafood soup.

Swimming, birthday parties and bubbles!

Ahh, another week is just about over. And what a busy one it has been! We've traveled from Ottawa to home to London to home, we've taken Tyson swimming, had a puppy birthday party, and gotten a new bed... For these reasons, it will be a photo filled post today!

Okay, in chronological order: a puppy swim. Well, that's not entirely true. Tyson isn't a swimmer. He loves the water, just not the swimming part. He's a splasher. He's a wader. He's a fisher. He's a fetcher. He's just not a swimmer. He loves splashing around, chasing rocks, trying to attack the seaweed (or lakeweed?) but if he can't touch, he's not going. You can see in the picture that he's trying to give something the stare-down. Not sure if it's working, or if he's winning, but he's enjoying himself anyways. 

Next, a birthday party! His birthday was on Saturday, but as we were in London, we had his party on Wednesday when the kids came over. We all enjoyed carrot "cupcakes" (Tyson's was "frosted" with sour cream... yum?), there were presents, and candles and everything! Tyson loves birthday parties, especially when they are for him. Wednesday was also when we got our new mattress delivered, so Tyson enjoyed showing the delivery men his brand new toys, and trying to get them to play... 




September 10, 2015

Okay, now onto the reason you are here. Champagne Thursday! This week we had a nice bottle from our friends Rick and Liz. It was a lovely Cava by Segura Viudas, from Spain.

It had a dry nose, I thought it smelled of granny smith apples, but Shane thought it smelled like a can of peanuts. I thought this was a bit strange until I read the LCBO tasting notes in the morning, where it says that it has notes of cooked apple and toasted nuts. Who knew! (Shane did!!!)

We both thought it had nice bubbles, a little bigger than some others we've had recently, but nice none-the-less. 

It tasted of sweet, ripe apples, but it isn't a sweet bubbly. It's nicely dry, and has a nice balance between sweet and tart.

We had this while eating Chicago Mix Popcorn. If you've never had this, don't get it. It's addicting. It's caramel popcorn mixed with cheddar popcorn, and the sweet-salty is to die for. It sounds awful, but it's amazing. It's so good that when Shane dropped some onto the floor, he found it and ate it. And when it happened the second time, he ended up almost eating some of Tyson's cork... Oops! Waste not, want not. 

Verdict: Yes, it's a nice, balanced bubbly, at a modest price point. 

~S

• Brand: Segura Viudas
• Type of Grape: Not noted, but after doing some research, Spanish Cavas are traditionally made with 3 types of grapes: Viura (aka Macabeo), Xarel.lo and Parellada
• Sweetness: 10g/L
• Price: $14.95
• Tasting Notes: Appley and nutty nose, well balanced sweet-tart, nice apple flavours. Pairs well with Chicago Mix! I think it would also be nice with a lightly dressed salad with scallops. 

Better Late than Never, Take 2

Okay, so I failed. I told myself that it had been the last post that would be more than a day late. Yeah, right. Last week was crazy, and although I'm only going to fill you in up to Thursday, this past weekend was a little nutty as well! 

Last weekend, we had the kids over. It was dreary weather, so we all went bowling. We had a fantastic time, before this, I can't remember the last time I went bowling. This week I was in Ottawa for meetings from Tuesday through til Friday, so we had Champagne Thursday with my colleagues (Shane made the long drive from Morven to Ottawa for a glass!) (Yes, I know, what a sweetheart! Unfortunately, he was unable to sneak Tyson in to the hotel...)

September 3, 2015

This week we had a bottle given to us from my colleague for our wedding, the glorious [yellow tail] Bubbles. In the glass, this is an extremely pale yellow colour, almost colourless. It was very bubbly, as is apparent in the picture. 

On the nose there were hard sweet fruits, like very ripe pears, and a bit of citrus. 

First couple sips seemed very sweet, which prompted us to look up the content while drinking. Although it was a bit sweeter than we are used to drinking, it was not as high on the sugar spectrum as we expected it to be based on the taste (24g/L compared to our normal bottles in the 8-14g/L range). There were flavours of fresh fruit and ripe, sweet apples. The acidity was nicely balanced, and didn't claw at the back of our palates like some. 

The sweetness seemed to mellow out a bit further along, and the bottle was enjoyed quickly by many. 

Verdict: Yes, it's a nice, easy drinker, the sweetness would appease many people as it's not too sweet, but not so dry either. 

Have a great week, we'll chat in a couple days!

• Brand: Yellow Tail
• Type of Grape: Not disclosed (according to WhiskedFoodie, this allows Yellow Tail to change the grapes from year to year, taking advantage of the overproduction in certain markets, buying excess production and thus keeping the cost down for the end buyer)
• Sweetness: 24g/L
• Price: $13.95
• Tasting Notes: Moderately sweet, ripened hard fruit on the nose and palate, nice acidity levels (it would pair well extra extra-cold with a brunch of eggs benedict and girlfriends!)