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?