Happy Anniversary!

We did it! We made it through our first year! So Happy Anniversary to us! Yesterday marked our first wedding anniversary, and we took the day off to celebrate. We actually had a pretty full weekend of celebrating: on Saturday  we did a mini patio tour, enjoying the sunshine and some lovely beers. One of the best new ones being a Hawaiian one, called Kona. Pineapple-y, tropical deliciousness. On Sunday, we went over to the Puddys' for dinner and drinks (after an afternoon of fishing for the boys, and a Thirty One Bags party for the girls). 

Monday, our actual anniversary was just the two of us. We slept in (or at least, I did), we relaxed, had a big (albeit late) brunch, went for a walk, had a few drinks, looked through our wedding pictures, read the love notes that our wedding guests left us in our 1st anniversary jar, enjoyed the fanciest of fancy pants champagnes (to us as of yet!) back where we had said our I Do's, made a fancy supper (with homemade chimichuri sauce fresh from our garden!!), and watched some TV. A lovely, quiet, reflective day. 

But onto the important part (at least for you). The fanciest of fancy pants champagnes we've had. 

June 27, 2016

Cheers! Thanks to Kate for the fun
new glasses!

When we asked our Champagne Guy what we should get for our anniversary, he immediately went and picked this one for us. He said that the bottle shape isn't typical for champagnes, but what's inside is worth it. And he wasn't wrong.

This is Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Brut Rosé Champagne. On popping the top, there was a strong, dry, fresh bready smell. In the glass we could see that this one was intensely bubbled, lots and lots of tiny bubbles. It was a beautiful rose gold colour. 

On the first sips, it had a sweet flavour, with a dry finish. The bubbles gave it a very creamy mouth feel, not sharp bubbles like a soda... It had flavours of strawberries, raspberries and tart green apples. 

It was very yummy, and worth the extra money. It was a complex champagne, with layers of sweet and dry and tart and sweet and dry again. A little difficult to explain. 

For the Tyson fix that we all need. Also, damn right
I'm classy enough to drink straight from the bottle. :)

Knowing that we will never get it again is a bit sad. It's not because it wasn't good enough to want to get again, it is more that if we were going to spend that much money on a bottle again, we would choose something new. Also, there are many very excellent bottles for significantly less than this one. If Champagne Thursday has taught us anything, it's that you don't need to spend a lot of money to get a stellar bottle of bubbles. But if you want to, we'd recommend giving this one a shot. It's fabulous. 

 ~S

• Brand: Laurent-Perrier
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir
• Sweetness: 14g/L
• Price: $99.95 (thank goodness for gift cards!)
• Tasting Notes: A complex, full bodied, rose gold coloured champagne. Fruit forward flavours with strawberries, tart apples and mellow raspberries. Very yummy. I wouldn't pair this one with anything, just enjoy it on its own. 

"The Experiment"

I have another post in the wings, so this one will be short. Over the weekend, the kids were out, we celebrated Father's Day with the kids taking Shane to the go-karts, and then for ice cream... that may have happened before breakfast. Please don't judge us. Who doesn't want ice cream for breakfast? 

My dad joined us for supper (smoked ribs, yum!), and enjoyed watching the boys rip around the yard on the dirt-bikes that he's fixed up for them. It was lovely. 

June 23, 2016

On Champagne Thursday, we stopped by the LCBO as usual. Our Champagne Guy was there and we asked him what we should get. There were two options: a safe option, and the bottle that he dubbed "the experiment": It's a Lambrusco, which is normally a fruit forward, sweeter bubbly, but this one apparently was a bit drier... for a Lambrusco... He said that he enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. 

Of course we got that one. We're always up for an adventure. Plus it had a neat label. 

So we ended up with Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara Sac's Italian Lambrusco (this link is for their 2013, we had the 2014). On popping the top it had a very candy-esque, sweet fruit aroma. We were a bit worried that it would be too sweet. 

In the glass it has a stunning, bright red colour. The nose started giving way to drier undertones... waaaaaay down in there. The first couple sips were surprising. Shane actually flinched a bit. He said it was a "big bowl of tart raspberries". It dried out our mouths, which was good for us. You all know we like it dry. 

I thought it was more tart cranberries than raspberries, but a tart berry none-the-less. It was very yummy. So much so that Shane thought we should get another bottle.... and then another one. Two, he decided. One to have again soon, and one to save. We haven't actually got the extra bottles yet, but I have no doubt that we will.

So yes, it was delicious. A very successful experiment. 

~S

• Brand: Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara
• Type of Grape: Not Noted
• Sweetness: Just says "Dry": so it could be anywhere from 5g/L to around 17g/L, I'd guess it to be around 14g/L, but it's just a guess
• Price: $15.95
• Tasting Notes: Sweet fruit forward scent, dry, tart cranberries and raspberries. Would pair well with something salty, bacon with brunch perhaps?

Tragedy Struck

Apologies, I'm late again, it's been a hectic week and a crazy weekend. The last weekend (the one that belongs with this post - June 11-12) we had dinner with my God Mother, we made a USA run to visit Shane's dad on his birthday, and then that week I had to go to Toronto for a couple days. So a bit of a whirlwind of a week. Thank goodness for Champagne Thursday, and a chance to unwind and relax and just enjoy being at home. 

That being said, tragedy struck our home last week. One of our Champagne Thursday glasses of four years broke. It was devastating. We got it replaced, but the shape of the glass is slightly different... So we're trying to figure out what to do... We may buy two new glasses that we would know are the same, and save the two different ones for back-ups, or if we have friends over for a Thursday... It still hurts my heart, and I think Shane almost cried when it happened... *sigh*

June 16, 2016

See? You can even see the difference
between the glasses in this pic!
Even Tyson is unimpressed...

This week we enjoyed a Tasmanian bubbly:  Josef Chromy's Pepik Sekt. Upon popping the top, it had a strong, dry, bready aroma. In the glass there was an abundance of bubbles, tiny ones. 

The first couple sips were very tart, but with a sweet feel. Don't get me wrong, this was a dry bubbly, but the flavours wanted to be sweet, if that makes sense? We got hints at tart green apples, perhaps pineapple or citrus fruits? There wasn't much on the nose of this one, but there seemed to be a lot of flavour, it was just hard to identify what the flavours were... 

It had a very sour candy-esque feel, where had a sweet, but sour and dry thing going on. It tasted a lot sweeter than it actually was. 

All in all, it was a lovely bubbly. Very yummy and we would definitely get this one again. Plus, it has a very cool label! Not that we pick based on that ever... or is it that we do that all the time? I get confused... :)

~S

• Brand: Josef Chromy
• Type of Grape: Riesling
• Sweetness: 10g/L
• Price: $22.25
• Tasting Notes: Bready scent, sweet flavoured dry bubbly, lots of tart apples. Would pair nicely with eggs benny at a brunch.

Wings and Bubbles

It was a busy week! Holy smokes! We had the kids over on the weekend, and they went out to the farm for a rootin' tootin' gun shootin' morning, and a dirt bike riding afternoon. I had a busy day in the kitchen, making a bunch of casseroles for the freezer, I think the final count was 6 different types, and 2-3 of each. We'll be eating well for a while! During the week we brought the kids to Shane's Dad's for supper, we had the Puddys over for dinner, and then on Thursday we went to a wing night! I think I could sleep for a week. 

So we combined Wing Night with Champagne Thursday this week at Drew and Sarah's. It was a fun evening of catching up, laughing and celebrating the little things. We were laughing a bit at Sarah, she must have had a long day at work because her brain wasn't quite working properly. She couldn't remember certain words, the best being "bottle", she instead said "champagne container". Unfortunately, I also joined in on the mixed up words by the end of the night, explaining that while in Niagara a few weeks ago, we went to the 40 Creek Station, not distillery... oops!


The final counts were a bit low by our standards: Sarah and I had 8 each, Mom had 9, Dad had 19, Shane had 20, and Drew was the winner with 22. With Wing Night being at Drew and Sarah's, Tyson missed the popping of the cork, but fear not, two things happened: first, we brought the cork home to him and second, we brought out Sarah's stuffed plush dog to be in the photo. It was even trying to eat the cork, and there was also a dog biscuit. We are nothing if not thorough. 

June 9, 2016

This week we tried a Niagara region bubbly from the LCBO: Tawse's Spark. On popping the top, we got strong notes of tart apples on the nose. This was amplified when we actually tasted it. At first it was a touch dry, curl your toes sour-tart, it was difficult to taste much else because of that. It had a very dry mouth feel. 

After a few sips and getting used to the dryness, it was actually quite nice. We picked out strong Granny Smith apple flavours, and it had lots of nice bubbles. Almost like a hard cider. It finished with citrus-y notes. It was too dry for mom though, which we kind of expected. It didn't have a whole lot of time in the fridge, so it wasn't super cold, which probably opened up some flavours.

We all (except mom) quite liked it and we would get it again. 

 ~S

• Brand: Tawse
• Grape: Riesling
• Sweetness: 12g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: Apple forward flavours, finished with a crisp citrus bite. Dad thinks this would pair nicely with toast at breakfast instead of apple juice. Interestingly enough, the Tawse website says it could be paired with fried chicken! :)

Medium Special Occasion

Okay, so all those lil' sprouts I was so excited about last week? Yeah.... they were weeds... *sigh* Figures... Things are coming along now though. Especially the zucchini plants, their leaves are really defined! The peas have started to break through now also, and I haven't killed the tomato or pepper plants yet. Go team! There are still a few things in there that I'm not quite sure if it's a weed or a sprout yet, so some squares have been left un-weeded, but that's okay. Hopefully soon everything will be nicely defined and I'll be able to carry on. 

Last weekend was stinking hot here (not complaining). We did a bit of yard work, but mostly tried to stay cool. We took Tyson for a quick swim (well, splash, since he doesn't actually swim...). Oh, also we got our fruit wine kegged and carbonated, so that's fun. We did a Stone Fruit Wine at the local wine making store, and instead of putting it into bottles, we put it in a little keg and put it in the keg machine. Insert a bit of CO2, and poof! Sparkling fruit wine on tap! Danger! Danger! It's delicious and fizzy and cold and awesome... And it's 11%... 

Beer to ring in Year Four in our house,
and also Tyson's "swimming" skills

It was a big week for us. It was the anniversary of moving to Beautiful Downtown Morven (we entered our fourth year here) and Shane got a promotion at work: a new area, a new challenge, a new building to work from... That's going to be very strange for us both. Ever since we met we've been working in the same building, and now he'll be downtown! The adjustment period will be challenging... But bigger and better, right? We're very excited for him. 

The announcement went out at work yesterday, so we were able to officially celebrate for Champagne Thursday. Break out the crystal! Carefully though, don't actually break it while breaking it out!

June 2, 2016

Tyson was feeling especially lazy. Couldn't
be bothered standing, or even sitting, up.
"You can see me here, right Ma?
Good enough."

This week we went with the recommendation of our Champagne Guy. We picked up a bottle of Belcanto di Bellussi Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore (and yes, I did copy and paste the name in). On popping the top, we didn't get much of anything right away. On the first pour, even after the picture, there were lots and lots of little bubbles in the glass. For us, this is exciting, we like a very bubbly bubbly. In the glass it had a dry, bready nose. 

In the first couples sips, it comes across as a drier bubbly, but with sweet fruit flavours at the finish. After a few sips though, the dry gives way, and you're left with a sweet feeling, fruity sparkling wine. The fruit flavours I got were pineapple and granny smith apple, but Shane thought maybe mango but definitely tropical. 

In the glass, it's a very pale straw colour. The tropical flavours stayed with us for the whole bottle (sometimes flavours change a bit through the bottle). We thought that it felt sweeter by glass two, but not offensively so. Just a bit sweeter than we typically choose. 

It was a very yummy bottle. We would definitely get this one again. A sweet-dry, tropical feeling, bubbly bubbly. 

Have a great week!

~S

• Brand: Bellussi Valdobbiadene
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay and Glera
• Sweetness: 17g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: Dry tropical flavours of pineapple and mangos, sweeter finish, nicely balanced. Would pair nicely with brunch, eggs benny. Yum.