Spring is here???

So much has happened since the last post. There's been St Paddy's Day, skiing, a craft night, churos, a mini-wing night, movie night, and there's been TWO Champagne Thursdays! 

We didn't go too hard core on St Paddy's Day this year, as we were driving up to Tremblant with the Puddys the next day. We did consume green beer while decked out in our green as a family, and we had our corned beef and potatoes. Mmmm. 

We went up to Mont Tremblant with the Puddys. We weren't able to get up there with them last season, so we made up for it this year. Mrs. Puddy skied both days with us, and ROCKED it. She was doing fabulously. Mr Puddy enjoyed his naps and beaver tails (flat donuts with cinnamon and sugar topping). We had the odd drink (understatement), played games, and generally just relaxed. Tremblant is so excellent for that. 

Insert Champagne Thursday #1 into the mix. (Review below). 

Then it was a kids weekend: We made churos (which are remarkably similar to beaver tails...) from scratch (recipe was decent, but they turned out a bit dense, I think it was our fault though, what we used to pipe the dough into the oil had a very small tip...). We had a little wing night with the kids. We even made little boneless "wings" for Emma so they'd be easier to eat, and they were a huge hit. 

Insert Champagne Thursday #2 in here. (Review below).

March 23, 2017

All snuggled in after being at camp
for a few days. He was asleep within
seconds  of this pic being taken.

As I mentioned last week, the selection at the LCBO has been lacking lately. But they did have a new vintage of an old favourite that you normally have to go to the winery for, so we picked that one up.  Hinterland's 2016 Whitecap. The last vintage we had of this was their 2013. 

On the pop Shane said that it smelled like a semi-sweet bubbly wine. I know, strange, right? Groundbreaking. Incredible. The nose on that man is just something else! In the glass, I thought it almost had a minty scent, Shane disagreed, but conceded when I said maybe less mint and more herb. 

The first couple sips were nicely dry, but they did have a slightly liquor-y aftertaste. There wasn't much going on at first. We both liked it, and would serve it to guests happily, but there wasn't much to rave about (although, nothing to complain about either). 

Into the second glass (or was it the third? Oh who's counting??), I was picking up a bit of a sweet fruity flavour. Shane said he thought berries, and then immediately took it back. Clearly not berries... It was more like an under ripe pineapple... 

In the previous vintage, there was an underlying hint of minerals, which isn't uncommon with Prince Edward County wines. I'm not a super fan of heavy minerals in wines, in the same sense that I'm not a super fan of licking rocks... In any case, this vintage didn't seem to have the same minerally flavours, so that was great!

Anyways, yes, we'd continue to get this one. We love Hinterland. 

March 30, 2017

"Spring needs to stand up to winter
and kick it in the snowballs" Agreed Tyson. 

This week, we skipped the LCBO and went to our bar fridge down in the workshop where we've stockpiled a few bubblies that we've pick up along the way. We landed on a bottle from Vieni Estates that we picked up during our wine tour last May. We love love love Vieni Estates (this is actually our 5th time reviewing them since we started the blog, see previous reviews here). It seems that every single bottle we've had from them has been ah-mazing. In fact, we are thinking we might stop by there on the way home from a wedding in June, it's only an hour and a bit out of the way during a 6 hour drive. No biggie. 

This week we tried (or I guess re-tried because we did have it when we bought it) their Momenti Rosé Extra Dry. On popping the top, Shane said "boozy raspberries", so we knew right away we were going to love it. In the glass, I thought it smelled a bit dry and fruity. 

Check out that rosy colour! So springy!

We were swooning over it within the first sips. I thought it was creamy and a touch sweet, kind of what I'd think cream soda would taste like (I've never had cream soda, so please don't get this expecting it to taste like cream soda!). 

We both got notes of strawberries and raspberries. We both really liked it. There were lots of bubbles (actually, Shane used the word "plentiful"), and they were nice and little. They weren't sharp, but Shane didn't think they were creamy either (I agreed later on, it seemed to lose its creaminess). Shane then declared it to be "a beautiful balance of bubbles". Such a statement!

We loved it. We'd get it again and again. I actually have little hearts drawn all over my note page. The page looks like I was in elementary school crushing over a boy and doodling on my math assignment. The only thing I'd note is that by the end of the bottle, it didn't seem to have as many bubbles as before. It wasn't "flat" by any stretch, but it certainly didn't seem to hold the bubbles as well as some others. 

Til next time! 
~S&S

March 23, 2017

• Brand: Hinterland Wine Company
• Type of Grape: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Vidal and Muscat
• Sweetness: Previous version was 17g/L, couldn't find the info for this one.
• Price: $22.00 (this link is to the previous LCBO hosting of the 2013 vintage)
• Tasting Notes: A nice, solid bubbly, pineapple notes with herb-y undertones. Would pair nicely with a creamy chicken and rice dish.

March 30, 2017

• Brand: Vieni Estates
• Type of Grape: Not found, but I'd guess Vidal and Pinot Grigio as that's what the other Momenti is.
• Sweetness: Not found, but I'd guess between 15-20g/L as that's what their others are
• Price: $16.95 from the winery (not currently available at the LCBO)
• Tasting Notes: Berry filled sparkling with lots of bubbles and love. Would pair well with anything. That might be just me though. I just want to drink it all the time. 

Champagne, Sushi and Pie... Oh My!

Getting our Pi Day on!

Our crazy-busy winter is almost over. We have one last trip this weekend and then we're pretty much free til mid-May. The week has been a full one, the kids were over on the weekend, Monday we went out with the Puddys for dinner (mmm, sushi coma), Tuesday was Pi Day (mmm, pie!), Wednesday was Survivor night at the farm, and then Champagne Thursday! And today is St Paddy's Day! 

Anyways, let's get on with things, shall we? 

March 16, 2017

The selection and variety at the LCBO for the past few weeks has left something to be desired. There doesn't seem to be much new stuff coming in, which is a shame. This week, we chose a bright pink bubbly from Pierre Sparr: Brut Rosé. 

Now, we've had this one before, seems that all the new vintages are coming out around the same time, but we didn't review our previous notes until after we had done the tasting on the current one. 

On the pop, Shane got a bit of a raspberry scent, which became quite strong in the glass. The first couple sips were shockingly dry. I thought I got a bunch of cranberries on the palate, but mostly just dry and tart. It has a huge raspberry nose though, so it's a little surprising for the first few sips, as it doesn't taste like it smells. 

As it's a crémant, it's got creamy bubbles, but I didn't find there was an over-abundance of bubbles either. The soft bubbles eventually kind of led to a melon flavour for Shane, maybe cantaloupe? I didn't really get that though. I don't think we chilled it enough. 

Near the end, I was getting a bit of a mix of crab apple or more cranberry... Basically a tart fruit that dries out the mouth... And it had a bit of a sour candy-esque feel in there too. 

It was a bit disjointed and confusing... But it was good. It's hard to describe... 

We'd probably get it again. (Note: looking back at our previous notes, it seems like there weren't many differences between this year's and last year's blend.)

~S&S

• Brand: Pierre Sparr
• Type of Grape: Pinot Noir
• Sweetness: 16g/L
• Price: $18.95
• Tasting Notes: Very berry forward flavours, dry and tart. Would go nicely with a sharp old cheese and grapes. 

To Florida then back to the Nest

As promised, this post (or rather the first half of this post) is late. It's been a busy couple of weeks, from mountains, snow and skis, to sand, sun and golf, and then back to the Nest for snuggles. 

At the top of Mont Tremblant

First things first: We took the boys skiing. It was nice weather, warm and sunny, but the snow was okay also. A touch heavy, but the boys rocked it. I must say, I was super pleased with how they handled it. Even though we only get out with them once a year, they are getting better each time and are fearless. We were only there for one night (drove up the day before skiing, and then home right after getting off the slopes), but (I think) we all had a great time. I know I did.

St Pete's Beach, Florida

We came home, went to work for a day and a bit, and then jetted off to Florida! We enjoyed the sunny beaches, the warm weather for golf, the drinks by the pool, and the great company. It was a fantastic vacation, but about a week too short (says us, our hosts may beg to differ!). 

We rented a Jeep and took off for the beach for a day, where we collected sand and shells, had a drink (I had a couple), enjoyed the sand, sun and surf, and walked the coastline. It was a lovely day. 

We golfed twice while we were there, and somewhere between the first and second day, I lost 9 strokes. It pleased me to no end. Not to mention beating Shane on the back nine on the first day... 

And now we're back to reality. Getting ready for another trip to Tremblant with the Puddys next weekend. After that, our world slows down for a bit, which will be as glorious as all the travel has been. It's fun to be away, but it's always so nice to be home. 

See? Promise we had some
bubbles. Even new
Florida Edition shirts

March 2, 2017

Okay, so it's confession time... The first day in Florida got a little messy (which we understand to be quite common down there. They call it your first day at camp, and the first day at camp is ALWAYS messy...). And so, while we DID NOT skip Champagne Thursday, the following review is not of the bubbly we consumed ON Champagne Thursday. On the actual Champagne Thursday, we had a glass of one of the André Brut bubblies (same brand we had a while back at the adult pharmacy).

Okay, so onto it. 

Since we were in Florida, we thought it very appropriate to (finally) try the Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée. I say "finally" , because we enjoy the Barefoot wines, but unfortunately, there are many that you can't get up here. You can get the Sparkling Pinot Grigio, but not the Brut, or any of the others in their very extensive line up. 

When we popped the top on this one, it had a strong, sweet smell. In the first few sips, it did come across quite sweet also. Now, we're not sure exactly where it sits on the sugar scale, but it is (according to their website) the most dry they have in their bubbly lineup (although I do find it hard to believe that the brut is drier than the "extra dry"... maybe I'm reading the site wrong...). 

Big wind up at Errol Estates Golf and Country Club,
Apopka, Florida

We both got a strong Swedish Berry (the candy) flavour. At the bottom of the glass, there was a hint of a sour coming through. 

It had really nice bubbles, sharp to cut the sweet, and small to fill your mouth. 

Overall, yeah, we liked it, and we'd probably get it again. Keep in mind that when we say "we'd get it again" we probably won't ever get it again. We have far too many to try, and the chances are high that there would be something new for us to try. But we liked it enough that we'd say that we'd get it again. 

March 9, 2017

Next up, back to the nest for a snuggly Champagne Thursday. The pup is still pretty sleepy from Camp, and so he didn't want to participate in Champagne Thursday. I am also still pretty sleepy from Camp, and so I also didn't want to have to move at all. Why get out of the nest if I can get my champagne delivered??

There was a new Louis Bouillot bottle out, and we've had pretty good luck with their stuff in the past (both the Perle d'Or and the Perle d'Aurore) so we decided that we'd give it a shot. Okay, another confession: There was not that much thought into the pick this week. As much as I'd like to pretend that we knew exactly what we were getting, we didn't... I knew we've had some Louis Bouillot before, but couldn't have told you if we liked it or not... It was just a new bottle at the LCBO, and so... yeah, it's what we ended up with... 

So we got the Louis Bouillot's Perle d'Ivoire Brut Blanc des Blancs Crémant de Bourgone (wow, that's a mouthful). On popping the top, Shane said that it smelled quite sweet. In the glass, I got a sort of sweet buns thing going on, a bit sweet, a bit yeasty, a bit tart... Kind of everything all in one. The first couple sips Shane was getting a lot of boozy undertones going on. I didn't get that so much as I got a green or crab apple flavour. Shane did not agree. At one point during the first glass he said "There's a fruit that I can't identify, but it is NOT apples"... 

It's got lots of sharp bubbles, which was nice, and a bit unique for a crémant. At some point during the second glass, Shane said he got "hints of raspberry jam" (and yes, he sometimes speaks in italics). I thought that was a bit strange because I wasn't getting anything of the sort. BUT, somewhere in the bottom of my second glass I asked if he meant maybe those Peek Frean cookies, with the cream in the middle and the red jelly center, because I was starting to get a fruity scent, but still had a strong sweet bun/cookie scent in there. To which Shane adamantly agreed. So, there you have it folks, this bottle tastes like cookies. 

Hope you guys had a lovely couple weeks. I hope to be back on track and on time next week :)

~S&S

March 2, 2017 (okay, March 5, 2017)

• Brand: Barefoot
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay? I think?
• Sweetness: Not sure, but dry as far as Barefoot goes I guess.
• Price: $9.99 USD 
• Tasting Notes: Nice bubbles, Swedish Berry flavours. Would go nicely with French Toast.

March 9, 2017

• Brand: Louis Bouillot 
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay and Aligoté
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: Sharp bubbles, green apple flavours giving way to raspberry and cream cookies. Would pair nicely with a baked brie with a sweet caramel topping.