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.