I have heard that Kim Crawford, the famed New Zealand winemaker is a big lad. A rugby type (in NZ, anyone is, I suppose, as that is their state religion). But it is now clear to me who really wears the pants in the family. Pity Kim. Perhaps he should have been given a more manly name?
Sunday night saw me, in the accompaniment of a PYT* attend another Food and Wine Club event. This time at Spring Garden Road, and RCR Hospitality's Onyx Restaurant. The reason was to celebrate the wines of Kim Crawford Estates, formerly a "virtual winery" in New Zealand, now grown to prominence partly through the excellent winemaking of Kim (the guy) and the marketing prowess of Erica (the girl).
From what I can tell they met on a rugby field, and possibly, though it was hard to hear, consumated their relationship there, resulting in her not being able, nine months later, to take a big important job in Asia, and having to stay home and mind the family business instead. So much for the history part.
What was never mentioned was how they are owned, not just repped, by Vincor, which is, in turn, owned by Constellation Brands. This is like being a microbrewery and being owned by Labatt, which is owned by InBev. Or like going to the corner store to find out that it is a now a chain store that is owned by Walmart.
That said, the wines were very very good. So maybe Constellation is too busy trying to decide how to make "One Buck Chuck" this year that they have forgotten to step in and screw it up.
The Riesling they showed was fantastic stuff. A small parcel selection, it was elegant, with a telling nose, great fruit, and well balanced acidity. Classy.
The regular Sauvignon Blanc is starting to get so consistent, I am wondering just how manufactured it is. It seems the same to me, regardless of vintage. That said, I have always loved it, and still do. A small parcel Sauvignon Blanc showed very classy, reminding me of Nobilo Icon, and some good California SB's I have had, but was fulloer bodied, and not my style of the grape.
The Merlot-Cab Franc, my first non-pinot red from this winery, was very well balanced, full of new world style fruit, but with a nose that was reminiscent of 2003 Bordeaux. The Merlot was a bigger, somewhat clumsy thing, wandering around in the dark look for some Cab, any Cab, to mix with. A wine for those who don't like wine, really. The 2006 Pinot Noir is an excellent example of the style, with mushrooms, forest floor, pine needles in the nose, and cherry fruit with full body, but a clean acid finish. I find this much improved from their last two vintages.
Onyx, once again for me - this was my third time eating a pre-arranged menu dinner here - came though with shining colours, with a small quibble of cool plates for the main (was the warmer down for the count, or perhaps too small for a banquet style dinner?) I also took points off for spelling on the menu.
A starter of Tuna Carpaccio sliced so thin you could see through it, made from ahi tuna dry rubbed with coriander, and with a pile of lavender & crushed pepper with duo of saffron & wasabi aioli, piled in the middle of the plate, along with an assortment of table breads, began the evening's eating. I loved this with the Riesling.
Then a main course called Duck Two Ways, consiting of a Muscovy duck breast Peking style & duck leg confit, with accompanying vegetables. The confit was simply to die for. Thinking of it now makes my mouth water. This was made even better by the Pinot Noir.
Dessert consisted first of the winery's late harvest Riesling, a good, but not outstanding example of the style, followed by Baked Alaska, not flamed enough to set off the sprinklers, made with a port infused fig center, chocolate & chai ice cream dome with kumquat cranberry compote. Um. Yes. More please.
Erica the marketer came around, fielding the questions proffered by the largely "civilian" wine audience that these events attract. She was unable to answer my question about the clones the riesling was made from, despite an earlier assertion that this was her favourite wine. She did kow that one was Alsatian. And when I suggested that the 2006 Pinot Noir was far better than the previous two vintages, she was about ready to pick me up (with one arm, I wager) and toss me out the door in front of a number 80 bus.
Sorry, but the 04 was mean and thin, and the 05 not a lot better. The 06 is in the stores now, and it rocks.
In the meantime, I am going over to the Garrison Grounds to watch the women's rugby teams practice....
*Pretty Young Thing
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Dry Brunch
It is odd how when you are thinking about someone, they pop up in your life for real sometimes. While I was writing the entry on Gina Haverstock (The Riesling Princess) she called me. Seems she was heading into Halifax, and was wondering if we were up for lunch at janes on the common, as she had yet to eat there.
It usually takes far less to mobilize L and I for that, and despite a late breakfast of steak and eggs, we soon find ourselves with Gina at my favourite table. I note that daughter number one is back working there, having just finished her environmental engineering program at Dal.
L orders the special, a deep dish pancake with fruit piled in, Gina has the turkey burger and I go back to my lunch fave there, the grilled cheese sandwich with the tomato butter. All very good, as usual.
For beverage, it was water, coffee, and Aranciata. Brunch with a winemaker and sommelier, and no wine was consumed! There are three wines on the list from Gina's employer (she works at Gaspereau, but Jost owns that winery and she is back and forth to the larger operation up on the Northumberland coast) but we buy none. I shall have to tease her about that.
We talk each other (I am blaming L) into a dessert course that further obligates us all to a walk around and through Point Pleasant Park. Gina had not yet seen Juan's legacy of damage there, and I had some work to do in the Park, and the dessert needed to be mitigated somehow.
Then home, in time to head out to supper at Phil's Seafood, and then the Aeolian Singers/Connie Kaldor concert at the Cohn.
A pretty good day in the city.
It usually takes far less to mobilize L and I for that, and despite a late breakfast of steak and eggs, we soon find ourselves with Gina at my favourite table. I note that daughter number one is back working there, having just finished her environmental engineering program at Dal.
L orders the special, a deep dish pancake with fruit piled in, Gina has the turkey burger and I go back to my lunch fave there, the grilled cheese sandwich with the tomato butter. All very good, as usual.
For beverage, it was water, coffee, and Aranciata. Brunch with a winemaker and sommelier, and no wine was consumed! There are three wines on the list from Gina's employer (she works at Gaspereau, but Jost owns that winery and she is back and forth to the larger operation up on the Northumberland coast) but we buy none. I shall have to tease her about that.
We talk each other (I am blaming L) into a dessert course that further obligates us all to a walk around and through Point Pleasant Park. Gina had not yet seen Juan's legacy of damage there, and I had some work to do in the Park, and the dessert needed to be mitigated somehow.
Then home, in time to head out to supper at Phil's Seafood, and then the Aeolian Singers/Connie Kaldor concert at the Cohn.
A pretty good day in the city.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
The Riesling Princess
It's all about the wine, Gina will tell you. But last week, it seemed like everyone was making it all about Gina, to her somewhat dismayed embarrassment. Gina Haverstock is the new winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, just over South Mountain (yes, I know it is barely a hill) from Wolfville. I can tell you, you will simply not find a nicer person on the planet. Period. No matter how nice you think you are, Gina is nicer.
Gina is the first person in Nova Scotia to become a winemaker, a professional in wine, "from scratch". She discovered wine while working at Jost Vineyards in the tasting room and gift shop one summer (her family cottage was close by) and got hooked. The biochemistry degree that had been intended to be the base for a medical career ended up being used in a much more productive manner!
The work to become a winemaker is not a short and easy road to follow. Gina first took her interest in the hospitality side of things, studying under Adam Dial to complete the full International Sommelier Guild Program in Halifax. Here she learned all about the world of wine, and how to taste wine, match it with food, and consider its faults and qualities. The Sommelier course is also a huge lesson in geography, as familiarity with terroir around the world is part of the lessons to be learned.
Gina then took the big step of enrolling at Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticultural Institute (CCOVI, pronounced cuh-vee) to become a winemaker. Years later she emerged, degree in hand, and with work experience from around the world.
She says it was on her term in Germany that her love of the Queen of Grapes, Riesling, began. She has worked in vineyards, farming and winemaking in Germany, Austria and New Zealand.
This past year, she returned to Nova Scotia to be come the winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, Jost's Annapolis Valley operation.
And guess what awaited her? Some Nova Scotia grown Riesling, planted high up on the hill in the vineyard behind the winery.
Last week, the winery held an Introduction to Riesling event, with invited guests and paying customers. At this event, they launched Gina's first Riesling in Nova Scotia. This wine is, in my opinion, the best white wine ever made in Nova Scotia (not counting icewines) and, if we take the stance of an outsider looking into our industry from afar, arguably the best wine ever made in Nova Scotia (again, we'd better not count Icewine, because ours is already maybe the best in the world).
The wine is bright, pale straw in colour, with a tickling of acidity on initial taste, with lemon-lime and maybe a trace of mandarin citrus. There is a some petrol in the nose, offering an initial hint of its identity. The middle is full, and almost semi sweet, but the wine, like a good Mosel style, finishes with great, lip smacking acidity and fresh fruit.
Now, you probably won't be able to buy any for a while, but look for it when it does come out.
In the meantime, Gina's first Seyval for Gaspereau is also out, and it is a stunning example of how good this grape can be. Crisp lean acidity make it an ideal food wine, and a good candidate for a house white with our local seafood inspired cuisine.
Gina has led the way in yet another manner, as one more of the local wine community is now at Brock. Alison Moyes, who having finished her Sommelier Program a few years ago, was at Seven Wine Bar as Sommelier and Manager, is currently at 13th Street Winery on her work term, about 1/3 of her way through the same program from which Gina graduated.
So remember, when you taste Gina's wines, raise a glass to the Riesling Princess, the gal who came back home and is helping to further advance the wine industry in Nova Scotia.
Gina is the first person in Nova Scotia to become a winemaker, a professional in wine, "from scratch". She discovered wine while working at Jost Vineyards in the tasting room and gift shop one summer (her family cottage was close by) and got hooked. The biochemistry degree that had been intended to be the base for a medical career ended up being used in a much more productive manner!
The work to become a winemaker is not a short and easy road to follow. Gina first took her interest in the hospitality side of things, studying under Adam Dial to complete the full International Sommelier Guild Program in Halifax. Here she learned all about the world of wine, and how to taste wine, match it with food, and consider its faults and qualities. The Sommelier course is also a huge lesson in geography, as familiarity with terroir around the world is part of the lessons to be learned.
Gina then took the big step of enrolling at Brock University's Cool Climate Oenology and Viticultural Institute (CCOVI, pronounced cuh-vee) to become a winemaker. Years later she emerged, degree in hand, and with work experience from around the world.
She says it was on her term in Germany that her love of the Queen of Grapes, Riesling, began. She has worked in vineyards, farming and winemaking in Germany, Austria and New Zealand.
This past year, she returned to Nova Scotia to be come the winemaker at Gaspereau Vineyards, Jost's Annapolis Valley operation.
And guess what awaited her? Some Nova Scotia grown Riesling, planted high up on the hill in the vineyard behind the winery.
Last week, the winery held an Introduction to Riesling event, with invited guests and paying customers. At this event, they launched Gina's first Riesling in Nova Scotia. This wine is, in my opinion, the best white wine ever made in Nova Scotia (not counting icewines) and, if we take the stance of an outsider looking into our industry from afar, arguably the best wine ever made in Nova Scotia (again, we'd better not count Icewine, because ours is already maybe the best in the world).
The wine is bright, pale straw in colour, with a tickling of acidity on initial taste, with lemon-lime and maybe a trace of mandarin citrus. There is a some petrol in the nose, offering an initial hint of its identity. The middle is full, and almost semi sweet, but the wine, like a good Mosel style, finishes with great, lip smacking acidity and fresh fruit.
Now, you probably won't be able to buy any for a while, but look for it when it does come out.
In the meantime, Gina's first Seyval for Gaspereau is also out, and it is a stunning example of how good this grape can be. Crisp lean acidity make it an ideal food wine, and a good candidate for a house white with our local seafood inspired cuisine.
Gina has led the way in yet another manner, as one more of the local wine community is now at Brock. Alison Moyes, who having finished her Sommelier Program a few years ago, was at Seven Wine Bar as Sommelier and Manager, is currently at 13th Street Winery on her work term, about 1/3 of her way through the same program from which Gina graduated.
So remember, when you taste Gina's wines, raise a glass to the Riesling Princess, the gal who came back home and is helping to further advance the wine industry in Nova Scotia.
Wine of the Week, May 5, 2007
McWilliams Hanwood Riesling, $15.99
In a screwcap! No corked wine here!
The NSLC says:
Aromas of lemon, lime and mandarin with subtle hints of orange blossom and musk. An intensely aromatic palate of fresh lime and citrus with a crisp, acidic finish. A perfect accompaniment to spicy dishes.
I say:
Yes with the lemon lime acidity, fresh clean fruit with enough semi sweet middle to please anyone who wants true Riesling character without a smarmy sickly sweet finish. I know $15.99 is a bit much for some of you, but at least you know it won't be corked.
This will work as a drink, or with food, which is rare nowadays. I'd suggest something with 5-spice, and other oriental character.
Enjoy!
In a screwcap! No corked wine here!
The NSLC says:
Aromas of lemon, lime and mandarin with subtle hints of orange blossom and musk. An intensely aromatic palate of fresh lime and citrus with a crisp, acidic finish. A perfect accompaniment to spicy dishes.
I say:
Yes with the lemon lime acidity, fresh clean fruit with enough semi sweet middle to please anyone who wants true Riesling character without a smarmy sickly sweet finish. I know $15.99 is a bit much for some of you, but at least you know it won't be corked.
This will work as a drink, or with food, which is rare nowadays. I'd suggest something with 5-spice, and other oriental character.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Lost Heritage, Found Crap
Halifax's urban skyline is old. Dated. Lost and dreary, nothing new or interesting added since the milk cartons...I mean Purdy's Wharf Towers, were built.
Twenty years of nothing. Like some people's lives I suppose, but a city can barely survive that kind of stagnancy. A city is an organism, it requires renewal, reinvestment, repair, and rebirth.
One hundred years from now, people will look at our city and wonder what the hell we were doing on our watch. All of our investment in buildings in the past 20 years has been, with some rare exceptions, to make pure crap. Tilt up concrete and metal buildings for Bayers Lake, the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it repetitious sprawl of Clayton Park and CP-West, and, coming soon to a multiplex theatre near you, Dartmouth Crossdressing.
I suppose if I was one of those self assured, self righteous, heritage people who KNOW beyond a doubt that the architecture of 1950 is far better than what the architects of the past 20 years might have built here, I might be happier. I would like to know how they can be so sure of themselves about that, though.
I find myself wondering what might have been. What if the development community (you know, the people with money who build things) in Halifax had been allowed to spend money in the downtown, rather than running out to BLIP and now Dartmouth Crossdressing to invest in Big Box Bull Shite? I suppose the heri-terrorists are happy because really, you can't easily walk or bicycle out there to be offended, so they are the ignorant type of happy. Like, la la happy.
It may now be easier to pedal to Dartmouth Crossdressing, though, and maybe Osama Ban Pacie, her probone lawyer and the gang who know for sure what is best for the rest of us might finally be able to witness the destruction their actions have wrought, however inadvertently, on our built heritage. Imagine the terror on their faces when they see what they have created. Or better, when they realize that what they have left as a built heritage for future generations, to stand for their time here, is all single story, land hogging, car requiring, energy sucking, greed driven, multinational funded, short term tax generating, downtown suffocating crap. I have one question. Do you want fries with that shit? I am sure that this is where their souls will rest when they pass on, and this nourishes me.
Architecture in Nova Scotia now consists of little more than a school from which people graduate and then leave the Province. Modern Architecture does not matter here. Too clean, too stable, and it certainly has no chance of attracting squatting vagrants. And that means it won't fit in, in our downtown. Look on the bright side. Pretty soon you will be able to live just about wherever you want to on Barrington Street! I like the third floor of what used to be Sam the Record Man. (Maybe Sue hid some old Loudon Wainwright the Third CD's in the walls....) In about five years, the way we're going, all I'll need is my sleeping bag and a gun, and I'll be fine there.
At least the pubs sometimes work in the basements of the places that the owners can't rent but can't replace. So my habitat is secure. Until they rot and fall down, that is.
Note: Research In Motion (Crackberry people), needing Class A office space in a hurry, knew better than to trust our 23 member Hydra-council with their investment by trying to locate in our downtown. Heck, some of them are so challenged they don't understand what a downtown means to an economy of a city and the region around it. How is it that Chicago, the best run city in North America, reportedly, manages with only 7 councillors? Surely more politicians has to be better? That must make some kind of sense? Oh Christ, I need another drink....
Wait, is the Granite Brewery moving to Windsor? In the valley? Not Windsor Ontario, Windsor Nova Scotia?... My brain hurts.... More beer please...
Rogues Roost gone in September 2008 to make way for condos? Pass the scotch....
Twenty years of nothing. Like some people's lives I suppose, but a city can barely survive that kind of stagnancy. A city is an organism, it requires renewal, reinvestment, repair, and rebirth.
One hundred years from now, people will look at our city and wonder what the hell we were doing on our watch. All of our investment in buildings in the past 20 years has been, with some rare exceptions, to make pure crap. Tilt up concrete and metal buildings for Bayers Lake, the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it repetitious sprawl of Clayton Park and CP-West, and, coming soon to a multiplex theatre near you, Dartmouth Crossdressing.
I suppose if I was one of those self assured, self righteous, heritage people who KNOW beyond a doubt that the architecture of 1950 is far better than what the architects of the past 20 years might have built here, I might be happier. I would like to know how they can be so sure of themselves about that, though.
I find myself wondering what might have been. What if the development community (you know, the people with money who build things) in Halifax had been allowed to spend money in the downtown, rather than running out to BLIP and now Dartmouth Crossdressing to invest in Big Box Bull Shite? I suppose the heri-terrorists are happy because really, you can't easily walk or bicycle out there to be offended, so they are the ignorant type of happy. Like, la la happy.
It may now be easier to pedal to Dartmouth Crossdressing, though, and maybe Osama Ban Pacie, her probone lawyer and the gang who know for sure what is best for the rest of us might finally be able to witness the destruction their actions have wrought, however inadvertently, on our built heritage. Imagine the terror on their faces when they see what they have created. Or better, when they realize that what they have left as a built heritage for future generations, to stand for their time here, is all single story, land hogging, car requiring, energy sucking, greed driven, multinational funded, short term tax generating, downtown suffocating crap. I have one question. Do you want fries with that shit? I am sure that this is where their souls will rest when they pass on, and this nourishes me.
Architecture in Nova Scotia now consists of little more than a school from which people graduate and then leave the Province. Modern Architecture does not matter here. Too clean, too stable, and it certainly has no chance of attracting squatting vagrants. And that means it won't fit in, in our downtown. Look on the bright side. Pretty soon you will be able to live just about wherever you want to on Barrington Street! I like the third floor of what used to be Sam the Record Man. (Maybe Sue hid some old Loudon Wainwright the Third CD's in the walls....) In about five years, the way we're going, all I'll need is my sleeping bag and a gun, and I'll be fine there.
At least the pubs sometimes work in the basements of the places that the owners can't rent but can't replace. So my habitat is secure. Until they rot and fall down, that is.
Note: Research In Motion (Crackberry people), needing Class A office space in a hurry, knew better than to trust our 23 member Hydra-council with their investment by trying to locate in our downtown. Heck, some of them are so challenged they don't understand what a downtown means to an economy of a city and the region around it. How is it that Chicago, the best run city in North America, reportedly, manages with only 7 councillors? Surely more politicians has to be better? That must make some kind of sense? Oh Christ, I need another drink....
Wait, is the Granite Brewery moving to Windsor? In the valley? Not Windsor Ontario, Windsor Nova Scotia?... My brain hurts.... More beer please...
Rogues Roost gone in September 2008 to make way for condos? Pass the scotch....
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