Niagara Harvest 2011

Ok, the Niagara region harvest is just about done, except for the ice and dessert wine varieties, and I have a prediction.  This is just an exercise and I claim no secret powers or even any expertise, I just want to go on record with what I think the 2011 year will bring for wineries.

This year saw the region reach record highs, albeit for short stretches, and the crucial months of September and October saw damp conditions, as did the early months of May and June.  The rain in late September and early October would have a negative effect on the Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gerwurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay due to a natural lowering of acid.  Look for the 2011 whites to lack the traditional tart apple components and I am guessing many producers will forego the high end wines and concentrate on less expensive, higher yield wines to keep profits up. Inexperienced wine makers will see whites that are flabby in taste.

Reds, on the other hand, might be quite interesting and I think will be a good year for those who have been cultivating Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot varieties.  These wines love the heat resulting in a beefier wine, and, with the right amount of oak, could have some very nice complexity.  I think it will be a good year for the red Canadian/International blends.  Look for some new projects from some of the smaller, more flexible wineries - I read that Rosewood was attempting a Bordeaux style of wine.

Overall, the weather presented an interesting challenge for wine makers in Niagara, as it usually does.  Climate change and a generally warming trend in the region means that Niagara may soon see their traditional grapes replaced by varieties associated with warmer climates.   I feel there will be some interesting times ahead for the industry and look forward to how they respond.  As for 2011, expect high yield, lower end whites and some very interesting reds.

That's my prediction, I'll probably be contradicted by the very first experts to weigh in but, let's see how I do once the wines hit the shelves (yeah, more wine tastings!).

Gretzky Traded Again?

Some not-o-good news from the people at Creekside and Gretzky Estate Wineries. Gretzky wine brand moving from Creekside to Peller Estates. As you might recall, we did a tasting with a Gretzky wine which held its own quite nicely. Creekside does a great job with these wines and the brand has had a lot of success. Here is hoping that it will continue to grow at Peller.

Yeah, I'm Number 3,088,238,983

There is a fun little tool on BBC News website that estimates where you fit into the human population currently and historically.  My all-time number is 76,785,596,535 of all humans who have lived on the planet.  While the numbers are far from accurate - though, if they factored in time of date of birth they might get closer - it is a good exercise in coming to grips with the runaway human population as it currently stands.  I encourage you to check it out.  While there, give some consideration to how you would feed all these people considering the desertification of much of the earths habitable zones. Sorry to scare you but, it is halloween.

The Society of Simpletons

Wiser's, the venerable Canadian distiller from Prescott, has a series of commercials, you've seen them, that suggest that being an uncompromising gentleman requires one to be somewhat insecure and uncultured.  According to Wiser's one shouldn't like art, electric knives or dressing to match your significant other (ok, I will give them that last one).  But, I like art and go to art galleries with women all the time, when they actually want to, and found its a great way to score some points.  I also think I am a pretty good cook and I have, and do, use an electric knife when it is the best tool for a job.

Now, I have tasted Wiser's (bleh) and I thought maybe I would give a little advice to Wiser's marketing department: perhaps come up with commercials that focus on your product.  You could say something like we make booze, we think its ok and you should try it on the rocks, or with soda, or maybe in a whiskey sour or Manhattan.  If this doesn't lift sales, perhaps you could do something like, I don't know, improve the quality of your product?

By the way, if you're man enough, you hold a woman's purse and dare anyone to say anything.

Waiter, There's a Mold in My Soup

My beverage of choice is beer.  That is what I would drink for the sake of drinking an alcoholic beverage.  But, nothing goes better with most food quite like wine and I like to have a good bottle with dinner.  I also like to cook with wine and enjoy the challenge of finding just the right wine to boost a dish. This can be harder than simply finding a wine you like and adding it to the dish; wine reacts with flavour molecules in the dish that may or may not combine cohesively.  Following the simple rules we established in an earlier post can help. In addition, more than one type of wine may go with any given dish depending on whether you are trying to mellow the wine, cut the richness of the food or enhance the underlying flavours of the dish.  

This past Saturday I was invited to a dinner of Lobster and I offered to bring a soup and two wines to go with it that I asked my friends to give me their opinions on.  The soup was a Cream of Leek, Potato and Blue Cheese (recipe to follow).  Now, a leek and potato soup might enjoy the company of any number of wines, depending on what was served before and after, anything from a white Burgundy, Chardonnay or Chianti. But, add some strong blue cheese and the matching gets a little more difficult because the dominant flavour is going to be the cheese.  It would seem that the logical pairing would be a Vintage Port, oaked Viognier or even a Sauternes.  Add the cream and the choices change again with the Sauternes being the best match followed by a younger Bordeaux or New World Cabernet Sauvignon.  

After checking the LCBO available stock of Sauternes and noting that the lowest priced available was about $60 I decided to go in a different direction.  The wines I chose were a 2008 Bordeaux Pessac-Leognan Chateau Pontet-Caillou for $27.95 and a, wait for it, Niagara VQA Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling $13.  Now, the first one is straight forward, as for the second, if we think of the characteristics of a Sauternes we have a wine that has stayed on the vine long enough to be allowed to raisinate and results in a wine with residual sugars.  This is similar to what is being accomplished with a late autumn Riesling, albeit with a different grape.  And, it is the flavour elements of the Riesling that I was looking for when choosing the wine: honey, pear and apple, all of which compliment a blue cheese.  

As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, or in this case the wine.  So what did my friends think?  Overall they felt both wines went well with the soup, though they preferred the experience of the Bordeaux as the cheese and cream mellowed the tannins in the wine and allowed its fruit characters to come through.  This was highlighted later when we tasted the wines without the soup and those harsher tannins came through.  The soup also tended to reduce the sweetness of the Riesling and this, also, was noted in the later tasting.  Now, a Sauternes is a much fuller and more complex wine, so the experience would have been slightly different but, I still maintain that the Riesling was an excellent choice as the fruit flavours were not overwhelmed by the soup's intense flavours and it only cost $13!  Either way, I would not hesitate to serve either wine with the soup, the Sauternes will have to wait for a more important occasion. 

Cream of Leek, Potato and Blue Cheese Soup

I will give this recipe as a ratio of ingredients so that you can increase the amount simply by increasing the ratios. 

2 Leeks

1 Potato

125 ml Heavy Cream

225 grams of Blue Cheese

2 Tbsp of Butter

500 ml of Chicken Stock

Melt the butter in a pot on medium high heat.  Add the leeks and potatoes and sauté with lid on for 10 minutes to sweat the vegetables.  Add the chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes are very soft.  Turn off the heat and add the cream and then blend, with an immersion blender, until smooth (if you only have a blender be sure to remove the centre disk of the lid before turning on the blender to avoid the contents blowing up).  Once the blending is done, add the blue cheese a little bit at a time until well blended.  You can add more blue cheese crumbled on top when serving.  

I wish all wineries would take the time to label their wines like this:

Essential Pepin

I have a list of celebrities I would like to meet before I die.  Some on the list I have already met and some I will probably, for logistical reasons (or restraining orders) never have the opportunity.  You can keep your actors, your Presidents and Prime Ministers, your Snookis and even your Dalai Lama.  My list consists of scientists, human rights workers, very few musicians, a couple of artists, a writer or two and five chefs.  At the very top of that list is Jacques Pepin who is without a doubt my favourite "Celebrity Chef".   

The very first cooking show I ever watched was the Galloping Gourmet, followed by Julia Child and then Jacques Pepin.  Of the three, the one who had the most lasting impact was Chef Pepin and I continue to judge all food shows against that standard.  Chef Pepin is unmatched in knife skills, except maybe for  Hiroyuki Sakai (watch him peel an apple with a chef's knife).  During his shows he patiently demonstrates how to get the most yield from every ingredient, how to make simple food look more glamorous and how to control heat and time to coax the best out of every dish.  When asked what are the most important tools in the kitchen, the ones he just couldn't live without, he said "my hands".  When you watch his shows you notice how often the cameras are focused on those hands.  

At the core of Jacques Pepin's teaching is the importance of technique and practice, practice, practice.  To be a great chef means learning the techniques that are required to make food great.  Anyone, and I do mean anyone, can follow a recipe and turn out food that is good (even my father makes a great minestrone soup).  But, to be a good cook, commercially or even in the home, requires knowledge of the ingredients and techniques that go into a recipe.  Getting home and having to make dinner on a deadline with no planning is a daunting task and opening a fridge door to check what is available is enough to send some people to a sanatorium.  But, this is the heart of what it is to be a cook: making a meal out of what you have at hand without the recipe.  This is food culture and has been practiced for generations, since those first humans left the trees and headed out on the savannah to see what there was to eat.  Jacques Pepin has been on a life long mission to teach North Americans those techniques to survival in a kitchen, which is why I always look forward to his shows on PBS.

The New York Times has an article on Jacques Pepin that is well worth the read and, as a bonus, there are video demonstrations to illustrate my point about his talents.  Go check it out.

Of Two Minds, When Experts Disagree

While reading this article in the NY Times 'Sensational' or Just 'Bad'? On 2010 Pavie, Two Critics Disagree, I couldn't help but think about this blog post I read.  These results shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has ever attended or conducted a blind tasting and asked people to describe what they were tasting. There is seldom any consensus and people often use different descriptors for the same wine.

So, are experts irrelevant? To some extent they are. About the best you can hope for is that they can offer a suggestion as to a pairing with a certain style of wine. They do taste a lot of wines and have some experience at matching flavours in wine and food. But, there are simply too many variables that go into tasting wine, food, beer etc. Aromas in the room, lighting, previous days' meals, a person's health and personal preference all contribute to the ability to discern flavour compounds. Our palates also change over time and as we get older we tend to enjoy bitter tastes more than when we were young. Does this make us more sophisticated? I don't think so; it just changes our preferences.  So, while an expert might know that a buttery Chardonnay from California is a better match with Guinea fowl in a mushroom sauce and Chablis with raw oysters or lightly grilled scallops, deciding which specific producer is better for you is outside of their expertise, in my opinion.

We are also very influenced by what others, or what we think others, think about something. The Asch conformity experiments demonstrated how susceptible we all are to the opinions of others and the importance we place on conforming. The more we associate with a particular group the more likely we are to suppress our senses and our ethics and go along with the group. Many times experts are just giving a description that they have come to think the group expects; this is true for those of us seeking advice as we tend to accept the advice that our peers have already shown agreement with.  This is why I hate competitions where judgement is left to others to determine a victor, such as gymnastics, figure skating and culinary battles.  The only winners are the judges who get the best seats and are paid, rather than paying, to be there.  

The world of wine tasting is, in my opinion, the most self indulgent pursuit in the world. To read descriptions of wine is to believe that you are going to be transported to some magical land of Oz. The fact is, like food, a wine will be better remembered when all of the components of a wonderful moment are in sync. It is a sympatico of tastes, textures, company, setting and occasion that makes for memorable times. Have you ever tasted a wine one day and thought "this is the best wine ever" and then experienced that wine in a different environment days later and wondered why it wasn't as good? I know I have.

Wine making is a very tricky craft that requires constant adjustments and readjustments. Barrel tasting is more important for the wine makers than it should be for wine consumers and I would never consider reviews of specific wines prior to bottling as so much can take place before then to influence the flavours. Overall, the 2010 barrel tastings have been quite positive and the consensus is that it was a fine vintage, but in the end the proof of the wine is in the tasting - from the bottle that is.

The problem with relying totally on experts - in any realm - is you are living the expert's life; you are relying on their life experiences and what they think is important.  Sooner or later you have to make a decision for yourself.  You can certainly give more consideration to the opinions of someone you admire or respect but, in the end it is your wine, food, etc. The best experts are the ones who tend not to tell you what to do but, rather, give you as much information as you need to make your own decision. 

How to Taste Wine

Holy shit, something useful from the food network: How to Taste Wine | The FN Dish – Food Network Blog:

Good advice. I would add tasting wine with experts to guide you through the experience is also very helpful. And, of course, no teacher like experience, so, drink up!

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Sign Me Up For The Trials!!!

Here is a great article with some exciting news for allergy sufferers. Peanut allergy turned off by tricking immune system: New approach makes allergen appear safe and prevents life-threatening reaction.

If you have ever suffered from any allergies but, especially food allergies and asthma, then you probably share my excitement. Imagining a spring/summer/fall without Nasonex and Claritin, not to mention the epi-pen, seems like fantasy to me. But, more exciting is opening the world of new tastes for some of my friends that suffer from various food allergies. Let's hope this is not one of the discoveries that is decades away from being implemented.

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Meet My New Friend Cameron

This great dark from the Oakville brewery is a little higher in acid and not as bitter as many of the British and American stout style beers. But, the dark malts do come through nicely with tastes of molasses and tarragon.  I found it to be a little lighter than Guiness and less creamy, perhaps a cross between Guiness and Smithwick's.   This is a very refreshing brew that is perfect for this time of year and went well with my striploin steak this evening.

Cameron's Brewing Company have been racking up awards with their brews and a sample pack is availble at LCBO locations for $8.95. I highly recommend this one if you like a beer with a little more body without the weight or bitterness of a Guiness.

Seek And You Will Find

LCBO.com has drastically expanded its search capabilities for its site.  You can now search by Product Type, Category, Sub Category and Country.  In addition, you can narrow your search by Limited Time Offers, Air Miles Offer and other value categories. You can even search by LCBO and Vintages, Vintages Only and LCBO Only.  But what I think is most exciting is the ability to use the LCBO site as a personal sommelier by searching by Food Matching or Tasting Note.

Give the new site a test drive here.

Out of Africa (via Australia)

I've recently been enjoying a show on Food Network Canada (I know! Imagine my surprise) called Food Safari.  This Australian production follows host Maeve O'Meara as she explores African cuisine in the homes and businesses of real African cooks.  These are the kind of shows, as I have said before, that excite me and that I believe should be more prolific on the Food Network.  Shows about food and food culture.  They not only introduce us to new ingredients and techniques but, to new cultures and places.  I find that at the end of Food Safari and From Spain With Love, I am inspired to cook and to try the cuisine, or even just to find a new ingredient or wine.  The first cooking show I ever recall watching regularly, that inspired me to cook, was the Galloping Gourmet.  I loved the show because Graham Kerr was always cooking things I had never heard of before - his half intoxicated antics were just an added bonus.  But the show that, even today, holds my attention most is, The Two Fat Ladies.  Watch it and tell me Britain has no culinary history or culture, that's saying something about inspiration.

It's Thanksgiving weekend, and I am not sure I will be posting much in the way of text, so I will take this time to wish everyone a very happy holiday; my favourite because it involves food, wine, culture and the opportunity to feel grateful for all that I have.

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My feelings exactly! Mjq8C.jpg (400×1259):

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Holy Molé

What a beautiful day!  Sun shining.  Crisp fall air.  Hockey season about to open.  And my first molé sauce is simmering on the stove as I type this; and it is amazing.  Sure, my kitchen is now a disaster zone, but if you love to cook, then this is a sauce for you to try.  Molé simply means concoction, guacamole is a molé and is different depending on the cook and her/his mood that day.  You can make a molé yours by varying the ingredients and working without a recipe.  It's ok...you can do it.  Just keep in mind some simple basics.  Click that link for a definition and to see what is in the basic sauce and add whatever you like the taste of.  Molé requires fat (avocado, lard, etc) pungency (onions, garlic, etc) heat (chilis) and liquid (stock, water, etc).  Not all molé requires chocolate, but it is the traditional version.  So go to the kitchen and play with your food.

Thanksgiving Wine Pairings

So, you got your turkey all ready to go and you have studied my post on how to enjoy a stress free Thanksgiving and now you want to create a magical night with plenty of wine for your guests.  Below, I give my best bets for wine pairings with turkey with the aim of providing Ontario VQA choices and reasonable prices.  Of course, if you are feeling like Mr or Mrs Gotlots, you can choose to spend more, but there really is no need.  The best pairings for turkey tend to be simpler wines with fruit forward, off dry and unoaked which tend to be cheaper.  That plate of food you have there has a lot going on so for best results think easy drinking. There are 2 choices below that are not Ontario wines, the first because the grape variety is not grown here and the second because it is just one of those neat pairings that demonstrates that there is a wine for every occasion and an occasion for every wine.

Chardonnay:
Pick an unoaked chardonnay such as Vinelands Estate VQA $11.95 or Naked Grape Chardonnay $9.95

Riesling:
Choose an off dry riesling such as 20 Bees VQA Riesling $10.95 or Chateau Des Charmes VQA Riesling $12.55

Zinfandel:
This wine is pretty much exclusively American and goes so well with turkey, I have decided to include one among these all Canadian offerings.  Ravenswood Vintners Blend $17.95 (yeah I know)

Pinot Noir:
Henry of Pelham VQA Pinot Noir $14.95 or Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Estate Series Pinot Noir $18.95 (yes, again, I know)

Sparkling Rose:
Legends Sparkling Rose VQA $15.95 or Mateus Rose $8.95.  Have faith! When I first heard about this pairing I was skeptical, but when you think about it, everything that should go with turkey is covered by this wine: light, fruity, balanced with a little sparkling element.  This should go very well and is a bargain at $8.95.

What ever your choices enjoy your meal, your company and your wines.  Make the day about you, your family and friends.  Focus on the people, not the food, and you will have a wonderful meal that you will remember for years to come.

Mmmmm Beluga Heart

I am very pleased to share with everyone this blog by a friend of mine.  She is a recent Teachers' College graduate and has taken a position in a small native community in Northern Quebec.  Andrea is a beautiful person who, when I first met her, was a timid waitress at a local pub who had trouble getting past the crowds to get to the bar to pick up her drinks.  She has a great sense of humour and is one of the most open minded people I know.  I think she will do great in her new job and I wish her the very best.  I hope you will all visit her blog regularly and maybe on occasion provide some encouraging words - it sounds challenging to say the least.  In addition, Andrea's blog is a great eye opener for those of us who have never been exposed to the culture of the north and may be unaware of the lifestyle and challenges they face.   Seeing this world through Andrea's eyes will be entertaining and rewarding I can assure you.

How to Enjoy a Stress Free Thanksgiving

In order to enjoy a stress free thanksgiving day start by remembering that the holiday is about sharing, gratitude and enjoying the company of loved ones.  Magical moments happen, they are not orchestrated and the best way to let them happen is to make sure everyone is as comfortable as possible.  Keep in mind the food is secondary, the company and conversation is what makes for memorable occasions.  So, stop stressing about the food.  It doesn't have to look like something from a Martha Stewart magazine.  In fact, without the dozens of cooks, food stylists and photoshop editors hers wouldn't look that way either.  But, you can give people a meal they will remember for a long time by following a few simple steps.  

Equipment Needed

A reliable instant read thermometer

An extra large ziplock bag (the type used for storing clothing - I found them at my local Home Hardware)

A large solid container big enough to hold a turkey and 2 gallons of liquid (don't trust a bag not to break)

A large roasting pan with at least 2" high sides

A roasting rack which fits said pan

A sheet pan

A 1.5 litre insulated thermos

Various casseroles and pots and pans

Step One:

The night before dinner, prepare a brine by mixing 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 Tbsp of whole peppercorns, 1 Tbsp of coriander seeds, 1 Tbsp of whole mustard seeds, 5 bay leaves in 1 gallon of water in a pot and heat over medium high until all the salt and sugar has dissolved and the spices have a chance to become fragrant. Turn off and let cool  for 30 minutes and then add the equivalent of 1 gallon of ice and water.  

Step Two:

Clean and dry the turkey and place it in the ziplock bag.  Make sure the brine is completely cooled and pour into the bag with the turkey.  Place the turkey and brine in the large solid container and place it in the fridge or any place that is between 1-6C.  

Step Three:

On the morning of dinner, remove the turkey from the brine and discard the liquid.  Completely rinse and dry the turkey and either oil the skin or smear Miracle Whip on the skin (this will ensure crispy and golden skin) and season with salt and pepper inside and out and, if desired, place a sprig each of rosemary, sage, thyme and savoury loosely inside the cavity.  Place the turkey on the rack inside the roasting pan and add 2 onions cut in half, 2 carrots split lengthwise in half and 2 celery stalks to the bottom of the pan.  Place the turkey in a pre-heated 325F oven.  Note the lack of stuffing - this will ensure the turkey cooks in the shortest possible time, evenly.   Magic moments do not include salmonella.  Roasting times will vary but for a 12-15lb bird expect to use the better part of 3 hours.  You want the thickest part of the thigh to reach a temperature of 160F.  

Step Four:

Prepare your favourite stuffing recipe and pour it in a casserole dish and add 1 cup of chicken stock to moisten.  This will act as the moisture that would have come from cooking it in the bird's cavity.  Leave the casserole off to the side for now. 

Step Five:

Prepare the vegetables for your sides: peel, cut and chop any potatoes, carrots, beans etc. and place them in pots for cooking.  For the potatoes and any root vegetables, cover with water and leave any tender vegetables in the pots dry for now.  If doing any gratins, complete assembly in their casserole and leave in fridge for now. 

Step Six:

Remove the turkey from the oven when it reaches 160F as discussed.  Leaving it on the rack place it on the baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil and set aside.  The turkey will continue to rise in temperature for the next 1-1.5 hours and can stay like this for 2 hours.  Turn the oven temperature to the optimal for the stuffing and add it and any side dish that must bake for the next hour. 

Step Seven:

Prepare the gravy according to your favourite recipe in the roasting pan, the onion, carrot and celery will add additional flavours and a sweet Riesling would be a nice addition.  Pour the finished gravy into a thermos and set aside.  Clean up the mess. 

Step Eight:

Once the stuffing and any other baked sides are out of the oven turn on any tender vegetables (don't forget to add water) to be steamed.  If you are doing mashed potato you should turn them on 15 minutes prior to taking out the stuffing as they will take longer to cook and you have to allow time to mash.

Step Nine:

While the vegetables are cooking, start carving the turkey using this method.  Place the carved turkey and stuffing on the table then finish the vegetables and place on the table and finally pour the gravy from the thermos into a gravy boat and place on the table.  

Step Ten:

Toast your guests and enjoy the meal.  

Try to clean as you go and always accept offers of assistance especially when taking the food to the table and dealing with the pots and pans.  If possible, have a separate table set aside for dirty dishes and pots - in a separate room, of course.  Keep plenty of white wine on ice when you set the table and place any red wine (pinot noir) on the table ready to be opened (actually, if possible, try and stet the table the night before). Have any pies made or purchased the day before and place them in the oven when the last dish comes out and turn the oven off.  The residual heat will be enough to warm the pie through - unless of course you are serving a cold pie like key lime.

Following these steps and giving helpers clear directions and cleaning as you go, will make this a stress free thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

Here is a link to the USFDA for safe handling of turkeys.
How much turkey do you need?