As we head into February with Valentine’s Day and Bon Soo on the near horizon, we will have lots of opportunity to celebrate with a wine.
For the second year, Bon Soo will partner with Loplops to host A Night of Ice and Fire featuring 30 wines, most in the $14 to $20 range. This will be held on Saturday, February 14 at the newly renovated Machine Shop at Mill Square, and should be lots of fun.
In addition to wines from Lailey Vineyard and Angels Gate in Niagara, Ontario other wines will be available through Constellation Brands which includes such labels as Robert Mondavi, Franciscan Estates, and Clos du Bois from California, in addition to Ruffino from Italy and Kim Crawford from New Zealand – in all, 30 wines will be featured.
There will be 30 stations with two wines at each, and so crowding should not be an issue. With the $50 entry price, you will receive five tasting tickets, and more can be purchased at the event for $2 each. (How many are required per tasting could depend on the wines you select.) Along with the wine, appetizers will be provided by Gliss, and there will also be a cash bar for beer and spirits.
Included with the $50 entry price is a free ride home that evening anywhere in the city.
At 10 o'clock, the dancing starts with music courtesy of Mustang Heart.
Tickets are $50, and are available through Dish, the Mill Market, or online at www.bonsoo.on.ca.
That same night, February 14, up at Stokely Creek Ski Lodge, along with the Byker family, I will be hosting a wine tasting and dinner, starting at 5 P.M. with 6 wines featured in the tasting. These include Seghesio’s exceptional Zinfandel from Sonoma County, as well as Tommasi’s Poggio al Tufo Rompicollo, an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese blend from the Tuscan coast – it ranked #32 on the Wine Spectator’s “Top 100” in 2014.
There’s also an intriguing Vin Santo, an Italian after-dinner wine. to tantalize you.
Cost for the tasting is $20 plus tax, but if you stay for dinner - which will be terrific – the price for the evening is $52, including tax.
For the dinner, you may purchase wine under Stokely’s licence, or enjoy your own for a modest corkage fee. If it measures up to the tasting and dinner last year – and I have no doubt it will – it will be a perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
To reserve, phone Stokely at 705-649-3421; if interested, you can also check with them on accommodation for the night, which would include breakfast the following morning.
If you can’t wait until the 14th, then book a spot at Sault College’s newly renovated restaurant, Willow (formerly The Gallery) for a sumptuous evening of Wine and Chocolate on Monday, February 9.
I will be pairing carefully selected wines with five delicious courses created by the College’s experienced chocolate-loving chefs. Three of the courses might surprise you, as they are savoury rather than sweet, and all of them should delight, including the two dessert courses.
What do you think of chilli and chocolate with a coffee Pinotage from South Africa, or a salt and caramel tart with Torres’ lush Floralis Moscatel Oro from Spain?
The evening begins at 7 P.M. and to order tickets ($42.06), please phone the College at 705-759- 6700, and select Option 3.
Over the years, Bon Soo has had official wines, and while I haven’t usually been overly impressed with what had been chosen, this year, they’ve nailed it.
The wines are made by Inniskillin, one of Niagara’s very first premium wineries with its first vineyard planted in 1977, and the wines designated include Inniskillin Niagara Estate Pinot Noir Select 2012, Niagara Estate Merlot 2012, and Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling 2013.
At $13.95, the Riesling is a crowd pleaser in the off-dry style, showing good peach/apricot flavours balanced with a crisp apple acidic note – ironically one person writing about it complained about the petrol note on the nose, when this is actually a classic characteristic of fine German Rieslings – it is not overwhelming.
This would marry very well with roast pork, turkey, or chicken.
While I have long enjoyed the Riesling, it is the two reds that really impress me: the secret, I believe, is the 2012 Vintage, one of the most successful that Niagara has ever enjoyed with warm weather all along the way.
In fact the very cold weather that followed last winter so devastated the vines that we might have trouble finding good Merlots in the years to come – this makes the 2012 at $15.95 an exceptional buy, with some real stuffing, good deep red fruit and decent tannins; it will make your prime rib very happy.
Equally impressive is the $15.95 Pinot Noir, very much in the style of Burgundy, more savoury than sweet, with delicate herbal notes (mint?) and sour cherry on the palate, and satisfying grip on the finish. It could accompany lamb or salmon with no trouble at all.
The complexity and length of these two reds is admirable, and they deliver value well above their price.
On the shelves in Vintages currently are a few stand-out reds.
South Africa’s The Bean Coffee Pinotage 2013, $15.95, spends time in specially toasted French barrels to bring out coffee-like notes, and this smooth beauty will be marvellous with barbecue or steak.
Chile’s Falernia Reserva Carmenère 2012, $17.95, is the wine that explains why this grape deserves all the attention it has been receiving – true, it is a re-discovery of a Bordeaux grape that was virtually wiped out in Europe in the 19thcentury because of a vine louse, but quite often there is a “green”, slightly vegetal note lurking in many of these wines that detracts from the experience.
With Falernia, however, Sara d’Amato and John SAzabo of Wine Align explain that, due to the grapes grown in a very arid region being allowed to dry somewhat on the vine, the herbal/vegetal note is gone, and we are left with a deep, “plush” and “opulent” red crafted perfectly for a winter evening.
Currently, our Bay Street Store has 12 bottles of another excellent red from Chile, Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon, $4 off at $17.95, but just from February 2 through February 8 – this wines begs for air – so decant for an hour before serving – anything requiring a big red would be well served with this example.
On the regular list, but just for this weekend, $3 off at $13.95, Apothic Red from California is just the wine for those who don’t like their reds too dry – it has 17 grams of sugar per litre, compared to the previous wine mentioned at just 7.
Coming in on the February 8 release, another big red that will combat our winter admirably is South Australia’s Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz 2012, $15.95, a big bass drum of a wine: intense, fruit- forward, and booming with velvety dark berry and mocha notes.
There is a whole flotilla of red wines from Italy’s Puglia region sailing in, all from $15 to $20. Check with the Wine Consultants to see which ones have actually docked.
I recommend the gold medal Primitivo, Feudi Salentini Luporano Primitivo Del Tarantino 2012, rich with rustic dark flavours for $17.95, along with the 125 Negroamaro Del Salento 2012 from the same house for $14.95 – as flavourful, but more vibrant.
Macedonia offers us an interesting red from the indigenous grape, Vranec – Bovin Vranec 2012, $14.95, is a deep red wine of medium body, with plum and anise notes – a great match for grilled or roasted lamb.
While we might be leaning more to red than white at this time of year, there are a few worthy off attention.
Tikves Alexandria Cuvée White 2013, $15.95, a blend of Chardonnay and Welchriesling, earned a 90 from British Master of Wine, Derek Smedley, who commented on how, after a refreshing start it picked up depth on the midpalate, and then returned to some citrus on the finish.
From the Veneto, San Raffaele Monte Tabor Soave 2013, $13.95, is a clean and fresh organic wine with good nutty and citrus elements coming through at the end.
From California, Barrel 27 High On The Hog White 2011, $20.95, seems to ring all the bells – a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier, it is described by erobertparker.com as being rich but balanced with some staying power – some tropical fruit, some nuttiness and clearly enjoyable.
An Alsatian white, Wolfberger Signature Riesling 2013, $16.95 took gold in Paris last year: it is probably not as dry as Vintages claims, but depth of fruit has that effect – there is a steely backbone at work here, too, along with apple and citrus notes.
There are many more wines on the release, all coming in generally at a case apiece – check with Consultants Jeannie and Elaine for their suggestions, and enjoy.