Monthly Archives: April 2016

On Thursday, my cat Tigger, crossed the Rainbow bridge at the age of 20 years and 6 months.  I adopted him in Grande Prairie, Alberta Canada, on April 3, 1996 from the SPCA.  The vet estimated he was about 5 months old at the time, so we always celebrated his birthday on November 3rd.  This picture was taken of us on November 3rd last  year, the day he turned 20 years old.   So on Thursday I went out and got a special bottle of wine and toasted my best fur friend.

For my toast to Tigger, I picked a Bordeaux from the Right Bank.  The Chateau Faizeau Montagne Saint Emilion is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and is a fantastic expression of a Bordeaux wine.  It’s full-bodied and rich, the Merlot grapes provide for smoky plum flavors and the Cabernet Franc provides excellent structure.   It was a great wine for the $35 price tag I paid for it.   And this wine would go with so many foods, from delicious cheeses to your favourite dinner.

This picture was taken the year Tigger turned 13.  He was adopted in Alberta, but we traveled lots for work we lived in 4 different Canadian provinces and 8 cities and towns.  We lived on the Humber River in Steady Brook, Newfounfland, just outside of Corner Brook when this picture was taken.  One of the things we loved to do was sit on the deck overlooking the river.  He spent hours in my lap and I would be enjoying a good wine.  Like this one…

The Glorioso Rioja Reserva from 2009 is one of my favorite Tempranillo wines and no one does Tempranillo like the Rioja region of Spain.  A steal of a deal at just $25 a bottle.  This smooth beauty has been awarded with 91 points from Wine Spectator, 92 points from other wine magazines, and won a Gold medal at a wine competition in 2014.  It’s delicious with juicy plum flavors, hints of mocha and licorice and it has a very polished finish.

 

The picture on the left comes from an online program I found that incorporates your own pictures onto the covers of famous magazines, and for a joke I had Tigger put on the cover of Vogue.  He was a very fashionable kitty after all.  The picture on the right was taken by friends Jesper and Gitte, who were visiting from Denmark, and he would have been 16 at the time.  We were living in St. John’s Newfounfland when this picture was taken.

Another favorite pass time of ours was me trying to read a book while Tigger sat in the book, trying to be the centre of the book.  I love an evening of a good book and a great wine.  Or watching a movie, Tigger was front and centre.   I always enjoy a good glass of wine with a great movie .  Like the Santa Ema Reserve Pinot Noir from Chile.  This is an exceptional wine.  No wimpy Pinot Noir here.  This is a medium to full-bodied with lots of flavor.  Some times Pinot gets a bad wrap, but I have been encouraging people who have never tried Pinot Noir to start with this one. It has some nice earthy cherry flavors and you don’t get a lot of that ‘cola’ taste sometimes associated with some Pinot wines.

Tigger never liked to be left out of anything, so when I did Yoga, so did he!   It’s funny because most times I would wait till he was curled up asleep in his favourite chair.  But as soon as he heard that mat go down he came awake and want to join in

And now my wine of the week

With BBQ season officially among us, I have to name the Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as the wine of the week.  The absolute perfect steak wine.  This beautifully vibrant Cabernet has beautifully sourced fruit, with notes of vanilla, cassis and smoke.  Love love love this wine.  If you haven’t had this yet, cook a steak and try the wine.  You will adore me.

I had to take this opportunity to do a write up on my baby of 20 years, so thank you for allowing me to share.  On the day he passed I heard from friends from Vancouver Island British Columbia all the way to St. John’s Newfoundland and everywhere in between.   He was a spectacular personality,  vocal when he needed to be, and the biggest sook who loved being in my arms.

Give your pets an extra hug today in memory of Tigger.     I was so very blessed to have 20 great years

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

 

 

And that’s just one of the fun facts you’ll learn about wine, and I’ll share some new wines I have discovered in the past few weeks.   Did you know one barrel of wine makes 1,180 glasses of wine or just over 24 cases.  Wouldn’t we all love to have a wine barrel handy.

 

Here’s the Primitivo I treated myself to last Friday night.  I apologize for the blurry picture, I took 3 pictures, but I must have been shaking with excitement.  The Gold Series Vigne Vecchie Primitivo Di Manduria is a mouthfeel to say and a treat to the palate.  Primitivo originated in Croatia, but now is mostly grown in the Puglia region of southern Italy and of course California where it is known as Zinfandel.  Primitivo means early riser because it is one of the earliest budding grapes.  This wine was the gold medal winner at the New Zealand International Wine Show, and with its spicy cherry flavors, smooth oak finish and tobacco notes, I wasn’t surprised to hear that.  Comes in at around the $40 mark but worth every cent.

Did you also know that one case of wine equals 30 pounds of grapes and one acre of grapevines produces 4000 bottles of wine or 15,940 glasses of wine?   Make no wonder winemakers seem happy all the time!

Had a new Pinot Noir from New Zealand a couple of weeks back.  From Hawkes Bay, the Hipi Pinot Noir was delightful and full of flavor.  The word ‘hipi’ is the Maori word for sheep, not the traditional meaning here in North America.  Black cherry flavors with soft tannins, this wine was made for drinking now.  Although you could cellar it for 3 – 5 years.

My friend Rosalie drinks her wine with ice cubes, as many people I know do.  I should pass along this tip.  And although Rosalie drinks red wine, it should work with red grapes as well.  Speaking of my friend Rosalie, her and her husband Ron, bought me a wine from New Brunswick that I couldn’t get here in Nova Scotia a couple of weeks ago.  And it was my wine of the week.

The Lake Sonoma Dry Creek Zinfandel was so good.  It was a limited edition brought in to New Brunswick, so I’m a little sad I won’t have it again, but it was worth every sip.  It won the gold medal at the World Wine Awards of Canada in 2015, you probably won’t find it surprising its from the Sonoma region of California.  This is a big robust wine with lots of jammy fruit and hints of black pepper.  So you know it was spectacular with the BBQ ribs I enjoyed with the wine but it would go great with any grilled meats and especially lamb.

I’ll close off with some of the health benefits of our favorite beverage.

Thank you for reading and sharing my wine blog, it is very much appreciated.  Welcome to the new readers from last week, and thank you for the kind notes everyone.

There will not be a wine blog next week as I am heading to the Bahamas on Thursday with my sister?   I can’t wait to share with you when I get back all the new wines I’m looking forward to trying .

Till then, Cheers

Darlene