Good Wine With Great Friends!

What a week it has been for wine.  The week started with me visiting friends in New Brunswick and spending some time on their boat.  And of course sharing a few laughs and a great wine.  I even got to drive the boat!

 

My friends Ron and Rosalie hosted myself a couple of other friends on a boating adventure along parts of the Saint John River.  And while we were cruising they surprised me with one of my favorite wines.

I haven’t had the Marques de Riscal since I left Newfoundland because you can’t get it here in Nova Scotia.  It’s a shame, because this is a spectacular wine.  Tempranillo grapes with Graciano and Mazuelo varieties blended in, but not exceeding 10% of the blend, and then it spends 2 years in American Oak, and a minimum of 1 year aging in the bottle before release.  This all adds up to an extremely smooth medium to full-bodied wine with spicy notes of cherry and balsamic.  A great wine for meat dishes, pizza, ham, or cheese and crackers.  It also pairs very well with a great boat ride.  Thank you Ron & Rosalie.

 

And thanks for the scenic adventure.

And then on Wednesday evening we had a great wine tasting in my building with 22 fun folks who love wine as much as I do.  We shared a few great wines, and here is one of the favorites from the evening

The Tidal Bay wine from Benjamin Bridge is a delightful crisp wine on the senses with gorgeous citrus flavors.  This wine, along with other Tidal Bay wines from Nova Scotia represent the terroir of this province with its cool breezes and short growing season.  Designed perfectly to pair with seafood, this wine also goes with appetizers, salads or even a great patio.  A couple of people described it as tart, but when paired with something like an oily fish or mussels,  it’s exactly what you’re looking for in a wine.

Here’s another wine from our tasting that is brand new to the NSLC here in Nova Scotia.  The Prince Phillipe Beaujolais pays tribute to Philippe III known as Philippe le Bon (1419-1467), Prince of France and Duke of Burgundy.  Quite the title, isn’t it?  Fruity and floral, everyone at the tables really picked up on the floral notes, smelling flowers and roses.  This is a light-bodied wine which would be great for lunch, light meats and some poultry.

I had some handsome helpers for this great event, and we tried 6 different wines from 6 different countries.  Two whites, 1  Rose and 3 Reds.

Here’s the  Rose wine we tried

The Jacob’s Creek Rose is made from the Moscato grape so it does have that hint of sweetness.  It’s light refreshing and fruity – great for summer.   It is not considered a sparkling wine but it does have effervescence  on the pallet.  A great one for spicy foods and at just $13.49 a bottle,  it’s very easy on the wallet.

And by far this was the winner of the evening, and it’s my wine of the week…..

 

The Marques Casa de Concha Cabernet Sauvignon was a hit.  Voted the most admired wine brand in the world, Conchay Toro celebrated its 130th Anniversary back in 2013… not bad for what started out as a little vineyard in Chile!  In this part of Chile there are big temperature swings from day to night.  What that does is prolong the ripening process and ensuring a wine with concentrated fruit and intense aromas.  This wine always makes the Top 100 wines from Wine Spectator and has won many other numerous awards.

What a great week for wine…. Thank you for reading and sharing with your friends, it is very much appreciated.

Till next week Cheers

Darlene