Goodbye Summer!

Although the last day of Summer is not officially until September 20th, Fall hit Nova Scotia right on September 1st this year.  The temperatures started to drop almost immediately and the nights were cooler for sleeping.  Hello Autumn!

Two weeks ago I was hired to do a Summer wine tasting, and I met 8 of the nicest people.  They wanted a ‘summer-themed’ tasting with lots of chilled white  and rose wines.  They wanted a goodbye to Summer tasting and we had a fabulous time while sharing some great wines.  I even tried a couple of new ones that night.

Let me introduce you to  one of the surprise hits of the evening.

This wine was not originally on the list.  My local liquor store was sold out of the one I originally planned to bring.  But what a great surprise this turned out to be.  The rose wine from Grand Pre Winery in the Anapolis Valley in Nova Scotia was a treat.  It was bright and crisp with lovely citrus flavors, and everyone loved it.  A tremendous value at just $15.99 a bottle, this is a great appetizer wine and a great wine for the upcoming Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

On that evening, we featured 3 different Sauvignon Blanc grapes done in 3 different styles from 3 different countries, and this was the hands-down winner.  In my opinion, no one does Sauvignon blanc like the Sancerre region of France.  This was refreshing and crisp with gorgeous citrus flavors. It was very simply good, nothing over-powering and I feel the wine-making was done to perfection.  The picture on the bottle is the actual Chateau in the centre of the region, which was built in the 10th Century.  This wine is priced at $34 but so worth it.  Honestly, it’s going to be hard to go back to $18 Sauvignon Blanc.

Although I didn’t get the Rose wine from this vineyard, as they were all sold out, I did have the opportunity to try the Lightfoot and Wolfville Riesling.  So good.  Lightfoot and Wolfville is probably Nova Scotia’s newest winery, established in 2009 and they are completely organic.  This fabulous Riesling was aged in the bottle for over a year before release, and the peach and marmalade flavors were in a word – Yummy!  There were only 66 cases of this wine released, so if you see a bottle, nab it before it’s gone.

And my wine of the week…

We featured two wines that night that were 100% Aglianico grapes.  One was a Rose from southern Italy and this full-bodied red.  And it was considered the best wine of the evening, and let me tell you those people have good taste.  From Campania, this wine is delicious with rich dark fruit flavors and a smoky note that would have it pair very well with stews, roast beef and barbecued food.  You know, all the comfort foods you love for Fall and winter.  This is a treat bottle of wine, coming in at $44 a bottle, but it is so very good.

Speaking of awesome barbecue foods that this wine would pair well with, see below for my recipe for baby back ribs.  I finish mine on the grill because  I like those grill marks and it’s a great chance to baste and turn.  I’m known pretty well among my friends and family as a good ribber.  If you try the recipe, let me know how they turn out.

Darlene’s Baby Back Ribs

I’m going to do the recipe in the style that I make them.

1. First, and very important, use the tip of a knife to start to peel back the tough layer of skin that is on the back side of the ribs.  We call it the membrane.   Once it starts to lift, I use 2 pieces of paper towel to peel the rest of it off.  This is a very important step as it keeps fat in and flavor out so you want it gone.
2. Then I marinate my ribs. In a bowl I mix, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, a few shakes of Frank’s hot sauce, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, and then add a bottle of barbecue sauce.
3. Let the ribs sit in the marinade for at least 4 hours, or even over-night.
4. Then pre-heat oven to 275-degrees and let the ribs slow cook in the oven for 2 ½ – 3 hours.
5. Then it’s time to head to the grill
6. I put them on the top rack and keep turning and basting in barbecue sauce for an hour.
7. When I take the ribs off the barbecue, I’m careful, because they are cooked to fall off the bone perfection at this point.
8. Tent the ribs, put them on your cutting board and put aluminum foil over them for 10 minutes. This allows all the juices to settle.
9. Then I cut the ribs and serve them up. A note to use  your favorite barbecue sauce, I like the Bulls Eye Sweet and Sticky personally, but you choose your favorite and try different ones.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Til next week, Cheers

Darlene