The Grape Adventure

I love to travel. Every year I try for a trip to a different location. I love meeting people from new cultures and trying the food from around the world. I especially love trying the new wines. Last year in Italy it was all about the wine, but I try to make my weekly wine experiences an adventure as well. I never go a full week without trying a new wine. Let’s go on a little wine adventure together, from the comfort of wherever you are reading this.

One of my favourite travelling paerners is my sister Jackie. We have travelled to many places like Aruba, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas and Florida, just to name a few. A few years back we went to Hawaii, and while there I enjoyed many wines from California.

Wines from Robert Mondavi Winery were very abundant in Hawaii. One of the wines I tried while there was this fabulous Maestro Red Blend. Sadly, it’s not available in Canada where I live. This wonderful blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot is rich and luscious and one of the best Robert Mondavi wines I have ever tried.

On my bucket list of places to travel, France! And yesterday evening at a wine night here in my building, I bought this beauty and shared it with a few friends. This wine is 80 % Grenache and 20% Syrah and the Syrah is aged in French oak fir 12 months. The Grenache was bright and fruity while the oak-aged Syrah added smoothness. The best part? This wine is $20 a bottle here in Nova Scotia, but when I searched it online, there were places this wine was selling for as much ad $32 a bottle.

And my wine of the week is a steal of a deal….

I counted this morning and I have 4 bottles of this wine in my wine rack, its that great of a deal. When you try this wine, you will be shocked to know its $15 a bottle! The country is Portugal and the grape is Touriga Franscesca. If you’ve ever had wine from Portugal, chances are you’ve had Touriga Nacional,and the two grapes are related. Touriga Fransceca or Franca, as it can be called, is lighter and fruitier. It’s claim to fame is that it’s widely used to make port. This wine is medium to full-bodied with hints of black pepper and its a great food wine or terrific all on its own!