Monthly Archives: October 2020

I would like to thank everyone who reached out last week, disappointed because I couldn’t do a wine blog because of Internet issues. I am really appreciative to everyone who takes time to read my blogs each week about wine and food. It warms a girl’s heart. You know what else warms a girl’s heart… Wine! Let’s talk some food & wine.

My friends Fred & Arla left Thursday to head to Alberta to take care of their grandson for 3 months. And the best news I received this week, is that they are letting me babysit their Traeger Grill!

I can’t tell you how much I am loving cooking on this grill. The other night I had my BBQ going to do the potatoes, I had chicken wings and a steak on the Traeger.

I had a glass of wine on the go, I had some tunes going, and I was grilling and smoking my steak and wings on the Traeger. As they say on the website, Welcome to the Traeger-hood! I love adding smoke flavor to my wings, chicken, steak and I did the ultimate last night,,,, ribs

They were so good. And while some guys might love a beer while they are grilling, I love a glass of red while cooking outdoors. Here’s what I enjoyed last night while grilling and eating!

From the Niagara region in Ontario, a big thank you to my friends Fred & Arla for bringing me this wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend. Burnt Ship Bay Winery is named after a small bay that lies in the heart of the Niagara River, where these grapes are grown. The bay is known for being the final resting place for treasure-laden French ships. This blend, which also contains some Cabernet Franc, is about $13.50 right now. Sadly, you can’t buy this wine where I live, so my friends had it shipped in, because the winery is offering free shipping on a case of wine right now. It says right on their website to pair this wine with grilled meats, so I did! A match made in heaven.

I’ve also had the opportunity to try the Pinot Grigio. Arla loves the Pinot Grigio, so a few weeks back I got to try this gorgeous white as well. It was a great Pint Grigio with tasty citrus and tropical notes. This wine is priced under $14 as well, and is really a steal of a deal.

Want to know the really funny part?

I live in an apartment building in Halifax, in an area that has a lot of apartment buildings. And every once in a while, the Traeger will release this plume of smoke. It smells awesome, but I was worried one of my neighbours was going to call the fire department last night! LOL I had the ribs on the smoker for almost 3 hours, and they came out amazing. I was so anxious to eat them, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. But no worries, it won’t be my last time doing ribs on this grill. Best I’ve ever made.

Time for my wine of the week…

There used to be a saying ‘Never trust a Pinot Noir under $20’! That rule no longer applies. Pinot Noir was traditionally a more expensive red, because its known as the ‘heartbreak grape’. The skin of a Pinot Noir grape is so thin, its easy for an entire crop to be wiped out. This wine is just $14.49 a bottle and it’s a very light, fruity and easy to drink Pinot Noir. It hails from Argentina, and a warm climate Pinot Noir can taste a little jammy, because the consistently warm weather allows a red grape to fully ripen. Some people would miss the acidity that comes with a cool climate Pinot. Try a Pinot Noir from Canada and you’ll know what I mean. It’s a great wine at a great price and definitely worth the try.

So tonight its Halloween, the clocks go back an hour, and it’s a full moon. 2020 continues to be interesting! Stay safe everyone. I’m going to stay in and enjoy some wine.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Who would have thought, last Thanksgiving, (here in Canada) that a year later Thanksgiving might looks quite different. I know with 2020 being an absolute wonky year with a Global pandemic, some people may find it hard this Thanksgiving. I hope you can find something to be grateful for, and I hope you are safe and healthy. I am thankful for so many wonderful things in my life.

I have my family, who are all healthy, and my nephew Riley, who is going to St. FX this year. He is up for a turkey dinner and a visit with his Aunt Dar. We’re having it earlier than most people, but that’s OK! So grateful he is living in Nova Scotia.

I have amazing friends, I am so very grateful for.

I am grateful to have food on my table, coffee in my cup and wine in my glass.

Let’s talk about some wine, and even pair it with your Thanksgiving dinner. You can’t talk turkey without talking about the white wine.

The Wine of the Week last week would be a great wine for turkey. Flavorful, but not over-powering, it would be a great compliment for the gobble gobble. And at $14.49 a bottle, you can afford to feed it to your family.

Pinot Grigio is another great turkey wine. With its crisp acidity, in my opinion, it’s the perfect pairing for a turkey. But here’s the thing about wine, if you like the wine with turkey, it’s a great wine to go with turkey. Wine is a very personal choice, and I’m only here to give a couple of suggestions, if needed.

If you’re a die hard red wine person, here’s the wine I had last night with my turkey dinner with Riley.

I shouldn’t tease you with this wine because I’m pretty sure the NSLC is sold out of it. But where ever you live in Canada or the U.S., if you see this wine, it’s really really good. We found out through the website Yarmouth, Nova Scotia had 6 bottles, and my good friend Angie has a daughter that lives in Yarmouth.

So low and behold, we bought them out, and was able to enjoy the delicious Pepperwood Grove Old Vine Zinfandel. Any Zinfandel would go great, or if you love Italian wine, try a Primitivo. They are not expensive and it’s the same grape as Zinfandel. You would never know if you tried an American Zinfandel and an Italian Primitivo side by side. Even though they are the same grape, the Americans and the Italians have different ways of working with the grape, but both are delicious.

And now for my Wine of the Week

The Colchagua region of Chile are putting out spectacular Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Chilean winemakers have had help from skilled winemakers all over the world, including the Napa Valley and France. The great thing about a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is that you are not paying the same price tag. This Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is under $19 a bottle and goes perfect with all your favorite Fall comfort foods. Don’t you find as the weather gets cooler, you are drinking more Cabernet Sauvignon?

In 1987, Aurelio Montes and Douglas Murray, both highly experienced wine professionals in Chile, wanted to produce Chilean wines a quantum-leap higher in quality than the standards of the time. In 1988, they joined up with the other two founders, Alfredo Vidaurre and Pedro Grand, who brought their own complementary skills and expertise to the venture. Thus Montes was born. And now you too can enjoy a fantastic Cabernet at a wonderful price. Enjoy!

To all my readers, I am especially grateful for you as you come with me on this wine journey I am so very much enjoying. Have a wonderful long weekend, and stay safe!

Darlene

This past weekend, my friend Angie (she took the above picture) hosted a French dinner party. Everything from the food, to our outfits, to the wine, were all French themed. She even provided us all with little French moustaches. And when we peeled them off, it took off any trace of a moustache we did have, LOL! Women going through menopause will get that joke!

We had some great food, a few great laughs, and some great French wine. We started the evening with a ‘welcome’ wine of a French rose, called Arrogant Frog. My friend Angie is seen holding the bottle of wine.

There is an Arrogant Frog Sparkling rose, but that’s not the one we had, we enjoyed the dry Rose. It was crisp, light and delicious. The winemaker, Jean-Claude Mas is a 4th generation winemaker, who started assisting his father and grandfather in the vineyard when he was 3 years old. Our local NSLC also carries a Chardonnay Viognier white blend and a Cabernet Merlot red blend. I’ll have to try them. Made with the Syrah grape, this was a wonderful wine that we enjoyed with a delicious appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip on a baguette, made by Arla.

Our first course was a salad, which I made, and it had a base of spinach and arugula. I then added beets, mandarin oranges, bacon (of course), almonds, and grated parmesan cheese. I made my salad dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, pepper, soy sauce and some brown sugar. With that course we enjoyed this French sparkling beauty.

The Cremant De Bourgogne hails from the Maconnais region of Burgundy, Franch and Cremant is made in the exact say way as Champagne, what is commonly known as the traditional method. You know that you cannot call a Sparkling wine Champagne, unless it comes from the Champagne region of France and follows a whole list of strict guidelines. This was wonderful, made from Chardonnay grapes, and a steal of a deal at just $25. It was dry, and elegant with a lovely mousse (the foam and bubbles after a sparkling wine has been poured is called the mousse.) This is another great example of a sparkling wine that is made identical to Champagne, but is so much more affordable.

Would you believe I did not get a picture of the main course. I’m so sad, because our friend Elaine made an amazing Beef Bourguignon. It was so delicious, and we paired it with mashed potatoes and French green beans. We served a variety of wines, both white and red, with the main course. We drank Pinot Noir, a GSM (Grenache, Syrah & Merlot) as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.

Dave, pictured above, made a wonderful french fluffy dessert with a custard and a homemade caramel sauce. It was a divine evening of food, wine and fun, but I can’t wait to tell you about the my Wine of the Week!

After last weekend, every single one of us will have this wine as a staple in our wine racks. Meet my new favorite white wine. This wine was recently written up in the Wall Street Journal for being a spectacular wine at a great price. This wine is just $14.49 a bottle here in Nova Scotia, and is a 4 grape blend. Bourboulenc, Grenache blanc, Ugni blanc & Vermentino, which are harvested at optimum maturity, which is the key to a flavorful full-bodied white wine. Gorgeous fruity flavors of apples and citrus with some tropical notes, this wine blew me away. I just loved it.

Well that’s it for me today. Thank you for coming along on my food & wine journey. I love it when people share their wine and food stories with me as well.

Till next weekend, Cheers

Darlene