Monthly Archives: July 2021

Yes, I’m this excited! I have a couple of trips planned, all within Canada, but still, I’m this excited. The wine tour to the Niagara region in Ontario, including a 2-night stay in beautiful Quebec City and the 1000 Islands Boat Tour is going ahead for October 2nd. And this is where we are staying in Niagara Falls.

Lots of exciting news this week. I am getting on a plane Thursday for the first time since Christmas 2019 and heading to Newfoundland for 10 days. And then, October 2nd, we are leaving Halifax for a wonderful 7-night tour that I would love you to come on. Come join us, there’s room, and we are going to have so much fun. If you like videos, Richard and I did a video a while back explaining the full details of the tour, and you can view it here. Richard is the President and Director of Fun for Atlantic Tours, and honest to God, he’s so much fun, you would think he was a Newfoundlander himself. LOL

I’m going to share the readers digest version of the tour.

First we leave Halifax on a brand new comfortable motorcoach bus and head to Quebec City for 2 nights. We will be staying at the Manoir Victoria Hotel in the heart of Old Quebec City. There we will be given a guided tour, we will have some free time to explore and we are going to discover some great food and wine. I have never been to old Quebec City before so I’m super excited about this part of the trip.

And then it’s on to Niagara Falls. We are staying at the beautiful hotel seen above, the Embassy Suites by Hilton. Over the next 3-night stay, we will enjoy a guided tour of Niagara Falls, plus we will be visiting 6 of the top wineries in the Niagara region. Not all in one day of course, but the best part is we will have a designated driver, so we can enjoy these wineries to the fullest. Some of the wineries include

Wayne Gretzky not only has an award winning winery, but he also has a whiskey tasting room on site, in this spectacular 20,000 square foot facility.

We will also be visiting Peller Estates, along with 4 other wineries. You can visit 2 wineries, or you can come to all 6, it’s completely up to you. 13 Meals: 4 Dinners, 2 Lunches, 7 Breakfasts are included in the price, and we are going to have so much fun. Come with us.

We are going to finish it up with the Thousand Island Boat Tour before we head back home. You can join us from anywhere. Check out the details at http://www.atlantictours.com. You’ll probably talk to Peggy and she can help with any questions you might have.

So, last week I told you I had some ribs marinating, and would give you the recipe this week.

Marinades can change, and I never measure amounts. Here’s what I put in my marinade. You can mix and match, or use whatever you like. Brown Sugar, Worchestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, liquid smoke, and BBQ sauce. You can use any sauce for the marinade, but when you are finalizing the ribs on the grill, use a good thick one, it will stick to the ribs better. Then set your oven to 275-degrees and slow cook those ribs for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

Then I put them on the grill, on in-direct heat. What I mean by that, is one side of my BBQ is on, and the other is not. I put the ribs on the off side, to allow them to finish cooking, slowly. That’s when I’m basting with my good BBQ sauce. This is the one I like, Bulls Eye Sweet & Sticky.

I also put the ribs directly on the heat for a minute or two each side. I let the heat carmelize those sugars from both the sauce and the marinade, and put those real nice grill marks on your ribs. Did I take a picture after my ribs were done. No, I was too hungry. Trust me, they turned out great. And this is the wine I had with them.

Normally, I like a big bold Zinfandel with ribs, but this time a big bold Cabernet Sauvignon also did the trick. This is actually a blend, even though the majority of the wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon. That is the main grape of the wine, but there is a small bit of Merlot and Zinfandel in this wine. It was rich and decadent, and I just loved it with the ribs. It felt like a real splurge, even though it was under $20 a bottle. To my Newfoundland friends, you can get it there, it’s $1 more.

I just wanted to let everyone know there will be no wine blogs for the next 2 weeks. Heading to my hometown of Corner Brook, Newfoundland on Thursday and I’m there till Sunday August 2nd. I’ll tell you all about my trip when I get back.

Stay safe, enjoy Summer. Cheers

The Winds of Elsa? or the Wines of Elsa? Either way, Tropical Cyclone Elsa hit the Halifax area last night and while some people didn’t get any damage, my patio wasn’t quite as lucky. Yes, this is a picture of my brand new barbecue with a full 20-lb tank of propane inside, and yes, it was attached to the deck by 2 bungee cords. Didn’t matter, Elsa sent all my herb plants flying and my BBQ toppling. So that’s what I’m doing today, clean up. How was your experience with Elsa? People who live on the front of our building didn’t receive any wind at all. I guess I was in the path. Oh, and slept through it all.

Apparently that was me last night. Let’s look at some great food and wine.

First, a couple of new food dishes.

My friends Mike & Kim in Newfoundland introduced me to chicken flautas 15 years ago. Delicious. Boiled or roasted chicken, (You can use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. ) shredded, add sauteed onions and garlic. Lots of garlic, they are garlicky! Add salsa and cheese and roll them up in a tortilla shell. And then fry them in a pan till browned on all 4 sides. These flautas, my Mom’s recipe for sweet and sour meatballs, and some rice made for a great weekday meal. I have ribs marinating today, and I’ll share those with you next week. Put them in the marinade last evening, that’s going to be tasty.

I’m going to share some great wines you can have with foods based in a sauce, in this case, a sweet and sour sauce.

A Rose is a great choice

Arrogant Frog is a great Rose wine and a fan favorite among my friends. It’s made with the Syrah grape, has wonderful acidity and is a great way to compliment a food with a heavier sauce. Perfectly priced at $17.

Another grape that goes well with a sweet and sour sauce would be saucy Zinfandel. Zinfandel’s peppery notes pairs very well with the smoky components of a sauce. You can also check for an American ‘red blend’, as many of them contain Zinfandel. For my Newfoundland friends, here’s a couple of great Zinfandel wines.

Gnarly Head Zinfandel is an old vine Zinfandel, which means the flavors are really enhanced. It is found everywhere in Canada and is priced under $23 a bottle.

A wine like the Cupcake Red Blend is a Zinfandel based red wine with Merlot & Petite Sirah added to make it a blend. Delicious and priced between $17 and $19. I looked for this yesterday at the NSLC on my street, but they were sold out of it. It would have been a great wine to have with my ribs tonight.

And last but not least, a brand new wine I had last night. Loved it. You have to let it breathe.

When I first opened the bottle, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. The wood overpowered. So I let it sit for 15 or 20 minutes, and boy was it enjoyable. You need to either let this breathe for 20 – 30 minutes or decant it. Keep in mind, it was bottled 6 years ago in 2015, so in a case like that, when you first open the bottle, oak would be predominant. This wine was only aged 3 months in French Oak barrels so it shouldn’t be oaky. This is a beautiful Super Tuscan blend from Italy, made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese, in equal parts. Beautifully balanced with lots of body. Priced under $20 a bottle, I enjoyed it.

Well I have to dance myself down my hallway, I have my barbecue grates soaking in the bath tub.

Till next week, Cheers

Although it’s cool here in Halifax today, we had a few really humid days this past week. Temperatures were like 28° with a humidex of 35°, that’s a little uncomfortable for me. In true eastern Canada fashion, however, temperatures hit a high of 13° yesterday.
My heart goes out to people in the western portion of our country, where temperatures are in the high 40s and low ‘50’s, and for our readers outside of Canada that’s Celsius degrees. Lytton, BC hit the highest temperature in North America, earning a mention on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC. Sadly, a fire evacuated and burnt much of the town, and our hearts are going out to everyone there.

With temperatures that high, I barbecued during those couple of days.

This pork chop was a new recipe, and a winner! The easy to make glaze consisted of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and a little orange juice. Tasty! that marinade would also work on chicken.

If you’ve been watching the Food Network lately, you’ve seen iconic Canadian Chef Mark McEwan promote this wine. It was also featured on a couple of episodes of the latest Top Chef Canada. The reason being, Sauvignon Blanc is so food friendly. This Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc, it’s from New Zealand, and was the very first wine I ever got tested on in my training to become a Sommelier. Gorgeous flavors of passion fruit and grapefruit, make it a great summer wine. It pairs fantastic with seafood, and also your favorite summer salad.

For my friends in Newfoundland, there is a wide variety of Stoneleigh products available, including a sparkling. If any of my readers try that particular wine, can you let me know what you thought? I am going to get home this Summer, and would love to hear opinions.

Ripasso in Italian means ‘to pass again’, and that’s what happens with the Valpolicella grape juice. It is ‘passed over’ Amarone skins and picks up those rich deep flavors of the Amarone. This is a great BBQ wine, with cherry flavors from the Valpolicella and fig and chocolate from the Amarone skins. It’s on sale here right now, so it’s a great time to try it. We don’t have access to it here, but my friends in Newfoundland can get a dry Zonin Rose Brut. I’ll be trying that when I go home this Summer.

Stay safe everyone. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene