fledging

Wine. It takes a few years for a vineyard to get to the point of making it. There's earth to crack and vines to plant; there's waiting for growth and fruit. Sometimes there might be fighting off predators and disease which could mean a loss, or ripping up vines and replacing with new as the land starts to give up its secrets and harmony between plant and soil can be achieved. Then there is the whole business of making the wine. What to oak, what not to oak, how to ferment, and when to bottle. Making wine is an expensive and time consuming labour of love, really.

In the Ottawa region, all of this is compounded by the experimental and pioneering nature of what hopefully is a fledging industry. Winemakers here are working with cold-hardy hybrids in a region where the mere idea of planting a vineyard of any kind has been remote at best. Denis Perrault at Domaine Perrault, along with winemaker Bernard Martineau and with the help of sommelier Julie Ricard has come a long way in ten years. I've only been drinking the wine for a few years now, but each year what they are pouring gets better. And during a recent visit I noticed that there is less wine made from imported Niagara grapes and more wine from the fruit of his vineyard on offer.

All of this seems exciting to me. I see the potential for a local industry based on a product that I love. As a wine lover I feel invested in wanting these wineries to succeed. For me that means buying the wines when they are good and convincing everyone I know to do the same. It means going back from year to year with the knowledge that it's all a work in progress.

Last weekend I came home with six very drinkable bottles from the vineyard.

This Rosalie is a blend of St. Croix and Sabrevois. It's got a general characteristic of a Beaujolias: light, lots of berry fruit; a little light oaking has brough out some spicy notes and a sweetness; a bit of earth in the glass adds a roundness to the palate . Chilled, this is very easy drinking and would pair well with a platter of charcuterie ($13.00).

So here's the question. What about the people who stock wine lists, and write about wine, and critique wine? Is there a responsibility for those in the industry to be supportive?

beer and cheese

I rarely think about beer. Okay, I never think about beer. I guess I'm a bit of a one pony girl: wine, wine, wine (and the odd cocktail). That's not to say I don't drink beer. I do. I drink it. It's good. I'm just not given to contemplation when sipping a beer: top fermented, bottom fermented, hops, and worts, and mash. Whaaaaaaat? Yup, I am no connoisseur of the beer.

But this week, for the sake of broadening my horizons, I went to a beer and cheese tasting hosted by Savvy Company at the Kichesippi Brewery, which is just around the corner from my house - and why don't I go there more often? Flavours from four local micro-breweries were on tap for tasting: Ashton Brewing Company, Big Rig Brewery, Clocktower Brew Pub (whose bitter I love), and of course, Kichesippi Beer Company.

We were greeted with a glass of Kichesippi's Hell or High Water, which was a great, refreshing sip. My favourite of the evening though was a glass of Blueberry Wheat from Ashton Brewing Company. Dave, who really likes beer, was all like: "blueberries in your beer"? But then I was all like: "Aw come on, don't be so stodgy". Sure there's a hint of blueberry, but it's very subtle and really only discernible on the finish which gives the beer a nice flourish. Otherwise what was in my glass was light, refreshing, citrusy and with a hint of ginger.

The cheese, the beer, it was all good, but what do I know?

Oh, I know this now: "a well-crafted beer should have good head retention... as you drink, watch for a lace-like pattern left by the foam on the sides of your glass."

still on the bottle

Another round of cocktails with the trusty old bottle of rum, but first you have to make this little jar of sunshine.

Sour Mix
1 cup simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar)
1 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice

It'll keep in the refrigerator for a loooong time, or freeze it and just take a slushy scoop when you need it. Good for many a cocktail.

Roaring Twenties
-adapted from the memory of a drunken night at The Campbell Apartment in NYC

1.5 oz light rum
1/2 oz ginger liquer
dash lemon juice
dash sour mix
dash grenadine

-shake it all up and serve over lots of ice (I think this one had an over-dash of grenadine, I don't remember it being so pink, but still very good).

We're on a roll now!

a little rum

For a change from the vinous libations we usually drink here, this week Nita's margarita recipe inspired me to crack open a bottle of hard liquor. It was over-the-top hot here in Ottawa and this tall, icy drink proved to be a welcome stranger.

All I did was clip the mint out of the garden and Dave did the rest. So good you'll have one, then another one, then another one, and so on, and so on, and so on...

Dave's Mojito
1.5 oz light rum
juice of 1 lime
2 oz simple syrup (that's equal amounts of sugar and water heated until a clear, sweet liquid and then cooled)
1 sprig of mint (we use a mild mint that's a bit of a cross between spearmint and peppermint)
lots of ice
soda

-in a tall tumbler add the rum, lime juice, simple syrup and mint; muddle a little with a spoon to release some of the mintiness
-add the ice and top up with any carbonated water; stir; drink
-make another


Oh and... FREE MY GRAPES ALREADY! What the hell is wrong with you politician people? There's more info here if you care to know.

an onion tart

Pissaladière: a tart from the south of France named after pisala - anchovy paste.

-adapted from Saveur Magazine
1 tbsp yeast
3 cups flour
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tin anchovies
12  medium oinons, thinly sliced
2 sprigs each, thyme and rosemary
2 bay leaves
pepper
a few pitted, halved black olives

Start the day before and slowly roast the onions, anchovies (include the packing oil), thyme, rosemary and bay leaves over a slow fire while you sip a bottle of wine.

Once caramelized, put the onion/anchovy mix in the fridge until the next day. Carry on drinking.

Sometime the next day, between coffee and the first drink of the day, sprinkle the yeast over 1 cup of luke warm water. Allow this to stand until foamy then add the flour, olive oil, salt. Mix well and knead in the bowl for about five minutes. Cover and leave to sit in a warm, sunny spot until doubled in size. Pour another drink.

When your good judgement says that dough is about doubled, spread it out on a baking sheet that has been plied with a little olive oil. Use your fingers to stretch the dough out as best you can. Spread the onion mixture evenly over the dough, toss a few halved olives decoratively about. Cover and allow to sit for another half hour or so, just enough time for a drink.

Turn on the barbecue, allow it to warm up. Put the tart, uncovered, on the top rack of the barbecue. Turn the barbecue on low and wait, drink, check. You'll know when it's done.

Serve with a glass of rosè because that's surely what they'd do in the south of France.

This bottle will do just fine. It's easy to drink, light, not too expensive and there's always lots on the shelves at the LCBO. Early summer fruits abound in the glass: strawberry, raspberry, cherry. There's a light, sweetness on the finish that compliments the caramelized onions and the acidic kick leaves the palate refreshed ($12.95).

the bottle vs the needle

If ever anyone was not a knitter, that person would be me. I have a hard time sitting still. Which is why, perhaps, I like wine so much. Booze of any kind is great for slowing things down. A couple of glasses and my ‘off’ switch miraculously presents itself. I lounge on the couch; I drink; I lounge some more; I drink some more. You knitters can correct me if I’m wrong, but I have an idea that knitting and booze would make for a crazy one armed sweater vest.

I do read a knitting blog, however. I got introduced to the Yarn Harlot by the Harlot’s husband Joe, who I used to work with sometimes. Stephanie’s writing is worth the trip through yarn-land. She’s fun to read, even if you aren’t a knitter.

Which brings me to the whole point of this post. While I was reading about knitting and thinking about drinking, I found this website: http://frivolknitty.com/. It seems that Ottawa knitters have taken up yarn-bombing. How fun is that?!!! I want them to yarn-bomb my neighbourhood. Hell, I want them to yarn-bomb my house. That looks like almost as much fun as opening that second bottle of rosè.

Okay, this is the last I will ever speak of knitting. Go open a bottle of this and sit on your couch. It's a guaranteed unwind after a long week; not too complicated, so you don't have to think about it too much. There's some crisp citrus fruit and apple on the nose accompanied by that Sauvignon Blanc grassiness. A bit of alcohol in the wine translates to a little viscosity on the palate, but the finish is tart with a final shot of minerality and ripe pink grapefruit ($10.95).

a couple of bottles makes the painting go down

A. Little. Tired. Of. Painting.

But I'm still drinking! Never. Tired. Of. That.

This weekend was pretty cool and very rainy in Ottawa, so I craved a little red wine. I opened this bottle, which is a blend of red grapes and in the glass is: inky, dark purple with oaky, vanilla and liquorice aromas, some dark cherry and blackberry fruit and an almost sweet, nutmeg-tinged finish ($13.95). Despite being only 13% alcohol, it seemed much fuller on the palate. If you like your wine big and lush, you'll like this. It is definitely good for that. It was a bit too much for me, but hey, the beauty of wine is that there is lots of variety and we don't all like the same things. The woman at the cash register in the LCBO said she loves it.

I get flack for not writing about wines I don't like, so there you have it. I'm easing my conscience about this one though because it's not necessarily a bad wine, just not for me.

So, I moved on to this white.

Pale honey in colour; initial aromas of lemon/lime are followed by richer apricot and pineapple. There's a little mineral tinge and it's quite supple on the palate, even a hint of sweet I'd say. The finish has a lemon verbena herbacousness to it which gives the wine a light, juicy effect. It's not too complex, but what's there is balanced and pleasant ($9.95). Ahhhh Ontario whites, gotta love them.

Then I went to bed quite early in the evening and watched the soft light of the magic hour fall across the foot of my bed. I listened to someone's lawn mower breaking up the distance between me and the outside world and dreamt of gas stoves and big wine fridges.