2003 Fork in the Road
Cab, Merlot, Shiraz Blend
Okanagan
13.5%
2000 Aquila Cabernet Sauvignon
Blackwoods Valley, Margret River
Ausstralia.
14%
Music match - LL Cool J's Big ole Butt or Sir Mix a lot's Baby Got Back
2004 Vin de Pays d'Oc - Chapoutier - Cigala
This must be Chapoutier's bastard child because I couldn't find any info on his website.
The bottle say it is a Syrah Grenache blend but I don't know what percentages. I am guessing there is more grenache than syrah. It is $12 and is from the Vin de Pays d'Oc area which is pretty much any where from the south of France. It's a very average wine that is light and soft on the palate. It's not offensive and very easy to drink, but it leaves you wanting something more. I have had better wine at $12 but not a lot. That doesn't mean this wine is good, I probably won't buy this again. The Chapoutier - Belleruche is way better and only a couple of loonies more...but then again try it for yourself it's only $12.
Music Match - John Wesley Hardings - Bastard Son
Sausage porn...HAHAHA...I will probably get a lot more hits now!
First you grind your meat.
Then you stuff it
Then you can have it in a roll
or twist it in to small sections
and then eat it!!
and no apologies to all of the pervs who thought it was going to be a different sausage.!!
On the left from Kelheim, Germany.... Schneider Weisse
And on the right from Munich, Germany.... Hacker-Pschorr
Round 1 - The looks. Both are cloudy, which is not surprising because Hefe means 'with yeast'. When poured both show a lot of carbonation, again I am sure it is due to the Hefe. The Schneider Weisse has a deep richer colour implying a more full bodied taste. Round 1 winner goes to the Schneider Weisse.
Round 2 - The smells. Both have a yeasty smell...Hmmm what is that due to? The Schneider Weisse smells of cloves and citrus. Hacker-Pschorr seems muted compared to the Schneider, there is not much beyond the bready yeast smell. Round 2 winner goes to Schneider Weisse.
Round 3 - The Taste. The aromas come through in the taste with the Schneider Weisse having citrus and cloves where the Hacker-Pschorr is muted. The Hacker-Pschorr has a carbonated watery mothfeel compared to the Schneider Weisse. Round 3 Winner goes to Schneider Weisse
And the Winner of Battle 1 of the Wort War goes to Schneider Weisse.
Music Match for the Hefe Weizen War is Everything I own by Bread
What started as a unique blend of Malbec and Tempranillo turned into the ADD wine clerk at The Wine Shop telling me he doesn't drink wine with Women on the label...Well I hate to admit that he is true.....but only in this case. The Wine wasn't well balanced and was quite acidic. I had the bottle open for a few days and it got better the second and third day so it makes me think it is not all that bad. I will try again but I will make sure I have it with food...and probably a different vintage..... or different wine maker.
Music Match - Paul Weller's Live Album 'Catch a Flame'
It's been a couple of months since I have done a wine store review so today you get two.
First off The Wine Shop on 17 Ave
A nice little shop that I haven't been since they moved...which I think has been a couple of years. The store feels smaller then it's previous location but still has pretty good ambiance...Although it did feel like the store I used to work in where there was a lot of wine nik-nacks and you could easily knock over wines if you had a big jacket and were not very careful. As soon as we walked in the door the staff greeted us and ask if we wanted to sample some wine. They had about 10 different bottles open and we were told we could sample them all. The staff seemed nice and helpful except there was one staff member who had a different comment about every wine I looked at or picked up. I started not believing anything he said when I picked up this Argentinean wine that was a blend of Malbec and Tempranillo. I thought this was an unusual blend and wanted more information about the wine. He said he hasn't tried the wine and probably won't because it has a woman on the label, so when I asked if he preferred to have a guy on the label he just said no it's just a new world wine trying to cash in by putting a woman on the label...Yeah good reason not to like a wine....Anyway beyond the annoying staff member the store has good selection of Italian wines, ones that I have not seen elsewhere. The selection for the other countries was decent except the New Zealand selection was lacking. There was no beer or spirits which is probably a good thing since they have a couple of bars right next door.
Overall the prices seemed decent and I will definitely go back to buy more Italian wines....that is if there are no women on the labels.
Secondly MetroVino
I think there is probably more wine smarts in this one store than all other stores combined. The store is quite small but it is eclectic. The staff is helpful but I always get the feeling that they would be more helpful if I was buying the expensive wines or if I was buying a lot of wine. The good thing about the store is you don't have to rely on the staff, you can trust the selection in the store and know it was chosen for a reason and not brought in to sell a lot like it's some McWine. The prices might be a dollar or two more than you will see elsewhere, but I don't mind because I would rather spend it at a private independent shop than some big box store. There is a small selection of specialty beers and spirits, but its not a place to go if that is just what looking to buy. The unique thing about MetroVino is the connection to the Cookbook store, you can freely walk between the two stores. This is odd given all of the regulations in this province and the fact that The Cookbook store is relying more on food items than cookbooks. though it's nice to be able to do this, you don't feel like some delinquent scofflaw that the government wants you to feel like when you go to purchase liquor.
Overall it's a good place to go and check out every once and awhile.
I was reading an article about the Sparkling wine season that is coming up. Sparkling wine sells the largest quantities during December then any other time of year. Anyway there was a quote from Madame Lily Bollinger, who owns the Champagne house that bears her family name.
"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it, unless I'm thirsty."
When I first started it I thought it was going to be more Dr Suess like, and since it wasn't....
I drink it when I’m happy
I drink it on the yangtze
I drink it with bacon
I drink it unshaken
Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone
Sometimes I drink, it tastes like limestone
I drink it with green eggs and ham
I drink wine because I can
On the day the US election votes for more morons to lead them, I find the website
Which was created to communicate rational thought because if we can't talk about bacon rationally then we can't talk about anything. And since Bacon is so tasty how can it be bad?
Now if we could only vote for the Peace Though Pork Political Party
Because as the drunken frat boy says 'People that don't
eat bacon obviously have issues.'
Goes well with with the New Tragically Hip Album - World Container.
