A friend just sent me a link to an interesting article about wine and music.  Have a read, there are some great suggestions for music that will enhance a wine when paired.   Thanks for the link Tony!

A friend recently passed along this great article about an experiment Harvard researchers completed on obese mice.  Seems that red wine helps to reduce their weight and live longer.  Now they are trying to create links to humans… In case you need a reason to drink red wine - read on.

Region vs. Grape
Just to keep us all sufficiently confused, sometimes winemakers label their wine by the region and sometimes by the grape. Generally speaking, many Old World countries (think European countries like France, Italy, and Spain) label their wine based on region, whereas most New World countries (like Australia, Chile, and the United States) label by grape.  Read the rest of the article I wrote for Foodtv.ca.

Ask for Help: If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, ask for help. A good store has staff trained to know about the products they sell and should be able to help you out, and if yours doesn’t, find yourself a new wine store.  Read the rest of this article I wrote for Foodtv.ca.

In bigger restaurants, Sommeliers are often in charge of putting together the wine list, managing the wine cellar, and serving wines to guests in the restaurant. Funny that my title should be Sommelier then, considering I don’t actually work in a restaurant.

In my job, for example, I run wine tastings, teach classes, and write about wine. There are lots of other Sommeliers I know who work as wine agents, at wineries, as wine writers, reporters, and columnists, and even work running wine tours around the world (nice work if you can find it!).   Read my entire article as featured on Foodtv.ca’s food style section.

Wine and food matching is both an art and a science. Keep these tips in mind and let your taste buds do the rest.  

There are so many styles of wine available in stores these days, and when you add that to the fact that today’s food shops and restaurants are filled with flavours from around the world, the possibilities for wine and food matching are endless. But don’t be discouraged by all this variety.

Here are a few basic tips to get you started in putting together your own delicious wine and food pairings. And remember, do what tastes good to you.  Wine and food matching is both an art and a science. Keep these tips in mind and let your taste buds do the rest.

Balance
You don’t want your wine to overpower your food, but you also don’t want the flavours of your food to be too intense for the wine. Complicated? Not really. Consider both the flavours and the textures of your food, as well as the wine when trying to find a balance. For instance, steamed lobster is a rich, buttery meat with a subtle, sweet flavour That’s delicate enough for a white wine, but because the texture is so rich, the white wine should also be rich and full bodied; an oak-aged Chardonnay is the perfect pairing.

Read the entire article by Stacey Metulynsky, on Food Network’s web site.

Do you VQA?  We recently visited the Niagara wine region to finalize details for our fall wine tour.  On our trip we learned a bit about the new sub-appellation system and some great new wineries.   For this installment of the groovy wine podcast we invited our friends, John Szabo MS and Zoltan Szabo award winning Sommelier, of Szabo & Szabo Drinks Trade Consultants to talk about Ontario wine, the new sub-appellation system and VQA wines.    

Embassy Magazine called on Groovy Grapes to contribute to an article about what to consider when entertaining with wine.  Have a look.

Ok, maybe it’s just because of fond memories, but I love the idea of boxed wine.  My first wine experiences included boxed wine in Australia, where you could get pretty good quality vino in a box. It was so convenient that I brought it just about everywhere with me as I backpacked around the country.

When I returned to Canada after my Aussie travels, I was psyched to try out the local boxed wine.  Unfortunately, what I had here was so disappointing; all I got out of it was four litres of cooking wine (I made a lot of mussels).  So when Tetra Pak wines showed up on the market recently, I was skeptical. But as more and more selection flooded the stores, I started to get curious again – was this stuff any better than what I had tried a few years back?

Besides my soft spot for wine in a box, there are lots of other reasons why I think boxed wine is a great idea.  First, as I mentioned before, it’s convenient.  You don’t need a corkscrew and you don’t have to worry about glass bottles, which means it’s perfect for camping, the cottage, or other casual travels. 

Then of course there are the environmental and economical considerations.  Tetra Pak cartons are recyclable and are actually being recycled in most regions across Canada. In addition to their recyclability, wine cartons are a more environmentally-friendly packaging option than glass because they are based on source reduction, the first and most important component of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). A Tetra Pak carton weighs 40 grams. A glass bottle weighs at least 600 grams, or 15 times more. Even if you didn’t recycle any of your Tetra Pak cartons and recycled most of your glass wine bottles, the Tetra Pak format would still win out.  And because they are so much lighter than glass, packaging wine in cartons reduces both fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.   Overall, wine in a box creates less waste and less pollution than traditional glass bottles. (Source: Tetra Pak Canada Inc.)

So back to the quality – can you actually get any good tasting wine in a box?  The statistics say yes.  According to Tetra Pak Canada “The LCBO said Ontario consumers have purchased nearly one million litres of wine in Tetra Pak cartons in the past 10 months, and that U.S. figures show North American demand growing by 30 per cent per year.”  Not only that, there are currently 30 wines in Tetra Pak cartons available at the LCBO and because of the demand, another 40 products are now in production.

So, I decided to put these statistics to the test and got a group of wine-loving friends together for a little boxed wine taste test.  The results – not bad.  Some we enjoyed, some not so much, but overall we agreed that for cottage and camping or for everyday, boxed wine is definitely an option.  Will I throw my corkscrew away?  Well, not just yet.

our favourite boxed whites
 

Banrock Station Unwooded Chardonnay (Australia) LCBO 668954 | $12.50 | 1 litre   Crisp and fruity, this wine is refreshing and food friendly with citrus and stone fruit flavours.  This was our favourite wine of the whole tasting.

Three Thieves “Bandit” Pinot Grigio (California) LCBO 614131 | $13.85 | 1 litre Light, crisp, and simple, this wine is easy drinking.  Nothing too complex going on, but enjoyable nonetheless.

our favourite boxed reds
 

Banrock Station Shiraz (Australia) LCBO 668962 | $13.80 | 1 litre  Coincidentally, this was one of my favourite boxed wines during my Australian travels.  Classic berry fruit and black pepper, perfect for the bbq.

Red Lips Syrah (France) LCBO 613968 | $12.85 | 1 litre  To quote my friend Angie “you could easily fall into a box of this” … it’s juicy and ripe with flavours of blackberry, cherry, plum, and vanilla, and a surprising hit of tannin.  Ladies, enjoy this with your girlfriends sitting by the lake.

Le Petit Sommelier Shiraz/Grenache (France) LCBO 619338 | $10.90 | 3 x 250 ml  I’m not sure which is better – the cute mini-carton packaging of this wine (each 250 ml carton gives 2 good sized glasses of wine) or the wine itself – the peppery spice of Shiraz, the fresh, juicy berry flavour of Grenache, and super food-friendly

Another new year is upon us, and what better time than to include in your resolutions a wider wine exploration? We all know Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, Shiraz and Cab, but one of my favourite things about wine is the huge variety in style and flavour that’s available, if you’re not afraid to try something new. Here are some ideas to get you started on your new year’s wine journey.

If you like Chardonnay, try …
VIOGNIER. A grape that originated in France but is now being grown around the globe and is gaining more and more popularity. It’s aromatic and exotic, and has that rich mouthfeel that you know and love from Chardonnay. Some LCBO picks:

Craneford Viognier 2004
Vintages 656652 | $17.95 | Australia

Ironstone Viognier 2004
Vintages 946665 | $16.95 | California

If you like Pinot Grigio, try …
SOAVE. This is another easy-drinking, fruity white from Italy, made from a blend of Garganega and Trebbiano grapes (tip: the more Garganega, the better). Some versions, like Pinot Grigio, are mass produced and uninteresting, but when you find a good one, Soave can be crisp, fruity, and refreshing, with just a hint of complex nuttiness. Look for Classico on the label, including:

Pieropan Soave Classico 2004
Vintages 946848 | $18.95 | Italy

Masi Soave Classico
LCBO 266221 | $12.00 | Italy

If you like Pinot Noir, try …
GAMAY NOIR. This is the grape of Beaujolais in France, and although its image is of a super-light, candy apple flavour, some Gamays can be earthy, spicy, and fruity, very similar to some styles of Pinot Noir. Even better, it does tend to be on the lighter side, making it very food friendly and a great warm weather wine (when spring finally does come, try chilling this red down a bit to make it more refreshing). While many New World Gamays deliver delicious wine, don’t give up on Beaujolais. Ask your liquor store product consultant about the appellations of Beaujolais that offer interesting vinos. Try:

Chateau des Charmes Gamay Noir VQA
LCBO 582353 | $15.95 | Ontario

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages
Vintages 365924 | $15.95 | France

If you like Merlot, try …
CARMENÈRE. For decades, most of the Carmenère growing in Chile was mistaken for Merlot, but these days you can find excellent examples of Carmenère, with smooth berry flavours and deep, rich colour. There aren’t lots of 100% varietal options, but a couple Chilean choices include:

Casillero del Diablo Carmenère
LCBO 620666 | $12.10 | Chile

Morandé ‘Terrarum’ Reserve Carmenère 2003
Vintages 938720 | $13.95 | Chile

If you like Shiraz, try …
MALBEC. Another gem from France, this wine became famous when Argentina began making full, rich styles of Malbec. This wine delivers inky colour that looks as rich as it tastes – lots of spice, dark fruit, chocolate, and black licorice flavours make this wine a strong contender for the powerful Aussie Shiraz. And just wait til you see the price tags on some of them! A couple ideas include:

Norton Malbec Reserve 2003
Vintages 663138 | $17.95 | Argentina

Marcus James Malbec
LCBO 518431 | $8.75 | Argentina

If you like Port, try …
MADEIRA. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name. Although somewhat similar in style to some Ports, Madeira wine has been heated, creating aromas and flavours similar to sweet sherries. I recently had some Madeira with crispy bacon-wrapped dates and it was delish! A great way to warm up on a cold winter’s night, especially with some of your leftover Christmas fruitcake. A great value Madeira to start with:

Casa dos Vinhos Fino Old Madeira
LCBO 027375 | $18.15 | Portugal