Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

November 25, 2008 at 12:47 am (Beaujolais nouveau, Red Wine)
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The long awaited Beaujolais nouveau…
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Last year we tried a few but these came out as the winners:

Jeanjean 1999 Syrah Primeur

Mademoiselle Momm

Here’s a bit of background if you haven’t heard about Nouveau wines before:

Beaujolais nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November.

Arrival of Beaujolais Nouveaux riches
Arrival of fresh and fruity Beaujolais wine a cause for celebration
Nov 19, 2008 – The Toronto Star

Watch a video of Gord Stimmell’s previews of the 2008 Beaujolais nouveau wineshere as well.

LCBO Offerings for this year:

FROM FRANCE:

Bichot Beaujolais Nouveau, $13.45. All cherried candy, chewy style, hints of raspberry. Rating: 87 out of 100

Mommessin Beaujolais Nouveau, $13.45. Black cherry and blackberry jam accents. Rating: 86

Duboeuf Gamay Nouveau, $8.95. Cranberry and cherries, tart on the finish. Rating: 87

Jeanjean Syrah Nouveau, $9.95. Lightweight sweet-edged cherry elements. Rating: 86

FROM ITALY:

Mezzacorona Novio Novello, $9.95. Cherry, licorice and tasty spices. Best value winner. Rating: 89

Novello del Veneto, $9.95. Raspberry, slightly sweet candied fruits. Rating: 87

VINTAGES:

Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau, $14.95. Jammy candied cherry and cedar. Rating: 87

Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau, $15.95. Blackberry and cherry, nice structure. Rating: 88

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Summerhill Gewürztraminer

November 1, 2008 at 8:21 pm (White Wine)
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The Okanagan Valley is also home to and our favourite winery Summerhill Pyramid Winery.

These are the ones we love from Summerhill:

Gewürztraminer – Made with 100% certified organic B.C. grapes. Possibly one of the world’s most significant examples of this famous spicy variety! This Gewürztraminer exhibits intense varietal aromas of grapefruit, lychee, and tropical flavours.

Ehrenfelser - The rare Ehrenfelser grape produces a luxurious texture and wildly delicious layers of tropical flavours and aromas.

They also make a great bubbly, Summerhill Cipes Brut, our personal favourite, and very authentic.

Tasting Notes:
“The Summerhill specialty and possibly Canada’s most critically acclaimed wine; the Cipes Brut is a beautiful Riesling based method traditionel sparkling wine with aromas of apple, lime, pear, almonds and grapefruit. On the palate Cipes Brut exhibits crisp acidity, a soft, creamy mousse with a long finish and flavours of citrus, pear, apple, almonds and yeast.“

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Baking with Tequila

November 1, 2008 at 8:14 pm (Recipes, Tequila)
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These tasty Margarita Cupcakes are from the cookbook from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.

I made half the recipe for the icing but kept the Tequila amount the same, adding the icing sugar until a spreadable consistency.

A hint of lime, a touch of Tequila and some coarse salt (mixed with sugar) accenting the rim are just the icing on the (cup)cake!

These are the best cupcakes ever!

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