Steven Page’s Wine Cellar

I read somewhere recently that there was an article about Steven Page from the band BNL at some point in Wine X Magazine so I loooked it up.
It’s from a few years ago.

Here’s the story.
by Bob Blumer
Magazine Issue: U.S. Vol. 4.3

“The usual drill for my Wine X celebrity cover stories is that the interviewee comes to my house, I cook dinner and he or she plunders my wine collection. So when Steven Page, lead singer of The Barenaked Ladies, invited me to sample his cooking and drink his wine, how could I refuse — even if he does live in a foreign, snow-bound country, 3,000 miles from my comfortable perch below the Hollywood sign.”

“A week after receiving the invitation, I embarked for Toronto and was met by a midwinter blizzard. An hour later the reception was much warmer as I was invited into Steven’s tastefully furnished, albeit modest-by-rock-star-standards, house. Steven, equally as unrock-star-like in his thick black framed glasses, tended to a pan of scalloped potatoes as he introduced me to his wife Carolyn, his two young boys, and to Steven Duffy, leader of the ’80s British band Tin Tin, known for their classic hit “Kiss Me.” Duffy was visiting from London for a couple of weeks, to co-write the forthcoming BNL album with Page. Over the course of the evening, the four of us feasted on a seemingly bottomless tin of 0setra caviar, a bottle of Schramsberg’s J Schram that I’d lugged with me, a magnum of Gosset 1989 Champagne, seared ahi tuna served with the aforementioned potatoes and a gloriously stinky collection of French cheese — all served with wines from Steven’s carefully assembled and very rock star-like 300 bottle temperature controlled walk-in wine cellar. The atmosphere was so homey and the host so relaxed, that as dinner started, I had to remind myself that I was there on a mission.”

Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

The long awaited Beaujolais nouveau…
stimmell0007.JPG

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

Summerhill Gewürztraminer

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.“

Australian [ yellow tail ] Shiraz

It’s no secret that I love Australian wine, especially a Shiraz*. This [ yellow tail ] red is a nice compliment to any Italian meal. An easy drinking wine with a combination of earthy undertones and berry flavours. Moderately priced at $11.95.

Our first introduction to this brand was an advertisement for [ yellow tail ] Bubbles in the LCBO magazine ‘Food and Drink’.  We just had to get it for last year`s New Year’s Eve.

I see they also have a [ yellow tail ] Bubbles Rosé a very adorable pink version of the bubbly!

*Although, I do prefer a Shiraz-Cabernet blend to a straight Shiraz.

Cranberry Wine for Thanksgiving

Making wine since1985, Stoney Ridge Cellars is located on Niagara’s Beamsville Bench in Vineland, Ontario.

Stoney Ridge 2006 Cranberry Wine


Our review:
We love this one, it has a sweet cranberry flavour with a tart cranberry finish. However, this 2006 is a bit more tart and acidic than in previous years.

This is a nice wine to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas, a wonderful compliment to a holiday meal. We try to buy a bottle (or two) of this every year.