Monthly Archives: July 2020

Let’s Dance

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Benise – Malaguena

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4DPEEQZagM


Alice was just here with her Dad – first thing she said was May I please have a drink? so of course I headed for the fridge.Turned around and she was standing in front of the stereo in the living room. No.. I mean this kind of drink.  You know the song I mean


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxHKeV1lCFY

Party Time  … Eat. Dance. and Drink – repeat as necessary!
Oh My!  What have I created!


If there’s nobody around .. you can practice your footwork

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcvuW5gBLo0


if nobody is peeking .. you can practice with Mercedes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ESxbEQkh6g

Για ένα τανγκό-Χάρις Αλεξίου~Gia ena tango-Xaris Alexiou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yHgImYkFoU


Much too short – WOMAN ZEIBEKIKO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zdBR_SMvtQ

Come on, you knew there would be bd in here somewhere …

Yearning Dance by Angelika Nemeth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98cdBP9jZmA

You know what they look like

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BCLCB 30513


2016 Salice Salentino Riserva


$14.99


The Puglia Region – provinces of Brindisi and Lecce – has been cultivated for over 1500 years.  Lots of limey soil, which this grape likes.

There are two schools of thought on the origin of the Negroamaro’s name. The first is that it is a modern Italian translation (where negro means black and amaro means bitter) referring to the variety’s dark colouring and savory flavours. However, the hot southern extremity of Italy is known to produce ripe red wines with high sugar levels, so bitter should not be taken too literally. The second school of thought employs a Latin-Greek interpretation and says it means dark black, a reference to Negroamaro’s intense colour.


Rich, black fruit flavours.  Medium structure with a lovely balance. Each sip grows on you.  I like the earthiness.

I’d certainly use this again … maybe instead of a Chianti

You’all know what sausages look like on the plate (apricot with goat cheese), and you know what perogies look like (potato/bacon/onion), so we will dispense with the pictures of the plate.  Suffice to say that they were yummy, with sheep yogurt instead of sour cream with the perogies. 

Terroir

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It’s very important to the wines we drink, but is it important to how our food tastes? Do we think about Terroir when we cook?

Does that mean that carrots from the Blenkensop Valley are going to taste different than those that are grown just outside Langley?

Wine makers claim that it’s the sum total of soil composition, latitude, elevation, contour, sun exposure and climate.

Tomatoes grown in Greece or Italy certain taste different than the ones imported from California or Brazil.

When we explore a new wine or a new dish, I think about how it got to the glass or plate, and will/would it taste different if it were created somewhere else.

In countries that have strong culinary traditions, meaning most of the Old World, the culinary patrimony of the land is as important as national honour. It is not only worth preserving for these people, but it helps define who they are. A person who does not have a strong opinion about cuisine is a person without a cuisine.  (Clifford A. Wright)

To put it in perspective, every country has a donut – but they look and taste different with each locale.

To us, it’s all about experiencing the uniqueness of place:

the food

the wine

the music

the location

the people

ALL the interactions!

A House Divided

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890283

DAO – Pedra Cancela Selecao 2016

Regularly $17.99  On Sale for $16.99

13% Alcohol

Northern Portugal – Dao Region


A blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfochiero, and Tinta Roriz.  They rested six months in oak barrels and three months in bottle prior to release.


Very diverse reactions to the first sip.  Bron’s comment was Not sure we would take that anywhere because I’m not sure how they would react to it.

Moi, on the other hand, loved it at first swirl.  It’s definitely a different blend of grapes which might not appeal to a lot of palates.

Decanter World quite likes it because they give it 96 points, and a Gold Medal Decanter World  Award.

Did it stand up during dinner?
You betcha. But, as Bron says, there’s definitely cherry in there


When I made the tzatziki – was very glad that I had sheep yogurt in the fridge.  The extra little zing helped bring out the flavours of both the wine and what I did to the Moroccan style meatballs using warm spices (cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger). Fresh lettuce from the grand daughter’s garden.   Thin Pita from our Persian Baker.


Frozen Yo(gurt) with Cloved Apricots for dessert.

Winner White from Portugal

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Code: 156059

Setubal Jose Maria Da Forseca

Portugal

11.5% Alcohol


Regularly $13.49, on sale for $9.99


Seaside, the Setubal Peninsula is directly south of Lisbon. Another limestone-centric hilly region where both the reds and the whites have gained acclaim. They’ve been doing wines here since the 5th Century BC – so they’ve got it figured out, and that’s why they’ve won a lot of international awards.


Moscatel de Setubal and Arinto Grapes.  Dry. Crisp. Lovely body.  A great blend.


Quite different than the Spanish Rueda Valley Spanish White the other night, but just as enjoyable.  It would be interesting to have both these at a tasting together.


We had decided on prawn/pasta bowl – and it worked really well with the wine.  Whole wheat pasta (Italian) with a stir fry of green onion/mushrooms/zucchini/red pepper/garlic.  Prawns were tossed in finely zested lemon, and then tossed with some basil on the spinach at the end.


Dessert was homemade  berry/apple strudel (in phyllo)

Laura and Tony

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Laura Calder is the champion of civilized behaviour and hospitality and tries to make life inviting. She’s subtle about how she makes you think about what you are doing.  Tony Bourdain, on the other hand, was brash, opinionated but was just as passionate about where you go looking for your food and cultural experiences.

Tony put it very well.   Food is everything we are.  It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma.  It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.

Laura is perky, bright, and likes quick and modern ways to cook traditional favourites. She’s always looking for improvements to the classics. 

Tony wants his food, and experiences, straight up. Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.

Laura has brought the French approach to life, food and entertaining to the forefront.  She’s about presentation but embraces the cultural values of ‘how’ we do things – from the way we enjoy food, wine and company.

Tony I don’t have much patience for people who are self-conscious about the act of eating, and it irritates me when someone denies themselves the pleasure of a bloody hunk of steak or a pungent French cheese because of some outdated nonsense about what’s appropriate or attractive.

They both relay ‘experiences’.

You’ll find a mix of the two here with us.

12 New Adventures start Today

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A new set of challenges, too.  I asked Danielle to build us another mystery case – we had so much fun with the first one.

Let’s try unusual and uncommon grape varietals, single or blends.  Anywhere in the world. With our usual budget target of average $20 per bottle – tax in.


I stopped by mid-day today.  Amid lots of laughter, Danielle built another case of joy. And there were comments like “next time you do big lamb … open this at least two hours before”  That’s BIG lamb as opposed to little lamb!


Tonight the grape is from the Spanish Rueda region – 140 km NW of Madrid – known for its dry aromatic whites.  Very old grape that possibly came into the region more than 1000 years ago from North Africa. The region is a high plateau with lots of sandy/clay clay soil.

Code: 79046

Rueda Verdejo – El Petit Bonhomme

13.5% alcohol

$14.99 on sale from $15.99 regularly

Verdejo grapes play nice with seafood, salads, light cheeses, of course chicken.


Lots of Texture is probably the best way to describe this wine.  It seems to work well when there’s lots of other flavours going on.  You can have this in the kitchen, and certainly wouldn’t be ashamed to take it into the dining room or on the deck.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts.


I added one more parsnip to the roasted veggie mix to bring out a little more sweetness. (carrots/potato/leek/redpepper).  There was even garlic in the tzatziki.

If this had been around last night, it would have gone well with the grilled salmon steaks.


This is a wine that would be good year round not just in the summer when we traditionally drink more whites than reds.  Buy two, you’ll be glad you did.

Dear Dr. Bonnie

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Honest!  There were only 3 guests, and they were from the same bubble!

And they did wear masks

It’s just that they like their wine!

The Victoria Symphony has a great reputation for its concerts in the Inner Harbour.  Symphony Vineyards will build a good reputation with the white blend called Splash.
10% alcohol. Blend of Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer with a ’splash’ of Ortega and Siegrebbe thrown in.


The Road 13 has worked well for quite a few years and the 2019 edition carries on the tradition of a nice fruity Rose that goes with anything.


Homemade potato salad, pickled beets, Olive Bread, and BBQ’d Chicken made up the accompanying lunch.


Of course there were Nanaimo Bars and butter tarts! (and home made peanut butter cookies) Happy Canuck Day!