Category Archives: Terroir

Three for Three

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This one is very quickly shaping up to be one of our favourite Rhone Valley vineyards.


The Goddess has directed us to the red and white varietals, and now we get to sample the rose.


Someone described this a funky – well, it does have a really nice edge to it.  It’s clean, crisp, nicely dry and sticks around for a nice finish.


This is a certified organic blend of 50% Cinsault, 40% Grenache and 10% Syrah and 3 months in the tank with no oak. 3 generations of winemakers on this family estate in one of the coolest microclimates in the south of the Rhone Valley.  


Chateau Pesquie Terrasses 2019 AOC Ventoux Rose


$20.99

12.5% alcohol

Objects of Attachment

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Our great granddaughter, age 5, takes her stuffies wherever she goes.

One report I read tells us that over one half of adults still have their childhood teddy bear. It helps them maintain their psychological well being. Mine is safely tucked away in the bottom right corner of the lower drawer in the dresser.


That made me wonder, If you were heading out, and not sure when you’d be back, what would you take with you?

We were the lucky ones

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Our guest, F & L, brought a wonderful wine to go with our lunch. I’ve asked F to review fo us.

I was first introduced to Quail’s Gate Old Vines Foch over 15 years ago and
it remains one of my favourite BC wines ever since.  As a member of their
Wine Club a bottle of the Reserve offering is typically included in a number
of their quarterly shipments.

I had the pleasure of sharing the 2017 Reserve with some close friends and
it never fails to impress.  One needs to let this wine breath (decant even)
for a short while before indulging.  A medium bodied wine, it is smooth on
the palate and conjures up thoughts of dark ripe fruit, coffee and olives.
It has a lingering finish enticing you to take another sip.  The (not to be
diminished) non reserve Old Vines Foch is available through the BCLD stores
(SKU: 639625 – $25.99) but the Reserve 2018 is only available from the
winery itself (https://www.quailsgate.com/collection/red-wines/)

Double Trouble

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This one over delivers with a nice blend of Grenache, Mataro, and Monastrell from the Jumilla region of Spain – on the south eastern, Mediterranean side. It’s hot and dry, but they’ve been growing grapes here since Roman Times.

JUMILLA – CASTILLO DE MADAX RED BLEND

Alcohol:  13%

UPC:  08436005760601
Now comes the part that’s surprising.  $7.99, on sale from $9.99

Definitely worthy of another trip back to get more to stowaway over the seasons change for when you need a quick lift to go with a hearty meal.  A certain someone will probably buy a case for unsuspecting relatives that drop in.

Was still thinking about Herr Stein when I making this selection.  The Goddess of Wine was on a well deserved break away from her tribe, so I was on my own with this – and my training wheels got a little wobbly.  

If His Impatience has sneaked a sample before the meal was on the table, he would have been disappointed in the organic choice.  

It was the blend that got my attention: 70% Aglianico, 20% Cab Savignon and 10% Syrah.


Once dinner was served and we poured more, things really changed.  REALLY changed.

Warm. Rich and avery nice structure gets you through your first taste. Now the Aglianico grape really had my attention. Slides down almost like velvet.


I’d like to try this with something a little gamey – maybe venison.


CASTEL DEL MONTE – TORMARESCA TRENTANGELI ORGANIC 2016

UPC:  08026530000862

14% alcohol

$22.99

First of the 3rd

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CHASSELAS – CAVE DE LA COTE ROMAND

UPC: 07610374831372

Alcohol: 12.5%

$24.99

In the last mystery case, the Goddess selected a Red from this group of vintners.  We liked that, and were very much looking forward to trying this.  It’s the first of the 3rd Mystery Case.


It’s from selected vineyards in the Romandie region of western Switzerland, in the cantons of Vaud and Geneva. This wine is made from the Chasselas grape, a traditional and uniquely Swiss varietal.

Yo, Rosemary, Pistachio and Hellmanns over here want to talk to you about those bone-in skin-on chicken thighs he is going to roast. Gonna need your help too with the potato wedges that went in 20 minutes earlier.


No citrusy flavours.  Very Light. And I like it. A LOT.


This is one I think the Triumvirate should go back and revisit – I’ll bet it’s better than “K” remembers it.


Most definitely a wine to enjoy by itself or with something light in food fare. It would be great with a corn on the cob feast.

Lighter and Softer

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COTES DU RHONE – CHAPOUTIER BELLERUCHE 2018

UPC:  03391181110136

14% alcohol

The French don’t have Chateaubriand every night with their wine – and we don’t either, so we did our home made chilli to have with a little Cote du Rhone.

This one seems a little softer and lighter than some, which was a bit of a surprise considering the 14% alcohol content. But that also, generally, means that you can put it down for a few years to savour in the future.

James Suckling says “bright, simple and easygoing style”  We agree.

The anticipated blend of Syrah and Grenache but the % of each we don’t know.

Soil is made up of several major types of terroirs including pebbly clay soils, soils with layers of stones, stony clay terraces, and stony, silty-sand… All these soils provide the vine with a constant water supply and, at night, release the heat stored up by the pebbles during the day.

Sources for many musings

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Hannibal, Ernle Bradford, ISBN 0-88029-667-4


A Life on the Road, Charles Kuralt, ISBN 0-399-13488-3


A Place for Us, Eleni’s Children in America, Nicholas Cage, 0-395-45517-0


Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres, 0-7493-9754-3

Birds without Wings, Louis de Bernieres, 0-676-97694-8


Mongols, Huns and Vikings, Hugh Kennedy, 1-552-78281-6


Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain, Justin Kaplin


Witness to A Century, Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious and 3 SOBs, George Seldes 345-33181-8


Dinner with Persphone, Patricia Storace, 0-679-74478-9


Pieces of my mind, Andrew A Rooney, 0-689-11492


Peter Gzowski, The Private Voice, 0-7710-3749-X

Memories are made of this

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I’ve walked by it many times. This time I stopped and picked it up.  And I knew just the occasion to share it with friends.


Boutari Naoussa

UPC:  05201022540504

Regularly $18.99, on Sale for $17.99

12% alcohol


For more than 10 years, this was a standard order for us when dining with our Greek friends.  The quality, unfortunately, varied between vintages.  But how times have changed since we gave them a rest.  The Wine, not the Greeks!


The Boutari family has been making wine in the village of Naoussa for more than 130 years and they are one of only 5 world-wide wineries to have been named the International Winery of the Year by Wine and Spirits.


Xinomavro is the grape, and it flourish on Mt Vermio at moderate elevation (700 to 1700 feet).  The other great wine from the region is the white, Assyrtiko.


The 2016 vintage is earthy, well balanced, and has a medium finish.


The occasion was a get together with two other couples who often shared the table with us and we used to work together.


As they were coming through the door, I started this.  It was the song that Patrick and his band Kefi started many a wonderful night of partying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhmDsJEr4cc


That sparked many great flashbacks and memories. Homemade rhubarb gin followed homemade ginger ice cream cones.