Tag Archives: mystery case

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)

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!

No Confusion Here

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To us, this is the best Ortega on the Island.  

Symphony used to lease all the vines at Starling Lane and they had GREAT Ortega.  Gerry and Sherry Mussio (one of the 3 partner owners of Starling) also planted the same vines at their home acreage.

This shows the difference that terroir can make to a wine.  

To us, home acreage Ortega is softer, mellower, and fuller bodied than the Starling vintage.


I helped harvest in 2018 at Mussio’s but not for the 2019 vintage.


Only available at Symphony vineyard or delivery from them.  $21.00


12.1% alcohol


Clear. Bright and Crisp.

You don’t need a pic of supper, because we’ve done a pairing with Vancouver Island Scallops before.  

Real Simple: Salt. Pepper Saffron. Butter only. Takes the same amount of time as the couscous.


Tonight was a slight variation with the salad.  B used watermelon.  Extra refreshing.
Twas a great mix of wine and food.

You have been laying around all day ..

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not doing anything, so here’s your chance to really redeem yourself. [I’m taking to the wine, not poking at you]


First time in months, there have been mussels in the store, so they got scooped up.

Quick sauté of onion, leek, garlic and red pepper — in butter of course. Half a cup of home made veggie stock brought to a simmer, and in go the mussels.


Yes, there’s Olive bread to go with it … 


Salada is spinach, orange and date.


Now .. are you up for this? (talkin to the wine again)


You sorta did.  Mellow intro and Nice peppery finish.  But.  The Wine Goddess will have many other adventures for us to consider before I’d come back to you again for awhile.

The Andes meet a Middle East Street Market

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BC Liquor Code: 179937


$16.99 Montes Limited Edition  Pinot Noir


Chile’s Aconcagua Valley on the coast is ideal to grow Pinot.


At first sniff, I went and added more lemon juice to the Tzatziki.
At first sample, more cumin and a touch of tarragon went into the kefta mix.


This has been the toughest to evaluate.  It has left me confused – [hold thy tongue!]

It’s not Aussie Style Pinot and definitely not BC Style.  Just Different.


On its own, I can’t recommend it for just sipping.  It was light and enjoyable but doesn’t make it into the outstanding bracket.


By the time it got to be with food, it seemed to wake up and went quite well with dinner, and I did snitch a little extra.

The Tree House pairing tonight was Middle East Street Market style food.  Build your own. Lamb kebabs (baked), thin pita, with tzatziki and veggies and tabouli made with fresh local ingredients.


‘ert was cloved apricots over ice cream

This is the end of the FIRST mystery Case. There will be another!


Know anyone name Gloria?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvgd-xjR9LQ


If I turn it up loud enough, maybe she’ll come aknockin’ and bring some wine

Finally, he says

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Andy get represented with a wine from the Hunter Valley.


It could have gone either way – a red or a white. 
Mount Pleasant Semillon

Code: 664862

$25.99

Award Winning vineyard. (One of the top 3 Wineries in Australia).
It has lots of fruit forward and wakes up the taste buds on the way by with a great finish. Second sip is even better, and that continues with each sip. Stonefruit flavours.

Apple Cranberry Turkey Sausages, Fruit and Cheese Orzo and honey glazed Carrots. Turned out to be a great combo with the wine.

She (who shall remain nameless) forgot to put the Lindt bar (Sea Salt) in the crisper, so we had to have our square at room temp.  It IS better chilled – believe me!  You do chill your chocolate don’t you?

Can you spare me a rib … or Six

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DAO – PEDRA CANCELA SELECAO DO ENOLOGO


Code 890293$17.99


a 96 Pointer Gold Medal Decanter World Wine Awards 2019 


Lots of aroma. Medium Bodied with LOTS of flavour.

 
Dao is one of the oldest and most established wine regions of Portugal. (North Central) being first recognized in 1908.  They use lots of French and Portuguese Oak.  

A new experiment.  Instead of our traditional way of doing pork ribs, Bron decided that we would try Valerie Bertinelli’s version.  Less muss, easier clean up but just as tasty as Linda Gogolski’s version (which we’ve done since she did them for us 35 years ago in Washougal Washington).


Methodology certain is worthwhile – save 30% on prep and 90% on cleanup by doing it this way.  But, next time, will go back to using Linda’s sauce.


Musica was Madredeus – Portuguese Fado

Old Vines. Hand Harvested

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Pinot is a relatively easy grape to pick – as opposed to the smaller Gewurtztraminer. I know. I’ve picked both at Symphony Vineyard.


Code: 234901

$13.99 – a saving of $2 off the regular price.


Had a quick sample before prepping dinner to decide on how I was going to do the tenderloin.  Decided on grilled rings.


Chile does lovely Pinot Noirs and this is no exception. Casablanca Valley is where this one hails from.  Fabulous value for the money.


This pinot is light in colour – almost a pale purple.  I opened the bottle about an hour and a half before starting dinner – had a sip then.  Flavours expanded considerably by the time we sat down to eat.


Don’t walk by this one because of the goofy label.  

grilled red onion and mushrooms with the pork tendeloin; mashed yam, and pea pods.