wine food yum

[MM] Mmm.. G, lemme see if i can remember.. Vineland - ahha. I've also decided to include quick notes on the "package" set of wines that GL & I chose for HM & Iulia's wedding. I thought I'd try and give a good variety of styles and regions to sample from. So I'll talk about those first and finish with Vineland. You'll notice I'm not really rating wine (a la Robert Parker et al) per se, but I'll let you know if I like them =) The # beside the name is the LCBO reference, just in case you want to go buying - I always check online before I run to the store - super blessed to be near Bayview LCBO, imho the best all around in the GTA.

2005 Riesling
St Urbans-Hof

While celebrating a sendoff dinner (we were yet again underwhelmed at O&B, although not the point :P), a couple of wines were ordered and this is the only one I remember. HM & Iulia really enjoyed this and I eventually went on a serious goose chase trying to find this at the LCBO for them. I searched online (www.wine-searcher.com is really good). The LCBO was sparse, but on a snowy afternoon before picking up G, I bought some of the last stock. While the memory is faint, I definitely liked this wine - which could be the so-called "all spark" to my Riesling journey. I really like the Mosel (appellation/region) area of Germany for Riesling. Definitely more Riesling wine reviews to come!

Private Selection Chardonnay 2005
Robert Mondavi, 379180

This was inspired by our trip to Napa Valley, California in September 2007. I didn't know much about wineries at the time (still learning) or where to go, but for some reason, I remembered the Mondavi name (I think my sister had a bottle a while back). Suffice to say, the Mondavi estates are beautiful and we enjoyed just relaxing with our tasting glasses in gorgeous weather. Who would have known that Mondavi is the 6th largest seller of wine in the US (almost 10 million cases per year!).

Brut
Hungaria, 619288

Light & dry, a good value bubbly from Hungary - I'm still trying to appreciate traditional dry or 'brut' (from the word brutal) champagne or sparkling wine (101: champagne can only legally labelled from wineries from that region, everything else is sparkling). I admit, I haven't really tried any "nicer" bruts, but I'm not feeling the value/worth yet. I'm actually really liking some cheaper, sweet yet still light sippers.

Reserve
Perrin, 363457

A nice and light Southern France red, recommended by my friend from work Nat - it's her "house" red =)

Amontillado
Alvear's 112789

This is an off dry sherry from Spain, recommended by Lawrason (Toronto Life). Haven't gotten to try it yet, but i think it would go well with Piave!

Select Late Harvest Vidal 2004
Vineland Estates 563437

Yum - the first late harvest I've ever tried, but still definitely one of my favorites. Sweet without being too heavy, it's the perfect drink during dessert and with some medium cheeses.

In regards to our Vineland trip, we heavily sampled on the white side, moreso than red - I can't find our tasting menu, but we ended up bringing back some Late Harvest, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Semi-Dry Riesling and a Merlot (for G's parents). The *coolest* part of the tasting at Vineland - they use the proper glasses for each grape varietal! I'm still impressed as I haven't encountered this at any other winery.