La Cave de Fang

just after the tasting

2012-01-27T23:36:00.002-05:00

So, we've finished the UGC Bordeaux tasting of the 2009 vintage and are at C'est What, grabbing some food and a few pints. Just some quick thoughts - the reds were stunning across the board, with some truly exciting wines. The cabernets were a great success. Still an issue with some right bank wines being overextracted. Lots of new oak everywhere, but in the best one, it's already well-integrated. The dry whites lacked energy, but did show ripe, tropical fruit characteristics. Sauternes was very sweet and rich.

A great, great tasting overall - a lesson that in good vintages, few regions can compete with Bordeaux in terms of sheer excitement. Detailed tasting notes and impressions to come soon. Time to indulge a bit in the wonderful ales they have here, and a lamb burger - someone is going to have to carry me home tonight.

DF

a spot of Grant's

2012-01-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've lived alone with my father for 3 weeks now. And I can't believe it, but I've turned into a petulant teenager again, all would you leave me ALONE/just give me TWO minutes of quiet/NO I shouldn't have to confirm something we do every single day. Petulant like I can't even help myself.

This helps. The last few drops of Grant's. Strangely, that trail of fire you feel going down your throat into the stomach has a calming effect on me. What it's not helping with is the dreaming. I don't care so much about my dreams, but I did just watch Inception. I've been having these recurring dreams that all end up the same, horrible way. I dream that I'm in school again, and it's suddenly a deadline for an exam/assignment. And I suddenly realize that because I've skipped so many classes, I don't even know that exams are coming up for 2 of my classes. My subconscious is clearly trying to tell me something.

Anyways, I got a haircut today. Suddenly realized last night that I look like an idiot immigrant. Cleaned it up, and all the products were 100% vegan!! Looking forward to tomorrow's UGC Bordeaux tasting. In fact, I'm having a glass of young Clare Valley dry riesling right now to tune up my palate. No coffee, just light tea for tomorrow, and easy on the toothpaste. As last year, and the year before, I'll have tasting notes and general impressions up. If you're going to the tasting tomorrow (in Toronto), please send me an email - let's arrange to meet up.

DF

because they have to be a certain way

2012-01-26T09:11:00.000-05:00

I don't always eat chocolate, but when I do . . . . . . . . I eat tiramisu dessert cups mysteriously found in the bottom fridge drawer.

DF

something different to keep you nervous

2012-01-25T21:06:00.005-05:00

Shirakawago Sasanigori | Gifu Prefecture

It looks like milk doesn't it? It's good to challenge yourself with new things once in a while. Keeps you nervous, and as they say, on your toes.

The thing I miss most about being in Shanghai is eating with family. It's a different kind of food there - it's being back in the old country, and eating things that can't be found here. And the drinking. Oh yes, the rice wine. I've got these awesome uncles that everyone needs to have. It's a source of great pride for the Fangs that we are immune to the Asian glow. We drink until we can't stand/talk/walk straight, but we do not turn red. I particularly remember an amazing lunch we had the last time I was back home . . . . . oh God, that was almost two years ago. Food was amazing, just a full table of authentic, traditional Shanghai and Ningbo cuisine.

I've got so much love for two of my uncles, my father's oldest, and youngest brothers. And they were determined to see if I lived up to the Fang name. I'd like to think that I did pretty well. We finished something like 5 bottles of Shaoxing rice wine between the 3 of us - big 820 mL bottles, pushing 20% abv. I like drinking, but my goodness, it almost seemed a bit ridiculous to be indulging like this for lunch. We finished eating, about to have dessert served . . . I thought we were wrapping up when I fully realized the calibre of men I was drinking with. They called for 3 more (1 litre) bottles of beer to, as they said, rinse out the palate.

Needless to say, making our way back home through the Shanghai Metro was a bit of a struggle.

What a totally irrelevant story to this nigori sake. Milky white, with that extracted rice aroma. Gritty in texture, dry, with the alcohol showing a bit. Certainly a different experience. And it's good to open yourself to different things. Oh God I miss Shanghai.

the yellow croaker and home cooking

2012-01-24T20:35:00.000-05:00

A Shanghai classic, yellow croaker and pickled cabbage soup. One of the most humble fish, that we can't even find fresh here . . . taking all of 20 minutes to put together. And as I was cooking, something occurred to me about how these dishes became, well, classics. Any real Shanghai native will recognize what this is. The simplest ingredients, but satisfies everything you want a a savoury fish soup to be.

Shanghai (and by extension its residents) seems glamorous, but people forget that my city suffered under the Communists. We carry the heaviest tax burden in all of China, and often feeling the most disconnected - government ideology notwithstanding, the divide between north and southern Chinese should not be underestimated. They think of us as arrogant and self-centered; that we think of ourselves as Shanghainese and everyone else as just Chinese should tell you everything you need to know about us. But what we all forget is that our home cooking is above all, economical. Flavour and texture, paramount of course. But as this is our daily food, we have to also be economical with our resources.

Yellow croaker and pickled vegetable soup:

Hard sear on the fish

Using the same pan and leftover oil, fry your pickled cabbage until tender

Add water, bring to a boil

Fish goes in, and boil hard until the soup turns milky

Season to taste

A New Year

2012-01-23T21:51:00.002-05:00

My mother's still in Shanghai, so it's not much of a celebration this year. And of course, the first day of the new year today was a shitfest. Just nothing seeming to going right, from apparently losing my keys to not bringing my workout pants to, yes, even forgetting how I write my signature.

We had a New Year's dinner this Saturday at a family friend's. I brought the wine, a pair of South Americans - an Argentinean pinot noir, and a Chilean petit verdot. Yes, a varietal petit verdot. Both pleasing, in that innocuous, unremarkable, yet drinkable, easily likeable style. And with nothing left, we (I) had to turn to Coors, the company that apparently thinks its consumers are too stupid (or hammered beyond belief) to know if the bottles are cold or not, so they slapped on a temperature by colour label. Because North Americans have the common sense of, well, no common sense actually.

Food was good. And they went into the great effort to make egg dumplings. Hideously difficult and time-consuming, but it's nice to see traditions being honoured. Finished, and laid on top of a beautiful pork soup, loaded with stuffed bean curd and bamboo shoot. Shanghai classic.

DF

a bit of snow, a bit of red

2012-01-21T17:31:00.002-05:00

It's snowing a bit. Out soon to a family friend's for dinner, to celebrate our New Year. Have the wines ready, some Chilean, some Argentinean. Ready to eat and become thoroughly, as they say, bottoms up. Photos, and possibly a tipsy video, to follow.

cold and wet and a little miserable

2012-01-19T21:26:00.001-05:00

It's been fairly miserable this week. Weather acting up, among other things. Look at this, we're getting foggy, muggy weather mid-January in Toronto. Like driving through a cloud. My office is only on the 4th floor, and I can't see the highway.

Last Friday's meal was a disaster. I was lazy and feeling for a one-pot meal, so I somehow got it in my mind that I'd cook spaghetti al ragù alla bolognese. We had a bottle of Niagara vidal lying around - I've been put on blast for saying this before, but if you don't know a thing about wine, DON'T BUY IT AS A GIFT!! Drives me apeshit crazy now that I owe someone a gift back for a shit bottle of wine I don't know what to do with. So, a simple meat sauce with half the bottle of wine. Only I forgot one simple, cardinal rule - don't trust a bullshit wine even for cooking. My beautiful bolognese sauce turned bitter, and all kinds of vile. Dinner shot to hell.

At least the wines were decent. And on such a foggy night, it was maybe appropriate to be drinking Barolo. I need to get serious about this whole let's replace all my Bordeaux with Barolo thing. Nebbiolo, derived from the Italian nebbia, meaning fog. And of course, a first taste of Faizeau 2009. A question of whether the producer has been doing something differently these past few vintages, because the character of the wines is totally different - but we'll ask that another time.

Tian Mu Lake white tea

2012-01-18T21:14:00.001-05:00

天目湖白茶

Tea is a constant in our family. We've always been conscious about drinking a lot of water, and good tea makes it a pleasure. It also helps that we don't pay for a lot of the tea that we drink, and we always receive interesting things to taste alongside the TieGuanYin, LongJing, and Pu'Er, standbys in our cupboard. What can I say, my family knows people.

This is one of those interesting things. Or rather, something new to taste. A white tea, from a place called Tian Mu Lake. I researched a bit about it - there aren't a lot of resources about this particular variety. It's a new tea, whatever that means. Is it a new style, or a new planting? All new tea farms? The land has always been there - and as far as I'm concerned, white tea is simply a marketing catchphrase. The explanation that it's the most tender shoots is utter nonsense, as proper green tea is already produced from the baby shoots. That's why green tea produced around QingMing holiday in early April is the most highly prized - it's when the first buds appear. Anyways, if you're interested in reading about this tea, Hank Horkoff has a terrific piece about it on The Network Sense. Really well-written, well-researched . . . well done sir.

We bought that glass teapot in Shanghai, when I was last home in 2010. We've used it maybe twice? It's actually a terrible vessel to brew tea in. Doesn't hold heat well, the spout doesn't really pour right, and the fit of the glass top is suspect. But you do get to see the tea leaves do their dance, moving up and down in the hot water. If only the tea were as interesting. Brews lightly flavoured water, a suggestion that you're drinking tea.

Eagerly waiting for our next shipment, and hoping for a better surprise. Say no to white tea, because we all should know better.

DF

the ten year old Rioja

2012-01-17T20:04:00.003-05:00

2001 Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva, DOCa Rioja

Eleven years ago when this wine was made - although technically, the wine was born towards the end of 2011, so ten years and a few months ago - I was beginning high school. Young, impressionable, clueless . . . yet somehow I thought I knew it all. We've all been there. So stupid. So immature.

My favourite class in the second semester was an art class called Media Arts. They let us play with digital cameras (giant bricks that you put 3.5" floppy disks in), Photoshop, iMovie . . . and taught us what art installations were. It was my first experience with non-Classical art, and in my first assignment for that class, I wrote I don't think this counts as art. A decade later, I still think it's questionable for the arts curriculum to insist that a bunch of 16 year olds learn contemporary art before the classics. What they don't teach you is that the most successful contemporary artists have a solid foundation in the classics - illustration, sketching, painting, etc. You can't just suddenly become conceptual without developing strong, basic art skills. It doesn't work like that, which is why our class produced students who were deluded into thinking that they were, in fact, artistic.

There are no shortcuts. When I send my piano students to performances and recitals, they sound magnificent on stage. It's a few minutes of glory, but what the audience doesn't see (or hear) are the hours and hours of practice, of technical exercises . . . of endless repetition and often, frustration. Fundamentals are everything. You can't become a artist/musician/whatever by showing up and trying to go right for the end product. You have to start at the beginning, and go through all the steps. Patient, methodical, and diligent work is not sexy (or easy), but it's the only way. As they say, it may take 100 hammer strikes to break the rock, but was it that 100th blow that did the job, or the preceding 99?

The last issue of Decanter magazine had an (excellent, as always) article written by Andrew Jefford, explaining exactly how oak is used in Rioja. The classification rules dictate the years that the wine must remain in oak and bottle before release. For example, Reserva wines require at least 1 year in oak, 2 years in bottle, and Gran Reserva requires 2 years in oak and 3 years in bottle; producers often age the wines even longer. What Jefford explained was that often, the wines are aged into several different types of wood before they're bottled. They may be aged first for a few months in new American white oak for toasty flavours and tannins, then into older French casks to allow for a subtle oxidation and a harmonious integration of all the parts. Or, the winemaker may experiment with casks of varying toasts. All very complex indeed, underlining the skill and precision demanded of the winemaker's palate. It's never so simple as simply sticking the wine in oak for 24 months, then into bottle. Good things take careful study and hard work. This particular wine, from a traditional producer of Rioja, is stunning. That gentle rusticity, that beautiful Rioja nose of strawberries and cream. Developing in the glass and with more air, becoming more complex, more refined, more singular. And at a decade old . . . it was worth the wait.

DF

the last of the mulberry wine

2012-01-16T20:29:00.004-05:00

I'm having these crippling episodes of self-doubt and anxiety again. I look like shit, I can't sleep, drinking heavily again . . . and the real business hasn't even started yet! It's been a few years since I've graduated, and lately, it's becoming quite clear that if I'm going to make something of myself, as they say, I need to go back to school. So it's time to tighten up that sphincter and get to work.

I'm reminded of the last of the mulberry wine we brought back from the old country. My paternal ancestry traces back to the coastal town of Ningbo, about 220 km or so south of Shanghai. It's an ancient town, with a history going back to 4800 B.C., and was an important trading port through the dynasties. My grandfather left the town as a young boy, moving to Shanghai to work - he apparently never lost his accent. We still have (distant) relatives living there, and who run a farm. High up on my list is to go visit and work the fields and chickens they still raise. I hear their homemade rice hooch is a winner as well.

I've written so much about this, but mulberry wine is a treasure handed down to us by our ancestors, and it's a tradition we need to protect. Mulberry is native to the area, and locals soak the ripe berries in baijiu, the fiery rice spirit possessing upwards of 40% abv. If the mulberries are of good quality, the liquid turns purple, becoming sweeter and purer in flavour and texture. The alcohol absorbs into the berries, preserving them and giving the texture of the fruit an amazing crispiness. And done right, all it takes is 3 berries to knock you the fuck out. We Ningbo country bumpkins appreciate people who can hold their liquor. My last visit back home, I experienced first-hand what it means for our people to drink hard. Those motherfuckers don't play around.

Locals actually use this for medicinal purposes. Particularly effective for bad bouts of diarrhea, I've been told. Country medicine ftw!!

DF

looking forward to UGC 2012!

2012-01-13T20:22:00.002-05:00

Something to look forward to! Yes, it's that time of year again when all the aristocrats from Bordeaux come to Toronto to allow us the privilege of tasting their sweet sweet nectar. I'm so excited, because in 2 weeks, the UGC will once again host a tasting of their wines, this time the vaunted 2009 vintage. The last 2 years, the red wines were certainly underwhelming. This year looks to be much different.

I've always been so impressed with the quality of dry white Bordeaux, and 2007 was a wild success for Sauternes. The reds? Really hit and miss for me - I've felt indifferent about them far more than not at these tastings. The prices being asked for them certainly play a role in that perception. But the 2009 reds are said to be amazing, and I can't wait to taste. Also, looking forward to meeting and talking with some of the owners and estate managers again! Plus . . . it's all on a Friday night. Who knows, maybe we'll see a repeat performance.

DF

The Celt Experience - beer and food

2012-01-12T20:21:00.010-05:00

We want to take a look at these beers in a more natural setting; namely, the table. For individual tasting notes for each beer, refer here please.

It's almost a shame that beer is most often think of as being best enjoyed on its own. After all, few alcoholic beverages have the versatility to go with a wide range of foods as beer does. Wine certainly doesn't. Try to drink the wrong wine with the wrong dish . . . utterly disastrous. And unfortunately, wine and food can be tricky. Why do you think there are so many writers whose entire careers revolve around piece after boring piece about what to drink with what?

Just as the true winos have disproved the whole red meat with red wine, white meat with white wine absurdity, we have to get beyond the notion that beers are best ice cold and on its own. That's no good. So let's start now and make a conscious effort to drink good craft beers with food, and understand how different styles match different flavour profiles. Beer is versatile, so incredibly versatile with food. Savoury food, spicy food, all kinds of proteins, raw seafoods . . . start of meal, end of meal, and pretty much everything in between, beer can handle it all. The key is to know the style. And by style, we're really looking at the hop profile, the type of malt used, and what kind of roast was applied. So as long as we can identify the flavour profile of the beer, we can determine which ones to serve with any specific food.

Celt Experience Bleddyn 1075

Starting with the Bleddyn 1075, in the pale ale style. Really hop forward, with the bitterness rising on the finish. Bit of a higher alcohol too, at 5.6%, staying fresh and lean. With these types of beers, you want contrasting flavours. These bitter ales are really singular in both flavour and texture - those hoppy notes refresh the palate, and you want to eat food that wraps around that bitterness, not enhance it. So of course, common sense would dictate something either very rich, or very spicy. Rich dishes, meats or whatever you like, work because the beer cleans it all up in the mouth. You want your drinks to prep the palate for the next mouthful of food, letting you eat more than you should. Spicy foods - and whatever kind of spicy, chili peppers or peppercorns or whatever you're into - works extremely well. We do this poached beef tenderloin that's been tenderized in the pressure cooker, and eaten with a chili/garlic sauce. Spicy and almost numbing on the tongue, but a good pull of the Bleddyn 1075 cooled off the heat, with the hops taming that overt spiciness.

Not common, but I liked drinking this with seafood. We had these really fresh west coast shrimps, and simply poached them in salt water. Dipped in a savoury soy/sesame seed oil sauce, the hoppiness of the beer again seems to lift that marine flavour of the shrimp. With so many different flavours and textures of food around the table, a beer that cleanses and refreshes is very welcome indeed.

Celt Experience Golden (left) and Bronze (right)

With these softer, rounder ales, I found them more easy of a companion, just because the hops weren't so overt. We didn't exactly find the perfect food match (if such a thing even exists), but nothing didn't work either. The beers went lovely with the roast duck we were having, showing just as well with the homegrown bok choy and celery as well, cooked in the Shanghainese style. I love the warm roasted malt character, the roundness on the palate, and that slight hoppy lift on the finish. I'd imagine this to be excellent with a pan seared rib steak, whatever protein you like eating. The beers have an effect of both building up the savoury elements of the food you're eating, as well as finishing dry, key in refreshing the palate. It's that complementary thing you want to aim for - the beer and food aligning up in flavour profile.

Celt Experience Native Storm (left) and Dark-Age (right)

These ales with the heavier roasts are bit trickier, just because they can almost be a blanket on the palate, covering up more delicate flavours. But then you don't want your food to be too rich; if the flavours are both assertive, you're creating a brawl in the mouth. And that's no fun for anyone. Some say these stouts go well with raw oysters on the half-shell. I disagree, but then again I'm with the winos who swear by Sancerre and dry white Bordeaux (oaked sauvignon blanc) with shellfish. These richer beers, to me, are perfect for autumn flavours. Game, if you can find it, seared quickly with some thyme or rosemary or whatever you like. Mushrooms, oh yes. And my goodness, if you can find truffles . . . divine. What I like about these two beers is that the textures remain leaner and more refreshing. Serving the same function as acidity in wine, it's the texture of the beer that really determines how well it will pair with food.

Outlining specifically the dish that pair with each beer is a pointless exercise, and something that only food/wine writer hacks and wannabes concentrate. Context of how (and when and why) the beer or wine is being drunk is all important, not to mention the drinker's personal tastes. What we can do here is discuss some of the broader flavour profiles that seem to complement each style of beer, with encouragement that everyone experiments to see what works. And that's really the fun part right? The point I really want to make here isn't necessarily that certain styles of beer should only be drunk with certain styles of food. Rather, it's to make clear that fine craft beers deserve to be drunk with a meal, with loved ones, and with a sense of adventure. That's my point.

For friends in Ontario, this was shared with me by Rubaiyat Wine and Spirit - the availability of the following beers through the LCBO are as follows:

Celt Native Storm Crafted Ale, LCBO Item #260299, will be released as part of the LCBO's Spring Beers on February 26, 2012.

Celt Golden Crafted Ale, LCBO Item #224600, will be released as part of the LCBO's Summer Beers on May 20, 2011

Celt Bronze Crafted Ale, LCBO Item #236091, will probably be included in their Autumn Ales released in September, although this is not yet confirmed.

DF

The Celt Experience - Crafted Ale

2012-01-10T21:43:00.005-05:00

In November, I got a message about this beer. Turns out it was from Tom Newman, the head brewer of The Celt Experience. He asked if I would be interested in writing about their full range of beers, and how they each relate to food. Samples would be sent over for me to taste. Rubaiyat Wine and Spirit Merchants stepped in and offered to bring them in for me. Things always work out when you have friends.

At first, the plan for this piece was to focus on pairing each beer with a specific food or flavour profile. But over the course of tasting and then drinking them over (a simple Chinese) dinner, it became evident that simply talking about what food to pair with each ale was not going to present a complete picture. As a wine drinker, I think it's more meaningful to dig a bit deeper and really examine what constitutes a fine beer (or if there is even such a thing), and the situations which call for a corkscrew, or a bottle opener.

So we tasted through the beers, in order of texture - to make sure my palate would follow a natural progression, we started with the hoppiest, ending with the most heavily roasted ale. Since Tom was kind enough to send me two bottles of each beer, for a total of 10, I was able to set up one as a strict tasting, and the other to drink over food. And let's quickly get something out of the way.

The beers are extraordinary, absolutely captivating.

Fine wine has certain tangible characteristics. Balance in fruit, acid, alcohol, and oak. A fine and elegant texture, and length on the palate. Structure to allow for aging and further development in the bottle. And of course, the intangibles . . . that true and authentic expression of terroir, the inimitable personality and character of where/when/how the wine was made. So how do we define a fine beer? Surely a set of different criteria needs to be applied. Beer, by nature, is a simpler drink. More dependant on brewing styles than any strictly regional tendencies - vintages also don't apply, and in most cases, aging containers are best when neutral. I remember a particularly vile oak aged bottle of Innis & Gunn that managed to taste more of wood than beer.

So how is fine beer to be defined? Balance, for one. Malt, hops, the quality of the roast . . . no single element overriding any other. Texture is also important, as is a dry finish. One thing I also look for in beer is harmony of its elements. What you don't want to see is the beer falling apart in the glass, where the flavour of the roasted malts seem to drift out, sitting on the top like a thick layer of caramel. Quality of its head of foam, how it laces the glass. Hops are also important too, not only in quality, but in balance. There's been a (North American) trend of making as bitter of a beer as possible. Bitterness is good and proper for ales, but so is balance. It has to taste like it belongs, not a shock to the palate. And finally, fine beer is not skunky beer. Unlike wine, rusticity in beer is not an indication of fine character - it's a sign that something wrong happened during the brewing process. I can't drink Belgian beers anymore, because they still insist on convincing you that skunky brews are good. Whether it's an issue of hygiene during brewing, or bad yeast strains, or maybe something a bit more sinister . . . stinky beers are no fun for anyone.

It was an absolute joy to taste these beers. All organic ales, each is given a proprietary name relating to Welsh history. I tried to frame each beer by general type: the Bleddyn 1075, a pale ale; the Golden and Bronze, examples of more traditional English ales; the Native Storm, a brown ale; and the Dark-Age, a stout. All of them low in alcohol too, an important factor in determining balance. All the beers hover around 4.0% alcohol, with the exception of the Bleddyn 1075 at 5.6%. The bottles are nicely packaged in the 50 cL format and each different beer is distinguished by the label colour. The back labels are very informative, giving drinkers a bit of background on the name, as well as how the beer was made. For example, on the Bleddyn 1075:

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn was ruler of Gwynedd and Powys and probably of Cerdigion and Brycheiniog as well, and undoubtedly the most powerful Welsh king. After his death in 1075, his sons were too young to rule, and his dominions passed into the hands of a cousin Trahaern ap Caradog. This delicious pale strong ale has an original gravity of 1075 with a high mash temperature leaving a fine full bodied texture. Generous US and New Zealand variety hopping gives a very bitter tongue, which is complemented by a crisp sweetness and a delicious citrus and grapefruit aroma.

To begin, I want to first share my tasting notes for each beer. All the beers were tasted at a cool temperature, but were not chilled. Final thoughts to follow.

Celt Experience Bleddyn 1075

What I see as the pale ale of the lineup. Bright amber colour, with a great rocky head of foam. Fresh aroma, sort of that freshly cut grain; fragrant. Hops begin on the palate, roars halfway and continues to the finish - just a tremendous wall of bitterness. Harmonious indeed, great transition on the palate, very pure. Compact and austere.

Celt Experience Golden

More leaning toward a traditional style of ale? Round aromatics, quite open on the palate. Hops bring balance and complexity, but don't intrude. Linear, and very well made. Palate shows same impeccable harmony.

Celt Experience Bronze

Darker in colour than the previous two beers. The roasted character is evident. Balanced hops, which rise every so slightly on the finish. Dry on the palate, very fresh. Good amount of richness on the palate.

Celt Experience Native Storm

A more traditional English brown ale, with that round, malty nose. Follows on palate, which starts with some sweetness and a good amount of soft texture. Pleasant and friendly, a warming ale. Hops rise only on the finish, gently.

Celt Experience Dark-Age

The stout. Fresh aromas on the bouquet - roasted yes, but hardly like the mocha char I was expecting. That richness does come up on the palate, good texture, but lean. Hoppy finish, maybe not as much weight as a Guinness, for comparisons sake, but no less satisfying. Friendlier with food, certainly - much less likely to sit on top of the food and obliterate any flavours.

So at the end of it all, have we answered the question of what makes a fine beer, and what situation calls for beer over wine? I think I have a better understanding now, at least with the first one. Fine beer is balanced, it's complex, yet has to retain a drinkability. And Celt Experience has all of those characteristics. All the beers are well made, and most importantly, are genuine. There's a sensibility to them that makes them perfect for the table, unlike certain West Coast IPA's that look to blow your head off.

As for when to choose beer over wine? That's a silly question. It all depends on context - company, mood, season, whatever . . . and as long as there are fine wines and fine beers to choose from, we'll be alright. Much appreciation to Tom and Becky for sharing their beers with me, and a hearty cheers to everyone at Celt Experience.

DF

looking back on the best wines of 2011

2012-01-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

I'm not a very reflective person, but thinking about favourite wines gives me great satisfaction. It's been yet another year of wine. Lots of wine in fact. More humble bottles, certainly, but no less interesting. I've learned so much, making my Niagara tasting trips. But the highlight of 2011 must be my visit to Champagne in early May, walking some of the greatest cellars in the world. Much to remember fondly back on.

My favourite wines of 2011.

DF

Rubies on the Table, featuring 2006 LCJ Pinot Noir

2012-01-08T15:27:00.007-05:00

2006 Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Pinot Noir | VQA Twenty Mile Bench

2006 Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard Pinot Noir | VQA Twenty Mile Bench

2006 Le Clos Jordanne La Petite Vineyard Pinot Noir | VQA Twenty Mile Bench

Our dinner was great. I'd like to think that the wines helped. These particular bottles are deeply meaningful to me for several reasons.

1| Pedigree, to start. This winery was hyped as Niagara's best, before its first vintage was ever on the shelf. Originally a partnership between Vincor and Boisset, a lot has changed in the short time since it's first commercial vintage (2005). The founding partners are no more - Boisset pulled out, and Vincor was bought by Constellation. The first winemaker, Thomas Bachelder, left and is now replaced by Sebastien Jacquey, the former assistant winemaker. There was even talk at first about building a fancy Frank Gehry designed winery - luckily, that plot has been planted over with vines. An interesting history, and certainly one of the leading producers of pinot noir and chardonnay, but the best? Let's separate all the hype and marketing bluster from what the wines actually are. And yes, the money put in by these giant corporations into marketing is extensive. A source in Niagara close to the operation told me that originally, the French side wanted LCJ to be a 100% pinot noir winery. They only wanted to produce red wine, because market research told them that North Americans are more willing to accept expensive red wines - $40 chardonnays just don't sell. Clearly, and it's becoming clearer with every vintage, chardonnay is the varietal of strength here. A compromise was reached to produce about 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay for the winery. A reversal of those numbers would probably have been a better decision (vinously, of course).

2| As a budding wino still in school, I was eager to begin putting wines away, as much as a poor student's budget would allow. Not much, but I was working on my terms off from school, and figured I could spare about $200 or so a term for collecting. And I desperately wanted LCJ in my cellar. 2005 Lailey Pinot Noir was the bottle that did it for me . . . just that epiphany in wine that sets the benchmark for all other Niagara pinot noirs. At the time, about winter or early spring of 2007, the 2005 LCJ's were being released. Even in little Waterloo, Ontario, some of the LCBO outlets were receiving 6-packs. And I was thwarted every time. Every single release, every single wine - I was just a step too late. Completely disheartened, I knew that I had to be better prepared. Who knew . . . a Niagara cult wine??!! It wasn't until autumn of 2008, going on until spring of 2009 that the 2006 vintage was released. First the Village Reserves, then the single vineyards. And finally, I managed to get them all. The whole thing underscored how much time and gas I was willing to spend to secure these bottles, but after going to about 7 different LCBO locations in Toronto over the 4 months or so that they were released, I got all the 2006 LCJ's, save for the premium ($70+) bottlings.

3| 2006 being a cool, waterlogged vintage, the wines were always lean. What attracted me was the purity of fruit, the mineral expression, and that beautiful floral/rose petal character I think of as a defining attribute of elegant, delicate pinot noir. Prior to opening them for this dinner, I had tasted the 2006 pinot noirs on only two occasions - one, the 2006 Claystone Terrace Pinot Noir a few years ago for dinner at the Hyatt with a friend. The other, May of 2011, when I tasted the 2006 Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir. And that was the impetus for opening the rest of my 2006's. The wine was beginning to fall apart. Browning and drying up, the acidity robbing the fruit of flavour and texture. Having tasted my 2006 chardonnays over the summer - Village Reserve, Claystone Terrace, LCJ Vineyard - I was hopeful. They were showing beautifully, if a bit oaky, and the Village Reserve Pinot Noir was promising as well. But of course, I wouldn't know for sure until those wines were in the glass.

I really shouldn't have worried.

All the wines showed the most beautiful, stunning bright ruby red colour, just luminous and sparkling in the glass. Almost breathtaking, with no loss in saturation, and just a slight browning in hue. Let's begin with the Claystone Terrace. Initially showing a hint of volatile acidity, it blows off showing pure fragrance, roses and cranberries. Fresh, but just beginning to dry out. Elegant and still grippy in texture, fabulous sweetness.

The Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard just gorgeous. Earthy, with great depth. Sour cherries and cranberry, but more overt ripeness developing. Lean and slightly sour on the palate, but with a fresh and fruity texture. Delicious, and the consensus favourite around the table. No need for a vote - just ask what everyone wants their second glass to be, right?

And finally, the wine I'm most attached to, the vineyard that I insist on visiting each time I'm in Niagara. A beautiful location on the Escarpment, high and overlooking Lake Ontario. An absolute jewel. Slightly more muted, and darker in colour. Minerals and just singing of rose petals. The delicacy of the wine is already apparent on the bouquet. Earthy and the most fragrant of all, lots of juicy fruit on the palate. Delicate and elegant, absolutely haunting. A wine of beauty.

I have a bottle or so of each left in the cellar; while beginning to decline (far too prematurely in my opinion), the pinot noirs are delicious. Fine and authentic. Not great wines, but absolutely true to vintage and region. And that's all we can ask for.

DF

Rubies on the Table - December 30, 2011

2012-01-08T00:36:00.005-05:00

I was in the gastronomic equivalent of writer's block. And I didn't know how to get out of it. Eat out? Read a cookbook? Sacrifice a small goat? We have a (church) friend who claims to suffer from clinical depression. I don't mean to belittle what she's going through, but I have a sneaking suspicion that if tomorrow she found a briefcase filled with cash at her door, all her symptoms would go away.

It turns out dinner with friends was what I needed. Originally planned for my place, we moved over to a friend's, which worked out nicely. Close, and besides, I like cooking in her kitchen. Grocery shopping was a bit haphazard . . . I like doing these things with a clear plan in mind. But for once, my head was completely empty of what I wanted to cook. So went, almost by default as these things were, to beef and veg. It was an expensive cut of rib steak though - I can say that because I wasn't the one paying. And then I remembered that one of the shops had duck breast.

Dinner was great - a steady stream of food coming out, no rushing. And the wines . . . stunning glasses of ruby-coloured pinot noirs. I had wanted to open all my 2006 Le Clos Jordanne single vineyard pinot noirs in July, but things happened, and maybe it wasn't such a bad idea that I waited. We ate the day before New Year's Eve, well into the early morning. And I think I got some of that inspiration back.

Seared magrets de canard:

Quite possibly, the simplest method to eat duck breast. And every time, I'm reminded that I don't eat enough duck.

Pat the duck breast dry, then season the skin side with sea salt. Be generous. Skin side down in a cold non-stick pan. Turn the stove onto a low heat.

Over 15 minutes or so, turn up the heat incrementally until you see the duck fat render and begin to pool. It will begin to sizzle - keep the fume hood quiet so you can hear that glorious symphony of the duck cooking in its own fat. Check the skin to make sure it browns but doesn't burn. Once you get enough colour on it, season the meat side with sea salt, but be gentle. Flip. Baste the skin in its own fat, continuing to cook until the duck reaches the desired temperature. But keep it pink in the centre.

Out of the heat, and wrap it up in aluminum foil to rest. Thick slices. The skin will be amazingly crispy, the meat tender and gamey.

And serve with pinot noir.

conversation, and the quartet of Tuscan wines

2012-01-07T14:19:00.007-05:00

2006 Valiano Poggio Teo | DOCG Chianti Classico | Castelnuovo Berardenga

2007 Podere l'aja | DOCG Chianti Classico

2007 Geografico Montegiachi Riserva | DOCG Chianti Classico

2009 Tenuta San Guido Le Difese | IGT Toscana

The Chianti's were beautiful, singing of true sangiovese, dusty earth and ripe cherries.

We were cooking together and suddenly it just came out of nowhere: Green onion, you're drinking too much.

Well of course I am. I'm a wine consultant, aren't I? No you're not. Everyone's been saying you drink too much. Your aunts. Your cousins. Your friends from church. No, those are your friends. And really, everyone needs to mind their own fucking business. That's not a very nice thing to say. Everyone's worried about you. You starting drinking in the afternoon and don't stop until late at night. And you sleep until 2 in the afternoon. It's like messed up jetlag. I don't think it should be a surprise that I like to sleep. And besides, I'll just keep cycling forward until I get back to normal time again.

The Poggio Teo was showing deep minerality, developing a savoury quality with air.

Your great-grandmother was a fabulous cook. She used to store her soy sauce in those glass bottles with the metal wire stoppers. And she liked to drink a glass of Shaoxing wine or baijiu with lunch and dinner. Smoked too. She sounds amazing. You were her favourite. Most of the dishes we're cooking now are her recipes. We really need to get them down on paper or something. Document it all. Your grandmother hated that she smoked. Was upset about that all the time. You know, it wasn't considered proper for a woman of that generation to be smoking and drinking. She had bound feet too, no? And she lived until her late 90's. AND she saw the birth of her 4th generation. I would have loved to have a drink with her. Or a smoke.

The Podere l'aja was simply exquisite, just that authentic, gorgeous sangiovese character. Dusty tannins creating a truly singular texture, getting sweeter and sweeter and sweeter.

My greatest regret was not doing more for my grand old man. He knows you loved him. That doesn't lessen the guilt. I was too young to appreciate him when he was here. I was terrible to him. And then when I got older, there just wasn't opportunity to keep going to Shanghai. He suffered. I feel the same guilt. You know I place so much importance on food and wine and sitting down for a good meal. And I was never able to do that for him. Cook him some of the seafood and shrimp that he loved so much. Share some sweet wines with him. Sauternes and Tokay, maybe port. Definitely Champagne. He knows you loved him.

The Montegiachi, a Riserva, showing some wood and roasted notes, but possessing great depth.

You're turning me into an alcoholic. Is it so bad that you can recognize a Mosel on nose alone? I do love riesling. The true winos all do. And the alcohol is so low. Those Champagne cellars were amazing. You remember when I got so drunk after that lunch? Of course I do. You passed out in the hotel and wouldn't get up for dinner. I had to go back to the Cathédrale de Reims by myself. Well, you should have helped me with that bottle. We tasted all morning, then I finished at least 3/4 of that rosé Champagne, and then we tasted more in the afternoon. That restaurant manager must have thought we were important or something. He was so polite. He ran out to open the car door for us. Well, we did roll up in a black Mercedes and had our driver talk to them first. When you get rich I want a Mercedes. Two door.

And finally, the clunker - Le Difese. About three quarters cabernet sauvignon, the rest sangiovese - but somehow only a quarter of the character of the preceding wines. Begins macerated, just flabby, cheap. Begins to firm up with air, gets tighter, which somewhat saved its drinkability. But clearly sacrifices regional character for mass-appeal.

Sea cucumber and bamboo shoot:

It takes about a week, but prepare your dried sea cucumber by soaking to rehydrate, then washing and removing the intestines. Soften and texturize in the pressure cooker. Soak until it reaches full size, changing water daily.

Cut the bamboo shoots in thin slices. Julienne the green onion and ginger, and fry them quickly in a hot pan in vegetable oil. Set them aside.

Slice the sea cucumber into chunks - not too small. Quickly fry in the same pan with some oil, making sure it doesn't stick or burn. Add in fresh chicken broth, as clear as you can get it. Add your slices of bamboo shoot. Simmer over a low heat until the sea cucumber turns almost gelatinous, but still retains shape and texture.

Just before serving, add in green onion and ginger. High heat to bring it all together. A generous sprinkling of dried shrimp roe. And of course, season to taste.

Simply divine.

sweets on the table

2012-01-04T20:37:00.000-05:00

2005 Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port | DOC Douro

Today was the first day I've been back at the gym in just over 2 weeks. And it was as gruesome as I thought it would be. We'll get the conditioning back there, eventually.

These certainly didn't help. I never eat sweets, but it seemed everyday these holidays, it was some kind of cake, some kind of pastry. Good though. Variety is the spice of life, right? Kind of odd though, that I absolutely adore sweet wines. And what kind of winter would it be without port? Simple LBV port, hitting all the right notes. Pure fruit, good concentration and all that.

And the only thing requires a bit of thought? Make sure the wine is sweeter than whatever pastry/cake/butter bomb you're eating.

our home cooking for the holidays

2012-01-04T07:53:00.002-05:00

My mother leaves for Shanghai tomorrow, and I'm facing the prospect of living alone with my father for the next few weeks. To say we have somewhat of a volatile relationship would be putting it kindly. So I remind myself of some of meals we had over the holidays. Like the fresh dumplings we made, skins and all. Or the beef tenderloin dishes - one in a traditional Shanghainese curry beef soup, the other poached and served with a garlic/chili sauce.

Food-wise, we should be ok. We've devised a system where we share grocery shopping duties - he washes, I cook. And I handle everything on weekends. But in practice? We'll see. We'll see . . .

DF

what's to come soon on LCF

2012-01-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

Really excited to be working on something a bit different for LCF. Please stay tuned!

DF

our 2011 New Year's Eve

2012-01-02T18:17:00.004-05:00

2009 Perrin & Fils L'Andéol Rasteau | AC Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages

2008 Sonoma Junction Cabernet Sauvignon | Sonoma County

2008 Sella & Mosca Riserva | DOC Cannonau di Sardegna

2006 Château Fongaban | AC Côtes de Castillon

Back to work tomorrow! Depressed, but since I'm not the offspring of a business mogul, back to spreadsheets and deadlines. It's been a fairly subdued holidays, but I did get to drink myself silly. Not silly drunk, but I did have a few good hangovers. Going through the photos, New Year's Eve seems a bit hazy. I vaguely remember doing an interlocked arm wine toast with an uncle. It's going to be painful having to get up before noon (sometimes 1pm) again.

Sometimes great drinkability is all you want. No fuss, although a bit more pure fruit would be nice. And with these long dinners with so much food on the table, so much interplay between savoury, sweet, sour, and spicy flavours, pure fruit and high acid, with not too much tannin are really the way to go. Of course, in an ideal world, we'd all be drinking Champagne and nothing but Champagne with these kinds of meals. Maybe someday.

Our host always prepares the best, in terms of resources and time required. We walked in and the first thing I saw was a box of lobsters wriggling in the sink, before a bottle of beer was promptly shoved in my hand. Good man. We had so much food. Ending with lobster and sea cucumber. Great stuff, and of all these family dinners we've had over the years, this one ranks as one of the more interesting ones. One of the kids said he had hurt his wrist - one look by the aunties and it was quickly determined that it was a fracture. And when one of us gets hurt, it's everyone's business, so my father and another uncle dragged him into the car and drove him to the emergency room to get checked out. About 2 1/2 hours and a soft cast later, I (tipsy as fuck) went with my mother (she drove of course) to pick them up. Problem solved, and back to the wine and lobster!

So, we had quite a range of red wines on the table. I sampled all of them - maybe a bit too unabashedly. Meaning the bottles were never farther than an arm's reach away from me. I have to be honest, I don't really remember specifics about any of the wines. They all sort of blend into each other, the way larger volume wines from high production producers are. The Bordeaux was good, though maybe I shouldn't be trusted . . . I had forgot that we had even opened a 4th bottle. All that well-made, unremarkable yet solid red wine. Good. Because you shouldn't get drunk on bottom-feeding junk. It's still respectable when the wines are $15+. And just look at those glasses . . . surely you don't expect to be swirling and sniffing from those, do you?

2012 up and at it, here we go again!

DF

just like that

2012-01-02T00:02:00.002-05:00

And in a flash, the holidays are all over. The usual routine is to bitch and moan about getting back to work, getting back to normal. But how come I feel so shit about it all? We've been getting better news from Shanghai . . . my grandmother's condition is stabilizing, but she's still in the hospital. My mother is returning in a few days for what looks like to be several weeks at least. What I don't understand is why suddenly everyone is telling her things she should be doing once she arrives. As if the person she'll be taking care of isn't her own mother. Don't presume to tell others to do shit that you aren't willing to do yourself. End of it all.

I was planning on catching up on some things today. Just not in the right state of mind. Depression? Maybe. Nursing a bit of a hangover from last night. I actually forgot that he opened a 4th bottle - at least I wasn't swigging from it. An interesting night, as far as New Year's Eve dinners go. Will elaborate, with photos, later.

Dammit. Been bitching about the same shit since 2009, and no end in sight.

DF

After the countdown

2012-01-01T01:26:00.001-05:00

Here we fucking go again. Just got back home . . . I didn't get black-out drunk, but drunk enough. Love for all, happy new year friends. Somehow I feel like another drink.

DF

Farewell 2011

2011-12-31T17:31:00.001-05:00

We're heading out to a friend's place for dinner tonight. I'm hungry and ready to get black-out drunk. It's been a tough year, and looking to get tougher. But I need to grow up a bit, tighten up that sphincter, and get to work. Get to fucking work.

Best wishes to all for the new year. Much appreciation for all the support for LCF. Looking forward to a brighter 2012!

DF

A year of wine, 2011

2011-12-30T16:02:00.012-05:00

It's been a year of discovery. New regions, new wines . . . the need to tighten up budgets played a big factor in the wines I drank in 2011, especially towards the end, but budgeting also gives the opportunity to go outside the tried and true.

Looking back, it's been a year of Italian wines. Lots of great discoveries, especially in more obscure whites and reds. We started the year off with a trio of the most amazing vintage ports - a 1994 Delaforce, a 1985 Smith Woodhouse, and a 1983 Gould Campbell. Lots of memories from our 2 weeks in Paris, in late April, from the culture seemingly bursting from every inch of the city to our dinner at Philou, to the bottle of Marcel Lapierre Morgon we drank, a few months after his death.

Mature Champagne, also a highlight. Made all the more meaningful after our visit in May to Champagne, visiting a few houses. Finally walking (and tasting) Clos des Goisses . . . wandering the cellars of Dom Ruinart . . . experiencing at the crass commercialism of Moët & Chandon . . . spending 4 hours in the dining room of the ** Le Parc Les Crayères.

Aside from March's Burgundy tasting, there hasn't been much space in the wallet for any Chambolle-Musigny or Volnay . . . gut-wrenching. But we did manage to drink quite extensively through Le Clos Jordanne, both pinot noir and chardonnay.

My aunt visited us in August, bringing carefully wrapped packages of the most amazing cuts of A5 and A4 grade wagyu beef. To balance it out, she also brought fresh aji and sanma fish. And because she loves me so much, and because she walks through airport security like a boss, she also brought along a bottle of Daiginjo sake. Always regarded as a curiosity in my house, this bottle reminded why, as stupidly clichéd as it is, what grows together goes together. The last few months of the year saw me consumed with (positive) curiosity to learn and taste more of this infinitely delicate, complex, and intellectual drink.

The year ended quietly. I had 2 dozen or so wines prepared for the holidays, and we did succeed in drinking most of them. Humble wines all, save for a bottle of rosé Champagne, and all the 2006 Le Clos Jordanne single vineyard pinot noirs I wanted to drink with some (close) friends. Ended the year at a friends house, where I managed to toe the fine line between tipsy (but still fun), and passed-out drunk.

These are the wines that have taught me the most . . . I think of them as reference points for the palate. They're not the most well-known or heralded wines; certainly not the most expensive. But they've been instrumental in guiding my tastes, and continuing my education in wine. So here's to another year of wine, and may all of 2012's bottles be exciting and TCA-free!

2008 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir | VQA Niagara Peninsula: Starting the year with LCJ, simple but with character.

1994 Delaforce Vintage Port | DOC Douro: From that grand vintage, still youthful, and delicious with dinner.

1997 Brochet-Hervieux HBH Cuvée Spéciale 1er Cru Brut | Ecueil: A bit of a gamble - a grower Champagne that really doesn't show character until it hits maturity. Rewarded, as the wine is beginning to mature, showing depth and richness.

1985 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port | DOC Douro: Followed up the Brochet-Hervieux with this - so rich, so amazingly youthful for a wine a year older than me. Superb.

2005 Marziano Abbona La Pieve | DOCG Barolo: This producer is a star. Their most humble bottling, no less of that inimitable nebbiolo character.

2008 Marziano Abbona Papà Celso | DOCG Dogliani: I can't say enough about Abbona. Even the humble dolcetto in their hands turns into something profound.

1983 Gould Campbell Vintage Port | DOC Douro: So complex, so much character, so alive. A 50 year wine, as epic as they come.

2003 Azienda Agricola Svoltacarozze di Meoni Sebastiana Vino Rosso | IGT Toscana: A surprise for me, and a learning experience. A superTuscan, primarily cabernet sauvignon. yet somehow still tastes Tuscan. From a hot vintage too, alcohol perfectly integrated, fruit fading but still alive.

2009 Michele Chiarlo Le Marne | DOCG Gavi: Arneis, that beautiful, noble, kingly grape of the north. So rich, so dense, so exquisitely textured.

2010 Marcel Lapierre Morgon: One of the most emotional wine experiences I ever had. Sitting in the most amazing Parisian bistro, my first taste of this jewel of a wine. Intellectual and pure, going right through you.

1996 Pierre Moncuit Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut | Le Mesnil sur Oger: We were sitting in the exquisite dining room of Le Parc Les Crayères in Champagne. Had to take a deep breath after looking at price, but it was worth eating simply for the next 3 days. A grower from the finest village in Champagne, from the finest vintage in the last 20 years.

2000 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses | Mareuil sur Aÿ: My first taste of Clos des Goisses. As Nicoletta, our host, so eloquently put it, If you want to taste Clos des Goisses, you must walk Clos des Goisses.

2009 Pinot Noirs of Lailey Vineyard: This will be an excellent vintage for Niagara pinot noirs. Not super concentrated, but that's not what those wines are meant to be. Absolutely pure, showing what I think of as true pinot character.

2009 Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Reisling | VQA Vinemount Ridge: As a riesling fiend, I can't support this guy enough. The most amazing, perfectly extracted rieslings this side of the Mosel.

2007 R de Rieussec | AC Bordeaux Blanc Sec: Dry white Bordeaux, how I love thee. Let me count (the endless) ways.

2007 Château Ferran Blanc | AC Pessac-Léognan: Racy acidity, dry extract you have to taste to believe - I can't wait until these wines turn 10.

Hakutsuru Daiginjo Sake: Sake, a curiosity for this Shaoxing wine drinker, but daiginjo bottles prove that these are as complex and intellectual as any wine.

1999 Charles Ellner Séduction Brut | AC Champagne: What to drink with wagyu, the most amazing beef on earth? High acid, yes. No tannins. Richness, a must. The bubbles just bring it all together. What else, than a bottle of maturing Champagne?

2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir | VQA Niagara Peninsula: The wine now forever immortalized in my heart . . . and my kitchen wall. My first vintage of LCJ in the cellar.

2006 Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Chardonnay | VQA Twenty Mile Bench: Beautifully alive, still youthful, mineral and all that. A great success.

1996 Château La Gorce | AC Médoc Cru Bourgeois: A previous bottle was terrible. This one was sublime, classic, and mature claret. Just be patient.

2003 Château Dasvin-Bel-Air | AC Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois: At a moment when my confidence in the wisdom of stockpiling so much Bordeaux was at an all-time low, this bottle shows up and proves, in a single taste, how delicious a well-made claret can be. And in the heat-wave vintage too!

Rihaku Wandering Poet Junmai Ginjo | Shimane Prefecture: So delicate, so fine, so intangible - at a loss for words, but I just know it was good.

2004 Terre del Barolo Monvigliero | DOCG Barolo: I want to replace all my classified growth Bordeaux with Barolo. All of it.

2008 Penfolds Thomas Hyland Riesling | Adelaide: Don't buy Australian red wines. Just don't. Save yourself some money, it's all jam and alcohol. The dry rieslings on the other hand . . .

1997 Nicolas Feuillatte Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs | Ambonnay: For my father's birthday, a vintage blanc de noirs. Still youthful, wound up. Good that I have another bottle put away.

1999 Lornano | DOC Vin Santo del Chianti Classico: My first vinsanto. So complex, so balanced - a great find.

2007 S|K|N Chardonnay | Napa Valley: Yes to sub-$20 Napa chardonnay that's balanced and varietal and delicious!

2001 Señorío De P. Peciña Reserva | DOCa Rioja: A reminder that in traditional hands, nothing . . . NOTHING compares to 10 year old Rioja.

The sakes of Izumi Ontario Spring Water Sake Co.: A surprise, and totally unexpected. Out for a Christmas market day with the office, to stumble on an Ontario sake brewery that makes the most amazing rice wines. Not traditional sake to say the least, but as perfect a rice wine as I've ever tasted.

2006 Valiano Poggio Teo Castelnuovo Berardenga | DOCG Chianti Classico: A conversation and 3 Chianti's. Maybe I need to taste a few more, after months and months of avoiding them. Under $20, these are still true sangiovese wines.

Tamanohikari Omachi Junmai Daiginjo | Kyoto Prefecture: The finest, purest, most ethereal sake I've ever tasted.

2007 Podere l'aja | DOCG Chianti Classico: Yes to Chianti, if they all taste like this. Dusty, earthy, ripe cherries.

Le Clos Jordanne's 2006 single vineyard pinot noirs: What more can be said about these wines; the only thing that was greater than getting to taste them all together was being able to share it with good friends over a great meal to close out the year.

DF

white wine: minerality and focus

2011-12-29T15:59:00.002-05:00

2008 Markus Molitor Riesling Spätlese | QmP Ürziger Würzgarten | Mosel

2009 Hess Select Chardonnay | Monterey

White wine is the best. You want to talk about transparency in wine . . . you want to talk about minerality; white wines can present that terroir expression faithfully, without all the fuss that plagues red wines (oak and low acid and all that).

I shouldn't be surprised, but these Mosel wines are absolutely singular in how they express where/when they were made. So much minerality in this wine it almost becomes a texture unto itself on the palate. Just breathtaking, how extracted and tangible the wine has captured its terroir. Markus Molitor likes more fruit in its wines, and they always seem to be made in a softer style (less aggressive acid), but this bottle is stunning.

With California chardonnay, is it fair to say that sometimes it's the $20-$25 wines that can actually be suitable to be drunk with food? I don't drink Californian wines because they're expensive for what they are (alcoholic marmalades), and of all the undrinkable elements of a wine, buttery/sickly sweet oak must be the worst of them all. This is a bit toned down, although not nearly as delicious as the S|K|N chardonnay we drank a few months ago. Deep gold, with that creamy oak, but balanced. Obvious, recognizable Cali chardonnay, but with decent acid and contained alcohol, not unpleasant.

A bit of a contrast, no? But then again, the human touch is also a part of terroir. There should be no contradiction - so long as the human touch is always working to express terroir first.

shellfish and sparkling rosé

2011-12-28T15:55:00.002-05:00

NV 13th Street Cuveé 13 Brut Rosé | VQA Niagara Peninsula

NV Moutard Père et Fils Brut Rosé de Cuvaison | AC Côte des Bar

A dream come true.

My friend had told me that the best fishmonger in Toronto also brings in canned Spanish tapas seafood. So I got some cans of sardines (whole), octopus, and squid. Flavour, texture, all unremarkable, but the quality of the ingredients is very high. Then, onto the real food. A dozen Kumamoto oysters from Washington State, shucked and with lemon (and only lemon!). Then, live abalone, steamed with ginger and green onion. Perfect in texture and flavour. Various clams and cockles (berberechos), both cooked in wine and in steamed eggs. Finishing with the most amazing, rich, luscious sea cucumber and bamboo shoot. Divine.

And with it all, a pair of pink sparkling wines, one from Niagara, the other a rosé Champagne from the region of Aube. Well chilled, we started with the 13th Street. Cork off with a satisfied sigh, they use the traditional Champagne grapes here, but also add a touch of syrah. Beautiful deep pink in colour, persistent foam. Ripe fruit, red berries and all that. Dosage a bit evident, fragrant. Round on the palate, finishes tight and quite structured. Very well made indeed.

I adore rosé Champagne. A bit more expensive (pinot noir is not cheap), this particular bottle from Moutard is a Rosé de Cuvaison, referring to the method in which colour from the pinot noir is extracted. The majority of rosé Champagnes are made by simply blending in a low (5-15%) of pinot wine in to the white wine, to give it its colour. This method, by cuvaison, means that the grapes are macerated with its skin, and removed once sufficient colour has been extracted. No opinion on which method is better - like all good things, it's simply different. And this wine was spectacular with our bounty of the sea. Rose petals, dried fruits on the bouquet, beautiful structure. Dry and very long. Indeed a fine wine, absolutely delicious and singular in expression.

As shellfish is for the ones who truly adore food, rosé Champagne is for the true wino.

the "other" pinot noirs

2011-12-28T15:54:00.004-05:00

2008 Reichstat von Buhl Pinot Noir | QbA Pfalz (left)

2010 Errázuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir | Casablanca Valley (right)

2009 Inniskillin Montague Vineyard Pinot Noir | VQA Four Mile Creek

True winos have to be like the parents of a large brood - we don't have favourites. But I do have to confess that the first varietal I truly fell in love with was pinot noir. No need to explain why, no? Like that girl that everyone, including your best friends, told you to stay away from. And of course, one of the first wines to do that was from Niagara. Every wino has a wine that they go crazy about, and that no one else gives a second thought to. That, for me, is this little pocket of vineyards in southern Ontario.

Usually around this time of year, I like to have pinot noir readily available. These are beautiful wines with food, especially examples with high acid and a fine seam of minerality. For deeper pockets, that means Burgundy. For this wino, other regions will have to do . . . for now. The Pfalz and Chilean bottles were a disappointment. First one, with that rubbery aroma that reeks of the worst kind of German wine. The absolutely lightest looking red colour I think I've ever seen. And the Errázuriz, so named because it was fermented using indigenous yeasts; if screwcaps remove the problem of TCA but yet introduce issues of reduction, is the consumer any better off?

So leave it to Inniskillin, those giants of the Niagara wine industry to produce the most interesting wine of the night. I like the Montague Vineyard - especially the 2002, showing lots of structure, minerality. 2009 is going to be a fabulous vintage for Niagara pinot noirs. Not concentrated, but absolutely fine and delicate. This wine shows all that warm, stemmy quality this vineyard seems to be about, along with that clay/earthy heat. Wood and spice and all that, fresh and juicy. Not the best, but does show off some of the characteristics of Niagara pinots.

Are retailers as keen on letting you return bottles full of odours of reduction as a corked one?

DF

note to writers

2011-12-27T17:18:00.002-05:00

Click to Expand

Drinking and writing is cool and great and sometimes yields your most brilliant work. It's however, inexcusable to make silly mistakes, as you can see here. I'd add to the list your/you're, their/they're . . . stupid shit like that, but it's always the little pebbles that trip you up.

Proofread before you publish, spare us all the grade-school level writing!

DF

just how do we drink?

2011-12-27T17:13:00.001-05:00

Click to Expand

Everyone's talking about more North Americans drinking wine, which is a good thing. Not so good, however, is when we indulge a bit too recklessly. Wine, after all, is an alcohol. And alcohol makes you do stupid things. Confessing your love for a girl, acting a fool . . . that's all a fun story to tell later. Getting in a car after and potentially killing yourself/others; not so fun. So please, this holiday, take care of yourself and your friends after a night of fun.

And really, you don't need to be drunk to tell that hottie you want to bone.

sweet after the savoury

2011-12-26T22:59:00.001-05:00

Good dinner tonight, sort of what you want for the holidays. As somewhat of an adult now, long dinners, lots of wine, and conversation are the focus now. My mother issued an order this afternoon. Or rather, she simply proclaimed that I want some pastries. As most sons understand, you get your shit together and make it happen - any attempt to try to clarify what that means is a risk I'm not willing to take. So, I put some clothes on, get in the car and get out to Maxim's. As close to perfection in sweets as I can imagine, in Toronto at least. I don't care much for dessert, an afterthought in a meal, but these were sublime. And make sure the LBV port you serve is sweeter, or it all goes to shit. Wise words from a wine consultant, take heed.

Most important, and something I wanted to say earlier. Drinking and boozing and all is fun, but please, please, please . . . don't drive afterwards. If there was ever a need for a fucking slap in the face to wake us all up, we got it. My bro, my old roommate, got in a some shit about that. So please, if you've got any sense in you - please don't drink and drive. Do yourself a favour, have fun safely this holiday season.

DF

being indifferent about simple Bordeaux

2011-12-26T17:04:00.001-05:00

2006 Château Lafon Cuvée Classic | AC Listrac Cru Bourgeois

2004 Château Canteloup | AC Médoc

Behind the great locomotive of great classified-growth Bordeaux follows the thousands and thousands of smaller properties which can at times produce exciting wines, but more often than not, yield solid if unspectacular bottles. These two wines, from Listrac and Médoc prove that cabernet/merlot can be utterly boring wines. Lean, simple, fresh fruit can be useful with a meal, but overtly bretty wines that never lose that skunkiness and are clear signs of questionable vinification and cellar practices? That is a problem.

Being boring isn't a sin. There's something to be said about simple, humble wines. So why am I still shaking my head? Because I think there's a real danger here, on low end wine production, to lose any and all nuance in where a wine comes from, when it was made, and really, what it is. You have to have that really ripe, sweet tasting fruit, all clean flavours and all to sell wine to North Americans. But are those mutually exclusive from terroir honest wines? And forget about wines that were just poorly made to begin with.

There has to be something worth tasting, for the other 95% of Bordeaux.

Christmas day and the NBA is back!

2011-12-25T14:21:00.002-05:00

We've waited so long. Suffered so much. But the NBA is back!! Getting set for the Dallas/Miami game, just watched the Mavs raise their Championship banner. Here we go, woooo!!

Christmas Eve was fairly muted last night. Livetweeted throughout the church service. Indifferent as always. Dinner was great, managed to inhale a few glasses of wine, a few beers in the 90 minutes or so we were there. Lazy day today, but that's fine. Working on a pair of Chianti Classico's at the moment. Early afternoon drinking wooooo!!

DF

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T15:23:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas! Yet another one here again. We have a church function tonight, where I make my obligatory annual appearance. I'll be liveblogging from inside the cult. Oops . . .

Then, dinner at a family friend's. Keeping it simple. You want to talk commitment; I've blocked off all the vents in the basement to maintain a somewhat cellar-like environment for the wines in my closet. I'm sitting here now, freezing, but look, there's a dusting of snow on the ground.

Best wishes to all, health and happiness.

the family dinner

2011-12-23T23:15:00.000-05:00

First day of the holidays and we've been hit with a bombshell from Shanghai. Bad news all around. So needless to say, no one was in a celebratory mood. In lieu of gifts this year, I cooked dinner for my parents. Shopping all morning for the most amazing seafood, having started prepping the sea cucumber a week earlier already. Canned Spanish octopus, squid, and sardines. Kumamoto oysters, live abalone, savoury clams, berberechos, steamed eggs and clams, sea cucumbers and bamboo shoot. Devoured with a pair of the most amazing nonvintage rosé Champagne and Niagara rosé sparkling wine.

We're following developments very closely. There might be a situation requiring me to return to Shanghai, but we'll see. For one night at least, we remembered how fulfilling a proper family dinner can be.

DF

Tamanohikari Omachi Junmai Daiginjo

2011-12-22T20:08:00.003-05:00

Tamanohikari Omachi Junmai Daiginjo | Kyoto Prefecture

Sake is complex, it's intellectual, it's all that; it is a drink for lovers of subtlety. And few sakes are as subtle as these junmai daiginjo brews. The finest sakes - there is no alcohol added, and grains of rice are polished to at least 50%. This particular example was polished to 55% . . . only 45% of the original rice grain is left, yielding an exceptionally pure and refined wine.

Delicate, fragrant, and oh so elegant. Just the slightest off-white in colour, beautiful clarity and focus. Incredibly fresh and vibrant, but what's most exciting is the texture in the mouth. Instantly gaining in richness, like a rolling cloud on the palate. Blows my mind.

Hotpot is difficult to pair wines with, because you're dealing with so many different flavours, textures . . . the dipping sauce (spicy, salty, pungent) just ratchets up the confusion. But sometimes . . . sometimes you encounter a drink that somehow both clarifies it all, and is assertive without being overbearing. Junmai daiginjo for life.

DF

Izumi Ontario Spring Water Sake Co.

2011-12-21T20:08:00.001-05:00

Nama Nama | Crazy-Horse (Jaja-Uma)

Genshu

Toronto's Distillery District is one of those places that really, only the locals care about. Nothing much there worth seeing; sadly, even less worth eating. The office spent a day there to check out the Christmas Market, and surprise . . . I found a place to do a tasting. Ontario sake, brewed by Japanese brewers - very eye-opening all around. A taste, and I'm instantly reminded of this home-brewed rice wine my relatives make back in Shanghai. I bought bottles of all 3 sakes we tasted.

Two of them, I took them out to dinner at a BYOB place. Amazing Cantonese food, check it out. The Nama-Nama and the Crazy-Horse, just extraordinary. That amazing rice flavour, that sweet/sour interplay that creates fireworks. You don't think of rice wine to have such impact on the palate, that amazing dry extract. Acid too. Amazing all around, with the alcohol beautifully integrated. The Genshu, what I expected to be the most textural, showed as most refined. Slightly sweet, just a gorgeous wine with our simple Shanghainese food. These are by no means traditional sakes, but show that beautiful rice character that the great Chinese brewers created. Finally a reason worth going out to the Distillery District for.

veal rib chops

2011-12-20T22:53:00.002-05:00

They say veal are baby cows that still consume only their mother's milk. A bit sad, but I love beef and I was hungry. It's a bit sick to think that baby cows are being killed for food, but they do have the most amazing flavour and texture. What does it say about me that cooking veal gives me a lot of pleasure?

I can't stop thinking about that hunk of seared veal I had in Paris, at Philou. I kind of lost it a bit when I saw these veal rib steaks, amazingly pink and lean. Seared hard, kept raw in the middle - perfect in texture and flavour.

I raise a glass to that baby cow that gave its life for a good meal.

homegrown green

2011-12-19T22:52:00.002-05:00

A family friend has the most amazing backyard garden. So what do they plant it with, in the middle of suburban Mississauga? The most amazing Chinese vegetables of course. This gets me so excited, seeing them go out back with shears and coming back with muddy armfuls of the freshest, greenest, and most flavoursome greens you'll ever eat.

The first was a bunch of bok choy. They grow well into the fall, with the Chinese especially prizing what is referred to as frost-touched. Once the temperature drops, crops are susceptible to frost in the morning. This slight freezing and thawing transforms the texture of the bok choy, making it crisp. Intensifies flavour too. And my goodness, they were amazing. We got some celery too - from Chinese stock, not the thick, watery, tasteless nonsense people here think of as celery. A bit tougher, but with that incredible green, herbaceous flavour.

It's all like planting cabernet sauvignon outside of Bordeaux right? Similar character, but different terroirs yield something . . . different, no? So are these vegetables still Chinese, or in some strange way, Canadian? Can you call a Niagara pinot noir a Burgundy? I guess I just answered my own question.

I want a garden where I can plant tomato, basil, mint, and magic.

the Christmas wishlist

2011-12-18T22:55:00.003-05:00

I don't think you should be expecting gifts after you start working (and presumably, earning money). But that's just me. For holidays, I prefer getting friends together for a good meal, with lots and lots of opened bottles on the table. Just hours and hours of eating, drinking, and talking shit about other people. And I think I know what I want for Christmas this year. A few weeks ago, Levi Dalton posted an interview he conducted with Patrick Cappiello, the Wine Director and Sommelier of GILT Restaurant in New York's Palace Hotel. He also posted the restaurant's wine list. All 86, thirst-inducing pages of it. Check out both.

Mr. Cappiello has assembled a very impressive cellar, going especially deep into Chablis. I actually spent a good 45 minutes going through the entire wine list. Just playing with myself, sort of the way you flip (and dream) through a Maserati catalogue. Lots of legendary, epic wines. Unless you're particularly fortunate enough to have wine-loving parents who've built a cellar (as my potential progeny will have), there are limited opportunities to taste older wines. Not talking about 40/50/60 year old bottles of some grand Bordeaux or Burgundy either . . . regularly being able to pull out 10 year old vintages of even humble wines would be a struggle. So, we are resigned to accept that the only way to taste mature, truly great wines are at restaurants who employ great wine stewards.

Expensive, without a doubt . . . but we also have to think about value-for-money. Would you rather pay $50-75 for a wine that can be found for sub-$25 retail prices, or $200 or so for a mature wine that will change your life and be remembered forever? I know what I want. And it's listed below (with prices in USD).

If you're going out to eat this holiday, please check out older vintages. It's thanks to people like Mr. Cappiello that we might still have a chance to drink something older than ourselves.

2002 Pierre Moncuit, "Brut Blanc de Blancs ", Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (160)
1985 Moët & Chandon, "Brut Dom Pérignon ", Epernay (725)
1990 Moët & Chandon, "Brut Dom Pérignon ", Epernay (595)
1988 Dom Ruinart, "Brut Blanc de Blancs ", Reims (425)
1996 Dom Ruinart, "Brut Blanc de Blancs ", Reims (380)
1996 Dom Ruinart, "Brut Rosé ", Reims (625)
N.V. Jacques Selosse, "Brut Initiale ", Avize (295)
N.V. Jacques Selosse, "Extra Brut V.O. ", Avize (600)
1990 Trimbach, "Cuvée Frédéric Émile", Ribeauvillé (275)
1983 Trimbach, "Clos Sainte Hune", Ribeauvillé (960)
2002 Didier Dagueneau, "Pur Sang" (380)
2007 Didier Dagueneau, "Silex" (250)
1990 Nicolas Joly, "Coulée de Serrant" (185)
1978 Haut Brion Blanc, Pessac-Leognan (750)
1996 Vincent Dauvissat, "Vaillons" (150)
1999 François Raveneau, "Forêt" (240)
1990 François Raveneau, "Butteaux" (460)
1990 François Raveneau, "Montée de Tonnerre" (440)
1990 Vincent Dauvissat, "Les Preuses" (325)
1990 Vincent Dauvissat, "Les Clos" (360)
1983 François Raveneau, "Valmur" (650)
1981 Comtes Lafon, "Clos de la Barre" (310)
2002 Roulot, "Les Vireuils" (135)
1988 Coche-Dury, "Perrières" (1,500)
1990 Comtes Lafon, "Charmes" (750)
1981 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Montrachet" (3,500)
1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Montrachet" (6,500)
1982 Domaine Leflaive, "Bâtard-Montrachet" (1,100)
1990 Ramonet, "Bâtard-Montrachet" (775)
1983 Egon Müller, "Scharzhofberger", Spätlese (360)
1993 Zilliken, "Saarburger Rausch", Auslese (130)
1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm, "Wehlener Sonnenuhr", Auslese (265)
1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm, "Graacher Himmelreich", Auslese (275)
2001 Dönnhoff, "Oberhäuser Brücke", Spätlese (205)
1996 Calera Pinot Noir, "Mills", Mt. Harlan (150)
1990 Calera Pinot Noir, "Jensen", Mt. Harlan (245)
1993 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (975)
1995 Colgin, "Herb Lamb", Napa Valley (940)
1996 Dominus, Napa Valley (315)
1990 Harlan, Napa Valley (1,000)
1990 Heitz, "Martha's", Napa Valley (450)
1995 Mayacamas, Napa Valley (295)
1979 Opus One, Napa Valley (850)
1992 Ridge, "Monte Bello", Santa Cruz Mountains (295)
1969 Camille Giroud, "Les Charmes" (300)
1966 Bernard Grivelet, "Les Amoureuses" (450)
1957 Prosper Maufoux, "Les Amoureuses" (460)
1991 Comte Georges de Vogüé, "Les Amoureuses" (440)
1983 George Roumier, "Les Amoureuses" (1,725)
1989 Joseph Drouhin, "Musigny" (520)
1986 George Roumier, "Bonnes Mares" (1,595)
1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Romanée St Vivant" (6,800)
1986 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Richebourg" (1,900)
1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "La Tâche" (8,500)
1986 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "La Tâche" (3,200)
1966 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "La Romanée Conti" (12,000)
1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "La Romanée Conti" (18,000)
1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Échézeaux" (2,800)
1978 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, "Grands Échézeaux" (4,500)
2002 Henri Gouges, "Clos des Porrets St. George" (190)
1962 Gaunoux, "Les Rugiens" (780)
1988 Michel Lafarge, "Clos des Chênes" (215)
1996 Comtes Lafon, "Clos des Chênes" (330)
2007 Marcel Lapierre, Morgon (50)
1947 Château Cheval Blanc, Premier Grand Cru Classé A (11,000)
1982 Château Cheval Blanc, Premiers Grand Cru Classé A (3,000)
1947 Pétrus (12,000)
1986 Château Latour, 1er Cru (1,850)
1986 Château Mouton-Rothschild, 1er Cru (1,275)
1961 Château Léoville Las Cases, 2ème Cru (960)
1986 Château Margaux, 1er Cru (1,900)
1983 Château La Lagune, 3ème Cru (320)
1986 Château Haut Brion, 1er Cru (1,300)
1985 E. Guigal, "La Landonne" (1,350)
1988 E. Guigal, "La Mouline" (1,025)
1979 Paul Jaboulet, "La Chapelle" (390)
1978 Beaucastel (725)
1996 Pibarnon, Bandol (170)
1978 Palladino, "Santo Bernardo Riserva ", Serralunga d'Alba (385)
1961 Giacomo Borgogno, "Riserva", Barolo (480)
1982 Giacomo Borgogno, "Riserva", Barolo (310)
1978 Marchesi di Barolo, "Grand Annata Riserva", Barolo (410)
1983 Vietti, "Rocche", Falletto (345)
1974 CVNE, Cune, "Reserva" (350)
1946 CVNE, Viña Real, "Gran Reserva" (950)
1970 López de Heredia, "Gran Reserva Tondonia " (495)
1976 López de Heredia, "Gran Reserva Bosconia " (395)
1979 Vega Sicilia, "Unico" (795)

DF

John's Chinese BBQ Restaurant, Markham

2011-12-18T20:53:00.004-05:00

I've been so spoiled lately - friends have been taking me out to restaurants for the past few weekends, a real treat as I never go out to restaurants. Something about being poor and knowing how to cook. Last Sunday night, a friend invited us out to John's Chinese BBQ Restaurant in Markham. I'm such a believer . . . Cantonese food is the greatest, isn't it. And lucky for us, we had a Hong Kong native to order for us, explaining it all as we ate.

My contribution to dinner? Two bottles of Izumi sake, which turned out amazing - more later. Highlights? All of them. The most amazing roast duck to start, going into something off-menu, one of those hush hush wink wink deals you have to talk to the owner about. Chicken, stuffed with prawns, fried, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Yeah, as epic as it sounds. Tender greens and more sake for a brief intermission, before going onto clams in black bean sauce and duck legs/mushroom/choy. Ending with crispy noodles, 潮州 style, that sweet/sour thing they like. And dessert was this extraordinary deep-fried taro, encased in sugar. And I don't even like taro! Crispy outside, perfectly tender inside, all love.

Many thanks to my dear friend for being our host. Yet another winner. But I shouldn't have been surprised . . . you never go wrong in a restaurant with its menus pasted on the walls. Cantonese food forever!!

DF

raw cured blue crab

2011-12-17T16:52:00.001-05:00

I don't get squeamish about food, but this is something I can only eat with the right frame of mind. Raw blue crab, cured in a salt bath. It's an ultra traditional dish originating in the coastal Chinese town of Ningbo, my great-grandfather's hometown. Once in season, crabs are cured live in heavy salt, firming up the meat and imparting flavour. Another effect is the ability to keep without spoiling for a few weeks. Locals eat it raw with rice porridge. The orange matter is particularly delicious, full of savoury marine flavour.

My parents have this church friend who comes from Ningbo. She prepared these for us, which seems a bit of a miracle because there has been a terrible shortage of blue crab this year. She puts them live in the freezer, which kills them, then marinates them in a salt bath for a few days. The texture of the meat is soft, squishy almost. The crabs were a great quality, as you can from the amount of orange matter they contained. Delicious, but you really do have to grow up eating this stuff to be able to appreciate it. Now, with any luck, next year's crab harvest will be a good one, so we can do it another way, with Shaoxing wine.

DF

bubbles and wire cages

2011-12-16T20:49:00.004-05:00

NV Carles Andreu Brut Nature | DO Cava

2004 Fernandez Escudo de Plata Gran Reserva | DO Jumilla

Spain's always been a mess of a country but you could always count on two things from them: fine-ass tanned women and the most amazing food. But what of the wines? Sure, there's Rioja. But can any other region (besides Ribera del Duero) that can make a claim for greatness? Why is it that the most avant-garde cuisine (modernist and molecular and all that) is coming out of the Iberian peninsula but the wines seem to be stumbling and bumbling? Even Rioja is struggling, and the recent shitstorm around the Wine Advocate's Spanish coverage has shown that producers from smaller regions are absolutely desperate to get any and all coverage.

I like sparkling wine a lot - the sort of I could drink this shit all day, every day. I visited Champagne in April, and above all, was struck by how incredibly vinous the wines were. That point's been made ad nauseum by wine people, but clearly, the message has yet to sink through that bubbly is first and foremost, a wine. Cava, made in the traditional method, can deliver some of that wonderful toasty, autolytic character. Love it, but I was looking forward to the Jumilla even more. Read this, as Jumilla has been talked about as Spain's next big thing (in wine at least). Monastrell dominated, with good age and labelled as a gran reserva, intimating a certain amount of time in oak and bottle.

Both mediocre, unfortunately. It's not that I expect my mind blown everytime, but you do want some kind of excitement. Some character at least, not these macerated, clumsily confected wines. A terrible shame, especially for the monastrell. It's this huge, structured, monster of a wine . . . and yet this example shows it a whimpering, effeminate puss. And the Cava - supposedly with zero dosage, but still showing a horrifically candied mess. Yuck. Yikes. Yowza!

So you tell me . . . what the fuck is up with Spanish wine?!

making soy sauce exciting

2011-12-16T16:47:00.002-05:00

We make a lot of broths - chicken, pork bone and all that. You can't be wasting any of it, but after simmering for a few hours, all the flavour from the meat is in the soup. The only way to make it palatable is soy sauce. But soy sauce is boring.

I sex it up a little with chili peppers. Lots of chili peppers. Washed, dried, cut, and then marinated. With time, that wonderful chili flavour permeates the soy sauce and you get the most amazing spiciness. And just try not eating a few peppers as you dip.

the quartet with dinner

2011-12-15T16:38:00.004-05:00

NV Castillo Perelada Brut Rosado | Cava

NV Domaine De Vaugondy Brut | AC Vouvray

2009 Bongiovanni Arneis | DOC Langhe

2009 Cave Talmard | AC Mâcon Uchizy

It was freezing; perfect weather for hotpot. My friend had just moved into a new house and wanted us over for dinner. Kiwi is such a big girl now. A bit more aloof too, lounging on the rug as we ate, making sure we understood that she couldn't care less about any of us.

We had wine. Many wines. Starting with a Cava and a sparkling Vouvray, all good, solidly made bottles. But the real excitement was with the two wines that anchored the meal. Arneis always has that wonderfully aromatic bouquet. The richly textured palate is always a surprise to people who taste it for the first time. Well extracted, vibrant. And what else could I say about the Mâcon Uchizy . . . always delicious. Lots of tropical fruit, that 2009 ripeness. Great texture, balance.

We go into these things all worried about what wine to pair with what, but really, we shouldn't be. It's easy. Sparkling wine always works. High acid always works. But most importantly, good company who likes to have a laugh.

DF

2000 Cariñena Gran Reserva

2011-12-14T23:07:00.003-05:00

2000 Duque De Medina Gran Reserva | DO Cariñena

Alright, let's try this again. You of course remember the last time I chanced this bottle. But I'm a bit stubborn . . . I like banging my head against the wall (or in this case, thrashing myself with a hideous looking, wire-encased bottle). But it's all good. All for the love of wine.

A tempranillo/garnacha blend, same vintage as the corked one I returned last year . . . same wine, but why is it now $1 cheaper? But this one was a lot better. So much better. All that rusticity I love, the strawberries and vanilla from the oak that somehow works for Spanish wines. Savoury, with a coarseness on the palate that may be a flaw for some, but seen as character for the more aware. A humble country wine with personality. The only thing nonsensical about this bottle was the hideous label. Why, oh why, did someone decide that brown would be a good colour scheme??!!

Wine criticism is flawed. Anyone who tells you otherwise is ignorant or lying. So how can we improve it? I have an idea, and I may start trying it soon. Maybe we should be working to not only describe what we taste, but go a bit further and talk about what's missing, what would take the wine to the next level. It's certainly been done before, but I'm sure there's a better, more lucid way of doing it.

the sauvignon blanc for hotpot

2011-12-13T21:01:00.001-05:00

2009 Leopard's Leap Sauvignon Blanc | Western Cape | South Africa

2010 Elgin Valley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc | Elgin Valley | South Africa

2009 Durvillea Sauvignon Blanc | Marlborough | New Zealand

After watching the tv event of the year (Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, duh), I was inspired. They're all badass as hell, but Candice Swanepoel takes it to a whole . . . 'nother . . . jaw-dropping . . . tongue-wagging . . . mind-blowing . . . level. South African wines don't usually catch my eye, but damn, CS makes me want to pay more attention.

So, sauvignon blanc with hotpot. I had some friends over, wanting to do something heavy on seafood and greens. They brought over the most amazingly thin slices of beef and pork as well, to round it out. We had so much food - far too much for 6 people, but I was hungry and ready for the challenge. New world sauvignon blanc can be interesting, sort of the other half of the more traditional character of this wine (dry white Bordeaux, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé). New Zealand's famous for that clean, overtly fruit-forward style, with the herbal notes that blast you in the face. No subtlety there, but I was interested to see how the South Africans were handling it.

Turns out, not that well. Both wines were lean, not usually an issue with sauvignon, but in this case a bit overly so. Without body or texture, the wines are just shrill, a mess of green aromas and cheap fruit. But the New Zealand sauvignon wasn't that much better. Tropical fruits, pineapple and all that, with a marked sweetness on the palate.

A forgettable trio of wines. Sauvignon blanc does well in a lot of different styles, but personally, the benchmark I hold it to are the dry whites of Bordeaux. Handled in oak, they have all the aromatics and texture I look for in a great white wine. Well extracted acidity give some excitement on the palate as well as the ability to age. Don't want to stupidly put out any blanket statements, especially after tasting 2 (!) South African wines . . . but maybe they need a bit more time to learn how to handle sauvignon, and perhaps decide if there's a future for this varietal.

I like poetic, obscure Italian wines

2011-12-12T20:54:00.001-05:00

2010 Ulisse Unico Pecorino | IGT Terre di Chieti

We don't ask for our wines to be grand all the time. Just interesting. But I was in the mood for something just a bit more - more challenging, more thoughtful. I've upped the number of Italian wines drunk the past 12 months or so. Whenever I'm looking for something to get my head spinning, yet staying within budget . . . Italian whites seem like a good choice. Just please stay away from the pinot grigio. Oh God, stay away from pinot grigio. It's wine for the slobs who think they know wine. Or for the louts who think sounding Italian makes them more cosmopolitan - but really, how hard is it to say pi-not gri-gi-o??!!

Pecorino, always a bit of a trip. Traditionally, Italian whites never have much fruit. Acid and all that other funky rustic stuff. Incredibly nutty, in both aroma and palate, but that wasn't even its defining character. Starting with some citrus, floral notes, with an incredibly viscous, silky texture. Ends like peanuts and herbs. After 24 hours, becomes minty, greenish - fruit all but disappears. Slight impression of sweetness in the mouth, transitioning into something completely different. Then, after dinner, turns smokey, almost savoury . . . are we still drinking a white wine? Amazing, with so much extracted acidity, good length.

I can't remember the last wine I've drank that changed so much over 2 days, with air. Amazing. Just keeps transforming and developing, becoming more interesting, more complex. And all it is is a fucking country wine!?

2009 Grotta del Sole Falanghina | DOC Campi Flegrei

We continue with a falanghina. Fresh, ripe citrus, even some honey. Minerals. Focused on the palate, linear . . . seems weightless. And proves why these whites are so interesting. Starts one way, and suddenly shows a completely different character. You think it's just going to be simple, some fruit, high acid; then you get an amazing texture, amazing development in the glass. A good find.

2009 Manimurci Lacryma Christi | DOC Vesuvio Rosso | Campania

A Lacryma Christi wine to end off the night. There's so many versions of the story behind the name - who knows which one to follow. One about Christ tearing up about Lucifer, others about blessing Vesuvio. Whatever. The wine may be old and have prominence in Roman history, but it never was, and never will be particularly heart-thumping. Dark, slightly macerated fruit, almost herbal. Structured, grainy tannins. Some sweetness, well made - but as I'm discovering more and more, just not as exciting as the whites.

Something to say, some kind of purpose, some meaning behind it all. That's what we really want. There's lots of good wine, just like there's lots of good food and other shit. But interesting, exciting, with a story to tell? That's what we all need to be drinking/eating/talking more about.

DF

2007 Riesling Auslese Haus Klosterberg

2011-12-11T23:11:00.004-05:00

2007 Markus Molitor Riesling Auslese | QmP Haus Klosterberg | Mosel

I adore riesling like you wouldn't believe, but sometimes you've just got to tone down the rhetoric and drink it for what it is. Because sometimes it's just a simple wine, with little else to offer than sheer fruitiness/sweetness that comes off as slightly whorish. The kind of cheeky, come-hither-finger, hey big boy, kind of thing.

Markus Molitor is a well-known producer of Mosel rieslings, owning vineyard parcels seemingly everywhere: just check out the full listing of sites they own vines in. 2007, a great vintage for German wines. Good ripeness, but more importantly, that spine of just electric acidity that defines what grand riesling is. Yes, it's almost a crime to be drinking auslesen wines so young. The only way to avoid that is, well . . . would you like to supply me with wines to drink while we wait for these to mature?

Fruit, sweet, ripe, friendly. Almost a bit too friendly, like that guy who thinks he belongs with every group, but really, belongs nowhere. Soft, leaving me asking - where is the acid? And if there's no acid . . . then what's the point of it all??

P.S. | I just came back from a jaw-dropping, poem-inducing meal at a Cantonese restaurant in Markham with an old friend who seems to know every single restaurant owner in the area. Need to digest it all for a bit - photos and all that soon.

DF

stout and all that

2011-12-11T17:19:00.005-05:00

As a guy who's been working for a few years now, I was almost ashamed that for the past 3 months, I've had the same $40 in the wallet. It was money to be spent on groceries or booze - guess which way I went. But they do call this stuff a meal in a glass right?

I was sweating a bit. $40, to be spent on a certain Mosel riesling (~$17), and two 6-packs of stout. One was a no-brainer; sacrifices had to be made for the other. So, just squeezed in, with a few cents left in change. Booze before food, ftw!

Guinness Extra Stout

This is still the real Guinness, just brewed in Canada by Labatts. Black as night, with texture to match. Oh right, we were drinking this with hotpot. Or rather, I was drinking this with hotpot. Perfect weather to be drinking black.

McAuslan St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

A Montreal brewery, one of my favourites. Their whole lineup is strong, but the oatmeal stout absolutely wins every time, all the time. Rich and viscous, perfect in flavour and texture. Great depth. Fabulous head of foam, always a sign of a great brew. Incredible impact on the palate, wrapping you in a soft, warm embrace.

And in questions about what else to eat with it . . . good salumi and pig's trotters make a strong case for sheer gustatory bliss. Am I using that word correctly?

PEI scallops

2011-12-10T16:10:00.002-05:00

I had some friends over for hotpot last weekend. We did, among (many, many) other things, live scallops. I've never had these before. The fishmonger said they were from Prince Edward Island. Smaller, in size and skirt. Great marine flavours, texture. The 3 sauvignon wines we were may have been the dinner's one weakness. Too green, too tropical, too much of that lean character lacking texture and control.

I'd like to know how else to cook these.

DF

a day in the distillery district

2011-12-09T23:06:00.002-05:00

Stepping back from it, those last few pieces have been a bit hateful. And like it or not, we are closing in on the holidays. Yeah, all butterflies and warm fuzziness from now on.

The office went out to Toronto's Distillery District today, to check out the Christmas Market. Fun day; rows and rows of shacks were set up along all the streets, showing everything from artisanal cheese to maple syrup, to handmade fresh wreaths. And just as we stepped out of Balzac's Coffee, the snow started coming down in big, fluffy clumps. We found the Ontario Spring Water Sake Co., perfect as I had just read somewhere about the Izumi sake being brewed. One great tasting later, I had 3 bottles in hand and already thinking of what seafood I wanted to serve with it.

On to lunch at Archeo Trattoria. Unremarkable in both food and service, but we did enjoy a bottle of Trius Sparkling Brut. Linear, focused, with some autolytic character on the palate. Great, and DVP less painful than usual on the way back. Big weekend of hard eating ahead - hotpot at a buddy's tomorrow, Cantonese restaurant on Sunday. Endless wine ready to go. DF ready to take holiday drinking on!!

DF

it's just a salad dressing!

2011-12-08T20:08:00.004-05:00

My mother likes to put me in my place when I get a little too full of myself in the kitchen. Yeah, like, whatever. I'm all for listening and learning from people that actually know what they're doing. Not so much from those that are all bluster, little substance. She has this church friend. Nice guy, I'm sure. She says he went to culinary school and tried to convince me that I needed to follow his method for putting together a vinaigrette.

I hope he got his tuition money back.

We won't even get into how useless culinary school is. Did the great French chefs go to school for a cooking degree?! Not that I would hold this guy's background against him; after all, what's on the plate might tell another story.

I really hope he got his tuition refunded.

So at one of their church dinners, he announced to everyone that a proper vinaigrette needs soy sauce. So what do you get when you try to combine foreign flavours with each other, in what should be the simplest thing ever?? Well, the divide between geniuses and retards is but a thin line, no? A small quibble, maybe, about how to put together a salad dressing. But what could be more perfect than a simple dressing of (good) olive oil, vinegar, and sea salt? If you have an answer to that, you've got a problem.

So, no, don't put fucking soy sauce in your vinaigrette. Keep it simple. My God, keep it simple. Extra virgin olive oil, as raw as you can find, with a dash of red wine vinegar for an intense acidity, and good balsamic vinegar for depth. Sugar and salt to taste. Not so hard, is it. No need for a degree either; just some common sense and respect for ingredients.

side by side in wine

2011-12-07T20:08:00.003-05:00

I finally put these up in the kitchen. No one prints photos anymore. But the girl at Black's is so pretty I'm willing to do the extra work. And now I need something else to print. Side by side, wine photos that have a lot of meaning for me.

On the left, my first vineyard visit at Lailey, my first bottle of Marcel Lapierre Morgon, and my visit to the cellars of Champagne Ruinart. On the right, a set by ROKChoi. Tasting 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir, all love, all love.

the lot number

2011-12-06T15:13:00.003-05:00

The wine world is all excited over the whole Jay Miller bullshit. That fat slob has always been a terrible judge of wine, but this whole no pay, no Jay business is just filthy. The story was broken through some fabulous journalistic work by Jim Budd, at Jim's Loire. Reactions have been pouring in from some other noted names in the wine writing world, here, and here.

The rock has been lifted, and everyone seems disgusted by the vermin crawling underneath, but really, is anyone surprised? The nerve of these people to charge exorbitant fees for the privilege of tasting? I'm sorry, but that corpulent, slimy fuck is everything that's wrong with how the public perceives wine professionals to be. I imagine proper Spanish winemakers are singing and dancing in the streets. The ones who actually manipulated their wines (ripened to shit, overextracted, oaky brews) to match his palate and hope for a high score deserve to sit on their piles of undrinkable, unsellable plonk and weep.

Give this a few weeks to blow over. Who the fuck cares about Dr. Big J (yeah, he actually calls himself that). In the meantime, look at this . . . an Italian wine with the lot number printed on its label. Simple one too, a 2009 Falanghina from the DOC of Campi Flegrei in Campania. And if I'm interpreting this correctly, the lot number refers to a bottling date of July 2011. Still wine may not matter that much, but it's absolutely mind-boggling to me that this isn't standard practice in Champagne, where disgorgement and bottling dates actually do matter.

Bravo Grotta del Sole!

what, the LCBO overcharges us?

2011-12-05T20:21:00.004-05:00

This story just came out, and I'm sure we'll hear more about it in the coming days. The Auditor General of Ontario, Jim McCarter, has reported that the LCBO is incredibly inefficient in the way they do business. The report even hints at something more sinister - the LCBO isn't interested in minimizing supplier costs. In fact, it seems they purposely pay suppliers more, to ensure that the final retail prices of wines are higher. Wines aren't priced according to the market, but rather to the pricing structure that the LCBO marketing strategy determines. Evil.

Am I surprised? Not really. I suppose my first reaction at this point is . . . will this finally be the start of a serious move to privatize the LCBO? We don't need the extra tax, we don't need a Big Brother to police the whole social responsibility bullshit. The entire idea of the government controlling every aspect of alcohol retail and consumption is a slap in the face of a free market. And as a Toronto guy, I don't give a flying fuck if some hick in Waterloo won't have access anymore to an LCBO outlet.

This is just the beginning.

DF

the magnums of Faizeau

2011-12-05T00:53:00.002-05:00

Faizeau Vielles Vignes, twice as much win in a magnum. See you in 10-12.

DF

adding to the collection

2011-12-04T17:40:00.002-05:00

I've got a thing for stems. Wine doesn't need many accessories beyond a glass and a corkscrew, but without the right stem, you can never experience a wine to its full potential. That's certainly not to say that you need a different kind of glass for each kind of wine. Don't be fooled by glassmakers who try to convince you that if you don't have a different glass matched to each varietal, you're doing it wrong. Not for a second.

I use one glass to drink all my wines. Riedel Vinum, what they label as Zinfandel/Chianti Classico/Alsace Grand Cru. Whatever, but the stem is perfect in shape, size, and weight. Bowl just perfectly formed for all wines, from dry to sweet to sparkling. Expensive (for me), but not enough that breaking one would be breaking the bank. Every year, around Christmas time, I buy a few more to replace the inevitable breakages. When you've found the right one for you, why keep looking around?

That's not to say I wouldn't like to keep adding to the collection. Stems are my obsession, and I'd like to add two more specific types. One, with a smaller more angular bowl for Champagne and Sauternes/sweet wines. And another larger one for Burgundy/Barolo. Until then, Riedel Vinum for life.

DF

old wine and oxtail

2011-12-04T15:49:00.001-05:00

We had a spirited conversation at home about exactly what part of the cow the oxtail was. It ended inconclusively - not even Google helped. In any case, the first bowl of oxtail soup was delicious. Toronto's starting to chill down, now that we're entering December, perfect for this kind of dish. With a mature 2000 gran reserva from Cariñena, dinner was a rustic lovefest.

Humble ingredients, all of it, but that doesn't mean quality isn't a factor. Everything was working great; the oxtail, the tomatoes, the garlic/onion. But the carrot just was not right, in flavour or texture. And yet another lesson learned that no matter how trivial or minor it seems, every single ingredient matters.

DF

stout on trotters

2011-12-04T03:59:00.001-05:00

. . . wins every time. Haven't cooked pig's trotters for some time. Instantly reminded why they're the best.

DF

4 Year Anniversary

2011-12-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

I don't really know how I feel about LCF turning 4. A lot of wine drunk, certainly. Every bottle, a lesson learned. Let's move on. The end of year makes some people reflective; be glad I'm not one of them. Looking to change some things, break out of the status quo. Easier said than done, but I'm working on it.

Many thanks. Much appreciation for the support. And from the top . . .

DF

snow!

2011-12-02T20:08:00.001-05:00

We finally got some snow this Wednesday in Toronto. Not enough to stay on the ground of course . . . that won't be for at least a few more weeks. But enough to make the sky a blur of white, if only for an instant. We've had a good autumn. Warm, sunny days up to late November. Will this year's winter be another rough one? Here we go again!

DF

green onion flatbread

2011-12-01T20:08:00.001-05:00

This is proudly a Shanghainese thing. Dough, green onion, oil, and salt. That's it, isn't it. And the way it's rolled ensures that each bite stays crispy on the outside, while yielding soft layers inside. This is traditional street food you can still find in Shanghai's older neighbourhoods; locals eat it for breakfast. I remember being amazed as a child, watching them flip and pull it out of the pan with their bare hands. Delicious on the street, even more so when you put in the hard work yourself.

DF

so how much alcohol is there?

2011-11-30T20:08:00.002-05:00

I swear I wasn't that drunk. So which one is it? Or do we split it down the middle and take it as 12.5% abv? And this is why North American liqour laws have to be completely torn up and rewritten because current labelling regulations don't make any sense. Labels are supposed to give the consumer information right? As in, clarify exactly what's in the bottle? Remember a certain Niagara winery having to white out words on their labels by hand because the rules say local wines can't have the name of another wine region on it?

DF

unsolicited (wine) advice

2011-11-29T20:08:00.005-05:00

Talking about wine is great; shit, I fucking love talking wine. I'm just puzzled, not with the fact that everyone seems to have an opinion, but that everyone wants to give you advice, solicited or otherwise. And it's not just wine . . . you can't just talk about things anymore, everyone has to prove how knowledgable, how insightful they are by telling you what you should be drinking, what you should be reading, what you should be doing. Chafes me like nothing else.

Just leave it alone. My goodness, please, unsolicited advice is the worst kind. I'm a bit of a crank, but the woman who was rattling off wines I should be drinking halfway through our conversation was really talking out her ass; I mean she finishes her tasting notes with and it goes well with beef fajitas. If anything, I should be going out of my way to avoid the wines you've suggested, never mind the fact that we were just talking casually about the next Vintages tasting.

I've adopted a few strategies when people start recommending shit that I should do/drink whatever. A few things that always seems to work - just don't plan on, you know, staying friends.

Silently staring, without expression, is effective albeit a bit subtle (and most blowhards are anything but). It also doesn't work unless you're speaking in person with someone. In those situations, a simple I don't recall asking for any advice can be enough. But in my opinion, the most eloquent (and elegant) way to stop someone from spewing unsolicited advice is demonstrated by the great Ron Swanson in 5 crushing words: I know more than you.

DF

holiday drinking

2011-11-28T20:08:00.002-05:00

Sigh. The holidays are almost here again. I start preparing for holiday drinking in November, pulling some things out the cellar, deciding which bottles I want to serve with what. In hindsight, I had it good last year. Burgundy as I always do for Christmas and New Year, but a few bottles of 2005 Barolo and old vintage Ports as well. This year will hardly be as satisfying. Downgrading to say the least. Niagara/German/Chilean pinot noirs, some Chianti Classico, simple Spanish wines. Maybe the single bottle of Champagne and Sauternes. Sad. If I can't drink well, then I suppose I'll (cheaply) drink more then.

What are you drinking for the holidays?

DF

well-packaged 铁观音 tea

2011-11-27T20:08:00.001-05:00

It's simply really. All tea, with the exception of the grand Pu'er, needs to be consumed fresh. Critical as well, to be stored in a reductive environment. And not in silly single-serve packaging, because it's wasteful and pointless and doesn't make any sense in actually preserving the tea. This is the last of this year's TieGuanYin tea that was sent to us . . . that is, tea from the 2011 harvest. Packaged the proper way, in a brick. Preserving aroma, freshness, whilst minimizing waste.

I haven't had a drop of it yet. But already feeling good about this producer.

DF

2008 Maipo Valley Syrah

2011-11-26T20:08:00.004-05:00

2008 Viña Chocalan Syrah Reserva | Maipo Valley | Chile

We just got some bad news from home, in Shanghai. A little out of it at the moment, still getting my mind straight. Things get instantly put into perspective, especially when health issues come up.

The last bottle of dinner, a Chilean syrah. I was skeptical of how good this wine was going to be. Good meaning a wine with authentic syrah character, of course. Maybe going by that definition was a bit of a lost cause, but I did enjoy it. Full of that ripe character, big and plushy tannins, some sweetness on the palate. Oak, certainly. But it was fresh, it was structured, and it remained in balance. If only, if only, there was more of that syrah spiciness, but we can't get too greedy now.

2009 Niagara Peninsula White Meritage

2011-11-25T20:08:00.001-05:00

2009 Jackson Triggs Niagara Estates Gold Series White Meritage | VQA Niagara Peninsula

The second wine of our dinner, and after that Napa chardonnay, big glasses to fill. Funny how snobbery works, especially reverse snobbery. A lot of my guests refused a glass of this. They automatically assumed that the Napa wine was the expensive one, and therefore more worth drinking. Silly. The chardonnay was delicious, and a fabulous surprise, but this was the exciting one, with the most impact.

A friend brought this over. He had relatives visiting from overseas, and wanted to take them out to wine country. Guess where they went. He was kind enough to bring this over. I don't normally care much for J-T. But a sauvignon blanc/semillon wine always gets me going. Meritage, however you pronounce it, is a Bordeaux imitation. The whole concept behind calling a non-Bordeaux wine a Meritage is idiotic, but at least we're somewhat clear on what it means. I'm a big believer of sauvignon blanc based wines in Niagara, especially in the dry white Bordeaux style. Oak and sauvignon do so well together, one of the few wines that truly benefits from a blast of new oak. This one was good, not great. Some sauvignon character, some intensity, some dry extract on the palate. But just lacks more of it, more of everything. Always count on J-T to do just enough, not a bit more.

The ones who wouldn't have a drop of this bottle missed out. Would have been interesting to see the different kinds of white wines coming out of Niagara - there's certainly promise here outside of chardonnay/riesling/vidal. The acidity in the wine made it a good fit with some of the seafood we started serving - the clams, the mussels, the fish. Really need that bit of acid on the palate to clean it all out. And then we moved onto the reds . . .

DF

2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay

2011-11-24T20:08:00.006-05:00

2007 S|K|N Chardonnay | Napa Valley

Screw | Kappa | Napa. So charming. And Napa often sorely lacks in charm. Is the stereotype/reputation of Americans only making bombastic nukes that are simply utterly undrinkable fair, or is it uncomfortable for the yanks because it's true? Is the high alcohol, passively-aggressive sweetness of the wines simply a product of the Californian landscape or, more self-consciously (for you Americans), simply the red white and blue palate?

Americans have a lot to be proud of, but these turgid $100+ Napa franken-wine makers ought to be ashamed of themselves. It's a shame that so many Californian producers feel that the only way to be successful is to make the wine taste like nothing - not of the grape, not of the land, not of the vintage. But we're compelled to come back. Even ditzes have appeal, at times. Don't lie...shy and delicate is nice and all, but who doesn't turn their head for a second look at the voluptuous brunette with, as Yeezy says, an ass that would swallow up a . . . . .

This was not one of those.

We were hosting dinner, so I was a bit nervous with the wines I was serving. I don't believe in serving the same things over and over - too boring. So I pick out some interesting looking bottles and hope for the best. Dinner turned out great; so happy that the wines performed as well. Our first one of the night. Napa Chardonnay under screw cap, young. Sometimes going for the blockbusters will bite you in the ass, hard. The wieners who charge you $75 get too ambitious you see . . . all designer yeasts and new oak and calisthenics in the cellars. This was a refreshing (figuratively and literally) example of what Napa can do with this varietal if the paople making it humble themselves and take a step back. Wine that doesn't drink well with meals simply does not belong on the table, and it's as if an entire generation of New World producers lacks that basic fundamental understanding.

The wine was fresh, with great varietal character. Ripe fruit, with a creaminess, but the acidity and moderate alcohol made it a joy to drink. And you know it was a good wine when everyone around the table, even the neophyte drinkers, wanted a second (and third) glass. Great start to the meal.

DF

2001 Rioja Reserva

2011-11-23T20:08:00.003-05:00

2001 Señorío De P. Peciña Reserva | DOCa Rioja

I'm drinking old Rioja again. Those things you leave for a while and come back . . . all of a sudden, a rush of feeling. The euphoria, the joy of it all. Rioja was getting a bit boring - all good wines, make no doubt, but it was getting almost predictable. Tempranillo was turning into the mindless go-to wine; I needed a timeout from Spain.

I had left piano for a while, the performance part of it anyway. Everyone asks if I practice on my own, and I say yes, but I really don't. So the times I do go back to it, it brings me a lot of happiness because there's no pressure, no expectation of anything; I can do it for the sheer sake of doing something I love. I teach on the weekends, mostly beginners, and while it satisfies my pedagogic tendencies, there's nothing that compares to stepping on stage, audience at your fingertips, ego at full tilt. It's good to leave things for a while - reminds you how special they are.

Tempranillo starts showing its character at 10 years of age. This particular bottling fulfilled all the aging requirements to be classified as a gran reserva, but the producer made the decision to take it a step down to reserva. Whatever the reason, I respect the humility that shows, because the wine is extraordinary. Approaching maturity, singing of minerals and earth and beautiful rusticity. A hallmark of top Rioja is freshness and structure, even after extensive oxidative and reductive aging. After a full 24 hours after it was open, the wine was still focused, fragrant, and full of life. Stunning.

It took a few months away from drinking any Spanish wine for me to realize how special old Rioja is. Truly singular, grand wines of the world.

DF

glutinous rice balls

2011-11-22T20:08:00.001-05:00

This is a fabulous Shanghainese dessert, properly known as 桂花酒酿汤圆. We make a sweet soup of glutinous rice balls, a fermented rice wine (making it slightly alcoholic), a certain yellow flower that I don't the English of, and a certain red herb I also don't know the English of. Like all great things, it has to be all done by hand. Glutinous rice flour, rolled out by hand. My mother does four at a time . . . I barely manage two, but get the job done. Of course, the key is to keep size and shape consistent. It seems tricky, but the flour reacts in an amazing way to the heat from your hand, and never sticks together after the balls have been rolled. Into the freezer, where it keeps until you're ready to cook them.

It's sweet, slightly sour, and absolutely delicious. Soft, squishy texture, like little plushy balls in your mouth.

2009 Chinon

2011-11-21T20:08:00.004-05:00

2009 Couly-Dutheil Domaine René Couly | AC Chinon

So how many cuvées does Couly-Dutheil actually make? A lot. I bought a bunch of their 2005's; won't that be fun to taste in a few years. This is a fabulous producer of cabernet franc - earthy wines that sing of the Loire and in the best years, show impressive density and concentration. Lots of potential indeed, and as terroir-specific as a wine can be.

I like wines that challenge you a bit. Often, it means wines that aren't necessarily pleasurable. But they make you think a bit, challenge your understanding of a region, a varietal, a vintage. Even if they make your palate wince a bit . . . it's worth the great leap it may yield in experience. This wine is just correct. Correct in specificity, both in varietal and region character. Fabulous aromas, finely structured. But Chinon is an acquired taste, to say the least. I like drinking Chinon very much, but I have to be in that frame of mind to enjoy it. Fruit (or at least obvious fruit) is always in the background, with acidity bringing austerity. Not cuddly, but sincere - and in wine and all else, honesty and authenticity trumps cuddly every time, all the time.

1999 Vinsanto del Chianti Classico

2011-11-20T20:08:00.006-05:00

1999 Lornano | DOC Vin Santo del Chianti Classico

I like to be in control.

I actually enjoy a little chaos too, but not on the dinner table. Winos can be so tyrannical about these kinds of things. What to drink. When to drink. How to drink. As in I planned for this wine to drink with these dishes, so don't even think about drinking out of order. All for good reasons, and besides, as long as I'm paying for the wines, we do it my way. I don't know how proper Italians drink vinsanto, but I had a chunk of the most amazing firm cheese - Niagara Gold - that only a sweet wine seemed appropriate. After dinner, and my father started prattling on about his church study group, so I needed something to occupy his mouth with. A bite of creamy cheese, a sip of sweet . . . vinsanto after all does mean holy wine, no?

Odd, really, that an oxidized wine apparently made by drying out grapes on rooftop straw mats could be so spectacularly complex. With a good amount of bottle age too, this remains fresh, showing lots of minerality and what reminds me of a certain dried date that the Shanghainese adore. And that nuttiness from the oxidation; a divine wine indeed.

Bossy and all, but it's for your own good.

1997 Grand Cru Ambonnay Blanc de Noirs Champagne

2011-11-19T20:08:00.003-05:00

1997 Nicolas Feuillatte Blanc de Noirs | Grand Cru Ambonnay | AC Champagne

We passed by Nicolas Feuillatte when we were in Reims this May, driving out to lunch at Le Grand Cerf. They're the largest cooperative in Champagne, and are also known as Centre Vinicole de la Champagne, comprising about 85 members. Despite that, they do produce 4 grand cru bottlings under their own name. I had bought a few bottles of the 1997's a few years ago when they were released - both blanc de blancs (Chouilly) and blanc de noirs (Ambonnay).

The vintage declaration process is quite interesting in Champagne, as there really is no regulation, in the strictest sense. It really comes down to the cellar-master's decision, often with input from the house's marketing people. It is, after all, a business. I'm reminded of a story I heard from a very well-known Champagne house, during our visit. They're known as the wine drinker's Champagne . . . you really have to baby the wines as they're made in a very reductive style and demand a good 15 years of bottle age after disgorgement to really open up. I was told that the cellar-master had a drawn out argument with the company's dollars and cents people over whether a certain vintage should be declared. It was back in Y2K . . . the millennium meant big money, especially with the right vintage. But, the man stood his ground and said that there was no way in fuck that he would produce a vintage Champagne that year - the harvest just was not up to his standards. Very inspiring, but how many houses in Champagne are willing to sacrifice potential business to stay true to their principles of quality?

Vintage Champagnes present an interesting interpretation of what a wine is. The vast majority of Champagne is a nonvintage blend, with the point being to create a house style of wine that remains consistent. So is vintage Champagne truly an act of vintage expression? There still has to be an adherence to style . . . vintage or not, the wine still has to be recognizable as coming from a certain house. Or is vintage Champagne simply an indication of a particularly successful harvest, allowing producers to price the wines at a premium, with the understanding that they're made with from the best parcels?

In any case, 1997 is an interesting vintage. I've been trying to taste more of them over the past year or so, and in some cases, they're just starting to approach maturity. You're starting to get past that initial blast of yeastiness, with the autolysis character developing into a creamy richness, revealing minerality and depth. The Brochet-Hervieux I drank a few months ago was delicious. I've been sitting on this bottle for a few years now, pulling one to celebrate my father's birthday a few weeks ago. Beginning to turn gold, it's still reaching for its peak. Beginning to open up, rich autolytic aromas, roasted apples, cream. Fragrant, almost like caramelized butter. Follows on palate, rich yet very linear, with the pinot noir showing such a wonderfully structured acidity. Very fine indeed; destined for a long life.

Someone said that the premium on vintage Champagne was one of the great wine values of the world. As a forever lover of Champagne, I'm inclined to believe so, but this issue of terroir specificity in the big houses remains a question mark.

For Champagne Charlie is my name.

Champagne drinking is my game.

There's no drink as good as fizz! fizz! fizz!

I'll drink ev'ry drop there is, is, is!

Winter tires, on

2011-11-18T20:08:00.006-05:00

Winter tires, on. Ready to take on yet another winter . . . here we go again.

Fermentations! Wine Smackdown

2011-11-17T20:08:00.001-05:00

I was invited to a very interesting last week, hosted by Fermentations! at Globe Bistro. The company lets consumers brew and make their own beers and wine. Great. But here's what sets them apart - they buy whole grapes. Yes, unlike other wine kits, customers are able to make wine from freshly harvested grapes (from Niagara, California, and even Italy) without skipping that step and just starting with juice.

Charles Fajgenbaum, the owner, hosted this tasting. A total of 30 wines, in 6 flights of 5 wines each. Out of each flight, one wine was a Fermentations wine . . . the other four were commercial wines he picked up from the Queens Quay LCBO location. The question was . . . could the judges (presumably, the professional tasters) pick out which was which? It turns out we can. I can't say I was surprised, but the tasting did reveal a few similarities between non-commercial and low-end commercial wines.

The flights were single blind, meaning we were told what the varietal, region, and vintage was. After tasting, we were instructed to score each out of 20, and identify which one was Fermentations. The exercise proved one thing right away . . . Charles was certainly confident in the quality of his wines. He bought some pretty decent wines to taste alongside; an average price of $18, with 4 Niagara flights, as well as an Italian, and a Californian flight. Top wines included 2008 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay ($30), and 2008 Inniskillin Two Vineyards Cabernet Franc ($22.95). My favourite wines of the tasting.

So, what did we learn? The results showed that of the three Niagara white wine flights (riesling, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay), the judges were easily able to identify the non-commercial wine. With the red wines (Niagara cabernet franc, Italian merlot, Californian merlot), it was a bit tougher. No matter. I still guessed 2 out of 3 red wines correct. In the last two merlot flights, it was a matter of best of the worst. None of the wines were good - let's be honest here. No character, no typicity, just cheap tasting wines. The cabernet franc, especially the Inniskillin, showed much better. In general, the difference between the top and bottom wines was quite obvious. What was more interesting was the fact that the judges confused the cheapest commercial wines with Fermentation wines.

The tasting proved that the wine drinkers who like red wines under $10 (the sort of industrialized goop I bitch and moan about here) will probably be just as happy with the $7 or so it costs for a bottle of Fermentations. It's just red wine right - there's no difference if you get a cabernet franc or merlot or whatever the hell varietal they choose to label the wines with. There's so little character in these mass-produced wines that it just doesn't matter. Just does not matter. The moral of it all? It's an interesting experiment, but to say that these self-made wines can compete with anything more than your typical industrialized bottle is a bit of a stretch. But hey, it's already better than all the other kits out there, them buying in whole grapes and all. Try it out if you just must have your name on a wine label - might make a charming Christmas gift. Oh right, I did pretty well in the tasting. Guessed 3 out of 6 wines right, and scored the other three Fermentations wines the lowest.

Many thanks to Charles and the organizers for putting this tasting together. Certainly an illuminating look at all the alternatives for wine drinkers out there.

DF

Royal Teahouse

2011-11-16T20:08:00.003-05:00

After hosting dinner on Saturday, we were exhausted. So it was so wonderful for our friends to invite us out to dinner Sunday, at Royal Teahouse in Markham. We don't eat out often, and at least when it comes to Cantonese food, we still struggle with understanding how to order. We eat too differently, you see. So it's always good to eat out with Hong Kong natives, who can show us authentic Cantonese cuisine.

The meal was stunning. Heavy in seafood, we started with the most amazing fried fish - what they call bamboo skewer fish, in reference to the single bone running through it. Then, eel prepared two ways: steamed with a citrus/green onion dipping sauce, and deep-fried. Greens to cleanse the palate, before we continued on to lobster in Magi sauce. Finishing with fried glutinous rice. Amazing all the way through, reminding me once again that I've got love for the food we cook in Shanghai, but the finest Chinese cuisine belongs to the Cantonese.

My friend brought a few bottles of 2008 Groth Chardonnay, a great Napa Valley producer. Complex, beautifully integrated oak, austere and well extracted. Lots of intensity and impact, perfectly balanced; it would be fabulous to taste it again in 10 years. The restaurant owner joined us halfway for a drink. The man loves wine - a shame that I have yet to eat at a Chinese restaurant who provides the correct stemware. He graciously stepped into the kitchen himself to prepare us fresh egg tarts for dessert. They were extraordinary . . . piping hot, so tender, perfect in flavour and texture. Dim sum king indeed. Many thanks for dinner.

DF

shattered before its time

2011-11-15T20:08:00.003-05:00

My father was rustling around in the cupboard when he found this. He used to travel often on business trips, around the Pacific Rim. One of his hobbies was bringing home utterly useless items; see above. He's the only business traveler I know who returns with more luggage than at departure. So we have a glass teapot that hasn't been used in years. A suggestion is made that it be washed, to use for our next brew.

As these things go . . . before it ever came into the slightest contact with any tea, before any hint of hot water being poured, it broke. My mother has butterfingers and the top squirted out of her hands, half of it shearing off. Oops. The greatest glass pot of tea never brewed.

dinner at the Fang's

2011-11-14T20:08:00.009-05:00

We hosted dinner for the five families this past Saturday. Lots of mad dashing around getting groceries and doing prep-work, but we only do it about once a year, so no complaining. It does create a bit more pressure to do something impressive though. Nothing ridiculous, mind you . . . we do want to leave future hosts a little breathing room. So, everything was washed and chopped, wine was selected and ready. Put the white jacket on, lit the candles, and we were off.

As was mentioned, we started with cold dishes. To start the meal. You have to understand, in Shanghainese home cooking, cold dishes aren't actually cold. They're just the dishes to get the appetite going. Things like cucumber and seaweed salad, cold cuts of beef in a chili/vinegar sauce, and tossed bean curds. Things like that. An hour or so in, I went in to start on the hot dishes. Began with mussels in white wine and a tomato sauce. Simple. Then the most amazing savoury clams, in wine, green onion, and ginger. Fish of course, a traditional Shanghainese croaker dish in a sweet/sour sauce. Some cured pork hocks, some greens, and of course, a beef stew to end the meal. Forgetting some things, but we kept it simple and kept it a proper Shanghainese dinner.

The wines. I'll explain in detail a bit later, but we started with a young Napa chardonnay. It was delicious, especially so as I had low expectations. One of my uncles brought a Niagara sauvignon blanc/semillon blend. And we finished with a big, powerful Chilean syrah. All winners, all very satisfying. It's been a while since I've been so pleased with how sub-$20 wines have shown. Very satisfying indeed.

Good. Everyone left happy, well-fed. We went seafood-heavy, which may not seem substantial at first, until you begin to appreciate its digestibility. Meat dishes are great and all, but one or two good bites is all you really need. Everything went according to plan - no cuts, no blisters, no surprises. And the wines were shining.

When the bottle is empty, you know it was a good night.

ding ding

2011-11-13T20:08:00.002-05:00

We had a big dinner last night with family friends. Finally, after many months, our turn to host. Shanghainese home cooking, so dishes were split into hot and cold dishes - one to start the meal, with the rest being cooked as we ate. I was in charge of the hot dishes, so I went out grocery shopping in the morning, shellfish and all that. Prep work started around 4 pm, and what perfect timing . . . a knife sharpening truck was making its rounds in our neighbourhood, ringing a tiny bell by the window.

so what does it mean?

2011-11-12T20:08:00.000-05:00

Post No. 2401

2011-11-11T23:11:00.004-05:00

I have this horrible feeling that my life is going nowhere. Wheels are spinning a bit; lots of smoke, little action. We're in the shit right now, in a big way. I'm becoming more prone to lashing out. Maybe punching something (or someone) might not be a bad thing.

Just no energy, for real. All I want to do sometimes is sleep. Not healthy right? And the thing that's suffered the most is the drinking. Look at some of the wines I had on the table last year. All winners. 2005 Barolo, old vintage Ports, some Burgundy. And I was beginning to put together a stash of bottles for the holidays. Now I'm getting depressed. So before I get too ridiculously self-loathing, that's where things are at the moment. Oh yeah, and the NBA lockout is still raging on with no end in sight.

It's been a rough autumn so far. Weather's been ok. Just bored. I haven't been punctual in writing lately, and I'm thinking of abandoning this one piece a day schedule. I've been prepping wines for holiday drinking. Cheaper bottles, yes, and so far no heavy hitters (Barolo, Burgundy, Bordeaux). I don't know why, but I haven't had my friends over for dinner in many many months now. Working on it. 2400 in, still have no clue what I'm doing.

DF

jerusalem artichoke

2011-11-10T20:08:00.003-05:00

So yes, I did figure out what these things are. Jerusalem artichokes. I heard that every kilogram you plant into the ground yields about 50 kilos. What a nightmare. No wonder this friend gave us a big bag of it. Covered in mud, she said to throw it out if we didn't want to eat it. She suggested pickling it.

That's gross. So I decided to clean it up and serve it with some greens in a salad. Some were already turning mushy. But when they're fresh, they have this amazing crispy, crunchy texture. Pure white in colour too. I shaved off the skin and ran some through a mandolin, julienne-ing the others. With a really strong vinaigrette, it's not unpleasant. Earthy and not unlike ginseng. Health benefits are a bit dubious, but at least I learned something new. Now, what do I do with the other half bagful.

Okunomatsu Ginjo

2011-11-09T20:08:00.005-05:00

Okunomatsu Ginjo Sake | Fukushima Prefecture

There was a thing going around in certain American wine writer circles over the summer, about supporting Japanese sake producers (many of whom were crippled as well by the tsunami) by buying and drinking sake on this one Friday. It didn't take off, mainly because it was silly, and because no one cares about high grade sake. There's very little fine sake available (in Ontario at least). Of course, the cheap, American-made examples in the big green bottles are always available, and always very cheap. But it's as close to true sake as my neighbour's tub of fermented seedless grapes is to the glass of 2001 Señorío de P. Peciña Rioja Reserva I'm drinking right now. At best, it's a cheap imitation; at it's worst, an insult.

I wanted to taste this sake for the sake of understanding a good ginjo, not some stupid American sentimentality. If I'm reading it correctly, the lot number says 1106. So, is it safe to assume that this sake was bottled in June 2011? Should we seriously be worried about nuclear fallout affecting the sake being produced in Fukushima? In any case, the sake was spicy, with fruit character, round and more subdued. Alcohol does come up, as expected.

So, the question remains . . . does it do anyone good to just say drink more sake? I don't think so. A suggestion that people should try sake and learn about its nuances is a good one, but the idea that having people drink it on a certain day does nothing for these producers. As always, education is key. You have to find ways to inspire people to stop buying cheap, factory-made bottles and try finer examples. That's the key to help these producers in the long run; a following of well-informed, knowledgable sake drinkers is infinitely more useful than one day a year where people end up buying cheap American-made sake anyways.

I half-expected the bottle to glow in the dark. Or give me the ability to fly. Sadly, it was just a well-made Ginjo-shu.

Godo Shusei Yamadanishiki Komedakenoreishu Junmai

2011-11-08T20:08:00.005-05:00

Godo Shusei Yamadanishiki Kome Dake No Reishu Junmai | Hyogo Prefecture

I was so preoccupied with trying to understand the difference between the levels of rice polishing that I was forgetting a fundamental difference in sake type. Of course it matters whether it's Junmai or Ginjo. Of course the addition of alcohol makes a difference.

Yamadanishiki is the name of the mountain where, presumably, the spring water comes from. The hanzi on the label reads, literally, cold wine. What it refers to is a mystery, but it's clear that it's a Junmai sake, with all its ingredients sourced from this particular place in Hyogo Prefecture. The language of sake is so complicated, as complicated as understanding what all the classifications and ripeness levels of a German riesling is. But learning that language is key to developing an appreciation of sake. It's far too easy to say let's just see what it tastes like. That's a cop-out. Especially since sake is so diverse . . . for myself at least, understanding all those nuances that each type of sake has is key.

So, in these 30 cL format bottles again. I still don't know how I feel about paying so much for a rice wine. This, however, was brilliant. The sheer purity, the fragrance, and the complexity on the palate made every sip a lesson in how great sake can be. Structured in the mouth, very dry, spicy as well. Dinner was simple Chinese home cooking, fish and greens. Extraordinary how fresh and pure the sake is, complementing the food, but also remaining assertive against some of the stronger flavours. Very impressive indeed.

All because this is a Junmai. Any addition of alcohol would have thrown off the balance, and its delicacy. So pure, as pure as any alcoholic drink can be . . . those must be some incredible spring waters. I understand why sake with higher alcohol might be more appealing to people. Japanese drinkers like that slow burn of the alcohol as it goes down the throat. But to have a fine sake of finesse and precision, only low alcohol and 100% rice works.

Shanghai-style rolled noodles

2011-11-07T20:08:00.003-05:00

You stupid. You never dust your hands with flour. How you gonna roll them out now?

Me trying to be a smartass, and my mother putting me in my place. Of course you don't dust your hands with flour when you get to rolling out these noodles. They need a bit of moisture to grip the chopping board - otherwise you're just tugging and dragging. Rolling noodles is different than pulling noodles, like they do in Northern China.

This style of noodle dish is native to Shanghai - very simple, very humble. But as with all these things, the key is the work you have to put into it. My mother tells me how great my grandmother used to make this dish. She was able to roll the noodles perfectly, all to the identical length, girth, and texture. So, after my rough start, we settled into a nice rhythm, rolling out about 2 pounds of flour. It's a simple enough motion, but the key was to maintain a consistency in every noodle. You have to roll and pull out at the same time . . . I struggled. Not badly, but just enough to be humbled.

The broth is with finely chopped preserved cabbage, also a Shanghainese thing. Dried shrimp to give some punch and savoury flavour, and like all fresh noodles, everything is cooked in 3 minutes. So simple, such a humble dish, yet so fulfilling. I remember eating these as a child. There's a certain warmth I feel eating this again, especially now that I made it myself. It's a great shame that we live so far from my grandmother . . . but learning these dishes reinforces to me how important it is that I not only learn, but document as well. A family souvenir, definitely, but also a truly authentic Shanghainese dish.

the mystery tuber

2011-11-06T20:08:00.002-05:00

A friend gave us a bag of these. Covered in dirt and mud, but that's how things are grown right? All great and fresh, except I have no clue what these are. Tubers, but what? Looks exactly like ginger root. Pure white flesh, incredibly crispy, not much in way of flavour. Sort of a very subtle earthiness, quite similar to ginseng in fact.

For some reason, I'm thinking Jerusalem artichoke. I don't know why - it's not like I've ever seen one, or tasted one. Can someone confirm/correct me? And let me know how these are eaten?

DF

birthdays and keeping the head up

2011-11-05T20:08:00.002-04:00

Today is my father's birthday. Since they're going out with their church friends for dinner, the 3 of us had a big meal last night. I wanted to get a geoduck, have it two ways, but the fishmonger wasn't cooperating. The geoducks they had clearly were half-dead, limp and completely flaccid. And with geoducks, there's no little blue pill to stiffen things up.

Quite disappointed, but what do you do. Think fast. I picked up some live striped bass, some fresh squid, and the most amazing live west coast prawn. Hotpot, to keep things simple, because sometimes with the freshest seafood, a savoury broth is all you need. Extraordinary. Prawns so sweet, perfect in texture, as was the bass. Lots of greens as well, sprouts and tofu and all that.

Wine too. Some old bottles, and a Vinsanto. Great, and for an evening at least, forgot about all the bullshit going on.

DF

here's my card...

2011-11-04T20:08:00.002-04:00

. . . which would not be possible without my dear friend PYeung. I kind of owe all this to her - she encouraged me to put up my wine writing, she came up with the name LCF, and now, she's created a logo. Look at that. Beautiful, elegant, epic . . . perfectly presenting what LCF and what DF is all about.

We brainstormed some ideas, always circling around to somehow incorporating LCF or DF into the design. We talked about some kind of wine glass circular stain design, but PYeung was set on a corkscrew. So you leave what you don't understand to the experts. Look at what the corkscrew design is contructed of, the colours, the brilliantly simple elegance.

She's such a talent and I'm proud and honoured to call her my friend. An architect by trade, if you're looking for a designer - she's accomplished in graphic design, as you can see here, as well as interior design . . . email me for how to contact her.

DF

a day off

2011-11-03T20:08:00.001-04:00

What does one do on a rare day off? I got a haircut today, a big deal for me because I finally went back to my old stylist. It's been nearly a year, lots of things going on between, but I feel like I've been lost without her . . . not that I ever get my hair styled.

A real man doesn't mess around when it comes to his hair. Learned that the hard way, but hey, I'll stop looking like a dipshit immigrant now.

DF

DF and the mirror shot

2011-11-02T08:08:00.003-04:00

Is this what I've turned into? Taking mirror shots in a bathroom?

Our collaborative session with a client was today. Nearly 9 hours of nonstop presentation, discussion, analysis. Just totally exhausted, but everyone got a lot out of the process. It's been a busy 3 months at the office. Big projects going on . . . hopefully leading to even bigger things to come.

Be honest; I look like a legit consultant right?

DF

2005 Late Bottled Vintage Port

2011-11-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

2005 Messias Late Bottled Vintage Port | DOC Douro

LBV is like an old wool blanket. Warm, and a little bit prickly. Some exceedingly fine examples, but elegance isn't an important primary trait in fortified wines. This one is maybe a bit on the coarse side, but still satisfies.

I'll be honest, I'm not in the mood to write. This was a drinkable wine, but it'd be a stretch to call it anything else. Gave me a chance to use my old little decanter again, I missed that thing. Fuck I can't concentrate, will try again tomorrow.

Late day at work today. Me and my coworker at it hard, who knew, after I thought we'd be able to wrap up and be prepped for tomorrow's presentation . . . we were far from done. Up early tomorrow morning, looking at about 5 hours of sleep. But we'll be ready.

DF

ending with a laugh

2011-10-31T20:09:00.003-04:00

Because we all need a sense of humour about everything.

And if you can't understand what the man is saying, too fucking bad. This here is a litmus test, to weed out the Shanghainese wannabes. Yeah, you can talk about Shanghai all you want, but if you don't understand our language, you're still only Chinese.

ryokucha

2011-10-31T20:08:00.003-04:00

I've been writing a lot about tea lately. Just inspired I suppose, but tea for me has always been a way of life.

My aunt brought over some Japanese green tea, ryokucha. The brewing process is very different . . . she even brought me a teapot for it. You see, you need a shockingly fine filter inside to run the water through . . . it's essentially an instant extraction of the tea. The leaves are fragments really, showing the most brilliant green colour. Even the tea it yields stays green, without ever browning from oxidation. My aunt taught me this phrase in Japanese that I've already forgotten. It refers to this textural feeling the best tea gives you, as if there's a cloud in your mouth.

Ryokucha has the most amazing effect on the palate. Rich, structured, and so fragrant - these teas have the most amazing combination of freshness and power. So tannic, yet retaining a delicacy that's so singular. And that texture . . . thick almost, cloudy certainly, unparalleled intensity. Tea ceremony and all that bullshit aside, ryokucha is special. And above all, it must be consumed fresh, so I'm already looking forward to when I'm going to get my next batch.

your online profile

2011-10-30T20:09:00.004-04:00

This is in no way a show of disrespect or douchebaggery on my part. But I do believe running my own website entitles me to say what the fuck I want, about whatever the fuck I want.

Immigrants, especially those from the same background, have to stick together. Our dinners always end with some kind of group shot; everyone has a laugh, and it's a good documentation of every gathering. I control the content of this website very carefully, as well as information about me floating online. Sure, there's no such thing as absolute control of your online profile . . . even the CPC struggle with that. But I know I'm extra careful when I write about or post photos of anyone else. So I was a bit puzzled when I got a curt email asking/telling me to take the photos down.

I have a problem with authority. Or rather, this unspoken generational hierarchy that the Chinese believe is cut into stone; this unyielding cultural ethos that a generation under never challenges the generation above. I chafe severely at that. Because it overrides reason and common sense. Is it a surprise that Confucius called it ancestor worship - not merely respect, not just honour, but worship. Respecting your elders is a tenet of my culture that I adhere to, but when I'm told that I need to meekly give in simply on account of my generational standing, my balls itch and tell me to do the complete opposite.

Look, I'm a reasonable person. I'm not out to make anyone feel uncomfortable, or unnecessarily trample on anyone's delicate sensibilities. It's not a big deal. But anyone who presumes to tell me what I should be doing . . . I'll take no quarter. I'll fucking nuke that bridge before I even cross it.

All with a nod and smile. Because if we can't be civilized about it all, we're no better than the savages right?

Samuel Smith's Tadcaster Oatmeal Stout

2011-10-30T20:08:00.003-04:00

Samuel Smith Old Brewery | Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout | Tadcaster, United Kingdom

When it comes down to it, nothing beats a pint of the black stuff. Others can try, but once you've found your beloved, it's silly to continue trying to find another. I'm not claiming Guinness to be the best stout ever made . . . but beer isn't meant to be intellectual. It's meant to bring pleasure and comfort, and no other stout comes close to Ireland's finest.

They certainly try though. Oatmeal stout out of the U.K. Good effort, but how come its so skunky? Good enough concentration, but enough off aromas to make you have to force down the last few gulps. Are we seeing a divide here? When they do it well, the Old World brewmasters prove that tradition and authenticity trumps all. But increasingly, it's the North Americans that are making the interesting, exciting brews. This is nearly completely the opposite of what we're seeing in wine, as its the New World producers that focus on making the hedonistic stuff, while the Old World protects its heritage of singular, terroir-specific wines. Let me know what you think.

I've been very pleased with how my iPhone photos are turning out. It takes documenting things to another level when I can take high quality shots as the action happens, instead of carrying around my Nikon, or even worse, my iPad around.

Chimay Rouge Première

2011-10-29T20:09:00.002-04:00

Chimay Brewery Pères Trappistes Rouge Première | Belgium

Its all cool and shit to imagine monks and robes and all that, still making beer in the old ways. But thats unfortunately not the case, at Chimay at least. This is one of the biggest (and most profitable) Trappist ale breweries, and is fully modern. Still pretty awesome to see a religious order attached to a beer, but the more I drink Belgian beers, the more I appreciate the fact that unlike wine, New World brewmasters are doing some great work.

Belgians, apparently, like their beers skunky. Sure, you can make the case for rusticity - I love stinky wines, but it has to be a pleasant stank. These beers don't feel integrated, and the darker ales seem to reek of off odours, like the malt was covered in a layer of mold. The caramel they use to colour the beers is so obvious, like a seriously caked on makeup job. Just off, and half the way through, I was thirsting for a Guinness.

Like I said, maybe the Belgians aren't as good at this as we give them credit for.

DF

Southern Tier 2XIPA

2011-10-28T20:08:00.002-04:00

Southern Tier Brewing Company 2XIPA | Lakewood, NY

Because brewing a simple India Pale Ale isn't enough . . . it has to be a double IPA. Can you believe a bottle of beer is almost running $3? I'm not suggesting that these great craft brews aren't worth it, but yeah, I just bought one. The weather was starting to seriously get a bit chilly, and we were making the most amazing spicy fish dish with green Sichuan peppercorns and a chili paste. I had planned on expecting the extreme hoppiness of this kind of beer to combat the fiery dish, and it didn't disappoint.

Beautiful orange, slightly cloudy colour, with lots of floral, citrussy hop aromas. Full and bitter on the palate, long. This is a very well made beer. It isn't necessarily any more bitter or extreme in any way compared with some of the Ontario IPA's I've been drinking. It's more the quality of the hops used. If you like aromatic brews, this one's it. Nice. Although I'm ready for this hops trend to pass. Let's really see you put your balls on the table and put out a triple . . . no, a quadruple IPA.