The Imbiber's Report

Our Bi-Weekly Newsletter with Product Reviews and Much More!

Licensee Edition

JULY 24, 2010

Approximate Licensee Prices With Licensee Discount and Mark-Up,
Excluding Container Deposit and HST

SUMMER SIPPIN’

Aside from a few days when it was almost too hot to eat or drink, we have had a spectacular run of good weather this spring and early summer.  Patios and backyards are full of folks just relaxing and enjoying the languid days of July.  With this weather we look for crisp, refreshing whites, rosés or an “ice… cold… beer” (remember the guy at the Roger’s Centre?) to slake our thirst.  A glass or two of bubbly on a patio is also a nice way to spend some time.  Whether you are sunning in the Kawarthas, watching sunsets on the west coast or hanging out in a trendy neighbourhood urban café, these are the days we dream about in February, so get out and enjoy them!

Vintages Catalogue No. 441 focuses on wines from the south of France and Great Whites from Down Under.  We have a beautiful Riesling from the McLaren Vale in this release that lovers of that grape will swoon over.  We would like to remind you that the Bobcaygeon Wine and Food Festival is set for mid-August.  We would also like to inform you of a very special wine offer from our good friends at Peninsula Ridge. 

VINTAGES RELEASE JULY 24, 2010

d’Arenberg
“The Dry Dam”
Riesling 2008
McLaren Vale, South Australia
#942953  $14.93
200 (12 pack) Cases Available

92 Points – James Halliday

We love this wine’s balance and intensity. It is a wonderful drop by itself and will match a wide variety of fish and seafood.  Use the lemon rule – this wine will match anything you would squeeze a lemon over.

Here are the winemaker’s notes from d’Arenberg:

“A dry dam is bad news for our neighbouring farmers, but promises good results for our Riesling. Dry-grown, old vine, low-yielding vines picked with great mineral acidity and flinty austereness.” (“austereness” is winespeak for austerity… Ed)

The Name:  In 1992 our neighbours built a dam in which no water lay, as it was a dry winter. The next year it rained but the dam was jinxed and didn’t hold water. We still hold the blame. Some people mix the name around, calling the wine ‘The Dam Dry Riesling’, which in some years is truer than others.

The Characteristics: The Dry Dam has an almost translucent appearance with an explosive aroma of lime skins, red apple, citrus blossom, grapefruit, tropical fruits and rose petals with mineral notes developing as the wine opens up.

The palate is extremely youthful and elegantly framed, dominated with lime juice, ripe florals, red apple and lemony-grapefruit notes. The balance of fruit sweetness, palate softness and very precise acidity is superb. The lingering dry length of flavour and intensity dominated by minerals and lime juice is a clear give away that this is not a normal McLaren Vale Riesling.

With bottle age the colour of ‘The Dry Dam’ takes on a deeper, yellow-gold appearance. The high fruit intensity and acid of youth initially develops richer florals with honeysuckle, and peaches with the palate becoming fuller, richer and very long”.

89 Points – David Lawrason, Wine Align
“Love the richness of the nose with its soaring apricot, petrol, honey and mossy notes.  It’s medium-full bodied, fresh yet rich and soft.  A riesling for those who really like the grape’s flavours but don’t always like its searing acidity.”

DIRECT FROM PENINSULA RIDGE

This offer is being made only to recipients of The imbiber’s Report and those on the Peninsula Ridge mailing list.

And now a message from the President…

ON THE RAREST OF OCCASIONS, MOTHER NATURE DELIVERS US A BEAUTIFUL GIFT.

When this happens we must be extremely careful not to squander this exceptional opportunity. A great deal of care and skill has gone into producing our first ever VPR Sauvignon Blanc and the result is outstanding!

Aged in French Oak for only three months, the grapes used to produce this wine come from four small Niagara vineyards. The oak integration is so well balanced that the spectacular fruit shines through brilliantly and the powerful but elegant finish lingers on for what seems like an eternity.

Vintner's Private Reserve is our highest wine designation and indicates that this wine is very special. I am absolutely confident you will agree!

To all Imbiber’s Report subscribers I am offering this great wine at a pre-release price of only $18.95 per bottle (sold in full case lots only). Your wine will be available for pickup after July 30, 2010.  We will be releasing this wine to the general public on August 1st at $24.95 a bottle, so you save $72 per case!  Delivery options are available if you can’t make it to the winery.

2009 VINTNERS PRIVATE RESERVE SAUVIGNON BLANC has been produced in small quantities and there are only a few cases still available at the pre-release price. To reserve your case please call the winery directly at (905) 563-0900 ext 25 or email Susan Pritchard at spritchard@peninsularidge.com

To secure your order, please provide your name, address, telephone #, email address indicating method of payment.  All major credit cards accepted.  Orders must be placed by the end of day July 30.
 
Norm Beal
President
Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery

As a public service to all Imbibers, we tried the 2009 Vintners Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc at the office on Thursday, and as the young ones are prone to tweet, text or e-mail, “OMG, OMG…”.  It really is a stunner and worth every penny at $24.95, let alone the pre-release price of $18.95.  Round up your friends and share a case or two, or if you don’t have any friends, well then you have lots of time on your hands to drink the whole case yourself, don’t you?  We are sure you won’t be disappointed by this wine, but the offer disappears on July 30.

ACCOLADES

Recommended Summer Sippers
Frank Baldock’s Wine Express

“Two good everyday $9 Emiglia-Romagna wines and a classy Spanish Rosé are now at the LCBO:  Tini Trebbiano Chardonnay Rubicone IGT (87 Points), a stony, crisp, clean white and Tini Sangiovese di Romagna DOC (90 Points) like a soft, fruity Chianti ‘without the edge’ are welcome newbies.

Chivite Gran Feudo Rosado (90 Points), from Garnacha grapes, dry and elegant, a terrific food wine, graduated with honours from the Vintages program”.

The following promotions are available until August 14th at the LCBO:

SAVE $0.84 off Peninsula Ridge Shiraz (70052)

EVENTS

The Bobcaygeon Wine & Food Festival
Kawartha Settlers’ Village,
85 Dunn Street, Bobcaygeon, ON
Saturday, August 21, 2010.

The historic Kawartha Settlers’ Village “where the past is the present” is the chosen festival site. The grounds are an assembly of historic homes and buildings which make up a village in the 1800’s. Visit the website at www.settlersvillage.org for a preview of what to expect.

Bobcaygeon is a vibrant village located two hours northeast of Toronto and situated at Lock 32 of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The lock, the first on the system, is in the centre of the village and separates Sturgeon and Pigeon lakes. Bobcaygeon offers great shopping districts, restaurants, boating and history. There used to be a great bakery there with the best Chelsea Buns in Ontario, but I don’t know if it’s still there.  Further information on what Bobcaygeon has to offer to a visitor can be seen at www.bobcaygeon.org.

For more information on the Food and Wine Festival please visit www.bobcaygeonwinefestival.ca

ON WINE AND FOOD

A recent trip to the south of France has had the Editor craving Provençal flavours and aromas.  Here is a great salad recipe from Taunton’s Fine Cooking that really hits the spot.

Provençal Wheat Berry Salad with Shrimp and Mustard-Caper Vinaigrette

Halving the shrimp lengthwise makes a small amount seem more abundant. This salad is best the day it’s made, but it’s a tasty leftover, too. Just toss it with a little of the remaining vinaigrette and serve it warm or at room temperature, not cold.

Serves 4 as a main dish.
Yields 7-1/2 cups.

1 cup wheat berries, preferably winter or hard wheat
Kosher salt
8 oz. green beans, trimmed
One 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained, cut in half, and thinly sliced
8 oz. small cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered or halved (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup roughly chopped, well-toasted almonds
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe Mustard-Caper Vinaigrette
1/2 lb. medium shrimp (41 to 50 per lb.), preferably wild, peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
1 Tbs. olive oil

In a large (4-quart) saucepan, combine the wheat berries, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 5 to 6 cups of water (enough to cover by 2 inches). Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer, and cook, partially covered, until the wheat berries are tender but pleasantly chewy. Begin checking after 50 minutes, though they may take up to 90 minutes. Drain the wheat well and spread on a baking sheet to cool. (You can cook the wheat up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate after cooling. Bring to room temperature before using. If the wheat seems wet, spread on dishtowels to dry for about a half-hour.)

Bring another large (4-quart) saucepan of water to a boil over high heat, and put a clean dishtowel on the counter. Add 1 tsp. salt and the green beans to the boiling water; cook until tender, 4 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the beans to the dishtowel to cool in one layer. When cool, cut them into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the wheat berries, green beans, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, three-quarters of the almonds, the chopped herbs, several grinds of pepper, and 1/3 cup of the Mustard-Caper Vinaigrette. Toss thoroughly. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and vinaigrette. You can overdress the salad a bit at first, as the grains will keep absorbing it.

Season the shrimp with salt. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned on the bottoms, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the shrimp are curled and just opaque throughout, 1 minute.

Toss the shrimp into the salad and sprinkle with the remaining almonds.

Try with our new Tini Trebbiano Chardonnay, Chivite Rosado or Cellier des Dauphins Carte Noire Côtes du Rhône.

Cheers!