Michael Pinkus Wine Review - On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - 5th Annual 6 Barrels for 6 Chefs @ Huff ... June 24, 2011

26 Jul 2011

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

With rain in the forecast every day leading up to the event the folks at Huff did not want to take any chances, so up went a tent and instead of a walk through the vineyard to collect your food and wine pairings you were warm and dry under the big top. As luck would have it, the rains held off so you could eat with the sun at your back on a variety of benches and tables outside the confines of the tent... though there were tables also set up inside, just in case you did not want to leave the cozy confines of the tented area. I'm talking here about one of the most unique (uniquest - can something really be more unique? That's a question for another day) events I have ever, and continue to attend and be enthralled with. Six renowned chefs are paired up with 6 barrel samples of unfinished wine - they cook outdoors in the vineyard and create some of the most deliciously inventive dishes you'll ever see come off a hot plate. This year's event had an international flair as one of the chefs was from Ireland ("I just had to take part," Denis Cotter said to me).

The Chefs ...
Tonight's chefs were: Ryan Crawford (stone Road Grille, Niagara-on-the-Lake); Chris McDonald (Cava, Toronto); Denis Cotter (Cafe Paradiso, Ireland); Michael Potters (Angeline's, Bloomfield); Hiro Yoshida (Hiro Sushi, Toronto) and Jamie Kennedy (Giolead Cafe & Bistro, Toronto).

The Wines ...
6 barrels are on hand for these chefs - but the barrels aren't actually around the place, they have been left behind at their respective wineries of origin and only bottled up samples are on hand. This year 2 Chardonnays from Huff, 2 Pinot Noirs from Norman Hardie and one each of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Closson Chase ... of course they are all 100% County wines.

And the top prizes for Best ____ go to ...
At an event like this it's hard not to talk about your favourites - all are good, some are better and only one is amazing and transcends the food and wine experience.

Top Three Food Offerings (as chosen by our distinguished panel of two)...
3) Jamie Kennedy's - pristine poached pickerel with Hillier chive soubise .... what a stunning piece of fish.

2) Michael Potters' - pan fried Bay of Quinte yellow perch with lovage remoulade ... the lemon vinagrette elevated the fish from good to great.

1) Denis Cotter - pan fried haloumi, beet braised puy lentils, harissa, walnut crumb and fava shoots ... who would have thought the out-of-towner would outshine the locals and he's a vegetarian cook to boot - but really who can resist fried cheese, even if it is pan-fried?

Top Wines ...
Best White: Closson Chase 2010 Chardonnay in a 1st fill (new) Carriage House Cooperage (Prince Edward County) 228L medium toast barrel ... buttery vanilla and creamy texture that still has fruit holding it all together; a beautiful sipping Chard right now.

Best Red: Norman Hardie 2010 Pinot Noir in a 2nd fill Mercurey (French) 228L barrel with medium toast ... great spice on the red and some lovely black cherry and subtle cranberry notes; this is a lovely wine to be.

Finally ... Best Pairing of the Night ...
After careful thought, much chewing and sipping this award goes to the Michael Potter pan fried yellow perch paired with a Huff Estates 2010 South Bay Chardonnay in a 1st fill Dargaud et Jaegle (French) 228L barrel with a medium high toast. I talked about that lemon vinaigrette earlier, well this wine made the lemon sing in the mouth and then washed everything clean away and ready for the next bite - on the next bite that song started up again - a match made in heaven.

Dessert ...
Chef Bryan Steele of the Old Prune in Stratford rocked it with a rhubarb & pecan streusel with strawberry ice cream ... this was a killer of a taste sensation and a great way to end the food portion of the evening.

Thanks to Huff for having the foresight to have this event every year ... the real winners are the guests who get to enjoy this little bit of learning heaven and to see how a wine tastes in its formative years ... if there were awards for best event of the year this would take one of my top three prizes every year. Hope to do it again next year. (to see pictures from the event click here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

Report from - New Zealand Wine Fair ... May 12, 2011

26 Jul 2011

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

In the land of Sauvignon Blanc, the one who make it different is King ... I am paraphrasing an old saying here but what I'm trying to get you to understand is that everybody knows that New Zealand make great Sauvignon Blanc, of that there is no doubt, but the question on everybody's lips should be, when confronted by the New Zealand section at your local liquor store: what else can they do?

As it turns out plenty. This year with close to 40 wineries in attendance I tried to avoid New Zealand's signature grape and instead focused my attention on "anything else". At one point I started asking producers what wine they were most proud to pour for me, and 90% picked something other than Sauvignon Blanc - seems the Kiwis are getting the message loud and clear: If you are going to have a sustainable wine industry you can't focus solely on one grape - the world wants to see what else you can do.

The Wine Fair was broken down into two parts - the self pour media seminar and the trade portion. This year's seminar wanted us to focus on 'The Amazing Aromatics from New Zealand', other than Sauvignon Blanc, and the "Various Faces of Syrah" from different parts of this dual island nation.

Seminar (aromatics) ...
I thought all the Rieslings (3 in total) were quite nice, the best of which was a Mt. Beautiful 2008 Cheviot Hills Riesling from Canterbury; at $18 it delivered fresh fruit, petrol, peach, apple and pear ... beautiful is a good name for it. (****+)

I was less impressed with the Pinot Gris selection, the best of this mediocre lot was an Akarua 2009 Pinot Gris from the Central Otago. (***+)

My palate fared better with the Gewurztraminers, the Spy Valley 2010 Gewurztraminer ($21.95) had just what you'd want from this grape - nice floral and rose petal nuances with a dash of spice. (****)

Seminar (syrah) ...
Seven Syrahs were on the table for sample, four from the Hawkes Bay region, two from the Gimblett Gravels (a sub-region of Hawke's Bay) and one from Waiheke Island. My favourite was the Sacred Hill 2007 Deerstalkers Syrah ($39.99) from Hawke's Bay proper; it was deep, rich and dark fruited with some sour black raspberry notes on the nose; the palate proved just as deep and rich with flavours of raspberry, smokiness and earthiness leading to a firm mouthfeel and good tannins; the finish proved to be very Syrah-like with lots of peppery notes (****+). Rounding out my top three were two from Gimblett Gravels: Mission Estate 2009 Reserve Syrah ($26.95) with its slightly plum-pepper finish (****) and Villa Maria Cellar Selection 2008 Syrah ($37.95) with meaty-earthy and chalkiness in the mouth ... with time this should develop into something wonderful, say 3-5 years (****).

The Rest of the Show (alphabetically, four-stars and above) ... (to see the best of the rest, click here)