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Wine pairings -- wine and chocolate Wine pairings -- wine and chocolate
Wine pairings -- wine and chocolate ofWine and chocolate pairings 'Tis the season for my two favourite food groups: wine and chocolate. Food groups? You might think that's a stretch, but after reading Red Wine Diet ($19, Penguin, 2007), the new book by British scientist and researcher Roger Corder, who recommends we drink red wine and eat dark chocolate every day, you may be tempted to rethink that notion and realize it can be the perfect wine pairing.A pharmacist and professor of experimental therapeutics, Corder studied the diets of some of the longest-living humans -- inhabitants of the French wine-producing region of Madiran and the islands of Crete and Sardinia -- and concluded that although they eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries, it's actually their consumption of tannic red wine and dark chocolate that's a significant factor in their longevity. Corder says that both contain high concentrations of pigments known as flavonoids, the most significant being proanthocyanidin, which has a beneficial physiological effect on our hearts. Any time a health expert prescribes wine and chocolate, it's a great day!Wine and chocolate pairingsRecently, I tasted Belgian Côte d'Or chocolates under the watchful eye of Dana Zemack, a chocolate expert from Boston whose blog and website, thetastyshow.com, is the absolute gastroporn of melt-in-your-mouth moments. Here are our conclusions, but don't hesitate to try other combinations.Lait Intense, 34% cacao. Milk chocolate is high in cocoa butter, which delivers a creamy, soft texture along with rich vanilla flavours. Courvoisier VSOP Exclusif Cognac ($80) with a wafer of this chocolate is heaven on the tongue. The richness of the chocolate effectively coats the palate, counteracting this young cognac's initial sting. The pairing brings forward wonderful toffee, nut and oaky vanilla nuances. Curiously, this chocolate had a less desirable effect on Courvoisier XO ($200), reducing the cognac's more complex spirit to merely pleasant. Wine and dark chocolate pairings Noir de Noir Mignonnette, 54% cacao. Most sweet wines work with chocolate -- provided the former is sweeter than the latter. Port is a no-brainer, but the fruitier Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve ($16) and Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001 ($18) fare better than a nutty 10-year-old tawny. Another great match worth trying is Southbrook Vineyards Framboise ($16/375 mL), a delicious fruit wine that's made from Ontario raspberries.Noir 70% cacao. Look for New World wines aged in American oak, such as the jammy Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz ($16) from Australia or the spicy Rosenblum Zinfandel ($20) from California. Avoid the tart, lighter reds of France's Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, as well as the Tuscany region of Italy -- those reds tear the heart out of chocolate, leaving only a bitter bite.Noir 86% cacao. The smoky, tobacco flavours of this extra-dark chocolate play beautifully in concert with a well-aged cognac like the profoundly complex Courvoisier XO ($200). Another spectacular match you may enjoy: Mort Subite Framboise ($4/372 mL), a Belgian fruit lambic beer.Noir Orange, 70% cacao studded with candied orange peel. These tiny crunchy specks of candied orange zest embedded in dark chocolate would clash with most combinations, but here are two they sparkle with: Ice Bees ($40/375 mL), a vidal icewine produced by the 20 Bees winery in Ontario, whose sweet, peachy, apricot flavours accentuate the chocolate's citrus notes; the other perfect pairing is Grand Marnier ($46/750 mL), the ever-popular orange liqueur. As with any food and wine combination, it pays to experiment on yourself before doing so with guests, so enjoy your wine and chocolate.- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Nighty-night! Wine & spirits: Nighty-night!
Wine & spirits: Nighty-night! ofDrinks to keep you warm at night With the weather at its worst during this time of year, my advice is to go home, or stay in, for a nightcap. A well-chosen one will satisfy the taste buds and soothe the body, mind and spirit. It should leave you sated and ready for bed without knocking you out, and permit you to wake up feeling rested and refreshed, not sluggish and headachy. The liquid version of comfort food, a nightcap can be alcoholic, or not. But if it is, you may want to limit yourself to a small amount of something good. My ideal: a thimble of Inniskillin 1989 Icewine. This vintage put Canadian icewine in the global spotlight by winning the Grand Prix d'Honneur in France's prestigious wine challenge. The winery still has 375 mL bottles for sale. At only $500 each, you'd better hurry -- they may go quickly.Whether you share your wine with a friend or partner or enjoy it solo, you need a special bottle. Here's my philosophy on price: pro-rate your enjoyment on a "'cost-per-sip"' basis. Savouring a very fine digestive in one-ounce shots allows for 25 opportunities from a standard-size bottle. If that bottle retails for $250, the real cost is $10 per shot. Now that's a luxury even I can afford from time to time!Fine spirits can sit on a bookshelf or sideboard forever without going bad; it doesn't matter if they've been opened or not. Store ports, late-harvest wines and other dessert wines in the fridge for up to a month after opening. Keep young icewines in the fridge for several months after opening, but consume older vintages in a single sitting.Delicious indulgencesTawny port may be one of my most beloved nightcaps. With flavours of rich dried fruits, simmered berries and spiced nuts, the rewards in a glass of Graham's 10 Year Old ($28*) and 20 Year Old Tawny Port ($36/500 mL) range from sublime to transcendent. Limiting yourself to just one glass might be the toughest challenge! More indulgences If brandy is your candy, the rich, complex and sophisticated flavours of Martell XO Cognac ($200) might remind you of vanilla halvah or a perfect millefeuille. Martell's extra-old luxe brand, Création Grand Extra ($495), is marked by the powerful aromas of dried fruits, roasted nuts and fresh spices. At $100 per one-ounce glass, a gold-topped decanter of L'Or de Martell ($2,500) will look great on the mantel of your new condo in Dubai!Whisky aficionados can choose from among several new ultra-high-end products from both sides of the Atlantic. Johnnie Walker unveiled a Blue Label King George V ($695) last October. Blended from special reserve stocks, it represents the finest whisky style of the monarch's era. It has a rich, smoky aroma, a taste of toasted cereal with caramel cream, and a subtle aftertaste that seems endless. J.P. Wiser's Red Letter Whisky ($150) was created to commemorate the Canadian company's 150th anniversary. A superpremium blend, it was aged for up to 18 years in standard, charred whisky barrels, then spent the last 150 days in virgin oak. The result? A rich, spicy, strong and raw style of sipping whisky not tasted since the turn of a long-forgotten century. But Wiser's Very Old ($40) whispers the flavours of oak and grain with such grace, I think I prefer it.Not to be outdone, Cuban rum makers have introduced Havana Club Maximo Extra Añejo ($2,000/500 mL), an aged rum with a taste that rivals the finest spirits anywhere. Blended from the oldest reserves, it's more complex and smoother than any rum I've ever tasted, with hints of caramel apples, molasses, coconut, dried fruit and much more. Readily available flagship brand Havana Club 7 Year Old ($30) is as smooth as a Latin lover. There's none of the fire and rage of younger rums. And if there's a cigar to be lit, this is the ideal partner. (*Prices are for 750 mL bottles, except where listed.)- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Chilean wines Wine & spirits: Chilean wines
Wine & spirits: Chilean wines ofChilean wines This story was originally titled "Wine & spirits" in the January 2008 issue. Subscribe to Style at Home today and never miss an issue! Everyone likes a bargain, and I'm no exception. That's why a large chunk of my wine budget is spent on bottles from Chile. Few people think of the country as one of the world's great wine producers. That's partly because it's not a nation of wine drinkers. With no local consumption, virtually every bottle of quality wine is exported.To better understand Chile, imagine a shoelace with a knot tied in the middle. Dangle it by one end and you have a "satellite view" of the entire country, which runs down the western length of South America. The country is more than 4,300 kilometres long from north to south, with a width of only 180 kilometres near the centre. The knot in the shoelace represents the small zone where grapes can be cultivated. The soil there is extremely poor -- but perfect for grapevines -- and the long, hot, dry days and cool, breezy nights deliver ideal conditions for growing healthy fruit. This central region is isolated from the rest of the world -- by the Andes to the east, a barren desert to the north, the vast Pacific Ocean to the west, and massive glaciers (and Antarctica) to the south -- a fact that has protected the industry from most vine diseases and pestilence that plague winemakers elsewhere.Chile has produced great-value wines for decades. Longtime aficionados may remember buying one-litre bottles of Tocornal for under $4 and Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon for around $5 in the early 1980s. Back then, those brands marked the highest level of Chilean winemaking. Today, they're better made but occupy a lower rung on the country's new quality ladder.Popular offerings like Santa Rita "120" Cabernet Sauvignon, San Pedro Gato Negro and Santa Carolina Chardonnay provide outstanding value for under $10 (prices may vary in local markets). Chile's everyday reds are packed with freshly crushed blackcurrant, blueberry and wild black raspberry flavours, while the whites are ripe yet crisp. Here's an insider's tip: as you climb into slightly higher price brackets, you'll find even better bargains. In fact, expensive wines overdeliver like a federal minority government. You're buying more concentration, richness, elegance and charm, and better value than wines in the same price range from France, Italy or California.More on Chilean wines on the next page >> Great wines from Chile to try Modernization has come late but rapidly, with huge foreign investments and the growing influence of international winemakers and journalists. Clos Apalta ($96), the flagship of Casa Lapostolle, is produced by Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle of the Marnier-Lapostolle family, which owns Grand Marnier. Almaviva ($85) is made by the Mouton Cadet wing of the Rothschild family in a joint venture with Conchay Toro; another wing, Domaines Baron de Rothschild produces Le Dix de Los Vascos. The biggest name in Chilean wine, Seña ($79), was created by Eduardo Chadwick (who owns Errazuriz, Seña, Arboleda and Caliterra, among others) and California's senior wine statesman, Robert Mondavi. In tastings around the world, these wines match the quality of brands sold for four, five and even six times their price.Much has changed since those first wine bottles appeared in Canada. Hit-and-miss winemaking has been replaced by hit after hit at provincial liquor centres. What started as a couple of trial listings has grown into a major category. The challenge today is finding a bad bottle -- at any price. function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;} html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.facebook.com/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?51:26981) no-repeat top left; }- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Show dog or family pet? Wine & spirits: Show dog or family pet?
Wine & spirits: Show dog or family pet? ofWine & spirits: Show dog or family pet? There are so many ways to classify wine: red or white, still or sparkling, young or old, cheap or expensive, New World or Old World, site-based varietal or regional blend, good or bad, yummy or yucky. However, one of my all-time favourite categories has to be "show dog" or "family pet." How can you tell the difference? Ask yourself whether the wine will be the talk of the table or just part of the table talk. If the wine has a famous reputation and a price to match, if it scored impressively at an international wine competition, if it costs more than what you'd usually spend but your wine-geek friend says it's a profound tasting experience, it's definitely a show dog. If, on the other hand, it's a bottle you've tasted several times before and ? without any particular pretence or wow factor ? it always fits in with the chow as well as with the chow hounds around the table, then you can consider it a family pet.For those occasions when a show dog is needed for entertaining or to impress your guests, be sure to select the best performer from your special cellar stash. However, for everyday, when all you really need is some casual companionship for that leftover turkey casserole or broccoli pasta, nothing beats a family pet. Often, wine producers who breed great "show dogs" also have well-behaved "family pets" in their stable. These companies have the resources needed to make quality wines in every price range.Boisset (family owned, France) From humble beginnings as a local wine trader, Jean Claude Boisset and his now grown children have built a slick, international wine-merchant business. Holdings include many of Burgundy's best vineyards, plus Le Clos Jordanne in Canada and DeLoach Vineyards in California's Russian River Valley. Dependable everyday offerings include French Rabbit varietals in Tetra Paks, Yellow Jersey in unbreakable PET containers, the Lulu B series, and classic burgundies from Chablis to Beaujolais under such well-known labels as Bouchard Ainé, Jaffelin, Mommessin, Moreau and Ropiteau Frères.E. & J. Gallo Winery (family owned, United States)America's most influential winemaking family produces wines of good quality for every drinker, from unbreakable mickeys of Thunderbird to premium Gallo Family Vineyards Sonoma County wines and the top-of-the-line Gallo Family Vineyards Single Vineyard collection. When it comes to reliable everyday wines, be sure to look for their Gallo Family Vineyards California wines, and their Barefoot Cellars, Dancing Bull and Turning Leaf labels. Good foreign wines include McWilliam's Hanwood from Australia, Vina Chilcaya from Chile and Red Bicyclette from France.Foster's Group (publicly held corporation, Australia)Perhaps best known by some for their beer, Foster's Group has some spectacular wine labels in its catalogue. One of the company's flagship wineries, Penfolds produces the unbeatable show dog Penfolds Grange, priced at $322 (750 mL) a pop. But look for plenty of delicious "lesser" wines like the Penfolds Koonunga Hill and Thomas Hyland series. Foster's also owns Black Opal, Coldstream Hills, Devil's Lair, Fifth Leg, Lindemans, Little Penguin, Rosemount, Seaview, Seppelt, Wolf Blass, Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Yarra Ridge and Yellowglen ? and that's just their Australian collection! Vincor Canada (publicly held, and owned by Constellation Brands, United States) As show dogs go, Vincor's portfolio has some of our best, including joint ownership of Ontario's Le Clos Jordanne (with Boisset) and B.C.'s Osoyoos Larose (with Group Taillan of Bordeaux, France). Quality domestics are produced through Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs holdings in both provinces, plus Sumac Ridge and See Ya Later Ranch in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, and national brands like Ancient Coast and Naked Grape.- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Lemon aid Wine & spirits: Lemon aid
Wine & spirits: Lemon aid ofMix it up Lemonade is summer's all-purpose thirst-quencher, appealing to all ages, classes and cultures. When it?s hot outside, there's no quicker way to cool down inside than with an icy glassful of the classic drink. But with a tweak or two to the standard recipe, it's easy to transform that "olde-tyme" refreshment into a sophisticated, adult-only libation.Mix it upPlaying bartender is much like playing chef. The creative cook puts his or her own stamp on a dish by assessing which ingredients or processes are untouchable, and which are open to replacement or alteration.Deconstructing Since lemonade is a straightforward blend of lemon juice and sugar diluted with icy cold water, there are a variety of things you can do to alter and enhance it. The only ingredient that?s irreplaceable is the lemon, of course. Otherwise, do anything ? but don?t change the balance of sweetness and tartness that gives this drink its special snap.Reconstructing Try this: In place of refined granulated white sugar, add demerara sugar, maple syrup, Grand Marnier, wildfl ower honey, golden corn syrup, the bright red liquid from a jar of maraschino cherries, or any other soluble sugar substitute.Instead of fresh cold water, use chilled steeped tea, club soda, tonic water, juice, lager beer, white wine, hard cider, vodka, champagne or any combination that excites you. (However, I don't recommend milk, as it may curdle when confronted by freshly squeezed lemon.)And why waste valuable glass space on cubes of mere frozen water? Instead, you can pre-chill your glassware and all liquid ingredients, then finish off the drink with delicious frozen whole raspberries and blueberries, strawberry pieces, fruit chunks, lime segments or lemon wheels. The frozen fruit will keep your drink cold longer and add a decorative splash of colouras well as a lovely nuance of flavour. Lemonade challenge Lemonade challengeI carried out a few experiments to find out which spirits made the best adultonly libations. Here are the results.EasyA shot of a flavoured white spirit, such as vodka, gin or rum, added to freshly made lemonade seemed like the easiest option to start with. I tested several name-brand products flavoured with either lemon or lime, all priced at around $25 for a standard-size bottle.Lemon-flavoured vodkas, like Absolut Citron, Smirnoff Citrus Twist and Gilbey's Lemon Gin, boosted the lemonade's body and gave it some kick, but did little to enhance its overall flavour. Bacardi Limón was the exception ? it gave the lemonade terrific richness and lovely hints of spice, as only a rum-based liquor could.The most compatible flavoured spirits in this challenge were those spiked with lime ? products such as Beefeater Lime gin, Finlandia Lime Fusion vodka and Smirnoff Lime Twist vodka ? each of which lifted the aromasand taste of the lemonade to adult standards while retaining that lively balance so appealing in a warm-weather refreshment. You already buy products from these and other liquor companies, so why not go to the source and get cocktail ideas from their websites? Google your favourite producers to see what novel suggestions they have to offer.Just as easyItalian drink makers definitely know how to squeeze the most fl avour from the sour yellow orb and have created some of the easiest ways to drink grown-up lemonade.Lemon liqueurs, like Lemoncella, Lemoncello and Limoncello (all brand-names selling for about $20), are the simplest solution. Simply chill, pour over ice, and enjoy. If you prefer to have less of a kick, dilute with your choice of tonic, soda, ginger ale, tea or fruit juice. Add a garnish for fun.- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: A merry match Wine & spirits: A merry match
Wine & spirits: A merry match ofPerfect pairings for a holiday meal The annual holiday meal provides that rare opportunity to go all the way and open up the best bottles you can afford. And with the entire clan gathered at one large table, you can be sure there will be plenty of toasts and plenty of refills, so it's a marvellous opportunity to serve different wines, perhaps even several, with each course. Selecting and purchasing those wines can be a straightforward and pleasant task -- with so much fuss over other holiday details, who needs to stress about wine? To get the most enjoyment from your wine-shopping experience, it shouldn't be left to the last minute. If ever there was a good time for you to stock the wine pantry, then this is it.Chef Ian Muggridge's traditional English menu featured in this issue (see "A Heritage Christmas: All the Trimmings," page 147) is a classic, with turkey, time-honoured side dishes and pudding. Thankfully, poultry is one of the easiest foods to pair with wine. Look at the back label of any bottle -- red or white -- and if food-matching suggestions are offered, they're bound to include chicken. Of course, turkey is poultry, but it isn't chicken. The main difference is that chicken combines dark meat (legs and thighs) and white meat (breasts and wings), while turkey, duck, goose and most other domestic birds have darker meat throughout.Unless your stuffing and side dishes are exceedingly sweet or spicy, any wine served should emulate the natural characteristics of turkey's best friend, cranberry sauce, which is fruity and acidic (sugar is added to the sauce to reduce the tartness, but only enough so it doesn't bite back). Red wines like Beaujolais or those produced from Pinot Noir or Zinfandel tend to fit the bill best. If you have guests who can't or won't drink red, opt for a young German Riesling or Gewürztraminer that has "Kabinett" or "Spätlese" prominently displayed on the front label. Rieslings from Canada will do very nicely if they have a hint of residual sugar. Look for "off-dry" or "medium dry" on the label for the right level of sweetness. Al though, in general, it's difficult to make a bad decision with a holiday menu, you should avoid big, tannic, "monster" reds and over-oaked dry whites. Save those massive Amarones and Australian shirazes for roast beef and charbroiled steaks, and the oaky whites for osso bucco.Starter wines can be as gentle as Chablis, unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling or a high-end bubbly. Choose a wine with a lower level of alcohol; 13.5 or 14 per cent may be too high for guests with empty stomachs. For the end of such a celebratory meal, the main consideration is that the wine be sweeter than the dessert. It's the perfect time to open a pink icewine or tawny port, but any good "sticky" will do. Other classic matches, especially with Christmas pudding, are oloroso sherry, malmsey Madeira and Mavrodaphne, a Greek speciality. Konrad's wine wish list Konrad Ejbich's traditional Christmas wine list These may not all be available in every province. Take this list to your local wine merchant, and ask him or her to suggest some similar alternatives.StartersDomaine Chandon, Brut Classic ($24)Leon Beyer, Pinot Gris ($17)Peninsula Ridge, Inox Chardonnay ($13)Turkey & trimmingsBouchard Père & Fils,Beaune du Château Rouge ($40)Ravenswood Vintner's Blend, Zinfandel ($20)Georges Duboeuf, Beaujolais Brouilly ($17)DessertJackson-Triggs, Cabernet Franc Icewine ($75)Graham's, 10-Year-Old Tawny Port ($28)D. Kourtakis S.A., Mavrodaphne of Patras ($12)(Prices will vary in local markets.)- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Perfect pairings Wine & spirits: Perfect pairings
Wine & spirits: Perfect pairings ofPerfect pairings In the beginning, marrying wine with food was simple. He brought up a jug of wine from the root cellar, and she cooked whatever food they had. It was teamwork. Wine wasn't "selected" to match the local cuisine. It was already made, and there was only one kind. Food was prepared in ways that would enhance the local wine. With the invention of the cork-sealed bottle, wines became portable and could be introduced to different parts of the world. Not surprisingly, a natural disconnect between these wines and "foreign" cuisine demanded the creation of simple instructions to guide inexperienced drinkers. Hence, The Great Rule: white wines shall be served cold with fish, and red wines are to be served at room temperature with meat. For eons, that rule was all we needed to know, because with traditional winemaking, young reds were so bitterly tannic that they overwhelmed the delicate fl avours of fish, seafood or other "white meats," while white wines tended to make any meat that was cooked past medium taste dry and tough. Fortunately, modern winemaking has now taken care of most of those issues. Using current technologies, wineries can produce fresh, light reds to match fish, as well as powerful oaky whites that deliver a knockout punch to beef at its prime. With so many choices before us today, perhaps wine and food couplings should be called "affairs" rather than marriages! A fare to rememberIn their groundbreaking book Red Wine with Fish (Simon & Schuster, 1989), authors David Rosengarten and Joshua Wesson contend that no one can be an "expert" in matching food and wine. You'd need to taste every wine in the world from every vintage, plus every food product from every supplier to understand how each would interact with others in every circumstance. That may be true, but it's no reason to throw in the dishtowel. Another reality is that very few wines will actually spoil a meal. But a well-chosen coupling can ramp up the gastro-moment to amazing heights. In my case, I get almost as much pleasure from the memories as I do from the initial experiences. Many of those memorable pairings have involved champagne (all $50-plus brands). One was with oysters on the half shell. The French fizz was drizzled onto the raw bivalve in place of mignonette dressing, and it all slid deliciously down my gullet ? again and again and again. Champagne is one of the few wines I recommend consuming anywhere, any time, with anything and with anyone. Oh yes, and with great frequency. There are less expensive alternatives. Bubblies made using the "traditional" or "classic" production method have more elegance than others. Ontario's Henry of Pelham Winery makes a superb one, Cuvée Catharine ($30), while British Columbia's Okanagan Valley boasts Cipes "pyramid-aged" sparkling wines from Summerhill Pyramid Winery (from $25). Terrific imports include Spain's Codorniu Brut Clasico ($12) and Australia's Banrock Station Sparkling Chardonnay ($13). When shopping for fish-friendly bottles, it's best to look to coastal regions, where the local chow comes from the water. One of the most overlooked sources is Greece. Forget retsina: Greeks eat fish almost every day with every meal, and the many nonresinated white wines they produce are kindred spirits with fried, poached, steamed, barbecued or otherwise cooked seafood. A bottomless glass of J. Boutari & Son's exuberant Santorini ($16) with an array of grilled calamari and fish one evening last summer will forever remain a treasured memory. Related articles:Show dog or family pet?Perfect bubblyOh pinot- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Cocktails and canapes Cocktails and canapes
Cocktails and canapes ofpage 1 Summer entertaining and refreshing beverages go hand in hand. At your next patio party, welcome guests with a signature cocktail instead of wine or beer. Concoct your own colourful quencher and pair it with an easy make-ahead hors d'oeuvre. Merlin Griffiths, master mixologist and global brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire gin, and Trish Magwood, owner of Toronto's Dish Cooking Studio and author of Dish Entertains (HarperCollins, 2007), recently teamed up to give a lesson in creating tantalizing combos. Here are their tips for stylish yet casual summer celebrations.1 Pick a themeAre you marking a milestone, getting together for a stat holiday, celebrating a birthday? Think about the occasion and the friends attending. Get creative: you could turn your deck into Shangri-La with oversize pillows and a colourful fabric runner for decorating the table, suggests Trish. Mix a playlist of complementary music. Then think about tastes and ingredients that suit your theme. 2 Invent a signature cocktailYou don't need a bartender's guide to mix a delicious drink, says Merlin, who is on a mission to demystify the cocktail. ?It's not rocket science,? he says. A good place to start is with seasonal berries or juices. ?A bartender looks for a balance of sweet and sour, strong and weak,? he says. For example, think fresh fruits and lemon zest (sweet and sour), alcohol and soda water (strong and weak). And use lots of ice -- that's the most important ingredient in a successful cocktail, he says. You could even come up with a theme-appropriate name for your drink.3 Have fun with the presentation Serve cocktails and canapes in surprise dishes. Trish greets guests with one of Merlin's citrusy sippers, then passes her chilled roasted red pepper soup in clear shot glasses or IKEA glass votive holders. Chinese soup spoons are the ideal vessel for individual tastes of her lime-infused scallop ceviche, which Merlin pairs with a delightful drink featuring grapefruit and lemongrass. And you don't have to use martini glasses, he says. A tall, icy drink might be fun in a pilsner glass or a champagne flute. ?Good entertaining is about getting conversation going and getting people inspired,? says Merlin. page 2 Perfect pairingsHere's one of Trish and Merlin's cocktail and tapas pairings. Riffing off of Merlin's name for the drink, Trish went for a chic girl's-night appetizer that bridges elegant and easygoing. The sweetness of the drink is balanced by the mild, creamy mascarpone and peppery arugula.The Sapphire Chelsea: To a large glass with lots of crushed ice, add 1 oz Bombay Sapphire, 1/2 oz raspberry liqueur, 1/2 oz lemon juice and 1 oz pomegranate juice. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a fresh raspberry. Makes 1 serving.Fig, Arugula and Prosciutto Rolls: Stir together 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, the grated rind of 1 lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread thinly on each of 10 slices of prosciutto. Top with arugula leaves. Slice 6 fresh figs lengthwise and lay 2 slices on top of each. Roll up. Refrigerate in an airtight container for a few hours, then slice each roll in half crosswise. Stand the halves flat side down on a white platter. Makes 20 hors d'oeuvres.- Credit
- Julia Armstrong
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Nice and easy -- and nonalcoholic Nice and easy -- and nonalcoholic
Nice and easy -- and nonalcoholic ofDelicious concoctions Holiday gatherings are a great time to treat your guests to fun and festive drinks. But don't leave the designated drivers or non-drinkers at your party sipping on ginger ale and juice all night. Spice up the non-alcoholic beverages you serve with some recipes created by Victor Miller, founder of the Bartending School of Ontario. Your guests won't be able to tell the mocktails from the alcoholic originals and they'll love these new concoctions. Strawberry reindeer daiquiriMiller says this tastes just like a strawberry daiquiri. 5 large frozen strawberries 5 ounces (150 mL) Tom Collins mix-a mixture of club soda, lemon juice and sugar Dash grenadine syrup Rim a martini glass with lemon and dip into sugar to coat. Mix ingredients in a blender and pour over crushed ice, garnish with strawberries lightly coated in powdered sugar and speared. Frozen strawberry coladaThis is Miller's alcohol-free version of the piña colada. 5 large frozen strawberries 2 tsp (10 mL) cream of coconut Dash grenadine syrup dashPineapple juice to fill glass Mix ingredients in a blender and pour into a tall glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple slice and a speared chocolate-dipped strawberry. More delicious drinks Beer and tomato juice or Xmas red eyeA great drink for those who prefer the taste of beer to sweet drinks. 5 ounces (150 mL) alcohol-free beer 3 ounces (90 mL) tomato juice 1 tsp ( 5 mL) lime cordialPour all ingredients into a beer stein, garnish with a lime wedge and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.Santa's sonomaA fizzy drink, perfect for making toasts to friends and family. 5 ounces (150 mL) alcohol-free white wine Soda water Cranberry juice Pour wine over crushed ice in a large wine glass, top-up glass with soda water and then add a splash of cranberry juice. Garnish with a lemon twist. Hot toddy or Snoopy's snoozerGuaranteed to warm up your guests whether you're holding a toboggan party, a snowman-making contest or simply sitting around the fireplace. 5 ounces (150 mL) apple cider 4 ounces (120 mL) cranberry juice 2 tsp (10 mL) liquid honey Combine all ingredients in a mug and microwave for 1?2 minutes. Pour heated beverage over a spoon into a brandy snifter. The spoon will absorb some of the heat. Add a cinnamon stick and a slice of lemon and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Holiday mochaYou can substitute vanilla extract for the butterscotch extract in this drink but Millar says the butterscotch makes the drink taste like a café mocha with butterscotch schnapps. This makes a great after-dinner drink. 1/2 cup (125 mL) coffee 1/2 cup (125 mL) hot chocolate 4 drops ( 4 drops) butterscotch extractCombine coffee and hot chocolate in a large brandy snifter or a mug. Add butterscotch extract. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and speared cranberries lightly coated in powdered sugar.- Credit
- Wendy Prince
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Wine & spirits: Cool it! Wine & spirits: Cool it!
Wine & spirits: Cool it! ofOn chilling red wines If the wine aficionados in your life tend to avoid red wines during the summer, it may be the type of wines you serve or the temperature at which you serve them.Those big bruisers, the fruity Aussie shirazes, luscious California Cabs and succulent Sicilian Salice Salentos are terrific when the weather is crisp and the chow is hearty. But once the warmer days arrive, our appetite turns to lighter, fresher fare and seasonal offerings from the farmers' market. That's when those brooding, alcoholic fruit bombs morph into dark, bitter, tannic triggers for a whopping migraine.That's no reason to stop drinking red wines altogether during the sultry months. The big guns are usually made from thick-skinned grapes, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, shiraz/Syrah or Zinfandel/Primitivo. They tend to hail from hot growing regions, like those in Australia, California, southern France and Italy, North Africa, Jordan and Israel.Kinder and gentler reds are produced from thin-skinned varieties, including Hollywood's recent favourite -- Pinot Noir. With thinner skins, these reds have less tannic toughness and a lot more fruity oomph. That all adds up to greater delicacy, as well as a rich spectrum of nuances that won't overpower the subtle flavours of summery foods. Instead, thin-skinned reds gently lift, embrace and enhance those flavours. Look for Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Dolcetto or Pinot Noir. Also try the light reds from Beaujolais, Burgundy or Loire in France; Bardolino, Valpolicella or Chianti in Italy; northern Spain; Oregon; New Zealand; Chile; and, of course, Ontario and British Columbia. These regions produce exciting reds that are lighter in colour, possess reasonable alcohol levels, and deliver supple, ripe flavours.And here's a tip: Chill reds down to the summer temperature of a north-facing or underground root cellar (12 to 18°C), so they taste their very best. Like a rose that wilts with too much heat, these wines taste best when they're as cool as a cucumber. Konrad's picks for summer reds The big chillHere are my picks for serious easy-drinking wines perfect for chilling out on a steamy summer day. An hour in the fridge and they're ready to go. One way to keep your bottle cool outdoors is to wrap it in a damp cloth or towel; as moisture evaporates from the towel, the bottle remains cool.? Château des Charmes, Gamay Noir "Droit" ($16), St. David's Bench, Ont.? Mission Hill, Five Vineyards Pinot Noir ($15), Okanagan Valley, B.C.? Georges Duboeuf, Beaujolais ($13), Beaujolais-Villages ($14), Brouilly ($18), Moulin-à-Vent ($19), Beaujolais, France? Joseph Drouhin, Côte de Beaune-Villages ($23), Burgundy, France? Remy Pannier, Anjou Rouge ($12), Loire, France? Negrar, Bardolino ($10), Valpolicella ($11), Veneto, Italy? Masi, Modello delle Venezie Rosso ($12), Valpolicella Bonacosta ($14), Campofiorin ($17), Veneto, Italy? Candidato, Tempranillo ($8), Tierra de Castilla, Spain? Torres, Sangre de Toro ($11), Catalonia, Spain? Cono Sur, Pinot Noir ($10), Rapel Valley, Chile- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Tips from the pros Wine & spirits: Tips from the pros
Wine & spirits: Tips from the pros ofHow to mix like a pro What do professional bartenders know that the rest of us don't? Surely, they must have some trade secrets. Not according to Laura Panter, co-owner of The Martini Club in Toronto, which does for drinks what caterers do for food. Laura will tell you that mixology is neither illusion nor athleticism. It's not a fraternity of old boys trading secret recipes, nor young jugglers with sculpted bodies flipping bottles behind their backs and over their heads.Today's bartenders are studied, certified and passionate about their profession. They consider themselves more than just skilled executors of classic recipes -- they're also well travelled, self-assured, artistic and inventive, creating avant-garde concoctions for cocktail connoisseurs. In fact, hip New York City bartenders now call themselves "bar chefs."But what about those in the amateur league? Here are Laura's suggestions if you aspire to serve the most sumptuous libations at home: Learn about flavours and their sources. Familiarity with ingredients and their tastes is essential; confusing lime juice with lime cordial completely changes a cocktail. And deeper knowledge of the amazing spectrum of nonalcoholic bar "condiments," including Angostura Bitters, grenadine and simple sugar syrup, will greatly expand your cocktail repertoire.With only a question or two about personal preferences, a good bartender can assemble an individual taste profile and tweak a recipe to suit the customer's special predilections. It may be as easy as adding a dose of simple sugar syrup -- a quick-dissolving liquid sugar common in most high-end bars and rarely, if ever, used by the do-it-yourselfer.Laura says, "Refuse to compromise on quality of ingredients; always use the freshest and purest, especially citrus." She adds that if she can't get them, she may change the drink. Mixing drinks is similar to cooking: you really need to know your ingredients (and whether or not each is essential) before making substitutions or experimenting with an established recipe. The tools you need Also, don't drag all your bottles out and ask what guests would like. Preselect a couple of special cocktails to pair with the hors d'oeuvres and offer only those. Or set a theme and choose three drinks that cover a range of tastes and colours, from sweet to salty. Practise making those drinks ahead of time to develop speed, accuracy, consistency and an appealing presentation.Have everything prepared well in advance, just like a chef's mise en place. Once guests begin to arrive, there's no time to cut lemon wedges or dig through drawers looking for olive picks.Now, time for a reality check: No matter what your level of expertise in preparing cocktails and specialized drinks, if there's a man in your life, your biggest challenge may be getting access to the shakers and swizzle sticks. When it comes to the barbecue and bar, that line in the sand has already been drawn! Tools of the tradeBefore you mix your first drink, here's what you'll need to stock behind the bar.Nonnegotiables for professional mixologists:? chlorine-free ice ? fresh garnishes ? spotless glasswareCommon "condiments" used by experts:? Angostura Bitters ? shaved chocolate ? Frank's RedHot sauce ? Rose's Grenadine ? horseradish ? Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce ? rosewater ? Rose's Lime Cordial ? simple sugar syrupFavourite accessories of the pros:? straws, swizzle sticks, and glassware appropriate to the drink(s) you're mixing ? industrial-strength blender ? premeasured pour spouts on liquor bottles (available at restaurant supply shops) ? a shot glass or jigger- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Wise buys Wine & spirits: Wise buys
Wine & spirits: Wise buys ofWhites Any wine enthusiasts still believe they have to pay extra to get better wine. Well, it ain't so, and I say so. There are many little tricks to spending your money wisely when shopping at a liquor store. Newly released brands are often launched at special introductory prices. This is the time to try these hopefuls; not once all your friends tell you about a great wine they've discovered and the only thing you discover is the once bargain price has gone up a buck or two. Brands not widely advertised also offer some hope of savings. Look, too, for wines produced in regions that are currently out of vogue. Hardly anyone drinks Greek red wines today, yet the best reds of Greece are very good and sell at very reasonable prices. And, of course, check out my picks below.WhitesAveleda Vinho Verde ($8) From northern Portugal, this wine has intense crispness and a vibrant, fresh lemony taste. It's a fine aperitif to get the stomach juices flowing and makes a good match for raw oysters or steamed mussels.Vina Tarapaca Sauvignon Blanc ($8) This wine was delightful when served to me with a tiny sprinkling of finely chopped sweet strawberries. With simple cheese straws served on the side, it's a memorable opener.Rocca delle Macie Orvieto Classico ($9) From Tuscany in the heart of Italy, this is a great everyday veal and pasta wine. The flavours are balanced and ripe, though not so assertive as to interfere with delicate food flavours.Konzelmann Pinot Blanc ($10) A decent wine at a reasonable price -- this has been Herbert Konzelmann's goal since day one. This medium-bodied fruity wine will please with or without a side plate of cheese and crackers.Deakin Estate Chardonnay ($10) The perfect Aussie white to go with that other Down Under speciality -- the barbie. Whole fish, seafood pasta, chicken breast and grilled vegetables all pair well with its fullish, buttercream cookie flavour.Winzer Krems Gruner Veltliner ($10) The Austrian white wine you can drink with red-wine foods. It has more body and mineral structure than most fruit-driven or oak-supported whites, and has a bracing, white pepper aroma. Reds RedsMezzomondo Negroamaro Salento ($8) One of the new-style reds from Puglia, Italy. The hot southern region used to produce high-alcohol wines with pruney, stewed flavours. Modern winemaking equipment and techniques have resulted in wines with good balance and intense flavours. This one has juicy black cherry aromas suited to hearty winter meals.Codorniu Nuviana ($9) and Osborne Solaz ($10) From Spain, these two reds epitomize the country's fascination with the new. Nuviana offers ripe flavours and a smooth mouth feel. The latter tends toward big, charred-oak/roasted-walnut aromas and flavours of dark chocolate, plums and vanilla.Boutari Naoussa ($9) A gutsy red from Greece, with its 2,000-year-old winemaking tradition. Spit-roasted lamb, a juicy steak or a hamburger taste better with a goblet of this.Skalli Merlot ($10) When France's biggest dry pasta maker turned his attention to the wines of the Mediterranean southwest, the result was an evolution in winemaking. Coarse, rustic, high-alcohol wines were renewed with modern techniques for wines of substance, lushness and balance.Argento Malbec ($10) The new star of the Argentine wine industry is Malbec, a grape that originally hails from France, though it isn't widely grown there anymore.Colio Gamay Noir ($10) From Lake Erie's North Shore region of Ontario, this is a terrific everyday drinking wine. Related articles:Perefct bubbly for all occasionsGet the lowdown on New Zealand redsNigella Lawson's entertaining tipsfunction fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;} html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.facebook.com/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?51:26981) no-repeat top left; }Share on Facebook- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Liquor with flavour Wine & spirits: Liquor with flavour
Wine & spirits: Liquor with flavour ofSuccessful mixes You'd think that after nearly 30 years of closely observing every wiggle and shift in consumer wining and dining preferences, I'd have seen everything by now. On the contrary, each new vintage brings fresh surprises and forces my mind (and palate) to open just a little wider.The most profound change has been the proliferation of artificial and fanciful flavours added to traditional booze categories. There was a time when vodka was breathless, rum went with Coke, and cognac was a gentleman's drink. Now, traditional spirits like gin, rum and whisky are beginning to change; in order to compete for a share of the public gullet in the current era, they're available in an increasing variety of flavours.Whoever planted the flavour seed is long forgotten, but some of the more successful players include Absolut (Citron, Peppar, Kurant, Mandrin, Raspberri and Vanilia) and Bacardi (Cóco, Limón, O, Razz and Vaníla). These brand-name spirit-makers lead the market with their contemporary flavours. They're a bartender's dream as raw materials for cocktail culture, and they appeal to most home shaker-schleppers looking for a ready-to-pour alternative to basic mixology. What good advertising can do Hendrick's Gin is a perfect example. Infused with Bulgarian rose petal essence and raw cucumber mash, it didn't exist a decade ago. Sales are growing slowly, steadily, globally. Quick, someone pass me a chemistry set!Five years ago, Maison Lafragette (formerly known as L&L) introduced XO Beer, a blend of XO cognac and beer. It's an all-in-one shot and chaser. If that mix sounds odd to you, it shouldn't. The company teamed up with the U.S.-based Kobrand to create Alizé, a blend of cognac and tropical fruit juices, which led to another set of line extensions, and was later mimicked by Rémy Red and others.I believe the success of these strange brews stems from a focus on effective target marketing. Advertisers try to appeal to the most youthful of legal consumers, as they are the ones who (a) are not yet set in their drinking patterns and (b) generally look for something different from what their parents and older friends drink. It's much like the successful introduction of the screw cap -- despite its benefits for all drinkers, the cap has been subtly marketed to women, who represent the major purchasers of wine and spirits today.And how's this for creative rebranding? The fascination with all things wine has led marketers to turn it into the new bikini-clad model. More frequently, advertisers are including wine bottles, glasses, corkscrews and other related paraphernalia in their ads. And whether they're selling business travel, furniture, appliances, stationery or photographic equipment, marketers are, indeed, finding that adding wine images catches people's attention. The auto companies, thankfully, have not gone there -- yet.- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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Wine & spirits: Cin-cin! Wine & spirits: Cin-cin!
Wine & spirits: Cin-cin! ofStart you meal off right We have the Romans to thank for our favourite tradition -- happy hour. Whatever you call your aperitivo -- a midday refresher, late-afternoon pick-me-up or pre-dinner cocktail -- the word stems from the Latin aperire, "to open the appetite." With that kind of head start, it's no wonder Rome's descendants have devised so many ways to kick-start our digestive juices.Think Cin-Cin, cocktail culture's cheerful way of greeting friends for a quick sip after work before heading home for dinner. "Cin-Cin. Relax, it's time to play" is a catchy toast that was created by an advertising agency for the maker of Italy's best-known brand of vermouth, Cinzano ($12/1 L), which is the contemporary equivalent of what the ancients drank.Roman wines were routinely so bad -- bitter, alcoholic, vinegary -- drinkers resorted to adding honey, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, bark, even seaweed and salt water to make them palatable. Although winemaking practices have since improved, the Latin taste for flavour-infused, bittersweet, fortified beverages has persisted. North Americans tend to think of red, sweet Italian-style vermouth as "the stuff you put in manhattans" and of white, extra-dry French types, like Noilly Prat ($13/1 L), as useful only for waving at martinis. InEuropean homes and bars, both versions are commonly sipped neat or over ice, with or without a spritz of soda or a twist of lemon.Italy's fondness for bitterness in cocktails may seem a bit extreme for genteel imbibers. Campari Bitter Aperitivo ($25) has such a strong, cough-syrup smell and bittersweet quinine-like antiseptic taste that only the most adventuresome drinker can delight in its secrets. But combined with Cinzano and a bold splash of a dry sparkler like Prosecco, all those flavours evolve into a gentler, rounder gulp. Once you've mastered Campari, try Cynar Bitter Digestivo ($18), which pleasantly enhances our appreciation of the real wonders that can be fashioned from the humble artichoke.Not to be outdone, French winemakers have wasted no time developing their own style of apéritif -- the cinq à sept, where the apéro becomes the raison d'être. Rightly so. At this crucial time of day, we need a moment to re-energize with the restorative qualities of food, drink and companionship. More on cin-cin One of the least known French delicacies is Pineau des Charentes. It was created in error centuries ago in the Cognac region, when fresh grape juice was accidentally poured into a barrel partly filled with brandy. The resulting mixture turned out to be a delicious concoction with an enthralling aroma and heady taste -- fruity, honeyed, nutty and baked, all at once. Marnier ($18) and Reynac ($17) are listed in some provinces. Pineau is served chilled in small wineglasses, or over ice with a twist of citrus peel.There was certainly no mistake made in creating the popular Dubonnet ($11). This fortified wine-based drink is available in two styles: an oak-aged red with vibrant blackcurrant flavours, and an amber gold version with a bitter mandarin aroma and rich, dried apricot flavours.Of all the classic aperitifs around, the prize for the most underappreciated fortified wine must go to Spain's famous ultra-dry fino sherry. The austere, nutty, barrel-aged taste of Tio Pepe Fino Sherry ($15) is a model of adaptability when washing down a wide variety of foods.The perfect aperitivo quickly relaxes guests and encourages light snacking. Complementary morsels might include spiced olives or olive tapenade, roasted or flavoured nuts, cheese straws, prosciutto-wrapped figs, baby shrimp, gougère, sushi, seafood, onion tarts and savoury biscuits. Bites should be small -- nothing sloppy or hard to chew. Risotto, for example, might otherwise be considered out of the question, but presented in mini-portions, it often ends up the wine-pairing highlight of the evening.- Credit
- Konrad Ejbich
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