Recent Scotch Tastings, and some happy tasters' comments.

Divino's Scotch Tasting SOLD OUT. Contact Divino`s to reserve for the next one.
 
Summer's going by way too fast! As always, Ottawa's a real treat in the summer - festivals, outdoor patios, backyard gatherings with friends, sipping wines or sharing a wee dram late at night. Speaking of drams, there were some fun Scotch and whisky tastings over the summer months. Check out Barb's comments on the first ever Opimian Society of Ottawa Scotch tasting. Close to 100 tasters attended the event.

In June a group of about 80 enjoyed a fun filled tasting evening at the beautiful Army Officers Mess on Somerset. This has become a regular sellout event. Featured whiskies were from three of the five official  Scotch regions - Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay, as well as a couple of gems from Ireland and India.

Here's what Paul had to say about a whisky tasting to kick off a weekend Bachelor party...........

"We hired Carol's services to host a scotch tasting event to kick off a bachelor party.  Carol was engaged right from the start, listening to our existing preferences and helping us build both a scotch list as well as a food menu that was a hit.  She is an excellent communicator and always answered email questions promptly and cheerfully.  She came well prepared for the scotch tasting, with handouts and a presentation. Her easy-going approach was very much appreciated as she was happy to answer any and all of the many questions we had, and allowed us to proceed at our own pace while regaling us with tales about the various liquids.  She made learning about the scotches fun (not to mention delicious), and I would not hesitate to hire her services again."

These were just a few of the summer wine and whisky events. Trips to Boston (Harvard law graduation), Delaware (new friends and family and a singing dog!), New York State (Glimmerglass Opera Festival), and a terrific 2800km trip to the Saguenay and Gaspesie filled a good chunk of the rest of the time. 
Who knew there were so many whales out there!
 

If you fancy a Scotch in the near future, there are a couple of public tastings on the horizon. The historic Watson's Mill in Manotick is the location for a great whisky tasting with food pairings on September 23rd. Contact Isabelle Geoffrion for tickets and information. Divino Wine Studio on Preston Street is the location for a wonderful October 20th tasting of fine Scotches and Whiskies paired with delicious tasting plates. Click the link for reservation details. 
We're always delighted to receive requests for private and Corporate wine and Scotch tastings, big or small, and we'll work with you to tailor an event to suit the occasion.
Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of summer!

The privilege of tasting Scotch AND some upcoming whisky and musical events

 I always have great intentions of posting upcoming tastings, but they often tend to sell out quickly, so the posts don't happen. There's a lot of interest in the Ottawa area in whisky tastings and education. I'm always touched by the wonderful camaraderie that results from a gathering of strangers, with shared interests in whisky education, good food and interesting company. I'm further touched by the fact that many of these events have a philanthropic element, with support for local and international social causes. I'm always up for that!
For further reflection, I was looking recently at the Scotch Whisky Association website and the Scotch export figures for 2010. Overall, Scotch exports grew 10% from 2009 to 2010. Some of the growth figures are astonishing - by value, Russia up 61%, India up 46%, the US up 19%, South Africa up 56%. By contrast, Greece and Spain, both countries with economies struggling more than some, show -26% and -15%. So, when next you raise a glass to enjoy a dram, indulge in a moment of thankfulness for the privilege.
Onwards - to more events. Last week, an eclectic group of whisky lovers gathered at DiVinos on Preston Street for another fine evening of whisky and food tasting, meeting new friends and whisky chat. The evening was mainly dedicated to some fine Single Malt Scotches, but nonetheless the Redbreast 12 year old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey from Midleton Distillery was a big favourite. My own personal favourite, shared with more than a few was a fine, cask strength, 20 year old limited edition Talisker.

There will be a fall tasting at DiVinos in October - tentatively Thursday 20th. Contact DiVinos at 
613-221-9760 613-221-9760 ext. 21 for details and reservations.
Next up, in Arnprior, a great group of people are holding a whisky tasting on Friday April 29th. This event is in support of the Arnprior Optimist Club and, with a great selection of 5 premium whiskies and food pairings, this event is a steal at $50. There are a few spots left, so if you feel like a dram to celebrate Kate and Will's wedding, or for any other reason, send me an email and I'll put you in touch with the organizers.
On Thursday May 5th, the Opimian Wine Society is hosting its first ever Scotch tasting and food pairing evening in Ottawa at the Novotel. I have to report, though, that the event sold out almost immediately, but if you're an Opimian member or a possible guest, I'm sure there will be more, based on the popularity of this one.

On Friday June 17th, the Army Officers' Mess on Somerset is holding its annual whisky tasting evening. I always showcase a different collection of whiskies at repeat events, so attendees can expect another great evening. Last year, close to 100 people had a rare old time.

On a musical note, the Savoy Society of Ottawa, purveyors of fine Gilbert and Sullivan shows since the mid 70's, is holding a unique singalong singathon Gilbert and Sullivan  Greatest Hits show on Wednesday 27th April. Read all about it here and join in the fun. The Hon. Peter Milliken, recently retired Speaker of the House of Commons, will be gracing the stage, along with many other fine singers. I'll be setting down my whisky glass (not to imply that I always have one in my hand!) to sing the part of the evil Katisha from The Mikado.

Lots going on! So much fun!


Cheers! Slainte Mhath!

What's cooking?

 Nothing brings back happier memories of a year in Ain than a beautiful tarte aux pommes. It looks deceptively simple, belying the ridiculous number of hours required to produce this delicious dessert. It's a fabulous dessert to take to a dinner club, if all you have to make is dessert. This one is waiting to be scoffed this evening, the perfect end to a dinner which is to include raclette - a Swiss cheesy/potato dish that will be just right for this cold, snowy January evening. On the wine front, the perfect wine for raclette or cheese fondue is Chasselas, sometimes called Fendant, a dry, crisp, white wine prevalent in Switzerland and sometimes (like now) available in the LCBO. For the tarte aux pommes which, by the way, is wonderful with a scoop of creme fraiche, several chilled white dessert wines come to mind - Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, a nice Riesling icewine, or the Loupiac (similar to Sauternes, but less pricey) shown in the photo. Start the evening off with a yummy appetizer and a glass of bubbly, throw in a  crisp green salad along the way, share with some good friends, and you can't go wrong.

Here's the link for the tarte aux pommes recipe I use.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/FrenchAppleTart.html
Creme fraiche is everywhere in France, but very hard to find in Ottawa. You can make it but it's fiddly, takes time and doesn't always turn out right. Ottawa Bagel on Wellington sells two kinds, and I'm busy lobbying Loblaws at South Keys to start stocking it.

Cheers and bon appetit!

It's that time of year for haggis, pipe bands and Scotch whisky.................

 Happy New Year and lang may yir lum reek!

In addition to slightly longer nights, the promise of good skiing snow and the implementation of all those resolutions, January also offers the opportunity to celebrate the life and works of Robert Burns, Scotland's well loved bard whose birth is celebrated all over the world on or around January 25th.
Burns lived and wrote in Scotland in the late 18th century and his works continue to be sung, recited and quoted on many occasions. The last verse of his song "A Man's a Man for a' that" continues to be a hopefully prescient wish for the world.
"Then let us pray that come it may     
As come it will for a' that
That man to man the world o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that."

If you have a hankering to attend a Burns Supper in Ottawa, eat some haggis, hear a pipe band, listen to some singing and tributes to Robert Burns, and dance the night away, you'll find several of them happening in various venues across the city.

Here are some details about the Sons of Scotland Annual Burns Supper, one of the largest ones in Ontario (about 300 people)..........

Burns Night: Saturday, January 22, 2011
Crown Plaza Hotel, Kent & Lyon Street, Ottawa ON
6:00pm - Midnight
Entertaiment by soloists Garth Hampson and Carol Anderson, accompanied on the piano by Saundra Vandenberg.
Tickets $60.00 ($55.00 for members). Reserved seating at tables of eight. Order via donandkaye@hotmail.com  613-521-5625.

Hope to see some of you there!

The next Scotch Tasting at DiVinos on Preston Street is on April 14th 2011. For reservations, email events@divinowinestudio.com

GrapeScot on CBC Radio

Listen in to an early morning nosing with Michael Bhardwaj of CBC Radio 1's In Town and Out.

Scotch Interview Nov 2010 by GrapeScot

Rideau Canal Museum Scotch Tasting

Good friends, tasty whiskies, nice food, super hosts, a piper with Christmas lights on his bagpipes, local musician Harold Frizell, a lively crowd........................... These were just some of the elements at the Rideau Canal Museum's annual Scotch Tasting fundraiser. The annual event is the best whisky tasting bargain in the area and a key fundraiser for the Smiths Falls Museum. Look out for another one next October. Slainte Mhath!

November Scotch Tasting - head to Smiths Falls on Saturday!

As cold evenings set in and Christmas lights go up all over the city, the whisky bottles seem to find their way to the front of the cabinet and there's less inclination to shake up an icy martini or pour some chilled Prosecco. Not that it's unheard of to drink Scotch in the summer, but somehow a wee dram on a chilly evening is just the thing.

November 30th is St Andrews Day, Scotland's official national day, honouring the patron saint of Scotland. Perhaps it's the lack of a coloured beer, but somehow St Andrews Day isn't celebrated quite as much in Canada as St Patrick's Day. If someone wants to come up with a formula for tartan beer, I'm sure this would all change.

In any event, we have one remaining GrapeScot Scotch tasting in November, so hope to see you on Saturday in Smiths Falls.Feel free to don your finest tartan regalia, if you possess any, and, while there won't be any tartan beer, there will be great Single Malt Scotches, good food, some Scottish music, a little education and a lot of fun.

The Rideau Canal Museum is holding its annual Scotch Tasting fundraiser on Saturday, November 27th at 7pm. For a mere $40, sample great Single Malt Scotches, savour some tasty food, enjoy some music, and take the opportunity to win some great prizes. This is always a jolly evening with an enthusiastic crowd. Hope to see you there. Contact 613 284 0505 for advance tickets only.

The next Scotch Tasting at DiVinos on Preston Street is on April 14th 2011. For reservations, email events@divinowinestudio.com

And the photo above? Any ideas? Clue - not Camp Fortune.
 

Variety is the spice of life!

Test yourself! Without aid of books or internet, see how many grape varieties you can name. Chances are you'll be struggling to come up with even 20 to 30, yet there are thousands of grape varieties used in wine production today. So, armed with this thought and equipped with the moderately vast selection from the many LCBO's in Ottawa, and some other sources, I recently held a wine tasting focused on lesser known grape varieties, for an enthusiastic group of tasters. Limited by the reality of consumption by tasters less inclined to taste and spit and more inclined to swallow and enjoy completely, I limited the selection at 7 wines, and a great time was had by all.

First on the tasting agenda was a nice Chasselas, also known as Fendant, a very popular, simple and crisp white wine, produced in Switzerland, from the grape of the same name. During a year living in France on the border with Switzerland, we often enjoyed Chasselas with wonderful Swiss fondue (also used in the recipe), or with heart stoppingly delicious raclette. A lot of wine is produced in Switzerland, but most of it is consumed locally, so it's not common to find Swiss wines on the world stage.
Next up was a Torrontes from Argentina. With its wonderfully aromatic and perfumed nose and juicy palate, this varietal from Argentina, created by guest winemaker Alberto Antonini for Proyecto Mas, was typical of Torrontes - well known in Argentina, less known elsewhere.
Pinot Noir could hardly be regarded as a lesser known grape variety. Grown all over the world and bottled in dramatically different expression, usually dependent on its growing conditions and winemaking techniques, we next enjoyed a lovely New World Pinot from Montes winery in the Colchagua Valley in Chile. New World Pinot is often a good conduit from tasting whites to more full bodied reds and this one was a favourite with many. Elegant, gently fruity, refreshing and nicely balanced, this wine presented great value at around $20 a bottle, as do so many Chilean wines at every price point.
Then back to obscure grape varieties, although probably not if you're from Greece. Xinomavro, Krassato and Stavroto - all indigenous Greek grape varieties, mingled in this next blend from the Tsantali winery. Statistically the least favourite wine of the evening, this one suffered from a general muddiness and lack of definition and balance. Can't love 'em all!
At $12 a bottle, the next blend of 75% Tinta Roriz and 25% Touriga Franca from the Symington Family, and the Douro region of Portugal, was deemed by many as the best value of the evening. The craftsmen of the Douro use their consummate skills to produce memorable Porto and some very good wines, like this lovely, medium to full bodied Altano. With a delightful nose - floral, a little spicy, raspberries and cherries, and a lovely juicy taste, this wine provided reason in plenty not to bypass the Portuguese section of the local wine store.
On to Italy - probably my most favourite wine country - and a Valpolicella Ripasso from the Veneto region. Valpolicella is a common enough wine name, but not everyone knows the constituent grapes in a Valpolicella wine - namely Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella; nor the particular method of producing Ripasso wines, which uses the spent dried skins and must from the Amarone production process, re-fermented with Valpolicella wine to make a wine richer than common or garden Valpolicella but not quite as intensely delectable as an Amarone. (There - that was a GE sentence)! Ripasso wines are generally oak aged for 18 to 24 months so there's lots of additional complexity in the bottle. Yum!
Last up, a particular favourite of mine, and a big brooding, satisfying wine from Apulia - the heel of Italy. Aglianico is one of the oldest grape varieties in the world and produces wines which benefit from aging, to allow the tannins to integrate. This 2004 wine from the Rivera winery spent a year in oak, then a further year in bottle at the winery before release. It arrived in modest quantity at the LCBO one Saturday in March and was gone the same day. Aglianico might not be a household name, but there are enough wine lovers in Ottawa to know that $20 a bottle presented extremely good value. This wine had a wonderfully complex nose, with rich red fruit and barrel characteristics, lots to chew and enjoy on the palate and a very satisfying finish. It was drinking very nicely for my taste buds, but I will try very hard to hang onto my couple of remaining bottles for a few more years, when it should show even better. It has more than enough fruit, alcohol and tannins to let it stand up well after a bit of cellaring.
So, 'fess up - how many of these dozen or so varieties, apart from Pinot Noir, did you know? Next time you're in the liquor store picking up a Chardonnay for the salmon or a Cab Sauv or Malbec for the BBQ lamb, look around until you find something you've never tried before and give it a whirl. You might discover something wonderful!
Cheers!

In Vino Veritas at Harvard

Veritas (truth in Latin) is the well known motto of Harvard University. Harvard Law School has a thriving wine society, cleverly named In Vino Veritas. In February, I had the distinct pleasure of leading a tasting of Italian wines at one of the bi-weekly events. A thirsty crowd of about 70 wine enthusiasts gathered to taste an eclectic selection of wines from different Italian regions.

I'm a big fan of Italian wines. There is a huge number of interesting grape varieties used in Italian wine production and, in general, Italian wines seem to offer food friendly balance at every price point. In between tasting the wines and enjoying good company, and aided by some terrific maps of the regions, courtesy of the Italian Consulate in Boston, we touched on the country's historical wine journey, wine laws (appropriate, given the audience), food pairings and grape varieties.

All the wines for the tasting were sourced in Boston. First up, a delicious and fresh Arneis from Roero in Piemonte. This white DOCG wine, from the Ascheri winery, is aromatic, fresh and quite delicious. Sometimes used to soften Nebbiolo in the Roero, this was a favourite with many. Not often available at the LCBO, it's worth searching out and serving with pasta with a light cream sauce or with a variety of seafood.

Next up for tasting was a Vermentino from Sardegna. This one had 15% Nuragus in the blend - not an everday varietal. This had less on the nose and wasn't quite as fine as some other Vermentino I've tasted recently from the LCBO. For Ontario shoppers, there are still a few bottles of a very tasty Crabilis Vermentino 2008 lurking on some shelves.

Then onto the reds, starting with a trip back up to Piemonte, and a Barbera d'Alba, again from Ascheri. The winery is located in Bra - home of the slow food movement. There is so much delicious Barbera grown and produced all over Italy, and most especially in Piemonte, but this one was a little thin. Still, the interesting thing at wine tastings is the range of opinions for any given wine, and more than a few folks liked this one.

Off to Tuscany next, and a nice Rosso di Montalcino from San Felice winery. Good body, nice balance and juicy dark fruit and cherries on the nose and palate made this Sangiovese wine a real winner. Rosso di Montalcino is often referred to as baby Brunello. Usually made from grapes from vineyards close to those used for Brunello, and barrel aged for less time, Rosso can be drunk considerably younger than Brunello and is often great value.

Still in Tuscany, we next tasted a baby Super Tuscan - (winery description, not mine). With about 70% Sangiovese, the rest mainly Cabernet grapes, and not much aging, this one could best be described as rustic. But given the right food............

Last up was a wine from Puglia (the heel) produced by the organic winery, Perrini. Negroamaro is widely grown in the region, sometimes bottled as a straight varietal and sometimes blended with Primitivo, another main Puglia grape. This was pretty good - juicy, nicely balanced, briary (in a good way), definitely a little brooding and rustic, and crying out for some kind of rich stew that we didn't have on hand. Negroamaro is often available at the LCBO and is a great food wine, despite, or perhaps because of, the meaning of its name - black and bitter.

Now why exactly was GrapeScot leading a wine tasting at Harvard? Well, it's a long story, best told over a glass of nice Italian wine. But in the meantime, here's a terrific blog to while away the hours with your own glass of wine. On second thoughts, this blog will take you all over the world on adventures that few experience, so perhaps you'd better open a new bottle before embarking. See if you can see a GrapeScot family resemblance in the author.

Salute!

"Thank you again for hosting last night's event. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and your work was greatly appreciated. I received comments from multiple people regarding the helpfulness of the resources and information."

Jonathan Truppman, President, In Vino Veritas