After our tour, we sat down with Andrew to taste some local wines with a selection of Fifth Town cheeses.  We were blown away by how delicious the cheeses were and our host’s sound knowledge in both cheese and wine meant that the wine pairings he selected were the perfect complement.  My favourites?  Lost Lake and Cape Vessey (made from goat and sheep milk, as are all of their products).  Lucky for you, Fifth Town cheeses are available in retail outlets throughout Ontario so if you don’t have the chance to visit the County (although you really should  make the time) you can still enjoy these fabulous products.  Here in Ottawa, you can find Fifth Town cheeses at The Piggy Market (400 Winston Ave in Westboro), La Bottega (Byward Market), Nicastro locations around the city, and Jacobson’s (in New Edinburgh).  Take a peek at our tasting with Andrew.

Next week at The Urban Element, we are celebrating rosé with a special wine-paired dinner that features a variety of rosés from various regions around Ontario.  It’s going to be a fabulous summertime feast, featuring dishes to inspire your cooking in the coming months and wines that will quench your thirst and intrigue your palate.  Read on for complete event information including menu and wine pairings.

Think Pink! Rosé Dinner
Featuring Chef Candice Butler and Groovy Grapes Sommelier Ilike Csaba
Date: Wednesday June 10, 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Urban Element, 424 Parkdale Avenue
Cost: $125pp
Reservations: call the Urban Element at 613-722-0885 or email bookings@theurbanelement.ca

It’s time to think pink and appreciate Spring & Summer with a toast to rosé! Join Groovy Grapes sommelier Ilike Csaba to sample and learn about the various styles of rosé and the regions in Ontario that specialize in this popular warm-weather wine. We’ll take you on a gastronomical journey as we explore the incredible food-friendliness of pink wines! This 5-course meal has been created specifically by the Urban Element’s Chef Candice Butler to compliment an impressive selection of VQA rosé wines; bubbly, light, full and sweet. If you’re not already a fully converted rosé-lover, you will be by the end of this experience!
 

Reservations: call the Urban Element at 613-722-0885 or email bookings@theurbanelement.ca

Here’s an excerpt from my book This Food That Wine that talks about what rosé is and why I love
it so much. 

Rosé is my absolute favourite summertime, patio-sipping wine.  It’s like red wine in white wine’s clothing, with the berry and spice flavours of red wine but drunk chilled down like white wine.  It’s crisp, refreshing, fruity, and easy-drinking - perfect for picnics, barbeque, and just about all summertime foods.  Not to say that you can’t drink it in the winter too – I certainly do!  Rosé is food friendly because of all the things it isn’t – it’s not as heavy as reds, and it’s not as light as many whites – it’s a happy medium, delicious, and affordable to boot.

Rosés, however, tend to be overlooked as a respectable wine style.  A lot of people automatically think of the sweet and simple White Zinfandel (although a little White Zin paired with spicy food can be amazing) but the rosés I’m talking about are the dry yet fruity, refreshing yet interesting pink wines made around the world, especially those of Mediterranean regions like southern France and Spain.  Canada and Italy make some fine rosé as well.

There are two ways that wine becomes pink.  First, you can make a white wine and add a splash of red.  Or you can make it only from red grapes.  Let me explain … red grapes are actually just red on the outside – the flesh and juice inside is white.  When red wine is made, the grapes are crushed and the skins left in with the juice, usually at least for a couple of weeks.  This is called maceration.  During this time, the skins add colour, flavour, and texture to the wine.  So to make rosé, the skins are left in with the juice for only a short period of time to extract just a bit of colour and flavour, leaving the wine a rosy pink hue with ripe berry flavours.

My favourite regions for rosé are Spain and the southern part of the Rhône Valley in France.  Spanish rosé is called Rosado, and the French name theirs after the region in which it’s made (including Tavel and Côtes-du-Rhône).  Both countries use Grenache as the main grape in the blend, also throwing in some Syrah and Cinsault (in France) or Tempranillo (in Spain).  The wines are quite full in body with ripe strawberry and raspberry flavours, and crisp, refreshing acidity.  In Canada, you often see grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, or Gamay used in their rosés.  They are still fruity, but slightly lighter and tarter in style then the Mediterranean versions.  Italy’s rosés (sometimes called “rosato”) are made from a wide range of grapes, but my favourite style is “Chiaretto” which is made in the Bardolino region of Italy using the same three grapes used to make the well-known Valpolicella (Molinara, Corvina, and Rondinella).  Chiaretto di Bardolino has a vivid salmon colour, bright berry fruit flavours, and a characteristic bitter tang on the finish.

We documented the 5 restaurant dining tour last night.  Stay tuned for updates.

Well, the event itself is only part of the fun … luckily for me, I get to coordinate the whole thing and part of that of course is to taste the food and choose the wine pairings.  Sean and I recently enjoyed a fantastic evening at Absinthe, which is taking part as one of our dining stops on the Wellington Walkabout.  Chef Patrick Garland has created a mouth-watering dish for the Feast and we got to taste test and make sure it really was as delicious as he promised - and yes, it was!  The dish is a spice-rubbed and grilled quail, perched atop fresh, tender zucchini paparadelle, and surrounded by a drizzle of pear and foie gras emulsion.  Sounds fancy and looks fancy, but it was amazing how all the flavours combined reminded us of classic summertime bbq flavours - sweet, spicy, smoky.  We sampled some other delicious dishes from Absinthe’s regular menu that night too, but if you want to taste the quail, you’ll have to join us on the Feast - he created it especially for us! 

Also on the Feast menu is Tuna 3 Ways at Allium and Raviloi of Rabbit Rillettes at the Wellington Gastropub.  Our welcome reception is taking place at Thyme & Again, and dessert is hosted by The Urban Element.  Interested in joining us?  We have a few spots left and registration will wrap up by this week-end, so sign up today!  You can read the entire menu and find out more details by clicking here.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (April 17, 2009)

Wine lovers are invited to drop by Play food & wine, 1 York Street in Ottawa on Earth Day® from 6 pm to 8 pm when Southbrook Vineyards representative Aaron Shaw will be on hand to pour samples of the Cabernet Rosé. The dish at Play that Michael Moffat put together to pair with the rose is Hand-rolled Gnocchi with White Asparagus, Oyster Mushrooms and Sorrel Vinaigrette (I’ll take two of those!).

Click here for the second installment:
 
We taste and talk about Southbrook Cabernet Rosé (Canada’s first certified biodynamic wine - you can read more about that below) and Rosehall Run Pinot Noir from Prince Edward County.  You can tune in to the LiVE 88.5 Start-Up to hear more installments through the spring!

NEW DATE:  May 9th
Join us as we raise a glass of bubbles to spring at Arc the.Hotel! 

With a Groovy Grapes sommelier as your guide, enjoy a tasting of 8 different sparkling wines from around the world, in every style under the sun including white, rosé, red, dry, sweet, and of course the cadillac of bubbles - Champagne. 

Each wine will be perfectly paired to the delicious and creative cuisine of Executive Chef Jason Duffy.  Discover the huge range of styles, food friendliness, and yes - the health benefits of sparkling wine at this educational and entertaining evening.
May 9, 7-9pm at Arc the Hotel 140 Slater Street.  Price $147pp (approx. $115 ++). Register online, call 613 715 9399 or email events@groovygrapes.com to reserve a spot