Here is my column as it appeared in the December 8 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News.
Click here or on the image below to read the whole column, or scroll down to read it here on this blog.
Have you ever been to a Riedel glassware wine tasting? I was a guest at one in November while at Whistler’s Cornucopia and it was both fun and enlightening.
We tasted a number of Wagner Family wines from a variety of glasses and experienced how size and shape really do matter. In fact, it’s almost a Goldilocks type of situation where one glass is too big, another too small, and one is just right for the aromas and flavours to present their best.
Particularly surprising for me were two of the wines: Conundrum 2010 (~$25) and Meiomi Pinot Noir 2009 (~$25).
The Conundrum, a fruity, aromatic white wine blended from five grape varieties, had no aroma and was flat on the palate with one wrong glass and presented an almost-bitter aftertaste with another. In the right glass, however, the wine’s fruity, floral and spicy qualities came forward to delight both my nose and palate. This wine will pair well with spicy and fully flavoured Asian-inspired dishes.
The Meiomi Pinot Noir lost its classic Pinot Noir-ness, if you will, in the wrong glasses. In the right glass, however, cherries, red berries, vanilla, and earthy notes greeted my senses. While the oak on this wine is fairly prominent, it is tamed with the right food. Serve the Meiomi with slowly barbequed pork or grilled Portobello mushrooms stuffed with a savoury mixture that includes bacon or a salty, smoky sausage.
One Wagner Family wine we did not have at the Riedel tasting is the Mer Soleil Silver 2009 (~$30), an unoaked Chardonnay that is fermented in stainless steel and concrete. You can buy this wine by the bottle at Whatcom Wine & Spirits or order it by the case at the Signature Liquor Store in Abbotsford.
The Silver has bright, crisp citrus fruits and a focussed minerality (think of a summertime rain on the hot pavement) on both the nose and palate. It will be the perfect pal for the oysters on half-shell my son Steve and I will enjoy when he comes home for Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, and just so I haven’t left you wondering about what wine to serve with your turkey dinner, reach for one with good acidity and juicy fruit—Riesling, Pinot Noir or rosé will fit that bill.
Cheers, all!
Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
