The Wine & Cheese Gang is back together again for another Google + Video tasting on October 10 at 8 pm. After the fun we had during our first tasting, we started planning this one. The wines and cheeses are different, but we’ll take the same conversational approach, weaving in some great insights on pairing wine and cheese.
Taste along with us that evening! In the meantime, we’ll also be on Twitter using the hash tag #CDNcheese. Cheers!
La Fromagerie du Presbytère Bleu d’Élizabeth, Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick, Quebec
Elizabeth Blue is an organic semi-soft cheese made from pasteurized milk with non-interior mold. Its natural rind is strewn with ocher-colored spots and contains beautiful blue and sometimes greenish-colored veins resulting and from the presence of Penicillium Roqueforti. The unique taste and perfect salt balance of this cheese is safe to please the discriminating palate most!
Comfort Cream, Upper Canada Cheese Co., Jordan Station, Ontario
Comfort Cream is a camembert-style soft, white bloomy rind cheese with a silky, creamy, golden interior. Rich flavours of fresh truffles prevail with an intense, buttery palate and a long, tangy finish. This delicate and luscious artisanal cheese is hand salted, hand turned and hand wrapped. We store Comfort Cream in our temperature and humidity-controlled cellars for at least 4 weeks before sale. An additional few weeks of aging will see the cheese ripen and mature in flavour, texture and colour.
Alpindon Kootenay Alpine Cheese Co., Creston, British Columbia
“Gift of the Alpine,” our premium cheese, is a firm cheese carefully modeled after French Beaufort d’Alpage. Following centuries old tradition this cheese is hand-rubbed and made only with milk from summer pastures. It exhibits a smooth nut flavour, a complex finish, a rich golden interior and a dark textured rind. Additional aging concentrates its flavours, deepens its complexity, and increases the sweet crystals that develop throughout the body of the cheese.
1608 Laiterie Charlevoix, Baie-St-Paul, Quebec
The 1608 is manufactured wheels 8K is a typical cheese to cooked pasta. The milk comes from 100% Canadian cows dough is cooked, pressed and ripened for a long time. The period of maturation of the cheese is 3 to 6 months, its fat content is 32% and 42% humidity. Its paste is dark yellow, creamy texture is melting in the mouth Its texture improves with age and develops its flavor without bitterness.
Madagascar Bothwell Cheese Inc., New Bothwell, Manitoba
Matured to perfection, we craft our Madagascar Green Peppercorn Cheese using green peppercorns that are carefully selected from the Island of Madagascar. We chose them for their mildly spicy, exotic flavour that infuses this cheese with a taste that is thoroughly memorable.
Onion Cheddar Cheese – St-Albert Cheese Company
St. Albert, Ontario
The unique flavour of Canadian cheese is marvellously enhanced by the addition of spices and herbs. St-Albert offers a choice of natural, all-time favourites such as Brick, Farmer and Colby, or savory cheese, spiced up with garlic, caraway, dill or onion.
Jackson-Triggs Reserve Series Sauvignon Blanc 2011, VQA, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario
Lovely melon freshness here without grassy notes. Crisp and refreshing, mouth-watering for food. Lemon zest finish. Awesome price. Pair with: steamed crab, grilled fish, shrimp or chicken, light pasta dishes or risotto. Drink: 2012-2014. 618413 13.10% D 750 mL $13.95 Score: 88/100.
Jackson-Triggs Reserve Riesling 2011, VQA, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Review coming soon. Pair with: spicy Asian fusion, maple glazed ham, grilled seafood. Drink: 2012-2014. 526277 12.20% MD 750 mL $11.45.
Open Chardonnay 2011, VQA, Niagara, Ontario
Review coming soon. Drink: 2012-2014. 305151 11.50% XD 750 mL $11.95.
Jackson-Triggs Reserve Series Chardonnay 2011, VQA, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario
A medium- to full-bodied chardonnay with toasty oak and a campfire smoky finish. Nice bright tree fruit in the middle. Pair with: steamed mussels and saffron, broiled lobster, smoked fish, poultry in cream sauces, grilled scallops, cedar planked salmon, quail, Camembert, Emmenthaler and Gruyere cheeses. 526251 13.50% D 750 mL $10.95 Score: 86/100.
Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay 2009, V.Q.A., Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario
VC: A lively, expertly crafted Chardonnay. Notes of coconut, butterscotch, toast, pear preserves, grapefruit and yellow plum. Dry, medium bodied, crisp and elegant with racy acidity. The oak adds lovely accents to the tangy fruit. Layered, lingering finish. It will also reward 2-4 yeSomething inside me melts every time I taste this wine, a slow dissolving to sensory bliss. Full-bodied, opulent, buttery and peach-apricot aromas. Pair with: crab cakes, grilled tuna steaks. Drink: 2011-2016. 33936 13% XD 750 mL $30.00 Score: 92/100.
Inniskillin Wines Pinot Noir 2011, VQA, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Loaded with rich cherry-berry flavour delivered on a satin texture with medium- to full-bodied weight. A blackberry-infused finish makes this wine go down slippery fast. This red wine that can be served slightly chilled. Pair with: salmon carpaccio, grilled tuna and sea bass, wild mushroom risotto, bee and past marinara. Pair with: traditional clove studded baked ham, split pea soup, roast turkey, grilled salmon. Drink: 2012-2016. 261099 13.50% D 750 mL $13.95 Score: 89/100.
Open Cab2-Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2011, Niagara, Ontario
A mouth-filling red with layers of fleshy blackberries, blackcurrant and a lick of vanilla spice. This full-bodied number delivers lots of hedonistic pleasure for those who enjoy instant gratification. (Translation: You don’t need to cellar this bottle!) The price is amazing for such a well-made wine. Perfect for potluck gatherings, book clubs and evenings when you want to wear your faded jeans. Pair with: pepper steak, lamb with rosemary, tacos, fajitas. Drink: 2012-2014. 134957 12% 750 mL $10.95 Score: 88/100.
Jackson-Triggs Reserve Series Merlot 2010, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario
A full-bodied, black-fruited wine with a smoky finish. A good grip on the palate so decant 1-2 hours. Great price. Pair with: rack of lamb, grilled steak with mushroom sauce, veal in a red wine reduction sauce, Beef Wellington or medium aged cheddar. Drink: 2012-2015. 618421 13.10% D 750 mL $13.95 Score: 87/100.
Inniskillin Wines Sparkling Vidal Icewine 2011, VQA, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Superbly exotic and wonderful! Blends the refreshment of sparkling wine and the sweet indulgence of icewine. Serve as an aperitif before a meal, with strong flavoured appetizers such as fois gras or as a dessert all on it’s own. Try it after dinner with a fruit flan and feel yourself transported. Food matches: pâté. Pair with: pâté, fresh fruit desserts. Pair with: tuna tartar with fresh chili, tempura bluecrab with mango and cucumber salsa, rich cheeses from brie to blue, fresh fruit desserts, crème brulee. Drink: 2012-2018. 560367 9.5% S 375 mL $79.95 Score: 94/100.
Wine & Cheese Gang
Jason Solanki
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Twitter: @cono_sur
Site: Vintage Wine Picks
Corinna Horton
Gatineau, Quebec
Twitter: @thefoodgypsy
Site: FoodGypsy
Nina Syas
Etobicoke, Ontario
Twitter: @wineandfoodlove
Site: Ninas Wine and Food
Dan Trcka
Toronto, Ontario
Twitter: @grapeselections
Site: GrapeSelections
Allie Hughes
St. Catharines, Ontario
Twitter: @alliehues
Site: Hughes and Co.
Dawn Montgomery
Oakville, Ontario
Twitter: @DawnMontgomery
Site: Dawn Montgomery Presents
Susan Desjardins
Ottawa, Ontario
Twitter: @susanswine
Gaby Israel
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Twitter: @wineGPCi
Travis Oke
Guelph, Ontario
Twitter: @TravisOke
Site: Pull The Cork
Courtney Flood
Ottawa, Ontario
Twitter: @floodcourtney
Site: Wine and Food For Every Day
Mark Britton
Toronto, Ontario
Twitter:@towineman
Site: TO Wine Man
Sara Connelly
Toronto, Ontario
Twitter: @SarconSara
Site: The Wine Establishment
