Riesling Deliciousness

For the second time I find myself compelled to randomly write about a particularly delicious wine that Drew and I drank last night.  Like Zinfandel Deliciousness, this bottle is under $20 and easily acquired at the LCBO.  Unlike that wine, this one is white, zippy, and perfect for hot summer nights, rooftop patios, and grilled fish!

May I introduce, Thirty Bench Riesling 2011, from Beamsville, Ontario.  Shock and awe!  I love finding a tasty Ontario wine because they're the easiest for us to get here, so it just makes it that much more pleasant to see the plethora of VQA wines on the store shelf.  This is a dry Riesling that can really keep up with food, so don't shy away.  We drank it a degree or two on the warm side, but it was still lovely.  There was a hint of vasoline on the nose, with peaches and apricots, as well as pink grapefruit and honeysuckle.  The palate was packed with sweet citrus and apples which gave the immediate impression that this could be off-dry, but the wine had a wonderfully bright acidity that cut through the sweet sensations and gave a lip-smacking juicy finish.  Yum!

This Riesling paired wonderfully with the leek, mushroom, and chicken alfredo we had for dinner.  The wine's acidity cut through the creaminess of the pasta with ease, making for a refreshing summer meal.  Lobster with butter sauce or something spicy like blackened catfish would be a great match as well.

In Search of the Perfect Pinot

Last night’s wine class focused on Pinot Noir, that difficult and ever-stubborn grape.  When I say difficult and ever-stubborn, I mean two things:

Pinot grapes - Nums!

1    That it’s reportedly a challenging grape to grow, harvest, and make delicious wine with on a consistent basis.  It’s so difficult, that even the most famous villages in Burgundy have bad years.  It's a very sensitive grape, and loves warm days and cool nights, on east-facing slopes if possible.  We might say that Pinot is the Scorpio of the wine zodiac – usually your friend, very loyal to limestone, but one bad storm or cold 
spell and it just doesn’t let go of that all summer long (get over it already!). 

2    That I find Pinot to be stubborn in the glass and challenging to enjoy. Part of this is due to the inconsistency of the wine produced, even by top growers.  You can never be totally sure that one bottle will taste the same as the last bottle by the same producer, and that seems to be true the world over.  Part of my challenge, however, is due to my own tastes in wine.  I’ve definitely found great Pinots that I love since beginning my studies, but many of them – old world and new – don’t appeal to me. 

      Last night was a challenge, therefore, in many ways.  We had some good bottles, but more disappointing ones overall, I would say.  My favourite Pinot of the night was... a Barolo!  Ha!  *sigh* I have a Pinot problem. 

Our new world selection didn’t do as well as I’d hoped; I like a few Pinots from Willamette Valley in Oregon, but the one we had last night wasn’t a great example.  We also weren’t able to taste a Pinot from Central Otago this time because the LCBO is... well, it just is.  However, the wines from Burgundy were appropriately awesome, and my two faves of the evening were Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Premier Cru Les Beaux Monts Vosne-Romanée 2009, and Domaine La VougeraieLes Cras Premier Cru Vougeot 2005.

Les Beaux Monts Vosne-Romanée had a deep ruby colour and a pink quartz rim.  It was very pretty in the glass, very shiny, very juicy-looking.  It smelled like cherry, smoke, fennel, strawberry tea, and earthy baking spices.  In the mouth it tasted classically Pinot (which is often something I don’t enjoy, but this time I did – I must be growing as a person), with sharp cherry, tea and orange peel shifting into fresh strawberry and then pie flavours.  The palate had a very interesting flavour evolution, so that the finish was deliciously baked and the high acidity left my mouth feeling clean and ready for another sip.  I shall dream of tasting this bottle again someday ($75 at the LCBO)! 

Les Cras Vougeot was deep ruby in the glass with a pinky-orange rim – coral, I suppose – and looked appealing.  The nose was full of sweet cherry, smoke, strawberry, fig, and forest.  It was a complex nose, and I felt like I smelled a new scent every time I went back.  On the palate this wine had darker flavours; plums, figs, cherries, mocha, and rosemary.  The tannins were round and polite, and the acid was nice and high and juicy.  Delish!  I shall also dream of this bottle (99 buckaroos)!

Next week: Chardonnay!

3 Things I Learned on a Long Weekend

Drew, wearing colour-change sunglasses,
a rainbow jacket with broad shoulders and
3/4 length sleeves, purple jeans, and Zack
Morris hair.  Massive cell phone
not included.

1. Dressing up in Prince-inspired 90's costumes to hit a Purplelectricity Prince party is super-duper fun.  I hypothesized that this would be the case, and found it to be true.  Drew and I had the makings of excellent outfits, and we had a dang good time dancing to amazing Prince music all night.  The DJ played two of my favourites: pussy control and superfunkycalifragisexy. Excellent!  Here are pics of our outfits, right and below.

1a) It's very difficult to get drunk at the Drake - or have a few enjoyable drinks, even - unless you're a millionaire.  Maybe not a millionaire, a thousandaire.  Seriously, the drinks are crazy expensive, and not because they stand out in quality from drinks at other bars. A lesson hard-learned but well-remembered.

Me, wearing an anhk t-shirt (as tribute
to Prince's Love Symbol), and a black
tuxedo jacket with tails (not pictured) and
shoulder pads. My hair was mostly painted black,
but this picture doesn't bring that out well.

2. Hip Hop Karaoke is amazing.  This happens on the third Friday of every month at Revival, and the people who go up to perform are *excellent* for the most part.  They take their HHK seriously, not in the sense that if it's your first time you better not try it - they're very supportive of newbies - but in that they know all the lyrics, perform them with conviction, and the two guys who run the show are also hype-guys for everyone.  It's fantastic.  There was a lot of Beastie Boys karaoke, in memory of MCA, and I have to say, many of the people who sang Beastie Boys songs were impressive, and had MCA's voice and style right on.  One guy who sang Sabotage had me a little scared, same with a guy who did Original Gangster.  They weren't messing around!

the herbs, tomatos, and peppers.  yum

3. A rooftop garden is even better the second time around.  We planted jalapenos, sweet green peppers, red roaster peppers, yellow grape tomoatos, tiny tim cherry tomatos, sugar snap peas, herbs, strawberries, and flowers. We have more plants this year, having accumulated a couple of new pots.  We're also testing out some new raccoon-proofing technology this year.  It's called chicken-wire.  Let's see how we do with our fuzzy neighbours.

flowers!  and the strawberries

Our spiffy raccoon-proofing attempt.  I hope this is enough
of a disincentive for them - there's easier food to be had than
these delicious fresh veggies!

Hitting the Bottle: Cabernet Sauvignon

I am once again hitting the bottle, er, books, in pursuit of higher wineducation.  My new wine class is called 'Grape Comparison', and the idea is that each week we focus on a different grape, and taste wines from different regions of the world as well as different vintages in order to gain a solid idea of the character of the grape that remains steady across time and space.  This is turning out to be *incredibly useful*.  Last night we focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, a truly international grape.  By the time we'd finished tasting the 14 wine samples (omg, so many), I had a very definite idea of what a Cab Sauv is like - whether it's from Margaux or Coonawara, solo or blended with other things, youthful or developed, I am now confident that I'll be able to figure it out.  Even on my bike ride home I could taste the lingering Cab Sauv flavours, which I hope will mean that it's even more cemented into my memory.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
on the vine

Because I have some big wine exams coming up this summer, I'm going to do a lot of wine writing here, and I hope that's OK with you, readers.  If it's boring, please feel free to skip (no don't, read everything, twice). To start off, I'll tell you a little bit about our friend, Cab Sauv.  Cabernet Sauvignon is a spontaneous combination of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, so it got to keep part of each name, just as it displays characteristics from both of these varietals.  Cab Sauv grapes are small with thick skins, and this means that the must is usually dark and can be very high in tannins.  The tannic and acidic structure in a Cab Sauv is one of its signature characteristics, and this is pretty much the most difficult part of the wine to learn to identify blind since it is a tactile sensation rather than a flavour or smell.  In my first classes, being instructed to 'notice the angularity of this wine on the palate' was deeply mysterious and puzzling.  In later classes I began to understand, and after 14 in a row, I really get it.  There's a pointy feeling in your mouth, the wine takes up a certain space in ways that some others do not.  Not wine snobbery, just the facts.

When it comes to characteristic flavours and smells, these can be somewhat challenging because certain of these sensations are common to a variety of grapes, or others are caused by the process of wine making (like aromas from wood barrels or age), and still others are caused or enhanced by the region the grape grows in.  In the case of Cab Sauv, a certain green bell pepper sensation is considered characteristic, but can be present in a variety of ways.  This character comes from both of Cab Sauv's parent grapes, as Cab Franc is often a 'greener' and more herbaceous tasting wine, whereas Sauvignon Blanc sometimes tastes distinctly like grass.  These green aromas and tastes are caused by the presence of methoxypyrazine in the grapes, which is processed away as the grapes ripen.  In Cab Sauv, the green flavour stays and really shows up if the grapes are grown in cool climates, whereas in warm climates there is no green pepper, but instead mintiness, or in very hot places, like parts of Australia and California, eucalyptus.  In addition, Cab Sauv's typical tastes and smells include cherries, black currant, tobacco, graphite (like pencil shavings), dark earth, and black pepper.  Sounds tasty!

Most of the wine we had last night was delicious.  The instructor included a couple of lower-quality wines for comparison and educational purposes, but overall we had an excellent flight of wine deliciousness.  My top two from the night were a wine from Pauillac, and a wine from Alexander Valley:

The 2008 Chateau Pontet-Canet from Pauillac is a predominantly Cab Sauv Bordeaux blend.  The wine is 30% Merlot with smaller percentages of other varietals, which changes the character of the wine and softens some of the angular structure of Cab Sauv by itself.  On the nose I found red berries, cherries, smoke, and a hint of minty herbs, and it was a little bit reserved - I wasn't sure what to expect on the palate and was bracing myself for possible sour cherries or bitter tea.  How pleasant to discover that the palate was bursting with mocha, toffee, sweet cherries, and dark earth with a refreshing hint of mint at the end.  The wine was mouth-filling and silky, probably from Merlot's influence, and well-balanced between juicy acidity and fine, grippy tannins from Cab Sauv's contribution.  Yum!  I scored it 94, and it retails for $129.

The 2007 Stonestreet West Ledge Cab Sauv from Alexander Valley, California, is 100% Cab Sauv and really shows it.  For me, the nose was a little bit shy at first (was it the glassware? was it because this was the 14th wine of the night?  we'll never know), but it smelled of sawdust, cherries, figs, and dark berries.  The palate was wonderfully bright, with lots of berries, herbs, cedar, tobacco and mocha, with a pleasant coconutty finish.  The tannins were super grippy and firm, but the wine had plenty of acidity, so my mouth was watering enough to counter the drying effect of the tannins.  This wine was massively full-bodied, and the instructor suggested that it could last through 50 years of cellaring.  While it might be a touch early to drink this - maybe 2017 would be a perfect time - it's very delicious and balanced; the tannins will round out with age, but they aren't overpowering now.  Num num num!  I scored this one 92, and it retails for $90.  Expensive tastes!  No big deal!

BBQ Season!

Whew! Now that the Honduras trip has been duly chronicled, it's time to get back into the present.  It's May!  And that means, BBQ time!  Drew and I set up the rooftop patio yesterday, and fired up the grill (or stoked the charcoal hibachi, as it were) for dinner.  On the menu: venison steaks (hunted by Emma's boyfriend, Matt) with roasted organic vegetables, and a tasty, easy-going merlot from the Pays de l'Aude.  

Grillin', just grillin' along

And for dessert, a homemade pie, using the last of the peaches from last season and a fresh mango.  My god, I do love baking pies.  Joy!  And welcome summer weather!

Above: Before
Right: After

Brigade to Honduras: Finale

So here we are, with our journey almost over, at the beginning of another beautiful day...

The highway to Tela: hot, humid jungle

Day 13.
We were up at 4:30 a.m. and drove all morning, only stopping in Comayagua to see Colleen off to the airport, have breakfast, and say goodbye to our Honduran crew.  Only Churri, Meza, and Tango came along with us to Tela.

The heat today is crushing.  We got out of the bus at a gas station around 11 a.m. to use the washrooms and get water, and getting out of the air conditioning was shocking.  The sun crashes down on you with roaring heat which bounces off the ground; standing in the sun feels like standing inside its very core.  Everyone gathered in shady spots.

Yashi and I on the Sherwood beach

We arrived in Tela around 1 p.m., which was perfect.  We went to a very delicious pizza place for lunch and drank beers, then hit the beach in front of our hotel.  We jumped in the huge rolling waves, in the warmest water I've been in outside of a bath.  The ocean was too warm to be refreshing, but that was amazing in itself.  It is paradise here.

The Hotel Sherwood is amazing.  The rooms are sparse and simple without feeling sterile like hotels at home do.  There are windows all along the beach-facing wall, from floor to ceiling.  The hotel lobby is dark with rich wood, and opens onto a massive covered patio, furnished with similar dark, solid wood.  It instantly felt like the kind of place people would travel to in the old days - the 1890's - to stay for weeks and become friends with the other vacationers.  I loved it right away - hanging out in the hotel was awesome.  We had breakfast and dinner included with our room fee, and the food was delicious.  We had garlic tilapia for dinner tonight (I wonder if it's from the lake we saw in the mountains?).

The Sherwood patio, from the lobby.  Glorious!

Day 14.
Most of the group decided to go on an excursion to Punta Sala, but Yashi, Jess, Emma, Joe, Sam, Gary, and I all stayed back.  This is our only day of relaxation - tomorrow we hit the airport early - so we just didn't feel like spending it travelling to another place.  Instead, Yashi, Jess, Emma and I went to another hotel with Meza and Tango, where for $45 US we got access to their amazing pool with a  swim-up bar, their private beach with volleyball nets, a buffet lunch, and unlimited drinks.

Oh, it was a day of true bacchanalia.  We arrived at the hotel at 10 a.m., and by 10:30 were already in the pool on our second drink.  The first was called a blue marlin, named after the hotel restaurant, and was almost entirely booze, so we quickly switched to pina coladas.

The beach with volleyball net
in the background. Beautiful.

We played 7 games of volleyball - Hondurans (Tango, Meza, and two guys from the hotel) vs. Canadians - and the Canadians won best of 7.  We took swims in the super-warm ocean to rinse the sand off, though it didn't do too much to cool us down.  We also jumped off a huge pier into deep, warm, blue salty water.  The day was incredibly hot and the sand was too hot to walk on, so the guys from the hotel wet the volleyball court down before each set for us - running to get the ball if it went out of bounds was agony!

We went for lunch around 2 and then stayed poolside.  I honestly don't know how many drinks I had; I think I had at least 7 pina coladas, interspersed with margaritas, a beer, and a touch of water.  Yashi insisted that she wasn't drunk at the hotel and kept telling us that we had to go out tonight! - and by the time we got back to the Sherwood she almost didn't make it down to dinner (but she did, because she's hardcore like that).  I showered at our hotel and got dressed, and went downstairs for another pina colada - sometimes if you stop you'll never get started again.

After dinner (shrimp - om nom!) a group of us went to a little bar down the street from the hotel.  The six of us from the day, plus Joe, Churri, Amanda, and Kat went down.  We started off slow, getting beers and sitting at a bar table, but before long tequila shots came out and we were all dancing on the patio.  Emma doesn't love dancing in situations like that, and decided to head in at some late point.  I had a great time dancing on the boardwalk with the others - there was actually no one else around at the bar or the other hotels because it's kind of the off-season here, so we had the whole strip to ourselves.  I danced with Churri and Meza to some sweet latin songs (which I shall have to download) and bounced along to the hip-hop beats that Kat and Joe lined up.  It was great.  The bar closed down around 12:45, so we moved down to the Sherwood and sat at the beach tables.  None of us really wanted to say goodnight, but eventually we did, since the specter of another early morning and long travel day was looming.

The hotel crew - pooling it.

Day 15.
I'm sitting in San Pedro Sula airport.  I feel really excited to get home, but really bummed to be leaving. A couple more days in Tela would have been ideal.  Churri, Meza, and Tango are on their way to meet another brigade - this time a building crew - and I strangely already miss their ever-vigilant presence, always just at the next table, or the end of the line-up, or in the other car.  It must be routine for them - just another group of Canadians to escort around, maybe - but for me there's a profound difference.  As much as it will be nice to have a break from being with all the people in this group 24/7, there's a natural human comfort in having a few people always around to do things with.  Tango and Meza were part of the core fun group of people on this trip, and are the only two I won't get to see, at least for a while.

I'm going to miss Honduras.  Right now I can see mountains blue and hazy in the distance.  It was so much work, but so much fun - completely exhausting and completely worthwhile in every way.  I will definitely do this again.  I will ask Drew if he wants to come as well - he would be an amazing person to have on a trip like this because he gets along with everyone and knows how to work hard with a smile on his face - no whining!

I had an incredible time here, and like all incredible times it hurts a bit to see it come to an end.  Returning to life-as-usual is always a bit difficult.  I can't even believe I live in the same world as my job - which I have to go to tomorrow.  I'd rather run away, around the world, and never stop.

Day 16.
Day 16?  Yep, day 16.  Our travel day did not go smoothly.  The American Airlines (boo!) flight into San Pedro Sula was an hour late, and that was the plane we were supposed to take out to Miami, so we ended up leaving an hour and a half late.  Since we only had 2 hours layover in Miami and had to go through the serious pain in the ass of US customs and immigration, we missed our g.d. connection.

The airline put all of us up in hotels, all at different places, and gave us dinner and breakfast vouchers.  I was at the Best Western with a few others - unfortunately Emma was in the Comfort Inn.  By the time we got to the hotel it was 10:30 at night and the hotel restaurant was closed (thanks for the voucher, d-bags!).  My first thought when I got to my room: 'thank the gods the hotel in Tela wasn't like this.'  It had that sterile, climate-controlled smell to it, windows sealed closed, everything very polished and American.  I wouldn't have traded our laid-back tropical Sherwood with its ample retro patio for one hundred manicured beach resorts!

Hard Rock Miami!  Woo!

Jess, Keith and I struck out on the town, and ended up going to the Miami Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, which turned out to be awesome.  We had a really delicious dinner and a fun hang out.  The server gave us the military discount because we had mentioned that we were part of a volunteer medical brigade, which was nice of her.  Keith treated, also very nice of him.

Drinking yet another delicious
margarita!

I had an amazing sleep, which is just one of the best things in the world I think.  I had my own room with an enormous king-sized bed and 12 pillows, but even still I would have been a million times happier to get home and go to my own bed.  On the plus side, I was supposed to to go work today and that would have been TERRIBLE.  On the down side, Drew was going to pick me up at the airport and I don't have keys to our apartment.... so I hope the landlord's home!

On the whole these past two travel days have been a total cluster from start to finish.  I'm ready to stop being in transit, but I'm already looking forward to the next time I can go back to Honduras.

Guest Post for FoHC

There's one outstanding installment of my Brigade to Honduras series of blog posts, and I hope to get to that this week.  In the meantime, if you're jonesing for more Honduras stories you could check out my guest post on the Friends of Honduran Children tumblr, here.  It's quite a bit different from the posts written here.

Promise I'll write that last post soon!