The Date and Time:
The Event: annual
The Venue: MidEastro Yorkville
The Target Audience: WWCC members and their guests.
The Availability/Catalogue: all of the dinner wines were drawn from members' cellars, most are older vintages. There were some reception wines from Bottega in
The Quote/Background: There was a range of Prosecco from Bottega, as well as some white wines from
The Wines: we were all supposed to bring one bottle a person, and we were seated at tables of six, so I got to taste a few different wines.
**** BEST -- Four Stars (
-
-Burrowing Owl Meritage 2008 Okanagan
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (
-Nautilus
-Astrolabe Pinot Gris 2010
-
-Lailey Chardonnay 2008 VQA
-Pasquale Alma Mater 2010 New Zeal (pinot gris/gewurztraminer/riesling)
-Wither Hills Barangis Sauvignon Blanc 2010
-Tyrone Estate DeVine Shiraz 2007 Organic
-Panther Creek Reserve Petite Syrah 2007
*** GOOD -- Three Stars (
-Chakana Reserve Malbec 2008
-
-Citto Volpaia 2008 Toscano
-Château Pipeau 2005
-Etim Old vine Grenache 2005
-Domaine Pierre Fil Cuvée Elesyces 2007
The Food: it was really very stunning. Here was the Menu
Canapes Served at the Bar with Reception wines:
olive oil and garlic, tomato spread, tapenade – all with black olive bread.
Canapé Served at the Table:
mini babaganoush, hummus, matbuha, fried eggplant
Served with black olive bread
1st Course [excellent, best plate of the evening]
Black truffle carpaccio
12 week aged Wagyu tenderloin rolled on arugula, Parmiggiano Reggiano, balsamic and black truffle oil on a layer of pomegranate honey reduction
2nd Course
Grilled calamari
Served on lime root vegetable cream and ox tail caviar lentil pot au feu
Cranberry sorbet
3rd Course
4oz Sea-bream Couscous, Tripoli-style couscous
OR
8oz New York Steak [I was so full, I took half my steak home with me]
On black truffle mashed potatoes, sea asparagus & baked bone marrow in balsamic & chestnut demi-glace
4th Course
Homemade pastilla
Stuffed with dry fruit, dark chocolate ganache with coconut semifreddo and garnished with mint and white chocolate coulis
Coffees
The Downside: so many wines to sample, and I had forgotten my spittoon.
The Upside: great friends, great wines, great food.
The Contact Person: spuritt@sympatico.ca
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 93
2 comments:
Dean,
You missed out on the Willow Springs Testa Chardonnay 2007. Much better than the other whites presented that evening (in my humble opinion).
The Pasquale Alma Mater co-fermented, dry white blend at the Annual Wine Writers' Circle Holiday Dinner would have been fanastic with the seafood, and the lime root flavours on the menu especially.. it also has great affinity with pale coloured mushrooms. There's more on the wines of philosophy professor Dr Antonio Pasquale on web at www.pasquale.co.nz. The company's Ontario agent, Dan Barrett also has more and has tasted quite a bit of the range.(DB Wine & Spirits / Frontier Wine Merchants, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - dan.barrett@rogers.com ph 416.720.9463.
The Pinot Noir has taken gold medals and Parker rates most of the winery's recent releases around 90 points. Very much boutique quantities though.
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