Joie wines
About a year ago, a good girlfriend of mine, Mela, and I went to this place called the Salt Tasting Room in Gastown. It's like this little slice of heaven in a not-so-fantastic neighbourhood. The entrance of the place is in this alley that you clutch your purse in, thinking that you'll see some guy shooting up behind a dumpster. Then you open the door to the restaurant and you're transported to some other dimension. Long wooden tables, brick walls and this huge chalkboard advertising all the types of food you can pair your wine with. What's super cool? No ovens!
Website: http://www.salttastingroom.com/
We decided to have a flight of wines with food (3 types of wines, paired with 3 types of food). One of the wines we tried was "Joie: A Noble Blend". Our feedback? Simply AMAZING. It's a sweeter wine with flavours of apple. The harmony of flavours blew our minds away and it instantly ranked as my favourite wine.
I had to taste for myself if this winery was a one-wine hit place, or if all their wines were like this. Unfortunately their wines aren't sold in the BC Liquor stores (only speciality wine stores) so buying this wine is serious business for me! Plus on average their wines are about $25 which totally breaks my $20 max rule. But you know what? I broke my rules and haven't regretted it one bit. Totally worth every single penny they sell the wine for.
I had a sample of "Joie Rose" at the downtown Joey's restaurant location (which has the most selection of wines by the glass in Vancouver, by the way). Again, a sweeter wine with some floral notes to it and again, 10 out of 10 from me on this wine. I think I've bought about 5 bottles since.
My older brother, Chris, bought me the Riseling that we enjoyed the other night at our family dinner. Again, thumbs up from everyone all around. I still rank it above some of the other wines I've tried but out of all the Joie wines I've tried, it probably places 3rd.
I can't wait to try all their other types since I still haven't tried their un-oaked chardonnay and their Muscat which is sold out for 2008.
They're clearly not a one-hit wine wonder. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single type of wine they've made and others don't disagree. Recently they won TWO Lieutenant Governor General’s Awards of Excellence for their wines. Not bad considering only 12 wines get this award every year!!!
Here's a link to their website: http://www.joie.ca/2008_joie_vintage_spec_sheet.htm
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Easy Peasy Cheesecakes
Easy Peasy Cheesecakes
A good friend of mine, Julie, was recently married. In celebration of this marriage, her aunts threw her this insane bridal shower/stagette complete with feather boas, tiaras, champagne and of course: good food.
Now I just recently admitted to myself that I was lactose intolerant (after the last reaction caused me to almost crap my pants). So I've really tried to watch what I eat. However, that night one of her aunts made these super cute cheesecakes. They were individual sized in little cupcake holders and after popping a couple of lactaid, I have to admit: it was worth it! They were light, fluffy and perfectly portioned.
Here's the easy peasy recipe:
1 package Mr. Christy's Nilla wafers
2 packages Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients with a beater and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Top with whatever topping you want (e.g. blackberries with blueberry coulis, etc).
I tried this recipe at a work party last week and they were a total hit. I did modify the recipe a little bit by using 3 eggs (to try and achieve super fluffiness) and I measured out 1 cup of sugar instead. I wasn't able to eat them that night but feedback was very positive.
Notes about making this though (thanks to my colleagues for helping me out with this): While mixing the ingredients in the Kitchenaid mixer, there were lumps of cream cheese. Try to beat it as much as possible to get rid of the lumps. A few leftover lumps are ok since they'll melt when you bake them. Also, after mixing the resulting mixture will be very liquidy, but it solidifes after the baking process.
A good friend of mine, Julie, was recently married. In celebration of this marriage, her aunts threw her this insane bridal shower/stagette complete with feather boas, tiaras, champagne and of course: good food.
Now I just recently admitted to myself that I was lactose intolerant (after the last reaction caused me to almost crap my pants). So I've really tried to watch what I eat. However, that night one of her aunts made these super cute cheesecakes. They were individual sized in little cupcake holders and after popping a couple of lactaid, I have to admit: it was worth it! They were light, fluffy and perfectly portioned.
Here's the easy peasy recipe:
1 package Mr. Christy's Nilla wafers
2 packages Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients with a beater and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Top with whatever topping you want (e.g. blackberries with blueberry coulis, etc).
I tried this recipe at a work party last week and they were a total hit. I did modify the recipe a little bit by using 3 eggs (to try and achieve super fluffiness) and I measured out 1 cup of sugar instead. I wasn't able to eat them that night but feedback was very positive.
Notes about making this though (thanks to my colleagues for helping me out with this): While mixing the ingredients in the Kitchenaid mixer, there were lumps of cream cheese. Try to beat it as much as possible to get rid of the lumps. A few leftover lumps are ok since they'll melt when you bake them. Also, after mixing the resulting mixture will be very liquidy, but it solidifes after the baking process.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Winzertanz: Gustav Adolf Schmitt
Nica found this German white for me one day in the liquor store. I always lingered around the German whites because honestly, I think they make the best whites in the world. Cheap, cheerful and just the right amount of sweetness. This wine is also sold in the 2 litre format which is even better for under $15!!! (obviously you can see why I like this wine so much). The only place I've found it in the 2 litre format though, it the BC liquor store on 41st and Cambie. I pick up a couple bottles everytime I go visit my parents.
Anyway, solid 9 out of 10 from me on this one. Easy to drink is an understatement. I can finish off a whole 2 litre bottle in one night and I can't even drink that much water in one sitting. Sometimes if you're drunk enough, it only tastes like apple juice. Clean start, clean finish, sweeter wine and great chilled. The price is worth it as an everyday wine.
Calona Vineyards: Sovereign Opal 2007
My friend Julie did it again. She's found another great white! Wine, that is.
This is a VQA wine, and when you first smell it, you fall in love. It has hints of peach and apple and this... I don't know how to explain it, it just SMELLS good. It tastes like it smells too! (Unlike vanilla extract and durian). It's slightly sweet, but not TOO sweet. When it hits the back of your tongue before you swallow, it's pleasant and not cringingly tart.
The bottle is elegant (although honestly it should be what's inside that counts) but overall, nice packaging and a wine that deserves it. It's about $13 and can be found in any BC Liquor store. I've already bought 3 bottles and I'm not sure how long they're going to last. It's a perfect summer wine! 9.5 out of 10.
Renne's Latke's
I love my Food and Wine magazine subscription (I guess I love a lot of food things, don't I?) Anyway, here is a recipe I tried for potato latke's:
3 1/2 pounds baking potatoes; peeled and halved
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Canola oil, for frying
applesauce and sour cream for serving (I only used the sour cream!)
1. shred the potato and onion. Squeeze it dry to try and get all the moisture out.
2. Stir in flour, eggs, dill, salt, and baking powder.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil until simmering. Spoon 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into oil, pressing to slightly flatten. Fry over moderate heat, turning once until the latke's are golden and crisp on both sides (about 7 minutes)
4. Drain the latkes on a paper towel and serve!
3 1/2 pounds baking potatoes; peeled and halved
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Canola oil, for frying
applesauce and sour cream for serving (I only used the sour cream!)
1. shred the potato and onion. Squeeze it dry to try and get all the moisture out.
2. Stir in flour, eggs, dill, salt, and baking powder.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil until simmering. Spoon 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into oil, pressing to slightly flatten. Fry over moderate heat, turning once until the latke's are golden and crisp on both sides (about 7 minutes)
4. Drain the latkes on a paper towel and serve!
Wolf Blass: 2006 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
My friend Naz brought over this bottle of red wine. Can't remember if I liked it or not! I drank it all so I can only figure that I did...I'm giving it an 8 out of 10.
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