Brightness Falls From the Air

John Drew Munro's latest exhibition of works has its vernissage tonight at the Gésu, at 1200 rue de Bleury (514-861-4378) in Montreal.

If you ever admired the images of circles and dots you see as you scroll down the entries on my blog, you have been quietly paying tribute to the work of John Drew Munro. Over two years ago, I asked John if on these web pages I could upload and display his art (which in my mind is somehow so suggestive of the analysis of wine) and then redirect visitors to more information about him and his work by hyperlinking to it. He said yes. As a result, clicking on any of his images you see here will eventually lead you to details about his last exhibition, which was in Westmount in 2005.

But now, I am more than happy to point to his recent works. The image above is from his new series of encaustic paintings entitled Brightness Falls From the Air. It seems to maintain his emphasis on pattern-based abstraction and the fascinating reductive techniques he uses to practically carve reliefs from his canvasses.

But other people can probably describe better it than me -- I just want to make sure I check it out in person, sometime before April 16, when the exhibits are taken down. (But why risk missing it by waiting that long when you could meet the artist by attending the unveiling tonight?)

The works in this exhibition are the culmination of 18 months of productive labour, concerned with the manipulation of a few elements… dots, circles and lines. It is not the elements in their singularity that piqued my interest; but rather the systematic repetition and the production of constellations and their association with both science and nature. I would hope that my paintings are an intimate dialogue concerned with the transference of visual sensations. The manipulation of the elements can be used in myriad ways. It is my intent to deploy a range and distribute each motif according to my response to each particular work in progress…

I paint with encaustic (a mixture of beeswax, pigment and resin): it dries very quickly, and therefore must be worked in an expeditious manner. It is quite difficult but holds rewards inherent in its qualities such as luminosity and transparency. Depth can be achieved through layering. The paint is not brushed on; instead it is poured over the surface and the markings are incised with small tools and later filled and scraped back. The layers and markings can be numerous or few… this is dependent on the needs of the individual work… colours are minimal in order to empower the work through limitation.

The title was appropriated from James Joyce's novel "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." It is his descriptive power that so enticed me… and stimulated the development of this work.

- John Drew Munro

Phaneuf makes many changes in new guidebook on wine buying

What seems at first like a subtle change is nothing short of a revolution: The 2008 Phaneuf Le Guide du Vin has become a wine guide for SAQ specialty products.

In Quebec, the government agency SAQ regulates all wine distribution. At its most simple, it owns a catalog of products for retail sale that is divided in two: wine spécialités, harder to locate and stocked in lower numbers, and wine of the répertoire générale, which is cheaper, more generally distributed bottles that one can easily locate throughout the province.

(To give you a practical sense of this, it's the specialties from the SAQ I most often blog about, that Joe from Joe's Wine blogs about, and that Bill Zacharkiw of the Gazette most often writes about.)

For this 28th edition of his guide, which appeared in stores midweek, Phaneuf explains the new approach. The new focus on specialty wine serves to help the wine buyer navigate a more elaborate and far-ranging part of the SAQ catalog. That makes sense. But I think he's stopping short of saying it all -- he's not mentioning the huge amount of mostly pedestrian wine criticism (mine, example) oozing out from everywhere and that perhaps he wants to "specialize."

Or could Phaneuf actually be saying that the ubiquitous, often characterless cheap wine of the general repertory is just not worth reviewing? With many of the these bottles around the $10 mark and going down in price, does a consumer guide that costs three times that price really add much value to your buying power? Ten dollars in a liquor store is simply dispensable for most people and a three-star review is generally not required to try out a wine with that kind of price tag.

Not that Phaneuf is never reviewing cheap wine anymore. He picks his very favourite items from the general stock -- the bottles signaling the greatest value and the most accomplished wines with a budget price. Yet clearly, he is also announcing (without actually saying it) that the really interesting wine values are not in the general repertory but in the range of wines typically hovering around $15 to $30. This is not surprising. Jancis Robinson and many other have said the same thing.

But never before has Phaneuf so purposely focused outside the general repertory. Ultimately I think this has to make a difference in Quebeckers' buying habits. People who use this guide will slowly start raising the amount they spend on a bottle. As a result, they will buy more specialties. The SAQ will respond by listing more specialties their catalog, achieving greater depth and selection. Better wines will be more readily available in Quebec.

OTHER THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN THE NEW PHANEUF

Stemming from the new attention to far-ranging wine selection, Le Guide du Vin now has space uniquely devoted to:

• Austria


• British Columbia


• Corsica

These are good things! Just looking at the breadth and comprehensiveness now present in the guide makes me want to go to my calendar and assign each week in 2008 a different wine region. (I wrote that in hyperbole but now that it's out there I think I might really try that.)

Axed is a half-hearted and rarely updated section on wine and food pairings. In its place are expanded listings of wine-friendly restaurants in Montreal and beyond, which I like.

Also a nice move, a major change was made to the problematic page design adopted in last year's edition. In this update, designers appear to have taken all of my criticisms to heart: Inset wine labels feature wraparound text and the type itself is a huge improvement. The silly oversized font from 2007 has been relegated to the index, where its cartoon-ish size may actually be helpful since you're skimming for a lot of foreign names and long strings of numbers in their product codes. Improved typesetting throughout the book adds an extra line per page and around six extra characters per line, all while being highly legible. At about thirty pages more than last year's (and I like the new page stock) it's clear the 2008 guide has a lot more words. More words means more wine reviews and that means more consumer guidance and bang for your buck.

Perhaps Phaneuf is picking up the pace a bit because of the increased competition in the wine-expert industry. With those factors looming, he now introduces a collaborator, Nadia Fournier, to whom he seems to be passing the torch, or at least grooming for a hand-over.

I would love to be an intern working on the production of the Phaneuf book -- this thought came to me last year after criticizing it -- so it seems Ms. Fournier is now my official nemesis at six years my junior.

With that in mind, I now offer my very own published critiques of wines which now turn out to have been given top marks in 2008 (the famed Phaneuf Grappe d'Or rating). Remember, these are glowing reviews that I wrote up myself before the guide pronounced upon them:

• Conte Brandolini d'Adda Vistorta Grave Del Friuli Merlot 2004


• Isabel Estates Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

So you know Nadia, it's not rocket science.

Muscadet madness continues! Chateau de la Ragotière, SAQ tasting and complimentary oysters

This is my fourth consecutive Muscadet post and it still might not be the last.

Now that months with Rs are gearing up to full speed, oysters are increasingly in season. And where there are good oysters, there are of course Muscadets to be had, including at this event, which is tomorrow (Friday).



These two wines are both worth checking out and scooping up. We're talking seriously good values. My buddy Bill's got the word on the Ragotière Muscadet (looking forward to trying it myself for the first time) and I had the Vin de pays Ragotière Chardonnay this afternoon. It's a lovely varietal with real character and a light deft touch. Very soft and elegantly enticing with finesse not common for a VdP varietal at the $13 pricepoint.

Ragotière is welcome addition to my list of strong value wines from unheralded French designations. You can see blog labels like Unoaked European Wine, Organic Wine/Food, or many of the appellations found in the sidebar for more great values. Or search this site for "vin de pays" for an overall view of VdP bargains.

Alcohol on the rise again in Canada

But Quebec an anomoly due to SAQ strike

We interrupt Wine Label Week for an important announcement. Canadians have been labeled as increasingly likely to drink booze and they do it more regularly and in larger amounts too. This was determined by 2005 facts and figures on drinking supplied by the government, which in most places across the country also supplies the wine!

I gleaned the following from a French-only report on Vin Québec:

Alcoholic beverage sales continue to surge in Canada, says Statistics Canada. 357 million litres of wine and other potent potatables were sold in 2005, which is 4 per cent more than 2004. Plus, in 2005, total sales were up: $4.2 billion, compared to $3.9 billion in 2004.

In Quebec, the numbers did not increase due to a six-week strike at the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) provincial liquor corporation.

No numbers from 2006 have been spit out by the state yet.

Between 2000 and 2005, the average Canadian (15 and older) increased their spending on alcohol by 35 per cent to reach $161 per person. In Quebec, average spending was $228 per person (which is definitely more my style).

Which leads to the juicy stuff... How much booze did we drink, strike or no strike at the liquor store? In Quebec, the average person had 17.5 litres of alcohol, which is still the most in Canada.

In British Columbia, the number of litres totaled 15.7; 14.3 in Alberta; and only 12.5 in Ontario.

OK, there's nothing more to see here... Back to your labels, winos.

Car F#@% Day!

Yesterday was Car Free Day (I call it Car F*** Day). Either way, it was observed in many places across the globe, but unfortunately, nowhere along my usual -- read: wine-errand-related -- cycling routes. These are the routes that I am mostly likely to take on a daily basis.

Which is exactly why I found the above poster that's been floating around the Internets so interesting. You may have seen it.

This strip of Lafayette in New York City is among my most travelled when I'm in Manhattan. That giant wine store you see situated prominently on the corner with the big red flag that reads Astor is the reason why I frequent this stretch. (I realize most people may not have recognized it but it was the first thing that caught my eye when I saw this scene -- I've got a wino-track mind.)

The next thing that comes to my mind -- most likely what the ad designers wanted to elicit in the mind of any cyclist who sees the poster -- is that this accident is actually me on my bike having been cut off by a car f***.

In my case, it happened like this: The car f*** would've thought that the yellow light meant I was about to stop and so the car f*** edged out, as they so annoyingly do before they get a green. In fact, I was not stopping. I was not even slowing down. I was moving fast because I was going to make this light in order to hurry back into Astor Wines & Spirits to take back some corked wine that I had just bought and opened at the NoHo Star BYO resto at the corner of Bleeker a couple of blocks down the street.

God. It's bad enough interrupting dinner because you've got to make a wine run. Last thing you need is a car f*** getting in your face. This is why you need to wear a helmet.

At least I am a master at bike-spill recovery and injury-avoidance. And at least that corked bottle I was carrying in my knapsack put a hole in the car's windshield.

Towards a concensus on New Zealand Pinots: 40 wines in 40 minutes

The New Zealand Wine Fair came to Montreal two weeks ago at the height of my hosting duties for WBW 33. What does a good host do when he himself gets invited as a guest*? He attends, and drinks 40 wines in 40 minutes, takes a few photos and then gets back to work.

By the end of WBW 33 and its "Mid-priced wines of the Midi" theme, I claimed to have tasted 40 Languedoc-Roussillon wines in about 40 days. That was in addition to the "virtual tasting" of 40 wines submitted to this site by WBW 33 participants. At the New Zealand Wine Fair, my first wine expo, I figure I tasted 40 wines in 40 minutes. With diverting snacks and freshly-prepared food dishes, conversation with passionate Kiwi winemakers and some discussion and note-taking on the wines themselves with my tasting partner, I easily spent a couple of hours at the Fair, but it still felt like a whirlwind compared to WBW 33. What's more: it is not easy to taste that many wines in that little time. I was surprised and sympathetic for the Michel Phaneufs and Jancis Robinsons of the world.



Mathieu Turbide of Méchant Raisin is a local voice in wine and he posts a lot of tastings for his readers. Even though he writes in French, I'm sure even most Anglo oenophile can appreciate this recent round-up of rosés he did last week. It basically is everything in the SAQ catalog, rated and described for the rosé drinker in Quebec. If it's pink and on sale in this province, Mathieu's got it. (I love a good rosé guide for local shoppers -- last year it was the Caveman who launched a valiant effort.)

Anyway, it turns out that Mathieu spent time at the Fair too and posted on it. He titles it New Zealand Attacks and that's definitely how it felt for me going from table to table, cleansing and recleansing my palate, not ever spitting but sometimes dumping, getting the inevitable buzz though the serving sizes were thankfully modest.

Though I am an amateur and Mathieu is a professional, we selected the same three Pinots as the best in show. That is reassuring because though wine writers can wield expertise, not all of them necessarily allow you to identify with their palate, and that is what I value most in a wine review/wine reviewer.

The New Zealand Wine Fair's top Pinots are produced by some names that are worth retaining: Carrick, Churton (pictured at right above), and Mt Difficulty. I also noted Waitiri Creek, Waimea (Nelson) and the distinctive Bordeaux-like blends of Alpha Domus but apparently these names aren't available at the SAQ. Check out Mathieu's post for official availability, and vintage and descriptive notes.

What is also reassuring is that the best at the Fair are already in the SAQ catalog so apparently those SAQ buyers who are out there working so that we can drink well deserve some of the credit too, though every NZ producer I talked to would tell me that they were in the midst of on getting on SAQ shelves. I wouldn't hold my breath, unless New Zealand really is attacking, in which case, watch out.

Even though the Fair itself features more wine, both red and white, than you can appreciate (I had to focus on Pinot Noir for example), the producers involved were nothing more than a drop in the New Zealand wine-producing bucket.

Elsewhere, Vinography has reported on the Fair heading to San Francisco. It would be interesting to see which of the wines that our intrepid Alder tastes gets the thumbs-up.

* actually the guest was a friend of mine who works in translation -- he passed on the comp ticket to me when he could not attend... a big thank-you for that.

For the wino's little black book: Pullman, Bar à vin, 3424 Parc

To all my Montreal readers (and maybe even some of you who live elsewhere but might think of visiting Montreal soon):

Here's a serious wine bar recommendation for you. Pullman.

I wrote a restaurant review for Pullman today. It appears on Midnight Poutine, a local blog on Montreal living.

My focus for the Midnight Poutine piece was more on the food and the ambiance of the place, but if you look at this place from a wino perspective, it's a bit of wet dream. (To give you an idea of how wine-crazy Pullman is just take a gander at the enormous chandelier that hangs over the bar -- it's made entirely of wine glasses in suspension.)

It definitely comes highly recommended if you're into exploring the world of fine wine, organic wines, fortified wines, tasting menus, wine flights, and Riedel glasses (every type and size of glass they've ever made by the looks of it). For any and all of these things it's a real treat, point final.

But if you're looking for a place to meet up and grab a bite, then check out my review before diving in.

Hmmm... Weingolb and Pullman. Sounds like a law office.

(Now I've got a better idea of what barrister means.)

At home in one's glass

Michel Phaneuf and Cuvée réZin Nature - two big reasons why it's great to be in Quebec and drinking wine

As much as I enjoyed exploring New York, discovering new tastes and meeting new people, it is very nice to be back home.

November is always a great time for the wine lover in Montreal. For starters, Quebec's premier wine writer Michel Phaneuf publishes Le Guide du Vin -- more or less required reading for shoppers at the government-run provincial wine seller, SAQ. The book, which weighed in bigger than ever last fall for its 25th anniversary edition, is traditionally released in early November, offering value-based guidance on virtually all of SAQ's general repertory and very many of the spécialités found in select stores across the province.

The guide is indeed in French, but it is infinitely useful at a glance, as most better guides strive to be. Reviews are arranged intuitively by wine region and assessments come with more than descriptive notes. There are star ratings, rankings for wine evolution, and other symbology along with plenty of practical lists extracted for the reader into a simple and informational format. A little knowledge of French will help you maximize the usefulness of this book but pretty much everyone can refer to it and make themselves an informed purchase.

Usually, I favour descriptive notes on wine over any type of wine scoring, but Phaneuf's succinct reviews feature a five-star system that seems quite appropriate, especially when you consider his guide is conveying the SAQ repertoire within a pocketbook. Beyond that, I admire how he places the greatest emphasis on wine bargains and exceptional bottles (called Les Aubaines and Les Grappes d'or respectively). These worthy wines are endorsed as the cream of the crop without being ordered into a top one hundred or what have you.

Expect Le Guide du Vin 2007 in bookstores within a week's time.

The other notable wine event on the Montreal wine calendar is the annual fall launch of the Cuvée réZin. réZin is a local distributor and private importer that routinely comes out with its own "house wine" and then sells the stuff under its Importation Sauvage collection. These cuvées represent the Quebec agency in its unique, usually all-natural, refreshing approach to wine.

For 2005's edition, renowned Loire winemaker Thierry Puzelat has once again been recruited and the resulting wine was tasted last Wednesday at réZin's launch party. Not only was what I tasted delicious, it inspired me to play Michel Phaneuf -- if only en attendant -- while the wait for the 2007 Guide continues.

Cuvée réZin blanc J. Clermont-Beaudoin 2005 Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France - Vibrant and mineraly with a strong northern profile: grippy and grassy but floral, and with more depth than pucker. This is substantial support for the Loire as the greatest site for Sauvignon bar none. It's a bonus this wine is all natural. "1" (drink now). ****

"Look What’s Growing in Our Own Backyard"

Look What's Growing in Our Own Backyard is an exhaustive introduction to Quebec wine for local oenophiles. The cold climate here in Canada's largest province (Quebec is more than twice the size of Texas) demonstrates now more than ever that quality wine can be produced, especially in the regions south of Montreal and the St. Lawrence river.

And who better to present the situation than Montreal-area-based Bill Zacharkiw, once skeptical but now encouraged by the current situation. If you haven't read his report yet, I would say that it is required reading for both local wine drinkers in the region as well as curious explorers and enthusiasts of sustainable agriculture (I'm thinking primarily of how Quebec wine can eliminate the need for transportation, which I always thought was a given when enjoying a good bottle in this province).

Take a look at what Bill discovered, which was orginally published last month in the Gazette but now appears on Bill's blog. The piece is packed with vintner profiles, wine reviews and some history too. I think it's pretty fascinating...

• The Caveman's Wine Blog

Eric's Trip

When Eric went away for a week, he left me in charge of his farm-fresh organic food basket. It was filled with peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, leeks, and many other vegetables, as well as some fresh-cut herbs and fruit.

It was a plethora of delicious local produce so I wasted no time in organizing a vegetable-themed dinner with as many friends as I could find. The food and wine menu was:

Aperatif: Château Bonnet 2004 (Sauvignon Blanc)
Poached yellow and red tomatoes with oregano and savoury in olive oil
Sunflower seed and squash sourdough bread, served with soft cheese

Cauliflower and caper gravlax in dill and shallots

Choucroute Alsacienne
(simmered in and paired with Hugel Riesling 2004)

Zucchini Flan served with sweet hot peppers and cherry tomatoes
Sparr Réserve Pinot Gris 2004

Wawel cheesecake served with fresh cantalope and ground cherries

When we weren't savouring every morsel, we managed to take a few pictures...





Oh yes, those ground cherries are quite a trip. They come with their own paper-skinned packaging. That's what we call sustainable. Thanks Eric!

Zucchini Flan from Meg

Meg says this recipe originally appeared in an old copy of the New York Times food section (that's where I first saw a great recipe for my choucroute, but more on that in a later post). So I got the flan details from her site and then made sure I added the optional nutmeg as well as the leek I had on hand. These two additions add extra depth to the dish. Here's how I adapted the rest of the recipe.

3-4 medium zucchini
a leek, chopped into discs
3 cloves garlic
5 eggs
¼ cup sour cream, thinned with whole milk
salt, pepper
dash of nutmeg
sense of humour (just kidding)

You will need: a sauté pan, mixing bowls, a loaf pan, a baking dish large enough to put the loaf pan in, and a kettle of boiling water.

Slice the zucchini thinly. Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté it over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with salt. When zucchini releases some liquid, add the leek and the garlic, also sliced thinly, and reduce heat. Continue to toss until all the zucchini has softened and the bottom of the pan is covered with liquid. Take off heat and let cool. Cover it if you have half an hour to let it rest and reabsorb its juices.

When you’re ready to assemble the flan (about an hour and a half before you want to serve it) pre-heat oven to 350F and set a kettle of water to boil. Beat the eggs and sour cream/milk mixture lightly in a bowl with some salt and coarse pepper. Add a generous dash of nutmeg. Stir in and thoroughly coat the cooled vegetables (must be cool or else it will cook the eggs prematurely).

Set up the Bain Marie. Pour the mixture into a lightly buttered loaf pan. Place the loaf pan in the baking dish and place in oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the baking dish so that water reaches at least half way up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

The flan is done when the whole thing is set but still slightly jiggly but not runny in the very middle (check by gently shaking the loaf pan -- carefully, mind you, so as not to scald yourself with the hot water).

Remove the loaf pan from the Bain Marie when set and let the flan cool. When you are ready to serve, run a knife or spatula gently around the sides of the pan. Then put a serving plate on top of it and invert forcefully to un-mold the flan. Serve cut in thick slices.

Five Things to Eat in Montreal, Canada

I would never put eating on a list of things to do before I die. (Before 90 minutes passes is a more likely timeframe for that.)

Yet foodbloggers around the world are doing this very thing: enumerating memorable morsels for all to see. I got passed a meme that invited me to do the same. Before I even knew it I was biting...

1. Carré aux pommes from Première Moisson on Avenue Mont-Royal Wait till fall starts and you'll get local Montérégie apples sliced in a perfect pastry made with 100% real butter. Or don't wait. These squares are excellent year-round and are made on the premises seven days a week. They are $1.95 each. I think two bucks is amazing deal for something that will give your entire afternoon a lift.

2. Chocolat noir (84-99%) French dark chocolate, sometimes in its darkest forms referred to as noirisme, is easy to locate in Montreal, especially chocolate in the top 15 percentile (in terms of pure cocoa content). I wrote about Poulain's dark tasting chocolate in the past, under the guise of things to pair with robust red wines. Bottom line: take a taste of this, vino or no. Buy the Poulain Noir Ultime 86% from the pharmacy in the train station and pay just $2.99 for 100 grams, which is definitely more than one serving.

3. Caffè ArtJava's Macchiato A feast for the eyes and without a doubt the best espresso in the city. This item, which achieves a perfect balance between bitterness, consistency and richness, should certainly be at the top of any bean lover's list. Only $2 and change. I'd pay twice that for the sense of anticipation you get as your server brings you your latte or allongé -- the awesome foam designs that are melded into the crema run the gamut from flowers to hearts to the intricate kitty-cat shown here. You never know what you're gonna get. Find Caffè ArtJava in the Plateau Mont-Royal district or downtown adjacent to the McGill métro and university campus at a soon-to-be-opened location.

4. Alati-Caserta lemon ice I know so very little about Pasticceria Alati-Caserta. It is a frilly Italian pastry shop that faces one of Little Italy's most ornate churches. But the no-frills homemade lemon ice they serve up in the summer is a simple shot to the heart. It was the first thing that entered my mind of when I thought of Montreal tastes that transport you. Alati-Caserta is definitely a subject for further research on these pages. Until then, rush up to Danté Street before summer ends. Take a twoonie with you -- this treat cost me $2 even.

5. Tim Hortons Snack Pack of 10 Sour Cream Glazed Timbits Doughnut holes are not for foodies. And Tim Hortons is definitely no place for foodies. The service staff is routinely shocked when someone like me walks in. I ask for some Sour Cream Glazed, and when they announce they are all out, walk right back out the door. "Don't you want a coffee? An old fashioned timbit at least?" they shout out, startled that I would come in and leave empty-handed. Tim Hortons locations are strewn across the land, and it's true that my behaviour is considered quite odd at any of them, but take it from me, for best results (and handfuls of timbits), take a trip to Tim Hortons de l'Église in Verdun. Share the $1.50 price tag on the Snack Pack with a friend. After all, ten of these suckers is overkill. Three or four does the trick.

Wow! Montreal's best gastronomy for $10! Picking $2 treats was not exactly my aim. While it is a bit of a coincidence, I did have a bit of a method to my madness that encouraged bargain bites.

HOW I DETERMINED MY FIVE THINGS

In my mind, the goal of this online project is to encourage people not only to explore the world, but a world of flavours. Previous listings of "things to eat" operated more like polls or surveys. This one started by The Traveller's Lunchbox wants to act a bit more like a gourmand's guide to travel. So indeed, I considered it an offer to do my part for my city: to give readers a few good arguments for tasting what I'm tasting in Montreal, Canada.

I selected small delicacies -- finite and chartable tastes that hit your tastebuds and then leave you longing for more. But perhaps more important than being small, these picks are also pretty much constant and unchanging items, unlike a chef's dish, let's say, which may change from night to night or season to season. My treats, even with repeat business, have yet to disappoint.

By the way, The Foodblogger's Guide to the Globe does not actually require an invitation to participate. As a result, I'm not re-enacting the unfortunate chain mail aspect of the project by sending this to five other people. Chain mail is wretched. Read this and instantly consider yourself worthy!

Create your own list or add a comment below to record an idea on what needs to be eaten, in Montreal or beyond.

Farm-fresh food goes from bike to kitchen to dinner plate

Eric rode the bicycle, Gordon prepared the food, and I ate every last sweet seasonal morsel. For the love of God Frank Bruni, you're eating out much too often if you're foregoing this deliciously green fare for some sad August gratin!

We ate sun-dried tomato sausages, whole grain rice and ratatouille. The sausages were jammed-packed with flavourful basil and the perfectly cooked rice was dotted with peas, but only the vegetables in the ratatouille were actually from our local farm. But man, there were a lot in there: tomatoes, green zucchini, yellow zucchini (the flattened round type), onions, bell peppers, garlic, parsley and of course eggplant. It was so good the way Gordon cooked it. All the components were nicely caramelized, not mushy but just tender. I don't how he does it. I don't think anyone does.

If you're in the Montreal area, this kind of seasonal eating is available to you (minus Gordon's kitchen skills). André Samson of Farnham is our grower. Consult Équiterre for more details on their organic food baskets program.

By the way, it's a coincidence that my ratatouille was the last post on Weingolb. That dish was called Aubergine Continental -- a totally different recipe really -- so thankfully I get to avoid comparison.

The short list, presented by réZin

Lately, it's just been lists and more lists. While you wait to get your name on the list for the class action suit against the SAQ, the time is at hand to get your name on réZin's guest list.

Tomorrow, the private importer and supplier's agent known as réZin is opening its doors for its annual open house. A selection of their listed products will be available to taste and the $10 entrance fee goes towards any order you place that is $200 or more. But remember, this year is an RSVP event so they only ask that you contact them before showing up.

Alright, so enough with all the LISTS!! What is réZin? With Quebec's monopoly in place for wine sales, réZin is basically as close as it gets to a "Feel the Love" topic for Wine Blogging Wednesday (well I guess I'm a week too late to get mentioned for this one). So réZin is an agent, but not just any old agent. While it represents several products that the monopoly carries, the two guys that run the operation, Jean-Philippe Lefebvre and Éric Beaudoin have a personal interest in bringing quality organic wines onto the market. This job seems like a big one, but already réZin features more than 200 products. Lefebvre and Beaudoin offer a love of wine that is a needed in the marketplace right now. And Thursday evening, they are willing to prove it.

Besides a surprise, here's what is promised:

• Sancerre 2004 - G. Boulay


• Chapeau Melon 2004


• Vin de pays d'Oc sauvignon 2002 - Domaine la Madura


• Cuvées réZin 2004


• Morgon 2004 - M. Lapierre


• Gigondas 2001 - Domaine des Vins de Vienne


• Crozes-Hermitage - Domaine des Vins de Vienne


• Stump Jump red D'Arenberg 2004

(Okay, I swear that's the last list for long long time.)

I'm hoping to attend if at least to sample the Chapeau Melon, which was personally recommended to me by the venerable Caveman. Cheers!

Backwash
Taking another gander at réZin in light of the recent malfeasance at the SAQ has caused me pause. Some of the terms I have been using may not have been the best-chosen ones. I now understand, for instance, that though réZin may be the Quebec agent for any given wine supplier, the SAQ will still handle all the work regarding the supplier's contract: promotional activities, shipping and distribution, retail pricing, which naturally includes the price-fixing duties too. Well done SAQ.

Here's more in the way of clarification.

State-owned corporation: This is the best (and perhaps politest) way to describe what the SAQ (Société des Alcools du Québec) is. I have referred to it as a liquor board, which isn't necessarily wrong because the Quebec government appoints to it directors and yes, they do sit on a board. But mixed in there is the SAQ's "senior management" people who also help to establish strategies to run the joint, so corporation pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Government agency: Since réZin is an agent, I wondered whether I should turn around and call the SAQ an agency. Of course a government "agency" does not denote a collection of government "agents". Au contraire! Really a government agency just implies a division of the government, and if the SAQ is more of a corporation then really the agency involved in the situation is the Régie des Alcools, Courses et des Jeux (RACJ). This regulatory body is actually a branch of the government, unlike the SAQ. What's more, the RACJ refers to itself on its site as a big-B "Board" ... Whoa, sorry! Self-important much? I guess that's bureaucracy for you.

Cuvée réZin rouge - E. Excoffier 2004

Each year local distributor and private importer réZin adds one special red wine and special one white to their Importation Sauvage collection. These wines are christened as "les cuvées réZin" and they represent the Quebec agency in their unique, usually all-natural, refreshing approach to wine. For the 2004 vintages, réZin initiated a relationship with Loire winemaker Thierry Puzelat to produce two extraordinary table wines. They are table wines because the grapes are cultivated from various vineyards -- breaking the rules set out by appellation standards, but not necessarily the standards set out by the vintner. As the guys at réZin would explain it: these blends are without pretension, possessing an incredible equilibrium and character due to a fabrication free of system constraints.

A large crowd launched the cuvées last week at the Daylight Factory lounge and bar, a swanky place that matched the seductive crimson labels created by local artist Éliane Excoffier. (This yearly wine event has become twice as fun in recent years because it promises the unveiling of homegrown artistic talent in addition to the release of the imported cuvées.) Cuvée réZin rouge - E. Excoffier 2004 is an interesting mix of both northern and southern vineyards. It makes for a blend that surpasses the typical lightness of a Loire Cab Franc varietal [correction]. Hints of leather were surprisingly more prominent than you'd expect, observed my fellow drinker, a St-Émilion enthusiast. And it's in this way that good table wine goes about proving its merits.

The white cuvée, which is adorned with the work of Patrick St-Vincent, was bracing with lots of citrus notes but I'm sorry to say I hear it completely sold out in only a few days. See the website (in French) for online orders and more information (the "bientôt" on the order form suggests that it might not be too late to enjoy the white cuvée réZin).