Out of shape at 33

Out of shape at 33 is one of those targeted ads you see on Facebook. They are insidious, but ultimately they are an acceptable trade-off for many Facebookers (you reveal your birth date so your friends can get birthday reminders in order to buy you a drink; you suffer thereafter a torrent of tanned, toned abdominal muscles that call you out by your age, peppering you with reproach about your wanning fitness the day after your birthday).

But they are only annoying as they are effective. Internet incantations of laziness prompted me to post this, after all.

Finally, after six weeks of inactivity and silence, I am posting. Finally, after a marked increase in bottles of calorie-rich wine (that just so happened to match my sudden hike in vacation time, which always carries with it wanning physical activity)!

And, sure enough, this post comes after a time away in which I celebrated my 33rd birthday. So that's me who's out of shape. There's no contest: I really am out of shape at 33. At the very least, this blog space is a testament to it.

SEXY, STREAMLINED AND SAVVY IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

I bring up Facebook mostly because I'm on it and I'm on it a lot. (Oh, don't act surprised. You're on there too. So is Steve De Long of De Long's Wine Moment. So is David McDuff of McDuff's Food and Wine Trail.)

Need more proof of how much I'm on there (other than the sad abs-in-my-face story)? Here:
MY NEW WINE BLOG ON FACEBOOK

Yes, I've been somewhat busy with a new foray for Weingolb set in an exciting collaborative environment: it's called the Facebook page.

Here's what a Facebook page brings:

• public access to everyone on the Internet (notice that I didn't say it was a Facebook profile!) so it's not restricted to registered Facebook members (though Facebookers do get the added benefits of an improved social networking experience, which is something that has entirely changed the raison d'être of wineblogging for me -- thanks especially to BrooklynGuy, Bill "the Caveman" Zacharkiw and Joe from Joe's Wine


• a multi-purpose wall for writing comments, wine reviews or comments on wine reviews (or...?)


• a discussion board for enhanced development of forum topics


• the easiest photo and video upload tool on the planet -- accessible to all, whether you are a reader, administrator, weindoktor or plonkpupil


• built-in RSS and news feed features for reliably keeping track of updates


• event creation -- though it's a bit stiff and I admit could be better -- and the usual web 2.0 bells and whistles


• automatic web tracking and metrics (bye-bye slow-loading Site Meter)

But most of all, the biggest thing it brings is:

• convenience and ease of access... since I'm already always on Facebook!

Ooops. I've forgotten a bit about wineblogging. It has been a long, long time since I last wine blogged. I meant to say... Here's what my Facebook page brings:

• A Great White Gaillac


• The Best Rasteau in the World


• A '97 Brunello


• A Maury for digestion

And those were just wines suitable for the celebration of my 33rd birthday. Plenty of other everyday wines are documented too.

• Lorieux's Thélème Chinon


• Lorieux's Mauguerets Bourgeuil -- in fact a Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil to be exact, called Les Mauguerets-La Contrie


• all those Pinot Noirs that Joe and I tasted at our 05 Champys tasting (already reported by Joe in this Joe's Wine post)

I'm about to post reviews on Château Candastre, another French southwest wine from Gaillac, this time red, and a Limoux sparkling wine from Laurens.

Drink up!

Thanks to all the clever bloggers I have continued to read during my slow-down and switch. They have kept me inspired. I may never publish notes once a day as I did when I started this site. But I am hopeful that this move could ultimately be better than the blogging of my early days anyway.

So I hope you will visit me over here on my re-launched page.

Advance TV exclusive on last year's Champagne controversy!

   
The Jay-Z Cristal feud from last summer gets rehashed on tomorrow's episode of 30 Rock. You heard here first. And I got the news from, of all places, my rabbit-eared 15-inch television set, which aired, for some strange reason, this episode called "The Source Awards" tonight, February 28. I pick up local Canadian stations instead of actual NBC affiliates, which plan to show it tomorrow, March 1, during the network's usual Thursday line-up.

It's so rare that little old me gets an early scoop on anything wine-related that this naturally had me running off to blog as the credits began to roll. And so now, almost a full 24 hours before its American airing, I'm posting a spoiler. Yay! Spoiler!

Of course the sitcom's treatment is hardly news. It just satirizes the situation that Cristal-less Jay-Z created when he used a formidable boycott effort to stand up to a certain Champagne house's distain. Louis Roederer, which owns the Cristal brand, had insinuated that the image of their product was being hijacked through repeated use in hip hop videos.

This is a comedic springboard for 30 Rock. It introduces 10,000 cases of Donaghy Estates sparkling wine which immediately turns out to be severely undrinkable. Jack Donaghy, the likable big boss character played by Alec Baldwin, is in possession of the Long Island cuvées and obviously wants to unload the stuff. As luck would have it, hip hop showbiz personality Tracy Morgan seems to appreciate the wretched wine, downing it amid looks of shock and disbelief from those around him. So it isn't long until Donaghy Estates starts an ambitious marketing drive targeting the urban African American demographic. But hip-hop b-boy Tracy is the only brother who can stomach it. Mayhem ensues; guns go off. Racial tensions, rather than wine gone bad, become the crux of the wine debacle.

Which is exactly why this news item originally made headlines. It was about race, not about spoiled wine, or spoiling yourself with $600 wine, as the case may be.

As it turns out, some teasers of "The Source Awards" are available online. But they are only snippets and not the juicy parts when hip hop culture and haut Frenchiness clash. In fact, in the YouTube clip below you can only see a hint of the bottle of bubbly on Liz Lemon's desk (Liz Lemon is played by series creator Tina Fey, ex-SNL) and in another shot Jack Donaghy cradles a flute. The joke in this segment doesn't involve wine or rap though. It's about Condoleeza Rice and a surname that makes an unfortunate racial pun.

It's a very funny show, even if this isn't the best episode I've seen. Its witty handling of the Cristal to-do is definitely worth checking out. If you're not Canadian and have to wait for it, you can still catch it, but not until 9:30 pm ET. Instead of fretting about the U.S. lag, read up on the whole wine dispute from last summer, also courtesy of NBC.

WBW #28 Festive Sparklers: Monmousseau Cuvée J.M. Mousseux 2002 and Mumm Cuvée Brut Prestige NV

For this month's tasting theme, Brenda from Culinary Fool asked for entries on sparkling wine, i.e. NOT Champagne, since wines bearing the official Champagne appellation was tackled earlier this fall.

She's no fool. In fact, Culinary Fool is replete with great information pertaining to sparkling wine, and Brenda's WBW theme is backed up with a five-part debriefing that's instructive and well-organized. So by all means, spend some time with the many useful directions the links above will take you.

Brenda also asked for specific details on the sparklers that participants open, including a practical categorization she's set up for us called Party Sparkler, Special Sparkler or Dud. Since my participation stemmed from an actual, fairly festive get-together I had on the weekend, hitting the Special category was the aim. To make sure they were Special, my guests and I went with known quantities. We got bottles we knew were worthy of the occasion and they did not disappoint. (They also could fit into another WBW category called "Mmmmm... those yummy cuvées have lots of M's" but I digress...)

The sparkling wines we had were: Monmousseau Cuvée J.M. Touraine Mousseux 2002 and Mumm Cuvée Napa Brut Prestige NV (NV stands for non-vintage though "Napa Valley" would be applicable here). The repetitious M's (I count seven) were incidental, but these bottles sure were yummmmmmmy. Okay, enough word play.

First up was the 2002 J.M. Monmousseau. Not only it is a reliable brand, its affordable price makes it crossover categories from Special to Party. It was packed with fruit and refreshment. One guest gravitated to it because it was so cooling and refreshing. It was great with salmon and spinach mousse.

A Chenin Blanc sparkling wine from Touraine in the Loire Valley in France.

It was followed by the non-vintage Mumm, which is a Champagne House, but here operating out of California's Napa Valley, far far away from Champagne. It was quite different from the first bottle, thought they both were made using the traditional method. From the moment we poured out the Mumm, we noticed the light salmon colour. And it tasted creamier, yeastier, and generally less fruit-driven but thoroughly delicious.

A Pinots-Chardonnay blend sparkling wine from the Napa Valley in California. PHOTOS: CATHY CHAMPAGNE

Obviously grape composition set these sparklers apart and gave them quite different profiles. The Chenin Blanc was dry and citrusy, the Pinot Noir-Pinot Meunier-Chardonnay was rich and nutty. I've never done a blind tasting on sparkling wine before, but I am sure anyone could distinguish these two blind.

Montrichard, Loir & Cher, France. 12%. Rutherford, California, U.S.A. 12.5%.

Get your best bubbly and more on sale until Oct 1: Lanson Black Label Brut

It's always nice when someone hears your complaints.

Yesterday I was eager to link to Wine Blogging Wednesday #25 - Champagne at Becks & Posh yet I regretted that I had decided not to fork over the money for a bottle of Champagne of my own.

I did however manage in my last post to talk in passing about the Lanson Black Label Brut I saved up for last year. We uncorked it on Easter. I had recently returned from Paris with some of the local delicacies including goose liver pâté, which I knew I wanted to serve on toasted brioche bread and then accompany it all with a choice sparkling wine. I ended up splurging on real Champagne. The pairing was fantastic -- everyone loved it -- and we eased our way into a glorious Easter Sunday dinner.

I think the pairing of foie gras and bubbly is among the very best because it is both a complement and a contrast. The texture created by the tiny soft boules harmonizes with the fluffy creaminess of the pâté while the flavour profiles of the two provide a nice zippy contrast. The yeasty brioche under the foie gras then proceeds to echo the toasty notes of the wine. It really is pairing perfection.

Almost nothing beats Champagne. History, legacy, elegance. And you never forget the occasion when you drink it. That's because it's a celebratory drink and rare ritual rolled into one, at least for me. Or anyone who lives in Quebec. Which brings me back to my complaint again...

The price of Champagne in Quebec is high. Too high. You can't get a bottle until you've handed over $45, minimum. Ouch. I'm already reading much more affordable prices in the reports of WBW 25 participants. I have to say I'm a bit jealous these folks can get a fine bottle for $25 and I can't.

Because beyond the grand ideas of ceremony and celebration in Champagne, there's some real interesting gustatory experiences going on that I'm quite keen on sampling. Champagne aficionados describe three main styles for these wines. The styles are usually are divided along the same lines that separate the grandes familles des vins de Champagne.

1 OF 3: WHICH CHAMPAGNE STYLE ARE YOU?

Michel Phaneuf writes that the first style of Champagne is complex and generous and these are embodied by the wines of Krug, Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot and Roederer.

Secondly, there are the fine, dense, heightened experiences of Champagnes made by Pol Roger, Charles Heidsieck, Bruno Paillard, Taittinger, Piper-Heidsieck, Salon and Ruinart.

Finally, the third grouping, and the only style I have ever tasted, is the light, floral and easy-drinking style of Champagne, typified by Pommery, Perrier Jouet, Mumm, Moët & Chandon, Lanson, Nicolas Feuillatte, Duval Leroy, Jacquesson, Laurent Perrier, and De Saint Gall.

Ah, if only I had the means to celebrate all the styles! Grumble, grumble. But wait. Today I find my complaints have been answered, if only in the form of a $5 rebate on Lanson's Black Label Champagne -- my go-to brand.

Yes, it's true. Inexplicably, SAQ, the state corporation that sells wines and spirits across Quebec, has come out just today with one of their grander campaigns, dubbed the Foire aux vin français, and it includes a sale on Lanson Champagne. What power and influence Weingolb must have! If that influential edge is still sharp, I won't stop now: here some other wines on sale now that you should buy. Go!

WHAT TO BUY AT THE FRENCH WINE SALE

• 2005 Ch. Roquetaillade La Grange blanc, save $1.10


• 2004 Domaine du Lys rouge, save $1.10


• 2004 Riesling Hugel, save $2


• 2001 Sirius Bordeaux rouge, save $1

Wine's fine line

There's a fine line between a blog about wine and a blog about picnics. Collin at See, Sip, Taste, Hear has made me realize this: it's only March and already he's bringing his wine out into the great outdoors for all to see. Now that's blogging commitment!

So without further ado, it's photo of the day time. Pictured above is another brisk Is-it-spring-yet? picnic scene. It's Spring in Prague (not Prague Spring) and the year is 2004. This was one of the biggest picnics I've ever been to. There was lots of wine on hand (literally, everyone was holding a wine glass -- can you spot all 5 fizzily filled flutes in the image above?).

DISCOVERING CZECH AND SLOVAKIAN WINES

My trip to the Czech Republic was an wine eye-opener: The country opened my eyes when I opened its wines. Local products are quite good. Moravia, to the east of Prague, is a full-fledged wine-producing region. Their Modrý Portugal is a bizarrely named but delicious wine reminiscent of Cabernet Franc though lighter and fruitier. Then of course there is the local Sekt, which is the sparkling wine that dots the scene above. One doesn't travel to Eastern Europe expecting to be beguiled by the wine. It happened anyway. Great bubbly!

So yes, in case you hadn't guessed, the couple captured in the centre of this photo are shown celebrating their marriage vows. I was indeed attending a wedding and between the ceremony and the reception there was this amazing luncheon overlooking the city from atop the Vyšehrad castle grounds. Among the most memorable picnics ever. Where friends + food + wine = total wonder & bliss.

That's my working equation for picnics for now. I think it covers all the crucial elements. In my mind, it's pretty darn close to the equation for enjoying wine... Like I said it's a fine line.

My office coworkers really know how to make a toast

There's no shame in uncorking your bubbly by the book and these two party-goers have clearly done this before.

A few colleagues of mine threw a top-shelf wedding party for our director last week. It was a wonderful potluck preceded by an even more wonderful toast. Sometimes, when the urge to get the party started is strong, things go awry. The toast is rushed, the speeches are flubbed, or worst of all, the champagne cork goes through the roof and no one gets any fizzy in their cup because it's all over the floor. Not at this party. Here we see a textbook demonstration of how to correctly open a bottle of champagne. (Restaurant À l'Os might want to take notes.)

1. Do hold the bottle obliquely (cradle it in your arm). Don't just open it on a table. Avoid any perpendicular angles created by uncorking it on a desktop or a computer workstation.


2. Don't point the bottle at anyone. And for heaven's sakes, if you are lining up your glasses getting ready to taste the goods, be aware of yourself: don't interfere with the person opening the bottle and if that person is standing directly above you, duck! (Everyone in the immediate area of the bottle should be cautious and careful. Contents are under pressure!)

Once your sparkling wine is open you can let the party start and forget all your worries.

As instructive as this photo is, I have to say that there's something to its composition that I really like. Things kind of radiate out wildly from the razzle-dazzle of the bright white flash in the centre of the photo, but beyond this foreground there's a strong almost soothing symmetry forming out of the office-space architecture. The oxymoron that is the phrase "office party" is perfectly captured in this moment (And I love how the image within the image is captured in the screen of the ditigal camera at bottom right). Best of all for winebloggers, the release of the cork from the champagne has been clearly depicted as merely nudged out of place -- gently coaxed out and emitting the faintest whiff of a noise, like that of a granny passing wind during high tea, or so said the sound that professionals strive for.

As for yesterday's quote that led to this post: "The only time it's okay to open champagne at room temperature is when the room temperature is 35 degrees"... I'm not sure who said this. What is for certain is that you make absolutely sure to measure those degrees in Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Popping a Krug in the steam room is never a good idea.

"The only time it's okay to open champagne at room temperature is when the room temperature is 35 degrees"

Who said that? Never mind who... What's going on here? Answer here.

Chilled to the bone (Gelée jusqu’à l’os)

What do you do when you are in a fancy restaurant and your waiter opens your Crémant de Bourgogne all over your table, sending spurts of fizzy wine up and around you like a champion Daytona 500 racecar driver? Question his professionalism perhaps. And then ask the sommelier about how he can compensate you. It's a different story in a BYOW (Bring Your Own Wine) resto, like at Montreal's À l'os, for instance. In a place like that, you are your own sommelier. That means you are responsible for how the wine has been stored and prepared for serving. So when the server asks to uncork for you the sparkling wine that's sitting on your table he should really be offered danger pay. You've brought along this pressurized weapon with you; he can have no idea what he's getting himself into... SPLOOOSH!

A loss at À l'os.

We should have seen it coming but we didn't. That's because À l'os has a reputation for being the wine enthusiast's premier BYO location. They want you to think that you can trust leaving it all up to them.

In some of Montreal's BYO venues, you might cringe when you see your eager server manhandling your Vouvray. You might wonder what on the menu is as sophisticated as the vintage you bought with you for dinner. Not so, at À l'os. But wait. Why is the are puddle of bubbly on their floor? Why did we almost lose a third of our prized wine? Just moments after stepping into the place for first time, I felt a bit betrayed. This isn't what the scene is supposed to be like in here.

My friends nearest to where our waiter attempted to get a handle on our Prestige Moingeon Brut Crémant de Bourgogne, claim the bottle must've been volatile -- it was prepared for opening correctly and the technique the waiter used was sound: bottle cradled at an oblique angle, stopper gently nudged out of position, rendering only a faint release of air. By the time I looked over to the action, the bottle was perpendicular on the table and starting to froth uncontrollably. What a way to start the evening, I thought. And to boot, after all the commotion cleared, our table reset and the mess mopped up, we toasted our sparkling to find that it was already a shade too warm. DOIIING!

Light bulb! On a frigid night when it was minus 20 degrees Celsius (without the windchill factor), everything had seemed so thoroughly chilled to the bone. How could anything, let alone the wine that had been chilling in the fridge for several hours, get into the place with any warmth at all? I mean, picture it: There were the four of us, who had clamoured into the bistro rubbing our hands together; our drafty table, which was situated a little too close to an external door; the bottle of sparkling wine, which was icy cold to the touch.

But not cold enough. That heavy glass of the champagne bottle was hiding some wine that was above 7 degrees Celsius. And it was not happy! Violent, explosive, and too warm. On this night, who could've known? Not our waiter, who professionally handled the situation, and not us, still applying friction on the dinner napkins laid on our laps in a quest for warmth. But will we know better for next time, lest our brains freeze solid.

Let this be a lesson:

"Make Sure the Champagne is Cold ... Start off by chilling the bottle. The best serving temperature is around 45° Fahrenheit, that would be about 7° Celsius. If you put your hand on the bottle it should feel very cold not just cool. It's important to have a chilled liquid. Champagne that is too warm will foam and spill when you uncork the bottle. You'll lose some of the bubbly and make a mess." www.chiff.com/a/open-champagne.htm

"Temperature variations should be avoided and the bottles should not be moved. Before serving Champagne or Sparkling wine they need to be chilled. Not only will the champagne taste better cool, it will also foam less when opened. Ideally four to five hours of refrigeration is needed. Once opened it should be put on ice." www.thatsthespirit.com/en/drinks/articles/champagne.asp

"The procedure of opening a bottle of sparkling wine ... It is essential to keep the bottle oblique during the entire operation in order to prevent any possible spillage of wine because of the internal pressure. However this may happen in case the bottle is being opened when it is kept in vertical position or when its temperature is too warm or in case the bottle was energetically shaken." www.diwinetaste.com/dwt/en2002116.php

Peller Estates makes my favourite wine of the year

Put the little-known Peller Estates Cuvée Niagara Brut at the top of your year-end best-of list. And then put it at the top of your shopping list for tomorrow. You can get a case of it for not much over $100 (and that is Canadian dollars). You could try to hang on to your purchase and open a bottle each month of 2006 but I warn that you might sooner pop open the entire case before the clock strikes twelve this final weekend of 2005. It's that good. With a bargain price, I have no qualms naming it my top choice of the year.

This sparkling wine made predominantly of Chardonnay grapes is on shelves at the LCBO or at the one hundred or so kiosks of Vineyards Estate Wines which are found throughout Southern Ontario. If you are in Niagara-on-the-Lake, you can also pick it up at Wine Country Vintners (scroll down) on Queen Street; go online to Wine Country at Home if you are a bit further afield and want it delivered (sorry, you must have an Ontario address for shipping). In an odd twist, you can find the bottle virtually everywhere in the Niagara region except the Peller Estates Winery. It is a confusing move of Peller's not to stock it. Instead, their image-generating sparkling wine called Cristalle, $30, with its dosage of icewine is what the winery chooses to showcase in their boutique and during their tours. I don't know why -- their modest Brut is simply better.

When I conducted a quick poll tonight at dinner no one could guess that this calibre of wine is sold for as little as it is. Tasters' comments were all positive, both when I served it alone and then with Paris toasts with cheese and chives. My parents agreed that it was fruity, crisp and nice and refreshing going down. My sister remarked on its bouquet -- alluring, herbal and enriched with a gamut of pleasing flavours, none of which bordered on bitter. Her boyfriend had the final say. It was the length of its lingering finish that made the cuvée so delicious. And what makes it number 1 in my books is $9.95 (that's about $8.55 to folks from south of the border).