JUNE 2021 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: IBI/REVEL JOPLIN
About: This wine comes from a vineyard in Lincoln, Ontario, planted in 1972. Marechal Foch was created in 1911 by Eugène Kuhlmann in France by crossing European and American grapevines resulting in one of the world’s most successful hybrids. Canada’s vine-pull scheme incentivizes ripping up hybrids and replanting with more prestigious cultivars. Fortunately, thanks to Marechal Foch’s winter hardiness (-32ºC), some old vines remain. The grapes were fermented for thirteen days in stainless steel before being pressed off. It was bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2.
Taste: It is rustic and untamed with aromas of black raspberry, nettle, saucisson sec, dried rose petals, ginseng, and damp earth. The palate is confounding, with tense tannins, invigorating acidity, low alcohol, yet wildly saturated flavour. It careens recklessly through the raspberry bushes at midnight - naked, pricked by thorns, scuffed knees, howling at the moon. You’ll find further flavours of plum skin, mission fig, cinders, cannabis, black trumpet mushroom, blueberry, and graphite.
Pairing: This wine is perfect for rituals, summoning nature spirits at twilight. Suggested pairings include lamb roasted over a symbolic fire paired with berries you foraged. If you can find some morels, fiddleheads, or wild sage while wandering the woods in a psychedelic fog, they’d be a fantastic addition to your meal. The most appropriate drinking vessel is a chalice carved from wood or the bones of your enemies.
WINE TWO: DAYDREAMER AMELIA
About: This cuvée is a co-fermentation of Syrah (90%) and Viognier (10%) planted on decomposed granite on the Naramata Bench. Farmed without systemic pesticides and herbicides, the mature vines face west, benefitting from warm late afternoon sunshine. After primary fermentation in small open-top vats, the wine is basket-pressed off into French oak barrique for an eleven-month élevage. It is bottled with less than 50ppm total sulphur. 3.95 pH, 6.2 g/L TA.
Taste: This wine is medium purple in the glass. The nose is confident and muscular, sure of itself and grounded. You’ll find aromas of blackberry, plum skins, cedar, black peppercorns, tobacco, gunpowder, and peach pit. The palate is saturated with flavour; ripe mouth-coating tannins add structure, while acidity provides the jolt. It has a savoury edge, making it gastronomic and toothsome. It is full but not oppressive. Further flavours of lichen, crushed granite, fig, fresh rose, cherry, and star anise come through on the finish.
Pairing: Marcus, Daydreamer’s proprietor and winemaker is Australian. To celebrate his heritage, I want to focus on an Australian culinary icon: Meat Pies. Sure, basically every commonwealth country has its own rendition, but few are as boisterously proud as the Australians. Every year, they celebrate this savoury treat at ‘The Great Aussie Pie Competition”, a contest I am unusually qualified to judge. We’d opt for the classic with this particular wine: a simple crust filled with minced meat and rich gravy. Where things get contentious is whether or not you should top your pie with a ketchup-like tomato sauce. We’ll let you be the judge.
(We just discovered the West Aussie Pie Company in Calgary through our research; we strongly recommend ordering one from them! Tag us/them in your Instagram pairing post!)
WINE THREE: MEINKLANG GRÜNER VELTLINER
About: This wine is made entirely from Grüner Veltliner biodynamically grown on sandy loam. The gently sloped site is east of the Neusiedlersee and benefits from the drying and warming influence of the Pannonian winds. The grapes are gently pressed into stainless steel, where they ferment and age on lees for a short period. The wine goes through a loose filter before being bottled.
Taste: This wine is pale lemon-green in the glass. The nose is spry and nimble, dancing on air, floating on a spring breeze. It has aromas of snap peas, gooseberry, sweetgrass, pear flesh, spruce tips, lime leaf, and apple blossom. The palate is dry with spark-like acidity, refreshing you with every sip. With such low alcohol, it’s perilously drinkable. You’ll find further flavours of green mango, sencha, green fig, button mushroom, and nectarine.
Pairing: I love eating seasonally. Every year, when the asparagus comes out, I go wild. I’ll continue gorging myself on them until I’m essentially sweating green. I like to keep my preparations simple: sautéed with a bit of butter/olive oil or grilled over the coals. At most, I’ll top them with fried garlic, or togarashi, or some shaved cheese, or labneh and sumac, or white anchovies… just kidding, I’ll eat them every way you can think of. Grüner Veltliner is one of the rare grape varieties that neutralizes asparagus’ bitterness, making it a classic pairing.