Wine for the Weekend

Canada Day is the one holiday of the year that I look forward to with genuine excitement.  Birthdays, Christmas, and the like are all wonderful occasions, but to gather a hundred good friends in the backyard and light up the sky with fireworks, now that is my idea of fun – Thank you to everyone who made the venture North of 9 to join us on July 1st!

In this edition of wine for the weekend we highlight the mineral driven potential of Italy’s white wine.  It is also the perfect time of the year to enjoy an infusion of bubbles.  To create that moment of effervescence, I have a very nice bottle of sparkling Vouvray for you.

In celebration of the EuroCup final, our Wine Spot from Benito is a taste of Spain.

As always, you pick up any of these selections for well under $20. 

Enjoy!

White

2010 Masi Masianco – Veneto, Italy

This is a tremendous value dry Italian white.  To say it is mineral driven would be an understatement; dry, crisp, and clean through to the finish.  Fantastic with shellfish or pasta salads and even better chilled on a hot summer day.

$14.95 (620773) LCBO General list (dry)

Sparkling

Brisebarre Sparkling Vouvray, Méthode Traditionelle, Brut – Loire, France

As an advocate of the Chenin Blanc grape I am only happy to recommend this sparkling example from the Garden of France.  Vouvray is a region in the province of Loire where the Chenin produces a wide range of wine styles including their marvellous but relatively unknown sparkling examples.  Made using the same traditional method as Champagne, sparkling Vouvray is every bit as tasty and sells for a fraction of the price.  Expect toasted biscuit notes and a hint of earthiness combined with citrus zest wrapped up in a dry but slightly honeyed finish. 

$18.95 (226241) Vintages (dry)

This weekend’s Wine Spot is courtesy of Benito, a friend in Valencia who would like you to raise a glass in celebration of Spain’s 4-0 victory last weekend in the EuroCup final against Italy.  Benito suggests either a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) or this food friendly blend of Tempranillo and Grenache paired with tapas on the patio.  I will happily raise a glass to that - Salud Benito!

RED GUITAR OLD VINE TEMPRANILLO GARNACHA
LCBO 54007 | 750 mL bottle

$13.05

~> I’d love to hear your thoughts on a food & wine pairing:  What is your favourite dish?  And which wine highlights the flavours of the food?  Send me a quick note with your thoughts and I’ll publish it in a future edition of Wine for the Weekend.