Last Saturday I assembled my neighbours, I mean focus group,  together to find out which Port is more popular- the Selection Speciale Blackberry or Selection Speciale Chocolate Raspberry. My hat goes off to my focus group as they did not jump to any conclusions… they tasted, compared, tasted again, and compared some more. They understood the vital importance of the task I had charged them with.

Like this- but in a glass!

After testing of several bottles the votes were tallied.

And the winner was….

Both!

I know it sounds like a bit of a cop-out but my tasters enjoyed both styles. Sure, some liked the Chocolate Raspberry more than the Blackberry and vice versa- but that was it. Varying degrees of enjoyment. Nobody said they didn’t enjoy either and I’m not surprised as they both won Gold Medals at the 2011 Winemaker Magazine International Amateur Wine Competition!

By the way- ALL my volunteers are excited to evaluate the Chocolate Hazelnut and Chocolate strawberry ports that I will be making this year. It will be a very busy tasting session next year with four deliscous Ports!

Cheers,

Bruce, Manager (Wine Sense- Pembina Hwy)

P.S. They Specialty Port kits start arriving the week of September 5th. Most are spoken for but you can still reserve if you’re quick. Otherwise stop by your favourite Wine Sense location and pick one up before they’re gone.

Filed under: New Products, Wine by WineSense

Plenty has been written about the Selection International French Gamay Nouveau, and obviously the best thing about Gamay Nouveau is that it’s drinkable immediately. Like most people I have trouble keeping up with my winemaking and as a result I don’t always age my wines as long as I should.

Last year’s Gamay Nouveau gave me the opportunity to drink a great wine but also it kept my hands off the wines that I prefer to age. I’m really looking forward to this year’s Gamay- bright purple/pink colour and bursting with an amazing array of fruit aromas- extremely drinkable!

So if you want to give some of your favourite wines a little more time to age- make a French Gamay Nouveau and enjoy it immediately, while your other wines sit.

And don’t forget the great parties!

à votre santé,

Filed under: Wine by WineSense

While on a phone call to about my up coming cruise I got to talking to one of the cruise line’s sommeliers. The topic of wine temps came up. When asked about the wine temps for red and white this is the response I got… ‘Service temperatures are vital to wine appreciation and enjoyment’!

The Sommelier said they generally serve their light simple inexpensive wines at 8 degrees C to 13 degrees C, most between 10 and 13 degrees C and fine full bodied white wines between 14-16 degrees C.

The better the quality of the wine ,the warmer it can be. The poorer quality       the wine the more it gains by cooling. So the majority of white wines should be chilled- and not served ice cold.

The average fridge temp is approx. 5C so white wine should reach the proper serving temp in about 2-3 hours. It is better to over do it then to under do it since wine will heat to room temperature very quickly.

Something to keep in mind when cooling your wine- in an ice bucket it will cool down 1 degrees F per minute. In the fridge on the other hand it will take about 7-8 minutes to achieve a drop of 1 degree F. So if you’re caught short it’s faster in an ice bucket.

So for simplicity sake the easiest way to serve your wine at the proper temperature is to:

RED WINE:

Place in the fridge for for 1/2 hour before serving.

WHITE WINE:

Can stay in the fridge but remove it 1/2 hour before you serve it.

Cheers/Salut 
Karen (Wine Sense- Brandon)

Filed under: General by WineSense

One of the most popular wines at my neighbourhood barbecues is the 2009 Limited Edition Australian Petit Verdot. Everyone likes it because of its balance of blackberry and black current fruitiness and spice. It’s smooth tannins match perfectly with a good ribeye or t-bone steak. Because of its popularity and my dwindling supply- I’ve been hesitant to bring out too many bottles lately.

Of course one of the reasons Limited Edition wines are so popular is that they are… Limited. Unfortunately that’s the one drawback- you can really enjoy a Limited Edition wine and may never see it again (better buy two!). Once in a while though Winexpert is able to secure a long term source of raw materials for a previous Limited Edition wine.

And they’ve done it again! Winexpert is releasing an Australian Petit Verdot in its new Selection International crushed grapeskin line (experience enhance body, fuller mouth-feel, softer tannins and richer colour). At the end of August I will be able to replenish my cellar with Australian Petit Verdot.

My neighbours will be so happy.

Cheers,

Bruce, Manager (Wine Sense- Pembina Hwy)

Filed under: New Products, Wine by WineSense