An Inverted Cocktail Hour

Another great night has past within The Tasting Room agenda. This month we invited a good friend and bartender to create a few cocktails the dinner. The idea came about that we would use the cocktail hour to taste wines and dinner paired with cocktails.

We chose French wines because we could and we had a few thins cellared that we "had" to open. Pairing 3 reds and 3 whites with an assortement of charcuterie and cheeses from local shops was fantastic. Ratineau French Cuisine provided the dinner with goose prosuito, duck prosuitto, rabbit rillette, dried beef and chorizo. All of them were not only delicious and well made, but had a great impact on the wines. The cheeses were provided by Les Goumands Fine Foods which paired with the wines as well.

The 6 wines were poured for all the guests to discover for themselves what paired well together. A great way to stir up conversation as well as. A Champagne Cocktail refresher was serveed in between the courses to cleanse the palate and transition between wine and spirit.

The meal was prepared according to the cocktails created, having the cocktails as the main narrative. The Kalamata Martini was a little thougher to pair than expected due to he high salt content, but the pine tree mojito and the carrot and ginger martini showed very well with the dishes.

Another great night with great people! Can't wait till the next one

An Inverted Cocktail Hour

Reception

 Marnier Pineau Des Charentes

 

Wine Hour

Santenay 1er Cru Gravieres Pinot Noir 2006, bougogne

Chinon Domaine Bernard Baudry Cabernet Franc 2009, Vallee Loire

Bouchard Pere et Fils Chassagne Montrachet Chardonnay 2009, Bourgogne

Le Moulin Blanquette de Limoux, Limoux

Rolly Gassman Riesling 2009, Alsace

Chateau Villemaurine Grand Cru 2000, St Emilion

 

Ratineau charcuterie and Les Gourmands cheeses

A la Table

Champagne Cocktail

                                                                     Dinner

Kalamata Olive Martini

Parmesan Ravioli with Frantoio Olive Oil

 

Pine Tree Mojito

Seared Black Cod

With Citrus Zest Glaze, mango Salsa and quinoa salad

 

Carrot and Ginger Martini

Braised Beef Shoulder

With Root Puree and Gingered Green Beans

 

 

Dereks Dirty 30

Another dinner has come and past! Just wanted to let you know what we did for a good friend of mines 30th birthday. Myself and his finance coluded to make this a great surprise for him with close friends. She wanted a "man" meal for him, so I chose to slow cook every course to maximise flavor and to produce intensely flavored, savoury dishes.

Reception

Vieille Provision Saison Dupont Belgium Strong Beer

Jacobs Creek Pinot Noir Chardonnay Sparkling, Australia

Tomato Tartar

On Seared Baguette

Tawse Sketches Chardonnay 2009, Ontario

Foie Gras and Mushroom Ragout

On Open Ravioli

J Lhor Chardonnay 2010, California

Guinness Braised Ribs

With Frites

Old Engine Oil Porter, Scotland

Bone in Rib Eye

With Blackberry Reduction

Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, Italy

Au Jus Beef Chuck

With Brie Whipped Potatoes and Beet Demi Glace

McMannis Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, California

Mascarpone Cheesecake

With Dolce di Lichee Sauce

Badia a Coltibuono Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico 2005, Italy

 

 

 

 

The parings worked beautifully and even the lovely ladies that attended enjoyed the Porter with the ribs which was a delightful surprise.

 

All in all a great night with great people!

The Tasting Room

After having repeated wine tastings with friends ad having different themes every now and again, it dawned on me that perhaps it would be even better to start a supper club of sorts. Dubbed The Tasting Room, for the simple fact that tasting is what we would do, had its first debut mid January with a small groupd of friends.

Going for the theme of Canadian Whites and Italin Reds, we chose the wines first and paired the foods afterwards alway concentrating the wine as the primary profile. Concentrating on the wines profile allows the taster to have the whole experience of the wine while having the food enhance the tastes.

Below is the menu that we enjoyed that night which coupled with a room full of great conversations made it a memorable evening.

Reception

Peller Estate Ice Cuvee Methode Classic VQA, Ontario

 

Benjamin Bridge Small Plot Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Nova Scotia

Scallop Ceviche

Thirty Bench Riesling VQA 2011, Ontario

Pork Dumplings with Spicy Citrus Hoisin Sauce

Tawse Sketches Chardonnay 2011, Ontario

Duo of Oyster on the Half Shell and Green Apple Oyster Rockafeller

Sartori Colli Berci Merlot 2010, Veneto

Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, Tuscany

Venison with Dark Cherry Wine Reduction

Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2004, Tuscany

Butter Seared Baguette topped with Compte

Querciabella Camarotino Toscano IGT 2007, Tuscany

Bone in Rib Eye with Brandy and Plum Reduction

Antinori Guado al Tasso 2007, Tuscany

Beef Bourguignon

Sartori Rerum Recioto Della Valpolicella 2005, Veneto

Almond Chocolate Chip with Oak Aged Maple syrup and Caramel Covered Raspberrie

 

Looking foward to the next tasting

Cheers