Tag: Emilia-Romagna

Pairings

On Filipino Food and Wine Pairings: an Experiment

Posted on by Josh

I never thought it would feel this quick, but I’ve spent almost 10 years in the wine industry, accompanied by all types of grapey gripes. They range from folks who think red wines are served too warm (which is a perfectly reasonable thought that I also vibe with), to those who decry Chardonnay as if it was Satan manifested into a liquid. Some are oddly offended by the slightest hint of sugar to the point where anything remotely sweeter than battery acid is considered a flaw. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum (even when said yum yucks other yums), but damn. Let’s loosen our sommelier pins just a smidgen.

Onto what Lagrein-ds my gears: I fucking hate pairing suggestions that generalize off-dry wines into super generic categories for particular cuisines, like this line: “try this German Riesling with Asian food”.… read more

Tasting

Valtellina, this is a lip sync for your life we need to see your lips

Posted on by Josh

As a west coast Canadian native, it slightly hurt to miss the GuildSomm seminar on Ontario wines after having snagged a ticket to slightly make up for missing last year’s Canada-themed Vancouver International Wine Festival. I also missed the first half of the Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna seminar for this week’s Italian Wine Scholar class because of things. I’m missing some marks, y’all. I didn’t get to cry my tears of Canadian Riesling, but I did get to cry tears of Lambrusco. I’m also not afraid of disrupting the middle of class to pour myself a glass of Franciacorta. Bitch, I paid for this course. Give me that fuckin’ yeast.

The week also involved a day of packing and moving to a new apartment.… read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting

2016 was questionable, so here are 20 wines to pair with 2017

Posted on by Josh

I ended a past blog post – themed: a review of 2015 – with the words “Welcome, 2016. I will cut you.” Though I feel like I did personally make some substantial dents in this crunchy titanium can of a year, the general consensus seems to be that we created a blueprint for goodness, but then said blueprint was stolen, lit on fire, and then puréed with an unwashed beige-coloured towel embroidered with the words “~fUcK yOu~”, styled in Comic Sans MS.

I won’t fill this post with hopes for 2017 so that I don’t build myself a bigger bowl of disappointment, but instead will list wines that remind me of an upwards trend of hope, a vague connection to the vapid consolation of Pantone’s Color of the Year, a fresh and flora-driven yellow-green named “Greenery“.… read more

Quaffing · Tasting

The good, the bad, and the bubbly: 9 bottles to bathe in

Posted on by Josh

Okay – not literally, obviously, but I’m waiting for Gwyneth Paltrow’s new beauty regime that involves using a specific wines as exfoliants and face mask ingredients. Chardonnay from Puligny-Montrachet? Fuck that, she would say, with the flick of a finger. Chassagne-Montrachet is where it’s at. Or blanc de blancs Champagne, only from the 1996 vintage. And, of course, cucumber slices. Maybe an avocado.

Anyways, here’s a random collection of bub. I’ve finally tried a legit sparkling Nebbiolo after having joked about it for so long, and then there’s also a birth year bottle of Dom Pérignon, a stunningly electric sparkling British Columbian Riesling, and a collection of other cool and uncool bottles. It’s become suddenly warm in Vancouver, and I broke the summer hiking seal on the last day of March.… read more

Tasting

“The Fizzyology of Lambrusco”

Posted on by Josh

There’s something about Lambrusco I’m not totally drawn to, despite its joyful distinctive sparkling red incarnation (or more infrequently, rosé, and even more infrequently, white). It might be because, at face value, its red form seems like a combination of competing textures, like bubble wrap made out of velvet, or carbonated lube. I once wrote an in-class essay on how Lambrusco – and other sparkling reds, really – are going to be the next ~big thing~ after Prosecco, because something something Millennials something 80s revival something something. Like Christina Aguilera sampling a-ha. Indeed, the Lambrusco cycle is apparently rotating back to the side of popularity.

“Trust me. Just try it with food,” is the everlasting Lambrusco (Lambruscan?) promise that I never trusted until this seminar, because there’s something about the enigmatic wine that adds some weird dimension to the meats and cheeses we had, something that’s hard to put into words.… read more

WSET Diploma

Haim – “Falling”: NV Lini 910 “Labrusca” Lambrusco

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep purple, hint of bubbles
Nose: clean, youthful, pronounced intensity, hint of dark chocolate, dark berry jam, blueberries, blackberries, earth, bramble, cassis, grapey, apple, hint herbal
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, delicate mousse, med alcohol, low soft tannin, med length, med+ flavour intensity, bramble, dark berry jam, apple, blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrant
All in all: Good quality: the brightly acidic wine provides a balance to the intense dark berry flavours which are simple and only have a medium length on the palate. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Non-Vintage Sparkling Shiraz from Australia.
Is really: Mid-priced Non-Vintage Lambrusco from Italy.

NV Lini 910 "Lambrusca" Lambrusco[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 2]

I’m not super familiar with the sparkling red that is Lambrusco.… read more