With all of the American high school drama and college rivalries that we saw on TV which left something to be desired in real life for us Canadians (but that I no longer crave for particular reasons), there were some moments of tension between some local schools when I was a kid. There might’ve been the school labeled as the “artsy” one, or there might’ve been that one school who thought they were hot shit because they had that one famous actor who was in that one show for a hot second. Compared to a lot of my friends’ parents, my mom and dad immigrated to Canada a little earlier in their lives, so they ended up attending high school in Vancouver and became familiar with its networks and stereotypes.… read more
Tag: Sherry
On Filipino Food and Wine Pairings: an Experiment
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
Jerez-ted Development
In my early 20s, I once brought a bottle of Lustau’s “East India Solera” Sherry to a house party – and to sincerely enjoy it while sharing recent revelations on the tipple rather than for its elevated alcohol. I’ve slowly started to bring less and less esoteric things to these types of shindigs and my choices have devolved from cool sherries to anonymous six-packs.
Stumbling upon Lustau’s Certified Sherry Wine Specialist course, I couldn’t not awaken a category I’ve put on hold, especially after a recent hoo-ha at work involving a Manzanilla that everyone hated but which I gladly paired with a Saturday morning American Horror Story binge. Within the past few years, the fortified wines from the southwestern corner of Spain have shed their reputation for drinks that only grandmas consume (and no seminar on sherry is complete without any mention of this), and they’ve graduated from unfashionable status to hipster status, and with newer energy flowing through their soleras.… read more
#no: Brights “74” Apera
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med- blood orange?, legs
Nose: clean?, low intensity, youthful?, nothing – faint scents of nuts gently macerated in rubbing alcohol if you really tried
Mouth: medium-sweet, alcohol, slightly nutty, cough syrup, med body, Halls, low acid, med length, med+ flavour intensity
All in all: No.
This was repulsive and we tasted it for educational purposes. The classmate to my left thought it was hilarious that I was writing a tasting note because it was that horrid, and I really thought it wouldn’t be.
The wine was a strange colour between pink and pale brown. The nose seemed to have faint ghostly aromas of the slightly nutty and alcoholic aftermath that were probably low-quality grapes destined for high-yielding “sherry” production.… read more
Bodily fluids of Bacchus: Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximénez Montila-Moriles
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, deep brown, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, prune, fig, treacle, sultana, raisin, cola
Mouth: luscious, full body, medium fortification, med- acid, med+ intensity, prune, molasses, brown sugar, sultana, fig, treacle, raisin, med+ length
All in all: Outstanding quality: the wine has some form of balance despite the luscious nature, and the wine is intense and concentrated without letting the sugar shine over the complex prune and treacly flavour components. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
Holy unctuousness. If Bacchus ejaculated, the result would be this exact Pedro Ximénez, which would swimmingly land onto a delicious 2-scoop island of vanilla ice cream. And I’m not going to act like I offended anyone with that comparison, because it seems to me that Sherry isn’t doing so well in the global market anyways – so I’m sure I’ve attracted at least one freak with that sentence, and at least I’m helping the Sherry market.… read more
Cheesy Facebook posts: Harvey’s Bristol Cream
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, deep amber, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, cola, fig, nuts, spice, browned butter
Mouth: sweet, full-bodied, med fortification, med- acid, med intensity, cola, fig, hint nuts, sweet spice, med length, brown sugar, molasses
All in all: (Acceptable to) Good quality: though there is some intense character, there isn’t enough complexity or acid to balance out the sweetness, nor is there much character on the finish. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
You know the type. Like the faux-sepia pictures of two Converse-clad feet facing each other, with one pair tiptoeing for what is obviously a kiss, and there’s a shitty “Love is patient”-esque quote on the front.… read more
“Home” – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Lustau “Don Nuño” Solera Reserva Dry Oloroso
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med+ amber, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, grilled almonds, burnt almonds, sweet spice, caramel, mineral, baked dough, pastry
Mouth: dry, full-bodied, high fortification, med acid, pronounced intensity, grilled nuts, dough, pastry, fleshiness, minerality, long finish, almond, brown sugar, salted caramel
All in all: Outstanding quality: this Oloroso sherry has a pronounced savoury complexity that reigns over the palate with a nutty sceptre. The wine also isn’t without awesome concentration and length. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
I don’t know why some nutty sherries seem to evoke nostalgia to me. Perhaps its the intentionally oxidized and hence “aged” sort of character, or perhaps its the fact that these types of wines are the stereotypical grandma-standard of beverages.… read more
“Blue Rondo à la Turk” – Dave Brubeck: Gonzalez Byass “Viña AB” Amontillado Seco
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med+ gold, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, grilled almond, burnt almond, nut dust, brine, earth, mineral, yeast, dough, spice, brandy, hint of caramel, olive
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med acid, medium fortification, pronounced flavour intensity, brine, grilled almond, burnt almond, dough, salted almond, long length, savoury
All in all: Very good quality: This Amontillado is exuberant and concentrated with poised balance and a lasting finish. The aromas and flavours have a moderately complex focussed thread. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
Dear lord. This was the one I had to read out my notes for. Thankfully, you can almost always get away with reporting some form of “nuts” with sherry – then you have to work your way from there.… read more
40-year-old trying to be 18: Croft Original Cream Sherry
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, aldehyde, brine, blanched almonds, green apple, hint fruit
Mouth: medium-dry, med body, med acid, med fortification, med- flavour intensity, aldehyde, slight nuttiness, blanched almonds, med- length, apple, honey
All in all: (Acceptable to) Good quality: there isn’t enough intensity of flavour to balance out the sweetness nor is there much character on the finish, but the wine has some level of concentration despite the low fortification. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
Nothing against 40-year-olds trying to feel young. But this has a bit of that simple dry blanched almond nuttiness attempting to round itself out and add drinkability factor with sweetness from what I’d guess is sweet Pedro Ximénez wine.… read more
Somewhere in-between “summer hipster barbecue shindig” and “sunny debonair yacht party”: Bodegas Hidalgo “Pastrana” Manzanilla Pasada
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med gold, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, blanched almonds, yeast, hint citrus, hint green apple, yogurt, brine, savoury, mushroom
Mouth: dry, med- body, med acid, low level of fortification, med intensity, salted almond, yeast, yogurt, med+ finish, savoury
All in all: Very good quality: the pungent aldehydic character is balanced, concentrated, and refreshing. The moderate complexity and hints to green fruit persist on the finish. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]
Manzanilla is an interesting subsection of Fino sherry, where wines are aged on the coast at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where higher humidity yet a cooler maritime weather encourages thicker flor growth. This results in even more pungent fresh and briny aldehydic flavours than your typical Fino.… read more