Wine Recap: November 2019

Its the November Wine Recap! November saw us having a week off from work on a little staycation and we managed to pick up some nice wines and then chilled out a lot just watching movies and relaxing a little so this time has a few more wines that we were able to try! Let’s check it out!

Domaine Le Grand Saint-Charles Duo de Frontenac 2017

Producer: Domaine Le Grand Saint-Charles
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

Le Grand Saint-Charles is a winery that I want to get behind so much because of its creative wine combinations. This one mixes two Frontenacs together: Frontenac Gris and Frontenac. We’re not exactly a huge fan of either of these wines but we do always like to try new mixes to hopefully have one that surprises us. This one actually was pretty alright compared to the other white wine varieties that we’ve tried from Le Grand Saint-Charles. Its not quite as acidic or extra-dry. This one was rather delicate and light. It still was leaning onto the semi-dry taste palette but there was also a well-enough balance to make it enjoyable.

Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling 2016

Producer: Inniskillin Wines Inc.
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

Inniksillin is a winery that is pretty well-known. They have some fantastic ice ciders and my husband has been wanting to try out the wines, so here we are giving the Late Autumn Riesling a try. As expected, the safe area of Riesling didn’t disappoint at all. It was a pleasant one and rather rich in flavor because of the Late Autumn element that actually gives it a more reserve sort of status. This one is definitely in the fruity and sweet taste tag and one that is very easy to like a lot.

Le Grand Ballon Val de Loire Chardonnay

Producer: Sarl Joel Delaunay
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Centre-Ouest, France
Taste Tag: Delicate and Light

From my memory, this is the second time that we’ve tried a wine from Val de Loire. French wines have so many territories and each have their distinctive elements and taste that its truly hard to remember all of it. I did remember the last one that we tried from Val de Loire was more on the dry side and that applies to Le Grand Ballon’s Chardonnay as well. Its more of  semi-dry taste with has a bit of light-bodied elements and fruity elements as well. The dryness does hit harder on the first sip but it does have a refreshing taste down the throat.

Slow Press Chardonnay Monterey County

Producer: The Wine Group
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Location: Monterey, California, United States
Taste Tag: Aromatic and Mellow

I’m not going to lie that my initial draw to Slow Press was its classy bottle label and the color choice. It had this oaked and aged wine sort of look to it plus it had the aromatic and mellow taste tag which always has this surprisingly sophisticated taste to it. Slow Press is actually quite good. It is a little dry but it has a nice finish, just like most of the wines in this taste tag category. Its why we always go back to it as its not exactly a fruity and fun deal but one that is a little more elevated and has more depth in its taste.

Growers Honeycrisp Apple

Producer: Arterra Wines Canada Inc.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Sweet & Fruity

Ontario ciders are rather different from Quebec ciders. I’ve tried a good few Ontario ciders to this point and I’ve become quite picky on what stands out for me. A lot of them actually are very similar probably because of the apples they choose. What makes Growers Cider different is that it uses Honeycrisp Apples and it adds this tartness to their cider that actually balances really well with the apple sweetness. Its a rather unique cider taste and has quite a delightful experience.

That’s it for this November Wine Recap!
Some really neat discoveries this time around!

Wine Recap – August 2019

Welcome to the next wine recap! A month sure flies by as we look at what we’ve tried out in August. We had a little trip away and we also were at the tail end of festival coverage so it was not too much about drinking a ton as work needed to be done.

Petalo Il Vino Dell Amore Moscato

Producer: Bottega SPA
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Veneto, Italy
Taste Tag: Fruity and sweet

I was first introduced to this wine at one of my friend’s gathering. Its a wine that is fairly popular during Valentine’s however, nowadays, its a lot more accessible, which is great because while it has a rather romantic name, its also a very good sparkling wine. Its both light, fruity and sweet. I do have to say that this one tasted a little different from the first time I had it before.

Domaine St-Jacques Riesling 2017

Producer: Domaine St-Jacques
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

Domaine St-Jacques is a dry wine. Maybe in the semi-dry area so it had a lot of acidity in its taste as well. We’re not a huge fan of this variety of wine to say the least. Its exactly fit in our palate. Sadly not what we had expected of a Riesling.

Laura Secord S’Mores/Salted Caramel Liqueur

Producer: Laura Secord
Alcohol Content: 5.4%

All kinds of companies want to diversify their products a little and Laura Secord was obviously no different as they had a cocktail edition which included two flavors: S’mores and salted caramel. Both of which we first saw at the grocery stores. In theory, it sure does seem like a great concept except, in our opinion, these two drinks are not great. Salted Caramel tastes a bit like a cough syrup and I’m exactly sure how to describe the S’Mores one because they sure didn’t taste like these two flavors.

Reif Estate Riesling VQA 2017

Producer: Reif Winery
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Light and Crisp

Reif Winery Estates’ Riesling is in the extra dry category and it sure lives up to the name. Its probably one of the most acidic ones that we’ve had. It does have a nice smoothness to it after taking a few more sips but its definitely a lot drier than would suit ourselves. However, if you do like some extra-dry wines, this one might be a pretty decent choice.

Thornbury Village Craft Apple Cider

Producer: Thornbury Village Cidery
Alcohol Content: 5.3%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-Sweet & Crisp

While I can’t say that Thornbury Village Apple Cider is a whole lot different from other ciders, this one still is pretty good. Its not overly sweet and still has that nice apple cider taste. There’s also a special taste to it that I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Overall, the first one which was a revisit and the last one was definitely more in my palate in terms of apple ciders and wines. A lot of dry wines in this time’s selection which probably would appeal to some of you.

That’s it for this wine recap!
Have you tried any new wines/alcoholic beverages?

Wine Recap – June 2019

Half a year has gone by and we’re going to look back at June’s drinks that I’ve tried out! With long weekends and Battles of Ingredients as well as the summer weather, we usually like to have a little something with our meals.

Check it out!

Lost Craft Apple Cider

Producer: Lost Craft
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

Lost Craft is very similar to most apple ciders. Its a tad more on the dry side especially in comparison to the two that I try out below. Its less in my palette range since I am more a fan of sweet than dry.

L’Orpailleur Ice Wine 2016

Producer: Vignoble de l’Orpailleur
Alcohol Content: 10%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Fruity and Extra Sweet

I’m not sure if we had written about this before but we definitely did buy an L’Orpailleur ice cider before from the Festival des Vendanges. You can see the event we visited a few years ago HERE. L’Orpailleur was great the first time we tasted it and this time (probably a different year) also is very good. Its fruitiness and sweetness has this really smooth balance.

D’ont Poke the Bear Cider

Producer: Generations Wine Company
Alcohol Content: 5.6%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-Sweet & Fruity

Add this one onto not only a great cider name but also a delicious one as well. I am finding a lot of Ontario ciders. D’ont Poke The Bear is a really good one. Its the first time I have tried Medium-Sweet taste tag for ciders and with the alcohol content not even a percent higher than the usual, it really isn’t too apparent. It doesn’t feel so much like drinking apple juice because it isn’t as sweet but still has a little tartness and a little dryness that still balances out the sweetness pretty good.

Farmed & Dangerous Cider

Producer: North American Craft Agency
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Dry & Fruity

Completely awesome name for a cider plus the can looks great! Farmed and Dangerous is actually less dry than it categorizes itself as. For me, I actually thought it was alright. Something that took a few sips to really get into but I think, it has to do with the fact that its more in the higher alcohol content in terms of ciders than usual so the drier feeling came with that. To be honest, it really did grow on me afterwards.

That’s it for this Wine recap (which is more a cider recap…)!
Some new discoveries here!
Next time, we should get back into some more Quebec wines!

Wine Recap – April 2019

Welcome to the April 2019 Wine Recap!

April is always a little slower in terms of drinking anything alcohol-based due to work (yes, I know..again…). However, its sometimes about quality and not quantity and that’s what we are going to do because we had some decent new tries.

Let’s check it out!

Dublin’s Pub Apple Cider

Producer: A. Lassonde Inc.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Rougemont, Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

First up to kick off the month is a supermarket find, Dublin Pub Apple Cider. They actually do sell a glass bottle version in the SAQ outlets as well. A few things unexpected here was that I didn’t know that this was produced in Canada despite its Irish-style cider. I’m not sure what Irish-style is so I can only compare it to other ciders I’ve had before. On that note, I can’t say that in terms of personal preference that its one that I particularly like or dislike. Its not as sweet as some other ciders but also not quite as acidic as others either. It falls somewhere in the middle but yet feels rather light but not so fruity. If you are into something a little more well-rounded on that front, I’d say this one could be one to try out. I personally prefer my ciders with a little more distinct flavors.

Fat Bastard Chardonnay

Producer: GMDF
Alcohol Content: 13%
Location: France
Taste Tag: Aromatic and Mellow

If I were to place Fat Bastard, I’d say that its in the same league as wines like Rodney Strong (look at in a previous wine recap HERE). We’ve found luck in both full-bodied or aromatic and mellow taste tags especially in terms of white wines. With that said, Fat Bastard has that semi-dry palette in the first taste but also has a smooth finish so is a nice one. Its not quite as enjoyable as some other ones but this one definitely has a distinct taste and layers to it that works pretty well.

Palm Bay Vodka Soda – Blueberry Acai

Producer: Mike’s Beverage Company
Alcohol Content: 6%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Crisp & Berry

Spirit coolers are a fun little territory to explore sometimes and we do every once in a while to break away from the more heavy wines especially during busy times. On our run to the SAQ to check out wines and ended up picking up the previous one, we also found this one. I’m not a particularly huge fan of superfruits stuff but thought why not. Palm Bay has always been pretty good with their flavors and this is no different. Being a fan of vodka based drinks, this one is right up my alley. Its fruity but not too sweet. I actually mixed it further with Canada Dry and it tastes even better.

That’s it for this Wine Recap!
All satisfying choices overall!

What have you been drinking? Share it in the comments below!

Wine Recap – February 2019

With colds plaguing me yet again this month, I took it a little easier on the whole drinking front so that it was mostly for relaxation when I needed it and not coughing my lungs out or sniffling away. However, let me just say in advance that the three choices here were all quite decent wins.

Let’s check it out!

Bulles de Nuit Mimosa

Producer: Bulles de Nuit
Alcohol Content: 6.9%
Location: Montreal, Canada

After trying the other three varieties: Original, Rose and Pinot Grigio, Mimosa was the last one to try out. I don’t usually drink a lot of mimosas. Perhaps only one or two times before. Its a nice light drink and its usually fruity in my memory. The mimosa for Bulles de Nuit tasted a bit like spiked Crush. Its not a bad thing but I still think the other three products are much more to my taste.

Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling 2017

Producer: Ste Michelle Wine Estates
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Columbia Valley, Washington, USA
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

A huge thanks to John Rieber for recommending this wine to me in the last wine recap.

Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling is quite accurate in their category. Being a big fan of riesling usually, this wine is fruity and sweet. There’s a lot to love about it from the way it tastes to the undertones. Its very smooth. There’s a bit of acidity but its balanced really well. I’d say the last riesling I had that had a similar texture and taste would be Kung Fu Girl. I’m not sure if I’ve ever talked about that one in any of the recaps.

Peter Lehmann Layers

Producer: Peter Lehmann Wines
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Location: Australia
Taste Tag: Delicate and Light

I found this wine while browsing the sales on the SAQ site. Its unique because it has 4 varieties in one wine and three of them, I like quite a lot and one I haven’t tried any before so have no opinion on it. Its hard to find moscato in general but the few that I’ve really loved have been from Australia. With that said, this one gave me quite a bit of hope and I’m glad to say that this is one of those spontaneous purposes that turned out to be a pleasant experience. This one worked on many levels. Its a nice blend and a unique experience. If you haven’t tried it before, its worth giving it a chance.

That’s it for this wine recap!
I have to say that the two white wines are pretty good.

What have you been drinking?

Wine Recap – November 2018

Welcome to the November 2018 edition of Wine Recap!

This past month, we’ve been slightly on a break due to various reasons. One is due to decrease of alcohol due to some health stuff my husband is dealing with. We wanted to lower the alcohol consumption to lighter varieties and we’re having this feeling that perhaps he has grown an intolerance to white wine so we’ll see how this segment shifts from here on out. The second is that the SAQ, which is the entity that governs our alcohol distribution in Quebec, is having union negotiations and strikes and such and for personal reasons, its been making us going less so I’ve picked up only two things from the grocery store this past month.

With the holidays coming up, I promise that December will make up for this month. I’d say I’m about 80% positive that it will.

Beach Day Every Day

Producer: Beach Club
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Quebec

A light refreshing alcoholic drink is really what Beach Day Every Day is. Its a drink great to have on a hot summer’s day. Very fitting for its name. It actually tastes a lot like Crush with hints of alcohol, making it a rather relaxing one to have. I bought this one at the grocery store (maybe an IGA, if I remember correctly).

Henry’s Hard Soda

Producer: Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.
Alcohol Content: 4.2%
Location: USA

Surprisingly, it seems that I’ve been choosing a lot of citrus flavors. This one is an orange flavor which actually didn’t taste of alcohol at all but almost felt like I was drinking something identical to Crush or any other orange soda. You can’t say that its not true to be fair. Its pretty tasty and the orange flavor is full, plus it also wasn’t too sweet. I don’t mind drinking this one again, although I am curious what the other flavor tastes like. It should be coming up in next month’s since we bought one can of each flavor from the grocery story (Metro in this case).

Revisit: Madjack Iced Tea

Just to keep it real (and because there wasn’t anything else here), I did end up buying a pack of Madjack Iced Tea flavored drinks this month. It spanned over the month to drink so that is also why we didn’t buy much of anything else. It is always our fun light drink to have. For my initial thoughts, check out April 2018 recap HERE.

That’s it for this “wine” recap.
Not any wine at all but its the alcoholic content that matters in this segment. Its alcoholic drinks in general (for anyone new here).

Wine Recap – September 2018

With my husband spending most of September also in recover phase, we dialed down on the drinking thing so all of this was in between so we went for lighter drinks. One of these was one that we had tried out a month or two ago but forgot to take a picture of so forgot to share on the Wine Recap. These things happen but coincidentally my friend bought it this time for the Battle of Ingredients so here we are.

Let’s check out what we tried this one!

Mike’s Hard Lemonade

Producer: Mike’s Hard Lemonade
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada

I’ve heard about how good Mike’s Hard Lemonade before but never had it before. On a spontaneous trip to the grocery store, we picked this up as a fun little taste. It did live up to all the good stuff we’ve heard and it tasted really good. I like lemonade in general and the alcohol was light so it actually balanced out smoothly.

Palm Bay Strawberry Kiwi Iced Tea

Producer: Mike’s Beverage Company
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Canada

I’ve tried Palm Bay before on a taste testing at the Grand Prix event before. I can’t remember what flavor it was since it was a few years ago but one evening, my husband’s coworker gave him one of these to try out. Palm Bay is very much a party drink. Its really sweet. I’m not a big Strawberry Kiwi flavor fan and this is good for a group but not one that I’d pick up as much, mostly because if it was for myself, I’d prefer MadJack.

Ambrée aux Herbes (Gluten-Free)

Producer: Brasseurs du Monde
Alcohol Content: 4%
Location: Quebec

I don’t drink beer often. Its a little too much than I can handle. I believe it has to do with the hops and the gluten aspect. I’m not a big fan in general but when we went to the supermarket, we saw a variety pack for this gluten-free beer. It had 4 flavors. I only have one here since the other ones, my husband had drank with my father in law one day so that I didn’t try it. This one is a herb flavored amber beer and its actually fairly good.

Cote des Roses
Listel -Gris

Gerard Bertrand Coté des Roses
Producer: Gerard Bertrand
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: Languedoc-Rousillion, France

Other than a beautiful bottle, Cote des Roses is actually a really lovely tasting wine. It feels like a long time since I’ve actually drank wine so I’m not sure how to describe it. However, it was very balanced. I love the smoothness where its not too sour or too dry and it was fruity and light. I plan on giving the white wine a go and get three or these bottles or something to turn it around and make a glass bottle rose bouquet. It’ll be such a beautiful decoration.

Listel – Gris
Producer: Listel
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: Languedoc-Rousillion, France
Taste Tag: Fruity and Light

Leaning a little more on the drier side, Listel- Gris is still fairly decent. Not quite as good as the balance the Cote des Roses achieves. However, there is a depth to it. The after tones of this one works well. There is a fruity and light taste however so its not hard to drink. A nice one to have with friends, making it a great choice for our barbecue.

That’s it for this Wine Recap!
We’re slowly getting back into the wines and alcohol however, we’re being careful of health.
If it slows down a little with this, it will be in the amount we decide to recap.

What have you been drinking? Any great ones to share?

Wine Recap – August 2018

Welcome to the Wine Recap for August. I kind of realized that I forgot some July drinks in the last recap after it was posted so added them into this month’s recap. However, lucky we did because after some issues, my husband and I went on a few weeks of what I’d like to call an alcohol detox unintentionally but I always like to do that every once in a while after going to social events frequently and socializing with alcohol. Its nice to dial back and drink a lot of water and detox/flush the system a little. Which means that the next month’s recap might be a little thin, but we’ll see when get there, right? Let’s focus on the present!

Schweppes Blueberry Elderberry
(Signature Cocktails)

Producer: Mott’s Canada
Alcohol content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

I honestly never knew that Schweppes made a Signature cocktail line of alcohol beverages. No idea whatsoever. Did you? Its a pretty cool discovery though since I like blueberry and especially elderflower flavored drinks. The combination here definitely sounds like it works and for the most part it does. Its also very light and fruity and sweet. Its definitely for the most casual drinker, which I definitely am considered.

Black Tower

Producer: Hermann Kendermann GMBH
Alcohol content: 9.5%
Location: Germany
Taste Tag: Fruity & Sweet

The only wine of the batch this month goes to Black Tower. My husband apparently knew about this one before and said that it is a fairly common and known wine. I’ve never heard of it before. However, German white wines do have quite a knack for being on the sweet and crisper side and this one absolutely delivers. Its not my favorite wine that I’ve tried since we’ve started this journey but its one that I fairly enjoyed.

401 Brewery Orchard Blend Cider

Producer: 401 Cider Brewery
Alcohol content: 6.5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

If you haven’t realized by now, we love easy drinks, especially ciders. Now, for those who don’t know (but we do because we visited a cider place who told us about it), Quebec ciders are unique because of certain components to them making them local and exotic. Whereas, when you drink ciders from other provinces like 401 Cider Brewery, I’m not exactly sure what qualifies them. Its something I need to look up and read on when I have time but its a little different. While I only have the picture of the apple one here, we also tried the pear and the peach flavors. Apple was still the best one. I can’t say however that its exactly to my palette. Its not bad per se and its still has that apple cider texture to it that is decent but something about the taste doesn’t appeal to me as much as other ones that I’ve tried.

401 Brewery Sparkling Oaked Cider

Producer: 401 Cider Brewery
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: N/A

While I batched the three flavors of ciders together, I figured that I’d do this one separate because it is a little different from the others. We are big fans of oaked stuff. My husband likes the flavors that come with it usually. I do have to say that the 401 Brewery Sparkling Oaked Cider is alright. Its better than the normal ones above. There’s a distinctive taste to it that works pretty good.

That’s it for this Wine Recap!
Its pretty much a cider and cocktails post more. Its lighter but still fun to try out!

Wine Recap – May 2018

May has passed us by and its time for the wine recap!

Last month definitely felt fairly tame and had some interesting choices! With our healthier lifestyle implemented, we did try to slow down the alcohol consumption, even though, we do only drink once a week or so.

Let’s check it out!

Sibling Rivalry Pink VQA 2017

Producer: Henry of Pelham Family Est. Winery
Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-bodied & Dry

Sibling Rivalry Rosé is one of my favorite finds from a few years ago when I tried it in Ontario. Its been a wine that I like picking up whenever I get a chance to. It helps that we can bring the wine back over to our own province now. However, too bad is that I don’t remember when I tried the first year I had it, probably somewhere in 2014 or 2015 because that was the best year it had. The taste was smooth and perfect. I’m not saying its not quite as good but 2016 and 2017’s which is the one pictured up here leaves a little to be desired. I haven’t quite found the taste that made me fall in love with it in the beginning. Its still a fairly decent wine but the recent years have been more in the dry taste than before.

Lady Lola Delle Venezie i.g.t.
(Pinot Grigio/Moscato)

Producer: Enoitalia SPA
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Location: Italy
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

Every month, my husband and I both get a random pick (which to be fair is how we try out these choices, unless one of our preferences are on sale or we have a craving for it). Lady Lola was my husband’s pick. I know, funny, right? I’m never against Moscato because they are far and rare to be found however, I also know that Pinot Grigio variety tends to be not my cup of tea. To be honest, Lady Lola wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. Its decent and smooth. I fail to feel that like its sweet but it definitely did have a rather fruity but more medium-bodied feeling, edging a little into the dry/sour side. Its alcohol content isn’t too high for a wine so it does get some points for being a more casual wine that is easier to enjoy on a daily basis.

Frisky Beaver White VQA 2015

Producer: Rapscallion Wine Company Inc.
Alcohol Content: 13%
Location: Lake Erie North Shore, Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Aromatic & Flavorful

The absolute highlight of May had to go to my random pick, Frisky Beaver White. I tell you that my love for VQA wines are not going to stop soon if the wine quality always is like this one. Frisky Beaver is an absolute delight to drink. Its light and fun. Its not too sweet or sour or dry and has a perfect balance. This one was so smooth. Its actually been a while that I’ve fallen so love with a wine. Of course, its also listed as limited quantity as I’m researching the details for this post, meaning I need to go stock up before I don’t get the chance anymore. If you have access to this one, I highly recommend it!

Brickworks Ciderhouse Batch: 1904

Producer: Brickworks Ciderhouse
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Dry & Aromatic

Back in the March recap, I had picked up another type of Brickworks Ciderhouse canned ciders called Queen Street 501 when I went to Toronto and I absolutely loved it. When I went to Ottawa in late May, I saw this other variety Batch: 1904 and just had to give it a go! The good news here is that Batch: 1904 is absolutely like drinking apple juice. It actually tastes like apple juice and is more on the sweet and acidic side. On the down side was that I still think Queen Street 501 is  better tasting. This one tends to be a little overpowering in the strong apple juice taste and while I do like to drink apple juice, I tend to drink low acid ones so this one with the strong acidic flavors definitely caught me off guard and its one, I would share (like this time, with my husband) instead of drinking it by myself. However, if you do like apple juice and not so alcoholic flavors, this one might be a decent choice.

May is a slower month for wine tasting for ourselves!
However, we had some cool choices and some that didn’t quite live up to expectations!
Of course, wine is very subjective so I tried to give the taste profile.
I don’t enjoy drier wines but if you do, then perhaps the ones I don’t like will be right up your taste profile!

Now its your turn! Have you tried out any cool wines? Any wines that you absolutely love?

Wine Recap – March 2018

If you missed the last Wine Recap, check it out HERE.

Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Well, I can’t classify this past month as fun but hey, the wine adventures sure did help as they are our winding down times or hanging out with friends time or in this case, travelling time. Lovely little moments to say the very least.

We have a lot to get through this month so lets jump right in!

Saint Aix Rosé 2016

Producer: Domaine de la Grande Séouve
Alcohol Content: 13%
Location: France
Taste Tag: Medium-bodied & dry

Rosé wines are always a little tough to judge. We’ve had some great ones but quite often they can get quite dry. Aix Rosé is something of an acquired taste. It did feel sour and dry when we first started drinking it but as it aired a little more, it seemed to taste better. Regardless of the initial taste, I think it had to do with smooth taste when we swallowed it. Its definitely not our favorite but its still pretty decent. On top of that, for Chinese weddings, this one would be great since the bottle itself has the double happiness symbol.

Brickworks Ciderhouse Queen Street 501

Producer: Brickworks Ciderhouse
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-sweet & Fruity

I like to take breaks from wines every once in a while and fall to drinking something a little lighter like ciders. I’ve tried other ones like Angry Orchard, Smac!, Somersby and there was another Okanagan Valley one that I had tried when I went to Kelowna but can’t remember the name. Its somewhere some of the previous posts for that trip. While I think that all of the above are quite good. I have to say that this one was one of my favorites, possibly even more than the others. Thats a definite compliment because I do like Angry Orchard a fair amount. Sad was that I only had bought one can of this and enjoyed it at the hotel after the EGLX day so none to take home. Its on my to-buy list next time we head out to Ontario.

Bulles de Nuit Rosé Mousseux

Producer: Bulles de Nuit (I think)
Alcohol Content: 10.5%
Location: Montreal, Canada
Taste Tag: n/a

This one isn’t exactly a new find since I have this every other month or so. Its this bubbly rosé sparkling wine sort of thing. I’m usually not much of a champagne or sparkling wine sort of person. Everyone once in a while, I’ll try one that I like. This one is really good. I’ve had the original and the rosé and I like this one more. It has a much more fun taste to it. What is a fun taste? I have no idea. It could be because the alcohol content is a little more here and the taste is pretty decent and it just feels so lovely to drink. It has quite a kick though so for myself, when I crack on open, I usually sip it throughout an hour or so.

Rodney Strong Sonoma Chardonnay 2016

Producer: Rodney Strong Vineyards
Alcohol Content: 13.7%
Location: California, USA
Taste tag: Full-bodied & Rich

Give it to our spontaneous purchase that peaked my husband’s curiosity and was very different the wines we usually would buy to be the surprise in this recap. Rodney Strong Chardonnay is a dry wine and yet, the dryness is somehow cut into a very pleasant smoothness that tastes really rich when we swallow it. I’m starting to understand what these full-bodied and rich terms are all about because I’m starting to taste the difference. I haven’t had a Chardonnay that I’ve liked before but this one has won me over.

Fresh Beginnings Moscato 2016

Producer: Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Ltd.
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste tag: Off-dry & Fruity

Well…isn’t that a problem? I forgot to take the picture of the glass before we finished the bottle. Actually, to be honest, Fresh Beginnings was a little bit on the sour taste for our palette. However, while we’ve hit a lot of really great moscato, particularly in the last recap, I’ve definitely hit some moscato white wines that have this sort of taste. This one was more on the dry territory and with the fruity flavors it didn’t work as well as we’d wanted it to. But isn’t the bottle so charming and beautiful to look at? I actually still have it just to look at since its so pretty for the counter and really rings in Spring (even if we dipped down into the below zero Celsius days the past week).

This wraps up the March 2018 Wine recap!
A nice little mixed variety this time around, right?
Some sure winners and some acquired tastes here.

Which stood out for you? Have you tried any of these?
Any wines that you’d recommend that we try?