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 – 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 – July 2018

July was a big month in terms of events and event coverage. In case you don’t follow any of the other stuff, you will know that when I do event coverage, I tend to lower my drinking in general. My tolerance isn’t incredibly high so I need to limit more to just keep a clear head for all the writing that needs to be done. However, we did get some lighter stuff to enjoy on the off days to relax during the heat wave month that we had. Montreal broke some temperature records so it was quite the experience.

Rekorderlig Wild Berries Cider

Producer: Ab Abro Bryggeri
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Location: Sweden
Taste Tag: Sweet & Fruity

We had quite a debate over this one. On one hand, I thought it tasted really nice. The berry blend worked so well and the alcohol was just enough and not too strong. It was fruity and crisp which works so well as a cider. However, my husband didn’t like it and thought it tasted it funky. I think it all comes down to the fact that whenever anything alcoholized has berries in the mix, its always a toss-up on how it will taste. It did taste a little like a light version of cherry-flavored cough medicine but then, I thought it was more pleasant than that which is great. I think for its lightness and fruitiness, this one works really well as long as you like berry flavored drinks.

Radio Boka Rosé

Producer: Hammeken Cellars S.L.
Alcohol Content: 13%
Location: La Mancha, Spain
Taste Tag: Easygoing & Fruity

I swore that I thought I had taken a picture of this one but its gone MIA so there’s the stock photo from LCBO. Regardless, Radio Boka Rose is one that wasn’t really our cup of tea. While it is fruity, its one of those one that also linger in the weird aftertaste moment. A lot of the ones we’ve drank before actually had depth in the sense that it started out a little dry or acidic and then would have this pleasant moment when it went down our throat. This one was the exact opposite.

Big House The Birdman Pinot Grigio

Producer: Big House Wine Co.
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Location: California, USA
Taste Tag: Light & Crisp

Big House comes in both cans and bottles. While I never talked about the canned ones, we actually did get one that my husband had drank and I took a sip or two of. The can version is definitely very dry and actually not too good. It was what made this bottled one sit on our shelves for a little while longer than we intended. However, it was a pleasant surprise because the bottled one seemed to round out the flavors more. Maybe its the bottle or how it gets to air out a little or maybe its the fact that its being drank from a glass and not a can. I’ve been reading up on wine appreciation a little and it seems like all these things make a difference to the experience. Big House isn’t exactly as light and crisp as it describes it. It lingers in the semi-dry zone for ourselves and has this rather acidic taste. However, its expected with a pinot grigio. The bottle version definitely worked out much better than the can so if you do want to give this a go, shell out the money for the bigger glass format than the cans.

Muscat des Papes

Producer: Vignerons de Beaumes de Venise
Alcohol Content: 15%
Location: Vallee de Rhone, France

Phoebe aka Starry Traveler is the one who introduced us to Muscat des Papes which is in stock for her at the restaurant Fuschia in Montreal because its the one wine that she loves the absolute most. She is a little more selective of alcohol so this one tickles her fancy quite a bit. It says a lot about the quality of this one. To be fair, this one is very smooth. It has this lovely texture and is very light and sweet. It is also a little bit between a fruity and floral sort of aroma. It has that sweetness that we love from Moscatos.

Milton Star Sparkling Cider

Producer: Les Vergers de la Colline
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Location: Quebec
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

Its very significant of how my month of “wines” went when it starts and ends with ciders. Milton Star is a sparkling cider that I’ve only ever seen around a lot but never tried. And boy, do I feel like I missed out! This is a really lovely one. Its actually very light and suitable for a casual setting of drinking to relax but never feeling like its going to feel heavy in the alcohol department. Very cider description to be honest but this one is also very nice level of crispness for the apple element to pop. They have a few other varieties that I’m going to try next time I drop by to pick up some more wine.

That’s it for this July recap!
Some ciders and some wines. A pretty decent mix and way more international than previous months.
Have you tried any interesting wines/ciders/cocktails lately?