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 – 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?

Grand Prix Weekend!

This past weekend was tough. Lots of sad and tragic news.  In Montreal, it was also Grand Prix weekend. Much like usual tradition, I went out to walk around the events in downtown after work on Friday evening with some friends. There are usually cars on display, free tasting, loud music and lots of people.

People with fancy cars bring them out and same goes for some nice motorcycles.

Grand Prix on Crescent (and Peel)

As we were waiting to cross the street to the festivities, this motorcycle caught my eye. I have to say, its unique.

Heading into the festivities is always a surprise even if we always know its going to be packed with people.  What was nice was that the sun decided to show up despite it raining almost the entire week. It was definitely cooler than usual and the weekend only got chillier.

This year, the cars were sparse but here are the ones that caught my eye between the two streets and the cars parked in front of Ritz-Carlton Hotel for what I assume is a function. This year the star was McLaren.

Fiat 124 Spider

Dodge SRT 10

Dodge Charger

McLaren

McLaren

Alfa Romeo

Palm Bay Free Sample

I usually don’t try a whole lot of stuff but apparently I could try Palm Bay which is a sparkling alcoholic beverage. The one I got was the Cherry Lime flavor. It felt a little like drinking Smirnoff but with a bit more zest because of the lime flavor in it. Its not too bad. Probably not my choice beverage based on personal preference but if I was back in my university days, this would be totally what I’d go for.

Music

No idea who the band was on stage but they were definitely rocking it out. Usually, I’m not a huge fan of the artists they choose but this year was alright. I enjoyed it! Although, we only walked by and didn’t really stop to listen or anything.

That was Grand Prix! We took a short walk and the other street was mostly Porsche’s and its there almost every year so nothing special. There was lot more VR gaming booths this year for racing stuff.

Its always a fun little event to go to just to get in on the action a little even if we don’t go see the actual race. Its also a good reason to hang out with friends since everyone has work and/or school, and whatever other obligation that just limits the time we have to see friends more frequently.