Wine Recap: December 2019

Welcome to the last wine recap covering December 2019 (at least for the foreseeable future of 2020). Wine recaps are fun but we’re moving on to other things. There’s more than enough to flip through over the almost 2 years of doing this segment. I will try to share it over on Instagram to boost up some content on that platform. 😉 December was holiday season so we might have tried out a few wines and such.

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay 2018

Producer: Concha y Toro
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Location: Chile
Taste Tag: Aromatic and Mellow

The beginning of December is a little blurry now. I remember this wine being a little on the dry side. Perhaps in the semi-dry territory but it did match the aromatic and mellow taste tag. There’s still subtle notes to it that does give it layers and actually gives the wine some depth (if you know what I mean). Its actually the first time that we’ve tried Chilean wine so its definitely a decent experience.

Brickworks Ciderhouse Burgundy Effect

Producer: Trilium Beverage Inc.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Ontario, Canada
Taste Tag: Medium-Sweet & Fruity

Big fan of blackcurrants here! Huge fan in fact! If anyone has had Ribena, that’s one of my absolute favorite juices out there. Kir is also one of those liqueurs that also appeal to me quite a bit. Saying all that, The Burgundy Effect is a blackcurrant apple cider which is pretty alright. Brickhouse does the Queen Street 501 the best in my opinion and then its the Batch: 1904 before it comes to this one. Its not quite as sweet as their apple cider selection but for those who are seeking a little kick and still getting the fruity with decent berry taste, this one definitely does the trick. Plus, the blackcurrant-apple cider is a pretty unique blend.

Grand Frisson de Glace Recolte 2017

Producer: Chateau Taillefer-Lafon
Alcohol Content: 7%
Location: Quebec
Taste Tag: N/A

Costco purchase right here plus it was on sale. So I got this one for $10 or something. Crazy stuff because most Recolte varieties are actually quite pricey. Grand Frisson de Glace might be one that I’ve tried a few years back but don’t remember anymore (or it could be another one). This one is alright. It has a decent balance between acidity and sweetness. Its not my favorite but I don’t dislike it either. For the price and the accessibility, its definitely a decent choice.

Val Caudelies

This one is part of the Battle of Ingredients so I’ll send you over there to read about it right HERE.

That’s it for this Wine Recap!
I can’t emphasize how much I enjoy everyone that has dropped by to check out these posts! I’m not a professional wine reviewer and its more just a very basic feeling on wine appreciation using my own preferences. 

It was a pretty calm month in general and to kick off January wines as a start off point for everyone to find me on Instagram. Here’s the post on the Blue Nun 24K Gold Edition.

View this post on Instagram

The first #wine to try in 2020 is this cool find that we had originally bought for New Year's. #bluenun24kgoldedition #sparklingwine #whitewine #bluenun #goldedition #wines #alcohol

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Jan 4, 2020 at 4:24pm PST

 

 

 

 

Wine Recap: April 2018

Welcome to April’s Wine Recap! Last month was a pretty chill month. In general, we didn’t really drink too much wine. It is however nice to switch things up every once in a while. We did try mostly new stuff but some older things that I’ve never talked about (since this segment is really new).

Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato

Producer: E. & J. Gallo Winery
Alcohol Content: 8%
Location: California, USA
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

The first wine is of course kicked off on April’s Battle of Ingredients night. My friend brought the lovely Pink Moscato by Barefoot. I’ve had Barefoot wines before and I believe I might have covered the Barefoot Moscato in the kick off post for this segment, but I can’t remember. Its a pretty decent one so not surprising that this sparkling wine also was very light and fruity. For those who like their wines light and very easy to swallow and more sweet, this one is a great choice.

Columbia Crest Chardonnay 2015

Producer: Columbia Crest Winery
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Location: Washington, USA
Taste Tag: Aromatic and Mellow

My first recommendation for Wine Recap comes from John Rieber. You can find his awesome site HERE.

Columbia Crest Winery actually doesn’t have a lot of wines sold here in Quebec. There are four according to the SAQ site and three of them are red wines. I have developed an intolerance to red wine where I won’t die (because its not an allergy, I guess) but I will be incredibly uncomfortable. So white wines are my go-to. Here, we have the chardonnay, which I believe was what John had recommended to me. I can’t say that we’re particularly into this taste. There is a particular smoothness to how it goes down however, it still sits a little on the drier side of the spectrum that what we’d generally prefer. So for the taste tag description, I’d agree with the aromatic but not too sure about the mellow.

Domaine Le Grand Saint Charles Vidal 2016

Producer: Domaine Le Grand Saint-Charles
Alcohol Content: 13%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Fruity and Vibrant

In my memory, I’ve only every drank the Vidal variety once or twice before. Its definitely usually not my first choice of white wine mostly because the taste usually is a little too sour for my liking. However, Domaine Le Grand Saint-Charles was a Quebec winery that we had tasted at Festival des Vendanges a few years ago and loved their Le Brise Glace cider. I talked about it in this recap post HERE. So we took a chance on this one. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t one that I liked. Maybe one day I’ll find a Vidal that I like but still a little too sour for my taste. Regardless, I am happy to see that they have gotten their products into the SAQ and I’m going to try to see if I can find their ciders as it seems they are also available now.

Domaine Lafrance Darragon dit Lafrance

Producer: Domaine Lafrance
Alcohol Content: 6.5%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

One of my favorite sparkling ciders definitely goes to this one from Les Vergers Lafrance/Domaine Lafrance called Darragon dit Lafrance. When I first picked up this one a few months ago, it was totally by chance. I thought the bottle looked cool and for those who don’t know, Amos Daragon is a popular French Canadaian book series so its why it caught my eye, not that it had anything related to it (or at least I don’t think so). Sparkling Ciders are usually pretty easy to drink and they vary from fruitiness and sweetness. This one has this lovely balance of smoothness and sweetness and the perfect kick of alcohol that works so well together. I don’t know how to explain it but I personally find it absolutely awesome. Plus, I actually have to go to the farther SAQ outlet to find this one so its one I don’t drink as much which makes me appreciate it even more.

Mad Jack Hard Flavored Iced Tea

Brewer: Molson
Alcohol Content: 5%
Location: Canada

MadJack Root Beer was something that my husband picked up last month. I can’t remember if he picked it up or his friends had brought it when they came to visit. I didn’t end up drinking it since its beer and I only taste it. My husband likes it a lot but I’m not such a huge fan. However, when we did grocery shopping a week or two ago, there was a tasting booth for some other flavors and well, being a tea lover, the Iced Tea variety popped out at me. Mad Jack Hard-Flavored Iced Tea is definitely quite delicious. It is a lovely choice especially at its price point for nice summer barbecues and gatherings.

It seems my monthly alcohol consumption is quite constant, sitting at a 5 items limit going into the third month.
To be fair, this one had a lot of great alcoholic selections and some ideas for future selections.
To be honest, I’m starting to want to give this a nice Quebec & VQA Ontario wine twists whenever I can, just because those are quite accessible and unique to where I usually would shop.

Feel free to suggest any wines or alcoholic beverages that you love or think I’ll like! 🙂