CheapEats Ottawa restaurant guide blog

VV List Release Sat. Jan 23, 2010

Greetings Fellow Tipplers!

Mmmmm Malbec! That is the main varietal coming your way from Vintages this weekend. Malbec was born in Argentina – the destination of great winemakers whose migration from their traditional winemaking regions – France, Italy, California brought them to this part of the world because of the great opportunities presented there. These winemakers know a good thing when they see it – the high elevations of the Andes provide the perfect temperature, aspect, soil and drainage to produce high quality vines.

There are plenty of other great wines (the list is quite long) from other regions on our list this week and the prices are just right.

WHITE WINE

932368 Santa Julia Reserva Chardonnay 2008 (Mendoza) $13.95

A fabulous chard – lush, rich body featuring buttered toast, apple, pear and tropical fruit notes on the palate. A good balance of acidity and oak – a great value.

Our Favourite Things from 2009

It's that time of year again. When the days are getting shorter and the eggnog is getting boozier. Pretty soon we'll be hearing about nothing but the end of the decade, so we figured if we can't beat them, why not beat them to it!

Starting tomorrow, we’re doing another round of CheapEats Favourite Things.  We’ll be sharing our favourite things from 2009 - meals, restaurants, tastes, food experiences, ingredients, flavours, bottles, markets and festivals.

Want to get in on the fun?  On January 1st, we’ll be posting a round up of readers’ favourites – just email them to me [lex at plethorapress.com]

Click here to see last year’s favourites.

V V List Release Saturday Dec. 5, 2009

Greetings Fellow Tipplers!

It’s hard to believe – this is our last list for 2009.

We’ve had a lot of fun tasting the Vintages releases this year – a lot of sniffing, sipping, spitting and discussion have occurred on this list’s behalf. This year, more than ever, we needed to find good value for our dollar spent given the deteriorating economic situation. The value wine discoveries were lovely affordable splurges for us; and we trust for you as well. It is our sincere wish that you have a safe and savoury holiday season. Imbibe responsibly and enjoy the discovery that different wines offer us.

WHITE WINE

141788 Helfrich Pinot Gris 2008 (Alsace) $13.95

Sweet floral and mineral aromas, medium sweet palate and some orange rind bitterness and refreshing acidity.

135426 Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (Chile) $15.95

Yum, big on gooseberry, lemon lime citrus, and herbal palate. This is a very well made Sauv. Blanc and big on flavour. Jay Miller of erobertparker.com scored it a 90.

RED WINE

82586 Canepa Reserva Privada Carmenère (Chile) $14.95

This number is true to its varietal character featuring aromas of cassis, tar, cocoa and cedar. It is a very smooth wine and will pair well with sausages.

V V List Release Saturday Nov. 21, 2009

Greetings Fellow Tipplers!

This week the big shots hit the shelves of Vintages. Name-dropping worthy selections like Dom, Cristal, Ch. Montelena, Caymus, Opus, Ch. Beaucastel, Solaia, to name a few. If you are in the vicinity of insufferable snobs, these names will roll off their tongues when they speak of the dinner they went to the previous evening OR what they will be serving to their guests at their holiday table. Are we jealous? Not at all! In fact, we don’t even taste them when we have the opportunity – where is the joy in a fleeting sip (& spit) knowing that there is no chance of affording any of these iconic labels? The joy comes in the discovery of great-tasting values – pearls amongst diamonds so to speak. We went to the tasting room this week thinking we will be hard pressed to find anything in our price range. We were pleasantly surprised and we hope you are too!

WHITE WINE

82305 Domaine Bellevue Sauvignon Touraine 2008 (Loire) $13.95

Excellent value priced Sauvignon Blanc exuding a nose of fresh mown grass and pea notes with flavours of lime zest, very fresh and crisp. For all you die hard “bling” slaves, this won a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole 2009 in Paris.

2774 Salterio Albariño 2008 (Rias Baixas, Spain) $16.95

The little star from Rias Baixas pretty notes of white peaches and a tad vegetal, some mineral, citrus and fresh acidity on the palate.

RED WINE

3509 Chakana Yaguareté Collection Malbec 2009 ($12.95)

Can’t get better than this for the price. This little number is packed with tons of dark fruits, blackberry, raspberry and plum, packing a punch of flavour and extremely well balanced. Load up on this one!

Vintages Value List - September 12, 2009

Greetings!

 

It is the traditional time when the LCBO promotes wines from our own backyard.  The Ontario wine industry has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few decades.  

Gone are the days of Bright’s Unleaded, and today we can enjoy the fruits of some very talented grape growers and winemakers.  Ontario wine has the VQA designation now – informing consumers that the wine is made exclusively from Canadian grapes.  BUT, the vines are relatively young and there is stiff competition from abroad. 

Recently overheard, “Why would I pay $17 for a bottle of so-so red from Prince Edward County, when I can get a decent bottle of red from Chile for $7?”   

Good point, but if you want to support your local economy and try to consume as much local fare as possible and  drink wine, then you must start trying the wines from Ontario!  This is a great time to do so because 2007 was a stellar vintage in Ontario and wines made from those grapes are being released now.

 

Here are our picks:

 

WHITE WINE

129817 Oak Heights Estate Chardonnay 2007 (VQA) Niagara Peninsula $14.95

Distinct creamy buttery notes segue into a slight bitter edge.  Oak is present, but not overwhelming – in fact we rather liked it.  Upon further investigation learned that this wine is only aged in Canadian oak barrels!  Another interesting tidbit about Oak Heights is that the winery is located in Northumberland (close to Peterborough).  They sourced Niagara grapes for this wine.  The boundary just expanded for those of you on the 100-mile diet!

 

RED WINE

143545 Le Clos Jordanne Talon Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 (VQA) Niagara Peninsula $37.00

Absolutely delicious!  Floral notes, plum and berries abound – but not overly.  This is dry and still a bit tight – so laying it down for a few years will be rewarded.

Vintages Value List Release Sat Aug 29, 2009

Well hello there,

We are off to the Rhône Valley in France this time round, with a slight detour to California to enjoy some great Zinfandels. The Rhône Valley is located in the southeastern part of France and extends from the start of the Rhône River to its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea. Needless to say, this vast wine region crosses many different terroirs and as a result, produces many different wines. The N. Rhône region is known for high quality red wines made predominantly from Syrah – Hermitage is the name you will hear when oenophiles speak of this region. The north contains steep riverbanks, providing well-drained soil and lovely slope aspects – ideal for growing quality wine grapes. The S. Rhône contains several well-known wine regions – Cotes du Rhone-Villages, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Rasteau to name a few. These wine regions contain gentle, rolling hills, less altitude and a warmer climate. Many blends come out of this region where Grenache is the dominant grape. Did you know that Chateauneuf-du-Pape may contain up to 13 different grape varietals?

Here are our picks:

SPARKLING WINE

127811 La Maison du Crémant Brut Crémant du Bourgogne (Burgundy, FR) $18.95

All the classic notes of a champagne – yeasty nose, grapefruit peel But it has a bit of an oily length. That sounds odd, but this is great bubbly!

WHITE WINE

128645 Urban Uco Torrontés 2008 (Argentina) $11.95

This is a lovely little sipper that is pretty while being quite bold. Torrontés is a little known grape with similar characteristics of Viognier.

127480 Coopers Creek Chardonnay/Viognier 2007 (New Zealand) $16.95

This is a solid, bold white wine from a fabulous producer. Not too much oak and the Viognier gives it some elegance.

RED WINE

59287 Pasion 4 Merlot 2007 (Argentina) $11.95

A terrific value here. Fairly full-bodied with blackcurrant and mocha notes.

Vintages Value List Release Sat Aug 15, 2009

Greetings

Chile is the feature in this release producing awesome wines from Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and their shining star, Carmenère. Bordeaux once home to Carmenère where it was a central component in the classic Bordeaux blend was lost to phylloxera in the 1860’s. In Chile Carmenère was thought to be a clone of Merlot and harvested together. It is only recently that growers have distinguished it from Merlot and rediscovered as Carmenère. Carmenère favours a long growing season in moderate to warm climates hence this is why it thrives in Chile. Here are some choices sure to please every palate as we move along with what has finally arrived ‘summer’ and a much awaited BBQ/patio season.

Here are our picks:

WHITE WINE

127506 Leyda Reserva Chardonnay 2008 (Leyda Valley, Chile) $13.95

A nice medium bodied chard featuring flavours of peach, pear, herbal notes and some smoky spice. Very good value!

Blue Gloves

Blue Gloves
Originally uploaded by LexnGer.

The CheapEats Photo of the Week is Blue Gloves taken by LexnGer.

Here's what LexnGer said when uploading Blue Gloves to the CheapEats Flickr Group

"Have I mentioned how much I hate blue sanitary gloves? Don't get me wrong, I like my food clean and I don't really want to catch your cooties... but it really screws up my photos!

It also makes my food feel less personal, less honest and frankly less healthy. I always see gloves as protecting the wearer... so what's wrong with my sandwich that you have to handle it with gloves?
But maybe that's just me."

Vintages Value List Release Sat. August 1, 2009

Greetings fellow tipplers,

The “weather-tellers” predict a relatively dry and warm August – thank goodness – and once again Vintages rises to the occasion with great grilling wines to enhance your BBQ fare and general Epicurean enjoyment.

Here are our picks:

WHITE WINE

113696 Miguel Torres Vina Esmeralda 2008 (Spain) $12.95

A blend of Moscatel & Gewurtztraminer from an unlikely place made us have our doubts on this one. It is off-dry with strong peach & floral notes. 11.5% alcohol makes it a fine aperitif or evening starter.

Alternative Breakfasts Poll

Following our discussion of alternative breakfasts, what would you have for breakfast that is non-egg and non-sweet?