JUNE 2022 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: STREKOV 1075 BOB (PORTUGIESER)
About: This nouveau-style wine is named after Zsolt’s beloved donkey, Bob. The decade-old vines are planted on richer clay loam with a limestone subsoil. He employs his typical single-stake training method. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins for two weeks with gentle hand-plunging of the cap. The wine is then pressed into stainless steel for a short settling period before bottling unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2. It is bottled under crown cap to preserve its delicate spritz.
Taste: This wine is a tumultuous purple in the glass with pomegranate overtones. It is as brash, charmingly gangly, and energetic as a foal. It kicks up dirty, stumbles without fear, and sprints to and from everything. You’ll find aromas of squished raspberries, red cherries, candied beats, sweet sage, gunpowder, damp roses, and iron. The palate is boisterous with supremely vivid fruit flavours, tangy acidity, and modest, fine-grained tannins. Despite its small stature, it packs a punch. On the finish, you’ll find flavours of rhubarb compote, blood orange, ripe strawberry, nettle, pumpkin seeds, and allspice.
Pairing: This wine seems like the ideal pairing for all things beets. Whether you’re indulging in a hearty bowl of borscht, or opted for an elegant beet salad with goat cheese and pine nuts, or if you’ve gone entirely off the rails and like thinly shaved pickled beets on your hotdog, this is your wine. Have I mentioned Donna Mac does a Beet ‘Pastrami’?!
WINE TWO: LAURENT CAZOTTES MARCOTTE ROUGE
About: This cuvée is made from a blend of Duras, Braucol, and Syrah. The former is a dark-coloured, peppery indigenous variety grown almost exclusively in the Tarn. Braucol, also known as Fer, is a traditionally tannic grape variety domesticated from a wild source in the region over three centuries ago. The grapes are harvested early and treated gently to make a more quaffable rendition.
Taste: This wine is a charming medium purple in the glass. Can you tame the wilderness? The nose walks a fine line between the domestic (black plums, blackberries, black cherries, violet, lavender) and the feral (white peppercorns, sweet leather, fallen pine needles, rockslides, licorice roots). The palate is equally deceiving; where you’d expect grit and stone, you find a wafting and ethereal wine that hints at its rustic roots but sits nicely polished – purple gemstones gleaming. There’s a direct acidity and crunchy little tannins like salt grains. You’ll find wild bay, lilac, saskatoon berry, oxalis, and spruce on the finish.
Pairing: My ideal pairing for this wine involves game meat prepared simply—grilled venison, moose, or if you’re less adventurous, lamb chops. These proteins' earthy, iron-rich, umami character will get along famously with the dark fruit and minerality in the wine.
WINE THREE: BROC CELLARS LOVE ROSÉ
About: The grapes for this cuvée come from three different vineyards: Rosewood (Mendocino), Wirth Ranch (Solano), and Arrowhead Mountain (Sonoma). This vintage is a blend of Valdiguié (97%), Zinfandel (2%) and Trousseau (1%). The grapes are foot stomped and left on skins for 12 hours before being pressed into stainless steel for fermentation. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered shortly after the new year.
Taste: This wine is a jubilant pink in the glass. The nose is immediately frisky, smacking bubble gum in your face, striped socks pulled high, SPF one-billion worn like war paint on cheeks modestly shaded by a bucket hat held in place by an under-chin strap. You’ll find aromas of cherry blossom, fresh watermelon, schizandra, white tea, hibiscus, and white strawberries. The palate is electric with tingling acid, lightweight, but plenty of flavour. It finishes both bouncy and frosty. You’ll find further flavours of grapefruit pith, sugar-free cream soda, blushing peach, and pink lemonade.
Pairing: I’m craving some classic fried chicken! Nothing spicy, just simple salty, fatty, crispy fried chicken with some salad on the side (watermelon, radishes, slaw, potato). The wine absolutely tastes best on a hot Sunday afternoon with friends.