Drink Pink: Savvy Company Rosé Reports

Such hard work, having to try all these delicious Ontario rosés and then write about them, about what goes best with them ... *sigh*.

Read my latest Savvy Company reviews of great rosé wines here and here ... enjoy!



(PS ... While it may not have been featured in the Savvy reports, the pretty pink number in the picture at left is the elegant Marilys from Domaine Perrault, right here in the Ottawa Valley! Be sure to stop by if you're in Navan, Ontario this summer!)

Savvy Company: From the Bosc Family

The blog might be on hiatus, but I did have a chance to chat with Michele Bosc about what's new at Chateau des Charmes recently. You can check out my article over on the Savvy Company website.

Cheers!

'Hoppy' Craft Beer Week, everyone!

It's Ontario Craft Beer week! Not that you really need an excuse to try out the wide range of hoppy beverages made by passionate local brewmeisters, but this is a good one.

We've had a good year so far when it comes to beer. I signed Hubby up for the Savvy HipHops beer-of-the-month club last Christmas (aren't I a good wife?) Every month since the early weeks of snow-bound January, we've been treated to brews from all over the province: ales and IPAs, porters and stouts, gruits and saisons, and one-offs done with everything from peppermint to cocoa nibs. It's been a bonus learning experience for me, and an eye-opener to styles I never thought I'd enjoy.

Mothering

May was a long month. I ain't gonna lie.

Just in case you were wondering where I've been ... Hubby was in New York for a marathon session at the UN. From the end of April until just last weekend. A month. Me and the kiddies. Single Mom Detail™ of epic proportions.

County (at the top of) the Capital

Hang on, lemme wait until the room stops spinning ...

Wait. It's still spinning. WTF?

I was driving that night, so I knew that uncomfortable sense of vertigo wasn't from the wine. It was from the room itself - the revolving Summit Room atop Ottawa's Marriott Hotel.

I'm sure in its heyday revolving rooms were the thing, but it wasn't quite my thing. One minute I was standing perfectly straight (and sober); the next, I had lurched over sideways, spilling some of my wine in the process. I looked like a drunk. Except I wasn't! Really! (Well, this time at least ...)

My Bunker Valentine

Because nothin' says lovin' like visiting a fallout shelter.

Seventy-five feet beneath the frozen tundra of Carp, Ontario, in the dead of a most miserable winter, there was a party going on. Deep in the bowels of the Diefenbunker, a crowd of wineaux, Cold War enthusiasts, chocolate lovers and cheese aficionados were gathered for Savvy Company's 3 Steps to Survival: Wine, Cheese and Chocolate. 

Looking Ahead Through a Glass Half-Full

The year kicked off just right, with Lighthall Vineyards 2013 Progression in hand. We made it to midnight (albeit barely), toasted 2015 and went to bed. Yup, my wild New Year's Eve celebrations put Times Square to shame, don't they? What two kids will do to you.

I saved up the energy for a week-long family trip in Punta Cana, where I learned that those same two kids are not at all interested in long, relaxing days on the beach. Good thing the resort had a water park ... conveniently equipped with its own bar. Winning for everyone.

Now back home in the deep cold of another Ice Age, I've been keeping my eye on the horizon for vinous (and hoppy) happenings around town.

Down on the (Experimental) Farm

My glass of bubbly for a pair of rubber boots. The mud and gravel in the parking lot of the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum just begged for it. But there I was in heels. Good thing the rest of the tasting was being held inside.

As I walked through the yard at Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm, I took a deep whiff. Wet straw, damp barn, sodden earth and undergrowth. Yup, smelled like a good pinot.

Fyne Wyne at the Yawt Club

Selections from Nova Scotia's
Benjamin Bridge

Me: So, you wanna come with me to a wine tasting?
Hubby: Sure. Where's it going to be?
Me: At the Britannia Yacht Club.
Hubby: Oh ... (delivered in his best Thurston Howell the Third voice) The Yawt Club? Bryllyant, lovey, simply smashing. Do have a lovely time, will you?

You have to admit, telling someone you're going to a wine tasting at a yacht club sounds a little high-brow, n'est-ce pas? But this tasting was far from being pretentious. The west- and east-coast hospitality of Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble just doesn't work that way.

Canadian Wine Three-Sixty-Five

The first Canadian Wine Day was on June 28, 2013—the one-year anniversary of Bill C-311 coming into force. The feds had finally made it legal for wine to move across provincial borders, from coast to coast to coast. (If the provinces would just follow suit, that would be great.)

Outstanding in their Fields

Yet another fab night out courtesy of the fine folks at Savvy Company. Tonight's 'do at the NAC featured wineries from the Twenty Valley region of the Niagara Peninsula. Despite my late arrival (oh, you cursed parking in downtown Ottawa) and not being on "the list" (I was all, like, whAAaaat? Ok, not really) I managed to get in a good hour and a half of prime sampling.

The County comes to the Capitol

The amber liquid spilled forth into the glass, redolent with caramel and licorice. The tall, dark and handsome gentleman pouring the drink smiled as he described the winemaker's impetus behind using rotting fruit to his advantage. "It's a unique approach, something close to a Hungarian Tokaji. Not too sweet, just enough acidity to ..."

I brushed away his next words with a wave of my hand. "Stop," I said, the faint quiver in my voice betraying a flustered state I was desperate to conceal. "You had me at Hungarian Tokaji." I gave him a knowing look and slowly lifted the glass to my lips.

No, this is not something torn from the pages of a steamy Harlequin romance novel. This was a wine tasting at the NAC in Ottawa. (Gee whiz, get your minds out of the gutter!)

Local 'Selebration' with Ontario wines

This Thursday marks Savvy Company's fourth year in the biz, and they're hosting an all-Ontario bash at the NAC that night to celebrate. Regrettably, between mummy duties and other commitments, I won't be able to go. But that doesn't stop me from perusing the list of wineries in attendance and reminiscing.