Welcome to Second Ferment! Wine pairs well with life ... and food, travel, people, work and play. Grab a glass and join me as I explore the wine scene in Ottawa, Canada, and beyond. Love hearing from my readers, so please leave a comment. Cheers! - Bethany

Monday, November 08, 2010

Hand in hand, like hockey and fondue

Uh, how's that go again?

As part of the $100 Challenge, I wanted to try a local wine that I'd written off when it first came out. See, I have (wrongly, so it seems) assumed that wines sporting the names of big-shot celebrities must be all about novelty and less about quality. I've poo-pooed the Weirs, Akroyds and Gretzkys for a while, blindly judging them for their covers. For shame! What kind of a sommelier am I, anyway?

So the Challenge gave me a good excuse to give one of them a try: Wayne Gretzky Estates No. 99 2007 Merlot. Just under $16 a bottle, it's light, fruity and friendly, with low tannins and all kinds of food matching potential. I poured a cupful in with the fixins for beef fondue on Sunday night, based on a recipe from a fellow Ottawa blogger over at Rachelle Eats Food. While the havarti trick didn't quite work out with the rolled-up slices of sirloin, overall, the meal was a delicious success. And the remaining broth made for some kick-ass French onion soup tonight.

This Hockey Hall of Famer wine would also make for a nice alternative to beer while watching the game. Or at least for toasting another loss by the Leafs. (Yeah, I went there ...)

2 comments:

  1. Darn. No "Like" button on this.

    I've been skeptical of the celebrity wines as well. Sounds like I'm not missing out on this particular one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How did I miss this? Now I have a craving for beef fondue.

    ReplyDelete

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