Let's talk Turkey.

With Christmas just around the corner, many of you are getting ready for the big holiday feast. And for some this may include a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixins. You may even be wondering, what wine to serve. Lucky for you, Winesnob, much like Mightly Mouse, is here to save the day.

I've made a few turkey dinners here in Italy (pictured above was my latest) and I've experimented with some different wine pairings and I've found that reds work best. But not a heavy, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon because the turkey doesn't have the fat needed to work with those tannins. I'm talking about a lighter bodied red.

Everything I'm going to recommend can be found through the BC Liquor Store. I checked their website and I've found these wines listed. It's up to you to figure out which store carries them. Or you can just hit one of the specialty wine shops that I've mentioned in previous postings.

Let's start in Italy. I have a few recommendations which you may be unfamiliar with but it's a good opportunity to try something other than Brunello and Chianti. Brunello di Montalcino is too heavy for the turkey but if you want to stay in that area, try his little brother Rosso di Montalcino. This is a DOC rated wine which comes from the same area, made with the same grapes but not aged as long as Brunello thus making it much more affordable. Not too far from Montalcino is the town of Montepulciano. The wine from this area is called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It's made with a type of Sangiovese grape called Prugnolo Gentile. It's a gentler Sangiovese than Brunello but just as good. It's a DOCG rated wine (like Brunello) but more affordable. Avignonesi is a good producer. My last Tuscan recommendation is a wine called Morellino di Scansano. This wine is also DOC rated and shouldn't hurt the wallet if you need to buy multiple bottles. From the Umbria region you could try a Sagrantino di Montefalco (a DOCG) or if you prefer something from the Veneto a Valpolicella (DOC) should work nicely as well.

Just a quick note about Italy's wine ratings. DOCG means Denomination of Guaranteed Controlled Origin which is the countries highest standard. DOC is Denomination of Controlled Origin and it comes in second. For a wine to receive a DOCG rating it has to follow very strict guidelines which includes how many vines can be planted per hectare as well as how much wine can be produced. There are also specific ageing guidelines that need to be followed. DOC wines have many of the same guidelines but are usually aged less and production is sometimes higher.

If you'd prefer a Spanish wine, I would try a Rioja. The wine ratings there are Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. Gran Reserva being the oldest. I wouldn't go for a Gran Reserva as it may be too intense for the turkey but a Reserva should work just fine. Marques de Riscal and Marques de Caceres are two producers to look for.

Last but not least is my buddy Pinot Noir. I think this could be a perfect choice for your turkey feast. Your options here are endless. You can stay local and grab a good BC wine or venture a bit further south into Oregon or California. If you wanted to stay in BC, try to find a Burrowing Owl or Nk'mip. I like both of those. I also enjoy the Gray Monk Pinot Noir. In Oregon, Domaine Drouhin is a producer of note and the price reflects that. In California, look for something from the Russian River Valley or Santa Barbara County.

There are some reasonably priced French Pinot Noirs as well from producers Lous LaTour, Jadot and Drouhin. But if you're feeling like splurging, try to find a Pinot Noir from one of Burgundies top villages like Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanèe, Flagey-Echèzeaux or Nuits-St-Georges. At my last turkey dinner, one of my guests brought a Pinot Noir from Vosne-Romanèe. It was spectacular. I highly recommend trying Pinot Noir from those villages. It's an unforgettable tasting experience.

So with that, I wish you all Happy Holidays and Buon Appetito!

Cheers!

When good wines goes bad.

A few years ago I took a trip to Avignon in France. In 1309, Pope Clement the 5th, left Rome and brought the papacy to Avignon. A summer palace was soon built in what is now commonly known as Chateauneuf-du-Pape (literally translated means New Castle of the Pope). Most of you have probably tasted or at least heard of the wine by the same name. So, it was only logical that I visit the site during my trip.

The wine comes from a major appellation of the same name in the Southern Rhone. This region has a very strong wind that blows through called the mistral. I got to experience this wind first hand during my visit and it is quite potent. There were a few times it almost knocked me off my feet and wine consumption had nothing to do with it. The vines stand like small bushes, low to the ground and the trunks are twisted and gnarled from fighting the wind.


When one thinks of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it's as a red wine. The wine is actually made up of 13 varietals (14 if you count the the white and red grenache independently). Of the 14, 6 are white varietals. The predominant grape in this area is Grenache and it is the base for Chateauneuf-du-Pape. There are very few producers that use all 14 varietals anymore. Chateau Beaucastel is one of the producers that still does.

During my trip, I discovered that Chateauneuf-du-Pape is also produced as a white wine. It is one of the most enjoyable whites I've had. There is a restaurant near the remains of the Popes' Chateau and it was there that I enjoyed a glass of white Chateauneuf-du-Pape with a plate of local cheeses. As I had never seen this wine before I had to bring some home. I went to a wine shop in the village and I purchased a 1999 Chateau Beaucastel White Chateauneuf-du-Pape.Instead of drinking it immediately, I decided to wait to let the wine reach it's peak. After doing some research, I figured it would hold until 2009. Unfortunately, it didn't.


I was doing some inventory in my wine cellar the other day and I came across the bottle. I thought now was as good a time as any to enjoy it. The sad thing was that it was past it's prime. The wine was very amber in color and it resembled a Marsala wine to the taste. You may be familiar with the Sicilian wine Marsala if you've ever had veal scalloppine cooked in it at an Italian restaurant. Marsala is a great wine but it's not the flavour I want in my white Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Needless to say I was very disappointed. I had been looking forward to this wine for a long time but I waited too long.


So, the moral of the story is, always buy two bottles. Drink one several years before you think it's ready and if it appears to still have the structure, keep the other one a bit longer.

I also have a 1997 Red Chateauneuf-du-Pape that needs drinking. It was a strange year so I bought it to see how it would develop in time. I guess I best get to it. I'll keep you posted.

Oh and for all you keeners, the 14 varietals are as follows
Red: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Muscardin, Counoise, Vaccarèse, Terret Noir.
White: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul, Picardan

Let's talk about Rieslings

I know it's been a while since my last post. My apologies. It's been a hectic couple of months and now I'm back in Italy. At least for another few weeks.
Last night I attended a tasting dinner which featured Thai food paired with German Rieslings. In Vancouver you can find Thai restaurants on practically every corner. That isn't the case here in Lucca thus making the dinner a bit more unique.

Rieslings have been the go to wine to pair with Asian cooking for a while. It's very difficult to pair Asian cusine not only because of the spices and sauces but also how it's served. You get several dishes served all at once and each dish has it's own unique flavour. This makes wine pairing a challenge.

The problem I find back home is finding a really good Riesling. Most of the ones I've tried tend to be too sweet. Rieslings are a sweeter wine but a good Riesling will balance that sweetness with acidity. This balance works very well with Asian cuisine.

Without getting into a mini-course on Rieslings, I just want to give you some basic guidelines when looking at German Rieslings. This will help you understand the labels that much better. German wine categories are based on a ripeness scale. Tafelwein (literally table wine), QbA and QmP. QbA wines are everyday, inexpensive quaffing wines. QmP wines are the highest class of German wines and these in turn have 6 sub-categories based on ascending degrees of ripeness. No sugar can be added to QmP wines unlike wines in the QbA category. The ripeness scale is as follows, starting with the least ripe, Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein (literally Ice Wine).

Kabinetts are probably the most food friendly, Spatleses are late-harvest wines with more strength and intensity than Kabinetts. Ausleses are made only in the best years from very ripe grapes, and the final three categories are all very intense and usually expensive due to the low production.

All the wines we tasted last night were from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine region. This is the Napa Valley of Germany. The wines from this area are considered better than all the rest. We started with Pad Thai which was paired with a Markus Molitor 2007 Kabinett Zeltingen Sonnenuhr. Zeltingen is the village the wine came from and Sonnenuhr is the vineyard name. This wine was 7.5% alc/vol and was very round with some sweetness but not a cloying sweetness. This paired very nicely with the Pad Thai.











Next came Chicken in Green Curry Coconut Sauce and a Spicy Basil Pork. A St Urbans Hof Oekonomierat Nic Weis 2006 Kabinett Ockfener Brockstein was served. Ockfener is the village and Brockstein is the vineyard. This was 9% alc/vol and was much more mineral than the Markus Molitor. It also had a hint of kerosene smell in the nose. This is a good thing in a Riesling. Not at all a defect. In fact, Kerosene is one of the characteristics of Rieslings. Kind of like Cat Pee in Sauvignon Blanc. I really enjoyed this wine with the dish. It worked really well.

The Sea Bass in Chili Sauce and Garlic Pepper Prawns came next. With this a Willi Schaefer 2003 Spatlese Graacher Domprobst was paired. Graacher is the village and Domprobst the vineyard. We've moved into a richer category now with a Spatlese, also an older wine (2003). The wine was more intense in color and smelled a bit like lamp oil (also a good thing). There is a nice balance of sweetness and acidity in this wine. Willi Schaefer is a very good Riesling producer. This wine was 7.5% alc/vol. Also served at the same time was a Winninger Hann Spatlese 2006 Feinherb. At 14% alc/vol this wine had a light kerosene nose and a high level of acidity. I prefered the Willi Schaefer of the two with this dish.














To end the evening, we were treated to a 1976 Thornichen Ritlch Sankt Urbans Hof. It was incredibly rich in color and you could smell dried apricots and candied fruit. A nice wine to sip and enjoy.














Hopefully this post will encourage you to try some German Rieslings. In Vancouver there is so much Asian Fusion that finding a reason to try a Riesling won't be too hard. I did check the BC Liquor Store website and the only label they had was the St Urbans Hof. But check the year and the village/vineyard as well as the category (Kabinett, etc). There are many excellent wine shops in Vancouver like Liberty Wines, Sutton Place, Marquis and Everything Wine in North Vancouver. I'm sure with a little research you can find something amazing. Then make sure to let me know if you do.

About Me

A friend of mine coined the term Full-of-Yourself Friday. So it's the perfect day to talk about myself and fill you in on my background.

I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. My parents immigrated from Italy in the 50's and I grew up speaking Italian and travelling often to Italy to visit family. I even attended Saturday morning Italian classes. Trust me, at 16, that was not exactly how I wanted to be spending my time. But, mother did know best and it really paid off.


In 2003 I threw caution to the wind and moved to Italy. Even though I had spent a fair amount of time there as a child and was fluent in Italian, adjusting to living there had it's challenges. From time to time, I will post about those times as there were some funny experiences. But for now, it's about the wine.


In the fall of 2003 I saw an ad for a sommelier course. As I already had an interest in wine I thought this was a good idea. Not only would I learn something but I could meet people with similar interests. It was very challenging taking a course in my second language and I was fortunate to have the ability to dedicate myself full-time to my studies. In May 2005 I became a sommelier.


In Italy there are 2 sommelier societies, FISAR and AIS. I am a FISAR sommelier. Each year each society holds a competition to crown a Sommlier of the Year. Last October, I competed in FISAR's competition. There were 8 of us in the competition and I was the only woman. Not to mention, the only one that wasn't a native Italian speaker. There were 3 parts to the competition and it took place over 2 days. Day 1 was the written exam with the practical and oral exams on day 2. On that second day, you performed before a panel of 5 judges with each judge asking you 2 questions in a specific topic. For example, one judge asked about wine/food pairing, while another asked questions about Italian wine regions. At the end of Day 1, I was told I had scored the highest on the written exam so I felt pretty confident going into Day 2. Not only are you performing before a judging panel, but it's open to all the members attending so it's extra nerve racking. I had studied quite hard for this competition and that hard work paid off when I was crowned Sommelier of the Year 2007.


I will be honest, there were a few people (men) not too happy about it but I scored so much higher than everyone else they had no choice but to award it to me. I don't know if they were bitter because I was a woman, or a Canadian or because they didn't like my chapter club president. They never did give me the respect I deserved but so be it.


So here I am today sharing my knowledge and experience with you.

Decanting Wine

When I'm out talking to people about wine, I get asked many questions. And there are many Frequently Asked Questions. So, along with talking about wines that I'm drinking, I also want to address those questions. They will be labelled FAQ. (I know, I'm just too clever sometimes). So, for the inaugural FAQ, I want to talk about decanting wine.

There are 2 main reasons to decant wine. 1, to add oxygen and 2, to prevent sediment from getting into your glass. Older red wines (and some whites) can form deposits (sediment) in the bottle. By pouring that bottle into another container (decanter) you can make sure that if there is sediment in the bottle, it will stay there. Some decanters come with a fancy strainer to help you out. Don't worry if you don't have one because you really don't need it. When you are decanting wine, pour the wine slowly and gently from the bottle into your chosen serving vessel. Do not pour it like you are filling your bathtub. Wine is more temperamental than women and really doesn't like being handled roughly. The best way is to let it glide from the bottle down along the inside of the decanter. Look at the neck of the bottle while you are doing this and watch for the sediment. If the bottle you are decanting has sediment, you will not pour all of it into the decanter. Make sure you leave all the sediment in the bottle. In order to do this, you will also be leaving a bit of wine behind too.

The next question would then be, how long do I leave the wine in the decanter before serving? This depends on the wine you are decanting. People think that older wines benefit from decanting more than younger wines. The opposite is actually true. I wish I could give you a handy chart or formula telling you if the wine is X years old, decant Y hours before serving. It doesn't work that way. Each wine and wine region is different. The varietals used, the year and the wine-maker all factor in. So here's some general guidelines.

If you have a young red wine, decant it at least 30 minutes before serving. You don't want to give it too much oxygen or you may lose some of it's character. Here's an example. I served a 2004 Chianti Classico by Rocca delle Macie last week. I made the mistake of decanting it too early. By the time we got around to drinking it, the wine had lost some of its tannic qualities making it smoother than it should have been. My guests thoroughly enjoyed the wine but I found it lacking. Sometimes, the younger the wine, the more oxygen it will need. Keep that in mind when you're picking up some of the new releases. Sometimes you can't wait to open that bottle even though you've been told to store it for at least 6 months.

Now, what if you have a really old bottle? Say something that's over 20 years old. The reason you decant this is for sediment purposes. Taking a very old wine and letting it sit in a decanter for a long period of time is not a good idea. As wine ages, the color becomes more orange. Think, terra cotta. This is a natural process. What started out as a ruby red will become more orange with time. This wine does not need any more oxygen to mellow out the tannins. My advice would be to decant and drink. Slowly of course (both the decanting and the drinking).

Hopefully this has taken away some of the mystery about decanting. Now you can use that fancy decanter that I know you've got in the cupboard but didn't know exactly how and when to use it. And if you don't have one, you now have a good excuse to go buy one.

PS. When you clean your decanter, just rinse it out with really hot water. The last thing you want is soap residue in it. Chateau Palmolive really doesn't sound appealing.

New Blog Features

So I've been playing around with the blog layout and trying to discover more features to add. In the blog world they are called 'gadgets'. So, you will now notice in the right hand column, that you can become an official 'follower' of my blog as well as being able to 'subscribe' to it. I've also included some of the blogs I follow.

Hopefully you'll take advantage of some of these new 'gadgets'.

Let's Talk about Bubbles

I like bubbles. In my bath and in my glass. The trick is finding good bubbles. For your bath, you want lots of bubbles and you want them to hang around a long time. In your glass, you also want lots of bubbles but you want them to disappear quickly. I recommend Lush Bubble bars for your bath. But how about your glass?


The trick with bubbly is finding one that isn't going to send you to the bank for a second mortgage. I'm a big fan of Dom Perignon but I don't stock that as a house bubbly. So, what do I stock? I've gone through a few selections this year and I think I've found a winner. But let's start at the beginning.


In Italy, we love our bubbles. The aperitif of choice throughout Italy is Prosecco. This is a sparkling wine made from Prosecco grapes and the best come from an area in Northern Italy, near Venice, called Valdobbiadene. Because I am very familiar with this wine, I went in search of something different.

One bubbly I was introduced you by my friend's dad, was a BC sparkler by Sumac Ridge. It's called Stellar's Jay.


This is a really nice bubbly. It's very brut. And by that I mean dry. This one benefits from having snacks handy. Sparkling wines pair very well with fatty foods. The bubbles cut through the fat. That is why in Italy's Emilia Romagna region they drink Lambrusco. The bubbles from that wine cut through the fat of their local foods. So, if you're serving anything deep fried, bubbly is the way to go. There are two reason this did not become my house sparkler. The first, price. It's $26.99 a bottle. The second, it really does need food to accompany it. And sometimes, I don't serve food. For those of you that know me well, I realize you find this hard to believe, but it is true.

My next attempt at a house sparkler was Antech's Cremant De Limoux.

I really enjoyed this wine as well. This comes from the Languedoc Region of France. A wine may only be called Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France. Any sparkling wine from anywhere else has to be called differently. In Italy, we call it Spumante. In Spain, Cava. In Germany, Sekt. Most places just use Sparkling Wine. In the USA, they like American Champagne. So what is a sparkling French wine called if it isn't made in Champagne? Cremant. I was using this as a house sparkler for a while but once again, two things got in the way. The first, price. It's $24.99 a bottle. The second, it had a bit of a sweetness to it that initially wasn't bad but after a while became bothersome. This isn't a sweet wine but it just had a bit of a sweet aftertaste which for some might be very enjoyable but just not what I was looking for.

So, my quest continued. Like Arthur in search of the Grail, I moved bravely forward. Working my way through the forest of aisles in my local liquor store, side-stepping the free tastings of Malibu Rum and occasional free pizza offerings. And then there it was. Glowing from above, calling out over the din of Mike's Hard Lemonade buyers........

Bimbadgen Ridge Sparkling Semillon.

OK. Perhaps that was a tad too dramatic.

This bubbly has a really nice balance. I can serve it as an aperitif even if I don't have food, it's enjoyable to drink and.... the best part.... it won't kill your pocketbook. It lists for $16.99.

Price is always a factor. In fact, wines are often in rated in quality to price ratios. This one rates highly there. The thing is, we all know (if you don't you do now), that one glass of bubbly leads to another. So, if you have to supply multiple bottles, $28 a bottle is going to hurt. $17 won't sting so much.

So there you have it. I suggest you try them all as they are all very good wines. I'd love to hear from you with your thoughts when you try them.

Until then.........

Salute!

Critter Wines

So part of the reason for this blog is to share info about the wines I try. Some will be pricey but my main goal is to find good wines at reasonable prices. Today's topic is Critter Wines.

What are Critter wines? These are wines with cute labels and catchy names. They are typically under or around $15 and their main reason to exist is to attract younger consumers to wine. The trend has been that people have been getting into wine in their mid-30's. The Critter Wines attract consumers in their 20's. The idea being that by the time they reach their late 20's early 30's, they will move on to more interesting (better) wines as they can afford them.

Some brands that fall into this category that you may recognize include Yellow Tail (kangaroo), Little Penguin and Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush (a very Dr Seuss like cat). In general, these wines have come from Australia and New Zealand but now European countries are getting into the act. I recently purchased 2 whites which caught my eye. Both are from the Languedoc region in the south of France. This area is known for making inexpensive easy drinking wines. Both these wines are classified as Vin De Pays on the French classification scale. Translated it means Table Wine.

Let's start with Arrogant Frog Ribet White. This is a Sauvignon Blanc.



So as you can see they've got the catchy name and cool label part down. Sauvignon Blanc has 2 main characteristics, cat pee and gooseberry (guess what varietal Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush is?). Now I must admit, I've never smelled the cat pee in any sauvignon blanc I've drank to date. I guess my precious kittys' (past and present) pee has been too fragrant (in a good way). Well, I smell it now. You don't have to be a winesnob to find it in this wine. This is a good example not only of a critter wine but a sink wine. What is a sink wine? It's a wine that's best consumed by your sink and not you. Now, don't be thinking, I'll just use it to cook. If it's not good enough for you to drink, don't put it in your food. If you are curious, you can find it at your local BC Liquor Store for $13.99.

My second French critter wine is Chat-en-Oeuf.

Cat on Egg. Now this wine, also $13.99 at the BC Liquor Store, is a blend of whites from the same region as Arrogant Frog. The ads in the BC Liquor Store Product Guide say it's received 87 points. They don't mention who's awarded them those 87 points. This wine is drinkable. It's not going to rock your world but it's pleasant. A good patio wine when you're not expecting too much. I served it this evening with gnocchi and pesto sauce and it held up OK.

The BC Liquor Store is marketing both of these as Bistro Wines. Not a bad label as in general, French Bistro wines are inexpensive and easy drinking. Chat-en-Oeuf meets this criteria. There is also a red Chat-en-Oeuf which I haven't tried as of yet. If I do, I'll be sure to let you know.

New Header

As you can see I've been playing with the layout of the blog. The header picture I've chosen is the Piazza Anfiteatro in Lucca. This square (more like a round) in the center of old town has existed since Roman times and the back exit still has the original stones from that time.

This painting was done by a very good friend of mine Marie Haws. She's an amazing artist and for those of you who have visited me in Vancouver or Italy (a lucky few have visited me in both places) you've seen many of her works adorn my walls. This particular painting is hanging in Vancouver.

She has recently gotten her own website. Please check out her work at www.mariehaws.com

I'm very proud to own several of the pieces featured in her gallery of work.

The Pinot Noir debate rages on

I seem to have started something with my Pinot Noir comments.

A friend of mine whose opinion on the subject of wine I value a great deal sent me this comment.

Heat is measured by accumulated heat units summed over the time from April to October. ‘cool’ is generally less than 1500 Degree days. Warm is above 1500. Hot is generally above 2000. Kelowna is good for Pinot Noir because its degree days are about similar to that of Burgundy (around 1200-1300). Hot summer days are acceptable as long as the total heat accumulated is in check. This is why our 07 Pinot is so good in comparison to our other vintages: we had around 1350 degree days vs our usual 1500+.

OK. So there you have the technical answer. So, I guess you need to start looking for local 2007 Pinot Noirs. As you now know that it was a good season for that grape. But in my defense, if the usual for the area is over 1500, then my orginal statements aren't too far wrong if you consider that the mecca of Pinot Noir is the Burgundy region of France.

Another reason Sept 11 is memorable.

September 11, 2008 was a very memorable day for my family. It was the day we moved out of our old home. Almost exactly 42 years since we moved in.

My dad had the house built in 1966 and we moved in September of that year. I was 2 years old. Not much has really changed in that house in those 42 years making it a bit of a time capsule. I started tackling this task seriously late August and just when I thought I had a handle on things I unearthed more stuff. My parents threw nothing out in all that time. My dad had paperwork dating back to the late 60's. His theory was we have the room so why throw it out.

I gave away many items. I did daily trips to Value Village over the last few weeks. I gave away furniture, clothing and tons of knick knacks. And there were many knick knacks. I had to fight tooth and nail with my mom over each item I threw away.

But that was the easy part.

I found them a nice condo not too far from their old home. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath with a lovely large patio. They are on the ground floor so they can walk out of their unit and access the buildings' gardens. It has a house feel without having to do the gardening. When I found out I was getting the keys on the Wednesday night, I decided to go in and paint. I managed to convince some friends to help and at 8pm Wednesday night got started. C & N met me at 8 and we started the prep. D showed up around 8:30. I knew it was an ambitious project but had no idea how ambitious until we started working. The job was instantly pared down to the master bedroom and main living space. There would be no time for trim.

The bedroom was a shade of blue and the rest of the place was taupish. It took 2 coats of primer and one of paint to make the bedroom presentable and 2 coats in the rest of the condo. D and I got out of there at 2 am.

The move was the next day. We were back at the condo by 8:30 am. I left D there to do touch-ups while I went to the old house to co-ordinate with the movers. The boys from Spartan moving were great. My thanks to them both.

Once I gave them their instructions, back to the condo I went. In the light of day, we saw how filthy this place really was. Fortunately, I had re-inforcements coming. H and J arrived at 11:30 and we all got to work. H brought along her new steamer and got going in the kitchen. Her Euro-pro Shark professional steamer is the cat's meow. As she got going in that kitchen, she couldn't stop. She spent 8 hours cleaning that kitchen. The condo is 900 sq ft. The kitchen isn't that big. I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to the housekeeping abilities of the previous owners.

The furniture started arriving after 1pm. I had left mom in the old house as it was easier that way. I know she felt helpless there but I didn't want her seeing the new place just yet. By the time the movers left, we had the place organized. I really wanted mom to have a nice first impression of her new home. By the time she walked in the door, my amazing helpers had furniture arranged so it looked like a home. Not a shell with stuff piled up.

Mom was overwhelmed. She didn't understand why it was taking us so long to clean such a small place. But when she saw the freshly painted walls and clean floors she was truly taken aback. She told me later that she never had so many people doing so much for her. It took her breath away.

Mom seems to be very happy in her new home. She is still unpacking. Hopefully, we'll have it all done by next weekend. She is really nervous about all the new things she has to learn to do. Such as how to get into the underground parking and which key opens which door. She also seems to have forgotten how to use the simplest of items. Such as the electrical outlet in the bathroom. I'm sure she'll have it all handled soon enough.

My thanks once again to all my amazing friends who helped me with this project. I couldn't have done it without you. If mom had walked into an apartment which reaked of curry, with grungy walls and filthy kitchen, she would have been in tears. Instead, she found a bright and cheery space that sparkled.

You've all gained major karma points. Or as I like to say........Princess Points.

Bloggers Remorse

So, I realize I may have been too hard on last evenings wine boys. I'm sure they are very talented it's just their attitudes are in need of a major adjustment. The wine world is so varied and there are so many different expressions of wine. Each person will have styles that they prefer. No one's opinions should be discounted. It's a rather sore point for me as I've come across that often in Italy. I expect it from the old guard over there but haven't encountered it here. So, it got under my skin.

And to further clarify, it's not that there are no good Pinot Noirs grown in the Okanagan, it's just that Pinot Noir is an extremely difficult grape to grow and needs proper handling. It's a bit of a princess. You need a winemaker that really knows what he's doing. And, it does thrive in cooler climate areas as mentioned before. Some local Pinot Noirs that I have enjoyed include Burrowing Owl and Gray Monk. Just make sure that when you drink Pinot Noir that it not be served too warm. It loses all it's finesse. It shouldn't be warmer than 16 degrees centigrade.

OK. I feel better now. However, there still is no excuse for not noticing the taint in that glass of wine. Especially from people with that sort of training.

Wine Geeks Beware

Ok. So I've finally gotten off my butt and started a blog. There have been a few of you that have been on my case for a while now so......you can shut it.

Here's what got me off my butt. Tonight I had a fantastic dinner with the winemaker from Burrowing Owl and his lovely wife. We had a fabulous dinner at Cin Cin in Vancouver. Good food, good wine and good company. All the elements of a great night.

On my way home, I decided to stop into Uva. A winebar on Smythe and Seymour. Now, being as this is Winesnob's blog, expect lots of wine related items. So, we will start off with a bang.

Uva is run by a Sommelier I met last November when he was working at Lumiere. His name is Sebastian. He's really cool. He couldn't wait to introduce me to some fellow winesnobs. They were in town doing some Master of Wine classes. Now, just to bring you all up to speed, a Master of Wine is a really big deal. Way above my lowly sommelier status.

So, I sat at the table with these guys listening and learning. Until........

I realized they hadn't a clue. So, I was quiet at first. Demure even. And for those of you that really know me, you know this was a challenge. All was well until we got into the topic of Pinot Noir. Now, just to give you a bit of background, Pinot Noir is a grape that does well in cool climates. It thrives in the Champagne region of France (northern France), Oregon, and the Russian River Valley of California. All cool climate areas. The Okanagan Valley, really isn't ideal. Most of you know how hot it gets there in the summer. So, does that seem like a cool climate? See, you're already smarter than these bozos. Did I say bozos? Outer voice, must learn to control that.

As you can imagine, I've already offended them. Ooops. Now here's the kicker. While we were sitting there, we were served a Malbec from Argentina. I was still sipping on my earlier wine so I didn't get to it right away. They tasted it whole-heartedly. By the time I got to it, they were leaving. This was after the big Pinot Noir discussion. Which, they both dismissed me on.

As I brought the glass to my nose......Ewwww. The wine was tainted. What does that mean? It stunk. It wasn't corked, it was that plus a little extra smell. As they were leaving I said, Did you guys have the Malbec? Yes they said. Didn't you notice it's tainted?

Of course, they had both drank it down. I gave them my glass to smell and had to listen to some very clever back-peddling.

As they left, tails between their legs, I let the owner/sommelier smell it and he totally agreed with me. These guys are charging $300 to participate in their classes. They will let me know the next time they hold them in town. How many of you want to be there when I attend and shame them?

I don't claim to know everything. I'm always willing to listen and learn. But just because I'm a woman, don't dismiss me.

16 years in lumber taught me to hold my own.

Wine boys beware.........There's a new chick in town.