Happy New Year

We celebrated 2009 at Bishop's Cellar with a well attended Champagne tasting in our store on December 30th. It was a chilly night on the waterfront, and the Champagne to be served was also well chilled, well enjoyed and a wonderful treat! How great to taste so many side by side-savouring the nuances each had..so different, each with their own distinct blends, nose, and bubbles.

Tasted that evening were the Pol Roger Reserve NV, Montaudon NV, Drappier Brut NV, Louis Barthelemy Brut Amethyste NV, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1998, Dom Perignon 2000, Krug Brut Grand Cuvee, and Taittinger Brut Rose.

It was very cool to see people tasting and comparing, trying to decide which one they liked the most..did they prefer the +$200 offerings, or was a less than $70 bottle more appealing to their palate. Whether the wine is accoladed beyond belief..it all comes down to personal taste.

Emily and her Mom prepared amazing food, and fresh oysters were shucked on the premesis.
I am certain many a household enjoyed one of those bottles when midnight struck on the 31st.

Wishing you all Happiness, Health and Prosperity in 2010.

Chateau Montelena

Greetings everyone. Very sorry it has been so long. I managed a quick visit to Napa Valley a few weeks ago..a jam-packed Thursday and Friday which yielded new friends and a lot of knowledge! I was fortunate to have a travelling companion, Kathryn - who used to work with us at Bishop's Cellar. We left San Francisco bright and early Thursday morning, with a quick stop for a coffee and a muffin in St. Helena before heading North to Calistoga and our 9:30 meet at Chateau Montelena. We had just screened the movie 'Bottle Shock' at an event at our Halifax warehouse, and with the story of the Paris 1976 tasting fresh in my mind, we headed in to the tasting room!
I did some research prior to the trip, and was dismayed to learn that the Montelena Wines really don't get much for scores or accolades these days. (not that scores are everything)

In my thinking - if I beat the French at winemaking I would make damn sure I kept doing it!!

We tasted their 2008 Potter Valley Riesling, 2007 Napa Chard, 2006 Calistoga Zinfandel, and '05 and '06 Montelena Estate Cab Sauv-their flagship red, at $135. (The '97 had 95 pts)

Having just watched a movie showcasing this winery, I walked right up to the cellar door pictured here ..but it is the cellar door..not the tasting room! They have great literature about the differing soil types on thier property, and pay close attention to terroir-what is planted where. The property itself is beautiful-definitely worth a visit! Erin

Friday Night Tasting

After a long week of work, what better way to relax and unwind then with a great dinner. Friday night we were in luck, not only did we have some great wines, but we also had my cousin to cook us a preview tasting menu for his new catering business.

First we started with a roasted squash soup topped with charred scallops and a maple balsamic drizzle. We paired it with an Argentinian Torrontes. Perhaps a bit too aromatic for the soup, but when pairing what you have for wine, sometimes you need to make concessions.

The second course (pictured below) was a piece of grilled salmon on an arugula pesto topped with a homemade tomato salsa. This time we had the perfect wine to pair. My cousin rummaged around his cupboard and pulled out a bottle of 2005 L'Ecole 41 Semillon. This wine is of my favourite whites that we carry in the store. If you've never tried Semillon before, especially one that's aged a bit, this example from Washington state is definitely true to style. Aged sur lees, this wine had beautfiful body, a nice balance of oak and great honey and apricot flavours. This big, bold wine was perfect with the grilled salmon and cooling arugula pesto. Not a bad impromptu pairing!





While we were only two courses in we all were already getting a bit full, fortunately between each course we had to set up our makeshift photo studio and take a shot of each course, allowing a bit more time for our food to digest.

I'm going to cut things off here, as I'm already getting full again just writing about this meal, but I'll be back soon to finish off the rest of the dinner. For any of you interested in having someone cater a holiday dinner or simply prepare some unforgettable appies, drop my cousin an email to novacatering@yahoo.com. He'd be more than happy to accomodate. Until next time ...

Matt

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Go away Bill!

I always like to bragg about Nova Scotia's weather and generally favourable conditions, believe it or not. We don't have tornado's or tsunami's, earthquakes or volcanoes erupting around us. Sure, winter is LONG and there are a few weeks of humidity in the summer-but all in all considering the destruction caused by mudslides and flooding and raging forest-fires..we are doing allright! Having spent 2004 on the Gulf coast of Florida-being under the constant barrage of Hurricane after Hurricane, I can tell you that we really are lucky. In your preparation for what may happen should Bill swing by Nova Scotia this weekend, make sure you have food and water, and then the wine. It is true what they say..you should have at least as much wine as you have water! I have been loving a simple, practically health-food drink of Sangria this Summer. I do love all wine, particularly red-but on a hot day it's hard to have that 18 degree glass of wine when you're longing for something with ice clinking in the glass. I buy an organic cherry juice-available at Planet Organic market, or the health-food section of Superstore, and mix it with a dry red..something around 12% alcohol (I use a greek wine we carry) cut up lemons and limes, and voila..amazing Sangria. No sparkling, no sugary syrups, plain simple and delicious. SO if you're hunkered down (I got so sick of hearing the crazy news station guys on TV out in the wind and rain on CNN talk about being 'hunkered down') this weekend, be prepared-enjoy some Sangria as long as there's power and ice, and stay safe.

Cheers, Erin

Lakeside Lobsters & Saltram Chardonnay

Last Saturday was a hectic day, wine needed to be delivered to Lunenburg while we were in the Valley and a 1 year old birthday part was happening in Point Pleasant Park. Matt (of BC warehouse fame) and I hit the road with cases of wine and ended up on a cross-Nova-Scotia-experience. Luckily it was a nice day for a drive. We got a call from some friends urging us to rush home as soon as possible to head up to the lake (Black River), boil some lobster, bbq some corn and enjoy an evening with friends. Needless to say we stopped to the store on our way back and picked up some "lobster wine". Matt and I had been debating as my standby is the Domaine Micheal David Muscadet Serve et Maine but he reminded me about the Saltram Chardonnay. The Saltram is on buy two get one free at the store and three bottles seemed appropriate for three couples. The hostess, who is quite the foodie and an emerging wino herself, prepared lobster, bbq'd local corn, roasted potatoes, greek pasta salad even garlic bread. The Saltram went perfectly with the meal and matched up well with the richness and butter on the lobster.
We sat around the table and finished as many of the lobsters as we could before the sun went down. Then started a fire and enjoyed desert and specialty coffees, how she managed to make those delicious coffees in a shack in the woods still has me guessing. All in all it was a beautiful relaxing night as an end to a hectic day. Saltram Chardonnay is still on buy two get one so next time you want to throw a seafood dinner party stop by for this magnificent wine!

Happy Natal Day Weekend

This weekend is Metro Area Raceweek!

RNSYS will proudly host this season’s edition of the largest keelboat regatta in Metro running Friday, July 31st through Monday, August 3rd on the Natal Day long weekend. With loads of entertainment, great prizes, excellent food and great sailing, this is certainly an event not to be

missed! For anyone on the water - To ensure you are properly stocked up to celebrate Nova Scotia's Birthday in proper form, know you can call ahead and order for pick-up from our retail store 490-2675. We are open all day Natal day 10AM-10PM. Hope to see you on the water and in the store!

Tall Ships Weekend

Every day this weekend starting on Thursday you will be offered a taste of something when you walk in. Check it out...

Tomorrow, July 16th from 7pm-9pm we welcome the arrival of the Tall Ships with a tasting of 10 wines and some mellow funk, soul, and roots spun by our pal DJ Bumpsie. (Vinyl lives!) We still have some spots open for this, so please RSVP if you know you will be here. Last minute walk-ins welcome. $10/person (CASH please).

Glenora Distillery will be here throughout the weekend to pour samples of their Glen Breton Single Malt Whiskey. Here are their time slots: Thursday 11am-3pm, Friday Noon-8pm, Saturday, Noon-4pm, and Sunday 2:30pm-6:30pm. FREE!

Saturday, July 18th from Noon to 3 pm Benjamin Bridge Winery will be here to pour their new Nexus Dry Rose. Please stop in to try the latest creation from this innovative gang. FREE!

Sunday, July 19th from Noon-2pm we will be pouring the new release of the Stutz Hard Apple Cider. FREE! Following the tasting, head around the corner to catch the first installment of Bishop's Landing Summer Concert Series!