menu
Member Sign In
  • IWFS Homepage
  • Blog Home
  • Forums Home
  • Global Forum
  • Contact Us
Close
  • IWFS Homepage
  • Blog Home
  • Forums Home
  • Global Forum
  • Contact Us
    Member Sign In
  • Blog Home
  • Forum Home
  • Global Forum
FOLOW US

Recent Posts

  • Ask Sid: What are smudge pots?
  • CHATEAU PAPE CLEMENT VINTAGES BY BERNARD MAGREZ SHOW MUCH IMPROVED PESSAC-LEOGNAN QUALITY
  • Ask Sid: Which wine did golfer Rory McIlroy drink to celebrate his 2025 Masters win?
  • SEVEN SAN FRANCISCO RESTAURANTS WORTH TRYING
  • Ask Sid: Which classified Bordeaux chateau includes a Jura grape variety in their white wine?

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Archive for February, 2019

Newer Entries

Ask Sid: Best & Worst Years this Decade for Burgundy?

February 13th, 2019 by Joseph Temple
Ask your question here

burgundy wine best vintages

Question: Would appreciate your opinion of the best and worst years this decade for white & red Burgundy.

Answer: Still a work in progress that is difficult to generalize on because of all the recent vineyard variables due to frost, hail, erratic weather by sub-region, and short crops. However your scribe still prefers the even vintages in Chablis of 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. For the Cote d’Or proper am finding 2013 to be one of the least consistent vintages for both the reds and the whites (as are some of the 2015 & 2011 whites). My vote for the best vintages would go to the concentrated ripe 2015 reds (with that surprising 2010 vintage) and balanced vibrant 2014 whites (with rich smaller crop 2010 also impressive). Lots of exceptions can be made during this unusual decade to those simple vintage chart numbers. You need to do a more detailed intensive study by both producer and vineyard for each vintage to be more truly accurate – or taste the wine. Hope this helps.


You might also like:

Burgundy Aficionado Should Widen Searches to Include Negociant Value Wines

February 11th, 2019 by Sid Cross

We all are experiencing the continuing supply and demand economics for Burgundy wines. There certainly are a lot more consumers (and especially collectors) chasing after and driving up the prices of a very limited amount of top rated small estate producers from Cote d’Or for Cote de Nuits & Cote de Beaune wines. This cherished region has expanded more recently also to include Chablis to the north – especially those Grand Cru and best Premier Cru vineyards from key producers – and to the south for some much improved treasures from Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais, and Cru Beaujolais. Often some wine critics and buyers tend to give more attention to the smaller estates and downplay somewhat the larger established ones – sort of like what has happened with the increased focus on grower Champagnes vs. the established big house labels. Certainly some of the long time negociants in Burgundy that also own substantial vineyards have developed well deserved excellent reputations for delivering very fine quality wines right across the board. Immediately coming to mind among others are such respected names as Bouchard Pere, Faiveley, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot, and Louis Latour. However there are many more who are making fine tuning changes in their operations with a much better improved product worth checking out at still fair values. These thoughts all came back to me this past week at a trade tasting by the importer The Delf Group held in Vancouver on February 7, 2019 for Domaines Albert Bichot (founded in 1831) by their visiting knowledgeable Directrice Export Delphine de la Fouchardiere spotlighting 15 current releases from Village wines to Grand Cru. This followed on from an earlier tasting and dinner at their premises on the ring road in Beaune in early October of last year. They also have some interesting Climats worth discovering under their Domaine Long-Depaquit (Chablis), Domaine du Clos Frantin (Cote de Nuits including special Vosne-Romanee), Chateau Gris (Nuits-Saint-Georges), Domaine du Pavillon (Cote de Beaune), Domaine Adelie (Mercurey), and Domaine de Rochegres (Moulin-a-Vent). Enjoyed their fresh lively pure Cremant de Bourgogne a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and gamay grapes but also have a lovely blanc de blancs cremant from only chardonnay. The lower yields from 2015 reds showed characteristic ripe seductive fruit (and stems) with full rich rounder tannins styling while those of 2016 that survived the severe frosts had fresh vibrant mineral acidity. Impressed by the values at the lower end plus the usually southerly leaner Santenay Les Charmes is all spicy ripe raspberries in 2015. At the other end for the avid collector that 2016 Clos de La Roche is the true terroir full of potential.


center


You might also like:

Ask Sid: Smokiest Wine Vintages in the Okanagan?

February 6th, 2019 by Joseph Temple
Ask your question here

smoke wine fire wildfires

Question: Sid with so many forest fires in the Okanagan the last two decades I wondered which years you thought resulted in the smokiest wines?

Answer: Yes the wild forest fires in the Okanagan have been a continuing hot topic (pun intended) for the BC wine industry. I would offer my opinion that the worst vintages for smoke taint are 2003, 2015, and 2018. There were also lots of wild forest fires in 2009 but they started quite early on because of above average temperatures and lower precipitation resulting in fewer grape issues. Luckily the 2003 fires were localized more around the environs of the Cedar Creek Estate Winery. In 2015 the fires were much more widely spread out (including extensive Washington State damage) and your scribe has noticed in some of these now bottled wines an extra smokiness with a difference in the tannins particularly in the reds having extended skin contact during the fermentation. Caveat Emptor. 2018 was another bad season with multiple fires but it is still early days for these wines from that year and the final results are still to be assessed after bottling. Always be careful in your selection.


You might also like:

Canadian Culinary Championships 2019

February 4th, 2019 by Sid Cross

CCC 2019

Your scribe always enjoys the challenge of judging over three main events this endurance culinary test for eleven talented chefs each coming off just winning their own city competition for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (greatkitchenparty.com).

The first task was to shop and cook for several hundred guests on an extremely limited budget of just over $1/per guest with ingredients to match a mystery wine which turned out to be fruity good acidity 14.9 powerful finish 2016 Mission Hill Family Estate Vista’s Edge Cabernet Franc from East Oliver producing only 26 barrels under their Terroir Collection series spending 18 months in French oak (25% new). Chef Christopher Hill of The Taste Restaurant Group of Saskatoon led after this start in a close photo finish with a lovely artistic braised crispy pork belly confit in its own fat for 5 hours with a squid ink agnolotti stuffed with moist brandade of long cod.

The second event is the most difficult challenging Black Box cooking a dish in 1 hour using compulsory all 7 items – this year all vegetarian: Saffron, Sweet Potato, Mushroom, Whole Grain Buckwheat, Sheep Milk 5% Yogurt, Whole Quince, and Sweet Chestnuts. The winner again in a close battle was Calgary Chef Dave Bohati of Murrieta’s who did the best job of utilizing the tough hard buckwheat element in a tuile wafer.

The third concluding Grand Finale on February 2, 2019 spotlighted some very outstanding and innovative cuisine including even aerated foie gras, reindeer moss, sea buckthorn, and shrimp okonomiyaki. Chef Takashi Ito from Aura Waterfront Restaurant in Victoria who stumbled to last place in the Black Box section with a thick undercooked dumpling bounced back to win this event with an amazing Sake poached spot prawn & seared scallops seafood winner.

After the final voting marks from the triathlon were totalled the consistent Chef Yannick La Salle from Les Fougeres in Chelsea Quebec representing Ottawa/Gatineau prevailed with Chef Hill second and Chef Bohati third.

Congrats to the three medalists plus all these participants for the very high quality of their preparations. Very well done indeed!


center


You might also like:

Newer Entries
The object of the Society is to bring together and serve all who believe that a right understanding of good food and wine is an essential part of personal contentment and health and that an intelligent approach to the pleasures and problems of the table offers far greater rewards than the mere satisfaction of appetite.
Andre Simon Wine & Food Society Founder (1933)
© 2025 The International Wine & Food Society (IW&FS) IW&FS
Credits | Privacy | Accessibility