I posted previous blog missives in February 2013 & 2014 on The Canadian Culinary Championships. It is now a well established event that brings together the winning chefs from 11 successful regional competitive fundraiser events for Gold Medal Plates (www.goldmedalplates.com) to raise funds for Canadian Olympic athletes – now totaling a contribution of $11 million dollars! I just concluded judging another one. I admire the culinary skills and the endurance of the talented chefs competing. There are 3 main parts as follows:

1. Cooking on a very low budget to best match a mystery wine – Wine Compatibility 30% of total marks:

The mystery wine turned out to be the 2014 Tawse Gamay from Ontario showing young fresh fruity easy drinking good acidity non tannic style that allowed versatility resulting in dishes with varied success ranging from salmon to bison.

2. Preparing 1 dish out of 7 ingredients in a blind Black Box – Creativity 40%:

Ground Elk; Whole Squid; Red Lentils; Ontario Roasted Non-Salted Peanuts; Black Salsify; Ox-Eye Daisy Flower Caper Heads; and Nova Scotia seaweed Hana Tsunomato.

3. Grand Finale Dinner Dish – Taste 40%:

The 11 chefs and their brigades went all out for the Grand Finale choosing an innovative main course and their matching wine. Details of dish & pairing:

Marc Lepine – Atelier, Ottawa.  Smoked steelhead trout with miso-molasses glaze, cured pork belly, barley and corn porridge, corn cob broth. 2012 Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard Chardonnay Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula.

Matthew Batey – The Nash Restaurant & Off Cut Bar, Calgary. Alder Smoked Sablefish, Pacific Octopus Compression, Northern Divine Caviar, Yukon Gold Potato, Sabayon. 2011 Road 13 Sparkling Chenin Blanc, Oliver, BC.

Alex Chen – Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Vancouver. Truffle scented chicken, celeriac fondant, foie gras stuffed celery, “Umani” consommé. 2009 Foxtrot Vineyards Pinot Noir, Naramata, BC.

Jan Trittenbach – Solstice Seasonal Cuisine, Edmonton. Duo of Stuffed Pork Roulade and Pork Belly Pistachio and Beet “Soil”. 2012 Sandhill Small Lots Three, Sandhill Estate Vineyard, Okanagan, BC.

Jonathan Thauberger – Crave Kitchen & Wine Bar, Regina. Fruits De Mer in Dashi. 2014 Ava blend Viognier/Marsanne/Rousanne from Le Vieux Pin, South Okanagan, BC.

Stuart Camneron – Byblos, Toronto. Pressed Quail, Foie Gras Mousse borek, Rose Jam, & Iranian Pistachio. 2013 Benjamin Bridge Nova 7, Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia.

Norm Pastorin – The Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant, Winnipeg. Confit salmon, bacon-quinoa-salmon roe, pickled shallots, tamagoyaki, soy ginger anise glaze. 2013 Burrowing Owl Estate Winery Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, BC.

Darren Craddock – Riverside Country Club, Saskatoon. Golden Prairies Saskatchewan Wild Boar, Spiced Neck & Birch Syrup Glazed Belly, Textures of Crab Apple, Sunchoke & Cherry, “old Vines” Infused Saskatchewan Mustard. 2014 Hester Creek Estate Winery Old Vines Block Trebbiano, Okanagan Valley, BC.

Guillaume Cantin – Les 400 Coups, Montreal. Suckling Pig with Maple Glaze, Blood Sausage, “Pois au Lard”, Saskatoon Berry Ketchup, Butter Nuts, and Tarragon. Amber Ale Beer a Table, Brasseurs du Monde de Saint-Hyacinthe.

Roger Andres – Relish Gourmet Burgers, St John’s. Acadian Sturgeon Premium Caviar, Sea Urchin Bavarian, Scallop Bottarga, Shallot Toast, Crisp Buckwheat, Sour Cream and Lemon Curd, Pink Peppercorn Meringue. 2014 Benjamin Bridge Tidal Bay, Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia.

Martin Ruiz Salvador – Fleur de Sel, Halifax. Rabbit & Snails. 2013 Lightfoot & Wolfville Ancienne Chardonnay, Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

These chefs all showed brilliant culinary skills in this tough competition. Marc Lepine received the Gold and is the first 2 time winner having won gold also in 2012. Matthew Batey won Silver & Alex Chen Bronze. All were worthy of recognition. If you are a tourist in any of these cities in 2016 I recommend you check their restaurants out for an interesting dining experience!

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By Joseph Temple

Marching down the dark and abandoned streets of Washington DC on the night of 24 August 1814, thousands of British soldiers had pulled off the unthinkable. Earlier that day at the Battle of Bladensburg, poorly trained militiamen serving as America’s last line of defence proved to be no match against the battle-tested redcoats who were wreaking havoc along the Chesapeake. Retreating from their positions after this humiliating disaster, Britain was now free to enter a helpless capital as the War of 1812 entered its third indecisive year.

With an ambiguous order from London to give the United States “a good drubbing,” General Robert Ross and Admiral George Cockburn would avenge the burning of York (now Toronto) that night by setting most of Washington ablaze. First was the Capitol building, which historian Peter Snow describes in great detail: “They [British troops] piled all the chairs and other furniture, library books and papers on the table and set light to it all. The entire building was soon being consumed by flames, and the Library of Congress which was packed with thousands of volumes of books … was also burned out.”

However, an even greater prize stood on a deserted Pennsylvania Avenue, known back then as the Executive Residence. With most citizens fleeing to either Georgetown or neighboring Virginia, America’s fourth President James Madison and his wife Dolley quickly followed suit by evacuating their home, taking as many items as they could with them, including a treasured portrait of George Washington. Leaving this symbolic residence—only fourteen years old at the time—open for the British to ransack, a tremendous blow against the prestige of the United States occurred that night as orders were given by Ross and Cockburn to burn the beacon of American democracy to the ground.

But before any match was lit, soldiers would wine and dine like never before, helping themselves to some of Mr. Madison’s very best. After all, they hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

As a testament to how much blind faith the president and his wife had placed in their troops at Bladensburg, Dolley Madison had her French chef prepare an extravagant feast for forty guests that night at the Executive Residence. So to the surprise of many redcoats, the first thing they smelled as they entered the premises at around eleven o’clock was a warm home-cooked meal. Detailed in When Britain Burned The White House, soldier Harry Smith stated, “We found supper all ready, which was sufficiently cooked … and which many of us speedily consumed unaided by the fiery elements and drank some very good wine also.”

Not surprisingly, several accounts of that infamous night also mention the president’s wine. “Never was nectar more grateful to the palates of the gods, than the crystal goblet of Madeira and water I quaffed at Mr. Madison’s expense,” said James Scott, an officer in the British Royal Navy.

Looking back at the history of America, it was fitting that James Madison, co-author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, was well stocked when it came to this fortified wine known as Madeira. Produced on a Portuguese archipelago bearing the same name, it quickly became the preferred drink for American patriots, being one of the few wines to escape the harsh British taxation due to a favorable trade agreement with Portugal. Representing what taxation with representation might look like to scores of would-be revolutionaries, one historian wrote: “Madeira was soon on the way to becoming American by adoption.” And with the wine’s ability to improve while being exposed to the most intense heat certainly appealed to a Virginian like James Madison who would endure many humid summers south of the Mason-Dixon line. But Madeira wasn’t the only wine that British soldiers would have access to that night.

As President Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of State, Madison benefited greatly from the knowledge he learned from America’s first oenophile-in-chief. The two were known to drink Madeira while discussing policy and just like Jefferson, Madison advocated wine consumption as a healthier alternative to more intoxicating whiskey. So as the reigns of power were passed on to the bookish president in 1809, Pennsylvania Avenue’s wine cellar was still housing some of Europe’s very best wines.

According to one of Madison’s biographers, the cellar was rumored to have over 1000 bottles. Historian Stuart Lebiger writes that it included “Port, dry Lisbon, Sherry, Brazil, Malaga, Cape wine (from South Africa), and wines from Bordeaux (Graves and Haut-Brion), the sweet wines of Frontignac and Barsac, and wine from the Rhone region of France (Hermitage).” It is unclear though whether British soldiers would have a chance to sample any of these wines; looters had entered the property before their arrival and the Madison’s may have even taken some bottles with them as they frantically left town. Of course, whatever remained of the president’s private collection was about to go up in a giant inferno.

After finishing their Madeira and pillaging whatever they could find as a souvenir from this infamous night, wooden chairs were stacked high on the dining room table and soon thereafter, the entire residence was set ablaze. The damage was so extensive that by the time all the repairs were finished, Madison’s successor, James Monroe had become president. Surprisingly, it was an act that was condemned on both sides of the Atlantic; one British paper angrily opined, “The Cossacks spared Paris, but we spared not the capital of America.”

To this day, no reparations have been made for the wine that was drunk that night.

Sources:

Borneman, Walter R. 1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
Leibiger, Stuart. A Companion to James Madison and James Monroe. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Reichl, Ruth. History in a Glass: Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet. New York: Random House, 2008.
Snow, Peter. When Britain Burned the White House: The 1814 Invasion of Washington. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2013.
Will-Weber, Mark. Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking. Washington: Regnery Publishing, 2014.

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By Sylvain Demettre [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Question: At a recent wine tasting the speaker spoke about the presence of “lanolin”. What does that mean?

Answer: Yes that term is confusing because it is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “fat found naturally on sheep’s wool and used purified for cosmetics”. It is sometimes used to describe a rich textured slightly lemony flavoured wine that reminds you of the smell of a natural wool sweater. It often is particularly apt for the characteristic aromas of the Semillon grape and for quality Sauternes sweet wines with a more “oily” character. Look for it.

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On January 31, 2016 Prince Eudes D’Orleans Directeur General of Château de Fargues (Lur Saluces) presided over a dinner in Vancouver matching well top vintages of his Sauternes with some brilliant Asian inspired dishes by the team of Chef Angus An (Maenam & Fat Mao Noodles in Vancouver) and visiting Chef Antonio Park (Park Restaurant & Lavanderia in Montreal). This memorable evening started with magnums of Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve Champagne for BC Dungeness Crab Cromesquis with charred pickle & Uni Ikura Cracker, ginger, lime, spot prawn cracker.

2009 Château de Fargues so ultra rich with lots of “noble rot” botrytis drinking forwardly with Park’s Charcoal Grilled BC Albacore Tuna, Montreal Steak Spice, Aji Verde, and Chimichurri.

2005 Château de Fargues an exceptional vintage with better balance from 5 picking passes from September 27 to October 27 explosive yet smooth and refreshing with An’s spicy Southern Thai Turmeric Curry, Uni emulsion, Smoked Sablefish, Crab, Lobster, and Mussel. A big hit!

2001 Château de Fargues has a wonderful classic style of very best balance with deepening colour showing that typical “white flowers, tarte tatin, honey and citrus zest” pairing well with Park’s Chawanmushi & Sashimi, Japanese egg custard, herring roe, salted ikura, uni, mirugai, tosazu Hamachi & hotate sashimi. Unique.

1995 Château Tertre Roteboeuf  (“Hill of Belching Beef”) for a change of pace top Bordeaux red showing rich, powerful, and complex appropriate for the 2 chefs combining work on diverse “Lettuce Wraps” with herbs & other greens for Waygu Beef & Duck Breast (and some foie gras which also was divine with a little 2001 I had left) and Relishes of both Crab & vibrant Smoked Mackerel

2011 Château de Fargues still fresh young and superb with only 3 passes in the vineyard (and as usual picking about a week before Château d’Yquem) for An’s outstanding finale of Cheesecake Semi-Fredo, Tamarind Tuile, Guava Sorbet, Passion Fruit Puree, Lime Crumble.

The menu was really an inspirational tour de force by both these talented chefs and executed so very well to match these classy wines. All wines were served to perfection by the knowledgeable crew including wine writer/sommelier Kurtis Kolt and Maenam restaurant manager/sommelier Kristi Linneboe.  Also Eudes received lots of valuable original menu ideas to take back to his newly hired female Executive Chef (with Paul Bocuse experience) for upcoming events at Château de Fargues. Really an eye opener on the quality of Château de Fargues (since 1472) and the versatility for food pairings with Sauternes!

What is your best recommendation for a food item to match Sauternes?

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By Joseph Temple

With a bright and distinctive label that catches your eye immediately, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is world-renowned for producing some of the finest bubbles on earth. Founded in 1772, it would take more than forty grueling years before its legacy became etched in stone as the preferred champagne house of kings and queens following a legendary ‘Comet vintage’ in 1811. Surviving both crippling trade barriers and a Russian army occupying its terroir, one woman bravely stood at the helm during this uncertain era and would eventually lead her company to unparalleled prosperity. Her name was Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, a grieving widow that went on to become one of the most successful businesswomen in history.

That is the subject of The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by historian Tilar J. Mazzeo. Published in 2008, the author paints a fascinating picture of both Ponsardin and the ordeals she went through in order to make her massive fortune. After the death of husband François Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole was allowed to freely pursue her passion for winemaking, a right that few French women in the early nineteenth century enjoyed. “Under the laws of the Napoleonic Code, a married businesswoman had a shadowy legal existence,” writes Mazzeo. “According to statute, a woman entrepreneur could not defend even a simple contract without her husband’s permission. But as a widow—and especially as a recognized public trader—Barbe-Nicole could make her own decisions.”

But as head of a champagne house during the First French Empire, Ponsardin was held hostage to the wars being waged by Napoleon Bonaparte. With a blockade imposed by the powerful British Navy on French exports and a mercantile system at home, finding new markets for Veuve Clicquot champagne became almost next to impossible in this harsh economic climate. Having to find creative ways, both legal and illegal to ship her wine, Barbe-Nicole decided to roll the dice with a move that would either make or break her. Entrepreneurs who understand the enormous risks that need to be taken in order to strike it rich will definitely enjoy the chapters dealing with Ponsardin’s challenges and her eventual triumph.

Madame Clicquot Ponsardin

Additionally, one of the book’s greatest strengths is the dichotomy shown during that time and the present. While today we take trade and commerce that is largely uninterrupted for granted, Ponsardin and her fellow champagne makers were at the mercy of blockades—shipping their product as contraband was sometimes the only option. And being occupied by a foreign power is something few vintners today will have to go through.

To her credit, Ponsardin didn’t see Russian soldiers so much as invaders but as future customers. Bringing back their thirst for bubbly, Veuve Clicquot used that buzz to dominate the lucrative markets in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, which may come as a surprise to many who have viewed Britain and France as the two historic hotspots for champagne. Describing this Russian frenzy, Mazzeo writes: “Those same aristocratic officers who had come to love her wine during the occupation of Reims were now prepared to buy her champagne at any price. Soon, Czar Alexander declared that he would drink nothing else. Everywhere one heard the name of the Widow Clicquot and praises for her divine champagne.”

Keeping Veuve Clicquot one-step ahead of the competition, Ponsardin created the system known as riddling or remuage, where the bottles are turned periodically in order to move the sediment towards the cork. Again, Mazzeo provides us with great context in showing the stark differences in how champagne was made back then and how it’s made today. Dealing with mostly sweet tasting vintages packaged in uneven sized bottles that could easily explode in your hands, winemaking was truly a labor of love where none of the scientific advances that the Champenois enjoy today were at Ponsardin’s disposal. Although the technique of riddling is still with us after two hundred years, comparing the past to the present seems almost like night and day.

Whether your interest is in viticulture, history, marketing or economics, there is something for everyone in The Widow Clicquot. By focusing on this amazing story full of twists and turns that is meticulously researched, Mazzeo makes sure that the next time you see that famous yellow-orange label at the next soiree, you’ll have an arsenal of anecdotes to impress your friends as you sip this famous champagne!

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