A different kind of pizza

This short post is dedicated to a super pizza idea of V that delighted our Friday night. At the beginning I would not have bet a penny on it but at the end I think the result was fabulous.

The topping was roasted pumpkin, caramelized onion, rocket salad, goat cheese and prosciutto crudo. A combination of flavors that worked really well. Very good. We accompany it with a Slovenia wine, Rebula 2010 from Muzic, nothing really to be remember but an honest white.  In front of a roaring fire was a lovely friday night.

Canadian Christmas - Part Due

And as promised here I am with part two of my Christmas wine review after three days of complete cleaning with total wine de-toxing and eating only vegetable soup.

So, Canadian wine....where to start? We had really some nice bottles and I think in Canada you can find some solid producer with good products. The most renowned area is the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, an area known for its sunny and dry climate and beautiful landscape.
Here is a quick list of what we've tried:

Burrowing Owl - Meritage 2008: these guys really know what to do and how to produce their wines. My experience with them is limited to red having only tried before this Meritage a Merlot that impressed me a lot. This Meritage is a blend of 5 different Bordeaux varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot) and it is a lovely wine, really a great companion to food. Both of the wine I tried for them were impressive and I will not miss my occasion when in Canada to find some to take back with me in Europe.

Blasted Church : Ok, I have to admit: the first thing that hit me about these wines was their funky label. I think you can just have a look at the website to understand what I mean. And I must say, the wine we tried, Hattfield's Fuse 2010 (blend of 6 different varieties with higher percentage of Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc) was really nice. A very spicy and aromatic with lots of floral notes, citrus and spices. As you can understand a perfect pairing for spicy dishes such as curry or thai food in general. And at a very good quality/price relation. Thanks to Sandy of the Fernie Liquor Store for the suggestion!

Nk'Mip Winery : a fascinating story behind this producer considering it is the only winery in North America owned and operated by natives. Last year we had a Pinot Noir from them and during the holiday I had a chance to try a Chardonnay. Both of these were lovely and easy to drink wines. Definitely try a wine of this producer if you have a chance

Other three canadian wineries I will suggest to try in case you will have a chance are Lake Breeze, Laughing Stock and Mission Hill. There is plenty more to try and I am sure I would visit the Okanagan Valley one day for more tasting and to enjoy its beautiful scenery.

Canadian Christmas - Part Uno

And here I am, still a bit jet-lagged, back after three and a half amazing weeks in Canada.
Despite the lack of snow and a "real" Canadian winter, we had such a lovely time. It was a great period and of course we did not miss the occasion to open some lovely bottles together accompanying a big varieties of meals, including a sumptuous turkey on Christmas Eve and sailing from an enormous hot dog at Tubby Dog to foie gras, from truffled honey to Vietnamese sub and from lovely homemade gnocchi to cotechino with lentils.

Tubby Dog

With such a variety of food also the range of wines was very extensive and it was a real hard job for the poor sommelier to make decent pairings, but here I will try to list the wines that hit more my palate:

Champagne Blancs de Blancs Cuvee' Speciale Pierre Peters 1999

What an amazing Champagne, probably the best one I have drank. It paired absolutely fantasticly with an apero of crostini with truffle fondue and with some different salami.  Not an easy bottle to find but definitely worth the effort.

Riesling Eden Valley-Pewsey Vale 2009
On a night dedicated to white wine this was the absolute surprise for me. It destroyed the competition for its balanced mixed of lovely flavors and probably for the surprise effect. I would have never expected to find such a lovely Riesling from Australia, a pity that it will be near to impossible to find in Europe.

Christmas Day was dedicated to great wines, three especially were over the top:
Markus Molitor - Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese 2006 - When we go to Germany we are in another planet for Riesling. I cannot describe how perfect was the marriage with the foie gras!!!
Guigal-Cotes du Rhone 1994 - Everybody knows that Guigal is the master of the Cote Rotie but when I have seen in front of me a bottle of a simple Cotes du Rhone almost adult (it would have been 18 years old only in a few day) I was giving mentally not many chance to it thinking he would have been gone from a long time. Such an amazing surprise it was when after having pulled out a cork in perfect conditions (good sign,) we pour the wine. It was a lovely and  completely alive bottle and definitely a unique price-quality ratio.
Bodegas Aalto - Ribera del Duero 2004 (Magnum) - and here it is not a surprise, this is one of my favourite wines and he has never let me down. Maybe still a bit young but already very enjoyable. It was a great closure for a quality wine Christmas.

Here follows a short list of some other lovely bottles were opened in the course of the rest of the holiday. Especially I will remember a Valpolicella Superiore 1998 from Romano Dal Forno, a Brunello di Montalcino 2004 Il Poggione 2004 and another 1998, a Vin Santo del Trentino from Azienda Agricola Gino Pedrotti

But now I am sure you will be wondering....and what about wines from the host country???

I will dedicate a separate post to them later on.....I am too jet lagged to continue now!