La Docle Vita - Bentornata Elzee

Elzee, one of our more regular - and favourite - drinking buddies though out this "odyssey," had recently returned from a vacation to Italy and Croatia and we were long overdue for a catch up and drink. Luckily for us, she threw in dinner - it might be all those Italian genes she has, but the girl's one heckuva cook.

This shouldn't be much of a surprise but one of the first things I asked her was, "So, what wines did you bring back with you?" I wouldn't have thought it humanly possible but her answer was that she didn't bring any wine back. I mean WTF? Apparently, she used her customs exemptions for fashion, not wine.

Like, I mean, what is it with women and shoes? It certainly seems clear to me that you'll get far more pleasure from a couple bottles of vino than you could ever get from Ferragamo or Zegna. As far as I know, four inch heels only lead to back pain - and where's the pleasure in that?

While Elzee may not have had any new finds from the recent voyage, there were still treats to be had.

1463. N.V. Domaine de la Favière - Apéritif aux Oranges (France)

The first bottle might not be a classic wine - being more of an apéritif - but it says wine based on it and there's no way I'll run across this bottle again - unless we head over to Europe ourselves - so I'm going to exercise a little licence and add it to The List.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find out much information about the producer or the bottle online. A couple of online sellers advise that it is produced from Provence Rosé wine, Marc de Provence, spices and sugar and has been macerated for several months with bitter oranges.

I found it to be quite similar to Aperol - which is definitely a good thing.

1464.  2008 Tedeschi Amarone (Amarone della Valpolicella D.O.C. - Italy)

Thinking that Elzee would likely still be in an Italian frame of mind, we brought along an Amarone for dinner. Now, some folks might think that Amarone is a bit big for a pumpkin soup and might question our choice. Silly people. Velvety, with slight nuances of raisin (from the semi-dried fruit used to make the wine), I'm hard pressed to think of anything that wouldn't go with a nice Amarone.  Okay, I might be stretching it a bit there but we didn't know what Elzee was serving in advance and, to be honest, the wine was fine with the soup as it wasn't the biggest of Amarones.

If it's any indication of the quality, there wasn't any wine left in the bottle by the time Elzee was ready to serve up the main course.  As such, I'm thinking the wine must have worked for more than just my palate.

1465.  2006 Bolla Amarone Classico (Amarone della Valpolicella D.O.C. - Italy)

Although the total volume of and the number of wineries producing Amarone has increased many fold in the last 30 years, Bolla claims to be the first winery to commercially market this particular style wine when they released an Amarone in 1953 - in part to celebrate patriarch, Alberto Bolla's, 80th birthday. Apparently, the wine wasn't really known outside of Italy prior to that time as the wine was only produced for private consumption.

Our second bottle was favoured a little more by all present. We found it to be a little richer and bolder - with a greater depth of the flavours shining through.

I know that I'm certainly glad that Bolla delivered Amarone to the world because it's a fave of mine. I just can't afford to drink it very often.

So, two Amarone in one night is a real treat. I suppose I need to forgive Elzee for not bringing back any wines after all.

1466.  N.V.  Piera Dolza Torchiato di Fregona (Colli di Conegliano D.O.C.G. - Italy)

There never was anything to be forgiven for, but the girl cemented her exoneration from any further chastising when she brought out a special bottle of dessert wine to go with Boo's apple pie. The Torchiato di Fregona is a wine specific to the town of Fregona in the region where Elzee's father grew up. Her Dad's cousin brought a bottle back for Elzee after one of his trips to Italy.

Once again, I couldn't find much information about this wine online. I'm not even sure that there's a specific winery involved. From what little I could find online and from the story that Elzee learned from her Dad, it appears that the wine stems from a centuries old tradition where grapes are hung to dry after harvest and left to evaporate to the extent that the grapes start to raisinate - ironically, this is somewhat similar to the end result and procedure seen with the production of Amarone - it just takes the evaporation process that much further.

It would also seem that the wine is produced in a collective manner by the winemakers and growers in the town. The grapes are apparently left to dry until close to Easter when the best and plumpest grapes are hand selected and pressed to create an unctuous and richly fruity dessert wine. It's anything but an Icewine; however, Icewine is probably the closest sip that might be familiar to BC consumers.

I did find out that traditional Torchiato di Fregona is made from three grapes Glera, Verdiso and Boschera. At first, I thought I was going to get to add three new grapes to my Wine Century Club tally. None of the three are ones that I'm familiar with - especially not by these local names. Unfortunately for me though, Glera is another name for the Prosecco grape and Boschera is what the locals call Verdicchio Bianco - and both of those grapes have already been counted on my list. That still leaves Verdiso though and it turns out to be a bit of a rarity. Jancis Robinson's (et al) tome, Wine Grapes, says that the grape had almost disappeared - until there was a bit of a recovery in the 1960's. By 1980, however, those plantings of the grape were back down to around 200 acres in all of Italy. Verdiso is still not a widely grown variety and, where it is grown, it is generally used for specialty dessert wines like this Torchiato di Fregona and is used in small amounts for some higher end Prosecco's.

Indeed, a special treat - to cap a wonderful evening - from a special friend.

Personally, I still would have brought back wine over shoes though. In her defence, Elzee said that the shoes would last her longer though and she figured that Boo and I would just have to accompany her the next time she heads back to Italy. Because there will be a next time. I can't wait.

'Tis The Season

For our Fourth Wines of Christmas, my true love drank with me,

At the Office Party...

For a number of years now, the office has celebrated the holiday season with a dinner party at Ciao Bella restaurant. The Big Guy has had a great relationship with the owner and they've closed the restaurant for us and put on a grand display of multiple courses. It's a good thing I wasn't raised Italian or I'm sure I'd be fighting the pounds a lot more than I already am.

It was a rather tumultuous year at the office - from as slow as we've seen to picking right up through the summer to the present. I think it's safe to say that we were all happy to be celebrating where we are now at the close of the year, as opposed to the start of 2009.

I know I was ready for a toast to the season.

286. NV Mionetto Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (Prosecco IGT - Veneto - Italy)

What better way to toast the holidays, particularly when at an Italian restaurant, than with a bottle of Prosecco? The crisp and fruity Italian sparkler is a grand way to get your fix for bubbles without having to worry about leaving the loved ones without presents because you emptied your wallet on Champagne.

Mionetto is a specialist in Prosecco and bottles an range of different wines. This Prosecco is the traditional one that the Veneto region is well known for. It is made from 100% Prosecco grapes - a grape not really known outside the Veneto.

It was a perfect start to setting a mood - although I think it was mostly Boo and I that took advantage and put a little frizzante into the evening. I thought it went especially well as an aperitif and with the initial seafood course.

287. 2008 Finca Flichman Misterio Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

As the food became more substantial (and continuous), we moved over to the red chosen for the evening. Finca Flichman is one of the better known Argentine wineries up here in Vancouver - particularly as delivering bang for the buck. Vancouver writer, John Schreiner, has written that they offer 29 wines and produce over a million cases a year - and this is after they've tightened up their quality and production methods after the winery was purchased around 10 years ago by the Sogrape group out of Portugal.

Malbec isn't necessarily my first choice for Italian food, the tannins can be a bit much for tomato-based dishes. No worries though, we were full of lively talk and fun and the wine kept things moving along.

On occasion, our gang has been known to throw back the tables and kick up our heels. Our dancefloor antics were curtailed a tad this year when the Christmas dance CD wouldn't play. Cutting a rug to An Ally McBeal Christmas isn't the easiest task - plenty of wine flowing or not. We did get a chance to practise our "turn the lightbulb" and "pat the dog" moves though when we found a bit of bhangra to groove to. Our best Slumdog Millionaire moves came to the fore when "Jai Ho" blasted from the speakers.

A couple of high energy songs tuckered me out though. Can't quite keep up the way I used to twenty years ago. It was hard to believe how quickly five hours came and went though. Good thing I got to sleep in the next day.

A Final Summer Picnic?

I keep saying that summer seems to be coming to an end and, then, we get another stretch of wonderful weather. Whether we're already into an Indian Summer or we're still hanging on to summer proper, C. and I took advantage of a beautiful Sunday and fit in another picnic. This wasn't exactly the summer of a thousand picnics, but I guess we're still ahead in the game if we fit some in.

Just as we had some trouble fitting in picnics this summer, it's taken us almost two months to finally get around to seeing the new Harry Potter movie - despite the best of intentions. It's only playing at a couple of theatres now, so we had to pick a picnic site that would allow us a relaxing nosh and still get us to Hogwart's on time.

194. Lillet (France)

This bottle isn't the standard table wine that has filled the majority of the spots on The List so far, but it is a wine-based aperitif and, what's more, I love it and that alone should put it on The List.

Lillet is a blend of wine (about 85%) and fruit liquer and has been in production since 1887 although it has seen a few re-jiggings of the formula over the years, the most recent having been in the 1980's. Lillet has seen its popularity in the cocktail scene rise and fall and it has travelled through the trend-setting centres of Paris, London and New York as the "It Drink" on more than one occasion. It has also generated its share of reference points in pop culture - appearing on Broadway with Sandra Bernhard and as a cocktail of choice by none other than noted epicure Hannibal Lecter.

My favourite reference point though is that it's a component in the classic James Bond martini, the Vesper, named after James' love interest in Casino Royale. Both the Sean Connery and the Daniel Craig versions recite the recipe of 3 parts gin, 1 part vodka, 1/2 part Lillet and slice of lemon peel. You decide if it's to be shaken or stirred.

To be honest, we generally use it in martinis ourselves - but that will have to be another blog. Today it was simply a summer aperitif on the Seawall and it was delicious. Too bad this will be its only mention during our Wine Odyssey. It's not a vintage wine. So, I can't come back to it and count it as a new, unique wine. Won't stop me from enjoying it though. In fact, we didn't finish off the bottle and I'm having a little sip as I complete this post.

Just as we moved on from the Lillet to some wine and the picnic, who should come sauntering along the Seawall, walking her pooch, but RoZee. Not having seen her for a couple of years, we see her twice in a month since she'd joined us for the Kits Girls dinner the other week. Seems that she's crossed False Creek and the confines of Kits to set up shop in Yaletown. We were dining in her new back yard, so to speak.

Good thing our picnic bag had an extra glass in it. We could offer her a quick sip before she continued on her tour du jour.

195. 2004 Santa Rita Triple C (Valle del Maipo - Chile)

This bottle held a bit of surprise for us - after the fact, of course. We were in a bit of rush when leaving for the picnic and I pretty much just grabbed a bottle off the rack and didn't put a lot of thought into what I'd chosen. We were pleasantly surprised with the wine as it was more refined and complex than we're used to with most Chilean wines.

A good proportion of the wines making The List are a winery's entry level offerings. That's just where our budget and every day habits lead us. Triple C, however, is one of Santa Rita's (and Chile's) premium wines. I don't quite remember how the bottle ended up on our wine rack since I'm not known to lay out $50 for a Chilean wine - but it's a good thing that we opened it on a decent occasion.

Santa Rita has been in the wine business since 1880 (pretty much the same pedigree as Lillet) and it has grown into the second largest land-owning winery in Chile. It was

one of the pioneering wineries when it came to planting the noble, European varietals and the winery has holdings in all the major wine-producing regions of the country - all of which allows it to offer a variety of products, varietals and styles.

Triple C, itself, is a blend of classic Bordeaux grapes grown in the premier Maipo region. It's comprised of 55% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Carmenere; hence, the Triple C.

As much as we could have lounged a bit longer and enjoyed the world passing by, we had to go and help Harry battle He Who Must Not Be Named.