A Fresh Experience With FRESH Wines

I am a total sucker for beautiful design. This should come as no surprise considering my emphasis on aesthetics in my food photos, as well as my extensive and, what some may consider obsessive, pinning on Pinterest. I believe that good design can be an effective tool in helping brands deliver their message and tell their story, which was why I was so intrigued to attend A Fresh Experience, an event celebrating the launch of the FRESH Wines rebrand put together by my friends at the iYellow Wine Club. The event, which was held at CB2 on Queen West, showcased five new FRESH VQA wines, with each wine reflected in a corresponding food pairing installation. The installations, which were designed and executed by event and design agency Love By Lynzie, were thoughtfully created to reflect each of the wines with which they were paired. 

I was happy to have my friend Alex Orlando by my side to stroll through each of the installations with me and take in all of the sights, sounds, and tastes of the night. As we entered the buzzing CB2 space, we were immediately greeted by the smiling iYellow team and were handed a glass of FRESH Wines Sparkling Rosé, with notes of raspberry, cherry, apple, and pink grapefruit. What may have been the most striking of all the installations, the food pairing for the Sparkling Rosé featured a backdrop of vibrantly-coloured balloons, to reflect the bubbles in the sparkling wine, as well as freshly-spun cotton candy "clouds," and big, fluffy peonies. 

My favourite wine of the evening, the Sparkling Riesling, came next as we made our way to the white peg board, studded with citrus slices and paper bags of citrus and Granny Smith-flavoured candy corn. The peg board was created to allow the fragrance of the citrus to waft through the area, reflecting the notes of tangerine, green apple, mineral citrus, and lemon-lime zest that the Sparkling Riesling featured.

Before making our way up the grand staircase to the second level of the space, we took in the stunning fruit salad station, which illustrated the tasting notes of fruit salad, citrus, peach, floral, and pear in the FRESH Moscato that was being poured. Though I'm not normally a fan of moscato, finding it a little too sweet for my palate, I actually really enjoyed this one as it was more on the off-dry side. 

The feminine and vibrant theme from the first level of the food installations took on a more seductive and romantic vibe with the final two wines of the event. The FRESH Satin Red (with notes of red berries, mild oak, and light pepper) installation emulated the tone of evening passion, with a dramatic bed dressed in sequinned black sheets, and dangling, lip-stained wine glasses.

The final installation for the FRESH Crisp White, showcased the lively "adventure" quality that the wine embodied, with mouth-watering cheese boards resting atop vintage suitcases. The Crisp White exhibited bright notes of honeysuckle, green apple, and pear.

Both Alex and I had a great time at the event, and felt so inspired by all of the installations. You'll be glad to know that FRESH Wines is available at the LCBO, with each bottle sold at a very approachable price, particularly for VQA wines! I hope to grab a bottle of that delicious Sparkling Riesling to ring in this long weekend! Cheers to Ontario VQA wine!

To learn more about FRESH Wines and to check out each of the gorgeous new labels, be sure to visit the FRESH Wines website! 

Listening To:
Mike Will Made It - Nothing Is Promised (ft. Rihanna)

Bordeaux After Work at Marben

Last Tuesday was the second Bordeaux After Work party presented by the Bordeaux Wine Council in partnership with the iYellow Wine Club, and let me tell you, after having such an incredible time at the first party celebrating Bordeaux wines, my expectations were sky high. With such high expectations it would have been really easy for Bordeaux After Work at Marben to pail in comparison, but to my delight the second party was just as lovely as the first!

(Some friends (new and old) and myself, Danielle Rose)

Unlike at the first party where I attended alone, I brought some back up with me this time, two friends who, like me, did not know much about Bordeaux wine prior to the event. I always get a little nervous bringing new friends to the events that I get invited to, scared that I may be dragging them out to a dud event. So after keeping my friends waiting for me for 15 minutes in the blistering Toronto heat, I started to feel that pressure. After no more than a minute from arriving at Marben, I knew that this event was far from a dud! No more than 20 minutes after the event had begun, the patio was already packed with a smiling, well dressed crowd, happily sipping on the different wines that were being showcased that evening. We promptly grabbed some glasses and filled them up with a light and refreshing Bordeaux white. We then began doing the rounds, saying hello to the wonderful new friends I had met at the previous Bordeaux After Work Party at Origin, and checked out the venue, looking for a prime place to plant ourselves so that we would be able to try all three of the appetizers that Marben was pairing with the wines. We found the best spot the whole patio had to offer, right smack in the middle between a wine station and a food station! Bingo! Although my friends and I all loved the Crab Cakes (almost like little soft shell crab nuggets!) and Pulled Beef on Crostini that were being paired with the wines, I think we can all admit that Rodney's Oysters were definitely the highlight for us in terms of food. But the real highlight of the whole night was undoubtedly the fantastic Bordeaux wine.

With four wines being poured it was easy to take the time with each wine and follow iYellows 5 steps to wine tasting:

These five steps help to breakdown exactly what you should be looking for when tasting each wine. This time around I was lucky enough to get my hands on the list of Bordeaux wines served that evening, and better yet, the list was accompanied by tasting notes, essential for a newbie wine drinker! The 4 wines being served were as follows:

Mouton Cadet 2008 AOC Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc

Château Fayau Blanc 2009 AOC Bordeaux Sauvignon and Semillon

Calvet Reserve 2008 AOC Bordeaux Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon

Chateau de Courteillac 2009 AOC Bordeaux Merlot/Cabernet

I enjoyed every single wine, but of course, we all have our favourites. The two standout wines for both myself, my friends, and many of the guests that we spoke to (you can't go to a wine tasting without making new friends) were:

First Place:

Château Fayau Blanc

This wine was awarded a Gold Medal at the esteemed 2010 Concours Général Agricole in Paris. A refreshing, floral nose welcomes you to lovely notes of melon, grapefruit, gooseberry and citrus with a bit of grassiness. Lots of ripe fruit in this nicely balanced, crisp white. Perfect for poached salmon in a lemongrass/citrus sauce, or pesto pasta with asparagus and artichokes.

Second Place:

Chateau de Courteillac

Mostly made of merlot with a bit of cabernet, this medium-bodied, easy-going red is fresh and fruity, with hints of raspberries and tart cherries. Also rustic, robust red with a touch of vanilla and spice. Dry, light body, well balanced with a smokey-oak finish.

(Me, Danielle Rose and Project Manager at Premier Productions, Rita Choi)

All in all, I'd say the second Bordeaux After Work party was a wild success. I had a wonderful time, the wine and food were both fantastic, and I truly feel like I am building on my knowledge of not only Bordeaux/French wine, but wine in general. I can't tell you how wonderful that is to say after feeling so shy about my lack of knowledge in the past. I can't stress it enough how helpful these Bordeaux After Work parties really are for those who may be new to wine tasting or just don't know much about French wine. I don't want this Summer to end, but at least I have two awesome parties to look forward to this Fall for parts 3 and 4 of Bordeaux After Work! I hope to see you there!

Listening To:

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

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Bordeaux After Work at Marben is Just Around the Corner...

Bordeaux After Work Party #2

Presented by the Bordeaux Wine Council in partnership with the iYellow Wine Club

July 19th

6-8PM

Marben

488 Wellington Street West

Fantastic Bordeaux Wines, great food, killer music, and always a lively hip crowd! With free entry and a free drink ticket for the first 75 guests ($9 a glass after that) why wouldn't you check out this spectacular event?

Tickets are free! Just become a member of the iYellow Wine Club for free, then RSVP to the event on Facebook.

Alright folks, the second of four Bordeaux After Work Parties is coming up this Tuesday July 19th at Marben, so this means it's time to brush up on some of your Bordeaux wine knowledge! If you remember from my entry on the first Bordeaux After Work Party, I walked into my first experience with Bordeaux wine having done some research on the basics of Bordeaux wine (I call this my homework), a step that I am now learning is crucial when attending a wine tasting. With that basic knowledge I was able to walk into the first Bordeaux After Work party confident and extraordinarily excited to actually get to taste some wines from this world renowned wine region. I had originally planned on taking notes all throughout the party, expanding on what I already knew, but with the music pumping, wine sipping, hands shaking, and lots of new friend to meet, my note taking got side tracked. I realized that taking notes isn't what a wine tasting should be about. The actual event should be about tasting the wine, enjoying each and every sip, and using the wine as an opportunity to socialize and meet new people, which inevitably leads to discussing the wine. And truly, from experience I can tell you that as long as you have done your "homework", the only "work" that needs to be done at a wine tasting is simply:

1. Reading the labels. Know what wines you are drinking.
2. Jotting down no more than a few words on the wines you have tasted to trigger your memory after the event. Include what you liked/disliked, the price, and perhaps some flavours that you picked up.
3. Putting yourself out there and introducing yourself to strangers. No this isn't exactly work, but it is a valuable step that many feel uncomfortable taking, but is crucial if you want to make the most of the event.
4. Discussing the wine with others in as much detail as you like or see fit. What do other people think of the wine you are tasting? What do they like/dislike about it?

Because you have done your homework, the event will allow you to subtly apply what you have learned, and act as a test for yourself to see what areas you are still unfamiliar with. I've been out of school for just over a year now, but I haven't forgotten just how awful homework can really be. So I decided to take on the role of tutor for you guys, giving you a little cheat sheet on what you should know about Bordeaux before attending Bordeaux After Work at Marben...you're welcome!

First learn some basic points on Bordeaux here in the "What I Learned" section of the post. Below I will be expanding on some of those basic points.

"Terroir refers to the vineyard-specific environmental differences (such as soil types, drainage, local micro-climates, and sun exposure). Terroir is the biggest difference as to why the same varietals all taste differently from around the world and even from back to back vineyards." (wines-france.ca)

So how do I know do I know if a vineyard has a particularly good terroir?

The French term Cru, which is often mentioned on Bordeaux wine labels (Cru bourgeois, Cru classé), is an indication of the quality of the particular estates terroirs and grape varietals, and of the producers talent and know how.

Bordeaux is very fortunate be in a prime location which has a climate and various different soil types within both the left bank and right bank, which encourage vine growth and has resulted in making Bordeaux the worlds major wine industry capital.

Bordeaux wine is known for blending various different types of grapes and amounts of each grape to create their unique and distinct wines. Because of the complexity of the process of blending the varietals, the blended wine is of a distinctly better quality than the individual qualities of the original single variety wines.

What varietals are commonly found in Bordeaux wine?

Red

Merlot - the most widely grown variety

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Franc

White

Sémillon - one of the most popular and well established out of the white varietals

Sauvignon Blanc

Muscadelle

(and their percentage of surface areain Bordeaux vineyards as of 2008)

Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur 47.2%

Médoc and Graves 17.2%

Saint Emilion / Pomeral / Fronsac 10.5%

Red Côtes 14.1%

Dry White 7.9%

Sweet White 3.1%

What years were particularly spectacular for Bordeaux wine?

2009 - magnificent vintage

2008 - high quality vintage

2007 - good quality vintage

2006 - high quality vintage

2005 - exceptional vintage

2004 - high to very high quality vintage

What should you be pairing with your Bordeaux wine?

Bordeaux Dry Whites

Chicken, fish, seafood, and salad.

Red Bordeaux

Red meat (beef, lamb), grilled veal, game, poultry such as grilled turk pastas, and cheeses such as Camembert, Brie, and Roquefort.

Sweet Wines

Dessert, foie gras, and blue cheese.

Listening To: Wash - Bon Iver

Bordeaux After Work at Origin

Last Tuesday on a beautiful sunny, scorcher of a day in Toronto, I rushed home from work, threw on the most comfortable and lightweight dress I could find, bypassed the heels (as if I would subject myself to heels with the humidity flying off the charts like that), filmed a quick little intro on Bordeaux wines, and ran onto the TTC to make my way downtown to Origin on King East for the very first of four Bordeaux After Work parties. As you'll know from my previous entry introducing these exciting events, Bordeaux After Work is a series of events held by the Bordeaux Wine Council in Partnership with the iYellow Wine Club that will take place this Summer and Fall in Toronto (although other cities around Canada are holding their own Bordeaux After Work events as well) to help educate people on one of the most widely recognizable wine regions in the world.

(Some new friends and myself, Danielle Rose)

I have said it many times, and here I go saying it again, that although I've attended countless wine tastings, I still do not feel comfortable with my knowledge of wine, so when I heard about the structure of Bordeaux After Work, my ears perked up. Unlike many other wine tastings where you are tasting 50+ wines in one night that you somehow have to distinguish between, and are often struggling to get the attention of your pourer to learn a little more about what you're drinking, before they rush on to the next person in line, Bordeaux After Work is much smaller and specialized allowing you to mingle with a smaller group of 100 people, concentrate on tasting only 5 wines each night, with repeated Bordeaux events with a new selection of wines every few months. This caught my attention because lately I've been reading a lot about productivity, how we learn, and how to make ideas happen. One article on productivity that has stood out the most for me is entitled Thirty Minutes A Day by Jack Cheng, a New York based writer and designer. The article talks about the benefits of short, repeated learning over time, suggesting that we do not cram information into our heads all at once, but rather take thirty minutes out of each day to commit ourselves to learning. This approach allows us to first off, retain the information, as well as have a better understanding of it to be able to apply it to our own work. Although no, I am not taking thirty minutes of each day to learn about Bordeaux, Bordeaux After Work follows similar principals. Because I have had so much trouble retaining wine knowledge in the past, I felt that Bordeaux After Work, with their repeated events, small guest list, and only a select few wines would be the perfect opportunity for me to really put my energy into learning about wine...finally! And where better to start than the world renowned Bordeaux region.

So off I was, ready to conquer one of the first steps on my mission to become confident in my knowledge of wine. I felt prepared, having studied a little bit on the basics of Bordeaux wine and French wine in general, and I walked into the event with a game plan to film throughout the event, picking up additional tidbits and info on Bordeaux from the pourers and other attendees, and of course, jot down my own tasting notes as I went. Shortly after arriving at Origin I spotted someone I knew and parked myself and my glass of Bordeaux Rosé down next to them. I have to admit that until I spotted that familiar face, I was pretty nervous to be attending the event on my own. All my old high school social anxieties came to the surface again, and I feared that I would be wandering around the venue alone, unable to gain the courage to pull out my brand spanking new camera and film, or ask questions about the five wines being showcased. Although it seemed the opposite happened to me, I was meeting so many wonderful, warm, and interesting people, having such a spectacular time, I still came across the same problem that I had feared, there was no filming happening and my little notepad had nothing more than the date and "Bordeaux After Work" jotted across the top. I felt the stress building as I feared I would have no content for my article, but being the master procrastinator that I was, I figured later in the evening I would break away and follow through with my game plan. More introductions, more glasses of Bordeaux, more business cards, and no more info for my article...I was officially screwing myself over. It wasn't until I stepped aside to text a friend to say what an incredible time I was having that I realized that things weren't going wrong at all. In fact, the event and my article had taken a whole new direction, and one that I felt far more comfortable with.

(Wendy Co-founder and Chief Marketer of Hip Urban Girl and myself, Danielle Rose)

I realized that although wine tastings are about being exposed to new wines, new regions, and new cultures, it is more importantly providing an opportunity to socialize and network with a new group of people in an exciting and unique atmosphere. Although we all come from different backgrounds, professions, interests, and hobbies, we can all come together and break bread in a sense, through sharing this love of wine. Ironically this actually mirrors the principals of French wine. French wine is different than other wine regions of the world because they do not place the focus of their wine on the varietal (or single type of grape being used), instead they look at the entire region or what the French call terroir, the type of soil being used, farming practices, winemakers, climate, etc. It's all those factors that make French wine so diverse and so intriguing. Similarly we can look at a wine tasting and see how all the factors that go into it such as the people, food, venue, music, etc. can make up your whole wine tasting experience. Just because I wasn't placing all of my attention on studying the wine while at the event, certainly didn't mean I was missing out on a valuable experience. I did my Bordeaux research beforehand, I picked up all of the brochures that were provided, I made sure that I recorded each wine that I drank, I thoughtfully tasted each one and took note, and shared some thoughts on the wine with the company I was with. Doing those few simple things was all I needed to begin gaining confidence on Bordeaux wine. I now understand why Bordeaux wine is so well known as well as understand the basics and have the tools to be able to walk into the next Bordeaux After Work party with confidence. And better yet, I now have a new group of friends with whom I can share this knowledge and interest with!

My Favourite: Domaine de Chevalier Rose de Chevalier (2009)

Chateau Puyfromage

Chateau Boyrein (2009)

Chateau Pey La Tour

Lurton Chateau Bonnet

• Bordeaux is the worlds major wine industry capital.
• Bordeaux has been produced since the 1st Century AD.
• Bordeaux is all about the blend. You will notice that Bordeaux wines are made from a blend of a few different types of grapes. This results in some very unique and distinct tasting wines.
• The most commonly found grape varieties in Bordeaux wines are Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Cab Franc.
• One of the reasons why Bordeaux produces such excellent wine is due to their calcium rich soil.
• French wine is known to have a lot of character because each wine represents the region (soil, farming practices, climate, grapes, people, etc.) rather than the varietal.
• Terroir refers to the vineyard-specific environmental differences (such as soil types, drainage, local micro-climate and sun exposure). Terroir is the biggest difference as to why the same varietals all taste differently from around the world and even from back to back vineyards. (www.wines-france.ca)
• When buying Bordeaux, look for the AOC label (Appellation d'Origine Crotôlée) which guarantees a wine's authenticity and quality.
• Serve young wines before old wines, and dry wines before sweet wines.
• Try to decant young wines to allow the aromas to naturally come through and round out the tannins.

See you at the next Bordeaux After Work party on July 19th!

Photos from Bordeaux Wine on Facebook.

Listening To:

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

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Never been to a wine tasting? Check out my article on a Beginners Guide to a Wine Tasting Experience.

Bordeaux After Work

As the weather slowly begins to warm up, I find myself eagerly filling in my social calendar, plotting out all of the most interesting and exciting events taking place in Toronto this summer. The Bordeaux Wine Council in partnership with the iYellow Wine Club are hosting 4 Bordeaux After Work Parties (June, July, September, and August). With a much more intimate atmosphere than a typical iYellow event, the Bordeaux After Work Parties aim to educate attendees on the mythical Bordeaux region through a fun social event with great food, music, venue, people, and of course fantastic Bordeaux wines! Each event will feature about five different Bordeaux wines (with entry and the first glass free of charge!) being poured by educated wine stewards ready to offer tasting tips and knowledge on the wine and region. The first event, being held on June 7th at Origin, filled up in no time at all, so keep your eyes peeled for an invite for their second event being held on July 19th at Marben.

Being someone who knows very little about Bordeaux wines, and wines of France in general, these events offer the perfect opportunity for me to brush up on my knowledge. Through blogs and the introduction of video blogs, I will take you through my journey of understanding Bordeaux wines step by step. So before I delve into my own understanding of Bordeaux, there are a few steps that you need to take to get caught up to where I am!

Needless to say, step one is signing up for the iYellow Wine Club. The first 100 members of iYellow who RSVP to the Bordeaux After Work Parties will gain free entry as well as a free first glass of wine, and remember, membership to iYellow is FREE! Being a member of iYellow for several years now, I know how well they treat each and every person that comes on board with them. This event is really more of a Wine Clubber Appreciation event, allowing their members to discover this exciting region in an inexpensive, fun, and social way. Sign up for your free membership to the iYellow Wine Club here!

Before you learn the basics of Bordeaux, it's important to have an understanding of the wines of France in general. Brush up on your knowledge of the wines of France with Angela Aiello herself! Follow Ange's Wines of France blogs and video blogs to get a clear and in depth understanding of French wines. Click here to get started!

This is a step I'm sure many of you are familiar with...Wikipedia! Wikipedia, although not always the most reliable source, is a great starting place to get a feel of what you are going to be learning more about. I also suggest jotting down some questions you may have about Bordeaux and their wines so you can walk into your first Bordeaux After Work Party not only confident in the basics, but prepared to learn more!

I would love for this to be a journey that we can go on together, so I 100% encourage discussion in the comment section here! Tell me what you already know about Bordeaux wines and what you would like to learn, and please feel free to ask questions!

Listening To: Rolling Stone - The Weeknd