Wine
- How to beat Inflation Shrinkflation this Christmasby james romanowLa Vieille Ferme is exactly the kind of wine I buy a case of when I hit the holiday season. It is an excellent, drink with everything, drink every day, kind of wine. I’ve been drinking it from bottles for decades. Voila! They are now selling it in boxes. This is great news, for moderate… Continue reading How to beat Inflation Shrinkflation this Christmas
- How Wine Tastings Have Gone Astrayby james romanowhttp://svbwine.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-email-you-dont-want-to-get.html I’ve thought for a long time that most wineries have become tourist traps. The wine matters less and less, the destination experience for the casual consumer is what pays the bills. Consumers who are serious about wine, are left in the lurch, because the winery – despite all the training, all the staff –… Continue reading How Wine Tastings Have Gone Astray
- Sparkling or Soda?by james romanowI answered a question on Quora, mostly from memory the other day, and it led me to double check the differences between Club Sodas and Sparkling Waters. My contention is that sparkling water is generally a bottled mineral spring water, and therefore contains various trace minerals, but most usually sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca.) The… Continue reading Sparkling or Soda?
Spirits
- Ardbeg Kelpie: A thoroughly Modern Maltby james romanowHere’s the latest limited release from Ardbeg a thoroughly modern Scotch for the New World Order. Firstly, no age statement. Judging by the pale colour of the whisky I assume it is between 6 and 10 years. Distilleries are increasingly edging away from the traditional statement of age on the bottles. This if you haven’t… Continue reading Ardbeg Kelpie: A thoroughly Modern Malt
- CTV Noon and Eggnogby james romanowThe key ingredients to a good eggnog are
- Boutique Spirits and Micro-distilleriesby james romanowIf you spend any time wandering liquor stores you will have noticed three trends in the last two decades in the spirits world (Give me back my golden Gimlet!) The first was the gigantic wave of vodka, sold to the public seeking a brand that suited their “identity” and self-image. Sorry folks. Vodka is vodka.… Continue reading Boutique Spirits and Micro-distilleries
Cocktails
- Ho Ho Ho! A drink to seasons past and seasons futureby james romanowNo Christmas Eve would be complete without a glass of real egg nog, not that horrid stuff you buy by the carton.
- No. 99 Canadian Whiskyby james romanowGretzky has just launched a whisky. And I’m here to say, it’s a pretty good one. But it is also deeply interesting from a technical point of view.
- CTV Noon and Eggnogby james romanowThe key ingredients to a good eggnog are
Recipes
- Spaghetti With Orange and Bacon Recipeby james romanowI found the original of this recipe in the WSJ. I immediately modified it to suit me. It scales easily from one to 8 persons. It took me, including prep time less than half an hour. If you did it for just one, less again. This is modified recipe from Betsy Andrews. The original was… Continue reading Spaghetti With Orange and Bacon Recipe
- Spanish Rice Casseroleby james romanowI was at a potluck with a few members of the Saskatchewan Indigenous Writers Circle the other night and I brought a casserole I’m quite fond of. A couple of members wanted the recipe so here is a) the easy version, b) the notes, and c) the version as served. The basic version is dead… Continue reading Spanish Rice Casserole
- The John Gormley Eggnog Recipeby james romanowAs I said on the air today, I make this for myself using half the sugar, and skim milk. Dial in the variables to suit yourself. Also shaved dark chocolate on top is a nice touch. As is Fee Bros. Mint Bitters. The original recipe A couple of great suggestions from callers The “Low Cal”… Continue reading The John Gormley Eggnog Recipe
Food
- Sous-vide for Beginnersby james romanowThis was an experiment in sous vide cooking, which assumed I didn’t want to spend more money and space on new cooking equipment like a home sous-vide unit. Sous-vide for those of you new to the concept is cooking very low and very slow. The issue of slowness will vary from item to item. Ideally… Continue reading Sous-vide for Beginners
- How to have breakfast c.1759by james romanow“The breakfast was served at one [PM] exactly… The table was seated for twenty-four, though I had only asked eighteen people, every place was occupied… By the time the oysters were done, 20 bottles of champagne were emptied, so when breakfast commenced everybody began to talk at once. The meal might easily have passed for… Continue reading How to have breakfast c.1759
- Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breastsby james romanow@JehanCanCook on Twitter posted a shot of a stuffed chicken breast and it inspired me to try. You can stuff breasts with any number of things. For example most people have had chicken cordon bleu, a regular in the winter around here. There are a couple of tricks. – You need to flatten the breast… Continue reading Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Musings
- Terroirby james romanowWhen you meet a vintner or a salesperson these days they will immediately start to effuse about their “terroir.” If you have yet to figure this out, the French came to the conclusion around 1800 that the best wines were made in very particular vineyards for reasons they did not quite understand. They therefore awarded… Continue reading Terroir
- The Wine Condom – a perfect solutionby james romanowToday I found the perfect solution to several problems simultaneously. Best of all, unlike my usual perfect solutions, this one is affordable. Meet the Wine Condom. Cheekily named after its inspiration, it comes in a box of 10 with suitable instructions, for those of us unfamiliar with condom usage. It is as you’d imagine a… Continue reading The Wine Condom – a perfect solution
- How to earn a “Classic” score from the Wine Spectatorby james romanowPictured on the right are four acuvin test strips for residual sugar. The top strip is Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2010, a wine of some repute. (15.5 by Jancis Robinson) This particular version is low on Syrah, only 20%, which probably accounts for the slightly lowish score. Robinson gave the ’11 a 16. Ogier Heritages [corrected… Continue reading How to earn a “Classic” score from the Wine Spectator
Wineries
- Oyster Bay Merlotby james romanowI have a thing for Hawkes Bay wines from New Zealand. This one isn’t the best of the bunch but it is available – THANK YOU OYSTER BAY! If you can find any wines from the area jump on them. The syrah from there is a real eye opener – lean, elegant, aromatic. Most of… Continue reading Oyster Bay Merlot
- Stellar’s Jay & Aging Bubblyby james romanowWe had a solstice party last night, and as is our wont opened a bottle of bubbly. I’ve had this bottle of Stellar’s Jay the Pinot Blanc sparkling wine from Sumac Ridge for a few years now. I’m pretty sure I picked it up around ’09 from the winery. Anyway, it’s a 2007 vintage. For… Continue reading Stellar’s Jay & Aging Bubbly
- Henry of Pelham Wine Clubby james romanowI’ve long been a fan of Henry of Pelham’s wines. They offer excellent value for the money and some of the better bottles are downright fantastic. If you think you might enjoy their wines, the winery offers a new wine club, including a prestige membership where any visit to the winery gets you a glass… Continue reading Henry of Pelham Wine Club