Hungarian goulash
Monday, June 12th: Deborah and I drove down to Niagara to have a look at houses in the St. Catharines area. We saw eight houses and decided we liked the first one we toured. And we instructed the real estate agent to make an offer! Now the waiting game. For dinner with steak, Descendientes de J. Palacios Petales 2015 (purple-ruby colour; floral, cherry and plum nose with a herbal note; medium to full-bodied, savoury, sour cherry with drying tannins on the finish. Needs time (89)).
Tuesday, June 13th: Recorded my 680 NEWS wine reviews. Opened a bottle of Grange of Prince Edward Almanac Red Field Blend 2014 (deep ruby colour; earthy, red berry nose; medium-bodied, dry, sour cherry flavour with fresh acidity (87)). And then Closson Chase Pinot Gris K.J. Watson Vineyard 2016 (pale straw in colour; a nose of white peaches; medium-bodied, dry, peach and citrus flavours with a mineral note and a fleshy mid-palate (88)).
Wednesday, June 14th: A Winerytohome tasting at Doug Towers’s house. In the evening, down to Arta Gallery in the Distillery District for Winetario – the consumer extension of the Ontario Wine Awards. Some two hundred people, mostly millennials, attended to taste the medal-winning wines. I presented James Chatto with the Journalism Award (a decanter) since he was unable to attend the awards presentation at Niagara College on May 31.
Angela Aiello, James Chatto and me
Had dinner at a Neapolitan pizza place on Mount Pleasant. The base of the crust was almost raw. When I drew the waitress’ attention to it, she said, that’s how we cook it. Even the cook (who had just started) came over to confirm that that was the way they served it. Not going back there again.
Thursday, June 15th: Pinot was up all night, terrified of the thunder and lightning. Didn’t get much sleep. But, good news – our offer for the house in St. Catharines was accepted. Now the fun begins. Opened a bottle of Rodney Strong Charlotte’s House Sauvignon Blanc 2015 (pale straw colour; reductive, smoky, herbaceous nose; medium to full-bodied, dry, ripe peach and kiwi flavours ending on a lychee note (88.5)).
Friday, June 16th: A Vintages release tasting this morning for July 23rd. My top scoring wine: Dr. Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 2010 (93).
Saturday, June 17th: Our real estate lady Sally came around to discuss the sale of our condo. Number one priority: tidy up my office. In the evening, Deborah and I went to an outdoor dinner party thrown by our friends Andrew and Judy. Honouring their Hungarian heritage, they prepared goulash on an outdoor fire. Delicious.
