Fuzion Time

It's Saturday night, I am poor student and I want a glass of wine. That means it is Fuzion time. For those of you who don't know about this wine, which made it's first appearance at the LCBO in the summer of 2008, take $7.45 and buy a bottle. That's right, $7.45. As the economy crashed this Argentinian wine made it's appearance. It soon became the hot wine of 2008 as it flew off the shelves quicker than LCBO could restock them.

Because I am not a wine snob, I believe that you can get a decent bottle of wine for a good price. This is a decent wine, if you don't believe me just Google Fuzion and read the many articles about it. Billy's Best Bottles by Billy Munnelly describes the Shiraz-Malbec as "smooth, soft, with spicy sweet vanilla flavours. A knock-off of Aussie Shiraz!"

On Saturday, we had the Shiraz-Malbec and the Chenin Blanc. I preferred the red, but as we have learned that may of been due to the mood I was in. I find the Shiraz-Malbec to be very smooth. From my research, Malbecs are very "fruit forward" and I have to say with the Fuzion I can taste the fruit! Woohoo! My my palate has become more refined! I have also learned that Shiraz is more peppery. I may have missed the pepper in this wine...

Overall I had a great night with Fuzion. I got to have a cheap and tasty glass of wine and a night dancing. And let me tell you I was dancin'! What more does a girl need to love life?

Here is a list of other wines that won't hurt the wallet. I have not tried all of them, but I do see a challenge coming on...

WHITE
1. Cantina Tollo Rocca Ventosa Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 2007 (Italy), $7.80
2. Dopff & Irion Crystal d'Alsace Sylvaner 2006 (France), $12.45
3. Jacques & Francois Lurton Les Fumées Blanches 2007 (France), $11.45
4. Leaping Horse Chardonnay 2007 (California), $12.30 in Ontario
5. Peninsula Ridge Inox Chardonnay 2007 (Ontario), $12.95

RED
1. Gabbiano Chianti (Italy), $13.95
2. KWV Roodeberg (South Africa), $13
3. Marcus James Malbec 2007 (Argentina), $9.25
4. Strewn Rogues Lot Cabernet Franc-Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Ontario), $12.95

Valentine's Day...By the Numbers

Stats Canada offers a fun breakdown of holidays by the numbers . Here is what they had to say about Wine on Valentine's Day...By the Numbers.

A glass of wine
$5.4 billion — The value of wines sold by wineries, liquor stores and agencies in Canada in 2007/2008, up 7.3% from the previous year.

425.3 million litres — The volume of wine sold at wineries, liquor stores and agencies in Canada in 2007/2008, a 4.9% increase. The growth in sales of imported wine was more than twice the growth of domestic wine sales.

62% — The proportion of the volume of sales of red wine (including rosé wines) relative to white wines sold in Canada. Three-quarters of all red wines sold in Canada were from other countries, compared with just over 62% of white wines.

15.0 litres — The per capita consumption of wine in Canada in 2008. This represents 20 bottles (750 ml) per person aged 15 and over in Canada!

$312 million — The value of sales of sparkling wines in Canada in 2008. Canadian products made up less than a quarter of this amount.

18.6 million litres — The volume of sparkling wines sold in Canada in 2008

I can't wait to see the look on people's faces when I bust out these new fun facts: "Did you know that three-quarters of all red wine sold in Canada is from other countries? That is really a shame when we have some great red wines from the Niagara Region." Oh yeah, one more pretentious wine fact to wow people with.

Anything here surprise you? Let me know what you think and share you Valentine's Day wine stories!

For Valentine's Day

This has nothing to do with my quest to be pretentious. Just a Valentine's Day video from my favourite blog.

Drinking for Charity

We jived the 50's away. We twisted through the 60's. We discoed like no others in the 70's. We moonwalked across the 80's. We head banged like Axel in the 90's. It was a busy night for my friends and me. On Saturday night we took part in Niagara College's Dance the Night Away. An event that was put on by the Event Management students to benefit the Many Hands Project.

One of my favourite activities is “drinking for charity”. Helping other while dancing and drinking wine, is a good night in my book any day. Upon arriving at Club Italia I bought my drink tickets and pondered the wine choices. My options included an Italian Merlot or Chardonnay or a Peller Estates Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot gris. I work at Club Italia and from experience know I don't really like the Italian wines. They are ... too old (meaning dry, bitter and a little boring). Also, we live in a region that makes great wine and should support this industry. Earlier in the night I had a vodka tonic, so logic told me I should have a Pinot gris.

I really enjoy Pinot gris. It's light and fun and doesn't take it's self too seriously. From what I have learned it is a wine that should be drank young. None of this sitting in a cellar for years waiting for it to get better. In case your wondering, if you buy a bottle of Pinot grigio it's the Italian form of Pinot gris. Add that to your list of “pretentious knowledge”.

If you have an event where I can "drink for charity", drop me a line and I will be there to support your cause!

My Little Secret

I did not drink a glass of wine all week. I met up with my cousin at the The Office and deciding that it was way too "couplely" for two single girls we headed to the Merchant Ale House. Thus the reason I have no wine experience to share with the blogging world this week. In my books it would be just silly to drink wine in a place that has great beer.

I am going to take this time to share a little secret with you: A lot of the wine I drink is homemade. About a year ago I discovered a family friend owned a wine brewing store. So after a short phone call I had made a batch of Cabernet Sauvignon that would be ready in four weeks! So easy! Nothing like I thought. That might because I was basing my knowledge on wine making from an I Love Lucy episode...

After four weeks of anticipation, a friend and I headed to the store to bottle, cork and label my wine. I completely recommend taking an afternoon with some friends and bottling wine as long as "sampling" is involved.

The only downfall of drinking homemade wine is that the wine definitely benefits from aerating. Aerate is a fancy word for letting the wine breath. By allowing the wine to mix with the air the flavours will mellow making it smoother. The younger the wine, the more tannins (yay! I used one of my new wine words) it will have. The more tannins it has, the longer it needs to aerate. Now that I know what the word aerate means all I have to do is find the patience to actually do it.

I am sure that my homemade wine is not helping in my quest for pretentiousness but I know my friends are happy when I show up with a bottle of wine.

Because Everyone Loves Lucy

A Visit to the Theatre and a Glass of Shiraz

“525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year?” The day after I still have a smile on my face as I hum and sometimes belt out the lyrics to Rent. Yesterday, three great friends and I headed to Toronto to take a chance of getting “student rush tickets” for the Broadway tour of Rent. After waiting in line for 45 minutes, we headed to the Eaton's Centre for lunch with smiles on our faces and four orchestra seat tickets in our hands.

As we settled into our table at Mr. Green Jeans we dove into the topic of what wine goes best with Rent? A general consensus was reached: a cheap, nondescript, red wine drank from a paper bag. Hmmm, might be a little difficult in a nice restaurant with a wine list. Well, at least we have narrowed it down to red. After the perusing the menu I decided to go with a Shiraz.

When my glass of Shiraz arrived we began to discuss the wine. “Wow, it's a really deep colour,” one friend comment. As I stuck my nose in the glass and took a whiff, chestnuts filled my nasal passage or what I guessed was chestnuts.

Today I set out to actually become pretentious. I would find out why Shiraz is such a deep colour and if it really does taste like chestnuts. I learned that Shiraz can also be called Syrah, which clears up a huge misunderstanding my brain. The reason it is so dark? Obviously, because it is made from a dark skinned grape. More importantly, Shiraz is a full to medium bodied wine with lots of tannins. Translation: lots of taste. And the tannins (a chemical substance found in planets) are responsible for the red wine headache and that sometimes bitter taste. According to About.com, flavours of black cherry, blackberry, plum, black pepper, clove, licorice, dark chocolate and smoked meat can be found. I am sticking with chestnuts; who are these “About” people anyways?

My research today has left me feeling a little more sophisticated and capable of discussing Shiraz with a bit of confidence. Although, I was a little disappointed to discover that chicken fingers was not a food pairing of choice...

Sunday Night Dancing is the Best

Most of my Sunday evenings are spent preparing for the new week: doing laundry, finishing homework and overall dreading the end of the weekend. So when my fabulous ladies suggested we check out a funk band and put on our Sunday night dancing shoes, I decide that wine and a funk show would make for a great first blog post.

Upon arriving at my friends I was faced with the decision of red or white. This is not a choice that I make lightly. Wine snobs would discuss "the pairing of a wine with a dish so that the full aroma and body of the wine can be felt on the palate," or thing like that. I don't do that. When considering red or white, I like to make the decision based on situation. In front of a fire: red wine. A picnic in the park: white wine. So now you ask, what goes best with a funk band? The answer is obvious. Funk music is fun, lively, light and makes you want to dance; therefore one needs a fun, lively, light white wine.

With a glass of Gewurztraminer in my hand I was ready to dance.
And danced I did. LMT Connection was the perfect fix for my need to dance. If I ever doubted my conclusion that white wine and funk go hand-in-hand my theory was proven correct shortly after arriving at the show. I watched a lady drink a glass of red wine and not even bob her head a band belted out one great funk song after another. Needless to say, the lady left and the glass of red wine was left on the table. If only she new that red wine belongs at an acoustic show not at a funk show.

What a great idea, Sunday night funk dancing. My Sunday night became a great way to start a week rather than a depressing end to the weekend.