Marilyn and I favour cork wine stoppers. That's what we use when we brew our own wine, and what we use at the Brew Cellar.  The long debate is chronicled by the Globe and Mail's life columnist Beppi Crosariol, in his recent online article Ol' fashioned wine corks make a comeback. 

The debate started when environmentalists charged that cork, which is the bark of an oak species, once stripped was taking too long to regenerate.  In the grand scheme of things, these trees played a vital role in the western Med neutralizing greenhouse gases. Enter plastic corks and screw tops which not only saved the forests but in the case of screw tops were far more convenient. 

According to Beppi, cork's comeback coincides with the reduction of cork taint, which is a pollutant that smells like wet cardboard and infects the wine's flavour.  While it can still be a problem it has been remarkedly reduced. 

Meanwhile, plastic corks have been widely disparaged because they aren't as agile as natural cork and let in too much air. Screw caps are seen as too tight.

Beppi's article is informative, interesting, if not entertaining.  He adds a few funny videos - including one on how to remove a broken cork - which we've all experienced at one point in time.

Impart a truly personal touch on your wine cellar with Winexpert's five Limited Edition 2011 varieites.  Each year Winexpert produces a limited quantity of five fabulous and unique varieties from around the world from January to April. These very special wines are only available during the month of release and are so popular that they can only be purchased by pre-ordering your kits by December 5, 2011.

Excited?  You bet we are. Even more so because Dave Larocque will help introduce these wines in his Food and Wine Pairing Seminar on November 16th.  If you haven't yet purchased your ticket - give us a call, tickets are going fast. 

Winexpert's Limited Edition 2011 Wines

JANUARY: - Washington Meritage (0) dry - A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, this wine features great extract, deep colour and intense aromas. It ages in three to six months but like all good wines tastes better after several years in your wine cellar. And it's wise to decant this wine before serving.		JANUARY: - South African Sauvignon Blanc-Semil lon (0) dry - Together the Sauvignon-Blanc and Semillon varieties make a lush, balanced wine with great up-front fruit and a satisfying, rich finish. You can drink this wine right away, but it will improve after a year, giving off deeper flavours of melon and honey as it ages.
FEBRUARY: - California Petite Sirah/Zinfandel (Limited Edition 2005) (0) dry - Full bodied with a lingering palate and peppery spice, this is a wine of unprecedented power and length. This is a wine that shows best with ageing. Try this wine with: Apple Cider Brined Thick-Cut BBQ Pork Chops		MARCH: - German Traminer Spatlese (1) off dry - Gently golden-coloured wine, unmistakable in its heady, aromatic intensity, with a pungent fragrance of lychee, tropical fruit and rose petals. It's flavours are ample.  Sure, you can start sipping right away, but the incredible taste will become more apparent after six months to a year.  Try this wine with Peach and Blueberry Cobbler.
APRIL: - Spanish Matador Trio Red (0) dry - From the green damp north to the arid south, Spain is the country with the most vineyards in the world. Mancha is Europe's largest denominated wine region and its hot, dry growing conditons yield intensely flavoured red grapes.  This wine is enjoyed after only three to six months.  Try this wine with: Mediterranean White Bean Salad, Marinated with Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmigainao-Reggiano & Fine Herbs.

Why? Well grape skins not only enhance the body, mouth-feel, tannin and colour of the wine, they do this without increasing the need for extra ageing, which is always a bonus!

These wines drink very well soon after bottling and will improve on the same scale as the regular Selection International wine kits: 6-12 months to achieve a high peak of flavour - and the wine just gets better with increased ageing under good cellaring conditions. 

Marilyn and I decided that we would brew some of this wine - for our own cellar. We brewed two batches this week - Spanish Tempranillo and the Chilean Malbec-Shiraz. 

The Chilean Malbec-Shiraz, one our favourites, displays a balance between ripeness and power, with the intensity of Shiraz grapes for a bold ruby purple colour, and blackberry aromas showing subtle accents of chocolate.  The Malbec brings the plum, blackcurrant and violet aromas leading to a slight touch of leather notes.  It's a full-bodied, classic wine. 

The Spanish Tempranillo shows the black cherry, raspberry, plum and tobacco notes of the varietal, but the wine tends towards lushness and an overflowing of soft, ripe tannis, rather than bright fruit.  Vanilla and spice notes in the oak give way to a beguiling hint of dark coffee on the finish.  Medium-to-full bodied - it will drink well under three months.   

Plans are under way for a Sicilian Nero D'Avola and an Australian Petit Verdot.

We are delighted that the skins are back... when you drop by to start brewing - we'll have the skinny on how easy it is to brew with skins! 

At the recent 2011 Amateur Winemakers of Ontario (AWO) wine competition, Marilyn Walters, of Brew Cellar won the award for Best Red Wine from a Kit.  This is Marilyn's second AWO award for Best Red Wine From A Kit.  Her winning wine is one of 80 selected from over 800 wines submitted to be advanced to the Canadian National Amateur Winemakers competition. The blind tasting was judged by The Wine Judges of Canada.

Her choice?  Her favourite of course - Barbera from the Cellar Craft International Showcase Series.  Deep ruby, medium-bodied, and fruity in its youth, it ages to impressive depth and elegance. The fruit in a 2 year old wine remains as fresh and inviting as it was at 6 months. The oak and tannins are mellow with a soft well-rounded impression that lifts the fruit to a most attractive level. Marilyn also took home several medals including a gold, silver and two bronzes.

It's been a great year for The Brew Cellar and Marilyn.  Earlier this year she won a gold, silver and two bronze medals at the 2011 Winemaker Magazine International Winemakers Competition.  

Marilyn has been refining her winemaking skills for many years. When asked if there was a secret ingredient or a secret touch to her success - Marilyn credited the quality concentrate from Cellar Craft.

At the Brew Cellar - we just love brewing our own wine and beer!

Here's something for your fridge - if you're one of them that uses your fridge for other keeping things cold. It's THE A-Z guide to pronunciation of wines around the world.  You will no longer have to worry about whether you're pronouncing Gewürztraminer or Spätlese properly.  This dandy little chart came to us via Inter Wine a great wine lovers website. 

Enjoy... and practise..

It was a long time ago that I started brewing my own wine and beer.  It wasn't just a way to beat the high prices at the LCBO,  I was really interested in learning - and brewing my own 'hooch' was one way to learn. In fact, Marilyn and I had so much fun that we got hooked - and the Brew Cellar was born.

When you come to the Brew Cellar to make your own wine or beer, we try to make your visit with us not only educational but fun.  If you ever have a question about a wine or beer - or maybe a you want to know if a step in the process is really necessary - give us a call or send us an email.  We're happy to share our love of great wines and beer...

Tell us how we're doing - or better yet, tell your friends if you've had fun at the Brew Cellar.  Visit our Weblocal.ca page - and give us a review.  

Grape farmers have kept grapes sex starved for more than 8,000 years to satisfy humankind’s desires for consistency in wines.

We don’t want the flavours of our wines to change as they would with new stock. Wine grapes have become one large genetically stagnant family.

Although there is no change in the grape there are continual changes in the pathogens which threaten the crops.

People don’t realize that vineyards require extensive use of chemical sprays. Seventy percent of the fungicide used in the U.S. is used on grapes. 

Loyalty to existing grapes could be a problem if chemical insecticides and fungicides are restricted or banned – a situation that many in the industry feel is coming as consumers increasingly demand untainted food and drink. 

Canadian geneticist Sean Myles, a researcher at Cornell University, says that if governments outlaw chemical sprays growers will have three main options: breed hardier varieties, go completely organic (labour intensive for  high volume crops), or develop genetically modified stock.

The problem is that it could take 30 years for a new hybrid grape to become commercially available.  Too bad...

But you know your guests and this is where a little bit of planning comes in. Although a full bodied wine is best after some ageing (up to a year), your guests are there to celebrate your marriage not as wine judges. Often choosing an uncomplicated red or white wine is exactly what is called for.  Your wine should be in bottles quietly waiting at least a month before your special day. It is not one of the thousand last minute “must do’s”.

Planning your wedding, and want to make your own wine? Give Marilyn a call for a consultation on where to start. 

At the Brew Cellar we offer a Wedding Package Discount.  Purchase your wine, bottles (375 ml or 750 mil) custom printed labels and choice of coloured capsules and receive a 15% discount off the entire package.

So you are getting married but the costs are soaring. With a little forward planning you can make your own wine to be served at your reception or to give as thank you gifts.

However, before deciding to make your own wedding wine, you need to ask the management of your reception location whether they will allow you to serve your own wine. Although it is perfectly legal to do so, some places with bar facilities are not interested in having you bring in your own wine.

You will require a Special Occasion Permit. The forms are available at all LCBO locations. Complete the form with the date and location of the reception and return the form to the LCBO. You should have your permit within 10 days. 

Before deciding to give a bottle of wine as a thank you to your guests, check with the management to see exactly how they will allow you to distribute these gifts. A table set up at the door with 75 beautiful bottles ready to be given away may look fantastic, but management may want them boxed or wrapped. It is always best to check first.

Planning your wedding, and want to make your own wine? Give Marilyn a call for a consultation on where to start. 

At the Brew Cellar we offer a Wedding Package Discount.  Purchase your wine, bottles (375 ml or 750 mil) custom printed labels and choice of coloured capsules and receive a 15% discount off the entire package. 

From time to time, you will come upon a defective bottle of wine. If you are dining in a restaurant - immediately return it for another bottle  (now you know why they ask you to test the wine first), or if it's in your own stock, remove it from your wine cellar.  We don't even recommend that you save it for cooking.  A bad bottle of wine - is just that - a bad bottle of wine.   

There are essentially four things that constitute defects in a bottle of wine...

• Corked - A wine is said to be 'corked' when it has come in contact with a contaminated cork during the aging process. The results of  contamination are almost always unmistakable: The wine will smell like a wet basement or dirty socks left in the hamper a little too long: moldy, nasty and not at all enticing to the taster. On the palate, it will be astringent, lacking in fruit, with a raspy finish. Sometimes you may even notice a paint-thinner quality.
• Oxidized - Oxygen is wine's invisible enemy, and when a wine gets exposed to air, it becomes 'oxidized'. The result is flat, lifeless wine that loses its pretty, vibrant fruit scents and tastes insipid -- it will likely remind you of vinegar. The trained eye will also often notice a certain dullness in the color. In whites, it can be light to dark yellow or even brownish.
  
• Maderized - When one says a wine is 'ma! derized', it has been literally baked. It actually tastes like Madeira and is reminiscent of almonds and candied fruits -- admirable qualities in dessert wines but unacceptable in dry wines. You may also notice, in the unopened bottle, that the cork is pushed partly out of the neck (due to expansion).
  
•  Refermented - Occasionally, some residual, dormant yeasts will wake up, and a wine will undergo a second fermentation after it has been released and shipped. This manifests itself as effervescence, or fizziness, on the tongue.

Fortunately, it's not that often that we do find a defective bottle of wine!

As wine educator Dave Laroque reminds us - don't be shy.  If it's not the right wine, simply open up another one!

Marilyn and I, along with the rest of the Brew Cellar team would like to extend a warm wish to all of our customers and readers for a safe and happy holiday season. 

We will be open December 24 & 31: 10AM to 2:30PM.  December 28, 29 and 30 10AM to 4PM.  We will be closed December 25, 26, 27 and January 1, 2 and 3rd.

The Brew Cellar asks you to drink responsibly. 

In January, 2011 we will feature Winexpert's SHIRAZ/VIOGNIER from Australia, a blend of red and white grapes which are often included in “Chateauneuf du Pape” blends. It's great by itself as an elegant sipping wine or with soft-ripened or goat cheese. We will also feature a white - the perfectly balanced off-dry offering, PACIFICA WHITE, a blend of Semillon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier from 4 countries on the Pacific Rim. It pairs perfectly with a variety of foods including seafood and spicy Asian dishes.

In February Brew Cellar will feature Italian PRIMITIVO, a rich red which pairs with assertively flavoured foods like lamb, pork, or wild game.

March will bring a dry Austrian GRUNER VELTLINER. This sought after white pairs with salmon, grilled halibut, or fish stew.

In April, you can try the wonderful Portuguese DURO TINTO, a three grape blend of red grapes which is intensely aromatic with an impressive depth of fruit and complexity. Incredibly flexible, this wine will pair with barbecued meats or with its finesse and complexity it will be intriguing just on its own.

To learn about these wines in greater detail, visit Winexpert's Select Limited Edition website, or drop by and we'll give you a copy of the DVD.

It's a one time special - don't miss these great wines!

Bill

Dave is a wine educator with over 25 years of experience. He's passionate about wine and loves to share his knowledge, whether at a wine tasting event, the local winery, or most recently at a wedding, where he explained the wine and food pairing during the reception.  And Dave is an author, having just published his first book The Wine Appelations of Ontario, a text book for wine courses in colleges and universities.

Dave was there to introduce Winexpert's new Select Limited Edition Series, a strictly limited number of wine kits announced in the fall and released in the spring. These unique and intriguing wines are available only during their month of release, so you need to pre-order kits.  They include Australian Shiraz/Viognier, Pacifica White, Italian Primitivo, Austria Grüner Veltliner,  and Portugese Douro Tinto.

Dave taught us the proper way to taste wine including Look, Smell and Taste.  Brew Cellar provided a selection of small appetizers that matched the wine, and it was fascinating to see how the wines tasted differently with each new appetizer. 

What's great about Dave is that he makes everyone feel like they are a wine expert. 'It's not necessarily about what's right, but what you think and what you like', said Dave.  And I'll remember his ultimate tip, if you can't decide what you taste in a wine, then just call it 'complex'. 

It was a great evening, and Dave is lots of fun.  And just as Bill and Marilyn said, I learned more from Dave in one evening than I ever would have with a book!

Guest Blogger - Heather Robertson

Heather loves to drink wine, but still considers herself a novice at learning wine appreciation.  She tends to drink the same wines, and is glad that wine educators like Dave Larocque and Bill and Marilyn are around to help her expand her horizons.

Check out  Build Your Own Wine Cellar  and find great information on calculating how much wine you'll need and how to overlap your brewing so that you can drink wine now, and continue building your wine cellar.

To get you ready for the Fall and the holiday season, we have an additional special this month from Winexpert's Selection Original.  Between September 15 and October 15 buy two wine kits and receive an additional 25% off the second kit.  We're happy to store your second carboy (the fermenting jug used before the bottling process) until you're ready to bottle it. Be sure to bookmark our regular monthly specials.

Finally, to blow our own horn, we are pleased to announce that we have successfully completed two courses on Winemaking and Advanced Winemaking from Niagara College.  Remember, if you're not sure what to make, or want to try something different, just ask us, we're here to help.

We started boating in a 15' Bowrider with a 70 HP motor which we used for water skiing in the Holland Marsh. We then bought a "Shark" (a 24 foot keelboat) named Glass Onion which we raced two or three times a week for about 8 years. Next we bought a Northern 29 (a sloop) named CYPSELURUS II, sold our townhouse in Don Mills and sailed off to the Caribbean for 4 years returning in 1991. It was then that we decided to become live aboards and stayed on CYPSELURUS II in the Port Credit Harbour Marina.  In 1996, we purchased a Northern 37 (a center cockpit Ketch) named Cee Jem in 1996 and sailed her down the St. Lawrence to meet the Mattew in Newfoundland in 1997.

After the Matthew, we continued on to the Mediterranean returning to Canada in 2004. We enjoyed our year in the French Canals so much that we plan to cruse the Trent Severn, North Channel, Rideau Canal, Ottawa River, Lake Champlain, and the entire Erie Canal in Grand Caper.

Follow our past cruising experiences and our new adventures on Grand Caper on our website www.grandcaper.ca

The grape that makes such a delicious wine is the Gamay Noir. By careful selection, whole berry fermentation and other techniques the grapes are turned into a red wine that drinks like a white: lightly chilled (13°C/55°F) it has hints of banana, pear, candy and some even say bubble gum!

Made with Gamay grapes sourced directly from France’s Beaujolais region, Winexpert’s Gamay Nouveau is ready to enjoy on bottling day, and while it will improve for a year, its bursting fruit, joyfully hedonic aromas and easy-drinking character will make it unlikely for any bottle to last that long.

In the 1950’s the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) set the release date for Beaujolais Nouveau to the third Thursday in November - this year November 18th. 

Why not start your own Nouveau party tradition?  Set your table Bistro-style. Start with a Charcuterie platter of sliced meats and pâté with cornichons, olives, French mustard and loaves of crusty baguette. A composed salad followed by a simple entrée and cheese platter with fresh fruit rounds out a meal that’s not only simple, but immensely satisfying and celebratory. A little Edith Piaf or Serge Gainsbourg on the stereo and you’ll truly be celebrating le Nouveau!

Kits Available mid September. Pre-order your wine kit before August 4th.   Email: brewmaster@brewcellar.ca or 905-274 -WINE

Gamay Nouveau
Selection International Series
Winexpert
Sweetness: Dry (0) Body: Medium Oak: Medium

Check out our monthly specials.... In July we are featuring

• From Winexpert's Vintners Reserve Collection: Cabernet Sauvignon - Red and Sauvignon Blanc White
• From Winexpert's World Wineyard Collection:  Italian Barolo - Red and Italian Pino Grigio - White

For product information on these and other wines, visit the Products. Search under Winexpert Brand.

And remember... if you're not sure what to make? We are happy help you with your selection!

Available in Cuban-inspired Mojito or Mexico's favourite, the Strawberry Margarita, they are the perfect blend of sweet and tart. Twisted Mist can be sipped, chilled, poured over ice or blended with ice to make a classic 'slushy' cocktail that'll have you passing the pitcher to friends.

Begin your Twisted Mist Brew today - and make it just in time for Canada Day celebrations!