LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2015

SEASONAL  BEST OF 2015

De Chanceny Crémant de Loire Rosé Brut LCBO 211466, $18.45 Many French regions make sparkling wine in the same way as Champagne—have done so for centuries. Since the 1980s, however, they have been forbidden to use the term méthode champe- nois ; instead they call these splendid bubblies crémants . Some have slightly lower pressure than Champagne, but what really sets them apart is the relatively inex- pensive price and their use of their own local grape varieties. This rosé crémant from the Loire, for example, is made from Cabernet Franc, from vines that are between 20 and 30 years old. Crisp, dry and refreshing, it offers juicy aromas of grape- fruit and strawberry and a hint of biscuit in the finish.

Cave Spring Estate Riesling VQA VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 286377, $17.95 A day at Cave Spring—and a long and delicious lunch at their Inn on the Twenty restaurant in Jor- dan—showed me just how well their masterly Ries- ling portfolio works with Chef Frank Romano’s food. This particular wine (powerful, steely, impeccably balanced, showing grapefruit, lime and minerality) was unexpectedly superb with miso-glazed lamb tataki and Asian slaw. Quintessential Niagara Bench- land Riesling!

RIESLING niagARA BENCHLAND

Erath Pinot Noir LCBO 394718, $24.95

Dick Erath has spent over 40 years crafting Pinot Noirs inOregon’s Dundee Hills. We paired his ethereal, lucid 2012 vintage with a Persian chicken dish and found the wine’s cherry, cranberry and spicy oak aromas picked out the cinnamon, mint and tomato in the sauce with uncanny precision. A pilgrimage to the winery is a must for any Pinot Noir lover, for Erath spe- cializes in single-vineyard and single-clone iterations. Meanwhile, this wine opens the door to that infinitely nuanced world.

QUINTESSENT IAL

86  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2015