San Alejandro 2008 Las Rocas Garnacha

Luscious ripe fruit. Black raspberry & cassis. Long finish. Medium body. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Casa Gualda 2006 Plus Ultra

Nice Spanish blend of Petit Verdot and Bobal. Fruit forward and luscious at that. Very drinkable, but could stand another few years in the cellar. Nice long finish. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Chateau Timberlay 2006 Bordeaux

An OK blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon. Old world style with tart red fruits. Some woody notes. Ready to drink now and unlikely to improve with any more aging. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: You can do better

Touriga Nacional 2007 Reserva Cordeal

Excellent medium bodied red wine. Lovely ripe black fruit. Wonderful with roast chicken, lamb or sipping on its own. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: BUY

Lindeman's 2010 Bin 50 Shiraz

Honestly I was prepared to dislike this wine but I cant. Completely drinkable right now. Nice ripe black fruit. Soft and mellow. Medium body - and all this at a very reasonable price. Available at the LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Joke of the Day

Two men from Texas were sitting at a bar when a young lady nearby began to choke on a hamburger. She gasped and gagged.

One Texan turned to the other and said, “That little gal is havin‘ a bad time. I’m agonna go over there and help.”
He ran over to the young lady, held both sides of her head in his hands and asked “Kin ya swaller?”

Gasping, she shook her head "NO!"

He asked, “Kin ya breathe?”

Still gasping, she again shook her head “NO!"

With that he yanked up her skirt, pulled down her underwear and licked her ass. The young woman was so shocked that she coughed up the bit of hamburger that was stuck and began to breathe on her own. The Texan sat back down with his friend and said, “Ya know, it’s sure amazin' how that hind-lick maneuver always works!”

My apology to dog owners in Peterborough

I am pretty sure I owe a big apology to a lot of dog owners in this city. For years I have been singing the praises of Rogers Cove as a terrific place to let your dogs swim. In fact I would extol the virtues of living in a small city with a large natural lake at its centre. Today I was reminded by the SPCA (acting as by-law officers) that dogs are not allowed off-leash in this city.

Several years ago I listened to one of our city councillors complain that the majority of the calls she received from her constituents were from retirees complaining about dogs running free. (I call bullshit on that one.) I should have realized at that time that the city councillors were more interested in appeasing older generations than growing with the times and establishing a place in which new and younger families might like to live (Case in point - PTBO has the 2nd largest retired population % of all the cities in Canada; and while the unemployment rate continues to shrink across Canada, it increases in this city - albeit only slightly.)

But successive councils have been lazy as well. While out-right banning dogs from the park in the centre of town, (which makes the councillors look like they are doing something), they do virtually nothing to dissuade the flocks of geese which defecate constantly in that same park and claim there is nothing they can do about it. Likewise they do nothing about allowing cats to roam free. Nor do they do anything about the feral cats that live along the railway tracks and woods. Dogs are also the only animals required to be licensed and the local Humane Society sends out threatening renewal letters every Fall to ensure their major source of revenue is not lost.

As many of you know I am involved in animal rescue (as a volunteer) and do my best to rehabilitate and exercise fosters dogs as well as my own dogs. Obviously this city is the wrong place to do that. I will be looking for new locations to walk/run/swim my dogs. Hopefully when I find it, they will have a gas station near-by so I can buy my gas there; and hopefully they have a supermarket near-by so I can buy my groceries. I have no reason to patronize local stores. Let them cater to the old people.

Pillitteri 2009 Cabernet Merlot

Pillitteri is a good winery often overlooked. This is a rather nice light bodied wine that shows excellent fruit. Quick finish with an aftertaste hint of fruit. Also a nice influence from the over 30% Cab Franc. Excellent with roast chicken or a light pasta (like a cheese ravioli perhaps?) Available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

My favorite youtube video - you hafta be an Iron Chef fan I guess

Joke of the Day

A young boy entered a barber shop and the barber whispered to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”

The barber put a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then called the boy over and asked, “Which do you want, son?” The boy took the quarters and left.

“What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”

Later, after the customer had left, he spotted the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. “Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?”

The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because I have a sneaking suspicion that the day I take the dollar, the game will be over!”

Santa Margherita 2008 Lison Pramaggiore Cabernet Franc

I like a good Cabernet Franc and took a chance on this one mainly because it was in the bin end sale at the wine store. Light to medium body, with a long finish. Definitely some potential. Decent black fruit but probably needs another 5 years in your cellar to develop some more complexity. Available at the LCBO. Recommendation: Buy at the sale price.

Reggie's - Hunter St, East City

I've listened to all the locals raving about Reggie's and decided to check it out. Let me start by saying it's clean, young and friendly and with lots of choices, even some unusual toppings/specialty burgers to spice up your dining experience. Reggie's makes everything to order, so you know it should be fresh and hot. An interesting (quaint) idea is that you fill in an order card that also serves as your menu - selecting the entree, toppings, drink, side-orders, etc.

I ordered the Reggie Burger and a small fry side-order. The fries were quite good. Handcut and normal sized but with the taste and colour of fries you would normally expect with fish&chips. The bun was a standard sesame seed bun, toasted quite nicely. The burger was not overcooked, and it had decent flavour, but sadly it was quite dry. Also regrettably the toppings were scrimpy at best. All in all a disappointment for the price.

Reggie's Burger - $4.50
Small fries - $2.50

I will probably go back to Reggie's but not soon. I hope by that time they have done something to their burger recipe to eliminate the dryness.

Joke of the Day (2)

Women are like apples on trees.

1. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they’re amazing. They just have to wait for the right person to come along, the one who is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
2. Men don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt.
3. Men sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren’t as good, but easy.

Joke of the Day

Men are like good wine. They start out as grapes and women stomp on them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

Saturday Morning Wine Ramblings

For me a wine review should be simple and give me the answer to some basic questions:
1. Do I like this wine?
2. Is this wine affordable for ME?
3. Where can I get it?

4. Is this a "hidden gem" or a waste of money?

I love wine and try to answer these questions but realize in some cases the answers presented here are answered by omission - or missed. Sorry about that. I have probably been drinking. ;-)

A lot of wine "critics" have advanced palates and like to drone on and on about "elusive hints of x" (insert obscure SE Asian herb for x) and the like, but I like to think that I have a normal palate and that the majority of us have similar tastes.

I rarely sample wines at a winery. Standing at a tasting bar trying to take notes seems a bit elitist and contrary to the impression I want to make. Typically I purchase 2 bottles to sample off premises and dont write the review until I have finished the first bottle and tasted and sometimes well into sampling the second.

I try to be fair to the winery with the recommendation. After all they have put their blood sweat and tears into their product and are competing with thousands of other wineries. I try to meet the winemaker whenever I can, just to feel the love for the product. I have met introverts and extroverts, farmers and bankers, but I can state that 99.99% of the time they are as passionate about their latest crop/product as they were the day the started their first.

Landrace 2006 Shiraz Mataro

Wonderful blend of Shiraz and Mataro (Mourvedre). Excellent fruit. Full-bodied. Some complexity. Wonderful medium finish. Some heat. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Joke of the Day

Q. Why do ducks have webbed feet?

A. To stamp out fires.

Q. Why do elephants have flat feet?

A. To stamp out burning ducks

Jacob's Creek 2008 Shiraz Cabernet

A nice fruity "supermarket" blend perfect for pairing with a rich tomato sauce. Nothing terribly complex and it tastes virtually the same a day later. Surprisingly long finish. Low priced. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Carmela Estates 2002 Dry Riesling

Admittedly past its prime, this wine has a beautiful golden colour, but is so heavily oaked it loses all its crispness. Not available in LCBO. Recommendation: Pass

Chateau Puyfromage 2006 Bordeaux

Medium bodied and "ok" but nothing to write home about. Dull fruit and a quick finish. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: meh

Chateau Preuillac 2005 Medoc

A decent blend of 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. Some fruit, but a very long finish of leather. Available at LCBO. Recommendation: OK

Katnook 2005 Merlot

Nice and fruity. Medium bodied. Long finish. Not available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy

Peller 2008 Private Reserve Pinot Gris

Absolutely lovely Pinot Gris. Beautiful colour. Well balanced. Nice citrus with some tropical notes. Not available at LCBO. Recommendation: Buy