You know your student loan is about to run out when...

So I've discovered a secret, and I think its a great idea but apparently I'm not as sneaky as I thought. Following suit with my "its not alcoholism..." mantra, I have recently been hiding the fact that I drink wine at the pub. The neighbourhood, good ole'boy, pitcher slammin' pub. For the cheapo winos, one knows that red wine, no matter how cheap, is mildly palatable. Cheap white wine is antifreeze, and probably not legal. So when one finds themselves in non-wine country, and braves against the norm of pitchers and rye, this is the solution I have found.


Order your wine in a pint glass.


OF COURSE wine glasses are much more fun, fancy, and sophisticated...but one doesn't always want to stand out. Also, most often when my classmates and I attend "such pub", it's not usually to be sophisticated.

After braving the magnum of unnamed "red wine", and a pound of wings (which is actually quite tasty! BBQ sauce and red wine are a great pair!), and the resulting jeering from my beer chugging friends, my first solution was to cross the line and drink.....vodka-tonic. When I was 21, vodka-tonic soothed my tattered soul well enough, and also made me leave my inhibitions well, well behind. These days, its a trip down fuzzy memory lane to my undergrad.........let's just not rehache that....

I recently went to another pub, and legitimately ordered wine, and they served them in high-balls. And lo, my "Neighbourhood Pub" solution beheld.

Pros To Ordering Your Wine in aPint Glass:

1. You get a pint of wine.
   
2. Your beer-buddies think its guiness...for the first half.
3. Its crap wine, tastes like grape-juice anyway--feels like its a coctail

Cons to Ordering Your Wine in a Pint Glass:

1. You get a PINT of WINE. (see: inhibitions, left behind)
2. Its not so sneaky when you get "red wine teeth" from the crap wine
3. After the first half-pint, it looks like grape juice.
4. When your friends DO find out....the oversized spigelau doesnt seem so bad.

Seems I only write during exams. Seems my wine consumption also increases over exams. Coincidence?

Grape & Wine, Fait Accompli

Well, we successfully negotiated another Grape & Wine festival this year. The wineries didn't seem to be as decked out as other years, but we were able to taste some decent wines paired with decent food (even though Peller ran out of the chocolate-venison stew). The park was bumping, as usual, and the food was great (even though Wellington Court wasn't there!). All in all, I can't complain, but last year was a lot more enlightening as we managed to hit way a lot more wineries and explore some unique vintages. Some of the highlights this year:

• Flat Rock Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2004 (30$) --re-released, one of the only oaky chards in Niagara see also: Tawse and Chateau Des Charmes
  
• Coyote's Run 2003 Icewine (48$) -- the website says it's a vidal, but I remember her saying riesling while we tasted. This is one of the tastiest, off-dry (if you can call 21 sugar code "dry") ice wines I've had. We even sold two non-winos on niagara wine with this glass!
• Coyote's Run Red Paw Pinot Noir -- (24$) -- Paired with Treadwell's pulled pork on croute...fan-effing-tastic. Another great day at Coyote's Run-they rarely dissapoint. Once again, to quote my loyal, but non-wino friends who accompanied us "I really, really like this". Treadwell serves this on his wine list at the restaurant in Port Dalhousie. I remember this because I served the Black Paw pinot and thought it superieure. Unfortunately, I am NOT a master sommelier, but I know a good wine when I taste it!
  

Signing out, as my lovely school has decided to subject us to "examinations" again.

So Beer isn't so bad...

Yesterday we took Kyle to the Mill St. Brewery downtown Toronto. We were entertained by a slightly sudsy tour guide who showed us how they actually make beer. Being a wino, I had no idea how interesting making beer is! Some of the handcrafted (literally, the brewing floor was the size of my apartment) brews were really unique and tasty, I'm sold! Here are a few to try:

• Belgian Wit--it has infused oranges, a perfect patio blonde
• Coffee Stout--brewed with a big bag of coffee grinds, could almost take the place of port or ice wine as a dessert. The guide gave us a bunch of fun ideas to try, like making a dessert sauce out of it, or marinating steak.
• Stock Ale--Hannah and I drank a pitcher of the stuff, wonderfully refreshing and tasty
  

So, for Kyle's birthday dinner we selected a few Californias to pair with a few dishes I put together (courtesy ala Williams Sonoma)
First Course: Pan Seared Scallops with Beurre Blanc
Main Course: Pork Tenderloin in a Soy Balsamic marinade

• Red: 2004 Artessa Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa & Sonoma)
  
• Wonderfully smooth and oaky with jam fruit, available at LCBO, cellerable
  

Wines of the Week

This week Kyle and I went home to Niagara for a few days, and came across a few gems that I'd buy a case or two of...

Peller Estates Chardonnay Sur Lie (2004)
Fantastic news! The wine shop at Zehr's Pen Centre is now carrying a bottle that I was told was sold out! For us toronto-ites we probably won't be able to find it here but it's worth picking up a case when we find it! Frankly, this vintage and the Signature Series are the only Peller wines worth drinking. Watch out for the important "VQA" label...they sneak some crappy, un-rated vintages into the liquor store. (Jackson Triggs is notorious for that). Also try:

• Peller Estates Signature Series Chardonnay and Merlot

Cave Springs Cabernet Franc Estate
For 12$ a glass at Inn on the Twenty, this better be worth it! It was, and after a "cheap" dinner of a cheese plate ($24 for the Grand Tour) and "some wine" ($120 in glasses and 1/2 litres) we determined it to be one of the better Niagara Reds!
Mind you, it's incredibly cheaper at the Cave Springs Wine Shop (Jordan Station). There are some Cave Springs available at the LCBO that are worth trying. Stay away from the Pinot unless you enjoy drinking grape flavoured vinegar water.

• Cave Springs Cabernet Merlot Blend
  

The first...follow me if you can!

So it's the first "day" of summer, and the school that sits across the street from me is finally silenced! I realize more and more (screaming children) that I was not meant to follow in the footsteps of my family line of educators. The thought did cross my mind when I see my best friends and (undergrad) colleagues buying houses and living life! As for now I'm content(?) to live off the Bank of Montreal and my fiancee, but someday I'd really like to see the cash in my account be earned by an actual career. I won't get into the "career" thing now, that's a whole month's worth of writing, and as this is the inaugural "post", I better keep it as cliche as possible.

I was inspired to keep a journal by a movie I watched last night. No, it wasn't an arthouse pic, or some kind of cryfest drama...it was "Fool's Gold". They found the treasure based on some Spanish guy's journal from the 1700's. I thought "300 years from now, no one will be able to find my treasure, so I better start making a journal about it....then start making a boatload of money"...At least now these first posts will throw them off the trail a bit.