Capital Eats wine recommendations

Capital Eats food editor Ralf is constantly sharing his favourite wines from around the world. Many of these are accessible right here in Ottawa.

The following list is a selection of wines recommended by our team, for paying Capital Eats and Ottawa Lookout members.

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 13, 2022

Flor de Maio

Flor de Maio 2020 | Portugal | LCBO Code # 18378 | 750 ml $13.95 | 12.5% alc. | 2 g/l Res. Sugar

This reasonably priced white from Portugal is a blend of Arinto and Antao Vaz grapes.

It offers a profile of delicate tropical character, citrus and herbaceousness on a soft palate.

The salty finish brings to mind steamed shellfish as an accompaniment.

As many wines in this category it’s not terribly complex, however it’s both a fit as an appetizer wine or with something as classic as the great Portuguese dish pork and clams Alentejana (there’s a link to the recipe under Quick Bites below). Its clean, briny character is perfectly suited as the wine shares the provenance with the dish.

At this price it’s a good buy for the next pot of steamed mussels or even as an addition to a New Year’s Eve cheese fondue.

As of this writing there are approximately 152 bottles in the greater Ottawa area.

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 5, 2022

The Dalmatian Dog

The Dalmatian Dog — Babic 2018 | Croatia | LCBO code # 18810 | $19.95 | 14% alc. | Res. Sugar 3 g/l

Babic is a grape variety indigenous to Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. It is related to the better known Plavac Mali, which is genetically linked to the even better known Zinfandel.

The wine pours deep blood red and gives off heady aromas of cedar, wet concrete, leather and violets.

With an opening like that, you don’t necessarily expect flavours such as juicy blackberry, morello cherry, graphite, and black pepper, but this wine has its surprises. As the wine sat in my glass it opened further revealing ever sweeter fruit notes.

The tannins are fine but still provide a modest grip, making this red an ideal match for a grilled ribeye laced with black pepper, or a baked sturgeon topped with puttanesca sauce.

The Dalmatian Dog Babic will drink well into 2024. Currently, there are 24 bottles available in the Ottawa area, but luckily you can order directly from the importer Croatia Unpacked

PUBLISHED: AUGUST 25, 2022

Alianca Vinho Verde 2021

Portugal | LCBO # 75663 | $9.45 | 750 ml, 10% alc. | 16 g/l residual sugar

Vinho Verde is a classic wine of Portugal and comes in a variety of styles. Some are sweeter and spritzy, others still and dry or even the other way around. What they have in common is that they have lower alcohol and are meant to be consumed young and cold.

There are even red and rose versions of Vinho Verde but they’re seldom seen in this market. The name means “green wine” and refers to the fact that it is typically consumed three to six months after harvest and has nothing to do with its colour.

In my role over the decades, I’ve too often had to “think” about wine. About the aromas, colour, texture, is the flavour true to the varietal or is there something “off” about the wine?

Then there are times when I don’t want to think at all about what I’m drinking and just enjoy the stuff.

Let me introduce you to your breakfast wine. Okay… Sunday brunch wine.

At just 10 percent alcohol, this is pretty guilt-free drinking but it does have a little more sugar than other Vinho Verde. This is offset however by good acidity and a light carbonation and if you serve it very cold, the sweetness is dampened and is in no way cloying.

Flavours of bartlett pear and nectarine with a spritzy lemon finish make this a stand-out white – a style of wine meant to enliven and refresh. It’s a simple pleasure at a terrific price and so easy to drink, you’ll want to stick a straw in it. Serve with steamed shellfish or pasta salad with a bit of feta.

PUBLISHED: AUG 4, 2022

Château de l'Orangerie Rosé 2021

Château de l'Orangerie Rosé 2021 | Bordeaux France | LCBO code: 25732 | $13.95 | 750 ml, 13% alc. | 2 g/l residual sugar

You are not experiencing deja vu. Two weeks ago I talked about a similarly named rosé, L’Orangeraie, that came from the south of France. This one arrives from Bordeaux and is, appropriately, a blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon.

The colour is a gorgeous pale flamingo with aromas of strawberry, nectarine and a mild whiff of red currants. These flavours replay on the palate and the wine is surprisingly soft and elegant for the price, finishing with lip-smacking salinity. It’s uncomplicated and not a wine for contemplation but for sharing and at this price it’s easy to feel generous.

I would suggest this with grilled shrimp and a watermelon salad on the side or a pork loin braised in milk.

PUBLISHED: JULY 21, 2022

L’ Orangeraie Rosé

L’ Orangeraie Rosé 2021 | France | LCBO #: 279661 | $11.70 | 750 ml | 12.5% alc. | 2 g/l residual sugar

Back in Vancouver I would sell more than a case of this wine per week. It was always a classically dry rosé and always a value wine. Back in Ontario, it’s nice to see that this is a regular LCBO list item.

Delicate notes of strawberry and red currant and a hint of watermelon appear, finishing with a brisk moderate acidity. At less than $12 it’s still a decent buy, but I do remember this wine having a bigger fruit profile in previous vintages.

That said, it does deliver a proper French rosé experience for those who desire less sugar in their wine and something that makes for hot summer sipping with guests. I would also recommend adding this to a pot of mussels with fennel fronds, shallots and tomatoes. Or explore further by making a Rosé Sangria.

PUBLISHED: JUNE 16, 2022

Tombacco Biferno Rosso 2017

Tombacco Biferno Rosso 2017 | Veneto, Italy | Available at Mercato Zacconi | $26.98 | 14% alc.

Here’s a very interesting wine that is a marriage of southern and northern grapes. Tombacco comes from the Veneto region in northern Italy on the Gulf of Venice. The blend is 80 percent Montepulciano and 20 percent Aglianico which is more commonly grown in the southern regions of Basilicata and Campania. Montepulciano provides the bright cherry notes and the Aglianico gives a deeper colour and dusty tannic structure.

Aromas of toasted oak and wisps of vanilla are carried on the heady notes of pruney pipe tobacco. The palate is soft and polished with dark cherry and ripe plum making an appearance for what is, even at 14% alc., a very easy glass of wine.

The Tombacco is a red that is sufficiently balanced to enjoy on its own but has a complex enough profile to stand up to a venison or bison burger with maple caramelized onions and forest mushrooms.

Please note: This is a consignment wine for the hospitality industry and is not available at the LCBO.

PUBLISHED: MAY 12, 2022

Liano 2018

Liano 2018 | Italy | LCBO Code 225086 | $27.95 | 750ml 13.5% abv | 10 g/l residual sugar

From the great appellation of Emilia-Romagna, the province that gave the world: Prosciutto di Parma, balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano, comes this rich red wine that feels as if it wants to bound out of the glass. The wine was cold-fermented in stainless steel tanks before being laid to rest in 550-litre French Allier oak casks for six months.

Liano is a blend of 70 percent Sangiovese and 30 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, a combination that eventually formed the basis for what the world learned to call “super Tuscans.” Given the price, it's certainly not in that league but it does make a bold and appealing declaration once it rushes past the gums.

There's much to appreciate here with flavours of black cherry compote underpinned by spices and vanilla and notes of cedar at the finish. The tannins are very fine and for my palate a little too manicured, suggesting that perhaps some method was used to moderate them.

Upon opening it does feel “hotter” than the 13.5% abv stated on the label, but decant this for 20 minutes before serving to do it proper justice. Then all you need is a steak off the grill drizzled in a reduction of soy, black pepper, orange zest and balsamic, and let your friends toast your good taste.

It's an attractive package and the bottle has a serious heft, making it a wine that would present well at a dinner to which you've been invited. As of this moment, there are approximately 300 bottles in the Ottawa market as part of the LCBO Vintages program.

PUBLISHED: MAY 5, 2022

Le Grange Des Combes 2019

Le Grange Des Combes 2019 | Saint-Chinian, France | LCBO Code 155804 | $20.95 | 750 ml, 14% alc. | Residual sugar 4g/l

Saint-Chinian lies within the Mediterranean southeast region of Languedoc-Rousillon and over decades has given us value-for-money wines with mid-term aging potential. In fact, for those neophytes starting on their wine education journey, Saint-Chinian is a fine place to start when collecting these southern French wines. The prices continue to be affordable with aging potential from five to 10 years. In fact, at this price I would recommend the Le Grange as a three-bottle buy, trying one now and saving the other two for tastings at two-year intervals. Just remember to keep your notes.

This blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre provides flavours and aromas of purple flowers, black pepper, black cherry, and mulberry that abound on a palate very soft on tannins. Top aroma notes of cherry bubblegum dominate the glass from start to finish and while the wine is a harmonious whole, I would have enjoyed a little more tannic grip. Personal preference.

This is a fine example of Saint Chinian for mid-term cellaring and well served with tagine dishes or even Korean beef.

As of this writing, just over 600 bottles are available in the Ottawa market and as a 96-point wine at the International Wine Challenge, this is also a proper buy for gift-giving.

Changes to the Vintages program: As a consumer, you will have the option of having these wines delivered to your preferred LCBO for free, or to your home for a fee. From my perspective as a reviewer, this means fewer Vintages releases covered and perhaps a little more of the regular list items. Those LCBO employees with whom I’ve spoken tell me that those customers placing online Vintages orders can expect their products to be delivered within 10 to 14 days. There is also something to be said for holding a bottle of wine in your hand as you weigh your purchase decision.

PUBLISHED: APRIL 28, 2022

Cave Spring Estate Riesling

Cave Spring Estate Riesling 2019 | Niagara, Ont. | LCBO Code 286377 | $21.95 | 750mL, 12.5% alc.

The Riesling grape's spiritual home is Germany and in fact, some say that the floral delicacy achieved in German Riesling is best represented by wines from the Mosel river valley. Personally, as Riesling is my preferred white wine, I find all expressions of this grape endlessly intriguing. This includes many of the truly world-class examples found in Ontario's Niagara region.

In the early 1970's Hermann Weis, of the renowned St. Urbanshof Mosel winery, arrived in Niagara and, using a Riesling clone he’d developed, planted the largest parcel of Riesling in the region. That winery became Vineland Estates and decades later, as fate would have it, Hermann's daughter Anne married Tom Pennachetti, one of the principals at Cave Spring bringing two great Riesling families together.

I've often needed to disabuse people of the popular notion that “petrol notes” in Riesling are a desirable thing connoting quality. It's not. Especially not in young Riesling. In fact, most German winemakers think of it as a wine fault. Petroleum character (Chemical acronym TDN, trimethyl dihydronaphthalene) does develop quite naturally in Riesling with age — eight or more years in some instances — but prematurely in young Riesling, it almost always suggests that the vines suffered heat stress from too much sun.

Here on the nose and palate — minerals and sun-drenched slate, wild herbs and citrus. The lemon profile, followed by lime pith bounces on the palate from start to finish leaving a gap for the rounder character of Bosc pear in the middle. This wine has 7 g/L of residual sugar but ultimately tastes quite dry. I would suggest this with a poached trout in beurre blanc and herbed fingerling potatoes.

A final note: few other white wines (with perhaps the exception of Chenin Blanc) are as versatile and age-worthy as Riesling. It can be used to make outstanding Champagne method sparkling wines (Sekt), tremendous table wines with sweetness categories seldom found in any other wine as well as what are among the greatest dessert wines in the world: Auslese (Late Harvest), Eiswein, Beerenauslese (Select Late Harvest and Trockenbeerenauslese (Dried Grape Select Late Harvest), the latter category having its prices set at auction by the two winery associations in Germany. As you test your palate and explore the wine world, give yourself over to an off-dry Riesling and learn how well this grape from the middle of Europe pairs with all Asian cuisines. This is my kind of globalization.

PUBLISHED: APRIL 21, 2022

Domaine Gendron Vouvray

Domaine Gendron Vouvray | France | LCBO Code 22584 | $18.95 | 750 mL, 14% alc. | Res. sugar 9 g/L

The Loire Valley, a few hundred kilometres south of Paris, is home to very fine examples of two of the world's greatest white wine grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Vouvray, a village in the Loire is also the appellation by which the Chenin grape is known and in the world of wine, it really is its most famous expression for complexity and quality.

Both Riesling and Chenin Blanc are my preferred white grapes as they both have the ability to make dry and off-dry wines of great depth, but also stunning sparklers and some of the most desirable and delicious dessert wines in the world. These grapes simply have it all.

The Domaine Gendron abounds with flavours and aromas of honey and white flowers, quince and ripe yellow pears, chervil and fennel. The mouthfeel is round and soft with well-integrated acidity ending with an appealing saltiness on the medium-length finish.

Serve with seafood and vegetable tempura or a cold seafood tower appetizer. At lunch, think salade Nicoise and yes as the warmer weather approaches, put a few of these aside for outdoor entertaining. A wine that delivers on all fronts. Drink to 2026.

PUBLISHED: APRIL 14, 2022

Warwick Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc

Warwick Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc 2021 | South Africa | LCBO Code 24248 | $16.95 | 750 ml, 13.5% alc. | Residual sugar 2g/l

Straight off let's get this out of the way...for wine lovers this is a top drawer Sauvignon Blanc made even better by the modest price. Luckily, the Ottawa market right now has about 400 bottles. If you love SB you'll want to buy several of these and keep them in the cellar for up to two years.

Both on the palate and nose you'll be suffused with passion fruit, pungent elderflower, herbaceous notes of blackcurrant leaf, and (everyone's fave SB note) mild ammonia of cat’s pee — all supported by a gorgeously rich texture that almost approaches the Marsanne grape for it's oiliness. Except in this case the texture comes from the 100 days the wine spent ageing on lees (the remnants of grape and yeast) before blending and bottling. This wine has seen no wood and the stainless steel fermentation has kept it bright and invigorating, with lots of lime on the finish.

If I were to compare it to other Sauvignons I would say it's closer to something old world like a white Bordeaux where the Semillon grape is added to Sauvignon to give it that richness and depth. And if like me you love white Bordeaux, this is a great Tuesday night tipple with mussels in leeks and cream or miso/mirin black cod with a side of asparagus in chervil butter.

PUBLISHED: APRIL 7, 2022

Las Pisadas Rioja 2016

Las Pisadas Rioja 2016 | Spain | LCBO Code 23634 | $19.95 | 750 ml 14.5% alc.

From Familia Torres, one of the world's great wine houses, comes this lovely 100% Tempranillo that scored 95 at the 2020 Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards. And at $20 it's a very strong buy.

Las Pisadas means “The Footsteps” and refers to the older method of crushing grapes by foot in carved out stones that were found throughout the sierra.

The wine pours as dark as oxidized blood and gives aromas of black cherry, wet stone, thyme and ripe red apple. As you sip you first notice the supple quality of the soft tannins followed by flavours of raspberry, chocolate and coffee on the medium-length finish.

The wine spent 10 months in French Oak but the lack of overt wood strikes me as meaning that older barrels were used and that's a good thing. It's certainly silky and even better after being open for four days (cork in). This is a Tempranillo for the Merlot lover.

Match the appealing texture of this wine with an egg fettuccine done in a Madeira, black pepper mushroom sauce and if you need the protein, you can never go wrong with seared beef cheeks as a topper. Drinking now to 2025.

A quick note: there appears to be a glitch when searching for this wine on the LCBO website. It reads as “Out of Stock” when this is not true. There are 14 bottles at the Rideau St. LCBO. When searching for Las Pisadas click on the image and then on the right side of the screen, click on “Check availability in all stores.” It’s worth the effort.