At last account PP held a celebratory BBQ pronouncing his love for the 23-year-old Ukrainian beauty Tatiana who he has only communicated with over his computer. Being in a hot tizzy it was love at first sight! Then it was 7,500 Euros paid to The Ladies Social Club Tour operating out of Moscow for a five-day visit to Kiev to spend time with Tatiana over 5 days of structured social events.
PP phoned me upon arriving in Kiev saying he had had a couple of glasses of Ukrainian champagne and was taking a nap to recover from some jet lag so he would be fresh for an opening night gala at his hotel with his fellow travelers, mostly elderly British men. He was very excited that he would meet his fiancé Tatiana the love of his life! Although I warned him about his rash adventure in the days of Omicron and Russian Ukrainian tensions, he jumped ahead with the idea so I shut my trap and wished him the best. A lawyer with his experience simply failed to perform due diligence on The Ladies Social Club Tour which in an hour of searching indicated they ferried groups of ageing single men to the Ukraine or the Philippines to meet ladies who had an open season on fleecing the men falling into their web. The owners of the outfit were both wanted in the United States for fraud.
PP said he would phone me the next day with a summary of his adventures.
PP asked me my thoughts on the Ukrainian champagne he had which I reminded him was not from the Champagne region of France so it was “sparling white wine”. I did find the KrimSekt white at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and saw that it was a Semi-Sweet (demi-sec).
It is made in the Traditional Method, meaning identically to that of Champagne. On the nose loaded with apricot and peach and some baked pear. It is a blend of Riesling, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligote grapes. It has very good traction on the palate. There are tastes of French Toast, cantaloupe, honey and you can pick up the Riesling ever so slightly which gives this demi-sec a slightly dry finish mixed up with the sweet. Not being part of the incessant waves of Brut and Extra Brut sparklers we get here in Ontario this is a pleasant change. This is a decent sparkler but beautiful like Tatiana promises to be I think not.
While this would suit cheese perogies I would pair it with a Thai or Japanese curry. I wonder if PP will be having it at his “gala banquet” with dinner. I think I’ll pour a glass and watch it with “90-Day Fiancé “. There is an elusive and possibly fictional Ukrainian lady an American is desperately trying to locate for some three years!
(Krimsekt Semi-Sweet White Sparkling 2015, ArtWinery, Bakhmut, Ukraine, $19.95, 12.5%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 206441, 750 mL, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 85/100).
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 