“The fuel situation, as long predicted by the Wehrmacht military economic war office, was rapidly approaching a critical point. By early 1942, it would not be the Russian mud but the exhaustion of German’s petrol supplies that would ensure the “complete paralysis of the army”. In the event by dipping into the Wehrmacht’s operational fuel reserve and by throttling consumption, the army retained its mobility. The navy was not so fortunate. In November 1941 the fuel oil situation of both the Italian and German navies was described by the Wehrmacht as “catastrophic”. In May 1941 the Royal Navy had sunk the battleship Bismarck as it made a futile bid to escape into the Atlantic shipping lanes. By the autumn the rest of Germany’s surface fleet was confined to harbour, not only by the British but also by the chronic lack of fuel.”
Adam Tooze “The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of The Nazi Economy” Penguin Books 2006
“Judas listened to him and knit his brows. He was not interested in the kingdom of heaven. His great concern was for the kingdom of the earth-and not the whole earth, either, but only the land of Israel, which was made of men and stones. The Romans-those barbarians, those heathens-the Romans were trampling over this land. First they must be expelled: then we can worry about kingdoms of heaven.”
Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whisky is a blend of grain whisky, malt whisky and pot still whisky triple cask matured in traditional refill barrels, ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry butts.
Served Neat
Notes of apricot, peach, orange marmalade and ginger. It is somewhat less fiery on the palate than scotch whisky and you might want to say smoother. Yes there is a burn but a smouldering one as opposed to raging one. As the heat is less intense there is no need to reduce its temperature with a few drops of water unless you are looking for an even mellower drink. Notes of honey, toasted marshmallows, cooked oatmeal and apricot jam. The finish is warm, long and lingering.
Served With Water
It ordinarily takes a few drops of filtered or spring water to tone down but in this case it really messes with this whisky robbing it of much of its taste and identity. I would not recommend serving with water. I had to dump the contents as it tasted like flavoured water instead of whisky complimented and gently altered by water. The question then how does it fair with ice!
Served over the Rocks
With the ice there is initially only a slight modification of the aromas. But it also adds some tangerine and butterscotch to the honey, toasted marshmallows, cooked oatmeal and apricot jam. Unfortunately as the ice melts we have the water attacking and destroying the whisky’s character after 45 seconds. Whisky is not meant to be gulped down in 45 seconds.
You may have heard the expression, “Go West young man!” With Tullamore D.E.W. it is, Go Neat young man!”
Nora (Nora Kaye) and Whitney (Whitney Uland) are 30 somethings and long-time friends although by the bickering and sniping you’d never know that. Whitney is the perky one and Nora is the sullen one.
Nora’s mother recently died and Whitney did not bother to attend the funeral. Nora is brooding and a bit of a rattlesnake ready to strike at Whitney over just about anything particularly not showing up for her mother’s funeral. Whitney may be perky but it is mostly a front as she is struggling to hawk merchandise on social media. Neither of them has accomplished much.
But they fantasize about the good old high school days when they had a band The Cosmos Sisters which really went nowhere a fact both never admit to.
After a couple of pot brownies their facades crumble and their true friendship slowly emerges and strengthens after they apologize to each other. Nora claims to have received a call from the mother of a boy seriously ill with cancer. Would they perform a benefit concert? Old dreams afire they rehearse and write a new song bickering along the way but a friendship bickering. Will the concert be a success. Actually that makes little difference as friendship can endure just about all adversity.
But there is a slight snag. Sullen Nora has a surprising spark of optimism in her that may totally wreck their friendship. Can friendship overcome this little snag?
While there are comedic elements permeating the film there is also an examination of an enduring and endearing friendship!
As far as acting goes the trailer does a huge disservice to the film leaving the impression of a shallow film sabotaged by poor acting however Kaye and Uland are a dynamic team totally at ease with each other even when bickering. They put on a stellar performance. Sort of like Abbot and Costello.
The film is now available on Digital and VOD platforms. You can see the disastrous trailer here https://vimeo.com/579948098
The film was written and directed by Kaye and Uland.
My prediction for 2023 is that if Chile can maintain its price point that it sits at presently 2023 will see remarkable growth in the Canadian marketplace for Chilean wines. Prices were stable in 2022 without any jacking up of prices one saw with most producers elsewhere. Quality is high.
So we start the 2023 track with a Garcés Silva Family Vineyards Catalino made with Tinto País one of the 8 synonyms for the red grape Tempranillo.
Aromatics: Black cherry, red currants, big bold raspberry and milk chocolate. This aroma suggests a real winner as the slight chocolate influence combines beautifully with the fruit suggestive of a warm, welcoming and approachable red wine.
Palate: Light to moderate tannins with controlled acidity. This is a light red wine that is for easy drinking and where food with the wine is not a necessity. That chocolate and fruit on the nose translates into the palate in a carbon copy format. The finish is mighty tasty and short.
Food Match: Many Tempranillo based wines particularly from Ribera del Duero are dense and full bodied with a blueberry signature. This Tinto País is not one of those. I would match this with a Portuguese Bachalau or pork tenderloin medallions sauteed in a loganberry reduction sauce.
Personality of the Wine: Light and cheerful brimming with optimism.
Cellaring: While the wine will hold steady throughout 2023 I can’t see that it will improve in the cellar.
I recall in my formal wine education days I had an instructor that seriously remarked any wine goes at Christmas as guests are so tanked up before the real dining starts they’ll drink anything! I never subscribed to that point of view.
Christmas dinner preparation can be backbreaking and unless you’ve been involved in preparing such a dinner it could be a situation of gross underappreciation by those savouring your feast.
Wine selection can be stressful as after a mammoth effort of food preparation you don’t want to ruin all the work with opening an expensive bottle of Barolo Uncle Giuseppe gave you ten years ago. Barolo and roast turkey kill each other!
But there is no ideal match but rather many possible good ones but even then one is circumscribed by what is available on the market which in Ontario at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario Vintages Section is for the holiday season overly expensive wines that reek of a sense of prosperity that doesn’t match many realities. Ideally one should plan wine selection months before. I would like to match roast turkey and all the trimmings with an Encruzado from Portugal’s Dão region but it hits the shelves only rarely.
So let’s go ahead with some wine pairing suggestions.
The First Course:
Charcuterie Board
Oka, Camembert and aged Canadian Cheddar, spiced olives, paté de campagne, almonds, figs, homemade cherry preserves.
Your white wine suggestion: Chateau Ste Michelle 2020 Columbia Valley Chardonnay
Gold in colour redolent with aromas of pear, pineapple, mango and tangerine. How is that for fun! On the palate this wine is smooth with mango, peach and a nifty little swath of butterscotch leaving a lingering finish. The American and French oak compliment the Chardonnay and do not hijack it.
(Chateau Ste Michelle 2020 Columbia Valley Chardonnay, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Paterson & Woodinville, Washington, $20.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 232439)
The Main Course:
Roast organic turkey with traditional bread, onion, celery, savoury salt and pepper dressing with butternut squash lightly flavoured with nutmeg, green beans with toasted almonds, mashed potatoes with Brussel sprouts. Pan broiled gravy with vegetable waters and white vermouth. Boil the hell out of it to reduce the vegetable waters!
Your white wine selection:
If you are feeling extravagant you could spend $47.80 for a Two Sisters 2017 Riesling from Niagara-on-the-Lake. I suppose $47.80 for the 2017 Riesling can be considered a treat that is worth it. On the nose apple, pear, musk melon and marzipan. On the palate there is a degree of tartness I have come to expect from an Ontario Riesling but it is gentle as well as its acidity which is not in your face but lurking discretely in the background. More apple, pear and some guava. Moderate finish. And it suits turkey to a tee. I must say for this price German Riesling offers much better value.
You’ll have to order from the winery. Now if you would rather spend $19.95 you can defer to a Vineland Estates St. Urban Riesling somewhat similar in style to the Two Sisters but at more than half the price! There is good supply at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s stores.
If you like lathering on cranberry sauce I would try and match the fruitiness of the cranberry sauce with a bit of a quirky old school Foch. (Malivoire Albert’s Honour Old Vines Foch 2020, VQA Ontario, The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $26.95, 12%, 750 mL, RKS Wine Rating 89/100). You’ll have to order this wine from the winery.
Your Rosé wine suggestion
If you can find a firm rosé like the Featherstone Estate 2021 Rosé from Niagara you have an ideal match for roast turkey and all the trimmings. Generally speaking the darker pink the better.
It has a dark pink colour. A beguiling aroma of red cherries, raspberries and strawberries. On the palate loads of cherry, raspberry and hints of raspberry Jello. A solid no nonsense fruit forward rosé with a moderate finish. Ideal for sipping on a hot summer day and a great match for grilled goat or lamb. If you can stash a few away for colder months this would be a stellar match for a Christmas ham with scalloped potatoes or a roast turkey. (Featherstone Rosé 2021, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Featherstone Estate Winery, Vineland, Ontario, Canada, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 117861, $15.95, 13%, 750 mL, RKS Wine Rating 94/100).
Your sparkling wine suggestion:
Produced by the tank method. On the nose loads of strawberry, raspberry with BC cherry. On the palate a nice acidic bite but more than a bite it also has fruit with a strong undercurrent, brief as it may be, of Niagara cherries that bring a tiny hit of sweetness before it snaps back into a dry mode with a barely discernible wave of freshly squeezed Orri tangerine juice. This may match a Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey.
(Konzleman Méthode Cuve Close Sparkling Rosé, VQA Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 184176, 750 mL,12%, RKS Wine Rating 89/100).
Dessert
A selection of Greek pastries including baklava, melopita, melomakarona and kourabiiethes. The first three have a noticeable honey framework. I can think of no better wine than a Greek Muscat Vin Doux from Samos. Alternatively a J&B Scotch Whisky toned down with a few drops of water which will smooth out the burn you would experience if it was served neat.
The Vin Doux has aromas of apricot, peach, honey and marmalade. On the palate it is silky smooth bursting with exactly what is on the nose! Acidity is way back there. A long finish and at 15% alcohol there is no burn.
If you are starting a meal with some “nibbles” like nuts, dried figs or apricots and soft cheeses with apricot or peach jam to coat the cheese it might work well.
Water and ice really smooth out J&B but with a few drops of filtered or spring water water the heat on the palate is somewhat greater and the finish a tad longer than J&B over the rocks. The aromatic profile is identical to J&B over the rocks with a more pronounced apricot on the nose.
Ice and water for J&B tone down the burn and make for a smoother drink but reduce the complexity and length of finish over J&B neat. A classic trade-off with scotch whisky neat compared with scotch whisky over the rocks or with water.
(J&B Rare Blended Scotch Whisky $29.45, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 2360)
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