RKS Wine: Flapping Around on the Wild Side with Roast Turkey: Lambrusco!

Lambrusco’s reputation was in the crapper for many years as overproduction and lack of quality control kicked Lambrusco in the head. But it is trying to mount a comeback over the past few years. We see so little of it here in Ontario but what I have tasted in the last 5 years has been inconsistent. At times it is foxy and grapey then it can verge on hearty excellence still with a grapey influence. If I can make a comparison if you like a well-crafted Foch or Baco Noir you might appreciate a well made Lambrusco.

Can a Lambrusco dance with this bird?

As Christmas dinners are looming many poor turkeys will be living their last moments now. To complicate supply chain issues (an excuse to hike up prices) there is in certain parts of Canada avian flu causing culls of poultry stock. Can a Lambrusco be a match for roast turkey and all the trimmings?

Let’s try this Settecani organic Lambrusco in our Lambrusco and Turkey saga. Somewhat vacillating between dark red and purple in colour the grape influence on the nose is there but it is restrained and dignified and quite pure. There is some cherry, prune, black plum and smoke as well. On the palate a moderate acidic bite as can be expected of a sparkling wine. Quite a decent concentration of blackberry and black cherry. A short finish.

There are some out there that swear any wine matches turkey based on an erroneous assumption that tastebuds are rattled by pre dinner libations. I have never subscribed to that philosophy but there is no need to cower over your wine selection with a roast turkey. Being a gravy man, I love all my turkey and Brussel sprouts, squash, mashed potatoes, and stuffing swimming in pools of gravy that a slightly oaked Chardonnay or a Portuguese Encruzado can compliment with ease. As for red wine perhaps something on the light side such as a Pinot Noir might do well with a turkey. A full-bodied red wine will ruin both the wine and the turkey. The Lambrusco here has red wine fruit to it but discrete and the acids in it will match dark meat and cranberry sauce if you are partial to that bizarre condiment. It will also co-exist peacefully with white meat and even better with the crispy wings and legs.

I will be a happy camper this year with this Lambrusco. I consider it somewhat like a high-class Baby Duck that is mocked by many Canadians who are too young to realize that is what their parents were drinking. And of course, being a good host, you’ll have a bottle of white wine open as well. But with COVID encircling us for far too long live on the edge and try this Lambrusco!

Ontario residents note there is a huge LCBO inventory of this Lambrusco so it still has frightening power to the masses. I see a big reduction in price in early 2023 so it may be time to stock up for Thanksgiving.

(Settecani Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro D.O.P., Cantina Settecani, Castelvetro, Italy, $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 29944, 750 mL, 10.5%, RKS Wine Rating 91/100).

RKS Wine: Canadian Pinot Noir: Westcott 2018 Pinot Noir VQA Vinemount Ridge

The centre of excellence for Canadian Pinot Noir in my humble opinion would be the Okanagan in British Columbia with highwater producers such as Meyer Family Vineyards, Mayhem Wines and Oak Bay. Ontario is a bit inconsistent in the Pinot Noir domain but there is Clos Jordanne that is consistently good. I have given up on low budget Pinot Noirs from Burgundy still hoping for Ontario Pinot Noir success stories.

With that Ontario great hope in mind we try a Wescott 2018 Pinot Noir from Niagara.

Aromatics of raspberry, cherry, beet juice, strawberry and a light dusting of mocha. On the palate the wine is light handed and restrained in comparison to Okanagan Pinot Noirs which are a bit more concentrated flavour wise on the palate. Light handed as to tannins and acidity which are both in the background as it should be with a Pinot Noir. There is cranberry, Portuguese roasted almonds, Obidos cherry liqueur with a little rift of charcoal. Short finish.

The wine would cruise nicely until the end of 2024 improving slightly in the bottle. It would suit a charcuterie platter with Iberian smoked ham and soft cheeses such as Oka and St. Nectaire or Morbier from France. For a more substantial match it would do well with a truffle pizza, mushroom Wellington or a mushroom ragout.

This Pinot Noir would suit Morbier cheese from France

The $31.95 price tag may seem a bit steep but in the Ontario price range for a quality Pinot Noir it is fair and gives the finger to French Burgundies at this price point. At the end of the day far leaner than Okanagan Pinot Noirs but do we clap and say this is Niagara terroir speaking?

(Westcott 2018 Pinot Noir VQA Vinemount Ridge, Westcott Vineyards, Jordan, Ontario, $31.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 427500, RKS Wine Rating 90/100).

RKS Wine: The Great Turkey Compromise?

A good many of you out there will be having turkey over the holidays and that begs the question what wine to pour. That query could lead to a PHD thesis. Given the trusty or rusty if you prefer match the colour of wine with food then turkey is almost entirely white meat so white wine of course? Ooops but what about the dark meat? And what about those loving their cranberry sauce where white wine will be a sour experience!

Given the white meat and accompanying vegetables with my beloved gravy I say a white like a Chardonnay or Encruzado might do the trick. Lest you be muttering what is this turkey (pun intended) talking about I can suggest a compromise of a rosé!

One top choice for Ontario residents if they can find it would be a Featherstone Rosé from Niagara. Readers with good access to French wines why not a Mas des Bressades from the Costières de Nîmes? It is not quite red nor white but a bit of both. On the nose the fruit is “light” with watermelon, strawberries, raspberries and yes a smidge of cranberries. On the palate the fruit is light as well with some bing cherry, pepper and raspberry. If I can be so bold I would say this rosé is 70% white and 30% red.

Being an obstinate type my choice for a roast turkey with bread stuffing, Brussel sprouts, green beans, mashed potatoes and butternut squash in ankle deep pools of my gravy would be a lightly oaked Chardonnay or a Portuguese Encruzado from the Dão region. I have travelled to Portugal many times but not over Christmas but turkey there is in the shadows. I think the big festive Christmas dish is Bachalau a cod casserole if I can bastardize such a wonderful dish by calling it a casserole where a light red would be a spectacular match based on my consumption of that dish.

Stay tuned for “Turkey Meets a Wild Red” soon which is by the way not a flog for cheap American bourbon!

Mas des Bressades Cuvée Tradition, 2021 AOP Costières de Nîmes, France. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault.

RKS Film: “No Bears”: Jafar Panahi Weaves a Great Film

“No Bears” is Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s latest film. Panahi has been a thorn in the side of the Iranian regime for years and is prohibited from leaving Iran. He has previously been arrested, charged, placed under house arrest and prohibited from making films. “No Bears” was filmed secretly in Iran. In “No Bears” Jafar Panahi weaves an intricate film innocent and amusing on one hand yet threatening and frightening to an increasing degree as the film progresses.

Panahi plays himself as a director in a village called Jaban proximate to the Turkish border. Since he is prohibited from leaving Iran he must direct the film being shot in Turkey remotely. It appears as if the film being filmed in Turkey is a documentary about husband Bakhtiar and wife Zara both Iranians who have escaped to Turkey and are seeking to enter Europe with false documentation. Zara has been imprisoned, beaten and tortured in Iran.

Panahi receives regular discs with shoots of the film in his role as a virtual director. He has rented a room in the rural village from Ghanbar (Vahid Mobaseri) and becomes involved in a village dispute about villagers Gozal and Soldooz who are in love with each other to the chagrin of the Yaghoob family who through some tradition involving a cut umbilical cord believes one of their sons is to marry Gozal. A nine-year-old boy says he has seen Panahi photographing Gozal and Soldooz which would prove their “dishonourable” relationship. Panahi denies ever taking the photo and offers to give the villagers a disc from his camera that would prove his assertion he never took the photo. The situation escalates quickly. As one villager tells Panahi townsfolk worry about authority and country folk about superstition. This strange situation might be amusing initially until it turns deadly.

His film in Turkey is imploding due to Zara’s unwillingness to leave Turkey without her husband Bakhtiar who is having difficulty obtaining a false passport. That story ends tragically.

Nothing in the film really amounts to an explicit criticism of the regime as that criticism is buried deep in the film which at first glance seems to be the telling of two stories but lurking below that is a ripping criticism of life under the Iranian regime including:

  • Lack of freedom of expression
  • Harassment by political, security and civilian authorities of those considered a threat to the regime  
  • The relentless flow of those seeking to flee Iran many via human smugglers
  • Confessions extracted as a matter of show lacking a grounding in reality
  • Fear instilled by lies
  • The willingness to blame foreign elements for domestic problems
  • Being driven from your own homeland by desperation

As one villager warns Panahi as he is walking the streets of the village one night be careful because there are bears on the street. The villager shortly after recants telling Panahi there are no bears in the street as that is simply a story made to scare us as our fear empowers others. So true of many countries both past and present and not simply Iran.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/765806753 . The film opens a Canadian theatrical run on December 23.

RKS Film Rating 96/100.

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: Charity and the Day of Reckoning at the Gates of Heaven

“And you whose immortal soul opened a money changing shop: you sit on the threshold, plunge your hand into the sack, give alms to the poor, lend to God. You keep a ledger and write: I gave so many florins for charity so and so on such and such a day, and at such an hour. You leave instructions for the ledger to be put in your coffin so that you will be able to open it in front of God, present your bill and collect the immortal millions…”

Nikos Kazantzakis: “The Last Temptation”: 1961

RKS Film: “Entre Nous” (Between Us): Harlequin Result? Non-Harlequin Journey?

So in a Harlequin scenario true love reigns? Where does true love reign between lesbians Élodie (Amandine Noworyta) and Laétitia (Iris Jodorowsky) and what role does a rather quirky Simon (William Mesguich) and his pet rat play in his attempt to break up the lesbian relationship?

Élodie and Laétitia are 30 something Parisian lesbians happily living together but a bit short on money so they take a magician Simon (and his pet rat) as roommates. Simon works as a magician in a gay nightclub and he pulls rats from his hat. He is a bit edgy and off standish initially but that ends when he transforms into a pushy and obsessed lesbian breaker upper. The clever magician impregnates Laétitia in a “test scenario” and the lesbian relationship implodes as Élodie leaves with papa Simon not for the man but the child! Rather weak writing here.

It is quite conceivable all three characters will die by suicide, poisoning or murder but damn it why didn’t Élodie spike Simon’s orange juice so fittingly with rat poison as after all he is more than simply a cad. He is a rat!

The movie could have ended in many ways. Death by rat poison. A suicidal fall. A deadly beating. Is it a Harlequin ending? Even if that was not the case a good cinematic French romantic voyage. Discrete and low keyed with a great soundtrack and occasionally wonderful cinematographic shots of the Narbonne region of France. No sleaze here just a couple tasteful romantic scenes that French cinema is so good at.

A good study of gender uncertainty, jealously, lust, obsession, abuse and stupidity.

“Entre Nous” is now available on DVD and VOD including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, Vimeo and local cable and satellite providers.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXLYExuJvR4

Jude Bauman directs this French film with English subtitles.

RKS Film Rating 74/100.

RKS Wines: Tawse 2019 Spark Limestone Ridge Riesling

Quite literally Ontario Riesling leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But what happens when Ontario Riesling is used to make a sparkling wine. Could that be the Great Riesling Hope for Ontario? The Jerry Quarry of the Ontario Riesling boxing ring?  I suppose we should have Tawse speak for itself.

The label and the website do not state whether this is made in the Traditional Method so consider it made by the Tank Method. That disclosure on the label might be appreciated.

Loaded with a good bead of bubbles the aromas are apple, pear, caramel, guava, honey and Brioche. On the palate a good crisp bite of acidity with Flemish pear, sweet white grapefruit with a little wave of applesauce. So the wine is far from one of those non-descript sparkling wines that lets its acids speak more than the fruit.

The wine is organic.

I’ll be looking for more sparkling Ontario Riesling in 2023.

The wine would suit Malpeque Oysters beautifully

(Tawse 2019 Spark Limestone Ridge Riesling Brut, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Tawse Winery Inc., Vineland, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 370361, 750 mL,  12%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).

RKS History: Grumbling Housewives and the Gestapo

“The inapparent inability of the regime to guarantee either stable prices or a regular supply of daily necessities, including food and clothing, was deeply disconcerting. According to a Gestapo report, the popular mood in the autumn of 1934 was apathetic and gloomy. Irritation with the many petty restrictions of everyday life was widespread and outright protest was not far beneath the surface. As one report commented, ‘The housewives in the markets still hold their tongues. But if one of them protests-which happens quite often-nobody contradicts her.’ According to the Potsdam Gestapo office this was symptomatic of the repressed mood of frustration. Wherever crowds gathered in the autumn of 1934- in the queues at the labour exchanges, at bus stops-there was more or less open rebellion against the regime.”

“The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy” : Adam Tooze Penguin Books 2006

RKS The Tea Meister: Organic Wuyi Rock Oolong from Genuine Tea in Toronto

Also known as Da Hong Pao or “big red robe” this rock oolong from the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province is a truly unique dark oolong. It is said that the mother of the Emperor in the Ming Dynasty was very ill but after drinking this tea was cured, the Emperor then sent big red robes to clothe the tea bushes as a sign of admiration.

Rock Oolong has a unique flavour and hints at a black tea while still being considered an Oolong. It has heavily oxidized to around 75-80% and exudes notes of roasted mushrooms, whole wheat toast, marmalade, barley, brown rice and orange peels. On the palate a smooth tea low in tannins and acids with notes of mushroom broth and Greaves apricot jam.

$12.95 per 25 grams.

Region: Fujian, China | Elevation: 800m
Serving: 3g | Temp: 85C | Steep time: 3min
Ingredients: organic oolong tea

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: The Death of a Child

“When a child dies, there is no land to be handed down, hardly any possessions to be divided up, no job or role unfulfilled, no debts that need be paid off. A child is a small sun that shines in the shadow of its parents, and when the sun goes out there is darkness only for the parents. “

Yann Martel: “The High Mountains of Portugal”: Vintage Canada 2016