Robert K. Stephen Wine reviews – Page 26 – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

RKS Wine: A Low-Cost Bordeaux with the Highest Pedigree

Mention the name Mestreguilhem in Bordeaux ears will perk up as they have been in the wine trade for many years and own Château Pipeau a solid red wine producing excellent and highly ageable red wine. They also own Chateau Joinin which produces a red Château Joinin. Can their skills and reputation be reflected inContinue reading “RKS Wine: A Low-Cost Bordeaux with the Highest Pedigree”

Bargain Basement Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region of France produces some of the most expensive wines in the world but there are many “value priced” Bordeaux’s. And you just may find a gem. So let’s try a couple. The first is a $12.95 Château Les Sablonnets. In colour it is a very dark red almost purple. On the noseContinue reading “Bargain Basement Bordeaux”

RKS Wine: Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: A Very Special Dessert Brought to the Guests from The Douro in Portugal!

After the oysters the guests are to retire to listen to an hour concert put on by the Toronto Medieval Consort with wine glasses a fill. For those who have not nodded off a grand dessert awaits that I personally advised Celine Serpent would be unique and rarely ever tried in Canada. I have usedContinue reading “RKS Wine: Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: A Very Special Dessert Brought to the Guests from The Douro in Portugal!”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Last Course Before the Entertainment: What to Serve With Oysters?

Celine Serpent, PP’s fiancée, decides to end the meal, at least until dessert, with Malpeque oysters from Nova Scotia. It so happens these are my favourite oysters with a nice briny finish and with a dash of freshly squeezed lemon who needs Elon Musk’s rocket to go to the moon. They are being driven inContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Last Course Before the Entertainment: What to Serve With Oysters?”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Secondi (Vegetarian)

PP is a meat-eating guy who equates vegetarians as communists, socialists and hippies but he keeps his opinions to himself except for me as I am becoming a confidant of the man for better or worse. The vegetarian secondi will be mushroom ragout served over polenta. The sides will be a Greek Briam and EastContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Secondi (Vegetarian)”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Secondi (non-Vegetarian)

As you may recall the Penniless Pensioner is engaged to Celine Serpent. They have a small engagement party planned to take place in Niagara-on-the-Lake. I have a consulting contract with Serpent for wine selection for the engagement party and for the wedding. Since PP is footing the wine bill I am compelled to go asContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Secondi (non-Vegetarian)”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Wine Planning: Another Set-Back; The Canapés

PP has suffered a set-back. In addition to not being able to access his Panamanian bank accounts the publisher’s advance cheque for his upcoming book “Fall from Grace” bounced due to bankruptcy of the publisher. So here he is with a looming wine bill for the engagement party short on cash. But PP always surprisesContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Wine Planning: Another Set-Back; The Canapés”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Wine Planning: A Little Set-Back; The Opening Toast and THE BIG BLUFF?

As we recounted in an earlier story PP and Celine Serpent are engaged and I have a contract to select the wines for their engagement party. PP, seeing that Celine has paid my consulting fees, assumed she is paying for the wine but surprised him by saying the groom and groom to be should pick upContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner’s Engagement Party: Wine Planning: A Little Set-Back; The Opening Toast and THE BIG BLUFF?”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Low Life Wine Fraud and Wild Tuscan Boar Stew

PP phoned me up the other day in an excited mood. Looks like he has a new girlfriend Celine Serpent a wealthy widower living in Rosedale. You might want to say she invested a paltry $200,000 with Bernie Madoff and being on the upper end of the Ponzi scheme she doubled her money. He saidContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Low Life Wine Fraud and Wild Tuscan Boar Stew”

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Is Such A Prig Sometimes: Puglian Primitivo

At one point PP tells me he is excited about us trying the cheapest wines for what gems he might discover. Yet when I tell him I am trying a Primitivo from Puglia he says he is not interested in junk from Southern Italy. I tell him to ease up with his snobbery and heContinue reading “RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner Is Such A Prig Sometimes: Puglian Primitivo”