Uncorked

Some drinks to choo-choo choose on Valentine’s Day

If you write a drinks column and it falls on Feb. 14, you are pretty much legally obligated to expound on drinks for Valentine’s Day … drinks to share with your sweetie, tipples to try with chocolate, pink wines and so on and so forth.

With that in mind, I hit the shops to track down some drinks that fit the bill — and if you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, well, here some long-weekend libations for your consideration.

If wine’s not your valentine’s proverbial cup of tea, why not pop the cork on a sharing-sized beer — perhaps the 3 Monts Blonde Bière de Flandre (Saint Sylvestre Cappal, France — $8.53/750ml bottle, Liquor Marts and beer vendors)? Deep gold in appearance and with a frothy white head, this French strong beer brings deep malt notes along with cracked oat, bread dough, earthy and red apple aromas. It’s medium-plus bodied and dry, with fresh malt, cracked oat, herbal and bread dough flavours, with a subtle peppery note, modest hops and, at 8.5 per cent alcohol, a long and warm finish. Pop the cork (yes, it’s bottled under cork) and enjoy. 4/5

One can’t do Valentine’s Day drinks without some bubbly, and this one has a twist — it’s a sparkling red. The Cantina Settecani NV Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (Emilia Romagna, Italy — $23, Ellement Wine + Spirits) is deep garnet in colour with modest effervescence, offering plum, blackberry, violet and black cherry aromas. It’s medium-bodied and dry, with just a hint of residual sugar, and brings big blackberry, plum, dark chocolate and raspberry flavours with light tannin, medium acidity and, at 10.5 per cent alcohol, a modest finish. Chill for 20 minutes and surprise your sweetie with a fizzy red. This one’s available at Ellement Wine + Spirits, but most private wine stores should have a few lambruscos on hand — it’s a style of wine that’s definitely worth a try. 4/5

Medal-worthy drinks to enjoy during Olympics

Every fourth winter, the water-cooler chatter at offices everywhere suddenly turns to lesser-unknown athletes in relatively obscure sports:

“Did you catch that Belarusian biathlete who just missed the podium in the men’s 20-kilometre individual?”

“I can’t believe what happened to that Spanish skeleton-er!” (Skeleton drivers? What are they called?)

“The Icelandic pairs figure-skating short program was so compelling — it was heartbreaking when they botched that double lutz…”

Savouring the fruits of Sicily’s unique terroir

It’s that time of year where best-of lists, forward-looking think pieces and reflections on the year’s highs and lows jostle for room on newspaper pages and clicks on websites.

Which got me thinking that I hadn’t properly chronicled my 2024 highlight when it came to wine — my trip in May to Sicily to visit wineries and attend Sicilia en Primeur, the region’s big industry tasting, courtesy of the Italian Trade Agency and Assovini Sicilia.

A large contingent of media convened on the southern Italian island for the event, with a few days of winery visits in smaller groups before the big trade tasting. Our small group featured journalists and creators from Denmark, the U.K., Japan, France and elsewhere, and was taken to wineries adjacent to and on the foothills of Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, which looms over the eastern end of the island. (The volcano was quiet while we were there, but got quite feisty a few weeks later.)

First, an overview on Sicilian wines. Generally speaking, the warm Mediterranean climate results in plenty of heat across the island, with ample sun and little rainfall across most of the island. Strong winds blow in from the sea from many directions, some of which can bring rain with them, particularly on and around Mount Etna, as our group was to discover. (More on that in a bit.)

Scary-good concoctions fit for spooky-season fun

As the end of October nears, the wine-and-Halloween-candy clickbait articles rise from the dead like a graveyard full of zombies.

While I’m no curmudgeonly Halloween grinch, I can’t get into the gastronomical gymnastics of pairing Tempranillo with Tootsie Rolls, Nebbiolo with Nibs or Chianti and Coffee Crisp.

Instead, here are six spooky-themed drinks for your Halloween parties, or to enjoy while handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters…

The Barn Hammer Brewing Co. Black Mass Black Pilsner (Winnipeg — $4.75/473ml cans, brewery, select beer vendors, Liquor Marts) is cloaked in cola-brown colour with a beige head, offering brooding cocoa, dark roasted malt, toasty oats and hints of white pepper and dried fruit aromatically. It’s dry and medium-bodied, with some modest bitterness and the dark chocolate flavour bringing a bite along with the roasted malt and subtle vanilla notes. There’s nothing spooky about the modest five per cent alcohol, and 25 cents from each can goes to 1JustCity, making this an extra-tasty treat. Four grim reapers out of five.

Beat the heat with crushable lighter local beers

After enduring an almost- inconceivable number of days with rain, clouds and moderate temperatures, it seems most of the province (at least round these parts) is finally getting its first proper taste of summer.

It’s the perfect time, then, to test drive a half-dozen new light (or lighter), fruit-infused local brews to help beat the heat…

The Good Neighbour Brewing Co. House Lime Lager (Winnipeg — $2.65/355ml cans, brewery) is an American-style lager infused with fresh lime; it’s very pale straw and slightly hazy in colour. Aromatically it brings loads of bright lime notes that work well with the fresh malt and subtle hoppy and yeast notes. It’s very light-bodied and dry, delivering delightful lime flavours along with flaked rice, malt and very low hops notes before the five per cent finish. This deliciously drinkable, very light lager will be gone in a flash in hotter weather. 4/5

One of the latest brews from its brewmaster’s series, the Fort Garry Brewing Co. Summer Breeze Fruited Wheat Beer (Winnipeg — $4.49/473ml cans, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts) is a wheat beer infused with passionfruit and guava juice concentrate; it’s medium orange-copper in colour and hazy, and aromatically brings loads of tropical fruit, mango and peach aromas, with some underlying wheat notes. It’s medium-bodied and slightly sweet, with tropical fruit concentrate flavours leading the charge, subtle underlying malt and wheat notes, virtually no hop bitterness and a modest 4.5 per cent alcohol finish. It’s a touch too cloying to be a summer thirst quencher, but will please those looking for something fruity without sourness or bitterness. 2.5/5

Find the perfect wine to grace your holiday dinner table

Whether you’re stuffing a turkey, glazing a ham or ordering takeout this holiday season, nothing finishes off that perfectly planned festive feast quite like the right bottle of wine. Here are 10 tipples I’ve recently tried that drink well on their own, but would also complement all manner of yuletide eats…

Consider gifting wine, beer or spirits Advent calendars

With the holidays looming in the coming weeks, it’s high time to start thinking about gift giving, party hosting and all that kind of fun stuff.

The many styles and flavours of Pinot Noir

One of the first wines I tackled when I first started writing Uncorked 17 (!) years ago was Pinot Noir. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; among wine geeks it tends to be a favourite grape to grapple with. A famously fickle grape to grow, Pinot Noir is made in a wide range of styles in all corners of the globe (including here in Canada) and, when done well, can produce profound wines of exceptional complexity.

Manitoba-made whiskies flowing to distillery shelves

After around 140 years, the first Manitoba-made whiskies not named Crown Royal will be hitting the shelves in the coming months. Yes, that’s whiskies – plural.

Pro/Am Brew Challenge ranged from flawed to fantastic

Not all home brewers are created equal. Some folks pick up user-friendly beer kits from home-brewing supply stores or grocery stores, saving a few bucks and always ensuring a cold one is close at hand.

Treat yourself to one of these spooky brews

In today’s Free Press arts and life section you’re treated to a roundup of must-see Halloween TV, a Halloween-themed playlist, a preview of WSO’s Nosferatu and more. On Monday, when kids are making the rounds screaming on peoples’ doorsteps, you can read about the team’s taste test of new-to-us treats.

New, notable wines include juicy red, fruity white

Often this space features a particular theme or area of focus — a grape variety or wine-producing region, for example, or a roundup of new local brews or some other insight into wine, beer, food pairing, local events and beyond.

Plethora of fall events provide plentiful pairings

As we creep ever closer to the (gulp) holiday season, local makers and stores will turn their attention to the inevitable jump in retail traffic.

Popular wine terms and how to use them

The return of the Winnipeg Wine Festival’s main public tastings on Sept. 23 and 24, the first time the RBC Convention Centre hosted the event since 2019, was a chance for agents, reps and winemakers to show off their wares, as well as for curious wine drinkers to find new favourites.

Cooler weather means it’s time for toastier beers

With this weekend’s return of the Winnipeg Wine Festival public tastings for the first time since 2019, it would be easy to overlook the timely and welcome return of heartier, more robust beers popping up at breweries, Liquor Marts and beer vendors. As the mercury drops and the leaves change colour, it’s the perfect time to switch from the crisp, refreshing pilsners, lagers, radlers and such that help beat the summer heat to brews that bring richer fall flavours.

Retrying tried-and-true classics turns up some changes

Drinks trends seem to be going in a couple of different directions right now. Some (mainly larger) producers are embracing new trends such as aging wine in bourbon barrels, creating lower-alcohol offerings and hard seltzers, and adding offbeat flavours to products.