Allison McNeely
Allison McNeely is the web editor of Wine Access. Her work has appeared on websites, blogs and in print. She loves running and is the magazine's resident web nerd.
Top Canadian Pinot Noirs
The best pinot noirs at the Wine Access 2011 Canadian Wine Awards
(82 entries, 32 medals)
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90Points
A fantastic, complex and quite intense nose, with ripe cherry, raspberry, clove, baking spices and a touch of forest floor. The palate is medium-bodied and silky, with ripe red fruits, spice and a long, elegant finish. This wine won a gold medal at the Wine Access 2011 Canadian Wine Awards.
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Recipe: Smoked Salmon Mousse with Walnut Salsa Verde
The walnut salsa verde adds a hit of tanginess to the rich flavours and creamy texture of the smoked salmon mousse
Ingredients
Smoked Salmon Mousse
- 1 cup hot smoked salmon, flaked
- 1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp shallot, minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 sli rye bread
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Walnut Salsa Verde
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 2 tbsp sweet gherkins, minced
- 2 tbsp each fresh dill, mint and parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp capers, minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Makes: 15 to 18 pieces
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 2 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes
Smoked Salmon Mousse with Walnut Salsa Verde Cooking Directions
Combine salmon, mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, shallot and lemon juice in a medium bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, combine the walnut salsa verde ingredients.
With a cookie cutter or shot glass and a knife, slice the rye bread into 1 ½-inch (3.5 cm) rounds and brush each side with melted butter. Toast the rye bread rounds in a non-stick skillet on medium heat until browned on both sides.
Source: walnutinfo.com
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Recipe: Prosciutto Sushi Rolls
A festive take on Japanese sushi, these bite-sized walnut sushi rolls wrapped in prosciutto are sure to impress your guests
Ingredients
Prosciutto Sushi Rolls
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
- 5 oz goat cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley, minced
- 8 sli prosciutto
- 10-16 spears of asparagus
- 18 sli roasted red pepper
Makes: 16 pieces
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Prosciutto Sushi Rolls Cooking Directions
In a medium bowl, combine walnuts, goat cheese and parsley.
Lay 4 slices of prosciutto on a cutting board, slightly overlapping each slice, to form a square shaped layer. Spread half of the walnut mixture evenly across the centre of prosciutto square. Lay 5 to 8 asparagus spears (horizontally) over the mixture and top with 9 strips of red pepper. Carefully pick up the prosciutto ends closest to you and roll firmly into a sushi shaped roll.
Repeat these steps with the remaining ingredients.
Source: walnutinfo.com
Top 5 Wines for Oct. 17 to 21
The best wine recommendations for the week
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94Points
This is a stunning pinot. It has a very intense, complex and beguiling nose of sour cherry jam, woodsy spice and vanilla. It’s medium to full-bodied, open knit, elegant and quite fine, despite its size. The tannins are dusty and fine and the length is outstanding. Very impressive with great focus. Best 2013 through 2017.
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Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Fontina and Prosciutto
Serve this chicken recipe at a dinner party with orzo and a green salad
Ingredients
Chicken Breasts with Fontina and Prosciutto
- 1/2 cup Fontina cheese, coarsely grated
- 1/3 cup soft garlic-herb cheese (such as Boursin), packed
- 1/3 cup prosciutto, chopped and packed
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 4 large boneless chicken breast halves, with skin
- 2 tbsp chilled butter, divided
- 3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala
Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Chicken Breasts with Fontina and Prosciutto Cooking Directions
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Combine cheeses, prosciutto, and basil in small bowl. Season stuffing with freshly ground black pepper.
Run fingers under skin of chicken breasts to loosen. Spread stuffing under skin. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Top Value Pinot Noirs Available in Canada
The best pinot noirs from the Wine Access 2011 International Value Wine Awards
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89Points
This win echoes a global barrage of accolades for this 2010 pinot, from a winery that calls itself “a global boutique wine business excelling in cool climate wines”. It’s a bright, juicy, young pinot, sporting classic, cool-climate cranberry-raspberry fruit, thoughtfully embellished with light toast, cinnamon and a slightly green note. There is also some serious depth of flavour.
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My Favourite Wine: Rebecca Marshall
This "Saw 3D" and "Party Down" actress enjoys pinot noir and Spanish white wines
Rebecca Marshall was born and raised in Toronto and knew that she wanted to be an actress from a young age. Marshall got her start in musicals and music videos, and has appeared in "Saw 3D," "The West Wing," "Big Shots," "CSI: Miami" and "Party Down."
Tasting Forrest Wines in Calgary
A dinner at Blink with Marlborough winemaker Beth Forrest
In July I caught up with Beth Forrest, the second generation winemaker at Forrest, a premium producer and one of the oldest wineries in Marlborough, New Zealand, at Blink in Calgary. Beth is a charming and direct woman who didn’t seem to have too much B.S. about her. She had come into town a few days beforehand to enjoy the Calgary Stampede, and was mixing a little work into her visit to Calgary.
Tom Firth
Tom Firth is a writer, wine consultant, judge and a member of the Wine Access National Tasting Panel. He loves to chat about all things wine and blogs for wineaccess.ca, tweets as @cowtownwine and is a general nuisance.
Central Otago, New Zealand
Finicky pinot noir thrives in rugged Central Otago, New Zealand
The first commercial release of a pinot noir from Central Otago was as recent as 1987 and, since then, the region has gained a reputation for producing some of the New World’s finest pinot noir.
Called simply “Central” locally, this is New Zealand’s — and the world’s — southernmost wine region. Although it is only the fourth-largest of the country’s regions in tonnes produced, the area under vines has grown more than five-fold in the past 10 years, and more sites are being developed, some at higher altitudes.
Central Otago, NZ Climate
This is a rugged region of broken hills, mountains and lakes, virtually surrounded by the Southern Alps, a snow-peaked mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. Central Otago is dry, with a semi-continental climate that delivers hot summers (over 30°C) and cold, dry winters. These conditions, and minimal risk of disease in the glacial soils, lend themselves to organic farming, and many producers have gone or are going that way. The vineyards — which, in some places, share the slopes with merino sheep — are scattered through the region’s valleys, in several informal sub-regions.
Central Otago Winemaking
Pinot noir is king here, and the variety accounts for more than three-quarters of all vines. The next two in terms of importance, pinot gris and chardonnay, make up only about 10 percent. Although pinot noir is widely grown in New Zealand (notably in Marlborough and Martinborough), Central Otago has quickly become recognized for producing intensely flavoured, vibrant styles.
This is one of New Zealand’s more isolated wine-producing regions, but it has a well-developed wine tourism industry, thanks to its proximity to Queenstown, a popular international resort and ski centre. Central Otago has many sites relating to its 19th-century gold-mining history and is also home to New Zealand’s only celebrity winery: Two Paddocks, owned by actor Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Hunt for Red October, The Tudors).
Central Otago Facts and Figures
Latitude of Central Otago
45º South
Size of Vineyards in Central Otago
1,560 hectares of vineyard
Wine Styles in Central Otago
Pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay
Climate in Central Otago
Semi-continental, Glacial soil
Three Top Wine Producers in Central Otago
Chard Farm, Mt. Difficulty Wines, Carrick Wines
Central Otago's Top Vintages
2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010
Wine Production in Central Otago
6,196 tonnes of grapes produced in 2010
How to get to Central Otago
Both Qantas and Air New Zealand have regular flights from Vancouver (YVR) and Toronto (YYZ) to Christchurch, on New Zealand’s South Island. From Christchurch, you can choose a six-hour drive or a one-hour flight to Queenstown, in the Central Otago region.
nzwine.com, centralotagopinot.co.nz
Recipe: Roast Salmon with Sweet Chipotle Glaze and Hominy Purée
This slightly spicy and sweet salmon dish is ready in 30 minutes
This recipe is by Selma Brown Morrow from Bon Appétit, April 2011.
Yield: 2 servings
3 chipotle chiles, canned in adobo
2 tbsp apricot jam or preserves
1 1/4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 6-oz salmon fillets with skin (scant 1 inch thick)
1 15-oz can hominy, drained, juice reserved
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Ingredient info: Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapeños in a spicy tomato sauce called adobo; they're available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Using back of spoon, press enough chipotles through fine sieve into small bowl to measure 2 tsp puree. Mix puree, jam, vinegar, and cumin in bowl; season glaze to taste with salt.
Coat small rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Arrange salmon on sheet; sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Spread half of glaze over each fillet. Roast until just opaque in center, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, puree hominy and 3 tbsp reserved juice in mini processor until almost smooth. Transfer to small skillet. Add butter and cilantro. Stir over medium heat until warmed through, mixing in more reserved juice by teaspoonfuls if too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide hominy between 2 plates, top with salmon, and serve.
Suggested Wine Pairings
St. Hallett 2008 Gamekeeper's Shiraz Cabernet
Chateau St Jean 2008 Pinot Noir
