#87- Marachel Foch

My mom is my unpaid wine researcher. She's very good at details and remember all sorts of neat facts. She let me know there was a grape from Nova Scotia Canada that I needed to check out (as she'd read about it). And so I started to do my homework and look up this grape only to discover that yes it does exist, wine is made from it but you can't get the darn thing in Alberta! Mental note: become wine agents and import little known grape varieties from Nova Scotia to Alberta. My bucket list is always getting longer and longer.

I didn't find the grape she told me to look up (and the name escapes me of course) but I did find that there are about a half dozen grape varieties that grow in Nova Scotia. And some were available here in the prairie.

I headed out to Liquor on McLeod in Spruce Grove and found the wine I was looking for. It is from Jost Vineyards and is their 2007 Marachel Foch. Now, I wish I could say the same for the last few posts and talk about how I'm catching up on my blogging weeks after I've drank the wine and the wine is still good even now. Nope. Can't do it.

Why? The dang bottle is empty! Yeah, this bottle didn't even last the evening it was so good! Now, I've heard that some people really don't like the Marachel Foch grape but I can't stop raving about. Or maybe it's the wine...

The wine is delicious. Not only do I think so but many others do as well. It was the 2009 All Canadian winner so that says something.

It is a dry wine but very well balanced and the fruity notes of the wine are harmonious and make your nose tingle. I get strawberries and currants on the nose with a hint of earthy notes. On the mouth, very much the red berry jumps out at you. It's just a fabulous summer red wine.  I of course paired the wine with pasta as it tells you to on the bottle. I read!

I had just finished making up a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce so I quickly boiled up some rotini and enjoyed my evening in .

The Marachel Foch grape is a cross bred grape originating in France (Alsace to be more specific). It is cold hardy and it makes it an ideal grape to grow in Nova Scotia (east coast of Canada for those who aren't too familiar with our fine country). It's becoming more and more popular to grow in Canada (Okanagan as well ) and the United States (Eastern US as well as the Willamette Valley in Oregon state).

Pure bliss.