#31- Tempranillo

I would have thought the Tempranillo grape would have tasted similar to the Bonarda grape. Both are very similar in terms of acidity and are both considered middleweight wines. Both are usually flavoured with hints of strawberries or raspeberries. Both are spanish wines. But they didn't taste at all the same.

Kristin tasted both wines as well and like the Bonarda better but quickly wondered if it was because the wine had been open longer and had time to breathe. Perhaps. I keep making a mental note to myself to decant my reds from now on. The tempranillo did have a slight oaky taste to it so that could be it (as Kris is not a fan)

TheTempranillo wine was a celebration of sorts. This night was a special one. My brother was coming home with his baby boy Liam and his girlfriend Sharon. Born four months ago in Ontario we had only seen Liam through pictures. To say the family was excited to meet Liam was an understatement. So of course being the family that we are, we celebrated with wine!! On another note, I am happy to report that Sharon likes wine so she'll fit into this family just fine.

With hearts full of love, we turned to our other love and opened the wine. The great thing was that I had six (yes, six) bottles of wine for us to drink. Craig and I had been nice enough to leave enough wine in the bottles for people to try out the wines. So we dug in.

But Kris, Craig and I tried the tempranillo along with our turkey dinner. I know I know, a red with white meat is a huge no no but do I look like someone who cares? It was the only wine I had left in my cellar (ha, cellar...) and I wasn't about to go and buy a white wine for dinner when I had to rush there before they arrived home. So red wine and turkey it is! Mom made the dinner as she had to serve 10 of us at least. It's a quick and easy dinner to make and it was delicious!

The tempranillo wine was purchased at the Cellar in Calgary for $18.95, a great deal for this wine. The winery is Bordegas Ercavio Mas Que Vinos in Spain. I'll definitely want to try this wine again (maybe tomorrow night if there's some left) and see if the taste has changed at all. I still liked it.


So who knows what wines are next for me? I am still behind on my once a week deal so I have some catching up to do! I'm about to leave on a three week European vacation with stops in some of the most amazing wine countries in the world (France, Italy, Germany, Austria) so I'm hoping I remember and am sober enough to pick up some bottles of wine I can't pick up here! So this is it for me for a few weeks.

#28- Bonarda

What is it with great wineries not having a website? In 2010, that's just not acceptable. How else am I supposed to learn more about your product, your winery, your grape? Okay, enough ranting. On to the grape! And to continue the story on our weekend in British Columbia.

After a great afternoon of hiking, Craig and I returned to the campsite to relax a bit and enjoy a nice relaxing evening. It wasn't raining so we were able to hang out by the fire and chat. It's nice for siblings to hang out and catch up on what's what.

After a long day of driving and then hiking 14km, we weren't exactly in the mood for cooking and luckily our loving mother had prepared Hunter Stew for us so all we had to do was reheat the dinner. While it may not be the most appetizing dinner to look at, it sure is delicious over an open fire! Craig and I had heaping servings and cracked open our first bottle of red to go with it.

The wine chosen was El Escondido  Don Domenico, an Argentinian Red Wine. The grape is the Bonarda grape.

Hmmm...how do I describe this wine. Three words: damn good wine! Wow! I was pleasantly surprised about this wine. I was so not expecting to enjoy the wine as much as I did. It is known as "Sweet Black" and the wine is very very dark, almost black in colour. It is not acidic at all and is sweet tasting. You could definitely taste the fruit, whether it was strawberry or raspberry I'm not sure. It did have an okay taste to it but it was ever so slight as I don't like anything too oaky. This was a wine that craved to be drunk in massive quantities. Too bad we couldn't. Both Craig and I knew we had to keep some for the family to try.

As a side note, Kristin and Sharon (my other brother's girlfriend who just recently moved back to Alberta...okay too many details but just in case you're wondering who she is, now you know) and the both enjoyed it. Kristin raved about it and will definitely be buying a bottle or two. Luckily for her the wine purchase was made at Crown Liquor in Spruce Grove. It wasn't a cheap bottle, at $25.99 this was one of the more expensive purchases I'd made for my wine, but so worth it.

I'm not sure if it's the wine or the fresh air or the exercise, but I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to spend my evening! I think I'll do it again tomorrow. The next wine up is the Albarino grape.