#73- Melon de Bourgogne

Is that not the best name ever for a grape? Seriously. The wine I drank is the melon de Bourgogne grape but it's also known as Muscadet and that's what it said on the bottle but I'm going with the official grape name on this one for sure!

The winery is Chateau du Coing de St. Fiacre. The winery is located in France. It's a great website but note to the websmaster- not all of us are fond of listening to music and it'd be great if I could turn it off on the website rather than having to mute my computer.The wine is also known as Tradition Millenaire and there's a great description of it on the website.

The grape is considered a light lightweight and very acidic. It is very similar to a Riesling so if you like the lighter, sweeter white wines (but not a dessert wine), then you will likely like this wine. I did enjoy it very much. It was a beautiful evening outside and hung out back on my patio, just sitting and chilling, drinking the white wine and paired it with fresh shrimp and a nice shrimp dipping sauce. I wasn't sure about the pairing but the freshness of the wine went really well with the cool shrimp.

The Melon de Bourgogne grape is French (melon of Burgandy is what it translates to literally) but is found in other parts of the world as well. Outside of France, it's known as Melon as France is the only area in the world that can call their wines Muscadet.

It was very easy to drink and it took a lot of resistance not to drink the whole bottle and leave Craig any. As you can see by the picture, the wine was very yellow and that surprised me as usually that is an indication to me that I'm not going to like the wine very much. But I did- with a hint of spice and with the fruitiness of peach coming through, I found it an easy wine to drink.

It's definitely a great alternative to a Riesling if you're looking for a nice summer white and don't want to fall back on the regular wines.

#55- Chasselas

Go Canada Go! I am a proud Canadian and when I get the chance to promote a good Canadian wine, I'll do it. And ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! The Swiss, (the originator of this grape) better watch out- Canada is giving you a good run for your grape.

The Chasselas grape is grown all over the world and nearly every country has its own name for it. The grape makes a great white wine on its own and is often used in a blend wine with Sauvignon Blanc. It can often be found as a restaurant's table wine. It is dry and fruity and sometimes on the sweet side. It is the first time I've ever been able to taste the grassy notes to the wine, and I really liked what it added to the wine. And it's very good.

Craig enjoyed his glass of wine chilled- and outside. We've had a lot of snow that last few weeks and Craig multi-tasked very well during his task of clearing snow off the roof. He took a little break to pose for the picture...

The wine we tried is the Chasselas from the St. Hubertus Estate Winery in the BC Okanagan Valley. The vintage year is 2008.

I had it with a won ton soup and again tonight with some sushi (which it does recommend on the bottle). And while the wine had slightly different tastes with each dinner, the wine was great, easy to drink both times and one to put on your list of wines to try. And no, I did not make the won ton soup or the sushi and they were both from different restaurants- I guess I'm just in that type of mood this week. Must be the affect having a new job does to you! Cheers, I have myself a new job!

If you like a Riesling, you'll like this wine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a glass of vino with my name on it.

Ich bin ein wine drinker- St. Goar

My tour of Europe included 10 countries. Lots of wine was drunk in the making of this vacation. And there was also some beer. Germany, oh Germany. How I love thee. I'm glad I can speak German. Okay, scratch that. I'm glad I took five years of German and have retained enough to be able to order ice cream and beer.

My first night in Germany was in Munich and the only thing I did was drink 1 litre beers in tents at the biggest party in the world- Oktoberfest. If you've never been, and even if you don't drink beer, go at least once in your life. It is a sight to behold.

Our second night in Germany was in a smaller village further south as we headed into Austria, a place called St. Goar. Now I've written about this place already because I reviewed the Pinot Noir that I picked up from this place. So I won't repeat it again (please read post #32- pinot noir).

But I want to post pictures so I have to write something. It was cool tasting wine out of shot glasses. I recommend this method if you're doing a wine tasting (perfect sample size) and it just makes the whole thing a party.

I bought three wines, have already had one, was supposed to have drunk the Riesling already and am saving the icewine for a special occasion. Ice wines are delicious if you've never tried one.

Canada does excellent ones. They're pretty expensive so sample the wine first before you shell out some big dough. I bought this ice wine for 26 Euro when it sells for 80 Euro. A good deal I'd say. Now I just need a reason to drink it. Anyone have ideas for me?

I really enjoy German wines. Apparently Europeans don't like their wines (and while I don't think all Europeans are like this) I do think that many of them cannot get beyond thinking that any other country other than France and Italy is capable of making a decent wine. As Canadians, we're more open to trying wines as the majority of our wines are imported. I am now officially done giving my opinion on European wine drinkers. I like German wine- that's what matters!

Wine #3- Riesling

"It takes like juice." That's how my brother described the Riesling. And then he followed it up with "best one so far". My mom, quickly stealing a taste from his wine glass, quickly agreed. This one was heck of a wine. And I'd have to agree.

The Riesling is a fabulous white wine. It's typically sweeter wine and this one, on the scale of 1-5 for sweetness (with 5 being the sweetest), this bottle of wine was a 4 (so yes, it was almost like drinking juice).


I did try this wine last week though I'm late writing about it. I will play catch up. Last weekend was a little wild and crazy as I was busy babysitting my nephew Owen. He hasn't stayed over in a while so our weekend was full of lots of activity and pizza! So pizza and wine it was...not what I planned to drink with the Riesling but it worked I have to say.

For those of you who are not looking for a wine that leaves an aftertaste, this is a good wine. It's a great wine to serve to people who aren't wine drinkers or even anti-wine. It's a very easy wine to drink and pairs well with seafood, chicken and...well, it's great by itself as well. I found it to be very crisp and full of flavour.


I'll be honest. I wasn't sure which Riesling to try but while I was a the liquor store (Liquor on McLeod in Spruce Grove), I overheard a man say you couldn't go wrong with a Deinhard. So that narrowed my pick. I eventually picked out the Deinhard Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling (2007).

A riesling wine is pretty acidic in nature, floral or fruity and taste and is considered a flyweight wine (hence why it's so easy to drink and recommended as a great beginner wine). And boy did this wine have legs on it (a good sign and usually and indication that i's a good quality wine!)


So, go out and get yourself a good riesling and enjoy. Next week, I try out a Gamay (and it's Canadian too...)