#89- Seyval Blanc

Another great Canadian find and my second review to come from the Jost Winery in Nova Scotia. I just recently reviewed their Marachel Foch wine and loved it and now I am reviewing their Seyval Blanc wine and...am loving this wine too. Go Nova Scotia!

It's a shame that we Canadians don't support our local wine industry as the Americans support theirs, the French and Italian and the Portugese and Australia....you get the idea- we don't support the industry as much as we should. Some if it's not our fault. Often the wine from our very own backyard so to speak is just as expensive if not more expensive than some of the wines we import. For goodness sake the French sip on 3 euro wines every night that here would run us $30 or more at least. But they know their biggest consumer is right there in front of them. Wineries here should be doing the same here- cheaper, more readily available wine. Case in point- it is very hard to get Nova Scotia wine in Alberta. Why is that?

We're just a frigid country. Scared of wine. We've made it taboo and mostly illegal for anyone under the age of 18 or 19 depending what province you're in to even touch the stuff to their lips. That's just stupid and outdated thinking. I can be 17 years and 364 days old and not be responsible or mature enough to drink wine but on my 18th birthday I suddenly am? Really? Just like that? And we wonder why we are a nation of binge drinkers and alcoholics...

To me, wine should be shared by everyone. It's often drank with meals, so why not let the 14 year old have a small glass? Why not take away the mystery of alcohol and show them at a young, supervised age how to drink responsibly? Am I just a naive thinker?

In any event and my rant aside, the Seyval Blanc wine from Jost is just a fabulous drink. And the description of the wine actually matches what you taste and smell (have you ever read some wine description? There's sometimes more fiction written about a wine than there is in a Jackie Collins novel). But this description of the wine fits the bill.

It has a very aromatic citrus aroma with a hint of pear. I immediately taste the citrus notes on my palate but get a hint of apricots. There is a blackberry taste to it (a little unusual for a white wine). But it is just a fabulous wine. It is off dry and quite acidic. It's quite balanced in it structure and full bodied.

I really enjoyed this wine and I am having my second glass of wine as I write this. I paired this wine with a chicken dish mixed with shrimp and vegetables. I thought it was an extraordinary food pairing.

I would definitely suggest this wine to anyone who is looking for a good Canadian wine that isn't from our better known regions of Niagara and Okanagan and especially a grape that isn't as well known as others.

Who's paying for my trip to the East coast for a wine tour? I think I asked this already but I'll ask again....anyone?

#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.