Discovering new wines on a warm spring night

Jack and I recently celebrated my girlfriend Cathy’s birthday at our house. We wanted to sample a few different wines with dinner and hang out in the backyard, sipping a glass of wine. This is more fun and less expensive for winos like us than dining out and buying wine that is marked up sometimes over 100 per cent.

The three wines we sampled are as follows:

Mionetto Prosecco DOC Treviso, (CSPC 266023), $14.10, Italy; This is a light bone dry bubbly with aromas and flavours of ripe pear and lime with decent effervescence, and a decent finish. We paired this wine with fresh vegetarian spring rolls wrapped in rice paper. The wine’s acidity worked nicely with the saltiness of soy sauce. This bubbly can also be partnered to a wide range of dips with a sour cream or yogurt base.

Beringer Sparkling White Zinfandel, (CSPC 430389), $13.10; This is a fabulous and well balanced, medium sweet sparkling wine. The nose offers up aromas of peaches and lime. The palate is full-bodied with flavours of peaches and strawberries with rich honey undertones.

A good long finish satisfied our wine appetite. Because of the backbone of fresh acidity and medium sweetness, this bubbly works with fresh green salads that incorporate fresh blackberries, blue berries, and strawberries. Its sweetness also offsets heat and spice in Thai, Indian, and Chinese cuisine. We enjoyed this sparkling quaffer with Saigon Boys takeout Chicken Curry Rice (No. 45) and Saigon Boys Butter Chicken (No. C8). So good!

After our appetizers and entrée, we sat outside in the backyard and enjoyed a glass of red wine. I served Kacaba 2015 Reserve Cabernet Franc, Niagara, ($44.95), available through the winery by delivery. Call the winery at 1-866-5222228.

This is a delicious red with aromas of cherries, tobacco and cedar. You’ll enjoy this full-bodied and well-structured Cabernet Franc with flavours of cherries, chocolate, cedar, and spice. The wine offers a long, astringent finish. This particular varietal also has good aging potential.

Due to its sophistication, this Cabernet Franc is better suited to quality cuts of BBQ grilled beef. In other words, find an inexpensive quaffer to partner to your burgers and hot dogs. When grilling red meats or pork to partner to this wine refrain from using sweet sauces. The sugar will clash with the wine’s lovely tannin and acidity, making it taste thin and acidic. Hot and spicy sauces will also clash with the tannin and astringency in this wine. Stick to savoury sauces with depth and roundness of flavour.

Many years ago I obtained a savoury barbecue sauce from the London Rib Fest (Ontario), when I lived there and wrote for the London Examiner. This was in the early 90’s. This barbecue sauce is so delicious and easy to prepare.

In a pot add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add 8 to 10 cloves of minced garlic and half of a large sweet onion, chopped into small pieces. Saute the garlic and onion until aromatic. Add a cup of ketchup and a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar. Simmer the sauce on low for about an hour or until the sauce thickens. Spread the sauce on pork ribs while grilling or serve it on the side with grilled steak.