181 days

181 days of wine, which were as follows... Notes on virtually every wine tasted over 181 consecutive days, and on 100% of wines opened with meals. I documented what I tasted for my own personal record but others may find the results useful. I appreciate wine in the context most people around the world do - at the dinner table rather than in the tasting room. Thanks to friends who made drinking all this wine possible and spat out only bad wine.

[181days]

Majority Semillon Bordeaux lording over a mostly Santorini-inspired meal. 

Greek wines follow a French appellation model. I doubt there's a white Graves that would not suit an Aegean patio.

The wine is age-worthy though I don't know why I'd wait to drink it. I'm not going to Greece anytime soon to fully test out the match. I'm just drinking it now.

This "taking it to the terrace" shot completes the 30-day series of dinner pairings that started inside, on what seemed like a very winter day. But from here on in it's a balconville vacation, as my patio gets officially opened for the summer this long weekend. And I'm not sure how comfortable I am showing the neighbours how much I photograph my food before eating it anyway.

[181days]

More than a great discovery! Wild fruit with bite harnessed by mineral restraint... No wonder I enjoyed this the second night, accompanied by Magpie's seared scallops salad, even more than that fresh pasta with peas and Romano cheese the night prior.

No wonder I cleaned out an Ottawa LCBO on the weekend. $19.95 and the white that I most want to make my house wine this year. Go get it!

[181days]

Jus de Cab Franc + ragoût de rôti de bas de palette au vin de Morro di Lacrima d'Alba #itstheweather #duh #duh #duh #duh #duh

Which is right where I left off five days ago (before being rudely interrupted by a stream of fake brews and false brunches): Dom Breton's Épaulé Jeté line.

[181days]

Another pasta plate gets a great discovery. SAQ stocks fine Friulano but comparisons slim under $20 #lcborun

(So great that I can see the future and I'm buying and drinking more of this.)

[181days]

Brunchy. In 2 parts. Elyssia, a reliable new Cava at SAQ gets popped when a Brut lacking the poise of something half its price gets dropped.

[181days]

No. 12 Barilla spaghetti with red sauce and pre-phylloxera rootstock gamay by Henry Marionnet #vinifera #Loire

I dug this up; it's actually one of the first shots I took that would become this tumblr series.

[181days]

Elevated my game since last I drank 0-alc at dinner—even the Beck's near-beer put on a bowtie #raisethetone

Last time: https://twitter.com/weingolb/status/313871786389426177

[181days]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Vouvray et salade chèvre-lentilles.

[181days]

A Saumur blanc and a basmati rice dish. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

[181days]

Terrasse ouverte! #TGIM! Composed salad! Bibei's better-than-Bierzo Mencia (with some Ribeira Sacra Garnacha)! 

This wine was my favourite from a recent nine-flight tasting by Mo' Wine Group, and is more than worthy of the soft launch of my balcony in 2013. Details: http://bretthappens.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/mwg-april-18th-tasting-69-dinamo-gallega/

[181days]

Greek Easter Saumur vs Cinco de Mayo Chinon. Dinner plate: Confused but delicious

[181days]

Last year's Raisins Gaulois seems less lively this year. With pizza, chicken and greens.

[181days]

Glad for the regular return of my giant salads—this one matched by typically stony yet spicy N. Rhône Syrah ($25 LCBO sale) and, if you look carefully, this is also matched by the cushion on my chair you see in the background: You've got the Red boiled grelot potatoes in bacon and Red onions on a bed of Red watercress, with Romano cheese, tuna and capers. 

Like the checkered cushion and the wine label insignia, this meal is a patchwork of colour alternating red and white. Those are just the visuals though.

Like the wine I drank, the taste this meal presents is a back-and-forth of zesty/peppery/bold flavours on a strong mineral backbone.  

I'm really not trying too hard to describe this pairing. You get dynamo pairings like this all the time. It's called wine and food. I'm a fan.

But I won't taste the pillow since I stop here. 

[181days]

Sometimes finding a beverage accompaniment on zero-alcohol days can be too easy. That's exactly the problem.

[181days]

Gamay rhymes with May Day but Mondeuse sounds like an international labour movement grape. Feel an essay coming on

I <3 Mondeuse

Exactly a year ago, I drank this Dupasquier Mondeuse on May Day and I loved it. The reason I know is because taking photos of wines I try and like is the easiest way to an accurate shopping list. Easiest but not perfect—I have pretty much forgotten about Dupasquier Mondeuse since taking these photos.

Better late than...?

Currently the 2007 is restocked with 2009s. These are listed at a slightly shrunken price that has actually fallen below $20. Mondeuse is an ideal food wine, succinct berry fruit, light in style but memorable for its ability to palate cleanse, to refresh and to punctuate the end of your meal. So it sure is nice to know that in Quebec at a time when so few other wines are, this Mondeuse is creeping back into the everyday price range, which is exactly the range where it is most serviceable.

[181days]

Far from my favourite example of Ribolla, but since it's not common in these parts, the cute birdcage cone bottle does the trick with dinner.

[181days]

Had Huevos Divorciados for brunch and the idea stuck for dinner. Sadly, these LCBO items aren't so memorable.