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| Seafood Dinner with Henry of Pelham Wines |
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Sunday, 7 May 2006 Reported by Robert White Guild members met at Lapointe’s Seafood Grill in Bells Corners for a fabulous seafood dinner with a chance to try some classic food and wine matches. Guild President James Bertrand greeted everyone and introduced special guest Daniel Speck, co-owner and Vice President of Sales with Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery. All the wines for the evening were from the his winery, a 170-acre premium winery located on the Short Hills Bench at the base of the Niagara Escarpment. While waiting for the seafood feast to begin, Guild members sampled the Cuveé Catherine Brut. This Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sparkling wine, made in the traditional style (second fermentation in bottle), showed subtle apple and toast aromas and was clean and fresh, a great start to the evening. The first course featured freshly shucked Malpeque oysters on the half shell with a classic match—Sauvignon Blanc. This crisp wine showed grapefruit and lemon, with a long finish and pleasant mineral notes. This went together perfectly with the PEI oysters drizzled with lemon juice. A horseradish cocktail sauce and spicy garlic chili sauce was also served. The chili sauce, while excellent, completely overpowered the wine. The second course, jumbo tiger shrimp with a citrus salsa, was matched with the Henry of Pelham off-dry Riesling. The citrus and lime flavours in the wine matched the slight sweetness of the shrimp with salsa. The wine, though off-dry in style, had crisp acidity and structure. Then onto another classic match—pan fried Dungeness crab cakes with a fire roasted red pepper coulis and Henry of Pelham’s Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. The Chardonnay had layers and layers of tropical fruit, some mineral notes, as well as caramel and toast. The wine was barrel fermented in oak from various forests in Europe and North America. Daniel Speck instructed us to forget just about everything we had been told about oak barrels in the past. Cooperage houses in North America are producing great barrels and the oak from different forests can add great complexity. The crab cakes offset the oak in the wine nicely, leaving a smooth and creamy mouth feel. The crab cakes were superb! The main course was an Atlantic salmon fillet encrusted in oven roasted sesame and bread crumbs, topped with a triple sec infused orange leek sauce. The salmon was beautiful and melted in the mouth. This was matched with the only red of the evening, a classic match, the Speck Family Reserve Pinot Noir. Also served was the Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir displayed great aromas of raspberry and cloves with some oak and smokiness. This medium bodied wine had red cherry flavours with some earth and smoky notes, well integrated tannins, and a long finish. The full-bodied reserve Chardonnay showed even greater concentration of tropical fruit than the earlier barrel fermented Chardonnay, with excellent length and creamy caramel flavours. Both wines went very well with the salmon, with the diners split on which was best. Vineyard management at Henry of Pelham is focused on producing quality through low yields. Only small volumes of wines are produced and every vintage of Henry of Pelham wine receives the VQA stamp. The Speck Family Reserve wines are very low yields, about one bottle of wine per vine. The norm is closer to 4 to 5 bottles per vine, and even 8 bottles per vine for some of the “critter” labels now on the market. We finished off the evening with a Henry of Pelham Riesling Ice Wine matched to Lemon Mango Crunch. Perfumed, with deep citrus, sweet melon, minerals, and honey, the wine was truly elegant. The wine was vinified using frozen grapes picked at temperatures of -8 to -13ºC. Some were even harvested on Christmas Eve—talk about dedication! The Guild would like to offer its thanks to Martin Carrière for organizing the event and a special thanks to Daniel Speck for introducing his fabulous wines. Next time you are traveling down the Niagara Wine Route, be sure to stop in at Henry of Pelham, sample some of their full line of wines, and learn how they came up with the name for the winery. Cuveé Catherine Brut $30 2005 Henry of Pelham Sauvignon Blanc $15 2004 Henry of Pelham Riesling Reserve Off-Dry $15 2004 Henry of Pelham Barrel Fermented Chardonnay $20 2002 Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay $35 2002 Speck Family Reserve Pinot Noir $40 2004 Henry of Pelham Riesling Ice Wine $55 |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 June 2006 ) |
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| Moderation |
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 The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets. |
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