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Chris Pires

Chris Pires

Vouvray Doulce France 2011

Loire Valley, France
3873 days ago

Chris scored this wine: 90/100

A sweet white wine. Served chilled (and kept on ice between servings). Heavy on the tongue it tastes of peaches and lychees - stands up to spicy dishes. Great value for the wine, it's heavy so not one to have while sitting on the patio, could easily replace your favorite Gewurztraminer. Served it with my award winning Asian Pork Belly (spicy - see my site foodinspires.com for the recipe) and Thai Chicken and Jerk Pork Satay sticks. Delightful colour, a screw-top bottle and 12% alcohol. From the Loire Valley - it most definitely takes me back to my vacations in France. Try this one for the taste and the value.

3873 days ago

Chris scored this wine: 90/100

What can you say about this wine?! Full bodied, rich, beautiful colour. Raisin and plum come to the forefront as do the tanins in the wine, 15.4% alcohol - it's a delicious mouthful. You can tell the richness from the lingering on your tongue. We had it with Herb Crusted Lamb (predominantly parsley and lemon), green beans in brown butter and bacon and parmigiano reggiano risotto. This is a must try wine, spoil yourself and splurge - well worth the dollar spent. It's in the $40 range.

Cave Springs Riesling 2011

Jordan, Ontario, Canada
3887 days ago

Chris scored this wine: 89/100

I believe in using local whenever I can and while I find it is easier with food product, I find it more challenging with wines. Having said that, I truly believe Ontario produces some marvelous whites. We tried a local wine yesterday afternoon - Cave Spring 2011 Dry Riesling .VQA Niagara Peninsula, Cave Spring Cellars, Jordan. I must tell you, I found this to be a wonderful value wine. Only $14.95 a bottle. It is refreshing, has great depth with just the right amount of fruit to please and tease the nose. Citrus notes and cold steel on the palate. The underlying sweetness nicely offset the spice of the meat and balanced the dressing on the salad. It must be drunk cold and kept in an ice bucket to retain the temperature and character of the wine. As a confirmed red wine drinker, it is one of the few whites I will offer my guests and partake in. On pairing it with food, I served this with a Mesclun Mix Salad topped with 1/4" thick slices of Piri Piri Chicken Breast as well as strips of medium rare Jerk Beef. The salad dressing was flavored Sushi Rice Vinegar - if you have not tried this on a salad, you are missing out on the most versatile salad dressings. It also pairs nicely with cubed watermelon and feta or tomato and bocconcini salads.

Chris Pires

Food BloggerVisit Chris's Website

Memorable Wine

Amarone

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First Wine

Zinfandel (Rose)

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Current Fav Wine

Malbec

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Winner World's Best Drink Writer
WFour-Time Winner James Beard Foundation
Five-Time Winner Association of Food Journalists
Six-Time Winner Bert Greene Award
Best Wine Literature Book Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
Online Writer of the Year Louis Roederer International Wine Writing Award