The NEST in NS: Jost Winery Tour!

FRUITS OF NOVA SCOTIA: JOST WINERY

Monday morning found us heading down the road towards a town called Tatamagouche, then beyond to Malagash and the Jost Winery.

We pulled into an emerald green haven, row upon row of grapevines in the fields surrounding the gift shop and winery buildings. We’d let them know we’d be visiting on this trip, so the owner—Hans Christian Jost, pronounced ‘Yohst’—greeted us himself and took us on a tour of the facilities.

Hans Christian is a tanned, smiling, honorary Bluenoser, just hitting his fiftieth birthday this week. He set the whole group at ease with his friendly, down-to-earth style. My brother remarked at how he made wine seem approachable, not pretentious—this metaphorically describes the Jost wines, as well.

The Jost family came to Nova Scotia from Germany, where they’d been winemakers since the 1700’s. They’d planned (a little ironically now) to get away from the wine industry back home, when they made the move to Canada in the 1970’s. Eventually, however, a few vines they’d planted to supply the home became the main industry of the farm, and the Jost winery was officially opened in the 1980’s.

Hans Christian has a background in Agriculture Economics, and it shows in his approach: the vineyard makes wine based on German ideals, and Jost in particular takes pride in a ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy: they’re always looking for innovative ways to make a cleaner, fresher finished product. It’s a fascinating combination of modern technology and simple old-school techniques: using natural clay to pull the protein out of the wine, for example, but then using modern research to find new water conservation methods.

The vineyard in Malagash supports sixty acres of gorgeous vines, though they have more in other parts of Nova Scotia. All their grape harvesting is done over 22 days in the fall—that means all the raw material for their year’s production is gathered in less than a month.

Parts of the shop are made from reclaimed wine keg wood.

Hans Christian did a tasting with us, sitting under the vine-laden arbour beside the beautiful green fields. The seven of us sat and sampled a selection of wines, learning new tips on sniffing the bouquet and proper wine etiquette. Jost manages to produce wines with bright, crisp flavours; Hans Christian explained that a wine doesn’t have to be big and bold to be beautiful. By the end of the tasting, we all agreed wholeheartedly.

Jost wines are not currently available very often outside of Nova Scotia; according to Hans Christian, the province drinks most of what they can produce. This means, of course, that my family stocked up for the vacation, with plans to revisit the vineyard before we leave next weekend.

Here are the wines we tried, with tasting notes by Brian—who, by the way, was in Sommelier heaven.

Hans Christian teaches an intrigued audience.

BEAR RIVER PINOT GRIS 2010 (WHITE)

This wine blew away everyone in our party; a white that doesn’t burn your chest the whole way down is, apparently, possible! By far, Jordan’s favourite wine of the trip; even Jordan’s dad drank this down.

Brian: “Fresh! Definitely tons of green apple and peach. Medium acidity, light body, short length—this wine quickly delights, then disappears. A bright bouquet; this wine showcases the Jost filtering process because of its freshness and smoothness. This is the perfect summer party or housewarming gift.” (Is that a hint, Brian?)

TIDAL BAY 2011 (WHITE)

A special signature Nova Scotia wine.

Brian: “It’s made in the same fashion as wines from Chianti. It has a smooth, medium flavour with slight spiciness to it on the finish. Holds up well with seafood—as any Nova Scotian wine should. When you visit the province, grab a bottle of this to go with your fresh lobster.”

EAGLE TREE MUSCAT 2011 (WHITE)

A dry wine with a fruity bouquet; multiple personalities in all the right ways.

Brian: “This grape variety was developed in Ontario, but is grown primarily in Nova Scotia. This is the white wine for red wine drinkers. The bouquet surprised everyone, with strong notes of lychee, grapefruit skins, and the entire citrus family. The wine was full-bodied, but finished quickly, leaving the palette cleansed—another characteristic of Jost’s crisp wine style. This is the perfect after-dinner wine; it will pair very nicely with vanilla icecream and angel food cake.”

FOUR SKINS (RED)

Hans Christian Jost, Jordan, Brian.

A blend of four grapes, this red wine is popular as a crowd-pleaser.

Brian: “The aroma has a mushroomy, almost dill-scented bouquet. It’s got a short length, medium body, and is very simple. The Nova Scotian soil has imbued this with a saltiness. Good pairing for well-done steak.”

JOST PORT

The term ‘port’ will soon be verboten to any vineyard not actually in Portugal, so you may find this fantastic, beginner-friendly concoction under a different name. But a bouquet this fine, by any other name, will be as sweet.

Brian: “The ultimate beginner port. The low alcohol content means that it doesn’t get too hot in your throat. The aroma has a plum richness, as any port should; but as soon as it hits the palette, it has a sweet, candy-like flavour. This port will be appreciated by the advanced port lovers, but is definitely approachable for the beginners venturing out into the world of port.”

Visit the Jost Winery on your own visit to Nova Scotia, or look them up online at http://www.jostwine.com

Date Night: Whales Tohora at the Museum of Nature

This week, Brian and I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to attend the grand opening of Whales Tohora, the new exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Nature, in Ottawa. We readily agreed to attend, and what a lovely evening it was. We recommend visiting this exhibit, here for a mere six months, with your sweetheart, kids, or by yourself.

The exhibit, put together in coordination with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, is simple, beautiful, and moving. Entering the museum, our first sight was of the giant life-size whale hanging in the front tower, something that had been promised in the architectural sketches when the museum was being rejuvenated but hadn’t yet been in place. It was an awe-inspiring spectacle, and while I did hear a museum staff explaining how they’d managed to navigate the giant into the space, I opted not to listen. Sometimes it’s better to let the magician have his secrets.

When we first entered the exhibit space, we found ourselves in a giant room full of whale history. I was thrilled with the amount of Maori artifacts, carved pendants, tools, and ornaments made of whale bones; it reminded me so much of the love and respect that the North American Aboriginals had historically shown for the buffalo. To revere the mighty beasts for their beauty, as well as their ability to feed an entire village, and to use the entire animal so that nothing is wasted…this respect for a natural resource is always humbling to witness.

One of several theatres.

This show has something for the young and the old. Brian played the two interactive videogames, first trying to lead a dolphin through the dangerous world of the ocean, and later building the perfect dolphin before trying to navigate it through an obstacle course. He also climbed through the to-scale model of a whale heart, almost getting stuck halfway through as this is surely meant for tiny people.

Whale skulls.

We examined the numerous whale skulls, amazed at their size and diversity. Various audio-visual setups take the museum visitor on a journey undersea where a whale stalks a giant squid; another allows them to listen to the whale riders tell their stories.

Big boy.

Of course, the centrepiece of the exhibit is the pair of full whale skeletons, with the large one coming from a 58’ male sperm whale, and the smaller one (still giant) belonging to a 32’ female. The entire exhibit was well-balanced between presenting historical, ecological, and biological information. We really appreciated that the whales were not presented as simple, benign animals; rather, their hunting abilities and their carnivorous diets were fairly portrayed.

The area I found hardest to look through was the section on beaching, followed closely by the section on human invasion. Photos and footage of whales stuck on beaches, torn up by propellers, and hunted by whalers were hard to stomach; but I appreciated how these issues were presented, without the usual sensationalism—no twelve foot-tall signs dripping blood or anything.

Maori carvings.

Overall, the entire exhibit was a fair, broad look at whales and humanity’s interaction with them. I felt awestruck, humbled, and amazed all at once. I have had a fascination with Maori culture for many, many years, so it was wonderful to see some carvings and artifacts in person; the natural beauty of the whale remnants, sleek white skeletons and giant, broad curves, was complemented perfectly by the ornate, intricate, art nouveau-like carvings of the Maori.

When we’d seen everything there was to be seen, I found myself reluctant to leave the space. With all the excitement, I knew we’d only managed to digest a small fragment of the information and visuals that were in the space; but we vowed to return with my little cousins, who will provide Brian with someone to challenge him to the videogames next time.

From start to finish, we thoroughly enjoyed our night at the museum. From the reception—with the incredible edibles catered by Thyme & Again, and the delicious New Zealand wines provided by the NZ consulate, as well as the witty speech by the New Zealand high commissioner—to the tiniest whale tooth presented behind crystal clear glass, every part of the evening was magical. We heartily recommend you check out Whales Tohora not only because it’s beautiful, but also informative, and a lot of fun. As Brian says, “Where else do you get to climb through a giant whale heart?!” I’ll just remind you, he almost got stuck…leave it to the kiddies, perhaps, though it was hilarious to watch him struggling while various dignitaries smirked and simultaneously looked tempted to try it, too.

And now, some more eye candy...

A wonderful date night!

Whale in the front tower.

Fantastic displays.

Mom and Dad!

My shoes for the evening. My favourites!

Brian, in silent awe of the beautiful displays.

One of the theatres for audio-visual treats.

A magnificent building.

The NZ pinot noir that Brian and Mom enjoyed.

Fridays with Bri: KoKo meets Wine!

THE VALENTINE'S DAY KOKO - NEST PAIRING MENU

Koko Chocolates is a local Ottawa chocolate company, owned and operated by the warm and lovely Jen Winter, ‘a self-proclaimed chocolate snob’ [as stated on the Koko website]. Koko has been in business since 2008, taking the city by storm and becoming a household name synonymous with decadence. We met Jen and her truffles during our wedding project, and Jordan hasn’t let Jen out of her sight since. With Valentine’s Day rolling around, I know that Jordan doesn’t like to receive gifts or tokens on that day…however, she would never turn down Koko truffles. From that knowledge sprung the idea: I would create a wine pairing menu to go with Koko’s fantastic flavours. With Jen on board, and Jordan happy to help with the tasting, we’ve done our homework, and now present you with the Valentine’s Day Koko-Nest pairing menu.

I chose to pair a series of truffles with one white, one red, and one rosé wine, allowing you to choose your chocolates based on your wine colour preference…or vice versa. Showing up at your sweetie’s door with one perfect bottle of wine and the accompanying truffles will impress him/her to no end.

Note: each wine has a VIN number. VIN is specific to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario—this number isn’t relevant for people outside of the province.

WHITE WINE PAIRINGS:

Wine: Toasted Head Chardonnay, 2009. $17.95 VIN: 594341

photo from LCBO.ca

An oak-aged chardonnay, aged in barrels for 8 months~giving the wine flavours like vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. It has a sweet, fruity flavour, and hints of toasted graham crackers. This wine is a bright straw colour, beautiful in a fine glass. The flavour lingers in your mouth for about 30 seconds (aka ‘a medium finish’), and there’s a weight to the wine…like the difference between water and 2% milk. It pairs well with the chocolates because, for a white wine, it’s got enough flavour to hold its own in the presence of chocolate, and due to the oak aging process, it won’t be overpowered by the rich treats.

If this wine is unavailable: ask your local wine store for an oak-aged white wine with medium body and hints of vanilla and caramel, and subtle fruit notes. (You’ll sound super savvy, too.)

Chocolates to pair with the white:

White Vanilla Rum: Rich white vanilla chocolate ganache, flavoured with dark Jamaican rum, dipped in dark chocolate. Brian’s bonus notes: This truffle is rich—but not overpowering—with coconut and rum flavours. It has a medium length, meaning that it lingers in your mouth for about half-a-minute. Use the white wine to accent this chocolate and bring out the almond flavours.

Triple Chocolate: Layers of rich white chocolate and milk chocolate ganache, enrobed in dark chocolate. Brian’s bonus notes: This truffle starts off with a splash of the creamy white chocolate insides, then the dark chocolate coating takes over. It finishes with the milk chocolate and some caramel notes. Slightly buttery hints of hazelnut play around your mouth before the flavour fades away, about thirty seconds after the first nibble. This truffle won’t so much complement the wine as pair with it, so literally eat this truffle in small bites while you sip your wine.

Milk Caramel: Milk chocolate ganache flavoured with caramel and a splash of brandy, dipped in milk chocolate. A friendly truffle for the less adventurous.

ROSÉ WINE PAIRINGS

Wine: Barefoot White Zinfandel Rosé, $9.95, VIN: 79384

photo from LCBO.ca

This is a smooth, sweet wine with flavours of peach, strawberries, and pears. It has a short finish, meaning that it doesn’t linger very long on the tongue. Its high acidity means you’ll taste the wine on the tip of your tongue like a lemon. The pear flavours will hit you near the back of the tongue. It’s a good wine for novices, and a great crowd pleaser. If you bring this, everyone is going to enjoy it whether they like red or white. (Except, of course, your uncle the scotch drinker.)

The only downside to this wine is that it’s only around during the winter, so if you can’t find it, ask your vintner for a wine that has sweet pear notes with a low-to-medium body and a short finish. Again, you’ll look pretty cool.

Chocolates to pair with the Rosé:

Margarita: Dark chocolate ganache infused with lime and tequila, garnished with a sprinkle of sea salt. Brian’s bonus notes: This is Jordan’s FAVOURITE truffle. The smooth chocolate flavours are twisted together with the whammo punch of lime, and a sweet orchid undertone. It’s a sun-shiney bright flavour palette, with the saltiness amplifying the tastes. This truffle is to be eaten along with the wine; the rosé will bring out more of the citrus flavours in the ganache.

Raspberry: Raspberry and dark chocolate ganache with a touch of Chambord Liqueur. Brian’s bonus notes: This truffle has tart, sour cherry notes, and a genuine raspberry taste—nothing ‘Swedish Berries’ about this treat. It has a short finish, leaving the mouth promptly. This is really going to play off the sweet flavours of the rosé, to be eaten before or after the wine…but you may lose some of the wine’s notes with this one.

Cinammon Love: A seasonal offering for Koko. White chocolate ganache turned a romantic pink, infused with cinnamon tea and fresh ground cinnamon. Brian’s bonus notes: a sweet, rich bite with a tart beginning, with warm heat from the cinnamon, wrapping around your throat. This is a very different chocolate than Koko’s usual style, not quite as smooth but offering up a sweet punchy cinnamon heart flavour. The wine will complement this one very nicely because of the astringency (bubbliness) of the wine.

 

Passionfruit: Dark chocolate ganache flavoured with real passionfruit. A neat twist for the chocolate-meets-fruit lovers.

RED WINE PAIRINGS:

Wine: Lindemans Bin 50 Shiraz, $11.95, VIN: 145367

photo from wine-searcher.com

This was the first wine I ever suggested to Jordan, and it remains her favourite. I suspect she’ll get the VIN number tattooed on herself someday. This wine is a ruby-purple colour, with floral and blackberry notes. It has hints of eucalyptus and sweet spice, hitting the middle of the tongue with the fruit flavours. This whole wine is centered around its fruit flavours. This wine won’t dry out your mouth, and doesn’t burn on the way down; yet, it still leaves your palette draped in a velvet coating. It literally tastes ruby, with a full-bodied, long finish that lingers for up to a full minute. Everyone that I’ve recommended this wine to has loved it, including Jordan’s mom who usually drinks very dry malbecs. In general, Shiraz (aka ‘Syrah’ is a perfect pairing with chocolate.

If you can’t find this wine, ask your vintner for a fruity, smooth Shiraz or another red wine with hints of blackberries and subtle spiciness.

Chocolates to pair with the red:

Grand Marnier: A classic orange-flavoured dark chocolate ganache in a dark chocolate mold. Brian’s bonus notes: This one is extremely smooth for such a dark chocolate. It has sweet orange flavours with smooth cherry and coffee notes that linger for a very long time. It is reminiscent of chocolate pudding in your mouth: thick, rich, sweet, and comforting. This one will accent the red wine, bringing the spices to the forefront and smoothing out the sweetness of the fruity notes.

Thai Chili: Spicy Thai chili peppers infused into a rich dark chocolate ganache. Brian’s bonus notes: This is a full mouth experience. Clean and simple, with a cardamom start and a pepper finish. It doesn’t linger overly long, and tastes like a bittersweet chocolate in the back of the throat. This chocolate will pair well with the wine due to the juiciness of the wine balancing the low sweetness of the truffle. This is my favourite pairing in the list. 

 

Italian Lover: Dark chocolate ganache, flavoured with amaretto and cognac. A sinfully rich treat; it manages, like all of Koko’s truffles, to impart the flavours of the spirits without making you worry about passing a breathalyzer, like some chocolates on the market.

BRIAN’S CLOSING THOUGHTS

Chocolate has always gone well with wine. If you haven’t had a chance to try them together, buy a couple bottles of wine and some premium chocolates (we obviously recommend Koko) and experiment. Don’t feel embarrassed to read the back of the bottle: usually there are some key, simple tasting notes there for you. Look for wines that have a strong flavour but aren’t overly sweet—don’t hide the flavours of the chocolate behind, say, an ice wine. Because really in the end, the chocolate is the star of the show.

Koko Chocolates are available at Thyme & Again, Viva Loca, The Red Apron, and The Candy Store, all in Ottawa…or they can be ordered online. If you’re in Ottawa this weekend, Jen will be at the Urban Craft show this Saturday—perfect timing for Valentine’s Day, or Anti-Valentine’s Day, as we like to celebrate. Hell, just buy them because it’s any day; they’re the kind of thing I keep hidden in the closet for my next marital faux-pas. 

You can keep in touch with Koko Chocolates:

-at their website

-on twitter

-on facebook

Chocolate photo's from kokochocolates.ca

Fri with Bri: a Friday drywall repair tutorial, and a scotch pairing.

This year, Brian will be blogging on most Fridays, about his activities, musings, matrimonial experiences…and his wine, scotch, beer, and tea recommendations. This week, Brian teaches us how to repair holes in drywall, and finishes the weekend off with a fine glass of scotch. Enjoy.

This week I wanted to cover how to repair a hole in the wall… most people have them, lots of people hire someone it fix them but when you move into a new place in December, most people just want to have it fixed fast.

Now, I have to officially recommend that you hire a professional to do all repair jobs for you and we can’t in any way be held responsible for any damage or negative result that may occur through following this tutorial. There, that’s out of the way now.

another hole

I found the holes...

We of course started off by finding the holes and communicating the problem to our landlord; we asked for his permission to complete the work ourselves. When you are renting, this is a very good idea when you move in. Most times by offering to do the work you can get the landlord to cover the costs of the materials, and depending on the size of repair, you may even negotiate for a rent reduction. Sometimes it’s worth it for the landlord to ‘pay’ you a hundred bucks rather than wait weeks on end for a high-priced contractor to come in. It really depends on the repair. 

When you are looking at the holes, note for how deep they are, what the wall is made out of, and how big (wide) the holes are. All of these factors with help you to decide what materials to use. Our walls are drywall and paint and the holes were no bigger than a quarter in diameter, so we could use basic drywall compound to fill in the holes. 

scraped off paint

peeling paint scraped off

Make sure that if there is any paint chipping off around the hole, that you remove it. I used a putty knife to scrape off the flaking paint which exposed a very large area. This is an iimportant step, because you will otherwise end up with paint that continues to chip and peel, or there may be a visible line where the peeling paint is lifting. Jordan’s dad, Bill, came over to help with this process; we used a large putty knife to spread the drywall compound around and to smooth it out. 

Tip: the smoother the surface when the compound is still wet, the less sanding to do when it’s dry.

 I then had to start the sanding… ever hear the saying ‘Hindsight is 20/20’? Well, in hindsight I would have worn a mask and probably put a sheet around the area because the dust goes everywhere…. And I was spitting out dry wall dust for about a full day. After the sanding, be sure to get rid of any imperfections, ripples or bumps by running your hand along the surface to check for them. Then vacuum the floor and walls, as this helps to control the dust and makes applying the putty easier the second time. Jordan took a dry dishtowel and wiped at the repair areas to slough off as much of the dust as possible before painting. After applying any final coats of putty to any imperfect areas, sand one more time and then vacuum again when it’s dry.

Taping

Smooth putty

Once the final round of sanding is complete it is ready for paint. The nice thing about asking your landlord to cover the cost means that if they have any leftover paint they may opt to give it to you: we got to use the last of the ceiling paint that was originally used, which made painting the ceiling so much easier. This is the part of the process Jordan hates! She doesn’t enjoy painting big flat walls in single colours, preferring a canvas and free reign to create colourful images; I however love painting walls, and It was so exciting going to the paint store and having them use their computer to match the paint chip we had kept from the scraping process. 

Warning: The matched paint is not perfect, so be sure that if you do paint match, you must paint the entire wall—not just a cover up the section you repaired.

 For the bedroom, we went with a brighter colour but still in a similar tonal range. The one we chose was Bagel (which Jordan says sounds way less awesome than it is...it's a banana pudding type of creamy yellow).  When you are painting the walls it is important to tape all the edges you don’t want painted, to paint the edges of the wall with a paint brush first, and use rollers over all of it. Oh, and move the furniture well out of the way. Be sure that you are spreading the paint evenly. If your paint doesn’t have a built in primer, really consider using a primer to reduce how many coats you need to do. We decided that a built-in primer was the best for our project as time = money, and with the built-in primer paint, we only needed two coats to get our colour right.

Tip: when you hear the roller going wub wub wub wub wub wub as you roll, it means you need more paint.

I recommend doing two coats of the paint on the wall, even if you are using a primer; it ensures that you have proper coverage and there is none of the previous colour coming through the paint. Read the paint to see how soon you can put on the next coat: if you put it on too soon, you risk actually peeling off the still-damp layer!

Once you’ve finished all your coats and they have dried for 24-48 hours, it is now time to remove the tape!!! This is my favourite part. I like trying to make a large tape ball :) The next step is to now tape off the ceiling in the same fashion, if there was any repairs done to the ceiling, and apply a coat of ceiling paint to the area. This step is also helpful for any mistakes that happen because of slipping rollers. Be sure to feather the paint out on the ceiling: it’ll help blend the paint tones together, even though it’s the exact same paint, as time does change the colour of white. Now take off the tape and add it to your tape ball from previous. 

Tip: if you make multiple tape balls keep them close or your wife might throw them at you. 

Last step is putting furniture back and cleaning up. Not only does this finish the job, but it earns you big brownie points if you do a little extra cleaning in the process. 

source: glenfiddich.ca

BRIAN’S SUGGESTED IMBIBING: A SCOTCH RECOMMENDATION

Now reap the rewards of a job well done! I like to pair the reward reaping with a lovely scotch. This project’s scotch pairing was Glenfiddich, 12 years old, which has a beautiful golden colour with a full oaky aroma and a hint of peat; this scotch is nice because I find it has a smooth taste with a nice sweetness and a subtle smoky finish, very good for the beginner scotch Pairs best with a happy wife and a freshly painted room.