Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Happy that's it's Fall

I know that most will not share my feelings on this but I am happy that we seem to be done with our September heatwave.

I know it's been great for the farmers and G-man may actually not finish the summer of 2011 in the red but when you work at a restaurant with a huge patio and most of your summer staff have returned to school a long, hot, dry September is a major pain. I've been working extra shifts all month and, quite frankly, am too old for this stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not praying for rain but a little cloudy and 20 degrees will be just fine for a week or two. Plus I'd really like the feeling of a blanket over me while I'm sleeping instead of a crumpled ball of sheets around my ankles.

There is also the fact that I'm getting tired of grilled and am hankering for braised, roasted and slow cooked with all the rustic flavours those preparations entail. In anticipation of the Fall hearty food season I bought a bottle of a newly listed Chilean red on the weekend:Junta Reserva Syrah-Carmenere 2010, this is new world wine with some lead in its' pencil but really it's more suited for the grill/roast rather than the braise.

The wine is deep reddish purple with a ripe fresh nose, on the palate there are tones of leather, smoke and spice to mingle with dried cherry and black fruits. The fruit dominates but there's enough tannin to carry burgers or simple roasted meat, At $14.97 it's not a great buy but it is a good bottle at a reasonable price and worth a try, the wine has wide spread distribution so should be easy enough to find.

I do question the naming of the winery however, while the back label assures me that Junta is a Spanish word meaning to gather for a purpose, or collaborate, I just can't get the image of intellectuals being marched into soccer stadiums at gunpoint out of my head .

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