And Know the Wine for the First Time

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

T.S Eliot

  

After twenty five years of enjoying wines, I ended where I started.  I distinctively remember walking into the 39^th and Cambie BCLDB Store and intuitively asking Steven, the product consultant at the time, if he would recommend an honest traditional Chianti.  That was twenty five years ago.  Steven took me down to the aisle and pointed the wine. 

I trusted Steven.  I remember buying six bottles and opening one on the same day.  The necks of bottles were all at different levels.  Years later, I would learn the wine was probably hand-bottled – a sure sign when the neck levels are different on young wines.  I opened a bottle and stuck in the refrigerator for a half hour before I had the wine with a simple meat pasta dish.  The bottle was all gone quickly.  Well, the remaining bottles were finished within the same week.  When I returned to the store to buy some more, the wine had sold out.  I wish I took some notes or a picture of the wine.  I simply cannot recall the wine.

After my initial years of enjoying wines in my terms, like the Chianti, I bought and read a bunch of wine publications.  Then, I started buying and drinking wines in someone else’s terms.  So, It seems, the truth about wine can only be discovered when I am only true to myself.  So, my exploration of wine has arrived where I started and know the truth of wine for the first time.

My Backyard Apple Tree is Pineau D’Aunis!

Joan, my house’s former owner, planted the apple tree in my backyard.  As far as I can tell, the apple is heirloom variety.  The apple does not resemble any other apples that are widely available at grocers. Every year, independent of weather in summer, the apples appear to ripen only after the first frost of the season in Vancouver.  They are truly remarkable and tasty.  Firm in texture, they are juicy, sweet and citrus all at once.  Perfectly balanced!  I look forward to the apples every other year because the tree skips a year of production – somewhat like Pineau D’Aunis as I have been told by Didier Barrouillet of Clos Roche Blanche.  So, not knowing the heirloom varietal of my apple tree, I nicknamed it Pineau D’Aunis.

This year, the tree decided to produce.  BONUS!  In addition to simply eating the apples, they make beautiful apple sauce.  Here is my recipe:

-          6 apples (pealed, cored and sliced)

-          ¼ onion(peeled and sliced thinly)

-          2-3 table spoon of virgin olive oil

-          2-3 table spoon of butter

-          A pinch of cinnamon

-          2-3 table spoon of honey

-          ¼ cup of apple vinegar

-          Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan on a medium high heat, add olive oil and butter together. Add all ingredients, except apple vinegar.  Cook for 5-7 minutes.  Stir often.   Smash roughly with a spoon as apples cook.  Add the vinegar and cook additional 2-3 minutes. 

The apple sauce makes an amazing accompaniment to pork chops, terrines and sausages.  Try spreading the apple sauce over a baguette with slices of prosciutto to balance out the salty cured meat.  Store leftover in a jar and it will last 3-5 days in a fridge. 

Here is a Puy Lentil and Sausage dish.  A natural choice of wine for the dish is Auvergne from Jean Maupertuis.  Puy Lentil comes from Auvergne. And, of couse, Auvergne is a region well known for all types of sausages.  I buy the sausages from Freden (made with hormone free meats and chemical free ingredients) and they are available at Famous Foods.