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Written by Matthew Sullivan
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Thursday, 30 July 2009 |
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 Fine dining in Toronto is undergoing a seismic shift: the landscape underneath the table-cloth is moving as we eat. Some marquee restaurants (like Perigree) are shuttered. Many others (Susur, Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner, and Splendido) are retooling into bistros to offer fine food in a less grandiose manner.
Perhaps we can pin this realignment on the recession, but this ignores the larger (and more interesting) trend toward the “casual gourmet”. Restaurants want your business even if you are wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. As hipsters become foodies and foodies become hip, there’s growing pressure to create dining experiences that are inexpensive and unpretentious.
After the jump, find out why Matthew is nostalgic for expensive and pretentious dining. |
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Written by Matthew Sullivan
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 |
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Welcome to the Short Cellar’s mailbag column, where I address recent questions from my wine-addled readers.
Sir –
What’s the best cheap wine at the LCBO right now?
ThirstyDear Thirsty: The Ontanon 2005 Crianza from Rioja, Spain ($16.95, Vintages #976910) offers outrageous quality for the price. This red wine is perfect for BBQ season; it’s lean and vivacious, with a distinctive nose of fresh black pepper and herbs. Although this Rioja is intense, it also has a lot of subtlety, which is rare for anything under twenty bucks. It tastes great now and will mature beautifully over the next 3-5 years. 91/10 0. Sir –
Could you clarify your rating scale? How does the taste of a nine volt battery merit a similar rating to a wine that you dubbed delicious? I am also curious to know what prompted you to sample the gustatory qualities of a nine volt battery? Was it an Energizer or a Duracell?
Greg SullivanAfter the jump Matthew explains wine ratings and his experience licking batteries. |
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Written by Matthew Sullivan
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Thursday, 16 July 2009 |
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 Jost Vineyards in Nova Scotia is masterful when it comes to wines made from hybrid grapes. Hybrids are man-made vines designed by enterprising biologists to improve on nature. Although popular for a time, strict wine laws favouring native grapes led to their worldwide decline – but in wine-frontiers like Nova Scotia, hybrids remain attractive because they thrive in the chilly maritime weather.
Jost offers a staggering selection of over 20 wines made from hybrid grapes. This broad portfolio is eccentric, experimental and terribly interesting. Although sometimes hybrids are just used to create cheap swill, Jost takes their hybrids seriously, giving them the right time to age and access to expensive French oak barrels.
Curious about what hybrids taste like? Read Matthew's tasting notes after the jump. |
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Written by Matthew Sullivan
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 |
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 “Hello Fat-head,” she said from the veranda.
“Hello aged reptile,” I replied, climbing out of the car.
All in all, not the worst beginning to a week at the cottage with my mother-in-law. Every year, I decamp from Toronto and head to rural Nova Scotia, where the air is polluted with nothing more interesting than salt spray.
I do my best to enjoy the majestic maritime scenery by lodging myself in the darkest corner of the cottage and spending the time drinking and smoking. I take special delight in vetoing fieldtrips (“Blueberry picking? No thank you… visit a lavender farm? Piss off.”). However, this week, I tossed everyone for a loop by proposing an excursion of my own: “Let’s go to the Jost Vineyards.”
After the jump, find out why Matthew suggested a fieldtrip (and why the grilled cheese sandwich). |
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Written by Melissa Kluger
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
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Matthew is on vacation. We expect he is doing plenty of research and will return next week to regale us with stories of the wines he sampled while on holiday. |
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