Top pairings

10 top Canadian wine pairings

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on March 31 2009 at 12:02

One of the most impressive aspects of my visit to Toronto last week was the fact that almost every restaurant suggested a well chosen wine pairing against the dishes they served. Here are the ones that stood out for me:

White wines
There’s some good Chardonnay and Pinot Gris/Grigio in Canada but Riesling was the stand-out grape for me

Canoe ‘raw bar’ with Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2007, Vinemount Ridge Ontario
Canoe’s ‘raw bar’ is by no means a standard seafood platter but full of inventive twists which made the choice of this delicious crisp, minerally riesling quite perfect. Standout components were some stunning oysters, scallop ceviche with horseradish, tuna tartare with pickled daikon, lobster with buckwheat noodles and cured sardines served ceviche style with a spiced apple confit

Yucatan Hot and Sour Soup with Fenwick Farms Smoked Chicken and Goji Berries with Thirty Bench Small Lot Riesling 2007 (Nota Bene)
Soup is notoriously difficult to pair, a spiced broth even more so but this partnership with an off-dry appley riesling (also paired successfully with Grilled Jail Island ocean trout with a rice paper roll of microgreens and herbs at Annona) was spot on.

Crisp Quebec sumac-dusted duck salad with green papaya slaw with Fielding Estate riesling (Nota Bene)
I’ve already picked this out as my match of the week. A stunning combination of a zesty Asian-inspired salad with a crisp citrussy riesling.

Butter-poached Nova Scotia lobster with cauliflower pure with 2007 Norman Hardie Chardonnay from Prince Edward County (Nota Bene)
Lobster and chardonnay is of course a classic pairing and this was definitely more than the sum of its parts, the chardonnay counterpointing a wickedly rich dish, the lobster and butter sauce accentuating the elegance of the wine and highlighting its citrus character.

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