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Holy Smokes! June 19th 2014 w/ Marty Rozon

Posted on June 26, 2014

Holy Smokes ! June 19th 2014 Blog



What a combination - great barbeque from Calgary’s Holy Smokes along with the six KWM beers chosen for this class. A tasty way to ease ourselves into the start of summer!



Howe Sound Lager - This Dortmunder style lager is a pale golden lager that is balanced between sweet malt and dry hop flavours. The lager has a clean, dry finish with some mild fruitiness delivered by the US version of German Hallertau hops and traditional Polish Lublin. - $14.49
Mt Begbie Powerhouse Pale - A generous portion of lightly roasted malt gives this beer a smooth yet distinctive character. Pale ale worth diving into! Ideal with spicy foods. - $5.29
Maine Beer Company Peeper - An American-style pale ale brewed one barrel at a time. The malt bill is built on American two-row malt and accented by Crystal 10, Vienna, and white wheat malts. Magnum hops give the beer a nice clean bittering and Amarillo, Cascade, and Centennial hop varieties provide a pleasant floral and citrusy hop flavour. A healthy dose of additional Amarillo and Centennial are dry hopped to give this beer an inviting hop aroma. The beer is fermented with a neutral yeast strain and allowed to dry out so it finishes crisp and clean. - $9.39
Mikkeller 20 Hops IPA - Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. It is made with water, malt (Pilsner, Munich, Cara-crystal), oat flakes, generous helpings of 20 different hop varieties and yeast. - $6.99
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock - A smoked bock beer for Bamberg’s strong beer season (October through December). Matured for months in ancient rock-cellars underneath Bamberg and tapped freshly from the oakwood cask. Similar to, but much bigger than the classic Maerzen style. - $4.99
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura - A Belgian inspired stout that is as dark as a moonless midnight, brimming of roasted malts and bitter hops. It will keep you good company in all places, be they light or dark. - $14.69



The Evening’s two favourites:

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
Maine Beer Peeper



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El Camino with Grant Graves - Friday June 20th

Posted on June 23, 2014

In recognition of the Way of St. James, a pilgrimage our owner Nancy Carten is about to embark on, we selected a range of wines from northern Spain and a lone product from Portugal. Seven wines in all were savored and the participants given the opportunity to stand-up for their favourites.



Our selection:

Canals Nadal Cava (Penedes) – while not from the El Camino route who doesn’t like Spain’s answer to sparkling wines. It got the evening started on the right foot... - $25.99
Raul Peres Muti Albarino 2011 (Rias Baixas) – a classic white wine from Rias Baixas region of Galicia.  If you like you Pinot Grigios and Sauvignon Blanc then you will certainly find this wine to your liking. Fragrant minerality, lemon meringue, honeysuckle, nutmeg, and petrol notes on this bracing, intense, beautifully balanced wine. - $46.99
Hermanos Peciña Chobeo de Pecina Blanco 2011 (Rioja) – a white Rioja made from Viura aged in oak.  It has mild, pleasant herbal and citrus notes on the nose and, on the palate, notes of fresh fruits round, soft and mouth filling. - $24.99
Tares Bierzo Baltos 2011 (Bierzo) – made of 100% Mencia.  The wine was aged a short while in oak and has flavours of chocolate, coffee and smoke with the ripe black fruit notes behind.  It’s soft silky tannins make this an easy drinking wine. - $20.99
Villacreces Ribera del Duero "Pruno" 2011 (Ribera del Duero) – Ribera del Duero wines a big and powerful and ready for big red meat.  This full bodied wine is dense purple with sweet aromas of licorice, espresso roast, creme de cassis and blackberries. - $26.99
Quinta Do Vallado Reserva 2010 (Douro Valley Portugal) – while a little of the Spanish El Camino it represents a solid well balanced dry wine from the Douro in Portugal. Made pricipally from grapes used in making port, it is full bodied with dark fruit flavous of plums, blackberries and cassis with soft cedar tones. - $47.99
Basilio Izquierdo B de Basilio Tinto 2008 (Rioja) – already a classic Rioja made by Basilio Izquierdo who was the the winemaker behind CVNE.  This wine represents a modern style but with roots in classic Rioja. Balanced with ripe fruit, integrated tannins and good acidity. - $62.99

The top three wines of the evening were:

Quinta do Vallado Reserva 2010
Basilio Izquierdo B de Basilio Tinto 2008 and the
Villacreces Ribera del Duero "Pruno" 2011



Thanks to all that came to our event, we look forward to seeing you again.

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Free Drop in Don Julio Tequila Tasting - Saturday June 21 11AM-1PM

Posted on June 20, 2014

Join us at Kensington Wine Market for a free drop in Don Julio tasting, Saturday  June 21  from 11AM to 1PM. You will be able to learn about the brand, how tequila is made and sample  the Blanco, Reposado and Anejo expressions.

Please RSVP to Andrew at scotchguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com if you are planning to attend....

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Grenach Panache - Thursday June 5th

Posted on June 19, 2014

For a lot of people, Grenache is their favourite grape variety.  The wines of the Southern Rhone Valley in France have long been popular, and thanks to the consistency and value of the region’s most inexpensive AOC the Cotes-du-Rhone, the wines have also been accessible.  But now the Rhone has company.  Serious company.  Northeastern Spain pumps out great Grenache, and Australia and the US are natural homes for the late-ripening grape as well.

This night was all about exploring the flavours of Grenache, and talking to like-minded people who are passionate about this variety.  It was a great night, and thank you for those who attended.



2010 Coca I Fito “Jaspi Maragda” (Montsant, Spain) - $28.  This wine performed very well.  If you like the wines of Priorat, this gives you a lot of the same qualitites at a great price point.  Black cherry and licorice flavours were held up nicely by the wines tannic and acid structure.  Balanced.  Expressive.  Delicious.  What more do you want?
2009 Mas Blanch I Jove “Sao Abrivat” (Costers del Segre, Spain) -$29.  This was the most restrained wine of the night.  Balanced and refined, yet missing just a little “pop.”  Really nice red fruit, charcoal and herbaceous flavours, but I found myself constantly trying to coax more out of the wine.
2011 Cochon Wines GSM “Pape Rocks” (California) - $28.  The surprise of the night – what a wine!  It features grapes that were picked from 90 year-old Grenache vines, pre-1900 Syrah vines and 130 year-old Cinsault vines!  Intense, sunny California red-fruit flavours are all contained nicely.  Really great bottle of wine for $28 bucks.  Tied for 3rd place amongst the group.
2011 Cape Barren GSM “Native Goose” (McLaren Vale, Australia) - $24.  Australia is so underrated right now – $24 for this wine!  Rich, spicy, and shockingly complex, this wine received some 1st place votes, but ultimately tied for 3rd place amongst the group.  Made for BBQ season.
2010 Perrin Vinsobres “Les Cornuds” (Vinsobres, France) - $22.   When I asked the group what they thought the price was of this wine, no one guessed under $30.  Easily the top-selling wine of the night.  Vinsobres is a region to watch out for, especially for those like myself who are starting to struggle to not only afford the wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but also some of wines of Gigondas.  The 2nd place finisher.
2011 Chateau de Saint-Cosme Gigondas (Gigondas, France) - $47.  And the wine of the ni...

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Spring Single Malt Festival 2014 - June 12

Posted on June 17, 2014

Our Spring Single Malt Festival is over for another year. This past Thursday's event drew 100 participants who swarmed the Kensington Wine Market for an evening of whisky sampling. 115 whiskies were on offer, mostly Scottish single malts, but also a few Blends, rums, American whiskies and Japanese whiskies too. Every single registrant turned up, with a number coming from BC, Montreal and one from as far away as Istanbul, Turkey.

This year's festival featured a broad range of new whiskies and old favourites. Our new Berry's Own Aberlour 1994 KWM Cask ($140) was a favourite, as was the Berry's Own Linkwood 1993 CofQ Cask ($125) bottled for the Companions of the Quaich. A small quantity of the latter is available for sale through our shop to non-Companions while supplies last. Another of the top sellers was the Tomatin 15 Year Limited Edition. The evening also featured a range of new KWM exclusives, including 10 new releases from WM Cadenhead (Scotland's oldest Independent Bottler) and some exciting new Japanese whiskies from Nikka and Chichibu.

All of our participants brought something unique to the table (no pun intended). Dan Volway of the Edrington Group had a Duty Free expression of Highland Park. Thisty Cellar, importers for Adelphi had a 24 year old Macallan (sadly sold out). Charton Hobbs brought along a gold painted 4.5L bottle of Auriverdes, and the contents of their table also included the Ardbeg Galileo (back for a limited time) and Glenmorangie Companta (due this fall). The Scotch Malt Whisky Society had a festival exclusive Islay bottling, 3.196: A walk on the wild side, and offered a teaser future release of 29.139: Buttercups, bothies and barbecues another Ileach. Andy Dunn of Gold Medal Marketing had a bottle of the Kilchoman Small Batch, which due in a few months time is a future KWM exclusive. And this is just to name a few... other gems like Brora 35 Year, Talisker 25 Year, and Glenfarclas 40 Year were also on offer. Suffice to say, a great time was had by all!

To see the full list of what was poured you'll have to scroll down past the photo gallery. The next KWM whisky festival will be mid November of this year.

[gallery]

Here is the full list of what was poured:

Authentic Wine & Spirits – J Wheelock

BenRiach 2001 MS Society Cask - $99.99
BenRiach 1977 - $379.99
Compass Box Peat Monster 10th - $99.99
Compass Box GKS - $49.49
Dalmore Cigar Malt - $129.99
Dalmore 18 Year - $160.99
Glendronach 15 Year - $85.99
Jura Elixir - $59.99

Charton Hobbs Table – Jordan Cameron & Courtney Teron

Ardbeg 10 Year - $74.99
Ardbeg Galileo - $119.99
Ardbeg Auriverdes - $125-130
Ardbeg Uigeadail - $104.99
Berry's Own Aberlour 1993 KWM Cask - $139.99
Berry's...

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