House Wines

Introducing Mike's Blend!

As many of you know I have been busy lately with running the restaurant, spending time with the kids and writing about wine on my blog (www.thewinehunters.com), but did you know that I have also been busy making wine? That is right I have been working at a local winery making my own wine for Stargazers and I am pleased to announce that it is ready!

I am pleased to say that Stargazers now has a house wine. I have been working on it for a while now and I feel I have the blend right where I want it. I have always stayed away from having a house wine because the North American view of a house wine is akin to cheap plonk that is more often than not oxidized and a horrid value for the drinker. Exactly what I don't want you to suffer through when you are enjoying a relaxing dinner. I much prefer the European house wines where the wine is an expression of the region and the quality of wine blends quite well with the food, and gives great value for the money.

In creating these blends I did a lot of research and work to keep the quality of these wines high and create value. First, I dispensed with the bottling process. Glass and cork and the corresponding environmental fees add about $2.00 to the price of a bottle of wine in Ontario. I have packaged Mike's blend in 20L casks and I have purchased 1/2 liter and 1 Liter decanters for you to enjoy. Not only does this reduce the cost, but it is also more environmentally friendly. But enough about the packaging let me tell you about the wines.
My New Wine (Continued)

Mike's Blend White:
The white wine I have crafted is made primarily with the vidal grape. I have produced and easy drinking, fruit forward wine with lots of apple and pear flavors. It blends well with seafood as well as being a perfect summer patio sipper.

Mike's Blend Red:
The red wine is made with over 90% cabernet sauvignon. It has a decent amount of structure, but again I have blended it to bring out the fruit. The tannins are balanced and I did not use any oak, the result was a beautiful garnet colored wine with loads upon loads of black current flavor. It is an easy drinking wine but it has enough to it to stand next to Friday night's Prime Rib.

Don’t Believe Me?
Right after I released these two wines, one of our guests Rick Birmingham from Union Gas and his wife reluctantly sampled my wine. Now Rick and Annette have toured many major wine regions including Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Niagara and elsewhere so they enjoy a good bottle of wine. His words before tasting the wine to me were “O.K. Mike what kind of Plonk are you trying to serve here.” I admire that he was honest in his skepticism, but after his first sip his skepticism changed to surprise. “Wow, That is good?” was Rick’s reaction.

As an introductory offer I have priced this wine very competitively (O.K. downright cheap!). For the next month we will be featuring it for just $5.50 a 150 mL glass (or for better value $15.95 for 1/2 Liter and $27.95 for a 1 liter carafe). I may be biased (but when it comes to wine I have trained myself not to be), but I don't have a bottle of wine on my list for under $35 that is any better than our new house wines. I encourage you to come in and enjoy a glass!