Ordre Mondial Des Gourmets Degustateurs, the Paris-based Wines and Spirits arm of the world-renowned Gourmet association called Chaine des Rotisseurs, opened the year 2010  with an all-Canadian wine dinner featuring the wines of Genaro Yupangco, a Filipino-Canadian connoisseur who has established himself in Toronto and Hong Kong in the wine trade.

For cocktails, a light lemony Legends Semillon with tart pineapple flavors and a custard nose helped contrast the richness of Duck rillettes on Toast accented by a tidbit of guava confit.

As we sat down, we enjoyed a hot and cold appetizer plate of a cold Torchon of Foie Gras with a fresh from the oven Bruschetta scented with Truffle and topped with Arugula and Homegrown Microgreens. The pepperiness of the Arugula, micro radish and mustard with Japanese spinach worked well with the typical diesel character of the Henry Pelham Riesling 2007 which was dry with unique pear flavors and light pineapple that cut the richness of the Foie gras. The spiciness of the Legends Gewurztraminer 2006 likewise did well as its subtleties evoked light hints of lychee, pomelo, dry rose petals and tea. It had enough weight and acidity on the mid palate for the fattiness of the gooseliver.

For the soup, we paired a White Diamond 2007, citrusy with traces of honeydew, grass and gooseberry and a finish of light vanilla and toffee that went well with a demitasse of asparagus veloute topped with a rich soufflé of Blue Pepato Cheese from Davao.

Two Pinot Noirs went with the first plate of stewed and stuffed pig Trotters that were tenderly gelatinous and simmered with grapes and pearl onions in a fortified wine sauce. First was Legends Pinot Noir Reserve 2003, a very light pinot subjected to malolactic fermentation. It needed time to develop into a soft, lightly jammy wine with pomegranate and cranberry flown with a hawthorne finish with flowers. The other wine that cut the richness of this dish was a Coyote’s Run Black Paw Pinot Noir, also very light and peppery with light strawberry, raspberry and rosepetals on the nose. Surprisingly, it had no Tannins, best drank at room temperature.

What stole the show was the American French hybrid called Baco Noir, developed to stand the Canadian cold. We had a Henry Pelhalm 2007 which had the best ratings so far in wine journals. It was a complex, meaty, mouth-filling red with strawberry and black cherry flavors with hints of vanilla, wood spices, and cedar. This jammy wine is reputed to improve 5 to 6 years it was wonderfully silky with a sweetness on the edge. Having had it for a second time, it was a major heat with a freshly baked pastel of tongue, free ranged chicken and sausage that was hot and smoldering up to the last spoon accompanied by its flaky buttery crust and velvety sauce.

For cheese, we had a wine-marinated pecorino type from Davao with a dried tomato honey drizzle accompanied by sweet potato, squash, and walnut toast. This was paired with a Strewn Cabernet Sauvignon with aromas of chocolate, earth, and black plum. This medium-bodied cab had a light coffee and dried plum finish.

A pre-dessert of spiced citrus milk tea sorbet was served with a shot of the Legends Vidal white, a sumptuous ice wine with flavors of honey, peach, and apricot preserves. It had a fig and vanilla lemon finish with hints of flowers on the black palate. I read up on this wine which is good to collect as it would age another 10 years for better complexity.

Finally, for our dessert of a Pavlova of fresh strawberry, kiwi, mango with ylang ylang ice cream, hibiscus sauce, peach coulins and crème anglaise sauce was the award-winning Strewn Ice Wine which won 2008 Vinitaly and Challenge International du Vins 2007 plus to Canadian Wine Awards. This even richer and rounder ice wine was excellent with dessert but really did not need a dessert pairing for it was dessert in itself.

As a final note, I just would like to differentiate Ice wine which is the Canadian term for their dessert wine of harvested frozen grapes as against Eiswein, which is the exclusive German name for this golden elixir.

You may email me at chefgenegonzalez@yahoo.com.