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Note that all the items recommended below are connected with the LCBO database – just click on the name!

In a universe before the advent of synthetic flavour enhancing chemicals, one of the great treasures was the purity of fruit that could be attained through macerating perfectly ripe cassis or blackcurrants in alcohol to which sugar was added.

Although blackcurrants had been cultivated in France since the 16th century, primarily for their medicinal properties, it wasn’t until the early 1800s that the idea of making them into a liqueur evolved in the Dijon region of France. It was here in the home of Burgundy that Crème de Cassis De Dijon became an enormous success - a highly sought-after elixir among Europe’s rich and famous. A success based on the unique quality of locally grown fruit that remains unsurpassed to this day. This, in turn, created a "Cassis rush" - a virtual explosion in the cultivation of blackcurrants.

All of this leads me to my August Vintages release highlight - Gabriel Boudier Crème de Cassis de Dijon (974444) at  $29.95, which comes in a traditional 500 ml bottle square-shaped bottle. The colour is a deep intense purple tinged royal red. The nose is very concentrated with sweet, spicy, fresh ripe blackcurrant essence. Ditto on the palate, which is very dense, rich and sweet, but at the same time well balanced and exceedingly delicious. Only 844 bottles are available (so see where click here).

Unfortunately, Crème de Cassis De Dijon is a bit of a harder sell today. After all, how many folks are drinking sweet liqueurs on the rocks? Add to this the fact that there’s nobody alive to remember Gabriel Boudier who founded a company in 129 years ago. Nor does this producer have the deep pockets to launch advertising campaigns to popularize this unique liqueur.

Fortunately, there is an extremely popular summer drink known as Kir (rhymes with hear), a libation which happened to be the favourite drink of the beloved major of Dijon from 1945 to 1965 whose name was Canon Felix Kir. Renown for his resistance work during World War II, he would love to drink a frosty “Vin Blanc Cassis” which was traditionally 1 part Crème de Cassis de Dijon with 4 parts of dry white wine, usually a well chilled Bourgogne Aligoté or Macon. After his death, the drink was renamed in his honour and is the second most popular apéritif in France.

Today, Jean, François and Yves Battault (the three sons of Pierre Battault, the nephew of Marcel Battault who acquired the firm in 1936) now jointly run the family firm. To this day, only two blackcurrant varieties known as "noble varieties" are selected for their richness in flavour and aroma are used - the Noir de Bourgogne and the Royal Naples, thereby enabling the Battault family to maintain Gabriel Boudier standards. In fact, Crème de Cassis de Dijon cannot be compromised as the addition of any flavouring or colouring is strictly forbidden.

As the flavours are very concentrated, it is always better to go gently on the liqueur so as not to make the drink too sweet. The classic tradition is to pour about an ounce into the bottom of a large wineglass and then add the white wine. This isn’t stirred, nor is ice or and lemon zest added. The drink simply gets sweeter as you work your way through it. Personally, I like it stirred and even occasionally with a lemon garnish!

Another variation on Kir is Kir Royal, which substitutes a Brut Champagne or dry sparkler for the white wine. In this case, I usually add the Crème de Cassis judiciously so as not to make it too sweet. When starting out, no more than 1/2 teaspoon to four ounces of bubbly. Of course a Kir Spritzer is another possibility by replacing some of the white wine with soda water - or all soda water if you are a designated driver. The Crème de Cassis itself only has 20% alcohol.

Of course, for red wine fans there is a terrific change of pace red wine based Kir, this time substituting Beaujolais for the white wine. Originally called a Communard (or Communist) around Lyon, it was renamed to Cardinal apparently for "euphemistic reasons to free it of political associations." I recommend the addition of some ice to keep it fresh and lively.

Also, here is a bit if storage advice - keep your Crème de Cassis in the refrigerator after opening as it will retain all its colour and flavour for at least 4 months. Might I add that anybody who has tasted it would not be troubled by shelf life!

Also worth mentioning is the sad passing of a terrific liqueur that went generally unnoticed. Gabriel Boudier Guignolet de Dijon (744391) at $22.35 was released in Vintages on June 1, 2002 and is already slated for the Vintages August 23 Bin End Sale. This sublime cherry liqueur uses no less than 4 different sweet and bitter cherries, the most famous being the local small black-heart cherry, known as guignes. At 18% alcohol, it is every bit as exciting as Cassis - perhaps even more as great cherry liqueurs are even harder to find.

Of the 600 bottles brought by Vintages, as of this week only 86 are left for the sale (so see where click here). Certainly the LCBO’ s failure to present this liqueur to wine writers and/or LCBO consultants contributed to its demise. It’s going on sale at $17.95, but one would be ill advised to wait. The sample I tasted was sublime - delicious, concentrated, sweet but balanced, essence of ripe black cherry flavours that go one and on.

National Post readers wanting details on the upcoming Vintages August 23 Bin End Sale can just type npreader in both username/password fields to get access click here.

How it’s made at Gabriel Boudier

Making Crème de Cassis de Dijon cannot be improvised. The addition of any flavouring or colouring is strictly forbidden. Since 1874, Gabriel Boudier has perfected the right balance between up to date technology and the inimitable touch of savoir-faire of the perfectionist. Only two varieties of fruit known as “noble varieties” are selected for their richness in flavour and aroma - the Noir de Bourgogne and the Royal Naples. After the harvest the fruit is immediately frozen and kept in special storage depots thus preserving all this fragrance and flavour potential. The defrosting takes place at Gabriel Boudier. Superfine neutral beet sugar alcohol is added to the blackcurrants. It takes 5 to 6 weeks of maceration to get the soluble parts of the fruit to dissolve in the alcohol. This alcoholic infusion is then drawn off and the remaining macerated fruit transferred to a press where the residual infusion is carefully separated from the skins. The final crucial step is the blending. The liqueur maker's art lies in selecting just the right amount of sugar to be mixed with the infusion and it is blended until totally dissolved. At each step of the production process, quality controllers in the laboratory analyze the fruit liqueur. At the end of the production chain, a panel of experts tastes it in order to identify any necessary adjustments to guarantee the sweetness and smoothness of this Dijon's nectar.

Coming up:

IN TOWN

KRINOS TASTE OF THE DANFORTH
Friday, August 8th through Sunday, August 10th.
This 10th Anniversary of the Krinos Taste of the Danforth features some new exciting events.
For information click here  

Toronto Festival of Beer
Friday, August 8th through Sunday, August 10th
Toronto's Festival of Beer will features 150+ major, macro and micro brews from the palest pilsners to the deepest stouts. Held at the Historic Fort York - 100 Garrison Rd. Tickets are $25 at the gate.
For information click here

FOR THE TRADE

Toronto International Gift Fair
Friday, August 8^th through Monday, August 11^th
Metro Toronto Convention Center, South Hall • See www.torontointernationalgiftfair.com.  

Canadian Gift Show
Sunday, August 10^th through Thursday, August 14^th
This CGTA is the largest show of its kind in Canada and is held at the International Centre at (6900 Airport Road) and at the Toronto Congress Centre (650 Dixon Road). You'll find it all with over 1,000 exhibitors, attracting close to 26,500 retail buyers from across Canada, the United States and abroad. Culinary buyers must make a stop at Dove Tale Collections (Booth 1139 / Hall 1 / International Centre) where fine chocolate makers John Scharffenberger (Califormia) and Max Brenner (Israel) will be showing their wares.
See: http://www.cgta.org/cgta_giftshow_general.asp

OUT OF TOWN  

MICHELIN THREE STAR CHEF AT WILDFIRE RESTAURANT AT TABOO

  Dieter Muller, renown Michelin three star chef from the Relais & Chateau Hotel Lerbach in Germany, is showcasing his culinary talents at Wildfire on August 8, 9, 15, 16 and 17 – at Taboo Resort, Golf and Conference Centre in Muskoka.  For information: click here

Check out our winefind.ca tasting notes database

Our tasting note database goes back to January 1, 2001 and covers every Vintages release product for the past 31 months. There are approximately 5,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. When you get your search results (starting with the most recent release), click on the item name and you will instantaneously connected to the FBTI Vintage Assessments database. You will see our tasting note along with the name of the agent. You can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name. Also, you can check LCBO store inventory by clicking on Check LCBO Availability. It will automatically take you to the item you want to search.

To use our winefind.ca Tasting Notes Database: click here

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August 2003 InStore Discovery

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