For the ski trip of the year, we set our sights on Tremblant at the beginning of March. For me, this means winter warm up with vino after a long, refreshing day of skiing.

Our chalet was decorated with the kind of warm, cozy feeling you have sharing a bottle of red over the fire after being in the winter cold. This made for perfect dinners and conversation and every night was “après-ski” atmosphere.

If you ever travel anywhere with me (somewhere I can pack a car-full) , you know my forte is to always bring several bottles of wine to pair with dinner (and so many options for that matter). This weekend was not lacking in wine on my part. Even though I could’ve gone nuts at the SAQ for less mullah, I planned it all prior, which I attribute to the A-type personality I possess.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon and tossed the lasagna in to bake in the oven. We decided to pair it with a wine from Portugal, which brought us back to the incredible trip we took in 2011 in the Algarve. The ‘Fogo Charnu Rouge’, being a lighter-bodied red went well with the heavier meal. This wine has a dark, cherry colour, with aromas of ripe fruit, and is somewhat spicy on the palate. I enjoyed the bit of spice it brought to an otherwise non-spicy dish. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it added an element of flavour.

Saturday night…
Have you ever skied or snowboarded all day? You know that feeling of wanting to curl up in a ball after dinner and sleep for 12 hours straight? That sums it up for most of us, but I still had the excitement of breaking into the mysterious Chilean world of wine with this bottle. ‘Root: 1 Carmenère’ from the Colchagua Valley of Chile was featured in LCBO as a must-try. Chile has the perfect soil for growing grapes to make Carmenère, unlike anywhere else in the world. Carmenère is so unique and if only Chile can do it properly, I’m definitely intrigued. As I was told and now would agree, this is a must-try! It has plum, blackberry and even spicy notes on the palate and was highly recommended to pair with a hearty stew. Low and behold we had a stew prepared before even getting to the chalet (fate of the wine gods?) and it was Indian spiced! The stew had hints of cinnamon, pepper and cardamom and met its match with this spicy red. Chileans- I have new found respect for your winemaking and can’t believe I’m just entering this world.

The rest of the bottles I brought were of course for sipping by the fire. I picked up my ever so trusting J. Lohr buttery Chardonnay and Ring Bolt Cabernet Sauvignon and brought the cherished bottle of EXP Syrah that has been waiting in my wine cabinet to be shared and enjoyed.

The only thing that went through my head all weekend was “I could get used to this life!”.