Nicki (@ViewTheVibe) and I were invited to Coach House Shortbread's 25th year anniversary celebration at their new bakery and retail space located at 235 Carlaw Ave (lower lobby) at the Wrigley Building. When I read our invite, I was surprised to see that wine was involved. Wine and shortbread? I've never heard of this kind of pairing before but sure I don't mind =)
When we arrived at the party, Baker and Founder of Coach House Shortbread Company, Carl Stryg, told us that pairing shortbread and wine may strike some as unusual but for him, it's a natural fit. Together with sommelier Marlise Ponzo from Crushing on Wine, Carl selected a number of wines that with the shortbread, produced surprisingly complementary flavours. There was a number of excellent wine pairing suggestions for almost each flavour of shortbread.
Watch View the Vibe's Eye on the Vibe Blog as I drink wine and eat shortbread, all night long (Nicki was on detox so I was "in charge" of eating....as usual =P).
Here's a breakdown of the different flavours from Coach House Shortbread
SWEET
Original - Made with fresh unsalted butter, pastry flour, cornstarch and confectioners sugar and a pinch of sea salt
Lemon - Made with fresh unsalted butter and lightly flavoured with organic lemon zest
Pecan - Same recipe as original with finely chopped fresh pecans
Almond & Sugared Rose - Toasted almonds with fragrant crunch of sugared rose petals
Orange & Cardamon - Orange zest combined with cardamon and a hint of ginger
Cranberry - Cranberries and creamy butter
Lavender - With organic lavender flowers
Dark Chocolate & Fleur de Sel - Callebaut dark chocolate chips with Fleur de Sel
SAVOURY
Spicy Asiago & Garlic - Asiago cheese with oven-roasted garlic and chili peppers
Gorgonzola & Pistachio - Gorgonzola paired with toasted pistachios
Cheddar & Chipotle - 10-year-old Canadian cheddar paired with the smokiness of chipotle peppers
Stilton & Rosemary - Stilton cheese with a touch of rosemary and coarsely ground black pepper.
All the lovely packaging and wrapping is done entirely by hand using recycled paper (98% post consumer fibre)! They make great gifts too because they are just so beautifully wrapped ^_^ I may get some for Christmas actually (which is less than two months away...eek).
Marlise Ponzo, Sommelier, from Crushing on Wine, was busy pouring wine all night and explaining to guests about the various wine pairings. Below are some combinations that we tried:
Stilton & Rosemary with German Riesling or a Valpolicella
Walnut & Bella Vitano with Cremant Rose
Gorgonzola & Pistachio with Vin Santo
Cheddar & Chipotle with Chardonnay
Spicy Asiago & Garlic with a medium dry Sherry
Coach House Shortbread can be ordered for delivery through www.shortbread.ca. They also participate in the One of a Kind Show in Toronto and Vancouver as well as shows in Ottawa, Balls Falls and Nepean.
Retailers in Ontario
Dags & Willow, Collingwood
Jacobson's Concept Gourmet, Ottawa
Mrs McGarrigles, Merrickville
Cookes Fine Foods, Brockville / Kingston / Picton
The Culinarium, Toronto
Dinah's Cupboard, Toronto
The Cheese Boutique, Toronto
There was no way I was going to leave without buying some shortbread so I bought "Gorgonzola & Pistachio" as well as "Spicy Asiago & Garlic". ♥♥♥
*This is not a sponsored post*