| LCBO

New Year's Eve Menu

Keep the food going all through the evening, with small-portion courses that guests can take turns prepping in the kitchen — accompanied by friends and perfectly paired wines.

Pol Roger Brut Reserve

What better way to start the evening — or end it — than with an impeccable, utterly reliable Champagne? Equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, Pol Roger Brut Reserve has a medium weight and a certain richness, showing yeasty, biscuity notes among apple and pear flavours. A precise balance makes it the ideal bubbly for both an aperitif and toasting the New Year at midnight.

Roasted Pear, Radicchio & Pecans with a Creamy Cambozola-Maple Dressing and Vineland Estates Elevation St. Urban Vineyard VQA

Move to an off-dry Riesling for the first course of roasted pear salad — perhaps Vineland Estates Elevation St. Urban Vineyard VQA. As with so many salads, the dressing influences the match. This classic wine from Niagara’s oldest Riesling vineyard has the acidity to cut through the egg-yolk flavour of Cambozola while its juicy citrus and peach notes echo the sweet perfume of the pears.

 

Panko-Topped Broiled Oysters in a Scallion Cream Sauce and Moët & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose

With raw oysters brut Champagne is best, but when they’re cooked and smothered in a rich, creamy sauce — like our panko-topped broiled oysters — off-dry Champagne really comes into its own. This rosé has wonderful red-berry and stone-fruit aromas and flavours and though it’s sweeter than a brut, it still refreshes in a delightful way.

Lollipop Roasted Lamb Chops with Coriander Raita and Cave Spring Cabernet Franc VQA

Niagara’s benchland vineyards contribute a firmness and minerality to this substantial Cab. The fat on these lamb chops will soften the tannins a little and let the flavours stand out — red berry, mint, black tea, oaky spice — but the wine’s impressive structure stands true. It’s another clean example of how well Cabernet Franc can express Ontario terroir.

 

Bow-tie Pasta with Crispy Pancetta & A Peppery Asiago Sauce and Southbrook’s Triomphe Chardonnay VQA VINTAGES

Southbrook’s Triomphe Chardonnay VQA VINTAGES is a lovely match to our creamy pasta dish. It’s a precise, perfectly balanced wine that braids hints of peach, pineapple and caramel with oaky spice in a firm, muscular body.

Chocolate-Mint Pots de Crème and Warre’s Otima 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Ten years old is an interesting age for tawny port. There is still red fruit left in the wine, but that decade in the barrel has brought in other spicy, caramelly, oaky notes. Otima is an excellent illustration, with a heart of sweet cherry, fig and apricot jam woven with walnuts and licorice. It pairs beautifully with caramel or chocolate desserts such as, these Chocolate-Mint Pots de Crème.