Suds, Sips and Sabers – A Quick Guide to Holiday Champagne

“I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it.” 
William Churchill 

‘Tis the season for Champagne and with New Years almost upon us, there is no better time to stock your cellar. We’ll highlight a couple of amazing bubbles that will be the shining star of any holiday celebration and guide you in step-by-step instructions on how to sabre a bottle. 

So, let’s get talking and popping bottles to celebrate the onset of 2022! 

Champagne is the pinnacle of quality and tradition for sparkling wines around the world. Located in the Northeast of France, about a two-hour drive from Paris. It has a cool continental climate which ensures fresh acidity in its wines. 

The region has a long history dating back to the Romans who first cultivated here in the 5th century. It was not always a sparkling wine and ironically, Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon (1638–1715) spent most of his career trying to rid his Champagne of bubbles! His claim to fame would be his pioneering techniques on producing white wine from red wine grapes along with masterful blending that influences the style of the modern sparkling Champagne we see today. 

Champagne is produced from three key grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Each grape will add contributions to the blend with Chardonnay giving elegance and lace, Pinot Noir lending structure and body and Pinot Meunier offering fruitiness. 

Champagne labels may give you a hint as to which dominant grapes are in the bottle and hence the style: 

Blanc de Blanc – This means that the wine is made from Chardonnay. Expect flavours of bright citrus, green and yellow apple, pear, cream, biscuit, and brioche. 

Blanc de Noirs – Only the black skinned grapes so the wine will be made from either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a combination of the two. With these wines you can expect tart strawberries, rose petals, red apple, floral notes, citrus, brioche, biscuit, and cream. 

What about a wine that doesn’t say either Blanc or Noir? That means that the wine will contain a percentage of white and red grapes according to the brand’s style. 

Rosé Champagne: Although these will be predominantly red grapes with far more accentuated red fruit character, it is worth noting that Champagne is the only region in France that is allowed to blend red and white wines to create a rosé. 

Most Champagne is non-vintage meaning it will be a blend of years. In such a northern climate, grapes are not always guaranteed to ripen properly so traditionally they have blended from different years. This allows for consistency of style. Consumers may unfortunately drink Champagne only on a special occasion, but they want their Veuve Clicquot to taste the same each time! 

Vintage Champagne – These wines are only made in exceptional years and represent the pinnacle of Champagne production. The right wine from the right year (cellared for the right amount of time) will leave a lasting mark on any wine lovers’ bottle memory. 

Now, on to a few standouts that you can find on our shelves at JAK’S. 

Veuve Clicquot – There is something about this iconic yellow label that is synonymous with celebration. Tastes will include ripe apple, nectarine with a fair amount of that bread dough and biscuit flavour. A Champagne for all to enjoy. 

Pommery Brut – A perfect option for those who always wanted to try Champagne but have been stung by a bottle that was too tart or acid driven. Stylistically this presents a much riper and slightly sweeter style with lots of cream, ripe golden apple, and sliced bread. 

Pierre Paillard ‘Les Parcelles’ Extra Brut – Very dry, leaning toward austere, this is a wine built for those who love crisp acidity to go with their food (oysters anyone?). 

Now, let’s talk about the saber: The Art of Sabering 

Legend has it that when Napoleon’s soldiers returned home celebrating locals would gift them bottles of Champagne as they paraded through the streets. Opening a bottle of Champagne can be a task at the best of times, but doing it on horseback would be dubious to say the least! So, one soldier (some say it was Napoleon himself) managed to take his hilted saber and cleave the top of the bottle off – starting a tradition that is now celebrated as the flashiest way to open bubbles. 

Full disclaimer: 
Knifelike objects and cracked glass are sharp! You may lose some of your precious wine with this technique. Be careful in this approach and caution is key!!! 

First 
The bottle must be very cold (not frozen). The glass may shatter in your hand creating a large mess if it is warm and you may have a $80-$200 puddle. 

Second 
Carefully remove the foil and the cage. You don’t want anything in the way of your saber. First safety tip – at this point, do not point the bottle towards people or anything that you wish not to damage! Consider doing this outdoors as the cork will fly meters into the air. 

Third 
Find a seam. A wine bottle is essentially two welded halves, so each bottle will have two faint seems which meet at the lip of the bottle’s neck. This is the weakest spot of a bottle and the place that you want your saber to hit. 

Fourth 
Get your knife. Smooth not serrated. Hold the bottle firmly at the base at a 45 degree angle with the seam facing upwards. (cork pointed away from anyone) 

Rest the knife on the seam with the blunt edge towards the neck. 

Slide the blunt edge of the knife up the length of the bottle a few times just to get a feel for it (and to calm any nerves). DO NOT chop at the bottle or cork! It’s not how hard you slide…it’s very much like a golf swing. 

When ready, slide the knife up the seam rapidly so the blunt edge makes contact with the top of bottle and follow through. The glass top and cork should fly off at which point you will want to straighten the bottle upright to avoid losing too much wine. 

CAREFULL OF THE SHARP EDGE!!! Now pour a touch to cleanse from any glass shards and then pour to enjoy. 

There you go! You’ve sabered a bottle of Champagne, impressed your adoring onlookers and won the Holidays! 

For reference, here is a great video by Alton Brown of how it should be done: 

Wishing you all a wonderful Holidays and a safe and healthy New Year! 

About the Author 
Andrew Forsyth is a sommelier at L’abattoir Restaurant in Vancouver who also moonlights at Jak’s South Granville location. He currently holds the title of Sommelier of the Year from Wines of British Columbia and is working towards his Advanced Sommelier designation. 

Winter Cocktails

As the holiday season approaches, my favourite smell is of freshly baked gingerbread cookies. It always brings me into the Christmas spirit with the warmth of all spice, ginger and molasses floating through the air. This year, spice up your holiday party with some gingerbread cocktails! 

First, you’ll need some gingerbread simple syrup… which you'll need the following to make a 1 cup batch:

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon of allspice

• 3 whole cinnamon sticks

• 1 tablespoon of honey

• 3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger

In a large saucepan, bring your water to a boil, and add all ingredients until your syrup reaches desired consistency. Remove from heat, and allow syrup to cool to room temperature. Then remove the cinnamon sticks and strain out the grated ginger, and bottle it up in airtight containers. 

This gingerbread simple syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month. 

PS: This makes a great homemade holiday present for any bartenders in your life! 

Let's move on to the fun stuff! 

GIN-gerbread Martini

1 oz Gingerbread simple syrup

2 oz Madison Park Breakfast Gin

1 oz Cognac

Method: In a shaker with plenty of ice, combine all ingredients, give it a good shake, strain into a chilled coup, and enjoy!

Garnish: Orange twist, gingerbread cookie.

Gingerbread Man Mezcal Margarita 

1 oz Gingerbread simple syrup

2 oz Mezcal Union Uno

1 oz Fresh lime juice 

.5 oz Triple Sec 

Method: In a shaker with plenty of ice, combine all ingredients, give it a good shake, and strain into a salt rimmed rocks glass with ice. Enjoy!

Garnish: Gingerbread crumb and salt rim, lime wheel and gingerbread cookie.

Spiked Gingerbread Hot Chocolate 

1 oz Gingerbread simple syrup 

4 oz Hot chocolate 

1 oz Flor de Caña Añejo Clásico

Method: In a heat-safe glass, add all ingredients and stir, top with whipped cream. For a family friendly party, exclude the rum… Enjoy!

Garnish: Whipped cream, dusted cinnamon sugar,  and gingerbread cookie.

Happy Holidays from the JAK’s Team! Enjoy!

Cocktail Recipes by Vanessa Figueroa

The Wines of Rioja

Celebrate the Wines of Rioja this month at JAK’S as some lucky participants will be winning a Trip for Two to Rioja in April 2022! We also have 5 X $100.00 Gift Cards for giveaways. Contest details and entries can be found on our website: www.jaks.com

Rioja is undoubtably one of the top regions in the world associated quality and cellar potential for some outstanding wines. This worthy wine region sits in a rain shadow very much like Alsace in France or the Okanagan Valley does in BC, allowing for plenty of sunshine days to the ripen grapes. The Rioja region is split up into three subregions – Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental – Rioja Alta is historically recognized as the pinnacle of quality production although winemakers in the Alavesa are gaining repute in the last few years as well. Entry level wines will typically be a blend from all three subregions.

In Rioja, Tempranillo is king with Garnacha (Grenache) following suit as the key red grapes and are almost always blended with the possible addition of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano. Reds make up the largest quantity of production and are most likely to be exported to our shores. Traditionally these wines are aged in American oak, although shifting tastes of both consumers and winemakers are seeing more French casks employed in the cellar.

Rioja also makes delightfully ripe white wines with Viura (Macabeo), Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía Riojano and Maturana making up the largest plantings. White blends in the region can include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo Blanc, and Verdejo.

The trick to understanding Rioja is in the labels– specifically on how it relates to
aging. The main terms to know are Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. Seeing these on the bottle will instantly tell you that the wine will have been aged for a specific minimum amount of time in oak casks followed by additional aging in bottle prior to release. This is the biggest tell when it comes to knowing the style of the wine in the bottle. For ease of reference, this chart below lays out the minimum aging requirements:

For styles, we’ll start with Crianza which is a fantastic value category that lends oak character to the wine while giving the grapes a bigger voice.
Faustino Art Series Crianza - $21.99

Bodegas Faustino commits additional time in American oak (15 months) and less time aging in bottle, an impressive aging program to value given the cost of oak barrels! Here you will find notes of red cherry and plum with baking spice, vanilla and a touch of
coconut. This is a wine built for pork roasts or chicken dishes with rich pan sauces.

Moving on to the Reserva category, there are two examples in store right now that bear distinction for very different reasons.
CVNE Imperial Rioja Reserva - on sale till the end of December for $54.98 

This estate that has been in the same family since 1879! This is Reserva is a fantastic introduction to the category as the gentle handling of grapes and use of both French and American oak leads to a finished wine with elegance and power. Here the oak character will shine through a little bit more with baking spice and vanilla at the forefront while the cherry and plum note follow with some signs of age – namely sweet tobacco and leather. Although drinking well now, this wine can age for quite a while yet!

The other Reserva of note is:
Lopez de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva - $64.99
This winery is important for two reasons: first, they are one of very few examples of Rioja wineries that offer bottlings from a single vineyard site and second, the winery holds back release on their wines until they think they are ready to drink. This beautiful 2008 is their most current available vintage! For anyone wanting to try wines drinking at their peak this wine is a must try and a great example of how fruit and oak flavours will develop and integrate over time. Leather and tobacco carry onto a long finish. With both wines, think lamb, beef or game meats and just revel!

*Dietary Note – Heredia uses a very traditional filtering technique that uses egg whites. Please do not consume if you are Vegan or have allergies to Egg.

Palacios Remondo La Montesa - $37.99

This wine uses 95% Garnacha in their bottling sourced from vines over 30 years old and aged for 12 months in barrel. Garnacha brings another style to the table with juicy cherry, raspberry and strawberry notes to compliment the wood spice and touch of dry herbs. It has a great finish and will go beautifully with roast duck.

Finally, we can’t forget the blanco wines! Back to the CVNE for their Monopole Rioja Blanco produced mainly from Viura grapes. Aromas and flavours include a slight honeysuckle floral note with ripe apple, pear, and citrus with a dry mineral finish. Unoaked, drink in its youth and pair with fish and seafood dishes.

The holidays are the perfect time of year to delve into regions like Rioja and I hope that you enjoy some of the wines in this brief snapshot of the region. If you want to learn more, Wines of Rioja also has a fantastic website at riojawine.com complete with producer profiles, vintage notes, and current news from the region.

Happy sips everybody!

About the Author

Andrew Forsyth is a sommelier at L’abattoir Restaurant in Vancouver who also moonlights at JAK’s South Granville location. He currently holds the title of Sommelier of the Year from Wines of British Columbia and is working towards his Advanced Sommelier designation.

Mmmm..Marvelous Merlot

It’s International Merlot Day coming up on November 07th so it’s time for us all to move past “Sideways” and embrace this noble grape. For those not familiar with the movie, check out google to see how one line from Paul Giamatti decimated Merlot sales and pumped-up Pinot Noir in the US. Amazing the impact that a little art movie had on the entire wine industry!

Merlot is one of the great wine grapes of the world and, much like any grape that is grown widely, it can be made in a variety of styles and levels of quality. It is also a grape (like Chardonnay) where many wine fans have been hurt by a particularly bad bottle and have sworn off all Merlot as a result. 

Well, my friends, it’s time to give this grape another try because there are way too many styles of Merlot out there to be enjoyed. So let’s dive in!

Merlot has its traditional home in the French region of Bordeaux where it has been a part of some of the greatest wines ever created for over 300 years. Why just “a part” you ask? Well, much like our previous discussion on Cabernet Sauvignon (check that out here), Merlot grown in this part of France is almost always part of a blend.  Also, like Cabernet, Merlot does its best work on a particular type of soil – in this case, clay rich soils.

Where Cabernet thrives in Bordeaux’s gravel rich Left Bank soils of the Medoc, Merlot’s main plantings are on the Right Bank of the Gironde River in communes such as Fronsac, Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Those are the names you want to look for on the bottle label and will tell you that the wine is Merlot dominant.

These styles of Merlot are not flimsy fruit bombs…these are serious wines! Aged in oak, Merlot from Bordeaux will often be blended with Cabernet Franc (or a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon) to reinforce structure. The result is a beautifully perfumed wine with notes of black plum, black cherry, coffee, cocoa, baking spices, and a touch of vanilla. Merlot offers a rounder mouthfeel than Cabernet and its softer (but still very present) tannins mean that these wines don’t always need an extended amount of aging to be enjoyed.

Two bottles to give a go right now are Chateau La Rose Perrière 2015 from Lussac Saint-Émilion and Les Tours de Laroque 2016 from Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.  La Rose Perrière offers fantastic value for a vintage as good as 2015 – it’s full bodied, a bit spicy, and has plenty of dark fruit and will drink well now but can age a bit longer. The Les Tours de Laroque is the second wine of Chateau Laroque – a producer that is ranked as Grand Cru Classé for their main house wine. What I love about this wine is the balance – it has great concentration of fruit while still maintaining an ability to age that will get give it even more elegance with time.

Of course, this Bordeaux recipe has been emulated elsewhere in the world.  Famed Super Tuscan wines have used Merlot as a key blending partner for Sangiovese while just about every corner of the New World produces similar blends.  It can get tricky trying to navigate these bottles just by the sheer quantity of these types that are produced.  

Merlot can also be a great standalone grape for those seeking varietal purity and here I usually look to the new world. You needn’t look much farther than our own backyard with the Okanagan Valley where Echo Bay (Okanagan Falls), Poplar Grove (Naramata Bench), and Mission Hill (West Kelowna) all have current releases that are drinking beautifully. For a premium BC expression, try any of the Merlots from Checkmate where winemaker Phil McGahan has crafted exceptional wines with staggering elegance. 

Elsewhere, California has displayed amazing results with Merlots although they can run a bit steep in price. Emmolo and Duckhorn (both from Napa Valley) are admittedly expensive treats, but both worthy of consideration and are very cellar worthy.

Whether it’s as a blend or a single varietal, stock up on some of these bottles for the upcoming Christmas season, Merlot also makes for a great pairing partner for wintery foods with rich sauces.

Happy sips everybody!

Chateau La Rose Perrière (Bordeaux, France)

Dominantly Merlot at 90% with just a small 10% addition of Cabernet Franc makes this smooth. silky Lussac St Emilion which is full and rounded with ripe black fruits on the palate. Soft tannins and a pleasantly oaky finish add to the satisfying mouthfeel. An ideal match for richer winter dishes and savoury cheeses. 

Emmolo Merlot (Napa Valley, California)

Rich and decadent with a lush, full body. This wine has expansive dark berry flavours with nuances of wet earth and spice. The smooth, leathery tannins led structure to the plump fruit. Great for pairing for grilled meats or easy to drink on its own.

About the Author

Andrew Forsyth is a sommelier at L’abattoir Restaurant in Vancouver who also moonlights at Jak’s South Granville location.  He currently holds the title of Sommelier of the Year from Wines of British Columbia and is working towards his Advanced Sommelier designation.

JAK’s SPOOKY SPIRITS

Fall marks the end of summer with its breathtaking autumn colours that set the world on fire. The days are shorter and there’s a chill in the air that slices to the bone. Foggy mists settle in with the dark at eve leading us into this magical time of year abound with mystery, suspense and superstition, my favourite time - Halloween. 

Stay safe this Halloween, allow no black cats to cross your path, sidewalk cracks break backs and dropped mirrors reflect fear. And no matter what you do, if your home line rings and it’s from within your house – RUN! 

Run for your life to the nearest JAK’S store and we’ll protect you with one of these spooky spirits to soothe your nerves!

Check out some of our bone chillingly and delightfully terrifying picks below!

Spud Pumpkin Spiced Vodka

Spud Pumpkin Spiced Vodka - $26.99

I’m feeling safe at home with sweet aromas of fresh cookie dough wafting through the air giving me a peaceful sense of false security. The lights shut down and an evil pumpkin head looms outside my window with a cackle that shivers me to the core. My heart races and in a terrifying panic I immediately reach for my pumpkin spiced martini for my power.

Don’t wait for the evil pumpkin head to remind you this Halloween…grab this fiendishly delicious and 100% natural pumpkin spiced vodka to enjoy.



Compass Box “Peat Monster”

Compass Box “Peat Monster” Blended Malt Scotch - $98.99

It’s the mash, it’s the Peat Monster mash and it’s a graveyard smash. The zombies are having fun as the party had just begun, but the creepy cats were on the run having smashingly crazy whisky fun! 

Compass Box has concocted this freakishly good brew of peated single malt whiskies from Scotland. Uniquely crafted, this whisky is bottled at 46% abv with no added colouring. Monsterous flavours of swirling smoke stir your senses with a slight medicinal note mixed in a ripe fruit potion. 

Excellent with any blue veined monsters or cheeses.

Arran “Machrie Moor”

Arran “Machrie Moor” Single Malt Scotch - $124.99

On the rugged, windy west coast of the Isle of Arran lies the ancient and mystical peat bog called Machrie Moor. Bronze Age stone circles are strewn across its barren terrain that were once associated with the ceremonial activities of that age. Amidst lies a stone circle, Fingal’s Cauldron and there sits a lone stone with a carved hole. Folklore honours the warrior giant Fingal who tethered his dog Bran to this very stone. 

This peated expression of the Arran Single Malt is bottled at 46% abv with no added colouring or chill filtration. Let this whisky transport you back to the time of the druids with its smoldering smoky sorcery drooled with candied citrus peel and vanilla. Its earthy edge howls of the landscape from whence it came. 

Unleash the legend that is Machrie Moor!

Deadhead Chocolate Rum

Deadhead Chocolate Rum - $96.99 

 The Jivaro tribes of the Amazon believed the shrinking of human heads would harness the spirit of their enemy. 

In the spirit of the tsanta, I’ve headhunted this 5 year old cask aged rum from southern Mexico. Locally sourced dark roasted cocoa is infused to create this enchanting elixir that sits at 35% abv. It is a rum that hypnotizes with a bewitching charm that spellbind one with burnt toffee, roast coffee, cocoa and dried cherry flavours.

Be a true tsanta deadhead this Halloween and pick up your shrunken monkey head. This heavenly rum is guaranteed to ward off any evil spirits you may encounter.