~ By Andrea Pollock
So it’s nearly that time of year again, get yourselves ready for ‘Movember’.
Movember is a cute combination of the words moustache and November and it’s all about growing those moustaches to raise money for cancer. While it may not be an activity that ladies can participate in directly, there are lots of ways to support Movember enthusiasts. Get out there and help your best guy mate raise some cash for cancer, or head out to the local wine shop and pick up a bottle of red wine to give as a gift to a man working on his stache.
Since a big part of Movember is about raising awareness for cancer and cancer prevention, it’s a perfect time to enjoy some red wine and benefit from its cancer fighting properties. Resveratrol is a polyphenol compound that is found in red wines and actually comes from the skin of the grape. Red wines are made by letting the grape skins sit with the grape juice and leach a bunch of goodness into the future wine; one of these things that makes its’ way in is a little organic specialist called resveratrol. Resveratrol has properties as both an immune system booster and an antioxidant. The resveratrol compound is part of the plants natural defence system and helps to keep the plant healthy while absorbing large amounts of UV radiation from the sun and dissolved chemicals in ground water. It seems that these benefits can be had by us as well by consuming modest amounts of red wine.
If you are interested in joining the Movember movement you can register and get more information at ca.movember.com .
This week I chose a couple of red wines that are going to show up to the party with lots of tannin and that great goodness called resveratrol.
Wines of the week
Barahonda Tinto
Barrica 2007
A bit of a squirrely nose to start – reminiscent of the Marechal Foch of Atlantic Canada. A layered nose with a gamey hit upfront followed by wild boysenberry, menthol and liquorice. Nice fruity flavours with a mixture of berries and mild tannins that cleanse the palate and leave an oaked earth finish. Lots of sediment in this wine, would be a wise choice to decant and allow to breathe a bit before serving. 87/100 (August 21, 2011)
Truchard Syrah 2007 [Napa Valley, California]
Rich, jammy fruits spill out of this wine with a nose of ripe strawberries and peppery cooked blueberries. The flavours on this wine have hot elements that show up alongside woody cherries. The fruit characteristics are slightly muted with dusty notes. A great deal of sediment coming from this wine – a perfect candidate for decanting. 84/100 (August 6, 2011)