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What’s All This Foch About?
Every fall we at Malivoire salute the birthday of Marechal Ferdinand Foch. Born October 2, 1851 near Lourdes France, he joined the French army at age 19 and by the close of the First World War had become supreme commander of the Allied forces.
In 1919, Alsatian grape breeder Eugene Kuhlmann celebrated the creation of a new, disease-and-weather resistant, hybrid vine. He named his sturdy vine “Marechal Foch” in honour of the gallant Gascon.
Through the second quarter of the 20th century, as French winegrowers struggled to contain the spread of phylloxera through their vineyards, Marechal Foch was planted extensively, especially in the Loire region.
While Ferdinand Foch never to our knowledge saw Canada, his namesake grape did cross the ocean. Canadian winemakers were looking for ways to meet the growing consumer demand for fine table wines. As the native labrusca varieties used for Canadian ports and sherries were not suited to table wines, hardy French hybrids seemed to be the answer. Marechal Foch vines were planted widely across the Niagara Peninsula during the third quarter of the 20th century, although the increasing demand for vinifera acreage ensured that few of these plantings survived into the 1990s.
It was one of these extant vineyards that attracted Martin Malivoire’s interest. Ten years ago, convinced that a then-23-year-old block of vines could render a distinctive wine, he leased the four-acre site. The resulting Malivoire 1998 Old Vines Foch was the first wine made at Martin’s new winery and resulted in a near instant cult following.
The rest is… history.
Enjoy this Wine
Synonyms for “valour” are suitable descriptors for our 2006 Old Vines Foch. It’s a bold wine with backbone, guts, spirit and tenacity. Beyond that we find raisin, pine, leather and a distinctive gaminess on the nose. The sensation on the palate is soft and smooth with a tongue-tingling acidity. The flavours remind us of blueberry, cranberry, vanilla, smoked hickory and walnut.
Noshing with Foch - "The Foch and the Hare"
The earthy components - legumes, cauliflower and collard greens provide the right backdrop for the bold flavoured hare meat. An emulsion of 2006 Old Vines Foch provides acid and luscious sultriness. Link to the recipe - click here.
Advice to the Uninitiated
Fans of this wine are a stern breed with a distinctive etiquette. On occasions when Marechal Foch is the wine of choice, it is customary to brandish the glass, raising it sword-like, and recite the following toast; "Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I attack!" The wine must be consumed with suitable flourish, gusto and “esprit du corps”.
OTMH Fine Wine Auction
Organizers are cheering the success of this event, which raised funds for important new equipment purchases for Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital(OTMH). As mentioned in our last bulletin, Martin Malivoire was the lead donor to this event.
Health care is an important cause to Proprietors Martin and Moira. They have also donated to the Niagara Health System, which Moira serves as a Trustee.
Watch This Space…
We are planning another of our sell-out fall events for the weekend of the 22nd – 23rd of November. Details will follow in your next newsletter.
To place your order, use our online order form or call us
Monday to Friday
at 1-866-644-2244.
Malivoire Wine Company
4260 King Street East, P.O. Box 475, Beamsville, Ontario L0R 1B0
1.866.644.2244
www.malivoire.com
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