Wine Bloggers Conference 2013 – Part I

After a great deal of lobbying by some very hardworking people in the local wine and hospitality industry, the North American Wine Bloggers Conference came to Canada this year for the first time, setting up shop in Penticton to be precise. For people in the know, this was a very big deal, and a valuable opportunity to provide our relatively small local industry with international exposure. I originally wasn’t going to attend the Conference myself, given that I was unlikely to discover any BC wines with which I wasn’t already familiar. I expected the focus of the conference would be to show off BC wine and wine tourism to those with next to no experience, and I was fine with that approach. However, after seeing how many other local bloggers and industry friends were to be attending I changed my mind. Upon reading the list of events and realizing I would be following all of the enthusiastic tweets from home it became clear I would probably sprain an ankle kicking myself if I didn’t attend.

With a room booked at the Penticton Lakeside Resort and an empty trunk begging for wine in our rental SUV, my wife and I set off for wine country last Thursday morning. My goal was to head north via the Coquihalla Highway, and enjoy lunch at Mission Hill’s Terrace Restaurant, which I had visited for the first time last fall, and was quite eager to share. Upon arrival in West Kelowna the excellent food and the stellar views did not disappoint, and we even bumped into a former staff member from Village Wines Kitsilano; now a Sommelier in the Mission Hill wine shop, she generously walked us through a short but exciting Oculus vertical.

Headed south towards Penticton I knew we had to make a couple of stops along the way. I’d recently been quite surprised to see Summerland’s Silkscarf Winery take home the award for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it out in person. It being early afternoon on a Thursday we had the tasting room to ourselves for most of our visit, and Proprietor/Winemaker Roie Manoff was more than happy to show off his many wines. While virtually everything was excellent, we were particularly impressed by the reds, having previously perceived Silkscarf as a more white-wine-focused operation. Estate plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Syrah in Summerland must be few and far between, but the Manoff family is producing highly drinkable reds with ripe tannins and intense fruit focus. We left with plenty of wine and new appreciation for a previously lesser known winery – WBC was paying off already!

With the afternoon heating up rapidly and a desire to reach home base in Penticton growing, we elected on only one more stop, although it was already a given we would visit 8th Generation. We’ve both been big fans of 8th Generation’s Frizzante(s) since the very first Chardonnay Frizzante from 2009. Tasting both the 2012 Integrity (White) and Confidence (Rosé) Frizzante we knew it was a particularly good vintage, and a split-case quickly found its way into the car. The Frizzante was joined by several bottles of the 2012 Pinot Meunier Rosé, an annual favourite in our household that has continued to impress this year with mouth-watering fresh fruit flavours.

With more than two cases of wine already rattling around in the car we finally checked into the hotel and picked up our conference badges, settling into our lovely sixth floor, lake view room – very nice! While catching up with a great many friends at the tradeshow we also enjoyed samples of unique Uruguayan wines. The fact that Wines of Uruguay had gone to the trouble of attending – given what must have been mounds of paperwork – was impressive enough, yet the wines being poured were also noteworthy. I learned quite a bit about Uruguay itself, as well as the extremely prosperous and sustainable economy of this little South American dynamo! Just as our stomachs started to rumble everyone was herded onto buses for the trip to our first major event, the opening reception at See Ya Later Ranch in the hills above Okanagan Falls.

The crew from Constellation Brands, corporate owners of See Ya Later and several other local wineries, had obviously pulled out all the stops from their deep pockets to welcome the Conference attendees. Upon arrival after the precarious journey up winding mountain roads guests were invited to soothe their senses with crisp Sumac Ridge Steller’s Jay Brut (and freshly shucked oysters for good measure). Constellation made the very wise decision to hire Joy Road Catering to provide the food, distributed amongst several stations spread throughout the picturesque property. The extremely skilled veterans at Joy Road had prepared a bevy of spectacular food pairings for wines from Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, Nk’Mip Cellars, Osoyoos Larose, See Ya Later, and Sumac Ridge. Not only was the food incredibly creative and delicious, but each station included live entertainment, from the quaint accordion player at Osoyoos Larose, to the talented Aboriginal drummer and dancer at Nk’Mip’s table amongst the vines.

The party went long into the night, as guests devoured the seemingly never-ending food and enjoyed what, for many, was their first deep immersion into BC wine. The local classic car club had swung by to show off their lovingly restored vehicles, and even Tinhorn Creek President Sandra Oldfield had joined the fun with her beautiful 1957 Dodge De Soto. Upon discovering the De Soto’s trunk was large enough to hold an orchestra a few of us locals giddily staged a series of photo-shoots inside, to Sandra’s delight. Finally, full of wine, including Inniskillin icewine and sumptuous desserts from the final station, everyone slowly boarded buses in the dark for the ride back to Penticton. Constellation made sure no one left without a gift bag however, which surprisingly included a whole bottle of Sumac Ridge’s Black Sage Vineyard Pipe! I hope our international guests found room in their bags to bring home this tasty fortified wine, but I would guess more than a few bottles were enjoyed significantly sooner, for practical reasons if anything.

The next morning we slowly emerged from the bed, encouraged by the breakfast opportunities at the Resort’s waterfront restaurant, The Hooded Merganser. For guests who officially decline all housekeeping services, the hotel offers food vouchers that go a long way towards covering breakfast or lunch – an excellent value proposition that I would love to see more often! We enjoyed a tasty breakfast with a gorgeous view of the lake before going our separate ways for the day: my wife had work on which to catch up, and I was about to play hooky from the Conference for the morning! Although I’m sure author and keynote speaker James Conaway kept the crowd entertained, I was busy taking advantage of my presence in the midst of countless superb wineries I don’t visit nearly often enough.

My first stop that morning was actually the Penticton Wine Information Centre, a large VQA wine store which I surmised would carry some of the rarities not often seen in Vancouver. My suspicions were proven correct when I spotted exciting sparkling wines like Haywire’s “The Bub” and Covert Farms’ “Odie” plus a couple bottles of Desert Hill’s port-style wine “The Ambassador”. Unlike many VQA stores, which are often pressed for space, the Wine Info Centre has a wall of coolers from which to sell nicely chilled whites as well; quite an impressive setup overall. There are always a number of wines that don’t show up in VQA stores for various reasons, and so my next stops at Poplar Grove and La Frenz helped to tick quite a few bottles off my to-buy list as well, including several bottles of the latter’s divine Tawny, and Liqueur Muscat. Although many more wineries up the Naramata Bench beckoned, it was nearly noon and I retreated to the hotel for a tasty lunch sponsored by Wine Country Ontario.

Tempting as the local wineries were, I took the time to attend the afternoon sessions, including “Creating Compelling Content” with local writer Jeannette Montgomery, plus American contributors Michael Wangbickler and Marcy Gordon. It was an entertaining, informative, and inspiring discussion about blogging and writing in general. Following the afternoon content sessions there was an hour of “Live Wine Blogging” featuring local white wines, of which I regretfully missed out on a good portion. Eager to strike out without delay on the evening mystery excursions I was busy freshening up until halfway through the Live Blogging. Admittedly, I thought the format would involve the bloggers rotating amongst stations, but to my surprise the bloggers stayed put and the winemakers and wines rotated between two dozen tables every five minutes, speed-dating style. As a result I wasn’t able to catch up on the wines I missed when I finally arrived, but I still got the chance to enjoy several crisp summer whites, and watch some very hardworking wine-slingers in action!

At the conclusion of the Live Blogging, the Excursion melee began in earnest, as five buses headed to mystery destinations awaited riders.  Although I had already surmised precisely where each bus was travelling based on the provided itinerary hints and my local knowledge, many conference-goers hadn’t a clue, and once each bus filled up it departed post-haste! Fortunately my wife had finished work for the day and joined me on the bus headed to explore “Wine & Geology”, where we were about to relish a fun-filled evening and spectacular dinner in a wonderfully unique location. To be continued…

Spring 2013 Wine Awards Season – Domestic

May was a busy month for local wineries seeking to capitalize on their competition successes: no less than four major California-based competitions announced results, on top of those from the prominent Decanter Awards, and the International Wine and Spirits Competition. However, all the international buzz shouldn’t drown out important recognition at home, which came in the form of two well-known competitions at the provincial and national level. The month began with results from the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival, in which fifteen noted judges reviewed a record of 430 BC wines in 23 different categories. For each category the judges noted the top 5% of wines as “Finalists”, with one wine per category being declared “The Best” of the best.

The Best of Varietal Awards can at the very least prompt one to try out a new wine or winery, and can sometimes yield surprising results. While there were plenty of familiar names and expected winners on the list, others have certainly piqued my curiosity and sent me seeking out bottles I’ve yet to delve into. I’d be remiss if I neglected Gray Monk’s Ehrenfelser, having cherished CedarCreek’s version for years, yet somehow regretfully overlooked the other handful of local producers growing this rare grape. Seeing fruit-focused winery Elephant Island noted for their Viognier has got me hopeful I can stop by the Naramata Bench during the upcoming Wine Blogger’s Conference in Penticton. But the biggest surprise for me was witnessing Summerland winery Silkscarf top finalists Painted Rock and (Sumac Ridge) Black Sage Vineyard in the Cabernet Sauvignon category. I’ve tried some of Silkscarf’s well-crafted white wines in the past, but they seem to be expanding into reds more so recently, with wines that include Malbec-Cabernet and Shiraz-Viognier. I hope I can either visit the winery in person soon, or at the very least acquire a bottle or two of these reds via VQA or private stores in the region.

Okanagan Spring Wine Festival: 2013 Best of Varietal Results

Other Single White Varieties: Gray Monk 2012 Ehrenfelser Viognier: Elephant Island 2012 Unconventional Wisdom Viognier Red Blend – Other: Painted Rock 2009 Red Icon Unoaked Chardonnay: Gehringer 2011 Dry Rock Unoaked Chardonnay Pinot Blanc: Clos du Soleil 2012 Pinot Blanc Grower’s Series Cabernet Franc: Quinta Ferreira 2009 Cabernet Franc Chardonnay: Cassini 2009 Reserve Chardonnay Red Meritage Blend: CedarCreek 2010 Cabernet Merlot Sparkling: Sumac Ridge 2007 Steller’s Jay Brut Fruit Wine: Elephant Island 2012 Framboise Icewine: Jackson-Triggs 2011 Reserve Riesling Icewine Riesling: Mission Hill 2011 Reserve Riesling Merlot: Nk’Mip 2009 Qwam Qwmt Merlot Rosé/Blush: Clos du Soleil 2012 Rosé Fortified/Late Harvest/Dessert: Hester Creek 2012 Late Harvest Pinot Blanc White Blend: Wild Goose 2012 Autumn Gold Pinot Noir: La Frenz 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir Sauvignon Blanc: La Frenz 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Other Single Red Varieties: Quinta Ferreira 2009 Malbec Pinot Gris: Gray Monk 2012 Pinot Gris Syrah/Shiraz: Cassini 2009 Syrah Gewurztraminer: Wild Goose 2012 Gewurztraminer Cabernet Sauvignon: Silkscarf 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

With the Spring Wine Festival dominating local industry headlines, and so many international competition results being announced last month, one had to keep a close watch for the outcome of the annual All Canadian Wine Championships. The Championships have been judging Canadian wine since 1981, and BC wines – particularly reds – often show very well. Ironically, after several years of BC domination this year’s Best Red Wine trophy went to an Ontario Cabernet Franc, while Best White Wine was awarded to Lang Vineyards’ 2011 Farm Reserve Riesling. In addition to tasting more than a thousand table wines, the competition judges examine dessert wines, fruit wines, and ciders, which led to several Best of Class awards for BC wineries this year, including the Best Dessert Wine trophy to Mission Hill for their 2011 Reserve Vidal Icewine.

All Canadian Wine Championships: Best of Class Winners from BC

Riesling, Dry: Red Rooster 2012 Riesling Riesling, Off-Dry: Lang 2011 Farm Reserve Riesling Gewurztraminer: 50th Parallel 2012 Gewurztraminer Pinot Gris/Grigio: River Stone 2012 Pinot Gris Pinot Blanc: Wild Goose 2012 Mystic River Pinot Blanc Vidal: Arrowleaf 2012 “Snow Tropics” Vidal Viognier: Red Rooster 2012 Reserve Viognier Rosé: SpierHead 2012 Rosé Cabernet Sauvignon < $25: Desert Hills 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon > $25: La Frenz 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot < $25: CedarCreek 2010 Merlot Merlot > $25: Kalala 2009 “Dostana” Merlot Pinot Noir < $25: 8th Generation 2010 Pinot Noir Cabernet Franc < $25: Tinhorn Creek 2010 Cabernet Franc Bordeaux Blends > $25: Quinta Ferreira 2008 “Obra-Prima” Syrah/Shiraz < $25: Pentâge 2010 Syrah Syrah/Shiraz > $25: CedarCreek 2009 Platinum Syrah Marechal Foch: OVINO 2011 “Momento” Other Single Red Vitus Vinifera: Moon Curser 2011 Touriga Nacional Soft Fruit, Dry: Silverside 2011 Tayberry Tree Fruit, Dry: Forbidden Fruit 2012 “Speachless” Late Harvest: House of Rose 2011 Winter Wine Vidal Icewine: Mission Hill 2011 Reserve Vidal Other Icewine: Bench 1775 “Whistler” Sauvignon Blanc Iced Ciders: Double Cross 2013 Fuji Grape Fortifieds & Other Dessert: La Frenz N/V Liqueur Muscat

Once again, some of the BC winners were not particularly surprising, but certainly worthy of celebration; while others provided for plenty of surprise indeed. It’s great to see new winery 50th Parallel already being noted for their success with Gewurztraminer, and they should soon come to dominate Pinot Noir rankings now that Grant Stanley has joined the team after ten years at Quails’ Gate. Looking at the Pinot Gris category I’m very happy for little River Stone: this small, family-owned winery triumphed in a category with massive competition: Pinot Gris is the third-most-harvested grape in BC, following Merlot and Chardonnay. In a similar vein, youthful SpierHead was honoured for the best Rosé, after having been open for only a couple of years! Unfortunately, only 155 cases of their first edition (Pinot Noir) Rosé were produced, so it remains winery-exclusive, at least for the 2012 vintage – a great reason to visit their Kelowna property!

Amongst red wines – where BC often performs particularly well nationally, CedarCreek is to be commended for their varietal Merlot win with a very nicely valued $20 bottle (it spent 21 months in French oak!). Oliver’s Tinhorn Creek must be pleased to have scooped the value Cabernet Franc category, what with Winemaker Sandra Oldfield’s oft-heard praise for the grape’s potential in British Columbia. Penticton winery La Frenz pulled off a coup with their $28 Cabernet Sauvignon dominating all others above $25, including what was likely many pricier competitors. Similarly, Quinta Ferreira’s $35 champion “Obra-Prima” red blend likely encountered fierce competition from wines in the $50+ range; I’ll definitely be searching for a bottle in the near future. I was pleasantly surprised to see CedarCreek win the $25+ Syrah category with their Platinum wine, seeing as I wasn’t sure there was to be a 2009 Platinum Syrah – the 2008 is still on the market. I’ll be quite happy to receive a bottle of the 2009 in one of my upcoming Platinum Club shipments. Also worth mentioning is Moon Curser’s brand new varietal Touriga Nacional, almost certainly a Canadian first, and already being praised on a national level.

Later this month the highly anticipated Lieutenant Governor’s Awards will be announced, which annually honour only a dozen (or fewer) BC wines as representing the pinnacle of winemaking excellence in the province. The blind-judged awards don’t categorize winners, nor does the competition charge for entries, which are limited to four per winery. Nearly half the wineries in BC typically enter their wines, so the judging panel often has about 400 bottles to narrow down to a mere 10-12 champions! Just as the Lt. Governor’s Awards are announced, the National Wine Awards of Canada will be wrapping up judging in Ontario. The Nationals replace the highly-respected Canadian Wine Awards, which ceased to be when sponsor Wine Access magazine folded earlier this year. Wine Align took up the torch and quickly organized the Nationals, which will blind-judge over 1,200 wines from across Canada before releasing results in September. Fans of BC wine can expect to hear plenty more good news over the next few months!

Spring 2013 Wine Awards Season – International

The (northern hemisphere) spring is a particularly popular awards season for wine, with several prestigious international competitions announcing their results during the month of May. These competitions include such well-known awards as the London-based Decanter World Wine Awards, and the UK International Wine and Spirit Competition, as well as four California-based competitions: the Pacific Rim Wine Competition, the Riverside International Wine Competition, the New World International Wine Competition, and the Los Angeles International Wine Competition.

The Decanter Awards, held in London, is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and crowns the top wines on an international stage. The Awards are considered the world’s leading wine competition, with judging performed this year by 219 experts, including 75 Masters of Wine. Amongst a field of 14,362 wines entered, only 229 emerged with a coveted gold medal. Seven of those gold medals came back to Canada, including three for British Columbian wines: JoieFarm 2011 Reserve Chardonnay (not yet released), Quails’ Gate 2010 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay (sold out), and See Ya Later Ranch 2011 Riesling. The three prestigious Regional Trophies for Canadian wine included Mission Hill’s 2011 Martin’s Lane Pinot Noir (not yet released), and Nk’Mip’s 2011 Qwam Qwmt Riesling Icewine.

The International Wine and Spirit Competition has a long history of not only celebrating the wines of the world, but putting them through rigorous analysis as well. The competition took shape in 1969 after the “Club Oenologique” was founded by wine chemist Anton Massel, with the idea that extensive chemical analysis would reveal aspects of wines and spirits beyond what a subjective judge could detect. As a result, scores in the competition can depend on proportions of sulphur dioxide, acetic acid, sugar, and alcohol, and consideration of how such factors will influence the ageability of the product in question.

The Northern Hemisphere Wine results from this year’s IWSC recognized a small number of Canadian wines as superb among their peers. A total of 208 Canadian wines received medals at the competition, but only six were considered by the judges (and lab work) to have possessed qualities worthy of gold status. Five of the gold medals went to Canadian icewines, including the 2011 Vidal and SLC Riesling from Mission Hill, as well as Inniskillin’s 2011 Riesling. Perhaps most exciting was the news that See Ya Later Ranch was awarded gold for their 2010 “Rover” Shiraz-Viognier, released last July and yet still broadly available for the bargain price of only $25!

Smaller international competitions include the Pacific Rim Wine Competition, which has been judging wines from all across the world in California each April since 1985. The two-day Competition involves blind judging by thirty wine professionals tasked with evaluating about two thousand wines. This year, more than 60 BC wines received medal status, including multiple gold medals, but nine stood above and were declared Best of Class in their particular categories, which are often divided based on vintage and price point. Oliver winery Desert Hills received three Best of Class gold medals, and Naramata Bench property Red Rooster was recognized for two wines, while Quails’ Gate’s marvellous 2010 Chardonnay was recognized yet again.

Pacific Rim Wine Competition: Best of Class Winners from BC

Cabernet Franc < $20: Desert Hills 2009 Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc > $20: Poplar Grove 2010 Cabernet Franc Gamay Noir: Desert Hills 2011 Gamay Noir Syrah, 2010 & Earlier, > $20: Cassini 2008 Syrah Syrah Blends: Burrowing Owl 2010 Athene Chardonnay, 2010, > $30: Quails’ Gate 2010 SFR Chardonnay Gewurztraminer, Off Dry: Desert Hills 2012 Gewurztraminer Gewurztraminer, Off Dry: Red Rooster 2012 Reserve Gewurztraminer Riesling, Dry: Red Rooster 2012 Riesling

Unsurprisingly, California stages more than one annual international wine competition, with the Riverside Competition also judging approximately two thousand wines annually over the past thirty years. This year Naramata Bench winery La Frenz entered their wines for the first time, and were rewarded with a huge bounty of awards, including being named Best Small Winery alongside Winery of the Year Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Just last year BC winery Wild Goose was honoured with the same Small Winery award at the Competition. La Frenz received two Best of Class–Unanimous Gold “Chairman’s Awards” for their 2011 Viognier and 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, as well as four more gold medals, including Best of Class for their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon and 2012 Riesling.

Several additional gold medals went to BC wineries at the Riverside Competition, including another Chairman’s Award to Calona Vineyards for their 2012 Sovereign Opal, and one to Red Rooster for their 2012 Reserve Viognier. Three gold medals went to Bench 1775 for their 2011 vintage “Paradise Ranch” line of icewines and dessert wines, and three to JoieFarm for wines including their 2011 Gamay and 2011 PTG blend – with both wines to be released this September. JoieFarm also achieved a significant coup at the Competition when their 2012 “Think Pink” Rosé was named “Sweepstakes Rosé Wine” – the best rosé amongst all categories!

A third annual competition in California keeps the state’s wine judges well practiced, when it comes time for the New World International Wine Competition, founded by respected wine columnist Jerry Mead in 1990. The competition has a unique focus on comparing wines within price categories to provide greater information for consumers, and all wines are tasted and judged double blind to avoid any bias. For the 2013 competition a number of BC wineries submitted their wines, and several brought home particularly notable awards, including Best of Varietal/Best of Class for Burrowing Owl’s 2010 Cabernet Franc, and for Nk’Mip’s 2011 Riesling Icewine. Double Gold medals went to Desert Hills for their 2008 Mirage red blend (not yet released), to Red Rooster for their 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir, and to Nk’Mip for their (newly released) 2009 Qwam Qwmt Syrah.

Finally, the Los Angeles International Wine Competition also takes place each May, and a number of BC wines received top honours there this year as well. Like other respectable competitions, the LA Competition involves blind judging by “an esteemed panel of judges” (100 in fact), and has been running for 74 years at the LA County Fair. Wines were limited to those from California, and then the Americas for many decades, until 2002 when the competition was opened up internationally. In the 2013 Competition, six BC wines received Best of Class honours, including a recent favourite of mine – Fort Berens 2012 Riesling, estate grown in Lillooet! Poplar Grove took home Cabernet Franc class honours, and Burrowing Owl scoped up Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot prizes, while JoieFarm demonstrated further competency via their upcoming Reserve Gewurztraminer. Lastly, Golden Mile stalwarts the Gehringer Brothers received the nod for best (Pinot) Auxerrois (an oft-neglected variety in the New World, but also produced locally by Gray Monk).

LA International Wine Competition: Best of Class Winners from BC

Riesling: Fort Berens 2012 Riesling Cabernet Franc: Poplar Grove 2010 Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010, > $30: Burrowing Owl 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2009, > $30: Burrowing Owl 2009 Merlot Gewurztraminer, Medium Dry: JoieFarm 2011 Reserve Gewurztraminer Auxerrois: Gehringer Brothers 2012 Auxerrois

All this good news for BC ensures plenty of opportunities for local consumers to try out a Best of Class wine, but folks will need to act fast because competition for limited bottles will soon heat up as word gets around. Soon to come, a summary of some important domestic awards ceremonies that recently named a collection of BC’s best!

May Acquisitions: Surprising Finds

Over the past month I’ve managed to add a few key BC wines to my collection, and would be remiss not to mention them. Some of the wines represent new releases, while others are long since sold out, found in the many obscure locations throughout Vancouver that savvy shoppers seek. I was lucky to stumble across a new source for BC wines right in the middle of downtown Vancouver, where a couple of the most memorable finds of my short wine-hunting career were seemingly awaiting my arrival!

Prior to a discussion on red wines both past and present, the new 2012 Pinot Gris from Gray Monk deserves recognition. Although I’ve enjoyed many Gray Monk wines over the years, and even several bottles of their Odyssey (Reserve) Series Pinot Gris, the “regular” Pinot Gris had always flown under my radar. That all changed when the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival singled out Gray Monk as having produced the best Pinot Gris this year. Say what you want about wine competitions and judging results, but in this case I was prompted to try a new wine I had neglected for too long, and I quickly picked up a bottle to my great pleasure. The excellent 2012 vintage was not lost on Gray Monk, as the ripe, sweet fruit salad on display makes for a great patio sipper, with a peach focus that ensures a clean, fresh finish.

When it comes to red wines, many of the local reds are released in the fall, to synchronize with the Okanagan Wine Festival, but there do seem to be more being released year-round. One notable example is Black Hills: the winery releases their famous Nota Bene blend in the spring, after bottling in September following less than a year in barrel. By the beginning of April the new 2011 Nota Bene was already reaching sold out status from the winery, although many local stores were just beginning to receive their allotments. I picked up a bottle at Yaletown’s Swirl VQA Store in order to continue the growing vertical collection I’m building, with plans to eventually drink from it someday!

A couple more 2011 reds made their way into my hands this month when some friends of mine visited Fairview Cellars in Oliver. I politely requested they pick me up Bill Eggert’s varietal Cabernet Franc and his “Crooked Post” Pinot Noir, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble. While Bill focuses much of his energy on red blends like his “Bear” Meritage, he does release the occasional varietal beyond his well-known Cabernet Sauvignon. I couldn’t pass up the chance to try the small lot (280 cases) Cabernet Franc, nor the Pinot Noir (250 cases), a new project for Bill that began with the 2008 vintage. Bill’s approach to Pinot Noir is different from many, in that he doesn’t bleed off any juice during crush/fermentation to intensify the colour of the remaining wine (and to produce a Rosé as a side-benefit). As a result, Fairview Cellars’ Pinot Noir is on the lighter side colour-wise, but Bill feels keeping it this way retains more flavour.

Stepping back slightly to the 2010 vintage, I acquired a bottle of Sandhill’s Small Lots “Two” red blend during a visit to Granville Island Brewery in mid-May. The Brewery’s retail shop offers a small selection of wines from Peller (which includes Sandhill), a seeming holdover from when Peller owned the Brewery during 2005-2009 (after which it was purchased by Molson Coors). The 2010 “Two” is a traditional blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, and 27% Cabernet Franc, from Sandhill’s estate vineyards on the Black Sage Bench. The wine differs substantially from the 2010 “One” blend, which includes Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Syrah. Legendary winemaker Howard Soon and his talented assistants produced the “Two” in a style said to yield “a big, ageable red”. However, it being from the Small Lot Collection, only 275 cases of “Two” were ultimately put together, so adding a bottle to my collection upon spotting it for sale made plenty of sense.

My biggest finds in May were ironically not new releases, but older wines I never expected to see again, certainly not for sale in Vancouver at the present time! Visiting the (literally) underground St. Regis Wine & Spirits store inside the Granville Skytrain Station I came across a surprisingly good BC wine section, including a number of superb cellar selections. Alongside several older vintages of rare Poplar Grove reds, I found the inaugural vintages of two legendary wines: alone on a shelf full of newer vintages was a single bottle of 2007 Painted Rock Red Icon, and a couple shelves over I spotted several bottles of 2005 Church & State Quintessential. Both bottles got my heart racing, as I had neglected to buy more than one bottle of the Red Icon at the time of release, and had missed out entirely on the Quintessential. I now have vertical collections of both wines, so I immediately jumped on the chance to lengthen my Church & State vertical, as well as add an additional bottle from Painted Rock. Needless to say, it was an invigorating day for a wine geek, and I was sure to gush about my exciting finds to a great many people (those who would appreciate it at least).

With two trips to wine country coming up in June my May acquisitions will likely pale in comparison to what I bring home in a few weeks. I’ve been compiling quite a list of wineries to visit and bottles to seek out, so I need to prioritize opening some of the current stock to make room for more!

May Wine Club: From Magnum to Moscato

With the weather having taken a decidedly warm turn for the better we were looking forward to our first wine club dinner at the home of our new members last weekend. Their loft-style condo includes a fantastic roof-top patio a few stories up from street-level, giving us the perfect venue for a pre-dinner beer when the four of us mistakenly arrived a half hour early! Our gracious hosts tried to apologize for not being fully prepared but the mix-up was fully our own fault, plus if anything it merely provided for more time to relax in the warmth of the setting sun. Their view to the west from Commercial Drive encompasses over 180 degrees, from Grouse Mountain to Queen Elizabeth Park, and provides for a unique viewpoint of the downtown core not often seen in photographs of Vancouver. We almost regretfully headed downstairs to enjoy our first course, although a magnum of Gray Monk 2009 Brut provided plenty of motivation!

Gray Monk has produced their “Odyssey White Brut” for a while now, and in fact the 2010 vintage was recently released. The wine is a traditional method sparkling, with secondary fermentation in the bottle, but incorporating some non-traditional grapes including Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay Musque. The off-dry palate and fruit-forward flavour profile made for a superb pairing with Zucchini, Cherry Tomato, & Bocconcini Pie. The Brut, while possessing nearly 20 grams per liter of residual sugar, also presented a pleasant tartness to keep the flavours fresh, with prominent lemon and apple, and a cleansing mousse texture. Hints of savoury, earthy/mineral character had some guests suggesting it as a promising complement for oysters, but we were more than happy to gush over the rich and delicious Bocconcini Pie.

At $45 for a magnum the Odyssey White Brut is one of the very, very few large format bottles that’s actually less expensive than the equivalent multiple of 750mL bottles (which in this case retail for $25 a piece). If you’ve got more than a couple people present such a magnum makes for an obvious and easy decision. The winery also produces a Rosé Brut (Gamay Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Pinot Noir) and recently released a “Celebration Edition” Traditional Brut made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, to mark Gray Monk’s 30/40/50 Anniversary last year. The Celebration Edition label may change, but the (tasty) new wine should remain as part of the portfolio going forward.

When it came to the main course our hosts had prepared an ambitious and extensive spring barbecue feast! Guests had a choice of chicken or Portobello mushrooms, with several different cheeses and types of buns, along with toppings that included crisp lettuce and tomatoes, red onions, and fresh avocado slices. As if that weren’t enough a giant salad decorated with chive flowers had been prepared by the inspired chefs, plus mouth-watering roast potatoes that we all ogled with glee! The colourful culinary delights made for a very photogenic table, and were sure to satisfy even the biggest appetites.

Given the bounty of fresh veggies and the dearth of red meat – plus the heavenly mushrooms – a light Pinot Noir made for an ideal wine pairing. Cassini Cellars’ 2011 “Red Carpet” fit the bill quite well, with a smooth texture and an almost zingy effervescent quality. Flavours of red fruits favoured cherry in particular, plus a plumy finish meshed well with items from the grill. The “backup” bottle of Burrowing Owl 2007 Syrah wasn’t truly necessary, but that’s not to say we didn’t open it and enjoy aromas of lilacs and caramelized sugar. The smoky palate and black pepper notes in the Syrah were natural partners for barbecue, with additional flavours of blackberry and leather rounding things out nicely. We were soon stuffed quite pleasantly full, and took our time sipping the remaining wine while patiently awaiting dessert.

Fortunately, warnings about the upcoming dessert we’d prepared didn’t fall on deaf ears, and the other four diners had taken sufficient care to leave a little room when they saw the size of the cake awaiting them. I had been inspired by a recent recipe I spotted for Caramel Cake, and eventually settled on a variant of a related Jam Cake, with homemade caramel frosting and candied pecans. Working together all afternoon my wife and I eventually produced three layers of heavenly, apricot jam spice cake, which she liberally iced with buttery caramel. On site the cake looked even better served alongside creamy vanilla ice cream, fresh apricots, and few extra pecans for good measure.

For pairing with such a complex dessert I brought Cassini Cellars’ Moscato fortified wine, suggested as an excellent companion for “deserts such as pecan pie, dark chocolate cakes or ganache, carrot cake, crème brûlée…”  In our glasses the wine revealed lovely aromas of sweet melon and apricot, with a hint of cedar, but unfortunately it turned out to lack sufficient sugar and body to keep up with the cake. The complex, fresh, youthful palate of the Moscato actually got lost behind the sugar and spice of the cake; although on its own the wine was very enjoyable. I suppose the ideal pairing for such a cake would probably be a Madeira or a well-aged Tawny Port. However, we recently finished my only bottle of CedarCreek “M” Madeira, and I’m down to just one bottle of La Frenz Tawny – and a young one at that. Both the cake and the wine were superb individually, so the mismatched pairing did little to dampen our spirits, buoyed by a little extra cake and ice cream that eventually made their way around the table.

With nearly half the cake left despite our best efforts, a few slices were doled out to the hosts (and to more friends the next day) before we made our way back home. Having been on dessert duty twice recently, it’s finally our turn to take on appetizers at our next dinner, and we’ve had a fantastic idea for months! Due to conflicting travel schedules we’ll sadly be skipping June, with high hopes for a July get-together; I’m sure we’ll have plenty to talk about over a few more bottles of great BC wine.

BCWAS: Quails’ Gate Wine Dinner

Every spring the BC Wine Appreciation Society embarks on an annual winemaker’s dinner at a celebrated Vancouver restaurant. Last week the Society visited vibrant seafood restaurant YEW in Vancouver’s Four Seasons hotel, and sipped from a spectrum of delicious Quails’ Gate wines in the company of winery proprietor Tony Stewart. Months of hard work by society Executive members had culminated in a carefully-crafted five-course meal put together by talented Chef Ned Bell and Sommelier Emily Walker.

At the back of YEW’s large open dining room there is a semi-private area for large parties such as ours, so we enjoyed a devoted section while the remainder of the large restaurant continued operating. Upon arrival BCWAS guests were treated to a glass of Quails’ Gate’s 2012 Chenin Blanc, a fresh, tart wine with grapefruit on the nose and apple flavours on the palate. One of only a handful of varietal Chenin Blanc from BC, Quails’ Gate’s lighter take differs from the well-known, honeyed, apples and quince flavoured version from Road 13.

To pair with our charming reception wine Chef Bell had arranged for a surprise amuse-bouche of a crispy spot prawn nacho with creamy aioli. With our dinner taking place precisely at the beginning of the West Coast’s celebrated spot prawn season Chef couldn’t miss the opportunity to feature such a fresh, local luxury, and we very much appreciated the treat!

As Society members caught up with old friends and made new ones around the tables we were served our first course of Spot Prawn Ceviche. A unique mason jar presentation contained layers of creamy avocado, pickled red chilies, and mouth-watering grapefruit-marinated prawns, to enjoy with more crispy tortillas. To pair with such an assertive dish we relied on Quails’ Gate’s youthful 2012 Riesling, backed up by a second glass of the elder 2007 vintage from the cellar.

With two glasses of Riesling to enjoy we had the benefit of a little comparative tasting right at the table. The honeyed nose and dry, fresh palate of the 2012 stood up well to the ceviche, with well-balanced acidity keeping the pucker factor in the dish under control, given the generous grapefruit segments. With more than five years of bottle age under its belt the 2007 was still pleasantly delicate, including a zingy, similarly dry palate favouring orange marmalade flavours and a honeyed finish. The older Riesling had taken on some clear petrol characteristics but retained food-friendly cleanliness alongside the additional complexity gained over time.

Following the delicious starter was a sublime Corn Chowder with smoked bacon, leeks, celery hearts, and toasted hazelnuts. Ensconced in the middle of the creamy chowder was a perfectly cooked portion of halibut, and in our fresh glasses Quails’ Gate’s 2011 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay. The Reserve Chardonnay, made in small quantities of a mere 600 cases annually, sells out early each year, helped along by a stellar reputation. The 2010 vintage was recently awarded one of only seven Canadian gold medals at the Decanter Awards, along with being named Best of Class at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition.

The winery’s 2011 vintage carried on that impressive pedigree via an orchard fruit nose, with hints of melon and toast. On the butterscotch palate one could appreciate the deft balance between fresh fruit and oak leveraged by talented winemaker Grant Stanley. Lively acidity meshed well with the chowder, and the bright, fresh corn amplified the wine’s primary fruit. The long, toasty finish was perfectly complemented by the bacon and hazelnuts in particular, both ideal embellishments for the chowder.

There was definitely some very cleanly scoured empty chowder bowls when it came time for our third course, a unique dish not found anywhere on YEW’s menu: because the synchronicity was too valuable to pass up, Chef Bell had arranged for roasted quail! Stuffed with spot prawns and beautifully presented in a bed of balsamic-drizzled chanterelle mushrooms, earthy lentils, and asparagus with currants and rosemary, the quail was ideal for the 2011 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir.

Given the youthfulness of the wine, it was no surprise that ripe tannins were present, but the juicy acidity, berry aromas, and dark fruit made for an ideal pairing. The mushrooms and lentils helped to bring out the wine’s earthy, smoky flavours, including baking spice and a touch of leather. A couple tables encountered over- and/or under-cooked quail or prawns but most diners were quite pleased with the result, and Chef Ned was very apologetic for the hiccups!

Pinot Noir soon made way for Quails’ Gate’s 2009 Old Vines Reserve Foch, it having been opened and poured a couple hours in advance to mellow before serving. To tempt our palates with the Foch a plate of local cheese and a very creative Fig & Anise French Toast was served by the attentive staff. Generous wedges of Velvet Blue Camembert and the legendary Tiger Blue paired well with the assertive wine, and the sweetness of the crispy French toast helped to mellow the wine’s finish. Bright acidity and a smoky palate with notes of cedar, spice, leather, and a bit of barnyard provided for a challenging partner but the well-crafted cheese plate stood up to it admirably.

The final course of our meal came with a glass of Quails’ Gate’s famous Optima dessert wine, late harvested in 2011 and botrytis-affected to amplify the flavours and sugar. From the kitchen we received an Apricot Pudding rich in vanilla custard and caramelized apricots, which made for an ideal pairing with the concentrated, sweet Optima. The smooth and creamy pudding was complemented by caramelized honey and a refreshing white peach sorbet on the side. The wine’s elegant, honeyed nose and ripe apricot notes synchronized perfectly with the pudding, and garnered many commendations.

A few keen eyes noticed an obvious difference between some of the glasses of Optima, and it was revealed that the winery had accidentally shipped a mix of 2010 and 2011 vintages. Two tables ended up with the darker-golden older vintage, which Tony explained came from a wetter season that encouraged more botrytis, immediately noticeable on the nose. Versus the fresh, fruitier 2011 release the more complex 2010 was an unexpected surprise; that exceptional vintage was named Dessert Wine of the Year at the 2012 Canadian Wine Awards. I was lucky enough to have received the 2010 in my glass, but from what I heard of the 2011 it was a marked departure from my last experience with the same vintage: it seems likely now that the bottle we opened in March was flawed in some way.

As we protectively sipped from the flavourful Optima and licked our lips of sorbet Chef Bell joined us to provide his thanks. He jokingly referred to firing himself over any disappointments surrounding the quail, but one could tell he was genuinely disappointed and apologetic. Given the spectacular presentations of each dish, he and his team are clearly perfectionists who strive for constant customer satisfaction. To make up for anywhere he had fallen short Chef Bell offered everyone a can of YEW’s very own custom-canned albacore tuna. Described as the only truly sustainable form of tuna, and cooked in a way that maximizes flavour retention, this locally-caught Ocean Wise certified product continues YEW’s commitment to responsible dining. Combining the tuna cans with platters of chocolates and power cookies for the next morning left everyone with a fair-sized bounty of gifts to take home!

There were plenty of satisfied smiles as we gradually filtered out that night, with lots of praise for the hardworking kitchen team and the servers. The gracious Tony Stewart received many thanks as well for sharing his family’s well-crafted wines, including the signed magnum of Reserve Pinot Noir that went to one lucky raffle winner. And so begins the advance planning for next year’s dinner!

Sunday School with JoieFarm

Naramata Bench winery JoieFarm has enjoyed a very productive and positive spring season so far, with some notable awards and honours from international wine competitions. It began earlier in the month when the results from the California-based Riverside International Wine Competition revealed that Joie’s 2012 Rosé had been selected as the Sweepstakes Rosé Wine – the best across all categories/varieties. The Riverside competition has been running for over thirty years, providing wineries from around the world a venue for their wines to be blind-tasted by dozens of professional judges. Not unexpectedly, nearly all of the judges, and many of the nearly two thousands entries come from the United States, yet BC wineries often perform remarkably well: this year Penticton’s La Frenz was named Small Winery of the Year, and last year Wild Goose took home the same honours!

While having your wine named as one of the top five amongst two thousand at such a prestigious competition would be great on its own for proprietors Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble, Joie also received two Best in Class Gold Medals for their 2011 Gamay and 2011 PTG red blend. Both wines are slated to be released this fall, with the varietal Gamay serving to further increase Joie’s growing portfolio of Burgundian red wines. Of course, five silver and five bronze medals are simply the icing on the cake from Riverside, but they also revealed some interesting new developments at the winery, including an upcoming Reserve Gewurztraminer.

Only days after the Riverside results were announced, Michael – who oversees sales and marketing at Joie while Heidi supervises winemaking – found himself composing an additional press release touting another impressive award! The Decanter World Wine Awards had just bestowed a rare gold medal upon Joie’s upcoming 2011 Reserve Chardonnay, one of only 229 golds amongst 14,362 wines in the 2013 competition! The ten-year-old Decanter Awards are often touted as the world’s leading wine competition, and are known to be quite stingy with their top honours; in fact, only seven gold medals were awarded to Canadian wineries this year (out of at least a couple of hundred entries)! Canadian winners included two Ontario and one Okanagan Riesling (See Ya Later Ranch 2011), a pair of Ontario icewines, and Quails’ Gate’s 2010 Reserve Chardonnay. Given the popularity and many years of accolades garnered by the much larger Quails’ Gate for their Chardonnay program, they make for great company, gold medal notwithstanding. One can imagine that upon release in September, Joie’s Chardonnay will see spirited sales indeed!

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to taste some of Joie’s current and upcoming releases as part of a series of bi-monthly tasting sessions conducted by Vancouver Urban Winery: the third of four “Sunday School” sessions featured the wines of Joie under the “Better Know a BC Winery” moniker. Gregarious Sommelier David Stansfield was present alongside Michael Dinn to welcome the multitude of “students”, and had even prepared an impressive aromatic spectacle along the bar. An array of wineglasses containing fresh fruits, herbs, and other delights for the senses provided guests with a chance to familiarize themselves with common wine aromas, ranging from fresh-cut grass to chocolate and cinnamon – it made for quite a conversation piece as well!

After an introduction by David, Michael discussed his young winery’s accomplishments and growth since he and Heidi purchased the initial five-acre Naramata Bench vineyard (and their house) in 2002. Their first vintage of 800 cases was financed by a bevy of credit cards in 2004, and produced at neighbouring wineries before their own facilities came into operation. Less than ten years later JoieFarm boasts production of 14,000 cases annually, and 17 acres of estate vineyards, not to mention myriad beneficial relationships with local growers as well. The winery has always focused on aromatic white wines, although more recently natural growth in reds such as Pinot Noir and Gamay has brought about further expansion of their portfolio.

For our Sunday School session David had arranged two flights of Joie’s newest wines, starting with four 2012 aromatic whites. I was immediately impressed with the Pinot Blanc, a new addition to the portfolio since 2011, when the winery held back some juice from being mixed into their “Noble Blend” in order to facilitate a small (180 cases) single varietal bottling. The Pinot Blanc comes from two old-vine vineyards, one in Kelowna and the other on the Naramata Bench, and fortunately those same two 25-year-old vineyards were available for the 2012 vintage. The wine was showing off a beautiful floral, vanilla-scented nose, and very fresh, clean flavours of apples, peaches, and grapefruit. The well balanced acidity did wonders to extend the vibrant freshness, and set a high standard for the remaining whites to measure up against. Best of all 288 cases were produced in 2012, so it should last a little bit longer this year.

The additional white wines in our flight of four included the varietal Riesling, one of Joie’s most championed wines given their Alsatian inspirations. More than 800 cases of 2012 Riesling were produced, once again from a blend of Kelowna and Naramata Bench fruit. It being so young, I didn’t detect any hints of “petrol” on the nose – as it should be in the opinion of some – which was instead awash in lime and grapefruit aromas. A lime-focused citrus palate followed, with lower acidity than I expected, but balanced by a relatively low 15 g/L of residual sugar (low in comparison to many other Rieslings at least).

Like all good Riesling, Joie’s should be able to age, and in order to get a better perspective I recently opened a bottle of their 2008 Riesling from my own cellar: it had easily stood the test of time, retaining plenty of fruit and evolving an appealing light petrol aroma – no overwhelming diesel fuel here. The nose retained freshness while taking on more mature tropical aromas like mango, and the palate was a study in honeyed peaches, while mouth-watering acidity and a lengthy finish helped to perpetuate the enjoyment. I wouldn’t hesitate to add the 2012 vintage to my vertical if this elegant maturity is what I have to look forward to in the years to come.

Following the Riesling we had the chance to enjoy the varietal Muscat, a long-standing and storied component of Joie’s portfolio that comes in part from the winery’s home vineyard on Naramata Road. The 2006 vintage was awarded a Lt. Governor’s Award, and the next year Vancouver chef Vikram Vij bought up the entire 2007 vintage for his eponymous Indian restaurant! From 2012 about 450 cases of Muscat were produced, and in our glasses it easily exuded the intense aromatics for which it is known. Once again I was struck by how clean and fresh the wine came across, with floral, herbal, and stonefruit aromas, and a balanced palate with the characteristic “grapey” flavours of Muscat that David was sure to point out. Although the Muscat contains 12 g/L of residual sugar, it has sufficient acid as well; still, the Pinot Blanc struck me as more pleasantly tart overall.

David had smartly arranged for the 2012 Noble Blend to come last, seeing as it incorporates all three of the aforementioned varieties, in addition to Gewurztraminer (35%), Pinot Auxerrois (12%), and even Schoenberger (4%). Riesling contributes the other major component of the blend, at 29%, while Pinot Blanc makes up 17% and Muscat a tiny but important 3%. The Noble Blend is Joie’s anchor wine, with more than 4,200 cases produced from the 2012 vintage, in addition to several hundred magnums and Jeroboams that make quite a statement with their giant size. The Noble Blend can be found on tap in a growing number of restaurants due to Joie’s partnership with Vancouver Urban Winery and their FreshTAP system of steel kegs. Despite nearly 11 g/L of sugar the Noble Blend possessed the lowest acidity of all four whites; I would have preferred a bit more acid but it remained relatively balanced nonetheless, with aromas of citrus, spice, and clean laundry. The theme of freshness and youth exhibited by the preceding wines was maintained, and should provide for plenty of summertime enjoyment with a variety of foods given its inherent complexity.

When it came time for our flight of red wines guests were in for quite a treat, as Michael had brought with him samples of four upcoming wines not scheduled for release until September. Included amongst those wines was the winery’s first varietal Gamay, and two versions of the new Pinot Noir. Joie has produced a Pinot-Gamay Noir blend called PTG (“Passe-Tout-Grains”) for some time, but it was only last year that they first released a single varietal red, their first Reserve Pinot Noir (from 2010). For the 2011 vintage the winery has expanded the Pinot Noir release into a “regular” $24 version and the smaller lot $40 Reserve. The very food friendly PTG, usually about two thirds Pinot Noir and one third Gamay, continues to deliver, and the winery produced about 450 cases from the 2011 vintage.

We had the chance to try both Pinot Noirs and noted the differences between them: the Reserve version, of which 270 cases were produced, was noticeably darker and earthier, with toasty, mushroom notes. The brand new varietal Pinot Noir, reasonably priced and with more than double the production quantities, should be very popular, with bright red fruit on the nose, cherry flavours, and hints of cedar and toast. The upcoming 2011 Gamay was actually even better than the Pinot Noir in my opinion, at the same $24 price point. Similar red fruits and hints of cedar were present, but the palate felt pleasantly rounder, and minus the minor bitterness I detected on the finish of the Pinot Noir. The new reds will likely enjoy much consumer success, perhaps even more than the PTG blend given New World familiarity and comfort with varietal wines. Many thanks to Michael (and Heidi) for sharing them, and the superb whites as well, and to David for putting together such a successful tasting!