I wasn’t really sure what to think when I first saw the labels of what used to be Twisted Tree. I had followed Twisted Tree from afar when I lived in Vancouver because I’d heard that they were growing all kinds of weird and wonderful grape varieties and were taking risks at a time when it seemed like everyone was kind of playing it safe. There were Merlots and Chardonnays and Pinot Gris’ everywhere then and there still are today. But at Twisted Tree, they were trying out Tannat (in which I was particularly interested), Marsanne and Rousanne, and other grapes that really made you turn your head.

Apparently the name wasn’t right for them for some reason. I can only speculate, but I’d rather not. There must have been a reason and whatever it was, the result is Moon Curser. And of course, every good rebranding in the Okanagan these days always comes with a cute little story and there’s one here too. Its full of intrigue, smuggling and crossing borders at nightby the light of the moon. You’ll have to visit the winery to get the full story

In visits to this winery since 2007, I have enjoyed their wines more and more with each vintage. I was particular fan of their Viognier Rousanne blend a couple of years back. I enjoyed the Trio and I loved the challenge of the Tannat, which is still laying down in my cellar. The Viognier on its own stands out and no wonder they allow it to stand alone. The aromas that come off of this wine are wonderfully intriguing.

Viognier is only slightly less rare than it was when Twisted Tree originally opened. World-wide, it has filled the void left by Chardonnay in the big, rich white department for all of those ABCer’s out there and is still treated as a bit of a novelty here in BC. Although we continue to be infatuated with Pinot Gris as our go-to white wine, Viognier shows itself well when something richer is needed.

What really matters though, is what’s inside the bottle and like the Twisted Tree of the old days, this one delivers. On the nose I got a big scent of ambrosia apples and bouquet of flowers with a card on it that says, “I’m sorry I forgot our anniversary.” The palate is smooth and velvety with more of the same ripe-apple flavours. The only “Yikes!” for me on this wine is the alcohol which at 14.1% tips things a little out of balance but is now almost to be expected of some of the wineries in the extreme south Okanagan.

So there it is. Another fine example of Okanagan Viognier from a winery that has never been afraid of taking risks. Although I haven’t really been a big fan of the branding change, it’s good to see that they haven’t stopped taking risks and played it safe. It’s just more exciting that way for everyone.

Cheers from wine country!

~Luke

Ok, here we go. Riesling is one of my favorite grape varieties and I love the diversity of styles that we have here in BC. This one in particular however, is not marketed to me and as such, I’m just going to have to go on taste to evaluate it. Which is really what should happen when wines are reviewed, but doesn’t necessarily always happen.

The Ruby Blues Riesling 2010 is a tasty wine, there’s no doubt about that. The label is cute in a kind of modernist shoe-fetish kind of way. To be honest though, the label doesn’t appeal to me (see the note on marketing above) and so that leads me into a false sense of “well, I’ll open it anyways” – which is never a good way to start out with a bottle of wine.

Although I try my best not to make assumptions about a wine when tasting, I figured that this would be a sweeter Riesling and that turned out to be true. I like Rieslings in all styles from bone dry to icewine and the off-dry to medium Rieslings are excellent with spicey food. The flavors in this particular wine were pleasant with lots of good fruit and it was easy enough to drink. But that is where it ended. Suffice it to say that it is a real crowd-pleasing wine that will appeal to many. But for people who think that all Riesling is like those sweet German bottles of the old days, this might be the bottle that will change their mind and be a way to get them to consider Riesling as a quality wine again.

Why does Riesling have this problem? In my day job selling wine, I hear all kinds of reasons why people like or don’t like a particular wine and some of them really baffle me. Perhaps it is my generation. As an Gen-Xer, there are very few of my own generation that actually drink wine regualarly. Most of the customers that I deal with are 15 years older than me (about 2/3) and the other third is younger by about 10 years. In general, the younger people are far more willing to try new wines than the older generation, which is to be expected. The older generation always mentions certain brands of wines that they had tried when they were younger that prevents them from accepting wines like Riesling and Rosés as anything other than a sickly sweet, one-dimensional, get-drunk-at-prom wine.

The owners of this winery are part of that older demographic. The people that ask me for this winery’s products are of that same demographic. The label appeals to them and not me because it is marketed to them. Let’s hope this wine can bring more people from that 2/3rds generation to accept wines like Rieslings and Rosés as the quality products that they are.

Cheers from wine country!

~Luke

I was contemplating the contents of my “cellar” the other night, wondering which wine should be my next victim. I was on my way to a jam night at a friend’s house and I was asking myself which wine would complement both rock and roll AND pot roast when suddenly, inspiration struck!

There was a bottle of 2008 Silk Scarf Viognier lurking at the bottom of my wine rack that was just calling out to me. I hesitated, thinking that I should probably hang on to that one for a little longer, but then, life is too short. What I needed was a wine that could stand up to a massive, garlic studded, pepper crusted roast beef. (I also needed it to be complex enough for me to escape into when the music around me started to get a little out of control).

When I opened the bottle, I discovered I had found everything I was looking for and more! A Shiraz Viognier blend is quite typical of the Northern Rhone region known as the Cote Rotie and it’s nice to see it on the BC scene. The addition of Viognier to the Shiraz makes it a brighter, juicier, livelier wine.

I must admit, that after the quality glass and the tasteful label on the outside of the bottle, I was a little taken aback by the synthetic cork closure keeping the juice captive. Thankfully, that was just my own personal wine snobbery at work for a moment. It was washed away by the first sip of this sexy wine!

The nose was bursting with fresh baked bread, ripe raspberries and blackberry tart with a hint of butter. Very promising! On the palate this bebe is a full figured French seductress! A delicate tannin structure provided support for fresh raspberry and spice notes. A long, smooth and silky finish made me sad to say goodbye. Very nice!

All in all, I enjoyed the Silk Scarf Shiraz Viognier. I am very glad that I didn’t hang on to it though, as the tannins were so soft and delicate that I would definitely categorize this wine as “drink now”. It would be a tasty addition to any holiday meal (or open mic night in the basement of a friend!).

If you go for a walk in Osoyoos at this time of year, it’s very easy to convince yourself that you’re the only person awake in the whole town. Below the surface however, there is a lot of life in this small town.  The question is; which wines go best with winter in a small town?

Winter Hits Osoyoos

Currently, as in all other cities, towns and hamlets throughout the province, the municipal election rages along to it’s inevitable conclusion on Saturday, November 19.  This can be both educational and entertaining, which I’m sure you can easily imagine.  If common sense were actually that common, elections would be so boring!  So which wine should you choose when curling up to watch the All Candidate’s Forum on the local cable channel?  Why, The Council’s Punch Bowl Sauvignon Blanc from Ganton & Larson Prospect Winery of course!

There is a local pub in Osoyoos that actually brings in live entertainment in the late fall & winter!  Something that exciting calls for a celebration…..

The Chaperones played at this local pub for their Halloween Party.  It was great, and the tickets were only $10.  The dance floor was so full of people enjoying themselves that it was nearly impossible to take a good picture though.  Even so,an event like that is a celebration, and it deserves a bottle of one of BC’s finest bubbles; there are plenty to choose from.  One of my personal favorites is the Grey Monk Odyssey; so crisp and fresh!

Now that the snow has arrived, it means that the ski season is just around the corner.  That is so exciting!  Imagine flying down the hill in the crisp, clean winter air.  If the thrill of speed isn’t your thing, try snowshoeing; gorgeous scenery, fresh air, a great way to burn a ton of calories and suitable for all ages and abilities.  Mt. Baldy, about a 40 minute drive out of Osoyoos, is a fantastic winter playground.  A day playing out in the snow is the perfect prelude to a soul warming mug of mulled wine.  Why waste that bottle of red you didn’t finish last weekend?  Toss it in a pot on the stove with a splash of brandy, some sugar or honey, sliced orange and some ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods; whatever flavours you enjoy.  Heat it up until all of the elements come together, serve and enjoy.

A Beautiful Day on The Slopes

Don’t let the sleepy feeling that winter engenders fool you.  There is life in this valley yet, even at the southern end. Get out and enjoy it!

Thanksgiving has passed and Christmas is just around the corner, which makes now the perfect time to start thinking about the perfect wine for turkey. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas can be either a game of Russian roulette or like winning the wine pools, depending on your point of view. As these holidays tend to center around family celebrations, pot luck rules, both on the food and the beverage front.  These are great opportunities to indulge in some targeted food and wine pairing experimentation.  A sip of this, a bite of that and on to the next wine!

Last Thanksgiving I may have stumbled on the ideal wine for a turkey dinner.  I took a bottle of Lake Breeze 2010 Bench White for dinner.  I was so glad that no one broke into that bottle before dinner was served!  The blend isn’t the same for this wine every year, but the aim is always to end up with something light, crisp and summery.  The 2010 vintage saw a combination of Viognier, Muscat and Gewurztraminer go into the bottle.  All of these varieties on their own pair up with turkey quite respectably, but together, wow!  It seemed like the the elements of each variety that were the most compatible with turkey were the dominant characteristics of this wine; how perfect!  A delicately citrusy, orange blossom nose was meant to complement the cranberry sauce that went along with the bird.  The palate bursting with lychee and floral aromas was saved from frivolity by the rich underpinnings brought to bear by the Viognier.  Finally a wine both light enough and rich enough to stand proudly by the side of the traditional roast turkey with cranberry sauce.  There is nothing more to say, except to quote ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”: “Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!”

Ok, here’s a great example of what wines can be like if you stick with it for years. Wild Goose has been around for a long time, by BC wine standards. At a time when massive California cult wines and inexpensive Australian Shirazes and Cabs were all the rage, they were making Rieslings, Gewürztraminers, and Pinot Blanc. They couldn’t have been more uncool if they’d had “dork” written on the back of their bottles.

But here’s the thing. Trends in wine come and go, they always have. But terroir stays the same. Some grapes just aren’t suited for some terroirs. When light red wines weren’t in fashion, grape growers in Burgundy and Oregon didn’t pull out their Pinot and start planting Cabernet. The folks at Wild Goose figured this out and planted what they thought would be suitable to their vineyards rather than planting what was in fashion.

And today we have the results in the form of vines that are reaching 25 years old (maybe more) and the intense flavors what come along with older vines. Not only that, but if growers really get to know the vineyards through many seasons, they’ll also start to understand what their grapes can do and how to care for them throughout the season.

It’s like any kind of training. A friend of mine growing up was showing me some moves that was learning in karate lessons. He showed me a kick and I remarked on how easy it was to do. And then he said that I’d be able to do it properly if I just repeated it 200 more times. Hmm… Since I didn’t quite have the dedication he had to martial arts, I thought that was funny and left it at that. But that really showed me that in order to get better at something, you have to just Nike up and do it, a lot and often.

That’s where wine makers and grape growers have it tougher than normal. Unless they’ve grown up on a vineyard, chances are most people growing grapes and making wine in the Okanagan now have chosen to start that career sometime in their adult lives, let’s say at that big 3-0. Assuming they get a job right away after a couple of years of study, that means that person will be taking on wine making at the age of 33, if they’re lucky. (More likely is that they become a cellar-hand for a few years, and then work their way up to assistant wine maker.) Perhaps by the time they reach 40, they’re ready to take the helm as a winemaker.

With a vintage once a year, that’s only doing 10 vintages before taking charge. How good can you possibly be after doing something 10 times. Can an athlete expect to excel at a sport with only 10 attempts before competing? Try running the 100m dash 10 times and then see if you come close to the Olympic record.

The point is that wine making, as much as it is a science and an art, is something that takes a lot longer to master than a generation. It takes multiple generations to figure out what works where. Unfortunately, fashions tend to change more quickly than that. Maybe someday wine will be less about fashion and more about what this particular place can grow. Kudos to Wild Goose for toughing it out and showing us the way it can be done.

Cheers from Wine Country!