Nov 23 2010

‘best of’ pinot party 2010

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 3:14 am

I have a very, very sweet gig – taste wine, maybe invite some friends to join… and write about it. That’s a whole lot of fabulous right there.

Earlier I announced that I’d be having a pinot party to taste my way through a number of BC wines. Turns out a few of my friends decided to join me on my dangerously yummy mission. You know who you are, and I’m grateful.

I haven’t been part of a varietal-specific evening before, and it was an absolute blast. Made food choices easy because people didn’t have to ask me what they could bring – I simply informed them of the 12 bottles of pinot noir we were to consume, and attendees brought everything from salmon, spinach and mascarpone stuffed baked goodness to cheese and chocolate. We were covered.

The lineup was varied in production and age with small lots going head-to-head with larger production contenders. But considering this is BC, production at many wineries is usually capped at something reasonable. We’re just not that big. Yet.

We started out tasting, but ended up drinking. In my books that’s a successful wine night. We had a few professional wine-o types (a viticulturist, a marketer and a winemaker), some non-professional wine-o types (let’s just call them happy consumers) and a few in between (yours truly, and a chemical engineer who spends far too much time around wine). It’s always good to have a mixed crowd when tasting – way more interesting.

We brown-bagged the bottles so as to have as close to a blind tasting as possible. A few guests tweeted (hashtag #pinotparty, not to be confused with #pintoparty); take a peek and see a bit of the play-by-play. (remember: we were socializing, and that significantly impedes my ability to tweet, drink and chat)

One party-goer said that after ranking the top three, the rest were are fairly close – BC wine tends to do that. Our folks make pretty good booze.

Without further ado, here’s the breakdown in popular vote:

  1. Arrowleaf 2006 (picture perfect pinot noir, classic taste with wet stone and fresh berries)
  2. Stoneboat 2007 (heftier, bricks and mortar meets end of season strawberries – you know, the small and real intense kind)
  3. Tinhorn Creek 2007 (strawberries and clay – delicate) / Gehringer Brothers 2008 (pale beauty, softer and quieter)

The rest fell somewhere around 4th place, give or take an “ooh” or an “aah” moment. In case you’ve forgotten what else was on the pinot menu, here goes:

  • D’Angelo 2006 (tied for someone’s 2nd choice)
  • Mount Boucherie 2007
  • Stag’s Hollow 2006 (tied for someone’s 2nd choice)
  • Robin Ridge 2007 (someone’s 1st choice)
  • Eagle Bluff 2008
  • Le Vieux Pin 2006
  • Inniskillin 2006
  • Silkscarf 2006

Our surprise for the evening was a contribution by the Oldfields from Tinhorn Creek: a 2003 and 2005. All I can say about the 2003 is wow – drink it if you’ve got it, because it’s absolutely stellar. By far my favourite of the night, even though it wasn’t in the original lineup. There’s much to be said for late entries.

What I learned from this night was that you can’t judge a wine by its bottle – I’m the first to admit that I have packaging bias. Often it’s unintentional, but it’s there. I get caught up in the pretty font (oh, I love me a good font) and nice labels (texture is everything). Taking it beyond the marketing and straight to the booze was definitely the way to go. Turns out I liked some way better than others I thought for sure I’d be swooning over.

Ultimately, the best way to un*wine*d is with friends, food and fun. After all, isn’t that what the whole wine thing’s about?

Cheers!

~ Jeannette

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Nov 06 2010

all pinot, all night

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 4:33 am

I have a staggering amount of Pinot Noir to drink. It’s a heavy burden, and one that I choose not to carry alone. I’ll be asking some of my favourite wine drinkers to join me in tackling this mountain. Don’t worry – many of them are trained professionals. The rest are groupies – like me.

Yes, I’m fortunate to live in the heart of BC wine country and have made friends with some of the locals. Considering many of the locals are wine folks, I’m not the only one who has an affection for the boozey stuff. Here’s a little known secret: many winemakers start making wine so they can drink what they like.

I’m more of a refreshing, crisp white wine gal in the heat of the summer – so that means my cellar can get a little backlogged by fall. You see, just because I don’t drink as much red wine in the summer doesn’t mean I refrain from acquiring bottles of it during that time. Hell no. With our BC wineries at limited production, you gotta grab what you can when you can.

My cellar isn’t well documented. In fact, it’s not a “wine cellar” per se; it’s more of a slightly creepy basement where the temperature stays cool so we pack as much wine onto dilapidated shelves as we can without causing breakage. Told you I wasn’t a wine snob.

However, the cellar is somewhat organized into areas: sleeping imports, ready-to-drink imports, sleeping BC wines, can-sleep-but-can-drink-now-if-we-really-want-to BC wines, need-to-drink-now BC wines, fortified…and a special shelf for bubble. (I finally have a bubble shelf – three sleeping bottles, but I have a bubble shelf!)

Somehow, I managed to gather 11 bottles of BC Pinot Noir that’s ready to drink.

What’s a gal to do with so much good booze? Have a pinot party.

In no particular order, here’s what my friends and I will be tasting. Notes will follow – but anticipation is everything. Drool now, drink later.

  • Arrowleaf 2006
  • Eagle Bluff ‘Crooked Post’ 2008
  • Inniskillin Dark Horse Vineyard 2006
  • Stag’s Hollow 2006
  • Gehringer Brothers 2008
  • Tinhorn Creek 2007
  • Robin Ridge 2007
  • Stoneboat 2007 (!)
  • D’Angelo 2006
  • Silkscarf 2006
  • Le Vieux Pin ‘Belle’ 2006

To say I’m stoked for this night is beyond an understatement. A good pinot noir is worth so very, very much to me. I want it to take me into the memory bank: to picking wild strawberries on the elementary school lawn at recess in the fourth grade; to riding in the back seat of a car without air conditioning on a hot summer day after collecting rocks at the edge of the lake; to that first cold drink out of the hose on a Saturday in July – after squishing potato bugs in my mom’s garden. It was a big garden.

The stakes are high – after all, these grapes are competing against some of my most fond memories. Even the potato bug one. But I have faith in our BC winemakers, our burgeoning viticulturists and our dirt. We make great booze.

Some of you may be wondering whether we’ll be tasting or drinking. If you’ve gleaned anything about me from this gig, you’ll be able to sort that out for yourself. If not – just be aware that I know a thing or two about how to un*wine*d.

Cheers!

~ Jeannette

PS: Pinot Noir night wine sampling is November 20 – we’ll be live tweeting via my Twitter handle @okanaganwriting, hashtag #bcwine (with special guests!)

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Oct 04 2010

crushing on food – and new wine releases

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 6:51 pm

I’ve got a new food crush.

A food crush (as I define it) means you’re smitten with the food made by a particular chef – which translates into wanting to kidnap said chef and hide her/him in your basement so they can make delicious meals, just for you. And if you’re familiar at all with my 140 character musings on Twitter, you’ll know that I have a few of these crushes.

First, there’s the radio crush I have for a particular CBC Radio announcer. In the Okanagan dining scene, I’ve established a fairly public food crush on a chef at a Summerland establishment. After last night’s Gourmet and Grapes held at Cabana Grille in Kelowna (sponsored by Terasen), I’ve a few new food crushes – and met/got reacquainted with a couple of great wines.

While Cabana executive chef Ned Bell got his Iron Chef game on against chef Roger Planiden, the space at Cabana was divided into a myriad of food/wine paired stations – each hosted by a great chef and guest winery. Oh MY.

Highlights:

  • Duck risotto, and a wild salmon/organic apple tartare, prepared by Wild Apple Manteo executive chef Bernard Casavant – paired with Arrowleaf Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris respectively
  • Cheese (cheese!), including local Poplar Grove Tiger Blue and two from Quebec (brie from Montreal…mmmm) – paired exquisitely well with the consumer choice award winning Gewurztraminer from The View; easily the best pairing of the night
  • Halibut with a yummy whipped potato concoction and vanilla butter on fresh greens by Eldorado executive chef Michael Lyon (I wasn’t a fan of the reisling wine pairing – the sweet vanilla in the sauce brought out a sharp acidic note in the wine, which was unfortunate)
  • Although the Sablefish was gone by the time gal pal Allison Markin and I weaved our way to the final station, we didn’t bemoan the loss as we tucked in to some delectable seared venison courtesy of Passa Tempo executive chef Jeremy Luypen – paired with Blue Mountain Gamay or Brut (I choose the bubble – always choose the bubble). As it was the last stop, Chef also treated us to a delicious chocolate pate with to-die-for whipped topping that remains unknown to me. When it tastes that good, I don’t need details.

So yes, I have a new food crush or two. Looks like we’ll have to expand the basement to fit a couple more chefs. As for that culinary throw-down? Chef Roger took away the spoils while Chef Ned – gracious host that he is – awarded his foodie colleague with a flight for two anywhere in Canada that WestJet flies.

Fall Wine Fest – new wine releases

I promised to keep our readers (the eight of them I have) up-to-date on new Fall Fest wine releases. As I’m only one person, I need to go about this blitz-style to hit as many wineries in one spot as possible. The best way to do that during Festival is to attend a large tasting event. This year, I’ve managed to get to Festival of the Grape in Oliver. Staggering distance from my house, fortunately.

Eau Vivre: Pinot Noir. The 2007 sold out (understandably, as it’s yummilicous), so wine maker Andrew has released the 2008 vintage. This one’s gonna win stuff. Get it while you can.

Tinhorn Creek: 2007 2Bench Red. It’s wine maker Sandra’s inaugural vintage of a big red blend – with Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot. 2008 will see the introduction of Petit Verdot and Malbec, but for three years after that the Malbec will go awol as they lost their Malbec in the flash-freeze of 2009. The ’07 is remarkable. Put it in your cellar and let it sleep, if you can. It’s got staying power. You’ll curse me while you’re waiting for it, but you’ll thank me afterwards.

Fairview Cellars: Iconoclast. This is wine maker Bill’s swan song, and if you know anything about Bill’s cabernet sauvignons of the past you’ll know that I’m talking BIG goodness. Extremely limited production – one barrel’s worth of wine only. Not your average wine, in the best possible way. I asked him to put one aside for me until I can get to the winery – it’s THAT good.

Township 7: 2006 “The Black Dog”. Let’s start with this – 40 months in new French and American oak barrels. That’s not a typo; it’s FORTY months in barrel. Oh-my-freakin’-word. 44% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 1% Syrah. With only 54 cases released – and 114 bottles sold in ONE DAY at the winery, immediately after release – this is going to fly out the door before you know it. I grabbed what bottles I could, and although it’s tasty right now I know it’s a good one to let sit in the bottle for a decent amount of time. If I can forget about it that long. The label says it best. “Share with the most deserving friends and cook them something wonderful.”

So now you know what I know. More wine release info will come your way as soon as I hear about it. Please feel free to add your own – we love to hear about what BC wine you’re drinking. After all, the best time to un*wine*d with a glass of something yummy is the minute you think about it – and can get to the bottle.

Cheers!

~Jeannette

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Mar 23 2010

cotton candy, deep hole earth & a rainy day

Category: Wine tasting — admin @ 5:59 pm

Appies, dinner & dessert – a fairly standard order. There’s also a “recommended” wine tasting order: whites before reds, lighter before fuller-bodied and sweeter dessert or late harvest wines last. Makes sense, right? Sure – but that doesn’t mean it has to happen that way. As for talking about wine, well, I’m going to make you wait until the end of the blog-meal before I serve up the (lighter) special treat. Because I can.

Wine tasting is something I recommend you do with a buddy, friend or random stranger you meet outside the tasting room. You know what I’m talking about: you’re on the tasting circuit and realize you’re following or being followed by that sylish couple with the cool glasses or the gentleman that likes to talk to himself. It’s inevitable.

Where was I? Right – tasting with friends.

My fella likes to dip into the wine with me, but sometimes I like to bring along a friend who has a) different knowledge than me, b) a few spare hours and c) a good sense of humour because my descriptors aren’t standard WSET lingo (as you might have guessed by now). One of the friends I like to taste wines with is Luke, the empire builder from an earlier wineopoly post.

Luke joined me for some tasting the other night; here’s an sample of how it went.

Me: Deep hole earth.

Luke: Hmmm, really?

Me: It’s like I’m in a big hole and it smells like earth from deep down.

Luke: That’s interesting.

See what I mean? There was some cursing involved (in a good way – sometimes descriptors need a bit of oomph), discussion about cropping and yield per acre (on Luke’s part – I sat and listened) and talk of good barnyard smell versus bad barnyard smell. On the whole, I learned (as usual) a bit from Luke and he (I’m sure) got a good laugh. Deep hole earth says it all.

I tried my first BC Zweigelt, from Arrowleaf in Lake Country. A long, deep inhale on this baby took me to carnivals and cotton candy. That’s right – cotton candy. But it’s a spicy little grape, and on shorter sniffs I could have been walking past the spice aisle in a grocery store. I fell in love with zweigelt (say it like svy-gelt) in Ontario’s Niagara Region, and I’m happy that BC wineries are producing it too. This one’s a bit more cherryish than peppery, and it looks like purple, velvet curtains. Very cool.

On the docket was a Merlot from Twisted Tree in Osoyoos – and damn it’s a nice looking bottle! Seriously folks, the bottle itself has presence, and is pretty sexy. When I think BC merlot, I think dark and sexy. This is the wine that made me think deep hole earth. It also made me think of rich liquors and cassis, and blackberry porter (yes, I drink beer too). Get your hands on a bucket of overripe blackberries and some deep hole earth and you’ve got this merlot. I warned you that I wouldn’t use wine-speak.

It’s time for dessert. Not that this wine tasted like dessert – it’s just that it’s the bomb, the bee’s knees, the freakin’ stellar event of our wine tasting night. It’s the Pinot Noir from Howling Bluff on the Naramata bench. Two words: rainy day. A whiff of this little gem was like walking on a sidewalk after a summer rain, when the stones and ground are still wet and everything’s got that clean-rain-smell. The more we sniffed and slurped, the more we oohed and aahed over it. Simple tasting, like chocolate and cherries and summer, but with that fantastic rainy day smell. Perfect.

It’s nice to enjoy a glass (or two) of wine by yourself – I’ve been known to do that myself on occasion. Don’t look in our recycle bin. But it’s way more fun when you’ve got some friends with you and you’re just drinking and chatting. That’s when things like deep hole earth happen. And there’s nothing more un*wine*d than that.

Cheers!

Jeannette

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