Dec 28 2010

2011: all bubble, all BC

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 11:29 pm

New Year’s Eve approaches, and bubble drinkers around the world are giving a “hip, hip, hooray”. Well, bubble lovers find absolutely any excuse to pop open a bottle – like the 17th Thursday of the year. But others reserve the stuff for ‘special occasions’. That’s okay. We’re finding you and converting you, one boozer at a time.

There was a time when the bubble section was unfamiliar territory to many of us: strange fonts, fancy labels in what could have been latin and sometimes was… not to mention those confusing foil cages over the cork. And the cork! How on earth are we to keep all light fixtures unbroken with all that effervescence about? Dear me.

Times have changed. BC has burst the bubble scene like nobody’s business, with many Canadian wineries hot on their heels. No longer are we forced to drink Baby Duck because we can’t discern one chateau from another – and don’t have the disposable income to part with $150 for a bottle that will be consumed after we’ve tipped back a few already.

I love our worldwide neighbours and what bubble they have to offer. In fact, I’m taking some non-BC bubble to a New Year’s Eve bash – in addition to the homegrown stuff, of course. The bottle I chose is from Spain andĀ had a pretty label with nice font, all for under $20. I’m sure it will taste just fine.Ā But the heart of the evening will go to BC.

We have some great contributors to the bubble world, and they’re right in our Okanagan back yards. Go find some. Don’t know where to look? This should get you started.

Gray Monk Odyssey – Rose or White Brut (both $24.99 at the winery)

Sumac Ridge Tribute, Stellar’s Jay or Gewurztraminer… all fabulous choices, and most available at speciality liquor stores or the BCLDB

Road 13 Sparkling Chenin Blanc – even has a nifty cap to crank off instead of a cork, and intensely drinkable (possibly at specialty liquor stores, or winery direct)

Blue Mountain – more challenging to find, but worth it when you do

Summerhill Pyramid Winery – Cipes (Rose, Gabriel, Brut… from $24.95 to $45/bottle, it’s all worth a taste and usually available at VQA stores)

If your New Year’s Eve tradition involves some cheap and cheerful bubble, so be it. Hey – it’s once a year, go nuts. But don’t forget that we’ve got our own BC bubbles to get silly with, and they’re easy to get hold of – and reasonably priced.

As for me, I’ll be starting the night with my bottle of BC sparkling wine and approaching midnight with that cheap and cheerful Spanish bubble – because by then, it’s likely I’ll be quite effervescent myself. I need to un*wine*d, too.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe 2011. Cheers!

~ Jeannette

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Dec 17 2010

gifts for the gift-giver

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 1:43 am

The holiday season is about giving: to family and friends, neighbours, your physician, school crossing guardā€¦ the list goes on. We spend days at stores and hours online, shopping for the perfect gift for everyone on our list. But in all the giving, we often forget the most important person: ourselves.

If weā€™re going to do gift-giving right, we need to be in a sharing frame of mind. What puts me in the holiday spirit is a really good glass of wine, so it makes sense that Iā€™d seek out a few ā€˜meā€™ presents to keep up with the holiday cheer.

Set out in easy-to-follow categories, hereā€™s a little list of some ā€˜youā€™ gifts. I suggest printing it out and keeping a copy in the car, just in case you find yourself near a liquor store during your shopping extravaganza. Itā€™s best to be prepared.

good gewĆ¼rztraminers

  • The View
  • Ruby Tuesday

rippinā€™ rieslings

  • 8th Generation (they make a couple, so try one on for size)
  • Wild Goose
  • Orofino

big reds

  • Aces
  • Spier Head Vanguard
  • Osoyoos Larose
  • Road 13 Rockpile

cheery chardonnays

  • Crowā€™s Nest Stahltank
  • Cassini Cellars Reserve
  • Painted Rock

merry merlots

  • Hester Creek Reserve
  • Stagā€™s Hollow Renaissance

killer cabs

  • Inniskillin Dark Horse Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Fairview Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series Cabernet Franc
  • Poplar Grove Cabernet Franc

delightful (fruity) desserts

  • Rustic Roots
  • Elephant Island
  • Forbidden Fruit

bountiful bubbles

  • Gray Monk Odyssey Brut
  • Blue Mountain
  • Summerhill Cipes

Go forth and be merry, because the happiness of everyone on your entire shopping list depends upon it. After all, ā€˜tis the season to un*wine*d.

Cheers!

~ Jeannette

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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 toĀ 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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Aug 06 2010

read this, drink that: CanLit & BC wine

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 12:51 am

Ā 

Yes, Iā€™m about to inundate you with wine-and-reading selections. But Iā€™m not very traditional; you should know that by now, dear reader. So what does that mean when it comes to a reading and wine-ing list presented by yours truly? Allow me to explain.

Iā€™m dragging out the hasnā€™t-been-published-in-ages books; ones you need to hunt down in your local used book store treasure trove or thrift store. And Iā€™m choosing some newer releases ā€“ those published in the last ten years. Maybe there will be something in here that youā€™ve never heard of.

Good reads should challenge us and our expectations ā€“ kind of like good wine does.Ā Both are sensory and seductive, and both can take you a world away.

Enjoy.

Read: Robertson Davies, Leaven of Malice. This guy shoves us into a world of academics, tenure and compound sentences. His characters drink wine. I like that. This is one dude who doesnā€™t lead you around by the nose: heā€™s got witty, layered characters that keep surprising you, and he has an expectation youā€™ve a decent head on your shoulders.Ā 

Drink: This says bubble all over it. Try Blue Mountain, Sumac Ridgeā€™s Stellarā€™s Jay (after sleeping for a couple of years, itā€™s one mighty good bottle) or Gray Monk Odyssey White Brut. Not a bubble fan? Shame. But you can play along ā€“ with a bottle of Twisted TreeĀ Syrah, or a Pinot Noir from Meyer Family Vineyards.

Read: Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman. Ahead of her time in so many ways. This is foodie Can-lit for foodies before there were foodies. Of course, thereā€™s a glass or two of wine in here. I read this only recently, having put it off in a covet kind of way. Iā€™m glad I did.

Drink: Margaret says unusual yet beautiful structure, and so must the wine. Think Mount BoucherieĀ Ehrenfelser,Ā  InniskillinĀ Dark Horse Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake BreezeĀ Pinot Blanc or Road 13 VineyardsĀ Jackpot Pinot Noir.

Read: Douglas Coupland, J Pod. I love him; heā€™s magnificent at loading a sentence with so much stuff. Plus, I want to meet Ethanā€™s mom. Think easy street meets the wrong side of the tracks, in a very Rice-Krispie-square kind of way.

Drink: More than meets the eye, this one. Makes me want Rollingdaleā€™s Cabernet Sauvignon ā€œLa Gaucheā€, Township 7ā€™s Chardonnay (not the reserve, but not the un-oaked for this one), Cedar Creekā€™s Platinum Reserve Chardonnay or Tinhorn Creekā€™s Oldfield Series Merlot ā€“ because thereā€™s more going on than you would expect.

Read: Mordecai Richler, Barneyā€™s Version. The guy writes a good story, hands down. These are characters that I not only want to drink with, but also want to go to Europe with. Thatā€™s good character development.

Drink: I recall the protagonist as a scotch drinker, but also one who enjoyed aĀ bottle of wine. That being said ā€“ try something from Osoyoos Larose, or maybe Laughing Stockā€™s Portfolio. Perhaps followed by a nice fortified, like Sumac Ridge Pipe or Granite Creek Merlot.

Read: Zoe Whittall, Bottle Rocket Hearts. Maybe itā€™s because I met her brother in the parking lot of an Okanagan winery (true story), or maybe itā€™s because I had a summer of unemployed drunken fun in Montreal in the early 90ā€™s (slightly hazy true story). It could be both, but also because this is one brilliant author. Storytelling stream-of-consciousness. I miss Eve.

Drink: Memories of misspent youth, character-building events that at the time are rip-your-heart-out experiences you donā€™t think youā€™ll ever recover from and the unmistakable sweetness of firsts. Try La FrenzĀ Cabernet Sauvignon, OrofinoĀ Pinot Noir,Ā Cassini Cellars Reserve Chardonnay or Desert Hills Gamay.Ā 

The point is this: wine, like literature, is highly dependent on situation. I truly believe that. Reading the same book at different points in your life will bring out different qualities of that book – just like drinking wine with different people, or in different situations, will show you something new.

Mix it up. Experiment. Un*wine*d a little. Now excuse me while I go back to Timothy Findley’s SpadeworkĀ and my glass of…well, I’m not going to tell you all my secrets – read it and tell me what you’d drink with it.

Cheers!

Jeannette

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Jul 24 2010

secrets of great summer wine-ing: part I

Category: Wine tasting — winepost @ 3:53 pm

Ā 

It’s easy to have a good time in the Okanagan, especially when it’s summer. I should know – I live here. Go ahead, be jealous. It’s okay. After all, living in vacationland could have the same tag line as that credit card commercial: membership has its privileges.

But in the summer, anyone can be a member of the Okanagan and we like it that way. This is what summer vacations are made of: floating along the channel in Penticton, renting a boat and ripping it up wake-board-style in Osoyoos, golfing at one of the dozens of greenways.

And, of course – there’s wine touring. You wouldn’t be here (I mean here, on this site) if it wasn’t for your loveĀ of Okanagan wine. Good for you.

I already said it’s easy to have a good time here, and it’s true. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have our secrets, tips and tricksto make summer wine touring – and Okanagan visiting – even better. You can get a ton of information from the Tourism BC website to help navigate your way from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos, but we all know what the real secret to great travel is: getting the goods from a local.

I’m a local. Okay – so I haven’t lived here my whole life andĀ by small town rules that means I’m not a local yet. But I’ll bet IĀ drink way more wineĀ than many of the locals do, so if you’re in for a wine-ing good time, then I’m your gal to listen to.

There’s too much information to give to you in just one post, so this willĀ be spread out a bit. Consider it my gift to you – it’s the stuff I wish I knew heading in to this wine-touring gig years ago. You might know some (or all) of this already; if so, think of it as a summer-school refresher course. A really, really fun one.

wine touring 101

Bring snacks. It sounds silly, and somethingĀ your mom might have said before you went off to your first day-trip without her, but it’s vital for surviving wine touring and tasting. Sure, tasting rooms might have little palate cleansers – even a bit of cheese, perhaps. That just won’t cut it. Grab a baguette – or two – and some of our great local cheeses to munch on as you go about your day.

Hydrate yourself. Whether you’re wakeboarding, sunbathing, golfing or wine-touring, you’ll need H2O. It’s a freakin’Ā desert, people. Dryness like you may not have experienced before. Water. Lots of it.

Book ahead. Accommodations get snapped up in a jiffy around these parts come summer, even tenting. Do the online reservation thing or pick up the phone. That works for a few of our wineries, too, which leads us into…

Do your research. If you have a favourite winery you want to visit, be sure to check out their website or give them a call before you make the trek from wherever you’re from. A few spots require an appointment, usually to give you extra-special attention while you’re visiting them. Love the Carmenere by Black Hills? Call ‘em up ahead of time and book a seat for their ultra-lounge wine tasting uber-experience. Got a weakness for Blue Mountain bubble? You’re not alone – but get in touch with them early so they can make an appointment for a tasting.

Take the road less travelled. This might seem to fly in the face of the recommendation above, but no – quite the opposite. It’s by going down the road you didn’t know was there that you can often find that little gem buried in the wilderness – or just along a side street. That’s how I first found Blue Mountain. No, we didn’t get in for a tasting that day…but I found them, which I think is the bigger gain.

Try something new. You’re doing wine tasting, after all. Don’t just stick with the “I-like-big-reds-so-just-pour-me-the-cab-sauv-and-if-you-don’t-have-any-of-that-then-I’ll-wait-outside” line. You’re in a tasting room.Ā Only drink aromatic whites? Who cares! Try that pinot noir you’ve heard about. Isn’t tasting exactly why you’re here? Live a little. You might surprise yourself.

Mix it up. Just because you’re wine touring doesn’t mean you can’t take in a festival or event while you’re in the area – and stumble upon it. Houseboating in the Shuswap? Get thee to a winery, like Granite Creek (their fortified merlot is dee-lish). These things don’t need to be mutually exclusive. Have fun. You’re on vacation.

We’re just scratching the surface of what can help take your Okanagan summer from great to fantabulous. This is the entry-level stuff, a kind of introductory course for those unfamiliar with our area – or an easy refresher for those seasoned Okanagan travel veterans.Ā  Stay tuned for more, including some secrets that only locals know about and share with good friends. You’re our good friend, right?

Happy summer, wherever you are. It’s a great time to un*wine*d with a bottle of BC wine. Get over here and get some.

Cheers!

Jeannette

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