Fraser Valley Wineries Association 2nd Annual Wine & Culinary Extravaganza

Today was a beautiful day for the Fraser Valley Wineries Association 2nd Annual Wine & Culinary Extravaganza in south Langley. A large tent was set up, wines were chilled, and hot & cold appetizers were plenty. Some of the wineries offered grape based wines, which most of us think of, but there were also several fruit berry wineries. On the grape-side we had:
- Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery
- Lotusland Vineyards
- Pacific Breeze Winery
- River's Bend Winery

On the fruit berry side there was:
- Westham Island Estate Winery
- Wellbrook Winery
- Sanduz Estate Wines
- The Fort Wine Company

Some people say they get headaches after drinking red wine from grapes. This could be due to the tannins in some of the heavier reds, such as from syrah, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. There are lighter bodied reds, with less tannins, such as gamay and pinot noir. But there is also another route that these red wine suffers may want to take, and that is to drink red berry wine. At today's event, I was able to try wine made from blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, red currant, and black currant. I enjoyed the currant wines the most, as they were the closest to grape wine for me, but I can appreciate the other wines as well. There was also dessert (sweet) fruit wines to sample. One I enjoyed was the Sanduz blueberry dessert wine. It was almost porty.

On the grape side, I was very happy to find out that Lotusland Vineyards is an organic winery and also uses wild fermentation (that is using the native yeast in the vineyard to ferment the wines. The other method is to purchase specialized yeasts for fermentation.) Their gewurztraminer had a lychee / pear nose was light bodied and had a delicate flavour. Their pinot noir and merlot was also very nice. I unfortunately did not have a tasting sheet to make notes, for these wines or the other wines, but I do remember which wines I enjoyed the most. If you like big Rhone style or Bordeaux style wines, Pacific Breeze Winery, was pouring a Vin de Gariste and a GSM (Grenache / Syrah / Mouvedre) blend. They also had a very full bodied, creamy chardonnay. Another winery I enjoyed was River's Bend. They had a very nice white blend called Flaxen, a Viognier, and a Pinot Gris. On the red side, their 2006 Black Horse, a blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, was nice paired up with the pulled pork sandwich from Memphis Blues Barbeque.

There were several other local restaurants, such as Coza Tuscan Grill and Sonoma Grill serving up appetizers to go with the wines. The event was overall run very well. I'd recommend people to attend next year's event so you can also try out these wines, or take a 1-day weekend trip to visit each winery.

Small wineries in Kelowna

Everyone visits the big wineries in Kelowna, like Mission Hill and Quail's Gate, but there are other small wineries worth a visit. This past week I had the pleasure of visiting:
- Rollingdale Winery
- Kalala Organic Estate Winery
- Camelot Vineyards Estate Winery

Rollingdale Winery is located in Westbank very near to the other big wineries in the area. Rollingdale is certified organic, which I think is getting to be more common in the Okanagan. There was a wide range of wines to taste, from whites to reds to dessert wines. This winery started in 2004, with most of the vineyard area in Okanagan Falls and a few acres around the winery in Westbank. An interesting white was their 2007 Chardonnay / Semillon. This is a wild ferment. Vanilla on the nose. Very tart with green apple flavours. Would be good chilled with shellfish. Their red selection was quite large, with the winery making a 2007 "La Droite" and a 2006/07 "La Gauche" wine following the blends that are used in the Right and Left banks in Bordeaux. The "La Droite" was primary Merlot, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. This wine was deep purple in the glass. Sweet cherry / plum nose. Round mouth feel, cherry flavour and firm but not overpowering tannins. For those with a sweet tooth a nice wine was the 2007 Pinot Noir Icewine. Pear coloured. Apple, pear, and burnt matches aroma and flavours. Good acidity to balance the sweetness.

Another certified organic winery I visited on this trip was Kalala Organic Estate Winery, also located in Westbank. I was impressed with all the wines they let me try. As it is now officially summer, I welcomed the Pinot Noir Rose 2007. This wine is light salmon / orangy in colour. Strawberry and cranberry nose. Strawberry flavour with good acidity. A great choice for a patio sipper. An unusual wine that I tried (and bought a few bottles) was their Kalala Cuvee Noir 2007. What made it unusual? The 3 varietals that they used to make this wine: Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, and Michurinetz. I've tried two of the 3 varietals before, but not all 3, and not all 3 blended together! This wine was a deep, bright purple colour. Red fruit, plummy nose. Sweet candy, red fruit, ripe cherry flavours with low tannins. This wine should hold up to full bodied grilled meats. The prices for Kalala's wines are also excellent. The Cuvee is $14.95 and the Rose is $17.95. Only their Zweigelt icewine broke the $20 mark with a price of $75. They want to keep the prices reasonable to show people that organic wines need not be expensive and can be quite tasty. The Zweigelt icewine 2006 if you are curious, had honey, orange, butterscotch aromas and flavours.

The last winery I visited was Camelot Vineyards Estate Winery. I do not know if this is an organic winery, but I do know that it just opened to the public 2 weeks ago. They produce both red and white wines, but at the moment, only their white wines are bottled and ready for tasting. The reds I saw were still in barrels (both French and American oak) waiting for bottling next year I believe. The 2 whites I tried were a Pinot Gris and a Gewurztraminer. I enjoyed the Gewurztraimer. It was light bodied, with lychee and spice aromas and flavours. I have tasted many very nice Gewurztraimers from the Okanagan the last few years. If you have not had a chance to try a BC Gewurztraimer, you should give it a try.

Breakfast with Bill Hardy!

Wow, what an interesting morning! I was invited with a group of other bloggers over breakfast to meet with Bill Hardy, who is the 5th generation from Thomas Hardy who started Hardys wines in South Australia. Bill is a winemaker as well as a Brand Ambassador for Hardys. Hardys is over 150 years old, starting in 1853. Quite a long heritage.

The main goal of the breakfast was to let us know about a new bottle being marketed in Canada by Hardys called the SHUTTLE. The Shuttle is a 250ml bottle that contains 250ml of wine. It uses a stelvin-like closure and consists of a bottle with glass. The closure is inside the plastic glass and the glass is inverted on top of the bottle of wine. We were shown the Chardonnay / Semillion blend shuttle. There will also be a Syrah / Cabernet Sauvignon shuttle also for the Canadian market. The nice thing about the shuttle to me, is that it is just the right amount of wine if you are having a meal by yourself, or to take on a picnic when you do not want to fuss with glasses and a bottle opener. You just twist the cap / glass to open the bottle; pour and enjoy. The price is also right at CAD$4.25 plus tax.

Bill let us talk about anything with him. I found out that this year's vintage, 2009, is generally very good. There was a heat wave at the beginning of the harvest which affected the early ripening white grapes, but then it cooled off and the remaining white and red grapes produced very well. Bill indicated that he is very happy with the red wine production.

Did you know that the Tintara Vineyard was the first purchased by Thomas Hardy in the McLaren Vale (1876), which is south east of Adelaide? You may have heard of the Tintara line of wines from Hardys. I can attest that the Tintara Shiraz is outstanding as I have had the opportunity to try this wine at previous South World Wine Society tastings.

Hardys is also supportive of many groups, and I found out that one group is Canucks Place here in Vancouver. Any winery that supports people in need, especially children, rate high in my books.

Closing off this blog, I asked Bill for the favourite wine that he produced at Hardys. I expected him to say a big, extracted Aussie Shiraz, but was pleasantly suprised when he offered two wines, and they were both dessert / fortified wines! The first wine was the 1985 Hardys Collector Beerenauslese Riesling. This is a dessert wine that has been affected by Noble Rot. The Noble Rot imparts a honeyed / marmalade type flavour to this sweet wine. The Noble Rot wizens the grapes, leaving less water before pressing, and therefore more syrup for fermentation. The yeasts typically have problems fermenting super sugary syrup and die around 12-13 % alcohol. This leaves a fair amount of residual sugar. If you have not tried a Beerenauslese level wine, you should try. Most come from Germany, and most are very expensive, but well worth the cost to try at least once.

The other favourite wine that Bill produced was a 1975 Vintage Port, which he also noted was made by accident. Bill had identified a block of very good grapes which he was going to use to produce a top level Thomas Hardy still red wine. He had started the fermentation of the block of grapes and turned over the monitoring of the fermentation to another winemaker. He forgot though to tell the other winemaker that that block of grapes was for a still wine. The other winemaker thought that those grapes looked like they would be prime for port so he added alcohol to the fermentation, thus stopping it (killing the yeast), and the rest is history.

To close, keep your eyes open for the new Shuttle and try it on your next picnic. Enjoy!

Back from Oregon

My blog has been quiet over the last week. That's because I was out in Oregon trying pinot noir and pinot gris primarily. The coast where i was staying was really wet and cold. Not good grape growing area, but as soon as you move inland a bit, say around McMinnville, the weather warms up nicely. I was able to try wines from the $11 - $85 range, and both ends of the range were excellent. On the main page of www.mywinepal.com i will be providing reviews for the wines that I really enjoyed, but for the moment, to whet your appetite, here are a few recommendations:

- Rex Hill Reserve Pinot Noir, 2006. This wine is produced by the winemaker barrel sampling and picking the best barrels to blend. This wine was medium garnet. Violet and plum aromas. Violets, ginger, cloves, and vanilla flavour. US$42

- Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, 2006. 2006 was a hot year in Oregon so all wineries have very ripe fruit and a larger volume of wine produced. This wine was light garnet in colour. Spicy, strawberry, smoky, vanilla and cherry aromas. Spicy, light oak, with a cherry finish. US$38

- Redhawk Vineyard and Winery Redhawk Red. This is a popular table wine for this winery. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This wine was dark garnet in colour. Plum, currant and dark fruit aromas. Sweet black fruits, soft tannins and long length on the palate. US$11 (an unbelievable price)

Enjoy!

A quick review of new wines to Vancouver

Last week I attended a Trade Tasting which shows off the new wines coming into the Vancouver, BC market. There were too many wines to try, which is good for everyone, giving us more choices. But without knowing what to pick to enjoy with your bbq or sushi, for example, could be a problem for you. So what were some wines that I think you should look out for? Here they are:

- Elephant Hill Syrah, New Zealand, 2007, $25, spec (very smoky aroma, with smoky, cherry flavours and medium tannins)
- Delas Cotes Du Rhone, France, 2007, $17.99, spec (another syrah. Cherry and licorice aroma. Cherry, licorice flavours with medium tannins)
- Panther Creek, Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir, Oregon, 2006, $31.75 (a fuller bodied pinot noir. Blackberry and vanilla on the nose. Cocoa, orange peel and currant flavours. Smooth.)
- Marques de Caceres Rioja Blanco, Spain, 2008, $15.99, spec (Citrusy, green aroma. Lively apple and citrus flavours.)
- Pierre Sparr et Ses Fils, Riesling Selection, France, 06/07, $18.01 (Apple/petrol aroma. Petrol, citrus, apple flavour. Light/medium bodied.)
- Anakena Single Vineyard Viognier, Chile, 2008, $16.95 (Apricot and ginger aromas. Good acidity. Apricot and ginger flavours continue on the palate.)

Stay tuned for my upcoming trip to Oregon. I'll be trying lots of Pinot Noir and letting you know the gems I find. Enjoy!