Some Chilean insights to vineyards and wine

I thought i'd pass along 2 bits of info i learned while i was speaking with wine makers in Chile.

1. organic red grapes appear to have thicker skins and can be more tannic than non-organic grapes (at least for Chile). So different vinification is needed for organic red grapes vs non-organic. The winemaker sugggested that less maceration is needed as you would get too much tannins from the organic grapes.

2. deeper soils make softer tannins for red grapes (at least for Chile). For a cabernet sauvignon, it appeared that the deeper soil made softer tannins, and the shallower soil made firmer tannins. So the wine maker, knowing the differences caused by soil depth, vinified the cabernet plots separately and came out with two entirely different wines.

Do u have any stories like this from winemakers around the world? If so, please let me know.

A Taste of LaStella Wines

LaStella Winery is one of the new wineries in the Okanagan, opening it's doors in May 2007. It has a sister winery, which you may have heard of called Le Vieux Pin. I was recently invited to a tasting of LaStella's wines in Yaletown and was very impressed with their wines. LaStella operates their vineyards with a cross between organic and biodynamic practices. They also contract grapes from like minded, quality growers (which I will talk about shortly). They also take great care in the production of the wine, from hand-destemming grapes, to using whole berries for fermentation and using small open-top oak fermentors.

LaStella has both white, rose, and red wines. The two white wines I tried was the Leggiero Unoaked Chardonnay 2008 and the Vivace Pinot Grigio 2008. The Leggiero and Vivace grapes come from the Kalala vineyard. For those that have read my past posts, the Kalala Organic Winery in West Kelowna has produced some wonderful organic wines at a great price point. They also told me that they sell some of their grapes to other wineries. So I was VERY happy to see that LaStella is one of those wineries.

The Leggario had nice mango and pineapple aromas. It was medium body, with light acidity, lime and mineral flavours. The Vivace is a gorgeous, refreshing pinot grigio. It has a crisp citrus and pineapple nose. Good acidity, with pineapple, lime, and mineral flavours. Next I moved on to the Lastellina Rose 2008. This is a merlot based rose. It has a nice salmon colour and a ripe strawberry nose. It is medium bodied, with some spice (cinnamon), and strawberry flavour.

There were 3 reds to enjoy. I found out that the reds are all un-fined and un-filtered, which gives you the closest to a barrel sample experience as possible. The red first was the Allegretto Merlot 2006. It was medium garnet in colour. Ripe plums and light oak on the nose. Medium body and tannins, with black cherry flavours. Their premier wine that evening was the Maestoso Merlot 2006. This wine was deep garnet in colour. Ripe black fruit, cigar box and mocha nose. Ripe black fruit, cherries and mocha flavour, with a cherry finish. The tannins were very fine. This is an exceptional wine. Last but not least was the Fortisimo 2007. This wine will soon be bottled, so we were treated with a sneak taste of this wine. The Fortisimo is a Bordeaux blend, with approximately 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. This wine had a very complex nose and aroma. I unfortunately did not take detailed notes on this wine, but it had many flavour dimensions and a long finish.

What's upcoming for LaStella? I heard that they have Sangiovese grapes planted and will be harvesting them to blend with other red varietals to offer their first "Super Tuscan". I joked that maybe it should be a "Super Okanagan". Either way, I look forward to trying this wine. Enjoy!

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.

5 Nations Cup Results

February 2, 2009 07:43:25
Posted By Wine With Karl

A little over 2 weeks ago the South World Wine Society had their annual 5 Nations Cup. This is a blind tasting, where a white and red wine is tasted from each of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and South Africa. The members and guests of the event rate the wines without knowing which country each wine is from.

Everyone loves Australian wines. They have been #2 in sales after BC VQA wine lately, but they were #1 in BC for quite a while before that. People on the other hand have viewed Chilean and Argentinean wines as being somehow cheap and cheerful wines. This tasting proved to people the exact opposite. The favourite WHITE and RED wine for the evening was from Chile. Argentina's red wine came in second place. The Aussie red and white wines ended up in last place!

So, if you haven't tried a Chilean wine, maybe now is the time to go to your favorite bottle shop and picking up one or two? If you want to see which wines were tasted and their rankings, go to www.southworldwine.com and scroll down to the middle of the page.

And lastly a few Chilean wines you may want to buy and try:

- Novas Organic Carmenere Cabernet, Chile, 2004, $16.99
- Montes Alpha Chardonnay, Chile, 2006, $26.85
- Viu Manent Malbec Reserva, Chile, 2005 (private stores)
- Matetic “EQ” Sauvignon Blanc, Chile, 2005 (private stores)

Enjoy!