BC Reds at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Fest

March 28, 2009 08:19:24
Posted By Wine With Karl

It’s early Saturday morning. I spent almost 6 hrs tasting red wine yesterday at the Festival. There were many nice reds being poured in the BC area of the tasting room. The BC reds I tried:
- Averill Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 (nice violet nose)
- Black Hills Estate Winery Carmenere 2006 (the signature grape of Chile growing here and doing a nice job)
- Burrowing Owl Estate Winery Merlot. Excellent, sweet black fruit and fine tannins
- Cedar Creek Estate Winery Merlot Cabernet 2006 and Syrah 2006. Both big full bodied wines.
- Garry Oaks Zeta 2006 (Marcel mentioned this is the first planting of Zwiegelt in BC)
- Cabernet Franc 2007 and The Bear 2006. Bordeaux blends
- Hillside Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2006
- Kettle Valley Winery Reserve Pinot Noir 2005, Malbec 2005, and Old Main Red 2005. All had an barnyard aroma to them.
- La Frenz Merlot 2006 and Shiraz 2006. I put a star beside the Shiraz beside this one in my notes. Good balance, meaty./vanilla/dark fruit.
- Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery Summit Reserve Pinot Noir 2006, S.R. Merlot 2005, and S.R. Summit (a Bordeaux blend). Mt. Boucherie always produces nice wines.
- Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery King’s Ransom 2006. Big red but needs 2-3 years for the tannins to soften
- Osoyoos Larose Les Petales 2005, Le Grand Vin 2004, and Le Grand Vin 2006. The wine maker told me that the vines keep getting better each year and I agree. I loved the Le Grand Vin 2006 (star).

I’ll do a separate blog entry for the international reds I tasted on Friday. Enjoy!

Thinking about Pinot Noir

January 11, 2009 09:06:52
Posted By Wine With Karl

The movie Sideways popularized the Pinot Noir varietal. It is the classic red grape of Burgundy, but is getting competition from around the world, particularly from Oregon and New Zealand. Other countries, such as Canada and Chile are producing some nice Pinots as well. This is a cross over grape, I'd say, for people that primarily drink white wine because they don't like the tannins from red wines. Pinot Noir grapes have low tannins, and depending on how the wines are produced can be very light, with wonderful red fruit (e.g. strawberries and raspberries) and violet aromas and flavours. There can also be the more "Burgundian" versions of pinot noir that have more of the earthy, barnyard aromas and flavours that some people enjoy.

So if you have someone you want to introduce to red wines, may I suggest a New World pinot noir. It is hard to go wrong with one from New Zealand. Matua, Tohu (aboriginal run), Cloudy Bay, and Villa Maria are some producers you may want to check out. Chile also makes some nice Pinot Noir. Two that I can recommend are: Cremaschi Furlotti and Casa del Bosque. If you prefer to try Canadian Pinot Noir, Mission Hill, Cedar Creek (try the Platinum Series if you can) and Quails Gate produce good examples.

With a lighter style Pinot Noir, you can pair these wines with fish or chicken. Try a roast salmon with pinot noir.

Enjoy.