BC Chardonnay for Summer Sips

Chardonnay. Some people love it; others are not too crazy about it. From my speaking with people, I think it is mainly the heavily oaked chardonnays that are not as enjoyable for many people. But the good news is that there are many unoaked chardonnays which are lighter in body and show more fruit character. Mission Hill brought worldwide attention to Okanagan wines when their 1992 Mission Hill Grand Reserve Chardonnay was awarded the Avery Trophy for the Best Chardonnay at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Chardonnay can show a wide range of character including peach, pear, apple or tropical fruits, mineral notes and rich full-bodied buttery, toasty flavours if aged in oak. It can be a heavy white wine with oaking, and can be a replacement for some red wines. Try with a bbq'd steak.

Checking the www.EverythingWine.ca website, for $15-$25 BC Chardonnay, I came up with 33 wines:

Arrowleaf Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$17.99
Blasted Church Chardonnay Musque 750 mL	Chardonnay	$21.99
Cassini Cellars Chardonnay 750mL	Chardonnay	$23.99
Cedar Creek Estate Chardonnay Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$15.99
Cedar Creek Platinum Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$23.99
Crowsnest Vineyards Stahltank Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$21.99
Desert Hills Unoaked Chard 750 mL	Chardonnay	$18.99
Dirty Laundry Chardonnay unoaked 750ml	Chardonnay	$23.99
Dragonfly Hill Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$19.99
Gray Monk Unwooded Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$16.99
Herder Vineyards Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$23.99
Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$17.99
Kettle Valley Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$21.99
Mike Weir Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$16.99
Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$18.99
Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$19.99
Mt Boucherie Summit Reserve Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$23.99
Mt Boucherie Unoaked Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$17.99
Nk'Mip Cellars Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$15.99
Pacific Breeze Winery Sangiacomo Vineyards Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$22.99

Peller Proprietor's Reserve Chardonnay 1.5 L	Chardonnay	$15.99
Quails' Gate Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$18.99
Quinta Ferreira Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$24.99
Robin Ridge Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$22.99
Sandhill Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$17.99
See Ya Later Ranch Unleashed Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$19.99
See Ya Later Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$19.99
Sonora Ranch Chardonnay 1.5 L	Chardonnay	$17.99
Summerhill Estate Winery Chardonnay, Organic 750 mL	Chardonnay	$24.99
Thornhaven Chardonnay 750 mL	Chardonnay	$18.99
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards Chardonnay 750ml	Chardonnay	$19.99
Township 7 Semillon 750mL	Chardonnay	$19.97 | $22.99
Township 7 un-oaked Chardonnay 750mL	Chardonnay	$21.99

Chardonnay is quite a popular grape amongst BC wineries. Some chardonnay's in my tasting notes are:

• Therapy Vineyards Chardonnay, 2007 - Pale lemon. Vanilla, apple, and butterscotch aromas. Butterscoth, leees, citrus, and orange peel flavours. Round mouthfeel.
• Dirty Laundry Vineyard Unoaked Chardonnay, 2007 - Light lemon colour. Tropical fruit, lemon, and honey on the nose. Some roundness in the mouth. Vanilla, apple and pear flavours.
• Greata Ranch Reserve Chardonnay, 2006 - Single vineyard. Slight oaky aroma and lime. Topical fruit flavour with a vanilla finish. Medium body, some roundness on the palate.
• Greata Ranch Chardonnay, 2006 - Pale straw coloured. Oak, vanilla, and pineapple aromas. Oak, apple and citrus flavours. Light acidity, but very fruity.

Cheers!

Fraser Valley wineries - A short summer trip

Well summer is here! Sort of. Well, hopefully soon. Don't let the poor weather slow you down though. Short weekend trips in the Fraser Valley could be a way to cheer your spirits. There are many wineries in BC's Fraser Valley. They are open to the public with tasting rooms, and are probably at most a 45 minute drive from most places in Vancouver.

So which wineries can you visit in the Fraser Valley (I put in the web links for you)?
- Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery & Bacchus Bistro

- The Fort Wine Company

- Lotusland Vineyards

- Pacific Breeze Winery

- Neck of the Woods Winery

- River's Bend Winery

- Sanduz Estate Winery

- St. Urban Winery Ltd.

- Wellbrook Winery

- Westham Island Estate Winery

- Lulu Island Winery

- Township 7 Vineyards

- Blue Heron Fruit Winery

Some of these wineries you may see from the links to their websites are berry fruit (not grape-based) wines. If you haven't tried a berry fruit wine, such as from red currant or blueberry, give it a try. I think the berry fruit wines, served chilled would be nice in the summer on the patio.

Cheers!

Le Vieux Pin Dinner

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, I was fortunate to attend the Le Vieux Pin Winemaker Dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver. The event was at the Market Restaurant in the hotel and the food was masterfully designed by Executive Chef Wayne Harris in consultation with Jean-Georges. Keeping to the blog format, I will keep my notes brief and will then provide more details in www.MyWinePal.com.

Rasoul Salehi, the Director of the enotecca wineries that owns Le Vieux Pin, led us through a tasting of white, red, and rose wines he has recently produced.  James Cambridge, the wine maker was unable to attend, but Rasoul is a very knowlegable man about wine and very interesting to hear speak. Rasoul also brought a small barrel of a new wine for Le Vieux Pin, his 2008 Syrah / Viognier. For those that do not know, Syrah is a red grape, while Viognier is a white grape. Both varieties come from the Rhone Valley in France. Syrah is a bold, spicy grape, while viognier is very flowery and aromatic. In the Rhone Valley, one of their traditions is to co-ferment Syrah is a bit of viognier. The viognier helps bring out more colour from the Syrah grape skin and adds more perfume to the wine. I applaud Rasoul for trying this in the Okanagan.

This Syrah / Viognier was deep purple in the glass, with aromas of vanilla, blueberry, plum and honeysuckle. On the palate you get ripe plum, black cherry and vanilla. Quite spicy, round in the mouth and long length. When this wine is released to the public it will be in the $32-$35 range. Well worth the price. This wine was paired with homemade, melt in your mouth, gnocchi, with morel mushrooms, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. The black pepper seemed to bring out the fruit in the syrah.

To start the evening we had the 2009 Vaila Pinot Noir Rose, paired with egg caviar. The Pinot Noir grapes were picked at a ripeness that Rasoul felt did not bring out the tannins of the grapes. Some wineries, when they produce rose wines, use fully ripened red grapes, which have partial contact between skin and juice, then some of the juice is bled off to produce the rose wine, but this also allows the tannins to be imparted to the rose. Rasoul by choosing to pick earlier indicated that the tannin level can be minimized, making a smoother rose. This wine had fresh raspberries and medium cherry aromas. More fresh strawberry and red cherry on the palate with low tannins. Good crisp acidity. The egg caviar was a wonderful mixture of salty, creamy and eggy flavours that blended nicely with the rose.

There are many other wines to talk about from this evening: 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 Epoque Merlot, 2007 Apogee Merlot, and 2009 LaStella's Moscato d'Osoyoos, and of course their food pairings. Check on www.MyWinePal.com for the full review.

Enjoy!

Hester Creek wine tasting

Last evening I was selected with a few other bloggers to sit down with Rob Summers, the wine maker from Hester Creek Estate Winery, in downtown Vancouver. Rob comes originally from the Niagara region in Ontario working for larger wineries, and has moved to the Oliver area in BC in 2006, to work for the boutique winery, Hester Creek. It sounds like he really enjoys all the hands-on work and the wonderfully dry Okanagan climate. Hester Creek is one of the oldest wineries in BC.

Hester Creek Estate winery, besides having 95 acres of vineyards for producing wine, also has 6 villas for visitors. I'd say one of the most famous visitors from last year staying at a villa, is the renowned wine writer, Jancis Robinson. The villas and new winery buildings opened up last year, so if you have seen the winery from August 2009 or older, you haven't seen their latest and greatest operation.

We went through 3 white and 3 red wines. The first white was the Pinot Blanc 2008. This is Hester Creek's best selling white, along with their Pinot Gris. The Pinot Blanc was pale lemon colour with a slight green tinge. Light aromas on the nose. Some spice, some apple, some honey. Light in body with a light apple flavour and medium acidity. An easy sipper. The next white was their Semillon Chardonnay 2008. This is a 50/50 blend. This wine had some lemon, some sweetness, some waxiness and greenness on the nose. Medium body with slight roundness in the mouth. Apple and lemon flavours. The final white of the evening was their Trebbiano 2008. Trebbiano is the second most planted grape in the world, and is used in the production of cognac. It is known for it's high level of acidity. This one had light green apple and floweriness on the nose. Light body, with almond and apple flavours, and good acidity. The acidity made it a nice pairing with some of the hard cheeses they had for us to nibble with the wines.

On the red side, we tried their Merlot 2008, Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot 2008, and the Reserve Cabernet Franc 2006. The first two wines were not overly extracted in colour, giving them lightness in body. The Merlot 2008 had a very wild nose, with sausage, smoke, plum and cherries. I quite enjoyed nosing this wine. On the palate it had medium tannins, with plum and cherry flavours and a slightly oaky finish. The Cabernet / Merlot 2008 is their best selling red. This wine is light garnet in colour, not an overpowering nose. Red fruits with a bit of sausage aromas. On the palate there were cherry flavours with light tannins. The final red wine of the night, and my favourite, was the Reserve Cabernet Franc 2006. Cabernet Franc doesn't get the limelight that Cabernet Sauvignon gets, but if it is made well, is an exceptionally nice wine to drink. This wine being reserve level was deeper garnet in colour. Vanilla and cedar on the nose. Firm tannins, with a round mouthfeel. Red cherry flavours, with medium length and cherry finish.

Again, thanks to Rob Summers for leading us through this tasting. If you are out in the Okanagan, drive down to the "Golden Mile" in Oliver and visit the Hester Creek winery. I did record the tasting, and will be posting it on www.MyWinePal.com hopefully soon. Enjoy!

Liquid Art Fine Wines - 20th Anniversary tasting

Today I was invited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Liquid Art Fine Wines in Vancouver. Liquid Art Fine Wines is an importer of premium wines from around the world. They are specialists in sourcing some of the world's finest and most sought-after wines. You can find their wines in restaurants in Vancouver as well as you can purchase the wines from them if you are an avid collector of hard to get wines.

I enjoyed sparkling wines, white and red wines from around the world today. A very nice Champagne from France was the Varnier-Fanniere Brut Grand Cru NV ($71.90). This champagne had a nice bready nose. Very fine bubble, with green apple, oak and citrus flavour. The fine bubble, I learned from my trip to France last year comes from the Chardonnay grape. This champagne is 100% chardonnay from different vintages blended together. It is aged in bottle for 3 years. It is not heavy and I'd enjoy it as an aperitif with some light canapes.

If red wine is more your style, staying in France, maybe you would enjoy their Domaine de la Mordoree "La Dame Rousse" Lirac Rouge AC 2006 ($30.90)? This a blend of 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah. Hand harvested. This was a very intriguing wine. It has a brooding character. Deep garnet in colour, with a sweet dark cherry nose. Full dark cherry flavour. Medium tannins and medium length.

Outside of France, you may enjoy the Roccolo Grassi Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2004 Italy ($57.90). Valpolicella is a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, Croatina and Corvinone. This wine had a very smoky nose with cherries. On the palate there was that smokiness again, with sausage and cherry and nice amount of spice. Long length. Wonderful.

There are many more wines of great quality at Liquid Art Fine Wines. I will be posting my tasting notes for the other wines that tried this evening on www.MyWinePal.com. You may want to visit Liquid Art Fine Wines' online inventory.

Enjoy!

Chile Day 10 - Casa Lapostolle and Viu Manent

Chile day 10 – Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta and Viu Manent. My first stop this morning was with Casa Lapostolle in their Clos Apalta winery. This winery was specially designed for their flagship wine “Clos Apalta”. This is a Bordeaux blend with Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot. The winery is dedicated to organic and biodynamic vineyard practices (which I enjoy and can note that it really does make a difference in your glass), and produces some very nice wines. The Apalta region is the premium red region in Colchagua and I believe in all of Chile. In keeping with my brevity in my blog while I am on the road, I will review one white and one red wine for Casa Lapostolle, with full tasting notes when I am back in Vancouver. For the white, I enjoyed the Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from the Rapel Valley. It had varied aromas of citrus, pineapple and apple. On the palate there was good acidity with pineapple flavour and medium length. This is the FIRST year that Casa Lapostolle has used a screw cap on this wine or any of their other wines. An elegant wine which would pair nicely with seafood. For the reds, I must talk about their Clos Apalta Limited Release 2007. I am the FIRST person in media for North America to try this vintage of Clos Apalta and feel very privileged. This wine spends it's first year aging in all new French oak barrels with each varietal in it's own barrel. In year 2, the varietals (Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot) are blended and put back in the same barrels and aged for another year. After 2 years in barrel, the wine is bottled and then the bottle is kept in storage for a year before release. The 2007 vintage was very deep purple coloured in the glass. It had vanilla and sweet black fruit on the nose. On the palate there was vanilla, sweet black fruit, red cherries, cloves, and cinnamon flavours. The flavours came out more as I swirled the wine in my glass exposing the wine to oxygen. It would be interesting if time permitted to try this wine after one hour, four hours and 24 hours to see how the wine's aromas and flavours change. To get the full effect of the wine please decant it. The wine had a nice round mouth feel with a balance of medium tannins. It finished dry with cherry and vanilla flavours lingering on the palate for a long time.

After visiting Casa Lapostolle, my next stop for the day was the Viu Manent winery, just a short drive away. I was given a short tour of the winery, with an opportunity for a barrel sample of a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by a horse drawn carriage ride through the vineyard. Malbec plays a very big part of the wines at Viu Manent with more being planted around their winery. I have enjoyed their Reserva Malbec in the past at tastings I have held with the South World Wine Society in Vancouver. It is interesting to see how they are producing Malbec very successfully, while this is the signature grape of Argentina. I sampled their Viu Manent Reserva Chardonnay 2008 from the Casablanca Valley. The wine has been released for almost a year. I was told that through the year in the bottle the wine has changed with the level of acidity decreasing, leaving the wine with an off-dry level of sweetness. This wine spent 6 months in oak barrels and as deep yellow in colour. It had a vanilla, apple, sweet and creamy nose. On the palate there was more of the vanilla, apple and creaminess. It was very soft and round in my mouth but also had a slight spiciness. For the red wine, I enjoyed the Reserva Carmenere 2008 from the Colchagua Valley. Deep purple colour in the glass. Vanilla, black fruits and a slight hint of capsicum on the nose. It was quite round in the mouth, with vanilla and ripe black fruit flavours, and a peppery finish.

I have found through discussions with various Chilean winemakers on this trip that Carmenere does tend to have a peppery finish, which is quite nice. The wine makers also suggest paring a Carmenere with spicy asian foods (e.g. Thai, Indian) as well as Mexican food.

That is all from the Colchagua Valley, Tomorrow is back to Santiago. Saludos!

Chile Day 7 - Maipo Valley

Chile Day 7, Half way through my visit to Chile and the wineries I planned to visit. Today I visited 3 wineries spread across the Maipo Valley, south of Santiago. The first winery of the day was Santa Rita. I've met two of Santa Rita's wine makers in the past through their visits to Vancouver, and now it is my turn to see the winery. Mr. Jose Ignacio Villalobo gave me a tour of their winery as well as pointing out the historical sites that are within the winery. One of the lines of wine is the “120” series. I'll write about it when i'm back in Vancouver, but if you are interested, please check out Santa Rita's website, www.santarita.cl. Mr. Villalobo had selected 5 wines for me to taste: 2 Sauvignon Blanc, 1 Carmenere, and 2 cabernet sauvignon. These wines were from their entry to to their premium levels. Although i can't take you through all wines from all 3 wineries in this brief blog, i'll point out a few wines. The Santa Rita Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008 had a mix of asparagus and citrus on the nose. Medium acidity, with more asparagus flavour as well as some herbaceousness and citrus. The wine had medium body and a bit of roundness. For a red, I'll point out the Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2007. This one was deep garnet in colour, with cassis, back cherry and a hint of vanilla on the nose. Lots of black cherry flavour, with a bit of meatiness. The tannins were medium and allowed for a smooth mouthfeel. Nice.

The second winery of the day was Vina Undurraga. Their grounds and winery were beautiful, just like Santa Rita. I'd love to just spend a day at each on their grounds enjoying the sites. At Undurraga I met with a wine maker named Pilar. She led me through a tasting of 5 different wines; 2 whites, 2 reds, and 1 sparkling. I found out that Undurraga has a range of sparkling wines. Hopefully we will get them in BC sometime soon. A white from Undurraga was the Sibaris Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from the cool climate, Leyda Valley. This wine was light lemon in colour. It had a sweet and saliness to the nose with lemon and a herbal note. It was quite high in acidity making it quite refreshing. I tasted green fruit, herbaceousness and some lemon. it had a long length with a spicy finish. On the red wine side, I enjoyed the Sibaris Carmenere, 2008 from the Colchagua Valley. This wine spent 23 months barrel aging in French and American oak. It was deep purple in the glass with good legs. It had tarry, meaty, cassis ad a bit of capsicum aromas. On the palate there as tar, vanilla and black cherry. It was quite smooth in the mouth with a slight peppery and dark fruit finish.

The third winery of the day was from Vina Tarapaca ex Zavala. This winery was a bit out of the way but well worth it. It has 8 km of private road that leads you to the winery. You drive through their vineyards along the side of the valley overlooking I think the Maipo River. Once there, there is beautiful grounds, and a private airstrip! Mr. Edward Flaherty, winemaker, led me through the tastings of his wines. Edward is originally from California, but has been living in Chile for many years. A white wine I enjoyed was the La Isla Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from the Leyda Valley. This wine ha a herbal nose with some green pepper, some floweriness and some lime. It had a ice round mouthfeel which was balanced with medium acidity in the glass. Green pepper and herbal flavours, with a long length. For the reds, I enjoyed the Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from the Maipo Valley. This wine was deep garnet in colour. very aromatic. Tar, ripe black fruit and cassis aromas. On the palate, there was tar, cassis, and black cherry. The tannins were medium, leading to a dry, sweet ripe black fruit finish. Very tasty.

That is all from the Maipo Valley. I'll provide full tasting notes for all the wines once i'm back in Vancouver. The next valley for me to visit is the Colchagua Valley. Saludos!

Celebrate Argentina Wines 2009

Having both the Wines of Chile and the Wines of Argentina in the same week have been taxing, but very fulfilling. I tried many new wines from many new wineries this week, and I look forward to seeing these new wines in our government and private wine shops. On this post I focus on the Argentina event.

Argentina has been making wines over the last 300 years, with most of the consumption within the country. Over the past 20 years exports of Argentinean wine has grown. Canada is now starting to get many more Argentinean wines.

For this tasting, there was of course many bottles of Malbec to taste, but also now a wide range of other varietals such as Semillon, Pinot Noir, Torrontes (the signature white grape of Argentina) and Petit Verdot! I was particularly suprised to see the Pinot Noir as it is such a finicky grape and loves cool climate, while the major wine region of Argentina, Mendoza, is quite hot and Malbec thrives there. I also enjoyed watching the Argentinean tango being danced at the event.

So what were some of the highlight wines that I came across at this evening's event?

- Urraca Chardonnay 2008. This wine had a nice oaky, earthy nose. Round in the mouth with nice lemon flavour and a long finish. Not overly oaked. This winery needs an agent so we can see their wines.
- Juana del Sol Chardonnay 2009. This wine has understated elegance. Pale lemon in colour with a light oak nose. Round. Vanilla and stone fruit flavours. They also need an agent.
- Sur de los Andes Torrontes 2008. Medium lemon coloured. Light pine needle aroma. FULL flavour. Pine needles and apples with a grapefruit finish. Maybe try instead of a Sauvignon Blanc sometime.
- Filus Reserva Malbec 2007. Deep purple in the glass. Ripe sweet red fruit with cherry liquor flavours. Vanilla, red fruit and plum on the nose. Tannic finish, but not unpleasant. This winery needs an agent.
- Aconcagua Malbec 2008. Deep purple coloured. Very aromatic. Smoky, herbal, cherry aromas. Smoky, earthy and dark fruit flavours with a cherry finish. Nice round mouth feel. One of my favorites, and should be around $15 when it comes to BC.
- Sottano Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. Medium garnet in the glass. Classic cassis nose. Cassis and cherry on the palate. Lots of fruit flavour and low tannins.

There is a peek at a few of the wines of the evening. There were many more, and I'll be posting them on www.mywinepal.com in the Wine Reviews section. Keep your eyes open for these wines coming soon to BC. Salud!

Pacific Breeze Winery

Many people living in New Westminster probably drive by this winery and don't realize it is there, and that they have very good wines. Hopefully this post, plus my past tweets will help let Vancouverites know about this winery and try their wines.

Last weekend, Pacific Breeze Winery, had a Summer Launch Release of their Sangiacomo Vineyards Chardonnay 2007 and their Lake County Killer Cab 2006. The grapes for both these wines come from California. The Chardonnay was medium lemon colour, lots of vanilla, citrus and pineapple on the nose. It was medium bodied, with some smoothness (so maybe partial MLF). Vanilla, pineapple and oak flavours. A very nice chardonnay.

The Killer Cab 2006 was medium purple in the glass. Black cherry, vanilla and other black fruit aromas. On the palate I tasted cassis, sweet fruit, black cherry liquor, and some spice. Nice round mouthfeel with medium tannins and a long finish. When the weather warms up this week, I think I'll be bbq'ing and drinking this wine.

In their backroom, they had 2 additional wines to taste; the aCURE eSTATE Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and the aCURE eSTATE Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. The 2005 was 81% Cab with 17% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, while the 2006 was 80% Cab with 16% Cab Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Both wines looked and tasted quite different. The 2005 was really dark and extracted in the glass. Vanilla, cassis, cherry and cedar aromas. Chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, and black cherry flavours. Very smooth. The 2006 was a medium garnet in colour (I thought it would be darker as it had a high percentage of Petit Verdot). Leathe, licorice, cherry, and nutmeg on the nose. Lots of cassis, black cherry and some spicy. Very tasty. Either wine is a winner.

Where is Pacific Breeze Winery? It is #6 - 320 Stewardson Way, New Westminster, BC. Hope you have a chance to visit them. Tell them Karl at MyWinePal sent you!

Wine and Filipino Food Pairing

Yesterday I held a Filipino food pairing with wines around the world. Filipino food is a cross of many cultures, primarily from Malay, Spanish, Chinese cultures. Foods are not typically spicy, but can have lots of vinegar and garlic (which are 2 ingredients that are hard to pair with wines). My other constraint was to find wines that were not too expensive, e.g less than CAD $20 a bottle.

I selected 3 whites, 3 reds, and 1 late harvest wine for the evening. The white wines were:
* Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling 2006 $16.49 USA (Washington)
* Santa Rita Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $14.99 Chile
* Nk'mip Cellars Chardonnay 2007 $15.99 Canada (BC)

The 3 reds were:
* Mirassou California Pinot Noir 2006 $15.99 USA
* Inniskillin Okanagan - Reserve Merlot 2006 $16.99 Canada (BC)
* Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $17.99 Australia

The late harvest wine was:
* Sauvignon Blanc - Concha Y Toro Late Harvest 2005 $14.98 Chile

To the white wines I paired:
* Lumpia Shanghai (a deep fried egg roll with dipping sauce)
* Bihon Guisado(a dish made with thin noodles, mixed vegetables and pieces of pork)

To the red wines I paired:
* roast pork with liver sauce
* Chinese bbq duck (made with five spice powder)

The late harvest wine was paired with leche flan (an carmelized egg custard) A recipe for leche flan.

As I hoped the wines showed their varietal characteristics. Some wines were nice sippers on their own, such as the riesling, while others did not, such as the pinot noir. That being said, when we tried the wines with the food, some of the wines, such as the pinot noir paired wonderfully. I particularly liked the Chinese bbq duck with the pinot noir. The pinot really cut through the grease in the duck skin, plus the spices in the 5 spice powder used in the bbq duck brought out flavours in the pinot noir. The late harvest wine was also very tasty on it's own, and with the leche flan.

I usually ask a group for their favourite white and red wine of the evening, but I decided to try something slightly different last night. I asked the women and the men separately for their favourite wines, and suprisingly they were both different. The women preferred the riesling and the pinot noir, while the men preferred the chardonnay and the cabernet sauvignon. I am going to have to try this at other tasting I host and see if this generally holds true.

I also had another wine to try which I had recently purchased from Pacific Breeze Winery; their 2006 Killer Cab ($22.90), but we ran out of time. I'll have to save it for my next tasting. For those that are interested, this wine is medium purple/red in the glass, with black cherry and vanilla nose. Cassis, sweet fruit, black cherry liquor and spicy flavours. Nice round mouthfeel, medium tannins and long finish. A buy.

Either way, it was a fun evening had by us all.

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.