Humble Pie - with some Syrah and Grenache - WSET class 5 part 2

I am starting to get to know my wine class group members a bit better. They are a nice bunch of people and I look forward to learning with them each week. They are also all involved in either the wine industry or the service industry and, despite my advantage in amount of years lived, I think their jobs give them a lot more experience with exposure to wine. I guess there aren't that many opportunities to drink wine while teaching....

At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Sigh....

Tonight's fiasco was the Grenache tasting.  We were given two wines to blind taste - one a cheaper Grenache from Spain and the other a Chateauneuf du Pape.  Several years ago, I was in Chateauneuf du Pape for the wine festival (Fete de la Véraison) and tried many, many different wines from the region. I kind of considered myself a bit of an expert on these wines - until tonight.

The first wine we tried was medium ruby with a medium intensity on the nose. There were aromas of plum, cherry and jam and additional tastes of berry, plum and tobacco. The tannins were low, the acidity was medium with medium body. I thought it had a medium finish but it was actually a medium minus finish. I thought it was the Chateauneuf du Pape but it was actually a Besso de Vino Garnacha from Spain rated Good which cost a pricey $14. Ouch!

The second was medium ruby, and had a medium plus intensity on the nose (yet, I thought it was low intensity). I had a hard time noticing anything beyond red fruit on the nose but there was actually dark cherries, plum, herbaceous, and leather. I thought it tasted a bit thin or watery but I was wrong there as well - it had medium tannins, medium plus acidity and full body. I thought it had a short finish but, in fact, it had a medium plus finish and was rated Very Good. It was a 2013 Domaine Giraud Chateauneuf du Pape that was worth $90!

The person in our group that reported out to the class nailed it perfectly - she could tell which was which. I, on the other hadn't, had it completely wrong! I guess I have to go back to Chateauneuf du Pape for another wine festival!

The final two wines were both made from the Syrah grape (called Shiraz in Australia)  and I redeemed myself a bit - if only to myself.

The first was a beautiful ruby/purple deep coloured wine that had a medium intensity on the nose and smelled of leather, tobacco, white pepper, and currants. On the palate there was black fruit (currants, cherry) and raisin. It had high acidity, high tannins and medium body. It had a medium finish but amazing complexity. This amazing wine (almost Exceptional) was 2011 John-Louis Chave Farconnet Hermitage from France that cost $100.

The second was deep purple with medium intensity with black fruit, black pepper and a bit of mint. It tasted of lots of dark, jammy fruit, had medium acidity, medium tannins, and full body. This Very Good wine was a Torbrec Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Australia worth $40.

I was able to pick out the Hermitage - but both of these wines were certainly drinkable and good to have. The previous two, though, I don't know how I was so off base!

Now pass another piece of that humble pie....

Riesling Evening with some Blanc Plonk - WSET Class 5 - Part 1

It was a lovely day on Tuesday.

I was able to combine two of my favourite things - riding my scooter and drinking wine!

It was a nice, sunny day and I hopped on my scooter and headed out to my WSET class in Vancouver. I even got there about a half an hour early and I was able to try a new restaurant, Pokérrito. This restaurant serves Hawaiian poké - sort of a Hawaiian version of sushi - on rice, salad or in a burrito. 

I really enjoyed poké when I was in Maui and was very excited to see it arrive here in recent weeks. When I entered the restaurant - sort of a take out place with a couple of tables - I was a bit concerned about the 12 people in front of me but the line went fast. I ended up gobbling half of the rice and accompanying wonderful ingredients before class started. 

This was class number 5 - time is definitely going far too rapidly! 

We started off with Riesling a wine that can range from bone dry all the way to sugar-sweet. The best ice wine in BC, as a matter of fact, is made from Riesling. Riesling is also one of the few white grapes that lends itself to ageing. 

Most Riesling comes from Germany. There's Mosel that has the lightest and most delicate, somewhat sweet, Rieslings grown on steep slopes in places like Piesport and Bernkastel. Then there's Rheingau which is a smaller region that makes drier wines where all the grapes only grow on the north side of the river to catch the sun. Next up is Pfalz which has off dry, medium body wines in places like Forst and Deidesheim. Finally there's Rheinhessen which is the largest area which is flat and produces the cheaper Rieslings. 

The Germans have Qualitatswein which is the first level of their better wines and then they have Pradikatswein which is their higher quality wine. I have to learn this, so you might as well, too! Within the Pradikatswein category, there are grape quality levels going from almost dry to very sweet. They are kabinett, spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese, and eiswien.

In Alsace,  the French label the wines with the grape varietal but also have the better wines from Villages and then from Grand Cru. They are usually dry or sweet wines. Other areas include Austria, New Zealand, and Australia where Riesling smells like a lime popsicle - and petrol!

Our first three wines were all Riesling and we had to blind taste them. 

The first wine we tried was from Alsace and sort of replaced our wine that had cork taint during the first night. It was clear, pale, lemon, with a pronounced nose, lots of stone fruit and apple, a dry wine with high acidity, medium body and a medium minus finish. It was rated Good. It was made by Trimbach and dost $36. 

The second was a Kabintett level German wine that was medium lemon, with medium intensity on the nose and had some stone fruit (nectarine, peach, apricot) as well as petrol and lychee. It was an off dry wine with high acidity and a medium finish It was a 2014 Weingut Max Ferd Richter from Mosel  that was rated Good and cost $40 and had a whopping 9% alcohol. 

The last Riesling was Auslese - so it was pretty sweet!  It was pale lemon, medium intensity on the nose, lots of stone fruit (apricot, peach, pear) as well as a hint of lime. It was medium in sweetness, had high acidity, medium body and a medium finish. This wine was a giant seven and a half percent alcohol and was a 2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Auslese that was rated Good and cost $85.

After the Rieslings, we looked at some different white grapes that are all grown in France. 

First was Chenin Blanc which is the grape grown in Vouvray. It is famous for its 'wet wool' or funky smell and is also South Africa's most planted grape. 

The wine we tried was pale lemon with medium intensity on the nose, a lot of stone fruit, off dry in taste with high acidity and a medium body. It had a bit of a funky taste (apparently - I couldn't sense it, though) and a medium finish. It was a 2015 Vouvray made by Baron Bernard (couldn't find a web site), was rated Very Good, and cost $28.

The next grape was Melon Blanc, grown in Muscadet. It is a neutral grapeshot is not aromatic and lends itself to sur lie - absorbing dead yeast cells - for 6 months to a year.

This Clos de Briords old vines Muscadet was pale lemon, with a medium minus nose, and had apple, peach, floral aromas, and tastes of lemon, peachy and apricot. It's smokiness was complimented by light body and a medium plus finish. This wine was rated at Very Good and cost $30. 

The last was Viognier which is a big sugar, full bodied wine with low acid and none of the spiciness of, say, a Gerwurztraminer. 

 

The Viognier we tried was medium lemon, had pronounced floral, apple and stone fruit aromas, some additional apple and toasty flavours on the palate, and had medium acidity, full body, and a medium plus finish.  This was a Condrieu made by E. Guigal which was rated at Very Good and cost $82. 

Those were the whites that we tried that night - next come the reds!

Fort Beren's - the winery in Lillooet

This past weekend, I took advantage of the fantastic weather here in BC and went on a scooter ride with a buddy for three days. It was a fantastic ride, especially for the portion on the Duffy (Duffey) Lake Road and if you are interested, the first day is here and the second day is here on my scooter blog, Big Guy, Big Scooter.

The best part of our second day was the winery at Lillooet. Sitting in the sun, enjoying a tasty lunch while sipping on some wine, was an amazing experience. But before we were there, we were in the wine shop of Fort Beren's Estate Winery.

The tasting room and shop is absolutely gorgeous. There are many large windows set into concrete walls and they look down on the the vineyards below. It was very picturesque.

The next thing that I noticed was, unlike most wineries in the Okanagan, there wasn't a charge for the tasting. I know, at least in the Okanagan (in most cases), you get the tasting fee credited back to you if you buy some wine but, still, it was a nice thing.

The woman who did the tasting was a friendly woman who lit up when I mentioned that I was taking my WSET level 2. She said that she was from Toronto and that she used to teach WSET level 2. We had a good chat about what I was doing and her decision to come to Lillooet, of all places, to work for the winery. 

We then began the wines. 

First up was my favourite - the Pinot Gris. It was fruity and floral on the nose and had green fruits in the taste. It made me think of hot summer days on the patio - something that was realized 20 minutes later when I had a glass on the patio with my lunch.

The next two were Rieslings. The first was a dry Riesling which was good and the second was just called a Riesling. It was off dry and my motorcycle companion absolutely loved it. He is a big Riesling fan and definitely enjoyed the off dry so much that he bought a bottle. 

Next was the Rosé. It was very, very pale - almost invisible! It was made from Pinot Noir grapes but really was kind of thin - not a big fan-  it certainly would be OK for the patio but didn't have the complexity of, say, the Pinot Gris.

We then skipped over to the reds. The first was the Pinot Noir and, like the Rosé, it lacked body and complexity. I was a bit surprised as I would have thought that the climate would lend itself to great Pinot Noir but this was way too thin? flabby? watery? I was disappointed with that one.

However, their Meritage (basically a Bordeaux blend) was great! The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are from a grower in the Similkameen but the rest is from Lillooet and it was very nice! I would have bought a bottle but I was worried it would get cooked while I was on my bike! 

The last red was a Cabernet Franc which was ok but was quite fruity and didn't have quite the structure that the Meritage had. Still, there is definite potential there!

The last two were Chardonnays. I found it a bit odd that Chardonnay was near the end but I think it is their feature wine. The first was a nice, approachable Chardonnay but their second, called White Gold, was, as the kids say, killer good. It had some great oak tastes but also some delicate notes that made it an above average wine. 

Finally there was the late harvest Chardonnay but, unfortunately, due to the amount of wines already tasted combined with my dislike of overly sweet wines, I didn't really appreciate the wine all that much. I would say that if you are a sweet wine drinker, and appreciate late harvest wine, this would be a good wine to try. 

Overall, I was pretty impressed with Fort Beren's. The wine shop, sommelier, selection of wines, fantastic views, and great lunch spot all combined to make a very pleasant tasting experience. I did buy the Pinot Gris and it make it home, intact, and nicely paired with some spot prawns cooked in garlic and butter. I will have to track down where to buy the Meritage and would consider both Chardonnays at a later date. 

And I would definitely come back for another visit. I think my wife would love this place!

Bordeaux Red, Red, Wine - Merlot and Cab Sauv - WSET Class 4 - Part 2

When I backpacked in France over thirty years ago, I really wasn't much of a wine drinker. Even back then, however, I knew that France was ground zero for wine. As mentioned before, I spent a couple days in Burgundy and had some record of my time there. I also spent time in the Bordeaux region, but I have no photos, no pamphlets, no information at all from that time. Perhaps I imbibed a bit too heavily on, what some people think are, the best wines in the world....

This week, we looked at some of the grape varietals in Bordeaux. We looked at both reds and white but the two main grapes that many people associate with Bordeaux are Cab Sauv and Merlot.

In Bordeaux there is the left bank - this is the the west side of the Gironde estuary and of the Dorgdogne  and Garonne Rivers. On the left bank they grow mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot added in. I have really enjoyed the wines form the left bank as they have at least medium tannins and a lot of complexity.

On the right bank they grow mostly Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon. These are also good wines as they are a little more fruit forward and are ready to drink a little sooner.

The first tasting at my WSET course tonight was a comparison of two Merlot based wines. One was a Bordeaux right bank wine and the other was a New World Merlot.

I do have to admit I got a little side tracked. Dave, our instructor, talked about elegant and international styles and I think I mixed up the two in terms of Bordeaux and New World. Unfortunately, I chose that moment to announce to the group, boldly, what I thought - and was ultimately way off base. It was especially galling because I really like Bordeaux wines and I knew, deep down, which was which but got sidetracked by my own notes. Oh well!

The following tasting notes are a combination of what I thought that was actually correct and the group consensus which was much more correct that my evaluation.

The first wine was medium ruby and medium intensity on the nose. It was more of a red fruit wine with cranberry, raspberry and plum and had mint on the nose. On the palate there was black cherry, medium body, light tannins, medium acidity and a medium finish. It was rated as Good and was a Chilean Merlot by Torreon de Paredes that had 13.5% alcohol and cost $22. Maybe a wine to have with pasta on a Wednesday night.

The second wine was also a Merlot - a Bordeaux wine from the right bank. It was deep ruby - almost purple - in colour. It had medium plus intensity on the nose and had flavours of cherry, currants, tobacco, black fruit, wet clay, and jam. It was full bodied with medium plus tannins and medium plus acidity. It had a gloriously long finish! It was a 2010 Chateau Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru Classé from St Emilion which had a whopping 15% alcohol and cost $126! It was rated Very Good - almost Outstanding - and I would be happy to drink it with a variety of dishes, so long as I didn't have to pay....

That was the right bank - all Merlot. Finally, we did the left bank - Cabernet Sauvignon - where I did a lot better with my tasting notes....

The third wine was medium ruby - almost purple. It had medium intensity and had a variety of aromas including red currant, plum, mint, herbaceous notes, and some oak. On the palate, there was black fruit, black cherry, and tobacco. It had high acidity, medium tannins, medium body, and medium plus finish. It was rated as Very Good. I liked this one quite a lot and found it was from Graves (same place as Chateau de Callac). It was another Grand Cru Classé, this time from  Pessac-Leognan by Chateau Malartic made in 2013 and cost $90. Did I mention that I liked this one?

The fourth and final one was deep ruby in colour and was medium intensity on the nose with black currants and cassis and an almost earthy note. Tasting, there was black cherry, black pepper, cooked fruit and tobacco. It had full body, medium plus tannins and medium plus acidity. It had a medium plus finish and was rated at Very Good. It was a 2013 Darioush Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon for Napa valley which had 14.8% alcohol and cost $80. Another pricey wine that just may be worth it.....

I enjoyed the class a lot this week. I think Bordeaux wines are possibly my favourite French wines and it was great to taste them and compare to the New World wines.

Sauvignon Blanc- not just cat pee - Carmenere, and Malbec - WSET Class #4 - Part 1

I left early for this week's class. I had a couple errands to do but I figured I would have time to try out a new place that my wine group had told me about. Unfortunately, by the time I got to Pokéritto, there was a giant lineup and I was running out of time. I ended up at Tim Hortons for a chicken wrap which was rather tasteless and I could only choke down half. What do you pair with disappointment?

A few minutes later, sitting in class, Rajen (the guy whose family owns Desert Hills), asked our table group if we were interested in joining a monthly tasting group. I definitely agreed and am actually looking quite forward to it. Each person brings a bottle of wine in a paper bag and then the group does a blind tasting. Sounds like fun!

Our table group is quite friendly now, especially after discussing all of the different wines that we have tasted. Some of us shared about our weekends as well as other small talk.

This week we looked at a bunch of wines. The first two were the white wines Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.  By the way, Sauvignon Blanc has a bit of a reputation of smelling like cat pee. I guess I haven't smelled enough cats peeing because I didn't really notice it....

Sauvignon Blanc is a very aromatic white wine which is usually dry and is a crisp wine that ranges in taste from grassy (think fresh cut grass) to tropical aromas. It is found in many places in the world, mostly in cooler or moderate areas. It is also found in Bordeaux and is one of only three white wines in Bordeaux. In the New World, New Zealand is the place that grows great Sauvignon Blanc. Unlike Chardonnay, it is much more consistent in its taste. Interestingly, it is one of the few wines that is supposed to pair well with sushi.

Semillon is a much more neutral grape that is sometimes added to Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc doesn't age very well but Semillon ages really well and blends well with Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon is also found in Bordeaux.

Our first tasting had three wines - one was a Semillon, one a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux and one a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

The first was a wine with a pronounced nose with aromas of stone fruit, green apple, green pepper, grass, and floral hints. On the palate, it had the same flavours as well as  grapefruit and some smokiness. It was definitely dry, had high acidity, medium body and a medium plus finish. It was rated as Very Good and was a 2015 Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre by Hubert Brochard and had the name Terroir de Silex. This wine had definite aging potential and cost $40.

The second wine also had pronounced intensity and had aromas and flavours of bell pepper, mint, green apple, tropical fruit ( I noticed pineapple), and peach. It had high acidity, medium body and a medium minus finish. It was also rated Very Good and, I think, was one of Dave, our instructor's, favourite Sauvignon Blancs as he was wearing a t-shirt from the winery! It was a 2015 Spy Valley from New Zealand priced at a mere $21. It was a very agreeable wine and our group enjoyed it.

The final wine tasted different than the first two - that was the first hint that this was a different wine. Where the other two were pale, this was medium in colour. It was a medium intensity wine on the nose with aromas and flavours of cut grass, apples, green peppers, smokiness, and toast - even though it was unoaked! It had medium body, high acidity, and a medium plus finish. It was Very Good. It was, of course, the Semillon. It was a 2009 Peter Lehmann from the Barosa Valley ($32). Semillon on its own is best aged and this particular winery only releases it aged - so it basically ages in the bottle for seven or eight years before being released. In fact, Semillon in general should age from seven to ten years before popping the cork!

The next post will deal with more Bordeaux wines but I will fast forward to the last two.

We spent some time looking at some other red grapes that originated from Bordeaux but were not that important in Bordeaux anymore. Both Carmenere and Malbec have been adopted by two different countries, Chile and Argentina, respectively.

The Carmenere grown in Chile was originally thought to be Merlot as Carmenere had basically been wiped out everywhere else in the world thanks to a virus. It makes purple wine and tends to have a bit of mint to its character.

Malbec is Argnetina's signature grape and has very dark fruit. It also makes purple wine and is a bit spicy, sort of like Syrah.

Our first tasting was deep purple and had a medium plus intensity on the nose. I noticed spice, black currant, cassis, prune and a general aromatic nose while there was black cherry and even toast on the palate. It was a full body wine with medium acidity and tannins and a medium plus finish. This 2013 Carmenere from Vina Tarapaca was rated as Very Good and cost $25. The words "Gran Reserva", however, don't have a great deal of meaning when it comes to Chilean wines. This wasn't a particularly popular wine with my table group but I didn't mind it too much.

The last wine was, of course, a 2014 Malbec from Catena in Argentina ($24). It was a medium to deep purple had a much lighter intensity nose than the Carmenere. I found it really hard to discern aromas and flavours but did come up with red fruit such as red currants. It had light tannins, medium body and medium acidity with a medium finish. It was rated Good. I have had quite a few different Malbecs and this one just wasn't that great to some of the others that I have had.

Next time, the tasting will look at Bordeaux reds - some of my favourite wines in the world!

Enchanted Evening at Mission Hill - Okanagan Spring Wine Festival Part 3

Where to for dinner? RauDZ? Waterfront? La Boussola?

That's one thing about Kelowna, there are a great deal of restaurants that serve great food and are reasonably priced.

One of the restaurants at the higher end of the budget is The Terrace at Mission Hill. Although the price is a bit high, we thought we'd splurge and enjoy a meal before heading back to the coast the next day.

Before I get to dinner, a little history lesson, class....

Mission Hill was founded and is owned by Anthony von Mandl who bought the land wayyy back in 1981. The winery started winning trophies for their wine back in 1994 and never looked back. The current winery building was completed in 2002 and cost $35 million! They started using their own grapes in 1996 and now have vineyards all over the Okanagan. The Terrace, by the way, was given the moniker of one of the five best winery restaurants in the world back in 2008.  

Speaking of The Terrace, there were four of us for dinner. The menu changes regularly and there are a limited number of items on it - a sure sign that the food is the freshest and best prepared.

My wife and I split the ham hock and foie gras appetizer. It was amazing. I love foie gras but rarely have it because it is difficult to find great foie gras (like we had in France) and it is very rich so should be had in limited quantities. I think it had been about 12 years since I had it. The foie gras was presented on a crispy piece of ham hock and was wonderfully delicious. One thing I like about The Terrace is that the server gives you a thorough description of what you are having once it is served. Unfortunately, I can never remember the descriptions....

Prospectus - the fancy fingernails belong to my daughter, Cait.

To accompany our appetizers and our meal, we had a bottle of 2013 Mission Hill Prospectus. This Pinot Noir was perfect - light enough for all of our foods but complex enough to match the rich and tasty food. I'm not sure how much it cost or even how to buy it as Mission Hill has a rather complex arrangement of wine clubs and tiers of club which you have to join to buy certain wines. However, the wine was available at the restaurant (however, Cait's fiancé Dan, picked up the wine bill, so I still don't know how much it cost!) .

For the main course, I had the duck breast which was another fabulous meal. It was moist and rich and tasty. It came with a nice variety of puréed and cooked veggies as well as hazelnuts! My wife had shrimp linguini and she said that it was amazing - notably, she didn't offer to share any but, to be fair, neither did I!

For dessert, the four of us shared mini ice cream sandwiches. They were macrons (my current favourite cookie) with ice cream in the middle on a bed of crushed up wafer. It was the perfect end to a wonderful meal. 

But that was not the end!

After dinner we went on a fantastic tour of Mission Hill. The hands down winning moment of the tour was the cellar - one of six under the mountain at Mission Hill. The smell and feel of the cellar was amazing. I wanted to curl up between some barrels and slurp back a glass of wine while I drank in the environment. 

There were some great features including the 'vault' where vintages or Mission Hill going back to the early nineties were kept and, on the other side, bottles that owners and winemakers  from other wineries around the world had left as a present to the owner. Perhaps a bottle of Domaine Romanée Conti was amongst the gifts?

There were other highlights of the tour including the symbolism of the many outdoor features, the wonderful art that was everywhere, and the architecture of the buildings. But the cellar was my absolute favourite part. 

After a day of partying at Hester Creek, tasting at Road 13, and eating and touring at Mission Hill, I was very happy. This was a day to remember! And all that more meaningful thanks to my WSET education.

Mega Tasting at Road 13 - Okanagan Spring Wine Festival Part 2

After we left Hester Creek, our several bottles of wine clinking in the cardboard case, we loaded up the car, piled in, and headed for Road 13. This is a winery I have been to before and have enjoyed many different bottles of their wine over the years. One of our good friends really loved the wine and, in fact, had it at their daughter's wedding a few years ago.

My brother-in-law is a member of Road 13's wine club and needed his spring case picked up so we were more than happy to do so. We entered the wine shop and explained our purpose for being there. We also mentioned that we would like a wine tasting. When faced with either the $5 each wine tasting or the $15 each wine tasting, we chose the former - but then my brilliant daughter piped up, "I am in the industry!"

Like a skeleton key, this opened up the tasting door. Since we were picking up a wine club member's wine and since Cait was in the industry, we were able to have a complimentary Premium tasting for three in the Lounge.

First, the whites.

We started off with a Champagne style Chenin Blanc. We were all very impressed by the clean taste and the appealing flavours of this bubbly - in fact, my wife insisted we buy a magnum. Next was the Chardonnay which was good but a bit too oaky for my tastes. Then we tried the Honest John White ($18)  which was a winner - a great BBQ wine! We ended up with a bottle of that one. Next, the 2014 Stemwinder ($18) which was a mix of Chardonnay, Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grapes. It was also another good BBQ wine. There was also their Rosé ($18), which has always been one of my favourites with its off dry taste and patio friendly flavours. This is mostly Merlot with Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir and some other grapes in smaller amounts.

Finally, the Roussanne ($29). This is a grape that is not often seen by itself. My daughter went crazy for this one but I wasn't as impressed. It wasn't awful but just wasn't my cup of tea - or glass of wine.

Onto the reds.

First was Honest John's Red ($20). I've always liked this one a lot - and now I like it more! It was just as approachable as before but has some extra richness thanks to more reliance on Gamay Noir, giving it a Beaujolais feel. Really nice change. Then was the 2014 Seventy-Four K ($25) which was also a very drinkable, enjoyable blend of reds. The 2013 Jackpot Petit Verdot ($75) was a very nice wine with good complexity but I didn't really want to spend the price for it. 

Under the new Similkameen Collective label, there were three very nice wines which all could use some ageing. I was tempted by all of them including the 2013 Consensus (Meritage blend at $60), the 2013 GSM (GSM = Grenache, Syrah, and Merlot - very tempted at $50), and the 2014 Syrah/Viognier ($45). These are all Rhône type wines and apparently foreshadow a shift in how Road 13 is going to do its premium blends. However, the one the I absolutely fell for was 2012 Fifth Element ($49). This is, apparently again, one of the last of these Bordeaux style wines as the winery shifts away from this style. I think it's too bad as it is a rich, complex, long finishing wine that I am looking forward to cracking open in the near future (I bought two bottles).

I was really impressed by the Premium tasting - it might have even been worth the $15 if we'd had to pay it! We basically tried every single wine that they still had available! It was a great tasting. At the start, we were given the tasting by Mick, the winemaker, something that I doubt would happen in the summer, and then we were switched over to a personable young guy who was working towards his law degree. Both were very knowledgable and did a great job of informing us about the wines. A fantastic time!

Even though that was enough - the day was not over yet! Our last stop of the day was dinner and a tour at Mission Hill!

Wineland at Hester Creek! Okanagan Spring Festival Part 1

This weekend, I was in the Okanagan as my wife and I visited our daughter (the one that works at Meadow Vista...)

It was a great visit - especially because of Saturday - but we'll get there in a moment.

On Friday, we went out for a nice little dinner at Bacaro Kitchen and Drink. They do great tapas, share plates and even meals and we had a nice assortment of chef's board charcuterie, cauliflower curry, prosciutto wrapped portobello mushrooms, Korean pulled pork sliders and duck confit spring rolls. The spring rolls were particularly amazing and the charcuterie is always an excellent choice.

With all of those different kinds of food, it was a challenge to select a wine for everyone. We ended up ordering a Viognier from the Okanagan which turned out to be just about perfect! It was a 2015 TH Wines (from Summerland) Viognier (their 2016 is $25 but I would guess the 2015 is only available in restaurants now).  It paired well with the spicy sliders as well as the rich spring rolls and had enough zip to it to meet the challenge of the meats on the charcuterie board.

Friday night, however, was just a warm up to Saturday.

Our first stop was Hester Creek. Last visit to the Okanagan, we ended up buying a case of their wine which made us a member of their Wine Club. That's it - no commitment, you just have to buy a case of wine.

Now,  as members, we were invited to their 1st annual Crush Pad BBQ party! We thought, why not, and booked a spot at the BBQ as well as a cellar tour. All free, mind you!

When we arrived, it was rather nice - a bit cloudy but definitely warm enough for a BBQ.

There was a fairly good turn out and we were a bit dazzled by all of the options. There were tents and tables set up in the courtyard and a live performer who did some killer covers of tunes by famous oldies such as James Taylor and the Beatles.

We were given a wine glass and two tickets each and headed off to the wine table to get a glass of wine. There was a choice of a Trebbiano white, a Cabernet Franc and a Character Red. I chose the Character for the first glass and it was a nice mix of Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot. Ah, but I needed to pair it with something....

Why not the giant table of charcuterie?  There were crackers, toasts, bread, sausages, olives cheese, a tone of sliced meats and much more. It was the most amazing charcuterie display - basically a buffet - and was all excellent quality. It also paired well with the Character.

After the charcuterie, we crossed the courtyard to the BBQ station. The guy beyond the grill was Rod Butters of RauDZ in Kelowna and now runs Terrafina, the Hester Creek restaurant. He was cooking up some mussels, cheese flatbread, wild boar meatballs, and chorizo. It's a barbecue, so I wasn't expecting perfection but I found the mussels a bit bland. On the other hand, the meatballs and chorizo sausage were outstanding - and also paired well with the Character.

I was feeling that this was like a Wine version of Disneyland with food, wine, more food, more wine, music and sunshine. It was the Happiest Wine Place on Earth!

Next ride - the Library tastings!

The Library wines were all part of the Terra Unica series and were only available to Club member on the day of the BBQ. There was a Gerwürtztraminer (floral, nice wine), a Petit-Verdot/Malbec (good wine, fairly complex) and a Cabernet Sauvignon. I fell in love with the Cabernet Sauvignon - it had great complexity, medium tannins, and a great, one finish. I ended up buying 5 bottles ($32.95 each) and will drink a couple now and age the rest.

As if things couldn't get better, it was time for our Cellar Tour. This was guided by the two winemakers, Rob Summers and Mark Hopley. Incidentally, Rob was the person who gave us our wineglass and tickets at the beginning of the day!

We received a tour of the cellar including the giant tanks and the many, many barrels of wine. Then we gathered around one area of the cellar and began a vertical tasting.

Here come da' Judge!

A vertical tasting is when you taste the same wine by the same winery but with different years. The wine we were tasting was the signature Hester Creek wine, the Judge.

Cheers!

We started off with the 2011. It was good but actually tasted a bit young or at least not stunning. The second one was a 2013 and it was amazing. It actually tasted like it was older than the first one! It had a roundness and smoothness that the 2011 didn't have. I ended up buying a bottle of that vintage ($45). Interestingly, the 2011 was $65 but I thought it was not nearly as good. Finally, we tasted a 2014 that was going to be bottled in August. It was definitely fruit forward and a bit young but it was easy to see that it had great potential.

After the Cellar Tour, I had my second glass - a Cabernet Franc. I really enjoy Hester Creek's Cab Franc but unfortunately I couldn't drink the whole glass as I had to drive. Spitting and dumping wine was something I did all day as it is the only way to make it through a number of wineries.

We had another winery to visit so, after I grabbed a cracker and chunk of cheese,  we went to the wine shop, made our purchases, and headed on down the Golden Mile to our next destination, Road 13.

My wife and I wandering the vineyards of Hester Creek.

Picky Pinot - the Heartbreak Grape - WSET Class number 3 - Part 2

I started off talking about my Pinot Noir experiences during my last blog as a way to introduce the Pinot Noir tasting at my WSET course this week - but I got a bit carried away....

Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow. If you've had some less than stellar Pinot Noir - and I have had my share - it can turn you off wines made with the grape. That exact thing had happened to me for a few years but, a couple of years ago, I tried some Pinot Noir from the Okanagan that was so good that it restored my faith in, what winegrowers call, the heartbreak grape.

Pinot Noir originates from Burgundy. It is an elegant and delicate grape, full of red fruit flavours, which can age well and become more complex. It usually has light body and light to medium tannins, and you have got to be really careful taking with new oak because it can overpower this delicate wine.

The Cote d'Or in Burgundy is divided into two parts, the Cote de Nuits and the Cote de Beaune. Basically, the Cote de Beaune produces the highest amount of Pinot Noir while the Cote de Nuits produces the best wine with more intensity, complexity and length.

This is where you find such world famous (and expensive) wines like Le Chambertin Grand Cru and Domaine Romanée Conti. Let's all go to the Cote de Nuits!

What is all this stuff with crus and grand crus? Well, in France, there is a system that tells you how good the wine is and it is similar, but not identical, in each region.

In Burgundy, the basic wines are the Bourgogne wines. These are produced on flat fields and make up most of the production.

Next are the Villages wines, on still fairly flat land, named after a commune or village - say, like Gevery-Chambertin - and go for $50 - $70.

Next are the Premiere Cru wines which are on steeper land with different soil and produce higher quality wines - maybe around $100. They say Premiere Cru on the label.

Finally are the Grand Cru wines which are on the steepest parts of the valley and are so exceptional that they have their own AOC - basically their vineyard is the name. For example, Chambertin Clos de Bezé.

There are good Pinot Noir wines in California (Sonoma - Russian River, Carneros, Santa Barbera - near LA!) and in Oregon, which is said to have Pinot Noir like Burgundy. Chile has the grape in Casablanca and San Antonio and supposedly has a strawberry jam flavour.

There are good Pinot Noir wines in both South African (Walker Bay) and Australia (Yarra Valley, Worthington Peninsula). And there are some pretty awesome New Zealand Pinot Noir from Marlborough and, especially, Otago, where it is fuller body, lower acidity and intense.

Our first two Pinot Noir wines were from Burgundy.

The first was clear, pale and ruby with medium intensity on the nose and red fruit like red currant, cranberry, plum, and especially raspberry. On the palate it had high acidity - really high it seemed - medium body, light tannins, the same red fruit and a bit of oak. Due to its light body and almost short finish, our group gave it an Acceptable rating! It was a 2014 Bourgogne Les Ursulines made by Jean-Claude Boisset ($25).

The second one - ahh - the second was a different Pinot Noir!

It was clear, ruby with medium intensity. On the nose was medium intensity but many aromas including red fruit, plum, jam, fig, red cherry, rhubarb and red liquorice! There were also spices including cinnamon and nutmeg.

On the palate, there were low tannins, medium body and an almost earthy taste. The aromas I smelled were all reflected in the taste as well as some oak, black pepper, and smoke. It had a medium plus finish and our group rated it Very Good. It was a Louis Jadot, Premiere Cru, Beaune Greves from 2012 and well worth the $90 the WSET people had to pay!

Our last two Pinot Noir wines were from the New World.

First up was a California 2011 from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma made by Pedroncelli ($31). It was clear, pale,  and garnet in colour. On the nose there were some red fruit, plum and spice, all at medium intensity. More red fruit was apparent on the palate with medium plus acidity, medium minus tannins, medium body and a medium finish. It was OK but just didn't seem all that complex.

 

The last wine was a New Zealand wine from Otago from Felton Road and was a 2015 priced at $70. It was clear, pale and ruby in colour. It had a medium plus intensity on the nose and there were red fruits like strawberry and raspberry as well as cedar and oak. On the palate it had medium length and medium body with tastes of red fruit like red cherry and red currant, plum, oak, toast, vanilla, cinnamon and white pepper.

Our group really liked this and rated it very good but Dave, our instructor, said it was more of a Good Plus.

Both the New Zealand Pinot Noir and the Premiere Cru from Burgundy would make a very nice wine to drink on a special occasion. I'm not sure if I would even want to purchase the other two as they were less money but suffered from not being a flavourful enough Pinot Noir.

I leave for the Okanagan this weekend and will be undoubtedly be tasting a variety of wines. Not sure if I will be blogging on all of them but I will try to sip and slurp a couple at least.

Pinot Noir Hour in Beaune - Buvez! A WSET interlude....

My first exposure to Pinot Noir was many years ago when I was backpacking in Europe. Problem is, I didn't even know it was Pinot Noir.

I was travelling with a good friend but we decided to split up for a few weeks as I wanted to tour around France and he was not so inclined. There might have been a girl involved as well, it's a bit hazy with time...

I wanted to visit Burgundy and try Burgundy wine because I had heard it was good. I ended up staying at a cheap hotel in Beaune for a couple of nights and went off in pursuit of this thing called Burgundy wine - made from, I erroneously thought,  the Burgundy grape.

I finally stumbled on the Marché aux Vins - a place that still exists today but with many more restrictions on the tastings.  I had long forgotten how much it cost but I remember getting a shallow metal cup to taste with. After rummaging around in my photos from that time (1983) I found my actual entry ticket with the price 25 Francs - about $5 at that time. That gave me an hour with all that wine....

After rummaging around some more, I found my actual tasting sheet.  At this tasting, the first group of wines were the white wines. There were six different ones ranging from a plain Jane Bourgogne to a Pouilly-Fuissé to a couple with Montrachet in their name - I think there were pretty fancy! You walked up to the bottle, poured a sample into your tin cup, and then drank your sample. It was a very quiet day, however, and I was basically on my own. If I liked a wine, I would fill up Monsieur Tin Cup a few times with the same wine!

Next were the first room of red wines where the process repeated. There were wines from all over including Morgon and Cote de Nuits. Finally, the last red wines. Even with what was, at that time, my very limited palate, I could taste that there was something pretty special about these wines - Pommard, Corton, Vosge Romanée - if I knew what I knew now, I would have sipped and savoured these wonderful wines.  Unfortunately, I felt compelled to drink as much of these fancy wines as my little cup would repeatedly hold.

I bought a cheaper bottle of wine at the end of the tour and staggered to the bus stop. I found myself in some equivalent to a pub where I ended up opening my bottle and sharing it with some newly made friends, my French language skills improving with each additional glass.

As I said, I was given a sheet of the 30 plus (!) wines that I tried that day. I took notes which become more and more difficult to decipher as I progressed through the tasting. I have included it as I still can't believe some of the wines that I tried.

I was going to blog about my Pinot Noir experiences at my WSET class but I think I've said enough for now. Hope you enjoyed this story of vin, vin, et plus vin!

Hey Hey! Chardonnay! WSET Class number 3 = Part 1

So I couldn't sleep a wink on Sunday night.

And I ended up feeling completely crappy on Monday morning.

Long story short, I took Monday and Tuesday off work because I was TERRIFIED that I would be too sick to go to my WSET class on Tuesday night. It isn't exactly a bargain course and I really do enjoy going to the course.

However, I was a little worried that, even if I did go, my nose or my taste buds would be compromised from what turned out to be a head cold.

I rested at home, drank litres and litres of water, slept a ton, and then, lo and behold, I felt OK on Tuesday night and headed out to Vancouver for my WSET class.

Everything set up for WSET class!

The main things covered in this lesson were the two wines that originally came from Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and also how to read wine labels.

The wine labels are interesting because those incredible French people have a completely different way of doing their wine labels. Instead of telling what the varietal is, they tell where the wine was made- maybe the region, maybe the town, or maybe just the winery. It's up to you to figure out what kind of grape it is. Ah, the French!

The first half of class was basically spent talking about and tasting Chardonnay. Chardonnay is not a really aromatic grape (like Gerwürztraminer, for example) and can be grown in a pretty wide range of climates. It is a bit of a chameleon, however, as its taste changes depending on where it is grown.

It is also up to the winemaker to determine what the final style will be  - you can add oak, you can do additional fermenting (malolactic) to soften some of the acids, or you can leave it in the dead yeast cells to give it a creamy texture.

Chardonnay from Burgundy is usually left alone - no oak, no extra fermentation. Some of the famous places that they make Chardonnay in France are Chablis, Mersault, Poully-Fussé, and, the king of Chardonnays, Montrachet. I watched a video on YouTube on the weekend and, in part of the video, a winemaker from Mersault said, "The Australians make Chardonnay wine. Here, we use Chardonnay to make Mersault wine." Interesting perspective.

Chardonnay is also made in many other places around the world. It is made in California (Russian River and Carneros) where it is oaked and has peachy flavours. It's made all over South Eastern Australia where it has citrus, melon and oak flavours. It's made in pretty much every other wine producing region because it is so darned popular!

The first pair of wines we tried were both from the Burgundy region. The first wine was a clear, pale, lemon wine with medium intensity on the nose and smelled of apple, pear, and citrus. There was also a minerality to the wine as well as vanilla and oak. On the palate there was peach and nectarine as well with high acidity and medium body. Our group thought it had a medium plus finish and rated it as Very Good. However, we were informed by Dave, our instructor, that it was a medium minus finish and was closer to Acceptable or Good. It was a 2015 Louis Latour Bourgogne (so the lowest level of Burgundy wines) and cost $22.

The second of the two wines was also clear, pale and lemon. Our group found it to be medium intensity on the nose, with citrus, grapefruit, pear and grassy aromas. On the palate, we felt it was light body, oaky, with a medium finish. We were apparently wildly off the mark! We felt it was Acceptable. Dave said that it was actually a very complex wine with a medium plus finish and he noted other flavours that we didn't taste. It was a 2013 Domaine Latour-Giraud Mersault that could be had for $86! At least I wasn't the only one in my group to think that this wine wasn't quite stellar.

The next tasting pair was a bit better for our group.

The first was a nice wine that was clear, medium intensity, lemon colour. It had medium intensity on the nose and had a number of aromas including apple, peach, pear, vanilla, and tropical fruit. On the palate it had medium plus acidity, medium body, and additional tastes such as citrus, apricot and cedar. It had a medium finish and was a New Zealand Chardonnay - a Kumeu Village 2015  - and was rated Good plus for $33. Our group definitely liked this one.

The final Chardonnay of the evening tasted like a cross between syrup and pop - it was sickly sweet. Although clear, medium and lemon in colour, on the nose there were just some floral, peach and apricot aromas. However, on the palate, I first tasted sweetness. Then oak (vanilla, toast, caramel), and then some peach. It had medium body, medium minus acidity, and a super short finish. It was OK for slurping back but was not a great choice. It was, in fact, a Yellow Tail from South East Australia (home to Australian bulk wine) and put you back a stunning $11.

I remember when we had exchange teachers from Australia here in Maple Ridge. They laughed that Yellow Tail was so popular here as they said that nobody except teenagers drank it in Australia. Made me think of those Calona White days of my youth.....

Next blog, Pinot Noir!