A Wine Podcast, A Wine Superstore, and a Couple of Wines

I am very fortunate that my commute to work is an enjoyable fifteen minute walk. While on that walk, I listen to a number of different podcasts ranging from fiction stories (Escape Pod), Star Trek Stories (Star Trek Outpost), a podcast about advertising (Under the Influence), travel (Travel with Rick Steves), and horror (Faculty of Horror).

I also listen to numerous podcasts on, you guessed it, wine.

One of the wine podcasts I regularly listen to is Wine For Normal People. Way back when I was writing this post (in August of last year, for goodness sakes!), I went on about how the host of the podcast, Elizabeth Schneider, can be a bit annoying at times. Well, since that time I have listened to dozens of her podcasts and I have had to reevaluate. Her podcast is extremely informative and covers a diverse range of topics - sometimes an episode deals with a particular winery in a particular area while other times there will be a great overview of a certain varietal or a particular region.

I have to admit that, about halfway through each podcast, she will do a plug for a product which lasts a few minutes but. luckily, I can just click the 15 seconds skip button on my iPhone and I can get right back to the podcast.

The podcast is certainly more accessible and entertaining than some of the more highbrow ones that I attempt to listen to (with sometimes limited success) so I think it is a great way to spend 30 minutes to learn something new about wine. There are over two hundred episodes - if you are starting out, I would look for the episodes dealing with particular grapes.

On to the superstore.....

Back when I did this post, I wrote about how Everything Wine was a great place to browse just wine. They don't carry anything else, just wine.

The only problem was that they were a bit of a drive away (in West Vancouver).

Well, just two weeks ago, an Everything Wine opened up in Langley (across the river from me) and I checked it out yesterday.

It really is a superstore for wine - it kind of looks like a Costco store for wine. The main part of the store is quite industrial looking - and my wife complained that it was not as cozy as the government liquor stores - but there are many, many different types of wine.

There is also a vintage cellar area that is quite large and has a good selection of $50 and up wines. Taking my WSET course has really helped in that I can recognize the names of many of these wines and producers. Unfortunately, I still can't afford most of them!

I bought a dozen wines ranging from a cheap California wine for $13  to a fancy French wine that was $45.  There was a volume discount which saved me between 65 cents to 5 bucks on each bottle. I'm not sure how the discounts work as a $23 bottle had a $5 discount, a $24 bottle only $1.22, and the $45 bottle only $2.27!

Still, I think it is fantastic to have another place to browse wine. There are some wines which I suspect aren't available in the government store. But I also want to make sure that I visit the smaller, boutique stores to see what they have to offer.

Onto the wines.

The first was a Spanish Garcia Carrion Pata Negra Rioja ($20 from the government liquor store). This particular wine was made from Tempranillo and two grapes I hadn't heard of before, Graciano (gives structure and aging potential) and Mazuelo (actually, Spanish for Carignan which is a blending wine). It was a nice dark wine with red fruit on the nose and both red and black fruit on the palate with some vanilla flavour - it is a Crianza wine so was aged in oak for at least two years. The average price on Vivino was $8 so I'm not sure why we're paying so much up here in BC! It was a good Rioja - nothing outstanding but pleasant to drink.

Next is Priocca Piacera (can't find a website) from Italy - a last minute grab at Everything Wine. At only $14 on sale, I thought it would be a good match for some wild mushroom ravioli in a tomato sauce. After all, piacere is Italian for like. It was a bit hard to smell on the nose so I was hopeful that this was a really complex wine..... but no. It was a disappointing bulk wine that was rather characterless - except for a mild astringency that was a bit unpleasant. The tomato sauce did manage to smooth out the wine a bit but I would definitely not buy this one again.

Finally, another wine form Everything Wine - and this was the cheapest of the dozen I bought there - a 2015 Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from California ($12.99). Surprisingly,  (especially after the Piacera wine) this wine had a rather enjoyable black fruit aroma. On the palate, the wine was a bit  jammy but was bold and had a rich vanilla taste. It was good wine for the price and I would buy it again - a great burger or meatloaf wine! I only had a glass last night and when I had another glass tonight, it was still very drinkable.

I am looking forward to trying the other 10 wines from Everything Wine! Good times...

Three Good Reads and a Red

When I first started taking my WSET 2 diploma, I wondered if I would be satisfied with the fairly extensive knowledge that I had learned over the nine week course.

Not likely!

The wine course has only served to dramatically increase my interest in all things related to wine. I have read and/or purchased a number of books relating to wine and I sometimes feel like a sponge because I am so eager to learn.

The first one, given to me by my daughter before I started my course, was The 24-Hour Wine Expert by Jancis Robinson, an excellent little book that gives a nice overview on wine and would be helpful to anyone wanting to learn more about wine then anyone else. I first saw Jancis Robinson on some of the WSET Youtube videos when I was preparing for taking my WSET. Since then, I have realized that she is one of the most influential wine critics around. Her Oxford Companion to Wine is supposed to be an amazingly thorough reference on wine and one of my planned purchases, once I steel myself to pay the $75 it costs.

After reading all of those text bookish type books, one that interested the reader in me is The Booklovers Guide to Wine; A Celebration of the History, the Mysteries, and the Literary Pleasures of Drinking Wine by Patrick Alexander. My favourite part of the book is Chapter 6 on Varietals where Alexander describes different grapes, comparing a specific type of grape to a famous writer, such as Charles Dickens and a Cab Sauv. There are also lots of interesting information about the history of wine, something that is not always included in other books on wine.

The last one that I will talk about is one that I am plodding though right now - and, oh, what a wonderful plod! It is, of course, the Bible - no, not the Christian Bible - the Wine Bible by Karen McNeil. I was lucky enough to get this book on sale (I think about $15 or $20) and it is a major reference book. It is also rather enjoyable to read through. I have been working on it for the last couple of months and find that it is enjoyable to read about different regions and try to remember the different grapes and wines in various regions around the world.

This is probably not the book for a person just finding out about wine. I would say that you should have at least some kind of knowledge about wine, whether it be a course or some reading of other, easier books. It is well written and not difficult to understand, but it is so packed with information that it might be a bit intimidating to some.

All that reading makes me thirsty! Time to look at tonight's wine.

Tonight I tried a 2016 Narrative Non Fiction Red Blend ($23) which was a blend of Cab Franc, Merlot and Syrah.  purchased this wine at Save On - which I think is a wonderful opportunity. Wines are available at grocery stores, since the change in liquor laws in BC, that were previously only available at the winery or a restaurant. The liquor store does carry wines by Narrative but not this one.

A quick note on Narrative - it is produced at the Okanagan Crush Pad which is described as a 'hub for local winemakers'. I'm not sure if it still offers the same services that it did when it opened. I do know that it is home to two fine wineries, Haywire and Narrative.

The wine we had tonight was not as dark as I thought it would be - I would have thought the Syrah would have make it more inky. The nose was quite noticeable with tobacco, green pepper, and black currants. On the palate, there were some wonderful tastes including black plum and pepper. It had a bit of sweetness that I think was fruitiness (you can test that by holding your nose and drinking - if there is still sweetness, then it is actually sweet, not fruity) and some pretty well structured tannins.

To pair the wine, I had some lovely duck and truffle sausages from my favourite sausage place, Oyama on Granville Island and some homemade French gratin potatoes. I also made a port and fig sauce to accompany the sausages. The sauce was great with the sausage but not so good with the wine since the sauce was sweet. However, when I had a piece of sausage without the sauce, the wine was a perfect pairing!

Overall, I would give this wine 4 out of 5 stars.

Now, back to my books....

The Last Blast of the Holidays

Mission Hill statues in the snow.

My wife and I both work as educators and have to return to work tomorrow morning. We've had a good break this holiday but it seems to have finished far too quickly. We spent some time in Kelowna with my eldest over New Year's and tasted some wonderful wine.

One of the highlights (other than visiting with my Grand-Puppy) was a tasting at Mission Hill as I don't think I've done an actual tasting there, despite the fact that my son-in-law works there. Yes, I've tasted several of their wines, and even had a barrel tasting, but I haven't actually had a wine shop tasting.

I was pretty impressed by their wines, especially the 2015 Reserve Syrah ($26) and the Terroir Merlot (I think it was the Whispering Hill - although it might have been the Splitrail - only available from the wine shop - I think it was around $50). We were also extremely fortunate to have a special tasting of Mission Hill's flagship, Oculus (2013 vintage  - $135) complete with Gabriel glasses (these glasses are very light weight and pretty expensive as well). I would love to purchase a bottle of this and really sink my teeth into it, so to speak, but I'm not sure I am ready to spend that much on a bottle of wine, despite how lovely it was. It screams out for a fine French meal and a romantic evening....

Back at home, we did manage to try a few different wines - most of them being quite nice.

The first was one that had been aging for a little bit - maybe a year or so. Apparently, I don't do a very good job of monitoring my wine cellar.

This was from Vin Amité in Oliver in the Okanagan and was a 2015 Hidden Corner Red ($32). I found it to be an amazingly good wine with great tannins and wonderful black fruit flavours. It is a Cab Franc, Merlot, and Malbec blend and it really sings to me. I do really enjoy a Cab Franc but adding the Merlot and Malbec just makes this a really nice wine to drink. I'm not sure where you can get this besides the winery but if you can, I would grab some. Definitely worth it and definitely good to drink right now.

Next up is a wine that I can't believe I haven't mentioned before. Synchromesh is a small winery in Okanagan Falls and we first had their Riesling when we had it at a friends' house for dinner a few ears ago. Since then, we often hunt down restaurants in Vancouver just so we can have some more of this tasty vino.

We purchased six bottles from three different vineyards through the Okanagan Wine Club and have sadly gone through five of them now. There are some differences between the different vineyards but, basically, they are all amazing Rieslings and I am kicking myself because I didn't buy a case!

We had a bottle of 2016 Four Shadows Vineyard Riesling ($26). It has a wonderful fruit flavour with honey, peaches, and even some tropical fruit - it has a faint sweetness to it which is remarkable. Riesling is supposed to be able to age a lot so I have managed to pry away one bottle from my own hands to see how it will cellar. Next year, I will make sure I go to the winery and buy a case - at least!

The only disappointment this week was something that I had tasted last spring and, at the time, I thought it was really 'cool' so I bought a bottle. It was a 2015 Fairview Cellars Fumé Franc ($25 - possibly only from the winery in Oliver). This is basically a wine made from grapes that were definitely affected by the smoke from the fires in the Okanagan in 2015. While it was interesting to taste this smoky wine, I tired of it pretty soon. Additionally, my wife was not interested either. Interestingly, it was rated very high on my Vivino app but I could not agree. Interesting how tastes change.

The next one is a very approachable, and not too expensive ($26), 2018 Malbec from Argentina from Amalaya - which, we learned on a trip to Napa - is owned by Hess. I thought it was a very nice wine when I had it a few years ago as Hess sold it at their winery in Napa. I hadn't had it for quite a while and was pleased with the taste of this approachable Malbec.

Finally, as tonight was the last night of our holidays, I cracked open a wine that had been in the cellar for two years. It was a 2011 Summerhill Spadefoot Toad ($44 - in Kelowna). I was a bit excited about this one and was not disappointed. I took care to decant it about an hour before drinking and then poured a nice glass. The nose was not overly complex with bell pepper and black cherry. But on the palate were some wonderful tastes! There was very good structure with some definite tannins but these were not overpowering. There were tastes of tobacco, black fruit and leather. The ageing did take some of the fruitiness out of the wine but the earthy flavours that were left were wonderful.

I did a terrible no-no by having this wine with a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and Italian sausage but it actually paired pretty well!

And now, back to work.... gotta pay for this wine somehow!