This time, we taste a Dolcetto red wine from the Dogliani DOCG which is in the Piedmont region of Italy. This is a bit of a different grape but it really tastes great!
Join Dave as he sniffs, slurps, and sips through this fascinating grape and delicious wine.
Luckily, there are a couple of wineries in the Okanagan that grow Dolcetto grapes - and you can check them out on a tour!
Enjoy the video!
It was a bit of a blustery day when we headed down to Oliver to check out Church and State Winery.
This winery started in Vancouver Island in 2003 and opened up in the Okanagan about eight years later. The winery attained a fair bit of fame when they introduced a series of labels with cheeky messages such as 'Surrounded by Idiots' and 'This is F*cking Awesome'. I loved those labels but, I think, now they want to focus a bit more on the wine rather than the packaging.
We headed down to Oliver to pick up wine from three different wineries for the Uncork the Sun Virtual Vinstitute online wine tasting sponsored by Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country. Church and State offered a tasting ($15 per person - choose mostly white or mostly reds ... and you get to keep your glass!) so we took advantage of the opportunity.
As I said, it was a bit of a rainy, windy day and we were fortunate to be the only ones in the winery for a tasting. The tasting bar is not huge but there is a brand new outside bar that will be ready for the nice weather. There is also a large grass area where visitors can grab a bottle and some glasses and enjoy their wine amongst the vines.
The 2017 Muscat Frizaante was an excellent way to start things off. This is a dry style of Muscat sparkles but with lots of fruit. We both really enjoyed this wine and, at $17 and 12 percent, you could drink this all afternoon. This was produced using the tank method and is a lovely patio slurper. I would rate this one as Very Good.
The 2017 Pinot Gris ($19) is another very nice wine. It has a bit more roundness and weight than Pinot Gris from the Central Okanagan and I thought it was fine. My wife absolutely loved it so I would give it a Very Good as well.
Next was the 2016 Chardonnay ($20) which had mixed reviews. My wife found it to be a very tasty wine where I thought that the 6 months of oak made it a bit too vanilla-bombish. Still, lots of people enjoy a buttery Chard so I will rate this as Good.
I had some Cab Franc the other day from another winery and I found it to be a bit thin and lacking in character. Not this one! The 2017 Cabernet Franc ($32) is full bodied and rich tasting. There were aromas of red cherries on the nose but the taste was much more dark fruits on the palate. This complex wine would go well with some nice barbecued pork chops and is rated Very Good.
The 2017 Merlot is the wine that we came to buy. This full bodied wine has a touch of tannins as well as good acidity and will be a good a pairing with grilled meats. I found it difficult to rate because it tasted so good that I drank it rather quickly. Oops! Rated Very Good.
The penultimate wine was the 2017 Meritage which is a blend of Merlot and Cab Franc. It is a very drinkable wine with well rounded tannins and lots of dark fruits. At $32 a bottle, however, it is just a tad expensive for a wine that is quaffable but not a stone out. Rated Good.
The last wine we tried was the 2017 Petit Verdot. Most Petit Verdot wine that I have tried have had a lot of tannins and seemed to young to drink - they needed another 10 years in the bottle. Not this one - it is delicious and enjoyable to drink with lots of deep, rich, black fruits and full body. This wine would happily replace a big Cab Sauv when having a rich, red meat. At $65, it was a bit pricey but I already regret not buying a bottle. Rated Very Good to Outstanding.
I'm very much looking forward to returning to Church and State with friends, family or clients. It's a winery that has consistently well made wines and some that are a great value as well.
This summer, why not book a tour with me at Wine and Then Somm Wine Tours? I would be happy to meet you in Kelowna or Penticton and take you, in the comfort of your own vehicle, to Church and State or some other wonderful Okanagan wineries! Book today!
This week's wine is a red blend from Tuscany, Italy.
Join Dave as he tastes this food friendly blend of four varietals and then, if you are visiting the Okanagan, book a private wine tour at Wine and Then Somm WineTours.
Enjoy the video!
This is a friendly place, owned by a couple from the Netherlands (yes, there are about 180 vineyards in the Netherlands) who moved to Kelowna in 1992. The property where the winery is now was a winery way back in the 1940s and 1950s but was turned to orchards after that. The Dutch couple had to change things back to a vineyard and did so in 2005, planting a variety of interesting grapes including Baco Noir, Pinot Noir, Lemberger, Zweigelt, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris.
We went there partly because we had never tried it out and wanted to taste, and partly because my father-in-law, whose last name is Hill, wanted to come along - and he's 86 - so, an Ancient Hill....
They have a rather large, but still cozy, outdoor area where you can buy cheese and crackers and some wine and enjoy a snack outdoors - a very lovely idea that we will have to do in the future.
The actual tasting was only $4 - and you got your money back if you bought a bottle.
We could pick 4 wines in total but, thanks to my wife sharing, I can give you brief notes on 5 of them.
First was the 2018 Pinot Gris ($17). This was a crisp, clean white with flavours of stone fruits and even some tropical fruits. This would be a good patio sipper and would go well with dishes like chicken and charcuterie. Rated between Good and Very Good.
Next was the 2019 Rosé. It is a blend of Zweigelt (40%). Gewürztraminer (40%) and Baco Noir (20%). This was a really interesting Rosé - one that had some heft to it. There were tastes of cherries, strawberries, and watermelon and this would go well with sitting on the patio or with a pretty broad variety of food - I'm thinking a nice charcuterie board on the terrace. This wine sells for just $16.50 and is rated Very Good.
I had a sip of the 2019 Lazarus ($16.50) which is made from Lemberger. It had some dark fruit and spices on the palate but was light tasting. I did not like this wine - I don't think it was the winemaking, it was probably the grape itself. I haven't had a Lemberger before so I won't know for sure until I try it somewhere else (which could be tricky as it is a fairly rare grape in the Okanagan). Rated Acceptable.
Their 2017 Pinto Noir ($22) was a pretty tight wine. I found the tannins a wee bit strong in this wine and I felt that there wasn't a lot of fruit on the palate. My sister-in-law said that the 2016 vintage is amazing so I would really like to try and compare the two vintages. I would rate this between Acceptable and Good.
Finally, the 2017 Baco Noir ($25). I really liked this wine. I think I've had Baco Noir before - maybe in the Fraser Valley - but this was a memorable wine. It had lots of dark fruits on the nose and on the palate but also had other tastes including tobacco, vanilla, and chocolate. I really enjoyed this wine and would rate it between Very Good and Outstanding.
This summer, why not book a tour with me at Wine and Then Somm Wine Tours? I would be happy to meet you in Kelowna or Penticton and take you, in the comfort of your own vehicle, to Covert Farms or some other wonderful Okanagan wineries! Book today!
This time we try a delicious 2018 Era Costana Rioja Reserva from Spain made with Tempranillo and perfect with a variety of food.
