Final Thoughts Before the Big WSET3 Exam - Wines from Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa - WSET 3.12, 13 and 14

Taking a Beaujolais Nouveau break between studying.

I've been so busy studying the last few weeks that I'm a bit behind. My exam is on Wednesday - two blind tastings, 50 multiple choice, and 4 essay questions.

And, no, I don't think I'm ready.

But we shall see, soon enough!

The last two weeks were a bit of a whirlwind of mock blind tastings, mock questions and looking at a variety of wines. Last week was Port, Sherry and Fortified Muscats while the week before was Sparkling. They were interesting and I did try some good wines but we tended to rush the actual tastings too much to allow for time to practice. I may cover some of those wines down the road but not right now.

This entry, I want to cover the last actual wine class - Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

But first... we tried a simple red for the blind tasting that night - a 2018 Georges Du Boeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau ($20). I have to say that I really did enjoy this slurping wine made from Gamay. It was great to taste the bubble gum, cinnamon, and banana that is characteristic of carbonic fermentation - that's when the fermentation vessel is kept oxygen free and the grapes start to ferment from their insides. They split open and then the whole mess is pressed and continues to ferment until ready. Tannins? Nope! Structure? Nope! Super easy drinking? Yup!

South Africa has some very hot climates but thanks to cooling currents from the ocean and higher altitudes, they also have a lot of wine production. One of the biggest grapes is Chenin Blanc which can be sweet or dry. The one we tried was a 2017 Cape of Good Hope Van Lill and Visser Chenin Blanc ($36). This youthful wine (and that was tricky - I thought it might age) had notes of grass, lemon, vanilla, toast an green apple. It was a dry wine with a long finish and high acid (characteristic of Chenin Blancs) and was rated as Very Good.

The other South African wine we had was their signature grape, Pinotage. Someone, a bunch of years ago, decide that, since it was too hot for Pinot Noir in South Africa, they should cross it with a hardier grape - say, Cinsault (also called Hermitage in South Africa).  They came up with what some call a franken-wine, Pinotage. It's got a bad rap - as many don't have the best taste - however, I have tasted a wonderful one in the Okanagan made my Stoneboat - but that's another story. The one we tried was a 2016 The Grinder Pinotage ($16). I would rather have another bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau, thanks. This did have a lot of aromas - cranberry, cherry, chocolate, coffee, gamey - and on the palate the coffee and blueberry tastes were rather intense. With high alcohol, it had medium acid, intensity, and body with a pretty short finish. I didn't mind it so much during my WSET 2 but now, it was just Acceptable.

A wine down under from a land down under.

Actually, Australia produces scads of wine and most of it is from the South East part. It's a hot country but there are lots of cool breezes to moderate the areas that grow wines that need moderating. Our first wine from Australia was a 2014 Mitchell Clare Valley Riesling. On the nose, it was, "WOW PETROL!" There was also rubber, pear, green apple and wet stone but I had a hard time getting past that petrol smell. On the palate, it was dry like most Australian Rieslings and had apple and spice - probably from lees stirring - as well as high acid, high alcohol, a medium finish, and a pronounced intensity of flavours. That petrol smell is a great indication that this is a developing wine tat could age a long time. It was rated as Very Good.

We had a Very Good Hunter Valley Semillon - which is an interesting wine. It is a rather neutral wine in its youth but develops amazing flavours of toast, nuts and honey. The one we had was a 2011 Tyrrell's Vat 1 ($68). I struggled with the notes on this - but there were notes of grapefruit, peach and brioche as well as some toast and honey. It had medium alcohol and medium plus intensity on the palate as well as high alcohol and a fairly strong finish. This wine could age for 10, 20, even 30 more years!

I do like a tasty Cab Sauv, as you may or may not have noticed from my blog. I love Bordeaux wines and I love Meritage blends from the Okanagan and I love big California Cab Sauvs. Well, add to that ones from Coonawara in Australia which may be hot but, man, they make great wine. We had a 2014 Yalumba "The Menzies" Coonawara Cab Sauv ($99). It was wonderful! On the nose was black currant, black plum, smoke, barnyard, black pepper, menthol and eucalyptus. On the palate, there was also spice and tobacco. This dry wine had strong tannins, high acid, high alcohol, almost full body, a medium plus finish and a pronounced intensity. It could definitely age for awhile and it was rated Outstanding - maybe a good splurge?

Australia has been famous for it's big, bold Shiraz wines - and so we tried a 2015 Glaetzer "The Bishop" Shiraz from the warm Barossa Valley ($51). This had some good aromas including blueberry, vanilla, pepper and black plum as well as an overall jammy taste. I don't mind a little jam but it does take it away from the "Outstanding" category. On the palate there was blueberry and charred wood as well as medium plus tannins and acidity. This wine was fine to age with its long  finish and strong intensity of flavours and was rated as Very Good. 

There are also more restrained Shiraz wines form Australia but we didn't try one  in class. 

Finally, we went to New Zealand. It's not a huge place but they make a heckuva lot of wine. On the cooler South Island is where Marlborough is - and that means, Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand's most famous grape. We tried a 2017 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc ($36).  This wine had lots of green fruit, asparagus, grapefruit, and lemon on the nose with similar tastes on the palate. It had high acid, medium body, medium alcohol, and a pronounced intensity of flavour as well as a longish finish. This was a youthful wine and, like most Sauvignon Blancs, didn't have any ageing potential but was still a Very Good wine. 

Also from Marlborough, we tried a 2017 Villa Maria Pinot Gris ($22) which was OK. I also struggled with this one a bit but there were notes of peach, apricot, lemon, honey and floral aromas. This was an off dry wine and had high acidity, medium alcohol, as well as medium intensity and finish. Not suitable for ageing, this wine was rated as just Good. 

Finally, we had a wine, also from the South Island, but away from the effects of the ocean. From Central Otago we had a 2016 Matua Pinot Noir ($42 - pretty label award). This was a pretty standard Pinot Noir with red cherry, cranberry, and strawberry notes. It was mostly medium although it had a longish finish. Overall this was just a Good wine - and definitely not worth the price. 

Well, that's it for my WSET 3 classes. All that's left is the test. I have been studying hard and have these things to say on the three parts. 

The blind wine tasting: This all depends on my palate - some classes I have been bang on and some I have been right off. I need to focus on the aromas and tastes rather than trying to jump to conclusions and try to figure out the varietal. 

Multiple choice: I think this will be my strongest part. I have gone over the book many times as well as flashcards from me, my son-in-law Dan, and online cards. I have a very good general knowledge of wines of the world. 

Essay questions: This is my big worry. Even doing the few practice ones online, I find that I can't always think of everything that a question asks - and sometimes I draw a blank. I spent time today doing comparative analysis of the same grapes from different countries so I am hoping that will help me study for the last few days. 

I keep remembering what my classmate, Sarah, said during our tasting group and, again during last week's class - at the end of the day, we have learned so much about wine, tasted some fantastic wine, and met some wonderful people. 

But, damn it, I really want to pass!

Wish me luck...

Je t'aime, Bordeaux! WSET 3.4

I loved this week's class.

This week was all about Bordeaux - and I think Bordeaux is my very favourite wine.

Bordeaux is on the west coast of France and is split into two main regions, the left bank and the right bank.

The right bank is mostly clay soil so Merlot is the primary grape with some support from Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. There are places like Pomerol and St. Emillon that are very famous producers of this style of wine. It is excellent wine, undoubtedly, but my preference is for the other side of the Garonne River.

The left bank, ooh - la - la, is the home of the Cabernet Sauvignon focused blends which grow in more gravelly soils. There is still Cab Franc and Merlot (and, optionally, Malbec and Petit Verdot) but the driving force of these grippy, structured wines is Cabernet Sauvignon. The famous places include St. Estephe, Paulliac, St. Julien, and Margaux in the upper (Medoc) region and Pessac-Leognan, and Graves to the south. These might possibly be my favourite wines to drink in the world.

Courtesy the Wine Cellar Insider

Bordeaux wines can be pretty pricey - there are some that are thousands of dollars - but you can pick up a decent one for $40 to $60 - particularly something like a Cru Bourgeois, which chateaux have to apply for each year based on the quality of their wine. If you were to spend around $100 (definitely special occasion) you could find some exceptional wines. Only thing is, you probably would want to wait five to ten years to drink them!

The ranking system is interesting. In Medoc only, the top wines are called Grand Cru Classé. This category is divided into five 'growths' with first growth being the top wines. All of this ranking came from Napoleon III and the classification he directed in 1855. Little has changed since then. There's also Cru Bourgeois for those wineries that were too small or weren't around 150 years ago. In Graves, the better wines are just called Cru Classé - there are no growths. And in St. Emillon, they have another system with St. Emillon AOC at the bottom, then, St. Emillon Grand Cru Classé, and finally Premier Grand Cru Classé which is divided into A and B. All of these classifications had had their problems over the years.

Courtesy Wander and Wine

The other area we looked at was Alsace, a region of France bordering on Germany, which is home of mostly white wines including Riesling (dry style), Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat and some other grapes (Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner). It is the only French region that I am aware of that has the varietal of wine on the label. They do have some sweet wines - Vendages Tardine which is basically Late Harvest wine where the grapes have undergone passerillage (drying of grapes on the vine) and Selection de Grains Nobles where wines have undergone Noble Rot.

When buying an Alsace wine, there is the Alsace AOC (must be 100% varietal) and then the Alsace Grand Cru AOC (which must be made from one of the four Noble Grape varieties (Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Muscat). Much simpler than Bordeaux!

And now, some tasting....

We started off with wines from Alsace. We were given three and told that each was a different Noble Grape. Our group was able to easily figure out which wine was which.

The 2015 Trimbach Riesling ($60) was a bone dry Riesling with high acid, high alcohol, medium body, medium plus flavour and a medium finish. Definite tastes of apple, lemon, honey, flint and even a bit of petrol. I couldn't decide between Good and Very Good but this one could probably age a bit.

The Pinot Gris was a 2016 Domaine Mersiol ($36) from Alsace, of course. It had some nice fruit flavours including peach, apricot, nectarine and honeysuckle as well as some floral notes. Lynn, our instructor,  felt it was a Very Good wine and had ageing potential although I really like my Pinot Gris wines to be as fruity and floral as possible. I feel that way about most white wines.

The final wine of the three was a 2017 Late Harvest Gewürztraminer from Kuhlmann-Platz ($25). Although youthful, this wine had a complex array of flavours including peach, apricot, pineapple, lychees, roses and ginger. I thought it was high alcohol but Lynn, our instructor, said that it was probably because of the ginger that I was tricked into thinking it was higher than it actually was. I thought it was Outstanding but I think the consensus was Very Good as not everyone felt it had a long enough finish. It was, however, balanced, intense, and complex. A steal for $25!

The next three were from Bordeaux - my faves! One was a white, one was left bank and one was right bank.

The white was a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend (about 80% SB) and was a 2011 Les Hauts de Smith from Pessac Leognan ($83). This wine had some great flavours but I missed a few of them so I will put what the class consensus was - grass, peach, lemon, pear, toast, mushroom, and vanilla. This was aged in barrels on the lees to give it a nice, buttery finish. This is another wine that had ageing potential and was rated Outstanding (although I had only rated it as Very Good).

The right bank wine was a 2012 Chateau Barde-Haut Grand Cru from St. Emillon ($96). There was both red and black fruit on this including cherries and plums as well as toast, leather, and wet leaves. It had less tannins than the next wine, surprising as it is two years younger, and also had a wonderful velvety mouth feel. If all Merlots tasted like this, I would drink it a LOT more often!

The left bank wine was a 2010 Chateau Capbern Gasqueton from St. Estephe ($126). I tasted black cherry, black plum, cedar, tobacco, and green pepper. It was an earthy wine that had some grippy tannins but still had great structure to it. Definitely could age and was rated Outstanding. My favourite wine of the course so far....

We had another Bordeaux and a wine from Cahors to round out the reds.

The Bordeaux wine was a 2010 Cru Bourgeois from Chateau Dasvin-Belair in Haut Medoc ($45). This was a great price and it had some interesting aromas and tastes including red cherry, green paper, pepper, black plum, toast, tobacco and cedar. Although its finish wasn't as long as the previous two, it was balanced, intense, and complex and definitely ready to drink - Very Good!

The wine from Cahors was a 2016 Gouleyant Malbec. It was OK - red berries, red currant, cranberry, and some smoke - but was a bit of a let down after the previous three. It was a Good wine and was ready to drink. 

Finally, we had a sweet wine from Sauternes. Unfortunately, this 2013 Chateau Armajan Des Ormes  ($39) at the end of the class and was a bit rushed. Suffice it to say that it was quite sweet due to noble rot and had oak and vanilla amongst its flavour profile as well as high acid.

A good wine but Bordeaux reds is where my heart is.

This weekend, our provincial liquor stores are having a release of the 2015 Bordeaux wines. I already bought a couple last week at Everything Wine but I have my eye on two or three in the special catalogue that they produced. Looking forward to some grippy, structured, wonderful wines!

But That's Not All! More Okanagan Wineries

With wife & daughter about to taste at House of Rose.

Like a late night infomercial, my recent trip to the Okanagan wineries seemed to go on and on - but in a good way! After spending a day walking Naramata wineries, and then a day recuperating, we hit the wine road again, but this time in a car.

First, we had one winery left to visit in Penticton because we hadn't had time to see them all. We visited Three Sisters based on the fact that my wife is one of three sisters in her own family!

Another winery, another excellent tasting!

We tried yet another tasty Rosé. The 2017 Rosé ($20) was a lovely fruit forward Rosé with tastes of strawberry and even a hint of rhubarb. 

Next was the 2016 Cab Franc ($25 - out of stock, according to their website but might be some left in the winery). This wine had rich dark fruit flavours that would go well with grilled pork or maybe a skewer of beef. 

Finally was one I don't see that often in the Okangan - Tempranillo. This Spanish grape is one that I do like to have on occasion and the Three Sisters take on the grape, a 2016 Tempranillo ($29), was well done. This one had tastes of dark plums and black currants and was a rather bold wine. 

Getting in the car, we zipped down past Oliver and went to an old favourite, Tinhorn Creek. We have been wine club members for many years at Tinhorn Creek. We are Original Red members so we only have to commit to one case of reds each year - I think new members have to commit to two now. Being members of the 'Crush Club' has other benefits including wine discounts, first access to special events and parties, and special offers. 

The offer that excited us (same as last year) was their Canada Day offer. We were able to get three bottles of their highly drinkable 2016 2Bench White and three bottles of  their amazing 2013 2Bench Red (note the older label)  for $133 - a savings of close to $45! Well worth the detour! Tinhorn Creek was bought out by Peller last year but their wines and service seem unaffected by the change in ownership - it is still a great place to do a tasting and their wines are, for the most part, excellent. 

Heading north, we blasted through Penticton and went all the way to Okangan Falls and Synchromesh. We love Synchromesh Riesling - and I mean LOVE their Riesling - and had bought the Okanagan Wine Club 6 pack just so we could get our hands on some. Their riesling was sold out to the general public at the beginning of June! 

Not only did we get four bottles of four distinct Rieslings from four different vineyards, we also got two bottles of their excellent red blend, Tertre Rouge. While I haven't popped any of the 2017 Riesling yet (all $28 each except for the Stormhaven which is $40), I have to tell you that my wife and I opened a bottle of 2014 Tertre Rouge ($40) and it was absolutely wonderful - good, rich tannins as well as dark fruits and a glorious, long finish. This is a blend of Merlot and Cab Franc.

I spoke to one of the guys loading up the boxes when we arrived at the winery and he said that they might not do the Okanagan Wine Club next year (uh-oh) and just make these wines available on their own wine club. Might be worth looking into - a mixed case of 2 X 4 Rieslings, 2 Tertre Rouges, and 2 Cab Francs is $334.

Back in Kelowna, we decided to check out a couple more local wineries.

First up, after a long drive, and I mean a long drive, was House of Rose. This was an interesting winery - way in the back of beyond and just a little tasting room. 

We tried several of their wines, all with crazy names like 'Grapes with Benefits' and 'Hot Flash'. The names kind of put off my wife - not sure why 'Hot Flash' had that effect...  I wasn't a huge fan of most of their wines but I did like their 2017 Cool Splash ($19) which is a fresh, fruity blend of Pinot Gris and Riesling.  It was a little off dry and so will make a great patio sipper. 

Inside The Vibrant Vine tasting room

Our final stop for tasting was The Vibrant Vine - apparently they had just won some big award so was quite the popular place. At the front of the winery is a hostess with an iPad. You give your name and she gives you a pager, sort of like a restaurant. Then you go inside and can look at their merchandise while you wait to be called. Then, you are called in and the wine guy works his magic. I think that they are only supposed to be responsible for one group at a time because our wine guy seemed a bit choked when he was given another group. 

The tasting was excellent - the associate was funny and well informed and also poured generously! We came away with two wines, the first being their 2016 Woops (so called because on the first run, they didn't catch that the labels were upside down - $26). I loved the fruitiness and the fact that it was made from a blend of seven different white varietals. I also loved the label, especially when viewed through 3D glasses!

The other wine we bought was the 2015 Dragon (around $35?) . It is a blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, and Syrah and is a lovely blend that I am considering putting in the cellar. 

After all that tasting, and driving, we ended up at Meadow Vista for an outstanding charcuterie board and a proscuitto and peach flatbread accompanied with little glasses of their Bliss sparkling honey wine which has been added to cherries - very tasty for $19 for 500ml and $27 for a litre. I would whole heartedly recommend their little bistro as a great place to grab lunch when you are wine touring in Kelowna!

Hester Creek Crush Party - Passion in a Bottle!

Last year, I went to the first Hester Creek Crush Party at the winery. It was a brilliant time! This past weekend, I was once again invited to this fabulous event. Everything about the day was enjoyable and very well put together.

We arrived about a half hour early (my wife wanted a good choice of parking so we could easily lug our wine home) and wandered into the wine shop. We were offered a tasting but when we declined, saying that we wanted to save ourselves for the party, the wine shop associate delivered three large glasses of ice water while we waited outside on the sun drenched patio. Nice touch!

A half hour later, we walked into the party, greeted by a couple of people including a friendly guy who I would later find out was the manager. In our tasting wine glass, were 2 coupons for glasses of wine and a sample card for their special release, the Garland, commemorating 50 years.

We walked into the courtyard where the party was taking place and, after getting a pour of their rosé, wandered over to the charcuterie section. There were different cheeses, breads, pepperoni, chilled clams, tomato tapenade, rillette, pickles, olives and host of other wonderful savoury foods, all prepared by Rod Bitters, the mastermind behind Raudz in Kelowna as well as Terrafina at Hester Creek.

We sat down at one of the many tables and enjoyed our food in the shade when my daughter noticed the hot food at the other side of the courtyard. Rod, himself, was one of the people serving up a great selection of food including a wonderful pork sausage, beef meatballs, and coleslaw, all which could be made into a slider. There was also pasta, salad and pizza - nicely prepared and very tasty. It was worth being in the club for the food alone!

There was a fairly strong breeze blowing and when I had returned with my food, I had discovered that my quarter glass of rosé had blown over, splashing my daughter's fancy dress! Luckily, it was a dark dress so was well disguised!

By the way, we are "Loyalty" members - all we had to do was make an initial purchase of a case of wine - and now we are in the club! No fees, no yearly commitment to buy wine (although we manage to purchase some every year), and no unexpected deliveries. Plus, you generate points with each purchase which can be used to buy more wine! It's the best wine club deal I've seen in the Okanagan.

At that point, we decided to go over to the Terra Unica section. Terra Unica wines are only available to wine club members (another good reason to be in their wine club) and we tried two whites that were delicious. The first was a 2016 Riesling - an off dry, flavourful wine with tastes of honey, apricot and pear while the second was a 2017 Semillon - refreshingly dry, it had flavours of apple and peach as well as something more substantial. It would be perfect with a nice fish like grilled halibut or even foie gras.

The first event that we had signed up for was the Cellar Tour. The winemaker, Rob Summers, was great the previous year where his passion for wine was so apparent. This year, Rob again led the tour where we escaped the hot sun into the coolness of the winery cellar.

The first wine we tried was a 2017 Old VinesTrebbiano ($24) - an Italian grape that is usually used for blending. Hester Creek is the only winery in the Okanagan to make Trebbiano and the vines that they grow it from are 50 years old. The wine was very pale and the aroma of pears was subtle. The taste was fruity and light - this would make a wonderful patio sipper.  I commented to my daughter that I could drink this one all day long (and got an eye roll in return).

The other wine that I really liked - and I mean really liked - was their 2015 Block 3 Reserve Cabernet Franc ($29). This wine was spectacular - it had everything that I wanted in a Cab Franc. There was a boldness of taste that the last Cab Franc I had was definitely lacking. It was all there - red fruits, plums, strawberry, black currant, and wonderful blueberries and lots of tannins to give this wine some excellent structure.

Rob definitely talked about the wine but what I enjoyed last year, as well as this year, was the stories he told - and he told a bunch. My favourite was when someone asked about how the winery dealt with animals that affected the grapes like birds (they use sound cannons - other than that, there isn't significant loss) and bears.

He first talked about how bears will eat a few grapes from one vine and then, 'squirrel!", will see the nice red grape of the next vine and eat a few there - and so on until they have eaten some of every plant in the row, compromising all of those grapes!

With Rob Summers, the extremely personable winemaker of Hester Creek

Before Rob was winemaker, the common practice was to shoot the bears - not a difficult feat because once the bear had finished eating, it would lay down and go to sleep in the vineyard, knowing there were plenty of grapes for the next meal. Rob found this to be rather cruel so he spend $10,000 to build a fence around his winery - and got the other two wineries nearby to do the same - and now the bears are not a big problem- most of the time. The occasional bear does wander down the main road (where there is no fence) and, if they get in, will be trapped in the vineyard with all those beautiful grapes! Then it's time to play Shoo, Bear!

After our excellent visit,we tried the Garland, which is their special commemorative once-in-a-lifetime wine as the winery is actually 50 years old! A blend of Cab, Cab Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, the Garland ($60 - named after the owner, I believe) is a wonderful Bordeaux/Meritage style blend.  I'm not sure where you can get it other than the winery, but it is certainly worth tracking down. The taste I had was wonderfully complex but this wine probably needs to age for five years. I purchased a bottle for the cellar - let's see how long I can keep my hands of it for.

I had a full glass of the Cab Franc (did I mention that I really liked this wine?) with my second ticket and then we headed off for our second tour, the Vineyard Tour.

This tour was held by the president, Mark Sheridan. The previous tour had shown a passionate winemaker in Rob Summers and this tour showed how Mark was equally passionate about growing grapes. While we sipped on a tasty 2017 Pinot Gris ($18), he explained the workings of the vineyard, and answered many questions from the group.

Being from Australia, where water has always been a scarce resource, he said that he was initially shocked by the early irrigation practices in the Okanagan where vineyards would basically use sprinklers to water the vines - an ineffective way to do this. Now, with global warming a reality, he has implemented much more eco-friendly practices such as drip irrigation which are effective but also conserve water.

Another topic he talked about was the state of the Okanagan wine industry. I will try to be accurate in my take away although, by this point, I had had a bit of wine and was pleasantly baking in the sun. He said that the great variety of grapes grown in the Okanagan is one of its strengths - that there are so many micro climates and soils types that we can successfully grow different grapes, as long as we are growing the right grape for the terroir.

In the vineyard with Mark Sheridan, president of Hester Creek

The second thing was that the Okanagan wine prices have to be competitive with the world prices for similar wine. He felt that there were wineries in the Okanagan (no, he didn't say who) that charge too much - some, way too much - for their wines, especially when you compare the wines to somewhere like Spain or Argentina. He pointed to Hester Creek's signature blend of Cab, Cab France and Merlot called the Judge.  It has sold for $45 for the past five years - and he said that it can compete with any other $45 bottle of wine from anywhere else in the world. That's both passion and confidence!

After listening to Rob and Mark, I had a whole new appreciation for Hester Creek. What a passionate team! Hunger satiated and feeling good, even if a little baked, we headed for the wine store to stock up on this year's fine release of wines. A marvellous day!