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....

Why am I doing a wine blog?

So, I've decided to take the plunge.

In a little less than two weeks, I will beginning to take a wine course - one, I hope, that is going to be a serious exposure to all things wine.

Despite the title, I won't become a sommelier, though, although this would probably be a step onto that path.

I will be taking a course called WSET 2 - Wine and Spirit Education Trust Level 2.

Why?

I've progressed a long way in my wine appreciation over the years.

Wayyyy back during the late 70s, drinking wine meant high alcohol, high sweetness local wines like Calona White and sweet, bubbly Fuddle Duck, wines that were closer to Kool Aid than Cabernet.

After pretty much avoiding wine in the 80s and 90s, I started making my own wine in the basement, sometimes from kits, sometimes from juice, and once, from juice and skins from a winery in the Okanagan. I did learn a lot about making wine, probably the most important thing being, I don't really like making wine. Then I 'made' wine at u-brew places, the best being a one called Once Upon a Vine where I convinced myself that I was making a pretty fine wine.

I was kidding myself. The wine was really still plonk.

Over the past 10 years I have become more and more interested in wine and have definitely become intently interested in learning about wine.

What is WSET and why am I taking level 2?

Well, it is an international organization that oversees a number of levels (4, actually) of wine knowledge, service and tasting. Becoming an actual sommelier is beyond level 4. But that's OK - I am not interested in becoming an actual sommelier - I just want to be a wine nerd. Also, I really enjoy drinking wine. And this course will help me enjoy drinking wine even more!

Level 1 is pretty basic so, after talking to a few people in the know, I felt that level 2 was a better starting level for me.

The purpose of this blog is to hopefully give you some insight on what it's like to take the WSET and to give you my opinion about some different wines that I will try during the WSET course.

So....onto the wines.

I was at a good friend's house for dinner last night and had a couple of interesting wines....

The first was an Adega and 45th Cabernet Franc ($26). We bought this at the winery a couple months ago and it was one of the few wineries open during the winter. When we were at the wintery, the grand-daughter of the founder served us. Grandpa came over from Portugal to farm in the Okanagan and switched to wine in 2005 with the winery opening in 2011.

The Cabernet Franc was a very nice drinking wine. It had some great fruit aromas - some berry and some plum - and left a nice taste in my mouth.

The second was an Australian red wine blend made in Port Misery (!) called Hope's End ($14.99). It was more had more tannins than the Adega and had a stronger taste but was also a bit jammy. According to the website, it is a blend of Shiraz, Malbec and Grenache and is quite drinkable. We had it with a beef and rice dish and it seemed to compliment it well.

Two to try for later:

My wife and I went for a great walk along the seawall in West Vancouver yesterday. While in Dundrave, we went to the Dundrave Wine Cellar to look at their wine. I spoke to the gentleman in the store and explained that I was going to be starting my WSET 2 and was interested in trying either a Burgundy or Bordeaux that was ready to drink now. He gave me several options and I found that I was able to follow around 75% of what he said - six months ago, it would have be 25%!

We settled on a Chateau de Callac from Graves ($32).

This is a Bordeaux wine from a winery on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. As you can see in the map below, it is in the lower left bank of the region.

The left bank of Bordeaux is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and the right bank is predominantly Merlot. According to Wikipedia, the Graves region is the birthplace of Claret. Interestingly, a website I saw talked about how Claret was a name the English used for Bordeaux. Why? Well, during one of the umpteen wars against France, the English decided that, although they wanted to drink French wines, they didn't want to actually have French names for them. Claret was what the Portuguese called Bordeaux so the English starting using that non-French name for French wine from Bordeaux! 

The other wine is a Paso Creek Zinfandel ($15.99) that my friend is into at this point. It is a red Zinfandel which is curious as I have only drunk while Zinfandel before. Will have to try that one in the future!