Cedar Creek - Renovated, Re-Opened, and Refined

Cedar Creek winery in Kelowna just re-opened - and it is well worth visiting!

Apparently the soft opening (for wine club members only) was last weekend but lots of other people caught wind of it and there were line ups out the door and down the path of the wine tasting room! I wasn't there that day but did go mid week and, I have to tell you, I was impressed!

In the whole Okanagan wine picture, I had previously considered Cedar Creek to be sort of in the middle to lower bracket. I hadn't tried a lot of their wine because of that and really didn't have an accurate reading on the winery.

Cedar Creek is owned by the Mark Anthony group, Anthony Von Mandl's company which also owns Mission Hill, Road 13, Checkmate and Martin's Lane, among others. The restaurant at Cedar Creek, Home Block, was also recently given a facelift but has been open for a while. I haven't eaten there but people that have are very positive about the food and service.

We were lucky enough to have both a tasting and a tour around the vineyard. Going through the vineyard was fabulous but it was a rather special opportunity that is not part of the standard wine tasting!

Cedar Creek has two levels of wine - their Estate series and their Platinum series.We had mostly the Estate level with the exception of our first tasting.

Courtesy Cedar Creek website

We started our wine tasting with a wonderful 2018 Block 1 Pinot Noir Rosé ($29.99). I love a good rosé, and this one was one of the best of summer. This had tastes and aromas of grapefruit, strawberries, cherries (those yellow and red Rainier ones) and watermelon and was made with two different pickings of grapes. Some was placed in neutral oak and was on the lees as well. This wine was not too sweet - it had good acidity but was still nice and fruity. This was my favourite wine of the day, perhaps enhanced by our racing along the vineyards in a golf cart while I was sipping on my rosė. Outstanding.

We then tried the 2018 Estate Sauvignon Blanc and the 2017 Gewürztraminer  (both were $18.99). I enjoyed both of these and thought the price point was pretty good. The Sauvignon Blanc was not too citrusy and had some grapefruit flavour that didn't overpower this bone dry wine. The Gewürztraminer was off dry and had a wonderful nose of pear and peach. It would be great with Asian food as well as slurping on the patio with your friends - or even by yourself! Both were Very Good.

Courtesy Cedar Creek website

Next was the 2016 Meritage ($24.99) which was Merlot dominant with about a quarter each of Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. I was quite excited to try this as the price point seemed rather reasonable but I was a little disappointed with the wine. There were flavours and aromas of cassis, plum, blackberry and vanilla but there was also a bit of roughness to the wine that I didn't enjoy. Maybe a year or two in the cellar might round out this wine a bit. Acceptable to Good.

The final wine was the 2016 Syrah ($24.99). The grapes for this wine are grown in the same place as the grapes for the Meritage (Haynes Creek Vineyard near Osoyoos) but these grapes were destined for greatness! The Syrah is made in a Rhone style, with a small bit (1%) of Viognier added. This wine had wonderful aromas and tastes  of violet, blueberries and plums. There were some vanilla notes amongst the explosion of red and black fruit. You could probably age this 5 or 6 years but I would be hard pressed to do so as it is so wonderfully tasty right now! Outstanding.

Next time, I think I'll have to cough up for a Platinum tasting - by the way, the Estate tasting has no charge!

By the way, I have started a wine touring business in the Okanagan. I do have this blog on my company website, but it just doesn't look as good as it is here! Please feel free to check out my website at wineandthensommwinetours.com !

Cheers

Rosé All Day - A Friendly Rosé Challenge - France vs BC!

Some tasty Rosés from the cellar.

Every week, my friend Keith and I try to get out in the great outdoors and paint.

Neither of us is an expert - in fact, we both have so much to learn - but we enjoy getting out and trying to paint. The idea is not to make a great painting; the idea is to do some aspect of the painting well - or at least improve. Sometimes that happens, and sometimes it doesn't.

Today's plein air attempt at Mission Heritage Park.

Today was not a bad day for painting. I was happy with my tree - especially the leaves - and with the grass in front. The background wasn't so bad, either. A good couple of hours spent.

So then, it was time to have some Rosé.

A much younger version of me and wife with Rosé and Pastis.

Rosé is so popular now but it wasn't always that way. I discovered Rosé (not the sugary stuff like Mateus) in 2005 when my family was on a house exchange in Nimes, France. It was August and it was hot. Really hot.

At that time, my wife and I were red wine drinkers exclusively. But it was not red wine weather. Too hot! We looked around and people in Nimes tended to drink Kir (wine and cassis), Pastis (Pernod or Richard and water), beer, or Rosé. So we adapted.

After that, it became (and still is) our summer wine drink.

Two weeks ago, I was in Kelowna at the Salt and Brick restaurant for lunch with family. I had their Rosé flight which I really enjoyed. For today's tasting, I thought we'd do a mini flight of Rosé - one from France and one from BC.

The French wine was our first wine of the tasting. It was a 2017 Domaine De L'Ostal Rosé ($16)  from Pays D'Oc which is basically country wine from the Roussilon-Languedoc Region of France - just west of Nimes. This pale salmon wine made of 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah had a medium intensity aroma and smelled of cherry, strawberry, red liquorice, cinnamon and red jujubes. You can see that I struggled to use the usual descriptors!

On the palate there were some tastes of the same as the aroma as well as a bit of cotton candy and a slight syrupy flavour. Interestingly, the fruitiness of the aromas were not nearly that strong on the palate. It actually tasted just a hint off dry but on second tasting, that went away. This had medium acidity, a medium minus finish, medium alcohol and medium intensity. I would say this is between Acceptable and Good.

The BC wine in this friendly battle was a 2018 Mt. Boucherie Rosé ($22)  from West Kelowna.  I'm not sure what grape is in it but the 2017 was made with Zweigelt (an Austrian crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufrankisch)  so it's likely the 2018 was made with the same grape.

On the nose, which was pronounced in intensity, there were aromas of grapefruit, lemon, blood orange, strawberry and a minerality. On the palate, there were these same flavours as well as watermelon. This high acidity wine was dry,. intense, had a short finish, and medium alcohol. It was a great patio sipping wine and was very refreshing. I would give it a Very Good rating,.

Both wines had their pluses but the BC wine was overall a better wine, in our humble opinion. The French wine would make a nice pairing to different summer foods, especially grilled food. The BC wine was great on its own and would probably stand up to most light summer meals. The only problem with the BC wine is that it is only available online or at the winery. Road trip...

Rosé all day!

This ain't gonna be a walk in the park - WSET 3 - first class

After doing really well on my WSET level 2 last year, I thought that it would be a good idea for me to  complete my WSET 3. After all, I got an amazing 96% on my exam so I thought that It would be a fairly easy jump to get my next level.

Wrong.

Our instructor from Fine Vintage, Lynn, was clear. I am going to have to WORK to pass this course. Really hard. Don't get behind or that's it!

One good thing is that the part I was most worried about, the blind tasting, apparently isn't as hard as I thought. So, one silver lining....

Other than scaring the  crap out of us in the first five minutes, Lynn also went over a few things but did not get too in-depth as we just received our materials. Luckily, I borrowed my son-in-law's WSET 3 materials at the beginning of summer and I have at least a good background on what we are doing.

Topics covered included the art of tasting (appearance, nose, and palate). She also discussed the different wine faults that you can come across. The whole concept of food and wine pairing was also discussed, although this is pretty much the same as in level 2. Finally, she went over the new tasting grid for level 3.

Basically, it builds on the level 2 grid. There are the same categories with a few extra (e.g. mousse- for champagne, ageability,  three kinds of flavour characteristics) as well as a slew of new aroma and flavour descriptors.

I sat with another just-retired gentleman, Owen, and a bright, young woman, Verity. We got along really well and think alike - especially when we unanimously got the first two wines wrong!

I also knew two people, well, sort of. Kelly works at Blackwood Lane (I think my favourite Fraser Valley winery) and is taking the course. I see her almost every time I take a tour there. Beside her was April, a young woman who works at the same place my youngest does, Brewery Creek. Somehow she put two and two together and figured I was the dad!

Onto the wines:

All of the tastings are blind tastings. This evening all of the tastings were in pairs.

The first pair were two bubbly wines - a tank style and a traditional Champagne.

When you hear 'tank style' it means that all the wine is put into a giant tank and yeast is added to the tank after wine has been made to provide the fizz. Prosecco is a tank method wine and sometimes gets a bad rap - although I really like Prosecco. This wine wasn't really close to Prosecco - in fact, our group thought it was the Champagne!

The wine was a non-vintage Von Buhl sparkling Riesling from Pfalz, Germany ($36). It had some nice fruit aromas which were pronounced and very pleasing. It was a high acidity, off dry wine with medium flavour intensity and medium finish. Interestingly, the bubbles didn't persist on the palate - they escaped rather quickly - and so, this is called 'aggressive' in terms of the mousse! Ready to drink. Vivino gives it 3.8 stars.

The next wine was a non-vintage Pierre Peters Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Champagne (made from Chardonnay - $104).  I felt it was rather light on the nose but this may have been my nose confusing lightness for complexity. It was fresh and a bit off dry with medium acidity and medium plus length. There were stone fruits and biscuit on the palate as well as delicate mousse. I still can't believe we got it so wrong - and i don't think I'd pay the $104 -  but this one was ready to drink now, I felt. Vivino gives it 4.1 stars which surprised me.

The next two wines were made from Chardonnay grape. I'm getting better at guessing the grape and I did that with these ones. 

The first was a 2015 Louis Jadot Macron-Villages Chardonnay from Burgundy ($34). It had a pleasant nose with apple, peach and pear with a medium plus intensity. On the palate, it seemed a bit off dry and was fruity with peach, apricot, and honey as well as some vanilla denoting oak. It was a good wine - balance was just OK and had a bit of a short finish and is ready to drink now. Vivino gives it 3.6 stars. 

The second was a classic Burgundy Chardonnay - s 2015 Jacques Prieur Clos de Mazeray Mersault ($135). The nose was less intense - a medium - but had some complex aromas including orange peel, apple, and peach. It was less fruity on the palate - there was lemon zest - but there were other rich tastes including mushroom and toasted nuts. At first, I thought this was not that flavourful and then I realized that the flavours were complex and subtle - an outstanding wine that could age for another 10 years! Vivino gave it 4.1 stars. 

Our next two wines were both whites which we had to compare. I guessed the Riesling and Owen guessed the Pinot Grigio, for what it's worth. 

The Pinot Grigio was a 2017 Tolloy Piniot Grigio from Italy ($26). It had quite the nose with aromas of honeysuckle (I think), peach and pear. On the palate, it had high acidity, included flavours of citrus like lemon and lemon peel, and had a medium finish. We rated it as good and ready to drink. I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of the Pinot Grigio style (I prefer Pinot Gris style with this grape) and this did not change my mind. This got 3.9 stars on Vivino.

The Riesling was a 2015 Fritz Haag Spatels Riesling from Mosel, Germany ($52).  The nose was pronounced - oh my! There was a strong petrol smell as well as nectarine. On the palate, it was actually medium sweet with peach, apricot, honey, and high acidity. This wine was balanced, intense, complex and had a long finish - outstanding! It has definite ageing potential. Vivion gives this one 4.1 stars.

The last two wines were a rosé and a red. We did some cool stuff including sucking a lemon, eating a chili cracker, or having goat cheese to see the effect on the taste of the wine. Very cool!

The first was one of my favourite Rosés, Joie Farms - a 2017 made form Pinot Noir and Gamay - from the Okanagan ($26). It was not as pronounced on the nose (I only got cherries), but there were lots of flavours on the palate including grapefruit, cherries, and strawberries. This was definitely a dry wine with low tannins (like most Rosa´s). I rated it very good - could have been a bit more balanced - and Vivino gave it 3.7 stars. 

The final wine of the evening was a 2014 Stack House Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa ($92). This dark wine - purple, in fact - had lots of aromas including primary (from fermentation - plum, black cherry), secondary (from the winemaker - cedar), and tertiary (from ageing - mushroom and earth). This was repeated with the palate with the addition of bell pepper, cocoa, and wood. There were high tannins and high acidity and full body. This was considered very good by the group and earned a rating of 4 on Vivino. Disappointingly, the price in BC (must be at a private store) is $92 but the average price on Vivino is $44. Sigh.

Well, onto my homework. What homework, you may ask? Read chapters 1 to 7, do a tasting note using the grid, and then do the homework assignment we received in our email yesterday. Here's the intro to one of the questions...

For each of the below scenarios, discuss which vineyard management techniques should be considered to achieve quality grapes for wine production and two examples of wine regions that fall into the climate category.

Sigh.

This definitely ain't gonna be a walk in the park!

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!

And I Would Walk 500 More - Naramata Wine Walk Pt. 2

Waiting to order a fabulous dinner at  Poplar Grove in Penticton

By the time we left Bench 1775, we were more than halfway through of our walk. That was a good thing because time was marching on and most of the wineries closed by five.

Continuing on our somewhat epic wine walk from Naramata, we left the Bench 1775 winery and continued to head south on Naramata Road. As it was now the afternoon, it was starting to get a bit hotter. Luckily the wineries weren't quite as far apart. Even more luckily, there were some wineries that were very close to the actual road, rather than up or down a humungous hill.

As we rounded the curve on the road, we came upon Black Widow Winery. I had never heard of this winery before and was intrigued by its name, thinking that it was probably more flash than substance. Happily, I was wrong. The wines were all very good, as attested by the John Schreiner poster that was subtly tacked on the wall of the wine shop.

Our host's name was James and he had a good knowledge of the different wines. Black Widow is a very small winery that has limited production and is only open form noon until 4pm.

First up was their 2017 Sparkling Web ($24), a frizzante style bubbly (which means gentle bubbles) that had a nice citrusy taste to it.  It is made from two white grapes, Gewürztraminer and Muscat Ottonel. Great patio bubbles.

Next was the 2017 Muscat Ottonel ($25) - because if it's good in the bubbles, it's gotta be good on its own! I was a bit surprised that my wife liked it so much as it was a touch sweet but it had some nice acidity that kept everything in check. Another good patio wine which would also go with something with a bit of spice.

Finally, the favourite wine for me was the 2016 Phobia ($29). This blend of Syrah and Merlot was a little softer than your typical Syrah but spicier than your average Merlot. There were some tannins in the wine but I think it would be a good one to have in the next year or so. This was a very dark wine but tasted mostly of red fruit.

We continued up the hill - and ended up at Hillside Winery. Our host at this winery was Barbara and she was wonderful. I put "very nice tasting" and later "really good tasting" in my notes so I was obviously impressed by how she welcomed us, took the time to showcase the wines, and was very knowledgable about the wines.

The 2016 Reserve Viognier ($24) was our first wine and I really liked it. Viognier is a bit of a different taste from other whites but I love the peachy flavour and the slightly thicker feel to the liquid. This would be great with duck, pork, and many other grilled meats. It would also be good with some Upper Bench brie!

I do like a fragrant Gerwurz and the 2017 Gerwurztraminer ($20) was not a disappointment. This was a bit off dry and won gold at the all Canadian wine competition. I really think the Okanagan is doing a fabulous job with Gewurz right now and this is proof positive.

Finally, from Hillside, the 2015 Syrah ($26), This one had definite white pepper on the palate with medium tannins and a rich, long finish. This one might go into the cellar for a year or two.

It seemed a bit more of a walk as we made our way to the next winery. There was a hint of moisture in the air and, for a moment, we were worried that we might get rained on. However, the threat passed and we continued on our way. We came to three wineries that were cheek to jowl and decided to visit two of them.

The first of the two was Red Rooster, a likeable name with likeable wines.  Stephanie was the person who did our tasting and did a super job, as did almost everyone on this wine tour. I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and expertise of the people doing the tastings.

Our first wine that we bought was a 2016 Riesling ($17). I'll be honest; I used to think that Synchromesh was the only excellent Riesling in the Okanagan. This trip has shown me something else. This was a very nice off dry wine that would be great for just sipping - and that's important in summer!

Next was the 2017 Rosé ($25). This is made from nine different varietals, predominantly Pinot Blanc and  Malbec. A very interesting blend and a taste to match! Definitely fruity but with a nice soft finish.

Finally, we had the 2015 Meritage ($35) which was a wonderful blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. This was a wonderful, powerful, exciting wine and I will probably cellar it for a couple of years.

Practically next door was Little Engine Wines. I have to give a big shout out to the tasting room associate, Solana. Here it was, 5 minutes before closing time, and two sweaty travellers stumble through the door for yet another tasting. Instead of trying to get it over with, she took her time with us and was wonderful; friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. She brought the whole experience up a notch.

When we actually started the tastings, we had some very nice wines. The first wine that we really liked was the 2017 Caboose Rosé ($25).  It's made from Merlot and Pinot Noir and was a very nice, rich Rosé with a deep rich colour.

They say that Pinot Noir is a grape that the Okanagan should specialize in - and we really enjoyed the Silver Pinot Noir ($35). This was a smooth, red fruit wine that is supposedly good until 2023! Not sure if I will risk that as I am a little gun shy about aging Pinot Noir wine after my Tinhorn Creek disaster!

By the time we were finished doing our tasting at Little Engine, it was past five and the time for tastings was over. That left only one option - dinner!

We headed back down the road and walked for another 30 minutes until we arrived at our last stop, Poplar Grove.  Of course, we didn't have a reservation, not knowing when we would arrive. The host at the front said that it would be an hour wait but I told him (with just a hint of a catch in my voice) our saga of walking from Naramata and that this was our destination - our Valhalla! After checking with the manager, happily, he was able to seat us on the gorgeous patio of the Vanilla Pod restaurant.

When we were at Little Engine, Solana told us to be sure to have the potato cakes for an appetizer if we had dinner at Poplar Grove. That's exactly what we did and they were unbelievably good! I envisioned little crab cakes made with potatoes but, instead, we were served a riot of shredded potatoes, salsa and avocado. For dinner, my wife had their pasta special while I had the duck breast - it must have been a pretty big duck...  Both entrees were amazing! Highly recommended.

We accompanied our delicious meal with a bottle of Poplar Grove 2017 Blanc de Noirs Rosé ($22). We loved the Rosé so much that we bought a couple more bottles to take home- it was light and crisp and is the perfect food friendly Rosé.

My wife commented that the restaurant had French service - there was no hurry to get the food out and we really enjoyed the slower pace. We find that, far too often, a dinner out goes way too fast and we are in and out in an hour or so. This time we spent well over two hours enjoying the food, the wine, the excellent service, and the amazing view.

After splitting a vanilla gelato, we paid our bill (a little pricey, but well worth it after our trip) and took a taxi back to our motel in Naramata.

I checked my phone - we had walked over 20km in our wine touring and had visited eight wineries - a wonderful wine walk!