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!

Tiny bubbles! WSET Class #7 - Part 1

Ah, bubbles.

They tickle your nose, and stimulate your palate. Too much imbibing and there's silly behaviour or at least a headache in store.

But that was our first half of WSET class tonight - bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles!

We first looked at how bubbly wine is made - and basically there are three ways.

First is the traditional way - and this is how they make champagne. Grape juice is fermented and then the wine is blended (in Champagne, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and placed in bottles where more yeast and sugar is added to begin a second fermentation. That is when the winemaker goes through the tedious job of turning or riddling the bottles (the 'remuage') a quarter turn every day. The sediment collects at the neck, the wine develops yeasty, bready characteristics, and then the neck is chilled and the yeast and sediment is ejected from the bottle and the bottles are topped up and that's it.

Second is the transfer method. The second fermentation happens like the traditional way but the wine is just dumped into a big tank and the yeast and sediment is filtered out. No need for riddling, but not quite as good as the traditional method.

Finally is the tank method where, basically, everything happens in giant tanks. This is how wines like Prosecco are made.

Which reminds me.... when we were in Rome, we spent a day doing a wonderful cooking course where our group prepared an appetizer, salad, pasta, main course and dessert. It was wonderful! I remember when we were eating, we had some Prosecco after the pasta. Our chef instructor said something like, "The reason we have Prosecco is to open up your stomach so that it can receive even more food." And it worked!

Our first two wines were a couple of sparkling wines.

The first was a Henkell Trocken - a very famous sparkling wine. It was clear lemon pale in colour and had a medium intensity on the nose with aromas of stone fruit such as pear as well as a floral aroma. On the palate, it had aggressive mousse. This means that the bubbles were quite strong - you really want them creamy rather than aggressive. Again, there were flavours of stone fruit and apple. It was off dry, had light body and medium plus acidity, and a medium minus finish. It was merely Acceptable, had 11.5% alcohol, and was $15.

The second was the real deal - Champagne. And not just some everyday fizzy plonk....  It was pale lemon and clear and had medium intensity on the nose with aromas of lime, grapefruit, biscuit , bread, lees and croissants(!). On the palate, it had similar tastes and also the desirable creamy mousse, was dry, had high acidity and medium minus body. It also had a medium plus finish. This was a Premiere Cru from Pierre Glimonnel et Fils, was a blanc de blanc (which means it was made of only Chardonnay), had high acidity and cost $80. I would rate this one Very Good.

I can appreciate the bready taste of champagne but I'm not sure that I really like it. That led to our next two wines, one a sparkling tank wine and one a more natural wine.

This one was my favourite "opening the stomach" wine, Prosecco. It was pale, lemon and clear.

It had medium minus intensity on the nose with of citrus and stone food. There was also some floral aromas. Tasting on the palate, there was a creamy mousse, stone fruit, lime and medium plus acidity, off dry, light body and a fairly short finish. Overall it was Good wine made by Gabriel by Adriano Adami in the tank method and cost $30. 

Our final wine for this blog was a Pares Balta Brut Cava. it was pale, lemon and clear on the nose and was made with the xarallo  grape. There was medium plus intensity with aromas of bread, pastry, apricot, and, yes, rubber! On the palate was a creamy mousse with similar tastes to the nose as well as peach and smoke. It had medium plus acidity, medium body and was dry. A medium plus finish topped it off!

It was interesting to taste the bready, biscuity taste of the nice Champagne or Cava. Unfortunately, I am quite happy with a wine without that bread taste. However, I now know what to look for if I ever doe this again!