Tag Archives: Wine - Page 2

My Brief Interlude at Cornucopia

Posted by on November 30, 2009 No comments

Cornucopia Food and Wine Festival in WhistlerMy pal Tracey and I headed up to the Friday afternoon industry tasting at Cornucopia in Whistler a few weeks back. (Thank Judas there is a mountain getaway wine event in the dreary November rainy season.) We decided to make a quick day trip of it, just to wet our lips at this year’s event… that was, until the snow came and the mountain announced its opening two weeks ahead of schedule; my plans quickly changed. Fresh snow equals staying in the mountains, which was the perfect excuse to also take full advantage of the food and wine festival. My intention was to attend as much as I could, meet more people and soak up the scene (and the wine). It’s the intention that counts, right? I chose bombing down a mountain on a board in new, perfect, buttery snow rather than the former intention. Instead of spending a small fortune on all of the festival’s wine and food events, I spent a small fortune après, fireside at the Chateau’s Mallard lobby bar.

Rasoul Salehi, Executive Director of Le Vieux Pin and La Stella (Okanagan), was kind enough to offer me a bottle of his 2007 LaStella Fortissimo for us to enjoy. Crafted from two agreeable palates, this is a bold but soft Italian-inspired blend, a deep, rich ruby (52% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc) with a whole lot of black fruits on the nose and even more on the palate, balanced nicely with hints of chocolate and cedar. Soft and velvety throughout, it’s got some tight tannins, but this is one that’ll do well with a few years, or why not right now with a juicy hunk o’ meat? I quite enjoyed it, white robe and mountain room aside slightly persuading the mood… ($35)

I did manage to snap off a few pics of the festival and my new mountain “wine fridge”. Sorry Rasoul – a portion of your Fortissimo ended up on the roof of the Chateau. But not before I enjoyed most of it. Not a bad branding tactic perhaps?

This is the part where I link to all the fabulous posts on the event’s site so you can dig for more great info, but it doesn’t seem they have an official blog space, or photos on Flickr?… in doing a quick search I found Degan’s piece on Foodist.ca and Jennifer was covering things for Miss 604 in this post. Let me know if I’ve missed others. Here’s a few more pics from “Culinary Fool” on Flickr.

IVSA: So Many Wines… You Know The Rest

Posted by on November 12, 2009 No comments

Honeymoon In FranceSo *this* is where all the kids hang out. IVSA (Import Vintners & Spirits Association of BC) in Vancouver was a good time had by all at the Four Seasons downtown. If you are in the wine industry, you should consider joining the mobs of wine agents and buyers. If you’re not, you should find a way to get there next time around.

Roaming the room, taking it all in and chatting with familiar and new faces, you couldn’t help notice the serious on-a-mission tasters for wine columns, blogs, party recommendations, surrounded by the not-so-serious having a grand ol’ time, not spitting. Everyone was in great spirits and it felt a bit like Christmas in early November.

I met some lovely people, tasted some doozy wines, but there was no hope you could even dream of tasting half of the room in the 3 short hours, so I tried to stick to some bubbly plus a few bonus tracks for the holidays:

  • Bastianich Flor Prosecco – $19.99 – easy to drink and your fills the mouth with florals and light, lovely bubbles
  • Codorniu Pinot Noir Sparkling Brut, Cava, $19.99 – full of zest and soft mouthfeel, with a pinky-orange hue for all of you pink fans out there
  • Nicolas Feuillatte Particuliere Brut, Champagne, $59.99 – Gismondi 90 pts.
  • Champagne Moutardier Carte d’Or, $58.99 – unique 85% Pinot Meunier must try – 90 pts Burghound



    • Bonus Tracks:

  • Penfolds Grandfather Port, $84.99 – nutty and rich, melts in your mouth and hangs around for a long time, but not long enough!
  • Chateau d’Orignac Pineau des Charentes, $39.99 – Wow. Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, one-third Cognac and ten years to produce – think thick, rich honey in a beautiful wine. Excellent value.
  • Blue Raspberry Vodka, $23.75 – And why not add a little fun bubble-gum-esque blue vodka into the Christmas stocking? Goes with every typical mix I’d imagine or on its own on the rocks.

Thanks to Catherine at Rare Finds and Risha at Select Wines for making certain I made it out.

My Week In France

Posted by on November 9, 2009 No comments

Honeymoon In France… in Vancouver.

What to do when you can’t jet off to France every other month? Seek France out in a hotel or community centre near you.

Last week I stopped into two local tasting events. The first, an industry tasting of Bordeaux reds and whites at the Roundhouse called Bordeaux Under One Roof. The second, the Rhône Valley at the Four Seasons Hotel at an event called Warm Winter Rhône – a benefit for the Children’s Hospital.

Great thing about my “afternoon in Bordeaux”: all wines presented were under $30. Beat that. Pretty decent value. It was a quiet room of just nine local agencies which made it easy to meet and greet and move around.

Before the tasting got started, it was optional to slip into the theatre adjacent to the tasting room and listen to an hour on Bordeaux from Montrealer and Bordeaux expert Nick Hamilton. It was a basic 101 on the region, terroir, grapes and wines, but served as very informative if you knew zero to very little.

Bordeaux wines are the true art of blending.
— Nick Hamilton

A Few Bordeaux Picks:

  • Red: Chateau Mayne-Vieil 2005, $27.99 – rich, full body, lovely tannins, balanced and drinkable now / Merlot, Cab Franc
  • White: Dourthe No 1 Sauvignon Blanc, $16.99 – Holy New Zealand! Very typical flare of a Sauvy B from NZ – citrus, grapefruit, fresh, zesty, yum – from France.
  • Best deal of the day: Chateau Loupiac Gaudiet 2003, $17.99 (375ml) – sweet gem you could sip on all afternoon!

Across town and two days later, my “evening in the Rhône Valley” was splendid. This night was a benefit for the Children’s Hospital, so wonderful to see a packed room with eager note-takers and the “occasional” no-spitters… always entertaining. It was an easy room to try most wines, and that I did, along with my very-happy-to-taste-at-anytime-fellow-wine-enthusiast Tracey. Definitely found it easier to taste with one other person along for the ride, rather than a solo trek or a +1 +1 +1 etc. You can block out some crowds and get down to the task at hand with a second nose and set of taste buds.

Treats From The Rhône:

  • Le Compagnie Rhodanienne 206 Les Combelles, $13.49 – easy drinking, light tannins and body with a nice balance – perfect entry into Rhône wine.
  • Chapoutier 2005 Muscat Beaumes de Venise – other than the small twang of *slight* high alcohol at 15.5%, really, really lovely.
  • Perrin Les Christins 2007 Vacqueyras, $26.99 – their marketing says it better than I: “rock-solid”.

Bringing Napa Home To You

Posted by on November 1, 2009 No comments

Vancouver played host to Napa Valley at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel this month as part of “Wine Arts”, an event hosted by Arts Umbrella. Lucky me got to join and transport myself from bad lighting and industrial carpeting to some of the Greats from Calistoga, St. Helena and Rutherford.

In speaking with some of the winemakers, winery owners and reps and local agents, the wines fell under categories of a. available in Vancouver, b. never going to be available in Vancouver and c. “We’ve been trying for years to get into Vancouver!”. So good luck finding them. Locally, try the private wine shops first. If nothing else, head down to Napa and try them all in person.

My Highlight Reel:

  • Trefethen 2003 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – deep purple, dark fruits, beautifully balanced, long smokey finish.
  • 2006 Diamond Creek “Gravelly Meadow” Cabernet Sauvignon – most expensive wine of the night and one of the best.
  • 2007 Laird Family Estate Cold Creek Ranch Chardonnay – just the way you’d expect a full-bodied, toasty, buttery Cali Chardonnay. This one was a treat.
  • 2006 Quintessa (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, & 1% Carmenere) – A lot going on with this rich and beautiful wine with black fruits and plenty of spice. This one needs some meat or put it away for down the road.
  • Heitz Cellars Ink Grade Port – Holy Purple! This is one smoooooth porto. From Portuguese varietals Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Sausao, Tinta Cao, Tinta Bairada, Tinta Madeira, Tinta Amarela, Bastardo – These read something like Russian for the rookie, alas Heitz Cellars says it perfectly: “The perfect reason to linger over dinner.”.

My WSET Fine Vintage Favourites

Posted by on October 31, 2009 No comments

Hubbard Photography @ VinoCamp CheeseCamp 2009What better time to start writing about wine then when you’ve just finished tasting roughly 18 wines a day over 6 glorious days?

Having recently completed Level 3 of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) with James Cluer at Fine Vintage, I have to give my props to the wine in this Top 20 Wine List that we were fortunate enough to taste while studying. Listed in no particular order and according to my own personal preference, with price point estimates (BC, Canada) and a few notes I managed to scribble between the drooling, Ooo-ing and Ah-ing. A few of these, let it be known, I simply could not merely taste; some just slipped right down!

WHITES:

1. Domaine Weinbach, Riesling Schlossberg, Alsace Grand Cru 2005 $70 – crisp and beautiful – spend the dough on this one, it will not disappoint.
2. Vinvent Girardin, Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts Burgundy 2006 $99 – oh-so-much-goodness. Melts in your mouth. Drink now.
3. Charles Heidsieck Cuvée 1995 $200 – Heavenly way to start the morning.
4. Zilliken Riesling Auslese Mosel (‘Auslese’ = German Late Harvest = sweet = FAB) 1995 $58
5. Muenchberg Grand Cru Alsace Riesling 2004 $104
6. Nicolas Joly Savennières Les Clos Sacrés (Les Vieux Clos) 2006 $47 – Bio-Dynamic
7. Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux 2003 $65 for the HALF L.
8. Château Dereszla Tokaji 2003 $30
9. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Alsace 2004 $58
10. Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 1999 $26 – Great value!

REDS:

1. Alentejo Incognito 2003 $67
2. Torres Salmos Priorat 2005 $35
3. Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2004 $114
4. Smith Woodhouse Tawny Port 1986 $65
5. Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 2002 $110
6. Château Beauséjour 1er Cru Saint Emilion 1998 $70
7. Château Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2001 $125 (All 13 grapes!)
8. Guigal Saint Joseph 2004 $110
9. Felton Road Pinot Noir $110
10. Luce, IGT Super Tuscan, Montalcino 2005 $100

I’d be happy to expand on the what and who on any of the above. And if you are thinking of taking a wine course or two, and happen to live in Western Canada or Northwest US, you have to seek out James Cluer’s classes – you’ll be learning from the best, tasting great wines and receiving an awesome and supportive energy.

Last Chance For VinoCamp CheeseCamp Tickets

Posted by on August 4, 2009 No comments

vinocamp cheesecamp
HV8X2914[Update: Wow! What a day – from all accounts, everyone had an amazing time, plenty of wine and cheese was had by all, we learned a ton, met new people and enjoyed a civilized ad-hoc afternoon. Thanks to all of our sponsors – check the Flickr Pool for photos of our day (thanks to one of Vancouver’s best photographers), our Tweets and tags and hash tags #vinocamp and #vccc09 for all the updates. Thank-you to everyone who helped (especially the MAG team) and to all of our speakers and participants. See you next year…]

There just might be RAIN this Saturday in Vancouver. We need it. But even if it doesn’t rain, I say after all of this heat wave, it’s the perfect timing for the perfect pairing and staying inside to taste (drink) fine wines, eat delectable cheeses, learn from the best in the business and, if you are so inclined on the “geekery” side of things, going tech with what you are taking in – blogging, flickring, tweeting all of your new wine and cheese knowledge and experiences, all day.
Check out the line-up of amazing Speakers and the Schedule and Sessions – including a few lightening talks in the breaks and a Live Twitter Tasting with Stag’s Hallow.

REGISTER HERE – tickets are going!

Hope to see you there – Keynote with Dr. Donna Senese begins at 12:30pm.

Follow @vinocampvan
Official Tags: vccc09 | vinocampvan09 | vinocamp | cheesecamp

Wine Tasting On A Whole New Level

Posted by on July 23, 2008 1 comment

VinoCamp 2008What more do you want than a whole summer’s day set aside for wine tasting, a Mediterranean spread, wine learning from some of best wine-makers and minds in the country, all the while surrounded by a quiet, lush setting at Vancouver’s Botanical Gardens. Enter VinoCamp.

What exactly is Vinocamp?

This is definitely not the wine festival. In a more unstructured form than a standard conference, VinoCampVancouver brings wine, people and technology together in one place, making wine accessible, educational and fun.

VinoCamp was inspired by techy-turned-wine-o expert Lori Pike. There is a small crew of us helping to piece this together, but we could definitely use some help, outreach, link love, spread the love… This event is fast approaching and tickets are selling – register now to reserve your place as there is not a ton of room on this bill.

When: Saturday, August 16th — 10am To until the last bottle is drip-dry.

The speaker list is building and includes the likes of Brad Cooper, Wine Maker at Township 7 and Wine Maker Kathy Malone from one of the major sponsors, the Artisan Wine Co.

If you want to help, we’re still on the hunt for more sponsors, speaker suggestions and people to help on the day as well.

Also:
Facebook Group
Facebook Event Page

This is going to be an amazing day of fine wines, delectable foods and promised sunshine – don’t miss out. Dare I say it? – Summer is closing in and it’ll be gone before we know it! More vino please.