New World Class Wines

With the 2010 Winter Olympics barreling headlong toward us, it seems that every event in Vancouver is becoming a chance for the city and province to show the world that this town is indeed world class.

The Globe in a Glass tasting - benefiting Canuck Place Children's Hospital - at the Pan Pacific Hotel on Wednesday night proved that Canuck wines are as good – or better – than New World wines from the Aussies, Kiwis and Yanks. 

In a media-only tasting prior to the main event, wine writers had an opportunity to blind taste some offerings in the under $20 range. We were asked to guess the identities of 15 wines using a score card with hints like: “Donating $1.25 to Canada’s athletes” and “one of the province’s pioneers,” and a list of the producers and varietals on the back. How hard could that be?

I only tasted through to wine #7 when the wines were revealed and am happy to report that – with the help of said clues – I correctly identified the Sumac Ridge Gewürtztraminer (“#1 selling VQA wine in the BCLDB”), the Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Banrock Station’s Unwooded Chardonnay. Three out of seven – not bad.

But what struck me was the amount of positive notes I made for the Canadian whites, like the lively, delicate Nk'Mip Pinot Blanc, noted as "easier to drink than to pronounce." All the wines tasted solid and appealing, but somehow, my notes told me I liked the Canadians better. Had pro-Canada fever sunk into my subconscious?

At the main tasting we were treated to more Olympic-sponsored wines: the crisp, refreshing Tribute Brut from Sumac Ridge, the applicious Jackson Triggs Esprit Chardonnay and the succulent Inniskillin Commemorative Edition Vidal Icewine, all worthy examples of Canadian winemaking.

Other standouts included the Inniskillin Meritage, Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin, and See Ya Later Ranch Ping. When tasted against heavy weights like Hogue’s Genesis Merlot, and Ravenswood’s Lodi Zinfandel, these local wines firmly held their terroir.

Now that the Cellared in Canada controversy has been aired and settled, I think that when sports fans throng to the city next year, they will be pleasantly surprised to find that Canada makes great wines that are not just made from ice.