EverythingWINE

It’s hard to believe the King of Pop is dead, but life continues. Canada Day is tomorrow and it’s time to celebrate this great country by popping Canadian wines in the color of the flag - red and white.

If you’ve never tried a Baco Noir, now’s a good time to step out of BC and into Ontario. I’ve been a fan of Henry of Pelham’s Baco Noir since visiting their Niagara winery in 1999. Until a year or so ago, one had to bring bottles from Winnipeg, but now this lovely hybrid is available in BC.

If the word baco doesn’t conjure an image of tobacco, the wine’s nose certainly will. Earthy and smoky with warm red fruit, you can almost smell a cigar burning. It has a full body with good acidity and tastes like a freshly baked rhubarb pie – lush and tart. Soft tannins make it easy on the mouth and parable with meats as well as cheese.

Back to the Okanagan for a crisp white, I go for the Tinhorn Creek 2008 Pinot Gris. The newly designed label says South Okanagan Valley because there really is a difference. This gris is quite fresh and clean and is brimming with peaches, green apples and lime. The finish has lip smacking acidity and a touch of minerality. An a-gris-able wine, to be sure. And, with its screw top, there’s no need to rummage for a wine opener.

The Vancouver Jazz Festival is in full swing – pun intended – and if you haven’t tried a Peller Estates wine recently, this is a good place to sample them. As a festival sponsor, Peller is offering their current vintages of Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Merlot, and thanks to the excellent work of winemaker Stephanie Leinemann, all of them are solid choices.

Yesterday, on the patio of the Performance Works, I enjoyed a glass of the Peller Heritage Select Merlot with a bacon and egg sandwich. The wine had a nice full body with good balance of black fruit and woody notes, plus some earth, toffee and tobacco leaf. The finish is medium length, clean and dry. A pleasant quaffer with easy tannins, it was perfect for a day in the sun.

Whether you lean toward red or white - or kind of blue - have a juicy, jazzy Canada Day!

I’d been saving a bottle of La Minga 2008 Cabernet/Merlot for a non-special occasion, deducing from its label that it wasn’t a particularly special wine. A wine from the Central Valley of Chile, if it's anything like California's Central Valley, had to be either bad or boring. Or, so I thought.

But, when I poured it for my writers group the other night, I got compliments. Right out of the bottle the wine proved approachable and friendly, like an old pal. Well balanced with red and black fruits, La Minga is so easy on the mouth and low in alcohol, you could almost guzzle it. And, being a rather simple quaff, it provides quiet companionship to thoughts of sentence structure and character arcs.

According to the back label, "La Minga" – in Isle of Chiloé lore – is the act of doing something nice for someone. Like, where the village comes together to help one person with, “moving a complete house from one place to another using oxen.” In Yiddish, that’s a Mitzvah, but in this case, the event is always followed by a big banquet. What the wine should be called is, “Will Work for Party.”

And a party wine this is. For $13, it delivers a lot of satisfaction and at 13% alcohol it will appeal to everyone on the patio. Good with chocolate, too.

Another Chilean surprise is the Viña Punto Alto 2005 Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley from Domaine Laroche. It’s like a slice of cherry pie served in a wooden bowl. It has a soft, rich mouthful of red fruits with notes of vanilla, earth and mint. The finish has medium length and is warm and eucalyptusy. 14% alcohol is not discernable until the end, but you can definitely feel it below the throat. A good date wine, perhaps.

Compared to prices I’ve seen on the Internet, the Punto Alto Pinot is almost a steal. In the states, the 2006 vintage is selling for $25. Here, we have the 2005 for $17, down from $20. Either the winery is pushing the vintage out the door for the next one, or they are reacting to a not-so-favorable rating from Wine Spectator. But who cares what those guys think, this is a great deal on a fine wine and I would not hesitate to serve it with salmon.

That’s the difference a decade makes. In the mid-nineties Santa Rita was the only brand coming out of Chile and today the country offers some of the best deals on the planet. Chile today, hot tamale!

If you’re like me and have WADD – Wine Attention Deficit Disorder, the compulsion to keep multiple bottles open at the same time – you’ll appreciate a wine that tastes delicious three days later.

Cuvee Alice, a name you can almost hear Tom Waits growling, is made by Chateau Ollieux Romanis in the Corbieres region of Sud de France. The 2006 blend was quite tight straight out of the bottle and begged the use of a decanter. But the day after pouring one small pour from it, the sweet and spicy fruit and bits of earth jumped from the glass. Still the mouthfeel was sharp, which made it good with pizza.

Three days after opening this bottle, the palate felt as soft as cream and the half full contents had released savory aromas and revealed a deep plumminess that paired surprisingly well with dark chocolate. Five days later, the third of a bottle full is still tasty, and I think we’ll have it with chicken tonight.

Over the weekend, we sipped the Johnny Q 2006 Chard/Viognier from Australia. For a partially oaked chardonnay/viognier blend, it seems to have a bit of spring in its step. Stone fruit calmly strolls onto the palate and then up jumps citrus, doing a little tongue dance. The crisp finish turns minerally and you are left to wonder, what the heck did I just drink? Was it a chardonnay or a riesling? A viognier or a vinho verde? Perhaps this is why the winemaker describes the wine as “versatile.” Indeed, I’ve never had a chard/vio that tastes as good with asparagus.

On Summer Solstice Sunday we drank a toast to the planet with wine from a earth-friendly Tetrapak. I’ve had boxed wine, but this was my first ever Tetrapak experience. It was the Lizard Flat Cabernet/Merlot 2002, packaged for six years in recycled paper. And no, we weren’t picnicking at Sunset Beach. We were at an elegant dinner table and drank it with fruit and chocolate.

This rust red blend has almost no tannin left, making it quite easy on the palate. Its spicy, cherry/raspberry fruit does all the heavy lifting and leaves a clean, medium-length finish. The 14.5% alcohol tasted no higher than 13.5%, and the low $13 price for a 1 liter container makes it a excellent choice for summer sipping. It practically screams, “take me to the river!”

I’ll be looking for more summer drinking ideas this Friday, the 26th, at Everything Wine’s Summer Solstice Wine Festival. See you there!

Summer is the time when wineries are open to greet the masses and serve up what’s left of their current releases. As a wine lover, there is no finer thing to do than pack up a picnic basket and head to wine country for a nice winery crawl. Then, at the end of the day you can lay your purchases out on the floor and savor the anticipation of drinking them, of revisiting your wine trip with every sip.

Yet, romance aside, anything to do with alcohol is by nature fraught with potential disaster, mostly from lack of preparation and irresponsible imbibing. I’ve been touring wine roads since 1984 and here are a few tasting survival rules that work for me.

Water. Dehydration is a problem, dilution is the solution. Chugging bottles in the car and drinking water at the bars will help you stay clear headed.

Snacks. Food is the best way to stay sober, so nibble as you roll along. It's usually ok to bring snacks in to the bar, but don’t make a mess with the crackers.

Spit. Seemingly gross at first, spitting allows you to taste far more wine than is possible to stomach awake. Spitting is the method of preference for drivers or serious note takers. Ask for a plastic cup or bring your own in order to avoid hovering at the dumpbucket.

Buy something. Make no mistake: after tasting everything in the winery, if you walk out empty handed, you will definitely look like a jerk. So, don’t sponge – splurge!

Chat. Tasting room workers are fonts of information that you can use, like whether the next winery is still open. If you are friendly, they might even call that winery for you.

Be interested. Even if you know nothing or think you know everything, at least pretend to be involved in what's being presented. I’m talking to you, bachelorette party girls.

Make space. If the bar is full and tasters are waiting behind you, step back and let someone else belly up. After all, with ebb comes flow.

Wear comfortable shoes. You just never know when you’ll have to traverse a gravely parking lot or climb a steep hill, so leave the heels at home. Especially true for non-spitters.

Finish in style. End up in an awesome place where you can sit outside and enjoy a view in the late afternoon light. Tinhorn Creek has a stunning property near Oliver, and winding down the day over a chilly bottle of their 2008 Pinot Gris is my idea of a perfect winery experience.

Certainly, there’s more to wine tripping than this. If you have any tips for winery visitors, please share them with us.

Now that summer is almost here and the warm weather seems to want to stay, let me evangelize about a perfect wine for the season. Vinho Verde is an aromatic Portuguese white that’s crisp and refreshing as well as refreshingly affordable. And, it has less alcohol than most wines. That delicate blend of attributes makes Vinho Verde a supreme summer sipper.

Pronunciation is deceptive, though. Verde is not pronounced the Spanish way, “Vair –day,” but Portuguese style, “Vaird,” where the “e” is swallowed. That’s a sticking point for this California girl, but at least I’ve mastered the “Veen-yo” part.

Speaking of unpronounceable, roll these varietals around your mouth: Loureiro, Azal Branco, Arinto, Trajadura, Alvarinho. Those are just a few of the grapes used in Vinho Verde but fortunately you won’t be quizzed on them later.

The words, Vinho Verde does translate to “green wine,” but don’t break it out on St. Patrick’s Day. No one will make the connection since the color generally ranges from pale yellow to pail water. Verde means green as in young and naïve. The only green you actually see is what stays in your wallet.

Ok, semantics aside, here is what I love about Vinho Verde. It has a delightfully zesty quality from a certain amount of frizzante, called pétillance. In the old days, Vinho Verde bottles contained bits of unfermented yeast that fermented in heated transit and created tiny bubbles. The effect was an accident, but since it became associated with the wine, producers now use modern methods to re-create the pétillance. Overall, winemaking has improved in the Mingo region, prompting the wine world to finally appreciate this vibrant wine.

The Azul Portugal 2007 Vinho Verde has a fleshy nose of green apple and citrus, with those flavours following on a lively palate that leads to a clean, dry finish. Clocking in at 12%, this wine is perfect for a delicate white fish dish, sushi, or with something laden with salsa. Or, solo.

Arca Nova makes a 2007 Vinho Verde Rosé that looks quite stunning in a perspiring glass. It offers lovely strawberry and cherry aromas, with berries and hints of white pepper on a frizzante mouth. Only 11% boozy, I can see it with spicy food, cold tomato dishes or eggplant anything. Chill well.

Vinho Verde’s fresh mouthfeel, low alcohol and good acidity make it eminently quaffable out on the patio. And, it’s not a bad breakfast wine either.

After four years in Vancouver, I finally bought a barbecue. It’s a tiny affair with a fourteen-inch grill and it burns old-fashioned briquettes lit with an electric starter. Inconvenient, sure, not to mention hazardous, but there’s just something about food charred by a carcinogenic heat source that propane can’t match.

Almost any food takes to the grill, but not all wines are grill friendly. Barbecue wines must stand up to strong notes of smoke, char, pepper, and mesquite, imparted by the heat source. When Ravenswood said, No Wimpy Wines, I think they meant with barbecue. Red or white, look for strong flavour, good acidity and big fruit. Delicate pinots or oaky chards – not so much.

Avoid high alcohol. Why wash down heat with heat? This is kind of a deal breaker with muscular reds these days, with so few under 14%. Anything in the 13% range works.


My favorite BBQ reds are zinfandel, syrah, petite syrah, malbec and garnacha, in that order. The trouble with zins is, again, the alcohol level, which can top 17% with some Californians. Save your Earthquake Zin for a chocolaty dessert and drink the 13.2% Painter Bridge with your baby back ribs. It’s easier on the palate and won’t make you cry when it tips over and spills on the grass.

You say shiraz, I say syrah. Funky, gamey, smoky, and fruit bomb, they all work with the grill. The Crios Syrah/Bonarda from Argentina is a fabulous choice for it’s mouthwatering acidity and soft tannins. Bonarda is a beefy new grape turning up in more Argentine blends.

If you are not familiar with petite sirah, Concannon Central Coast offers a fine howdy do. Petite sirah is related to Durif, a French hybrid mistakely categorized as a mini version of syrah when it was imported to California. Petites have a smokey, earthy jammy character that pairs well almost any grilled meat.

As for whites, go for full body, big flavor, good acidity, and some minerality if you're cooking shrimp. A tropical fruit profile is always welcome. Torrontes from Argentina is a great option, like the Lo Tengo, with its bright rich fruit and slight sweetness.

Gewürztraminers are perfect with spicy stuff and fortunately, British Columbians are blessed with abundant choices from this province. Try the exotic Hillside Estate. It has a screwtop for quick access.

Happy grilling!

Things are really looking up for the Languedoc–Roussillon wine county. Once written off as a plonk-producing backwater, their wines have never been better and the recession-addled world has never desired them more.

Located south of the Rhone Valley and east of Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon forms a giant leafy crescent along the Mediterranean that produces a sea of impressive, inexpensive wines, labeled Vin de Pays d’Oc. In recent decades the region has reduced their grape production and improved winemaking, causing a sort of wine renaissance in the South of France. What that means in the store aisle is plenty of good value in flavourful, robust wines.

Sud de France — as Languedoc-Roussillon is now branded – is one of the world’s oldest wine regions, producing wines once quaffed by Roman legionaries. It’s also the warmest, most sunlit places in France. The old vines are gnarley headed things that struggle to stay alive in 30C heat and the stress they endure gives the grapes concentration and an earthy expression of ripeness that I find totally distinctive. That Chateau Cabezac we had last week is a perfect sample of these savory, terroir-driven reds. You can almost taste the soil the grapes are grown in. And the St Martin de la Garrigue 2001 Cuvee Bronzinelle, with its notes of rosemary and thyme, is rightly named for the herbaceous brush land that covers the Mediterranean basin.

Grapes like carignan, mourvedre, cinsault and grenache are the traditional Pays d’ Oc mix, but upstart winemakers are playing with syrah, merlot and pinot noir, and labeling them by varietal. Sud de France wineries have embraced critter labels and cheeky names, like the ever reliable, Red Bicyclette. And then there’s the tetra-pack French Rabbit Pinot Noir, which I have promised myself to take on a picnic.

But the area is not only about full throttle reds. Sud de France produces 30% of the world’s supply of Rosé, currently a hot wine for a chilly world. Recently, the EU proposed a rule to allow producers to make by Rosé by blending red wine with white. That caused militant local winemakers to see red and drove CRAV — the Comite Regional d'Action Viticole — to bomb offices, highjack wine tankers and threaten President Sarkosy. It became the War of the Rosés.

Fortunately, on Monday, the European Commission made their announcement to drop the whole idea and Rosé producers sighed a collective, mon dieu. Rosé is now safe in France.

Cheers to that!

Three words best describe summer dining: light, fresh, and delicious. For me, nothing satisfies these criteria better than a casual lunch on the patio of my favourite local sushi joint. After a quick glance at the menu, I’ve decided on an assortment of nigiri sushi and cucumber rolls. But the question remains: what to wash it down with?

The first and simplest principle of wine and food pairing is that wines, and other beverages, from the same region as the cuisine usually best complement it. Quality cold sake and light Japanese beer are among the best choices for my sushi lunch. While these options are certainly delicious, this is a wine blog after all, so let’s consider another approach to wine and food pairing by matching the weight, or richness, of the food with the weight, or body, of the wine. This rule of wine and food pairing opens up a world of palate-pleasing options. The crisp, clean profile of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, or the mineral characteristic of a Chardonnay from Chablis, for example, complement the lightest fare, and the fresh cucumber rolls on my plate. Foods of a medium richness, such as the lighter yellowfin tuna, demand a richer, more full-bodied wine – an oaky California Chardonnay or a viscous Mosel Riesling – and the meatiest fish, like salmon or the richer, fatty tuna belly, not only stand up to a Burgundian Pinot Noir, they share the wine’s Umami taste. But pairing wine and food isn’t always about identifying similarities; in fact, finding the right contrast can highlight flavours and enhance both the food and the wine. An aromatic white wine, with just a touch of sweetness, for instance, pairs exquisitely with many spicy and savoury dishes. Like to go heavy on the wasabi? I certainly do, so today I will opt for an off-dry and aromatic white, an Alsatian Gewürztraminer, but an Argentine Torrontes or a BC Ehrenfelser would also do nicely.

If you would rather not bother fussing over the wine list, go for a nice sparkling wine. Bubbly is refreshing and lively, and it pairs well with the variety of flavours your sushi platter may offer. Extra-dry or Brut Champagne are best, if you have deep pockets, but if you’re looking for something more affordable, choose a fruity BC bubbly or an Italian Prosecco. Perhaps the best approach of all, when it comes to food and wine pairing, is to be courageous and experiment. Have fun with it, and you might discover something amazing. Cheers!

rory’s sushi picks:

Pierre Sparr Gewürztraminer – France $20.99
Gunderloch Fritz's Riesling – Germany $16.99
Ochagavia Sauvignon Blanc – Chile $12.99

Planning your own sushi party?  Come in and let us help you choose from a wide variety of wines and sakes that will perfectly accompany your favourite sushi dishes. 

You knew it had to happen. This site has become too powerful to not have an editorial component. We’ve wanted a blog for this site since day one. So, at long last, we are launching the Everything Wine blog, posting every Tuesday and Thursday.

Truth is, I’ve wanted to blog for Everything Wine since the day I stepped into the North Vancouver store. When I saw the huge selection and the great prices, and even received a 5% discount on my case, I became an immediate fan. And since they carry almost everything, they often get mentioned in my own “citizen” blog, Tasting Room Confidential.

EW is a great store, but its web site; now, that’s a thing of beauty. For a wine writer, its searchable inventory is a godsend. How else would I have found my favorite Rosenblum Zinfandel, the Paso Robles, in the area? Now, it’s my great good fortune to be able to contribute yet more useful information to the site – and, twice a week. Is this a great job, or what?

Don’t be surprised when you see things from EW’s well-traveled staff. They have a lot to say about the infinitely expanding wine universe, so look for posts about food, wineries, tastings, regions, varietals, and well, just everything wine.

And, in the very near future, Everything Wine will again push the local retailing envelope when they launch online purchasing. That means time well wasted for office surfers.

I do have own my vinological biases and currently they lean toward crisp, aromatic whites of the Alsatian variety, as well as under-oaked chardonnays full of tropical fruit. I’m mad about Torrontes from Argentina, Vinho Verde from Portugal, and Sauvignon Blanc from just about everywhere. Being from Sonoma County, I admit to being a zinhead. And, I mean RED zinfandel, the only kind there is, ok? Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs also turn my cork, as do Rhone varietals like syrah, grenache, morvedre and carignan.

Like the Chateau Cabezac, a nice Languedoc carignan that we drank last night. It has a nose of sweet, spicy plum, with ripe, fleshy fruit and a whiff of tobacco on the palate. The warm dusty finish was rather like walking through a cherry orchard on a hot day. The zing of acidity and taste of terroir made it perfect with grilled sausages. Not bad with chocolate, either. At $16.99, this is exactly the kind of unusual wine I look for when I shop, and the kind I write about when I post.

But enough about me, what do you think of this blog? Please, send us your comments, your suggestions, your well wishes. Like food, feedback is love.

Cheers,
Mari Kane