EverythingWINE

I’m at my first seminar-style wine tasting in the Everything Wine classroom, and pours of eight different California cabernets sit daring me to judge them while facilitator Chris Sharpe explains their history and terroir. I get a feeling that this is very serious business, and yet, when the group of ten participants breaks into casual conversations, there is an air of camaraderie I didn’t expect. Hey, where’s the intimidation here?

Indeed, the wines are formidable. Consider: Darioush’s 2006 Caravan, Raymond’s 2005 Reserve, Benziger’s 2005 Cabernet-Merlot, Groth’s 2005 Oakville, Stewart Cellars' 2004, and the Spottswoode Estate 2004. Reaching further back in time, there is the Archipel 2001 and finally, Anderson’s Conn Valley Eloge from 1999. Prices range from $50 to $150, so this ain’t no foolin’ around selection.

Then, Chris asks for our favourites. Although I’m digging the aromatic Caravan and the juicy Eloge, the majority of tasters seem to prefer the Stewart - for its heady, floral nose – and the Spottswoode - for its elegant fruit. Then, I hear my neighbor, Colin, say, ‘Spottswoode is always good, especially the 2001.’ I turn and press him for more insight about his taste in cabernet.

‘I’m looking for history,’ Colin says, ‘from a winery that’s many generations old. People who take the time and effort to make something special, and it does taste special. Nowadays you can cheat and use all these high tech methods to hurry the process. So, to justify what I’m paying, I look for a good producer and a good vintage.”

Well said, I thought, and certainly if you are playing around in the lofty realm of high-end cabernets, you’ve got to have a method to your madness. And since that purchasing method extends to your wine consumption plan, Chris emphasizes the top ways to enjoy your well-aged cabernets.

‘Serving wine at the correct temperature is paramount,’ he says. ‘A too-warm temperature closes down the acid and makes the wine taste flabby.’ The solution: a little time in the refrigerator before serving.

Opening time is also important but requires some experience with the wine. In general, he says, ‘Uncorking the bottle 1-2 hours before serving allows you to experience the changes as the wine breathes.’

Finally, knowing what year to open the bottle is tricky, especially if you only have one. ‘Check reviews written by other people or even call the winery to ask how that vintage is tasting,’ he advises.

‘Enjoying cabernet is not an exact science and that’s what makes it so much fun.’

I’ll drink to that.

Driving along a two-lane highway bordered by pine trees and vineyards that tumble down the rolling terrain toward a vast lake, I am starting to have a sense of geographical déjà vu. We stop at a converted schoolhouse to taste local wines and with one glance at the tasting menu – pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewürtztraminer, riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet franc, and merlot – I feel like I’m back in the Okanagan Valley. In reality, we are exploring the wine country of Traverse City – in Michigan.

You’re probably saying, ‘Michigan wine country? Who knew?’ Furthermore, ‘who cares?’ Well, Michiganders care and they're taking their industry seriously. Like the Okanaganites, they’ve shifted from using obscure hybrids to European varietals and have created a viable wine region – all in the past twenty years. At the tip of Michigan’s little finger, 20 or so wineries are located on two peninsulas jutting north into Lake Michigan. From the narrow Old Mission Peninsula, we could see the wide Leelanau Peninsula, where the majority of wineries are located. Like Ciccone Cellars; run by the parents of - you guessed it - Madonna.

As with Okanagan wines, most of what we tried ranged from good to excellent. The whites are lean and crisp and the reds tend to be light bodied and fruity. Out of the five wineries we visited, the best was found at the northernmost 2 Lads Winery, off Ladd Road. Here, winemaker Cornell Oliver is crafting complex, well-structured wines with style and verve. The gravity-fed winery is sleek and modern, and like some west coast wineries, they’ve taken the tasting experience a step further by serving glasses of wine with food pairing

It is not known how long before Michigan wines grace the store shelves in BC, but until that happy day, let the newly released White Bear Riesling serve as a fair approximation to Traverse City whites. It has a lovely lime and peach nose, a crisp mouth feel and a dry finish that suggests honeysuckle. White Bear wines are unique among the rest, as their sales raise money for the Great Bear Rainforest in Northern BC.

At this point, I could drink a case of BC and still be on my feet. After almost six weeks of traveling, I can’t wait to be in my own bed, cooking in my own kitchen, and going to more wine tastings. Coming up soon at Everything Wine: American Beauties - California Cabernet Sauvignon, Thursday, August 27; and Wines of Washington – or WOW – on September 2. I hope to see you there.

Hot days call for cool wines, something light and zesty that tastes great with a deep chill. A wine that is tart like muscat, round like viognier, and crisp as a young sauvignon blanc, but with a noseful of tropical fruit and sweet spice, like a gewürztraminer, and sometimes the minerality of riesling. If that’s your thing, it’s time to try torrontés.

What I like most about torrontés is the nose. With notes of flowers, spice and sweet fruit, its aromas are downright exotic. I find that torrontés pairs well with the jasmine, lilies and magnolia growing in my neighborhood. One whiff and you almost want to lay a towel on a South Pacific beach and rub it all over.

As malbec is the national red, torrontés is the white grape of Argentina. Neither are natives of course. Believed to be from the Mediterranean country of Malvasia, torrontés thrives in Argentina’s Famatina and Calchaqui Valleys, as well as around Cafayate and Mendoza. It’s pronounced Tore-RON-tayz, with a trill on the “R” if you haven’t drunk too much already.

Torrontés provides a welcome change from the usual chards, sauv blancs and pinot grigios normally on offer. It can be paired with almost any fish dish, and cools the heat of most Asian, Indian, or Mexican food.

My current favourite torrontés is Quara. It has the kind of light body and lively acidity that chills well and feels refreshing in the heat. You get bright citric, peach and melon, with lively acidity and a clean, lip smaking finish that begs for more. Rather like a Vinho Verde that way.

An old, old favourite is Crios, and not just because I like everything winemaker Susana Balbo does. Her torrontés is richer than the Quara, and it has a totally exotic nose, great structure and beautiful complexity. Higher end, but well worth it.

The Inca Torrontés/Chardonnay is a new one on me, and I have to admit, I’m usually not big on chardonnay blends. Whether sauv blanc, chenin or viognier, it doesn’t always work for me. This one does. Its fruit profile includes the typical peach and lemon, and thanks to the chard you get a lovely green apple effect. A flowery nose and zesty mouth and I’m there. Even the touch of oak works.

Finally, a nod to La Riojana Pircas Negras, the first torrontés I ever tasted. It was at a Green Conference in San Francisco where I found this organically grown, co-op produced sweetie, and I fell in love with its zestiness and spicy nose. After that, I moved on to the sweet, luscious Lo Tengo, then to Crios, and beyond.

But enough about me. What torrontés are you loving these days?

After spending three and a half weeks in California, visiting numerous wine regions and drinking innumerable wines from that state, I got back to Vancouver with the sneaking suspicion that California is somehow following me.

On the Everything Wine Vancouver Events calendar, I see a free tasting of Liberty School wines on August 8 and a California Cabernet Sauvignon tasting on August 29, with a bigger, ticketed California Cab Tasting scheduled for August 19. Then, on September 24, the Sonoma County Vintner’s Tour is pouring their wares at the new convention center, and on the 25th they are coming to Everything Wine for a 3-6pm tasting. My growing sense of wine deja vu brings new meaning to the song, ‘California, here I come, right back where I started from.’

While in Sonoma County, I spent three wine-drenched days at the 2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference. Imagine, 250 wine nerds sitting in a room, geeking out about wine and technology, furiously typing into laptops, mini laptops, phones and blackberrys while sipping and swirling. Even Bradley Cooper - winemaker at Township 7 and Black Cloud - was there among the connection-addled.

During the Speed Tasting event, the energy was as rarified as an olde time political convention, with 20-odd winemakers going table to table, shouting their story, with journalists yelling questions, and swilling instead of smoking. Then, like with a flash mob, it was all over and I was left to polish my own blog while finishing the Le Cigare Volant I set aside. Whew!

Randall Graham of Bonny Doon raved to us about his plan to start aging the wine in glass demijohns, which he says changes the way the wine develops. Apparently, glass aging imbues the wine with a life force it wouldn’t get from steel or oak. Pouring his 2005 Le Cigare Volant, he said to look for this new life force in the 2008 vintage. Fearing this might be my last chance with the old style, I hoarded my pour in a water glass for later. Le Cigare is so elegant, showing dusty red fruit, herbs and tobacco on a soft mouth, I can never get enough.

Rodney Strong’s 2005 Rockaway Vineyard Cabernet tasted awesome, much more accessible than when I tried it in the tasting room during the previous week’s heat spell. Made at their "winery within a winery" in consultation with David Ramey, this cab is fruit powered and intensely concentrated, with a long, dry finish. When its hefty tannins soften, it will someday feel like fruit butter.

Do you have a favourite California wine? I would love to know what they are because it’s not easy keeping up with all the new ones. Please, tell me yours.