Hawks 5, Viognier 1, Canucks Need to Turn it Around

Easter and the highly desirable four-day weekend finally arrived and Boo and I had decided to head down to Seattle for a couple of nights. Knowing that the border line-ups would be horrendous on Good Friday and that we would have to stay down a full 48 hours before we could bring back even our paltry two bottles of wine each, we coaxed my Dad to join us for Thursday night at their trailer down by Mount Baker.

A highlight of the night at the trailer is that it gives us a chance to take a side trip to the Bellingham Costco - where, unlike in Canada, they actually sell wine. This is the second year that I've arranged to make a Costco Wine Run. The plan is to take advantage of the lower prices and better availability to buy a case or two of (primarily) US wines, leave them at Mom and Dad's and have the P's bring back a couple of bottles of wine every time they go down for a weekend visit.

We had a bit of dilemma to deal with though. I wasn't able to get out of work until the mid-afternoon and it was going to be a stretch to fight rush hour traffic and get through the border in time for a 7 o'clock start to the hockey game. The teams were back in Vancouver, following the Canucks' Game 4 stinker in Chicago, and the plan was to head over to the Nooksack Casino and watch the game there while having dinner.

Traffic wasn't as kind to us as we'd have liked but we made it to the trailer part way through the first period - and the Canucks were already down a goal. Jeez.

779. 2009 Red Rooster Viognier (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Whether or not we made it to Costco, I knew that the chance of finding a Red Rooster wine in the States was somewhere between slim and none. So, I brought a bottle with me to open at the trailer. I didn't know that we'd be opening it before dinner and the casino but it's a good thing that we did have it.

As it turned out, we needed to start dulling the pain as early as early as possible. It was another game to be forgotten. The entire city of Vancouver (if not the province and country) was hoping for a rebound effort from the 7-2 loss the other night, but it was a quick 2-0 for the bad guys before we even took off for the casino between the first and second periods. We might as well have stayed at home and drowned our sorrows because there's precious little to cheer about a 5-0 loss.

Thankfully, the wine was better than the Canucks' effort. Viognier is a relatively new addition to the Red Rooster portfolio. The 2009 vintage is only the second one produced and there's only 224 cases of it. I found that it wasn't the most expressive of Viogniers I've had and that it wasn't my favourite wine that Karen Gillis makes. At the same time, maybe the game was just putting me in a sour mood and nothing would have tasted all that good - short of a couple stiff shots of tequila or scotch. As you can see from the shot, Boo more or less just wrapped himself up in a blanket to comfort himself from the game's harsh realities.

I see, after the fact, that the '09 Viognier was a Double Gold winner at the 2010 All Canadian Wine Awards. At least something from the evening managed to win something. Nothing to do with the hockey game was a winner. Good thing we have another bottle of the Viognier still hanging around. Maybe if there isn't a stinker of a hockey game to set the mood, the wine might take on a different taste profile.

The next game isn't until Easter Sunday. Boo and I will just have to continue on to Seattle and drink away the pain of the last two games. The boys are going to have to turn things around if they're going to end this series however.