Comparatively speaking

Well, "comparatively speaking" may not be the best way to tag this entry. We didn't drink the two wines on the same evening and didn't really compare them at all. They weren't even chosen for comparative purposes. But, they are both BC Merlots from the Naramata Bench and we did have them one night after the other. Since there wasn't anything special about the occasions - just mid-week dinner wines this time around - I figured BC Merlot was enough of a tie-in that I could add the two wines to The List at one time.

149. 2005 Red Rooster Merlot (VQA Okanagan )

150. 2002 Hillside Estate Merlot (VQA Okanagan)

The Hillside was one of the bottles still hanging around from our "Best of the Bench" box that the Naramata Bench Association put out so many years back. The Red Rooster came from our box that we get every year as "adoptive parents" of a row of vines at the Red Rooster winery.

Both were still lively, with fruit on both the nose and the palate - although the Red Rooster definitely opened up and gave us a lot more to enjoy after a half-hour or so.

Although the two wineries are located probably no more than a couple of miles away from each other, we know more about and drink a lot more of the Red Rooster. We've certainly enjoyed Hillside wines over the years, but we just don't seem to buy the wines unless we actually visit the winery - and that's not all that often. I suppose it shows what a novel marketing idea - such as the adoptive row plan - can do for a winery and for its relationship with customers.

An actual comparison of the same varietal and vintage from the Bench may just be a good, and real, comparison down the road.