A Knock at Quails' Gate

I've been falling a bit behind with my postings lately. This having to work for a living bit can be a bit tiring, not to mention getting in the way of endless hours of sipping back wine and blogging on the computer. Not so tiring that we don't have the strength to open another bottle of wine, but enough that making time to blog away can be difficult when there's the final rounds of So You Think You Can Dance on the tube.

So, I guess this posting will be a quick, down and dirty one - not that this is meant to be indicative of the wine. However, the setting doesn't really cry for an inordinate amount of inspiration either - mid-week, in front of the TV with another menu attempt to use up a bit of the zucchini (that has decided to grow like never before this summer). Was this your soup or mine this time, Boo?

153. 2006 Quails' Gate Chardonnay (VQA Okanagan)

Renowned as a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer, we don't drink a lot of Quails' Gate. That might just be the case because we don't tend to make it up to the Kelowna end of the Okanagan Valley when we manage a rare trip up there. It is, however, one of the wineries that I think of as the initial guard that started putting BC on the wine map - such as it is now.

Owned and operated by the Stewart Family, John Schreiner points out that the Stewart's are one of "the Okanagan's pioneer horticultural families," having emigrated from Ireland in the early 1900's. They started planting the current vineyard in 1969 and are now one of the larger wine producers in the province.

They produce two levels of Chardonnay - this label and a Family Reserve. This wine is a combination of barrel- and tank-fermented, perhaps allowing for a bit more complexity in its profile. Neither too oak-laden, nor pure acidity, it worked well enough with our zucchini and our salmon. Not sure that it was enough to pull me forcefully back to become a regular Chardonnay drinker though.

We will give the winery a bit more consideration as The List progresses though.