Last Nights and Hot Molten Glass

It's our final night at the 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference and, traditionally, there's a banquet where the Wine Blogger Award are presented. WBC15 is no different. 

Of course, as with any proper "gala gala do" (as Vancouver bon vivant and social correspondent, Fred Lee, would call them), before-dinner cocktails were de rigueur. I couldn't really call her my drinking buddy this time around (since she was pregnant and wasn't drinking) but, once again, April from Sacred Drop Channel was attending WBC in all her glory and she was lucky enough to be representing Hyland Estates and Soléna wineries and her sumptuous suite just happened to be available for refreshments.

1978.  N.V. Fox Run Hedonia (Finger Lakes - New York State)

I ran across Fox Run Vineyards' Hedonia (a noun meaning the "ability to experience extreme pleasure") during the Pre-Conference Excursion. It's a fortified dessert or cocktail wine that the winery promotes as being great with a slice of orange on the rocks. I simply added the rocks and used vodka instead of an orange slice. Seemed to work just fine. Actually, I was fashioning it after some of the Icewine martinis that we see at home in Vancouver. - mostly because I still had the better part of a bottle of Grey Goose that I'd picked up at the airport in Duty Free and I wasn't going to be able to take it home with me.

I don't know if fortified Traminette (the grape used to make the wine) is produced by more wineries than just Fox Run - or if anyone's ever blended it with vodka before - but it proved to be a lovely segue into our evening. Whether or not it played any part in our exuberant "participation" in the glass blowing demonstration that the Corning Museum of Glass held before the dinner, I suppose we'll never know.

What I do know, however, is that it is insanely easy for a slightly lubricated crowd of wine bloggers to find every possible double entendre you might imagine during a presentation on glass blowing. Who would ever have thought that such an artistic and ancient art could cause so many howls of silent laughter. Fortunately, our naughty banter was all on the down low with a group Direct Message stream flashing across our phones. 

I will definitely try to keep this thread on my phone for posterity because I'm convinced it will deliver joyful memories and tears of laughter for years to come. Just a handful of the (not-as-naughty) comments:

- "We arrived just as the glass was all 'hot and drippy like honey.'"

- "Because who wouldn't love a good, matching rim wrap."

- "I like it thick and chunky at the rim."

- "Don't stop blowing." "Sage Advice."

The show and demonstration was summed up by "You are all naughty and I love you!"

There were more than a few comments about needing to head out for a cigarette before joining up for the banquet. Let's just say that any cool downs didn't stop the insanity. It was certainly as lively a banquet as I've ever attended (save one fraternity event many years back that ended in an all-out, flip the tables bun throw - but that was another lifetime) with table after table vying for attention. 

Could it have had anything to do with all the wine?

We did manage to get through our meals and the awards, however. Each course was accompanied by two Finger Lakes wines, together with a few assorted surprises. As is my tradition with this blog, I won't add every wine from the dinner to The List but I will add a couple that I found particularly enjoyable.

1979.  2012 Fox Run Lemberger (Finger Lakes - New York State)

1980.  2010 Wagner Meritage (Finger Lakes - New York State)

Of course, I was familiar with Fox Run since (as noted above) we'd visited the winery the other day. I'd concentrated on the Rieslings while at the winery - no surprise there - but Lemberger is becoming a bit of a "go to" red grape in the Finger Lakes. It's characteristically bright, red fruit and good acidity helps pair it with food. Selling it as a varietal wine - under the name Lemberger - might be its biggest hurdle. It sounds like someone's serving you stinky cheese.

Get past the name and it can be a tasty, lighter red with all sorts of serving options. Fox Run doesn't make a lot of the wine but they're having trouble keeping what they make in stock. Not a bad problem for a winery to have.

The Wagner Meritage also paired with our main course and provided quite the contrast with the Lemberger. Bigger and bolder, it is a true Meritage or Bordeaux blend of predominantly Cab Sauv and Cab Franc with a healthy dollop of Merlot thrown if for good measure. Growing Bordeaux grapes, especially Cab Sauv, can see uneven results. Consequently, Wagner only makes its Meritage in years that they find exceptional. Prior to 2010, they'd only made a Meritage in 2001 and 2007. They also skipped 2011, but they plan to release a 2012. The 2010 proved to be popular with more folks than just our table as it won Double Gold at the New York State Fair in both 2013 and 2014.

The Meritage won't challenge a big Napa Cab or Aussie Shiraz but it was a nicely nuanced wine that had more structure to it than I likely would have expected from a Finger Lakes wine coming into WBC15.

Conference organizers weren't done with us yet however. Dinner was followed by a festival tasting in one of the Museum of Glass's courtyard foyers. The tasting provided a final opportunity to visit a few wineries that I'd come to recognize and discover a further few. Knowing that the tasting was following dinner, many of wineries brought sparkling or dessert wines. Paired with a full array of desserts, the evening party would easily have been considered a worthy success even if it had been a solitary event being held independently of a chock-full evening. I could have easily spent twice as much time visiting this last assortment of Finger Lakes wineries.

But, last call came quickly and, heavy sigh, there were still after parties yet to come.

'Twas the Night Before Bloggers

While Boo needed to trundle home to Vancouver, I shuffled off (kinda close) to Buffalo. The 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference was about to get underway in the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York. Needing to be in Corning by mid-day Wednesday, I made my way from NYC - by bus none-the-less (no planes or trains and I didn't have an automobile) - and spent the balance of Tuesday getting acclimated to Corning with a night on the town.

No sooner had I settled into the Conference hotel then I ran into blogging buddies from past Conferences, Peter and Nancy Bourget - better known as the bons vivant behind the Pull That Cork blog. Feeling the need for some nourishment - and, of all things - a glass of wine, we toured Corning's main drag and happened upon the delightful restaurant/bar, Hand + Foot. Not only did the vibe call out to us but the cozy hideaway was made all the more enticing by the little poster in the window announcing that they were featuring wines especially for visiting wine bloggers. How could we pass them by?

After striking up a full-out wine nerd conversation with one of the owners and the bartender du jour, we took them up on one of the bar's current faves.

1972.  2014 Getariako Txakolina Ameztoi (Getariako Txakolina D.O. - Spain)

So the story goes, this wine is called Txakoli and the additional letters on Txakolina translate to "the Txakoli." Ameztoi is the producer and is one of the biggest fish in a small pond when it comes to Txakoli. The wine has been largely made for home consumption, in the Basque region of Spain, until the 1980's when a few districts and varieties achieved Denominación de Origen (or appellation) status. Txakoli wines are primarily produced as white wines but there are also red versions and, as we discovered here, a few Rosés as well.

Txakoli whites are made from the Hondarribi Zuri grape and they are known to exhibit a slightly chalky, minerally with citrus notes and a noticeable spritz or light fizz to them. They are made to be drunk while young and fresh. This Ameztoi Rosé is similar in profile but is a bit bolder with a 50/50 blend of Hondarribi Zuri and its red counterpart, Hondarribi Beltza.

I was particularly gung ho to try the wine, thinking that I was going to add two new grapes to my Wine Century Club tally. After all, Hondarribi anything was as foreign a sounding grape as I could remember running across. Hondarrabi Zuri is apparently also known as Crouchen and learning that surprised the hell out of me because we actually drank a bottle of Crouchen (blended with Riesling) a couple of years back when Boo and I were touring wine country in Australia. I'd have never guessed that I'd already added Hondarribi Zuri to my tally as Crouchen. Go figure.

Luckily, I still get to add the red grape, Hondarribi Beltza to my tally as grape #196. While the white grape seems to have travelled a bit - if only to Australia in small amounts - Jancis Robinson reports, in her tome Wine Grapes, that the red Beltza is extremely rare and isn't found in many vineyards outside of Basque country. She notes that it reminds some of Cabernet Franc when made into a full red.

Eric Asimov wrote in the New York Times that "the vast proportion of Txakolina is consumed in Basque country. You find it virtually nowhere else in Spain, except in Basque restaurants, and very little is exported around he world, with one major exception: the United States." Mr. Asimov also reported that the Ameztoi family only started making the Rosé in the last decade but they find that the local population has no affinity for this different take on the wine and almost all of the winery's Rosé is shipped to New York.

Txakoli traditionally accompanies Basque snacks like anchovies and preserved tuna. I'm not so sure it was the best of fits for my incredibly rich pulled pork, grilled cheese sandwich. But the sandwich was so good, I likely could have drunk the bar's dishwater and still been sated.

1973.  2012 Királyudvar Tokaji Furmint Sec (Hungary)

Being the experienced drinkers that we were, we decided - after a little bit of discussion - that we just might be able to handle a second bottle before calling it a night. We stayed on the wine trail less travelled and ordered a dry Tokaj. I'm not all that familiar with Tokaj wines - primarily because they aren't that common in our Vancouver market but also because they're often found only as high end dessert wines that come in at a pretty penny - but, unlike the Txakoli, at least I knew of them.

Királyudvar is an historic estate in Hungary. The name translates to "Kings Court" but the estate had lost much of its glory until an American businessman, Tony Kwang, purchased it in 1997. The tale goes that Mr. Kwang was visiting Budapest and tried a "6 puttonyos" Tokaji Aszú dessert wine that made such an impression that he travelled 200 kilometres the next day where he discovered Királyudvar, purchasing it a couple of months later. He has since embarked on a modernization of the winery that also included the introduction of biodynamic farming to the estate.

As mentioned, Tokaj wines are probably best known as dessert wines, in large part because the local Furmint and Hárslevelu grapes are susceptible to the botrytis rot, as are the world renowned Sauternes wines of Bordeaux. As such, the promise of a dry Furmint was an intriguing option.

Similarly to the recent introduction of the Ameztoi Rosé, this dry version of a Tokaj was only proposed as a new innovation for the winery in 2005. Indeed, it is still sees a relatively limited production in that only 2000 cases made in 2012.

A blend of 85% Furmint and 15% Hárslevelu, I found the Királyudvar to be more enjoyable to my palate that the Txakoli. And, more than that, these actually are two new grapes to add to my Wine Century Club tally - numbers 197 and 198. I'm getting so achingly close to 200 that I might even reach my Doppel membership before we knock back the 2001st wine on The List. Furmint and its offspring, Hárslevelu, are grown mostly in Hungary where they are believed to have originated from; however, they have travelled somewhat around Central Europe, to neighbouring countries like Austria, Slovakia, Croatia and Romania. The two even found their way, as a pair, to South Africa.

This little venture on the town in Corning certainly proved that there's a whole world of wine out there to be discovered.

I've since read that Txakoli is often "poured in an exuberant arc from a bottle held high above the shoulder into tumblers to create a bust of bubbles in the glass." Such an experience was not our's but I think my excitement at getting another three grape varieties to add to my Wine Century Club tally more than made up for the lost opportunity for a show. Besides I think there'll be plenty of show to come with Mr. and Ms. Pull That Cork - and all the other bloggers - over the next couple of days.

The High Line & Wine

You might say that one benefit of being well behaved - some might say boring - upon the arrival of our naughty weekend in Manhattan, is that we actually got up early enough to grab coffee and a bit of a wander before our scheduled rendezvous with old friend, Berra Yogi. Ms Yogi had to teach a class first thing and we arranged to meet at Eataly around 11.

Boo and I recalled the Union Square Greenmarket as a major find during our last foray to NYC. My sense of direction wasn't as sharp as it should have been but we eventually found it. I know that I'd be a regular if I lived here. Even if the foods weren't as enticing as they were, the people watching alone was worth the effort.

Of course, we had what turned out to be one of the biggest laughs of the entire trip. We'd paid some hefty American dollars for last night's grilled duck hearts. Well, sure enough, we found a booth at the market that was dedicated to all things Hudson Valley duck. The sign that caught our attention most, however, was "Why not try some Duck Hearts as a treat for your cat or dog." Seems like there isn't much difference between haute cuisine for yourself and your pet in NYC.

I don't know anyone who feeds duck rillette to their pets though. So, Boo and I got right back on the duck and grabbed some for our pending picnic lunch with Berra Yogi.

If we found the Union Square Greenmarket to be exciting, Eataly was downright orgasmic. I'd never heard of Eataly before but it's a veritable love letter to Italian cuisine. It's as if my favourite Italian deli in Vancouver and Whole Foods had a love child - and then doubled or tripled the size. Mamma Mia!

We grabbed some smart coffees and wandered aisle after aisle, desperately trying to limit the number of items we threw into our basket. This was going to be one helluva picnic.

Despite all the fun we had cruising the aisles, we were running late and had to mosey on. But, not before we hit the adjacent - all Italian - wine shop.

It was now Saturday afternoon in Manhattan and the High Line - an elevated and abandoned spur of the old New York Central Railroad that's been converted into a linear park through the Meatpacking District and Chelsea - was packed. Surprisingly, the least used section of the park seemed to be the only grassy section. We took up residence and ripped into our treasures from Eataly.

Oh, and opened a couple of bottles of wine.

1968.  2013 La Spinetta - Toscana Vermentino (Toscana Fermentino IGT - Tuscany - Italy)

There was no hesitation before I grabbed this bottle for the picnic. La Spinetta is one of my favourite Italian wineries - ever since Boo and I visited it during our visit to Italy in 2008. Problem is, no one in the Vancouver market seems to carry their wines at all. Seeing that this was a Tuscan wine was also a little surprising in that we visited La Spinetta in Piedmont where the winery was established. If I'd previously been told that there was also a Tuscan operation, I'd forgotten.

We know La Spinetta more for their Barbarescos and other reds but I figured a picnic in Manhattan's summer heat called for a cooled white. I'm not really familiar with the Vermentino grape - particularly as a varietal wine - and I have no idea if this bottle was a good, bad or indifferent representation of the grape. There was a richness to the body but not a lot of fruit on either the nose or the palate. Herbal notes were perhaps a little more noticeable. All I know is that paired with prosciutto, cheese, olives and incredible bread - not to forget the duck rillette - and I was a happy camper.

1969.  Villa Sparina Gavi (Gavi DOCG - Italy)

I knew nothing about this wine; however, it was in the wine shop cooler, it had a interesting bottle and I'm always up for trying out something new.

Gavi is the region. Cortese is the grape. Turned out that it didn't do too much for any of us. It came across as tamer than the Vermentino and the acidity, that might have brought the overall reception up a notch or two, was decidedly missing. In looking up the grape in Jancis Robinson (et al)'s tome, Wine Grapes, even the sub-heading for Cortese is "generally rather bland northern-Italian white that shows its best varietal face in Gavi." Like the La Spinetta, I don't know if this was a favourable take on the varietal wine but it didn't do anything to make me swear allegiance to the grape for time memorial.

Once we eaten our fill of Italian fare and re-corked the balance of the Gavi, we wandered some more along the High Line and bid "adieu" to Berra Yogi. Unfortunately, she was off to work. As for our plans, cocktails and Broadway sounded like worthy strategy.

A Virtual Visit to the Veneto

As I've written previously in a couple of posts, I've come to know some of the wines Monte del Frá at the last so many Vancouver International Wine Festivals. If you attend the Festival Tasting Room (and its hundreds of wineries and wines), you may very well catch me this winery table as I inevitably check in to catch up with the winery's local reps, Ricardo and Lucila, and the winery's gracious owner, Marica Bonomo.

1959.  2012 Monte del Frá - Cà del Magro (Custoza Superiore DOC - Italy)

The Cà del Magro has found particular favour with local palates in that, in some ways, the wine mirrors some of BC's white blends. A blend of eight grapes, to my palate, this is definitely a case where the sum of the blends is far more interesting than the individual varietal wines. There's a richness that might be enhanced by the fact that some of the base wine is aged sûr lie (on its spent yeast cells that often adds depth and creaminess); yet, there's a freshness and fruitiness that I often don't find with the more commercial Italian whites I see in our market.

Different region. Different grapes. Similar refreshing - but with substance and flavour - sip.

While eight different grapes go into the final blend, Garanega provides the backbone of the blend at 40%. The balance is made from Trebbiano Toscano, Tocai Friulano, Cortese, Chardonnay, Riesling Italico, Malvasia and Incrocio Manzoni. This last grape seems to have escaped my Wine Century Club tally thus far. So I get to add this rare-ish variety in my stretch drive run to hit 200 different grapes. Incrocio Manzoni is apparently grown only in the province of Treviso in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The grape is primarily used in blends and is generally found to add a slight herbaceous tint to the wine. It can also add an aroma that is reminiscent of red and black fruit as the Cab Sauv grape is one of its parents (the Prosecco grape is the other component to the cross). There may have only been 418 acres of the grape planted in Italy in the 2000 agricultural census (according to Jancis Robinson's Wine Grapes tome) but I'm glad to be able to add #195.

After this tasty sip, I'm thinking we'd best start working on a visit to the Veneto. Boo and I were lucky enough to spend an extended weekend in Venice some years back but we didn't get a chance to roam around the neighbouring areas and take in some of the wineries. That needs to be remedied.

Dinner Club - Vancouver Meets Bretagne

Due to member travels, our Dinner Club takes an annual winter break until our snow birds have returned to roost - except, of course, unless the gang all heads off together like we did last year to Antigua when Jeaux and Matinder hosting a once-in-a-lifetime St. Patrick's Day dinner.

J&M were hosting this time as well and, once again, they took us "on the road." However, their theme for this round wasn't Caribbean based. Rather they focused on all things Bretagne since they had just returned from a sailing regatta in that northern province of France. Luckily, it was a gorgeous day and we were able to start dinner up on Jeaux and Mutineer's rooftop deck. It was if we'd been transported off to a sunny après-midi en France.

1942.  N.V. Henriot Rosé (Reims - Champagne - France)

As is only befitting a culinary trip to France, we started off with a little bubbly. Although Bretagne isn't exactly next door to the Champagne region of France, it's certainly a lot closer than Vancouver is.

Henriot refers to themselves as one of the last independent and family owned houses in Champagne and they've been making Champagne for over two centuries, having been established in 1808. Their Brut is made with all three classic Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and their hint of rosé colour is achieved by adding a bit of the Pinot Noir wine prior to the final bottling.

Along with our bubble, Matinder and Jeaux served up a cider spritzer along with a bevy of hors d'oeuvres as we lounged on the roof. The spritzer is common to the apple growing region and we also had a quartet of mousse/pâtés that Jeaux proclaimed were omnipresent throughout the region. She'd also made some savoury pâte à choux, blood sausage tarts and filled crisps. We probably could have filled up on just the nibblies but, bien sûr, there was plenty more to come.

Our first step to happiness, once we'd arrive at the dinner table was an assortment of salads - particularly featuring beets and noodles. The course was accompanied by a duo of boutique wines with a similar heritage.

1943.  2014 Mike B. Riesling Cabinett (Okanagan Valley)

2011 Kurtis Wild Ferment Semillon (Okanagan Valley)

Both of the wines were made at Okanagan Crush Pad under the mentorship program that was introduced as part of the Vancouver International Wine Festival's Sommelier of the Year award. The winner of the annual prize is provided the opportunity to make a small batch wine of their choice. The sommelier, cum winemaker, gets to choose the grape and the style of wine they'd like to tackle - and the limited production can sometimes be found on the local shelves.

Kurtis Kolt was the first sommelier to make a wine as part of the Wine Campus series and I'd hunted down a bottle some years back when it was originally released. Accordingly, it has already been added to The List as #1248 and, therefore, doesn't get another number this time around.

The second bottle was made by Mike Bernardo, of Vij's restaurant, as he was named Sommelier of the Year in 2014. He opted to make a wine along the lines of wines that he'd regularly pair with menu items served at Vij's. I hadn't seen this wine yet. So, I was particularly pleased to give it a whirl - both because of its provenance and because he'd chosen Riesling. Bright with acidity, I can see its versatility with a number of dishes.

1944.  2012 Barton & Guestier - Lobster & Shrimp Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine (Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine AOC - Loire - France)

I remember B&G as one of the few French labels that I'd recognize many years ago when I first started to grab the odd bottle of wine now and then. They certainly didn't go in for this mass market kind of label back in the day but, then again, there were no critter wines back in the 70's and 80's - unless you counted Baby Duck and its ilk as critter wines. This bottling is part of collection of wines that are meant to give the consumer a (none-too-subtle) hint about what meal might pair nicely with the wine. A definite bonus - I should think - considering that I very much doubt that there are many folks in our Vancouver market who would have the slightest idea what to expect from a bottle of wine made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape.

The label certainly came in handy when it came to our trying to pair the wines, brought by all of the dinner guests, with an appropriate dinner course. We might not have been dining on lobster but I think mussels weren't too far off.

1945.  2006 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC - Rhône - France)

We normally would have served up a C-du-P with a heartier course but we seemed to have hit the dessert course before we had need to pull the cork. Unfortunately, I can't claim to have had the pleasure of knocking back many bottles of Domaine la Barroche but I can certainly say that I haven't met a bottle of their's that I haven't enjoyed. The small estate's production is difficult to find and one of their flagship wines, Pure, is generally found only on an allocation basis.

Their signature Châteauneuf-du-Pape is standardly a Grenache-driven wine and the winery, 2003 having been their first vintage, definitely steers to a more modern, fruit-laden product. I figured it could pair up to Jeaux' trio of typical Bretagne desserts. Besides, if no one else wanted to go the route of a red with dessert, that would just mean more for me.

Thinking a bit of a stretch and a flight of stairs might do us all some good, we once again retired to the roof deck to chat away the balance of the evening. Funnily enough, there were still some wines that had yet to be touched. Tyrant pointed out that we truly must be getting long in the tooth because he couldn't recall a previous dinner club where there was still this much wine left by the end of dinner. He followed that statement up with his offer to give it the old college try and drink some of the remaining juice - particularly since he'd spirited a couple of Burgundy's out of the cellar in honour of the fact that I was in my final 100 wines for the blog.

1946.  2012 Joseph Drouhin Saint-Véran (Saint-Véran AOC - Burgundy - France)

1947.  2003 Moillard Mercurey (Mercurey AOC - Burgundy - France)

Going to Burgundy and pulling out a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir certainly added to the Gallic fare of the evening. I think Tyrant might have been right when he thought we should have been better pikers during dinner so that we'd have opened these with the benefit of food but the wines seemed to go down well enough on their own.

Then again, it was late, and the time for constructive tasting had long passed. These were simply good for propelling the conversation forward on one of the first long nights of summer.

Kremmig Crème du Plessis (À L'Eau de Vie de Cidre de Bretagne)

Our hosts trotted out one final treat as well. They'd brought back a bottle of Kremmig from their adventures in Bretagne. Kremmig is a specialty of the du Plessis distillery - a cream based, eau de vie made with Lambig. Lambig, itself, is a Bretagne specialty liquor made by distilling hard cider.

There was no going back to wine after the Kremmig. All that creaminess just coated the mouth and said "you're stuck with me now kid." Not that we needed more wine.

Jeaux and Matinder may have transported us to a corner of France for the evening but reality of needing to return to our Vancouver beds had us all bidding "au revoir" and "à bientôt" and heading off into the night. The Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed are next up on the hosting schedule. Just a little something to look forward to.

Coast to Coast

I've previously written on the blog that I've heard great things about Nova Scotia's Benjamin Bridge winery - particularly that they produce some bubbly that is regularly considered to be in the running for Canada's best. The unfortunate thing for those of us out here on the West coast is that we don't see much of their wine here. Boo and I recently popped the cork on a bottle of their Méthode Classique Brut that I surprisingly found in a local store and we'd tried a bottle of Tidal Bay - a white blend - that a friend brought back for us when she visited the Maritimes. But other than that, their wines have been a rarity for me.

Accordingly, I was particularly happy to see that Edible Canada was hosting Benjamin Bridge wines at a dinner featuring Nova Scotian cuisine as part of their Coast to Coast series of winemaker dinners.

Miss Jaq joined Boo and I for the Granville Island trek and we were the happiest of campers.

1929.  2013 Benjamin Bridge Véro (Nova Scotia)

I hadn't heard of Véro before but it is one the winery's white blends and, for this 2013 vintage, was made of 60% Chardonnay, 30% L'Acadie and 10% Riesling. The winery website describes Véro as their "dry classic...inviting citrus aromatics and striking minerality." I had a tough time keeping it in my glass - which I guess is a good thing - but I was trying to make it last while I salivatingly nursed the Finnan Haddie & Chorizo Chowder that was served up.

We were told that it couldn't have been called a Maritime dinner unless a chowder formed part of the menu. I don't think I could have been happier. I'm a big fan of chowders but this was one of the most memorable soups I could recall having the pleasure of enjoying. Finan Haddie is apparently cold-smoked haddock but every single bite was worth savouring. Boo and I both commented on how wonderful it would be to try and recreate this dish for the Dinner Club. I would have seriously licked my bowl clean (and Miss Jaq's as well) if I'd thought I could get away with it.

The dinner also featured scallops with the Brut. Smoked Salmon was paired with the Tidal Bay - being a blend of L'Acadie Blanc and Ortega. Butter-poached lobster followed with a Brut Rosé that I would do any number of naughty deeds to get my hands on a bottle. The dinner was concluded with a deconstructed strawberry shortcake that was served with Nova 7, the winery's now iconic, slightly off-dry blend of (largely) Muscat varieties that is popular for its light spritz - à la Moscato d'Asti - and low alcohol (around 7%).

Again, good luck trying to find some of these wines in the Vancouver market.

The great thing about this dinner is that we were introduced to some fine East Coast cuisine and got the opportunity to try a much wider selection of Benjamin Bridge wines that I'd have ever hoped to - short of paying another visit to Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, the bad part is that I likely won't get a chance to try any of these wines again - unless I know someone's who's paying a visit to Nova Scotia.

One can always hope.

Unicus - Something Unique for the Okanagan

Boo and I didn't have a whole lot of time to visit wineries or wander around following yesterday's Half-Corked Marathon. Indeed, Mr. Cool and the Mimster left early in the morning to return back to Vancouver. We had enough time to make a couple stops and one of the wineries foremost on my wishlist was Culmina - the latest foray into BC wine by Don and Elaine Triggs, with their daughter Elaine joining the team this time around.

Part of the Half-Corked course took us alongside the new Culmina winery and vineyards but, unfortunately, except for a quick sip of their Rosé, there was no time for a visit during the race. I'd been lucky enough, however, to visit Culmina a couple of years ago when a small group of us from the BC Wine Appreciation Society met with Don to check out his new digs. Rather than reiterate myself (when I'm so far behind with my writing), I'll just add a link to that post where you can discover some of the inspiration behind the project.

1926.  2014 Culmina Family Estate - Unicus (Okanagan Valley VQA)

Back during that initial visit, one of the more intriguing announcements Don made was that they had planted a section of Grüner Veltliner, the white variety most closely associated with Austrian winemaking. Culmina's planting was the first for the Okanagan Valley but Don thought there was potential for the grape in BC. The winery produced a scant 60 cases of Grüner with its first vintage in 2013 and the team had hoped for a bigger production with the 2014 wine. While the harvest resulted in an increased volume of 285 cases, the winery quickly found out that they're still navigating a learning curve when it comes to the new grape. John Schreiner reported that Don thought they'd make an additional 40% in volume with the second vintage but the heatwave experienced in July throughout the Okanagan toughened and thickened the grape skins, thereby resulting in a troublesome press of the juice.

Access to the reduced volume wasn't helped by the fact that most of the production was earmarked for restaurants in the province. I was fortunate to be able to pick up a bottle at the winery.

That being said, I would never have guessed that the wine in my glass was Grüner Veltliner had I not already known. Not that I'm anything close to a seasoned pro when it comes to the variety. I did find that the acidity went on for days but, if anything, I thought the flavours were more reminiscent of a Sauv Blanc.

That high level of acidity is, no doubt, partly due to the fact that Culmina has planted the vines at a higher elevation than is seen in the lower part of the Okanagan Valley. As you can see, the vineyard is quite a bit higher than the rest of the winery's property - and the rest of the Golden Mile's plantings for that matter.

It will be interesting to see where the wine goes down the road. The 2014 vintage was aged completely in stainless steel casks but the winery is planning to perform a little experiment with the upcoming year's fruit. Don and winemaker, Pascal Madevon, plan to mature the wine in three different vessels - a stainless steel tank, a concrete egg and a concrete amphora. The intent is to age equal amounts of the wine in each of the three containers and see what impact the various vessels might have on the wine.

I'd love to be one of the lucky folks who get to taste the results before any final blending.

That next vintage is some ways off in the distance. In the mean time, I've got another 75 wines to go before I hit the 2001st bottle in my own little odyssey.

Terravista Fandango

Senka Tennant is one of a number of pioneers in bringing about a reputation for sophisticated wines in the Okanagan. When she (along with her husband, Bob, and a couple of business partners) worked on the launching of Black Hills Winery in 1999, she was responsible for the introduction of one of the region's most iconic wines: Nota Bene, the Bordeaux blend that quickly attained cult status and ingrained Senka's name into the minds of BC wine drinkers.

As anyone familiar with BC wines knows, Senka and Bob sold Black Hills to a investment consortium in 2007 and the Tennants took a bit of a breather.

That breather didn't last long, however, the couple purchased new property on the Naramata Bench in 2008. They also decided to blaze a trail with their new project, Terravista, when they were the first in Canada to commercially plant and harvest Albariño and Verdejo - two grapes that are associated more with the northwest of Spain and Portugal than the northern climes of the Naramata Bench.

1922.  2012 Terravista Fandango (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Senka's penchant for blends was also seen in another of Black Hills' better known wines, Alibi - a white Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Tennants may not have continued making Bordeaux-styled wines but they have carried on in the direction of blends. They are currently only producing white wines - a Rhône-style blend called Figaro and tonight's bottle, Fandango, a blend of the Albariño and Verdejo grown on their new property. They don't make a lot of either wine either. Local wine writer, John Schreiner, has reported that Senka found the whole expansion and growth of Black Hills to be a bit overwhelming and that she and Bob intend to keep production at Terravista around a 2000 case maximum.

The 2012 is the second bottling of Fandango and it would appear that it can stand up to a bit of ageing because, after a couple of years in the bottle, this is still a fresh and vibrant - not to mention tasty - glass of wine. I'm no expert on either of the two grapes making up this wine, but I'd love to do a comparison tasting of the Terravista and a Spanish and/or Portuguese version.

As of the 2012 vintage, Fandango still couldn't qualify for VQA status - despite its pedigree and the quality of the product. To my knowledge, that still hasn't changed. Neither Albariño, nor Verdejo have been recognized by the provincial wine powers as approved varieties. Until that happens, Fandango will simply have to rely on the fact that its fans know its value - even if it doesn't have an executive stamp of approval.

I'm just glad to see Senka and Bob back in the wine business.

Big Finish For a Wild & Wacky Week

It would seem that this bottle will our last stop on this Wild & Wacky Wine Week that I had going. It's been quite the ride with introductions to Jacquère, Grechetto, Drupeggio, Malvasia Bianco, Verdello, Mavrud, Teroldego, Callet and Manto Negro but they say "all good things must come to an end" and tonight's grapes will likely be the last stop on this train for awhile.

And where else would you stop to find some offbeat and intriguing grapes but Portugal? With over 250 different indigenous varieties in its vast array of grapes, Portugal is a helluva place to start if you're looking to join the Wine Century Club.

1917.  2011 Niepoort Diálogo - Douro Branco Snow (Portugal)

When I picked up this bottle, I hadn't realized what a find it was on the new grape front. Notes for the wine, however, says that grape varieties used in making the Branco Snow include Rabigato, Côdega do Larinho, Gouveio, Dona Branca, Viosinho, Bical and others. That bodes well for a hefty score on the Wine Century Club tally as I try to complete my second century of grapes. The only thing with some of these more indigenous varieties is that they're often found by more than one name. So, it takes a bit of workout to make my way through Jancis Robinson, et al's, encyclopedic Wine Grapes and check all the various names against my own list.

I'm tickled to say that I get to add another five new varieties. Out of the six grapes listed, I had previously sipped on and added Gouveio under another of its names, Godello. In my books, five for six isn't so bad though.

There wasn't much to find on the five new grapes but Jancis and friends pointed out a few facts that I've latched on to:

• Rabigato - almost exclusively found in the Douro in northern Portugal and is rarely used to make a varietal wine.  Rabigato is favoured for blending particularly because of propensity for high acid levels.

• Côdega do Larinho - primarily noted for intense aromas of tropical fruit but, opposite to the Rabigato, can be rather low in acidity.

• Dona Branca - or "White Lady" in Portuguese - has, confusingly, been used for a number of distinct varieties in Portugal but there is a genetically distinct grape grown under this name in the northern part of the country where it produces "soft, fruity wines without any great distinction."

• Viosinho - is a relatively rare variety. It is also found almost exclusively in the Douro region; however, unlike some of the other grapes mentioned, Viosinho is well thought of as a quality grape that has good potential for quality wines - even so far as to having been referred to as the Portuguese Sauvignon Blanc. The biggest issues limiting that undeveloped potential is that it the grape is known for low yields and for being susceptible to oxidation.

• Bical - is found perhaps a bit more extensively in Portugal as it is recognized in a number of appellations and is known mostly as an aromatic, early-ripening grape.

Being a blend, I can't really comment on the individuality of the different grapes employed. I don't even know if the characteristics of one grape stood out more than another's, but I presume this should be a case of the whole tasting better than any of the component parts. The winery has prepared a great little tech sheet on the wine and it points out that 25% of the wine sees some aging in French oak and that all of the wine - whether aged in oak or stainless steel - has contact with fine lees (or spent yeast cells). I'm inclined to associate oak and lees to fullness in body and to some longevity in the wine's life but I think this one is better drunk when fresh. We just opened the 2011 vintage - and I see that it's still the current vintage in our government stores - but I wouldn't say that I found much in the way of fruit or acidity on the palate.

On the flip-side, the winery tasting notes talk of a "very long and salty aftertaste." I didn't notice that either but I think I'm just as glad to have missed the salt.

Diálogo sports a whimsical label that, according to an article of Jancis Robinson, is different in every country to which the wine is exported. That's got to take some dedication by the marketing department.

I see that Niepoort produces a red Diálogo as well.  I may need to source some out should I find myself in the throws of another Wild & Wacky Wine Week. In the mean time though, Wine Grapes goes back on the shelf. I celebrate five new grapes for the Wine Century Club (taking me to 193) and I get to put some thought into the final 80 some odd wines I need to reach #2001.

Wild, Wacky & Abboccato

Some wines just require too much effort. Not so much in terms of quaffing them or finishing off the bottle but, definitely, in terms of finding out about the actual wine or winery. I spent far too long looking up this wine and the grape varieties. Admittedly, a healthy chunk of that time was trying to work my way through all the synonyms and different names that a single grape can have in Italy but, in the end, it appears that I get to add four new grape varieties to my Wine Century Club tally.

And, as part of this Wile & Wacky Wine Week, I'm going to count that as a win.

1913.  2012 Barbi Abboccato Orvieto Classico (Orvieto Classico DOC - Umbria - Italy)

I didn't find a whole lot written about the Barbi winery - either on their own website or by others - but I did learn that Barbi is a family owned winery that has been operating in Umbria since 1932. The company's "philosophy leans towards the use of indigenous varietals of central Italy, even though lately, in a couple of wines, two international varietals have been employed." The wine we opened is Italian all the way and is made from Grechetto (40%), Procanico (30%) with Verdello, Drupreggio and Malvasia Bianca filling out the balance.

After multitudinous trips back and forth between my Wine Century Club tally and Jancis Robinson (et al)'s Wine Grapes, I've determined that the only grape that's already represented on my tally is the Procanico - not that I'd have known that. It would appear that Procanico is the local name for Trebbiano Toscano or Ugni Blanc and I added that grape in my original century's worth of grapes.

Grechetto is grown in a number of Italian regions but particularly in Umbria where it is mostly used in blending white wines like this Orvieto Classico. As it is a thick-skinned grape, it tends to be harvested later in the season, allowing higher sugar levels and is often used in the making of dessert wines and Vin Santo. Grechetto tends to be a lower yielding vine as well which can result in more concentrated flavours. Accordingly, the grape is also starting to be seen as having potential for use as a varietal wine and for blending with Chardonnay.

The other three grapes that I can now add to my tally aren't as notable. There are a number of different Malvasia Bianco varieties and I can't confirm which one is used in this blend but it is likely Malvasia Bianca di Candia or Malvasia Bianca Lunga as both are permitted in the regional DOC blends. Both grapes are used almost exclusively for blending though as they are generally found to be quite neutral in flavour profile.

Verdello is, indeed, different from the Portuguese Verdelho grape, and is primarily found in Umbria with only small pockets of plantings elsewhere in the country. The grape is favoured for its high acidity; however, the number of plantings seem to be diminishing and Jancis and team state that "the lack of varietal examples suggest it is less successful on its own," outside of blended wines.

Similarly, Drupreggio is grown primarily as a blending grape. Also grown in Tuscany where it is known as Canaiolo Bianco, other than being a new grape for my list, it doesn't appear have much of a following or be much of winemaker's grape of choice.

The name "Abboccato," as seen on the label, apparently means that the wine is meant to be slightly off-dry. We didn't really notice much in the way of residual sugar however.

As a whole, Italian whites don't generally knock my socks off. For the most part, I find them rather bland and often flabby in their lack of acidity. While this wasn't totally lacking in flavour profile, it's not one to turn my head and make me say, "I should really be on the lookout for more Italian whites."

It is good to be able to add grapes 183 through 186 to my tally though and I'm happy with that.

A Fine Start to a Wild & Wacky Wine Week

I've been mentioning recently that I'm into my last 100 wines before I open that celebratory 2001st bottle. Having just knocked off a bottle of Mencia the other night, I figure why not try and hit my 200th grape variety for the Wine Century Club before #2001 as well. Accordingly, a "Wild & Wacky Wine Week" seems to be in order. I've been grabbing a few bottles that feature uncommon grape varieties; so, move over Merlot and shuffle off Chardonnay, it's time to try something a little less recognizable.

1910.  2013 Domaine La Rosière - Jongieux (Vin de Savoie AOC - France)

Can't say that I knew anything about this region, the winery, Domaine la Rosière, or the grape used to make this white from the lower parts of the French Alps. Savoie - or Savoy - is found east of Beaujolais and on the border with Switzerland and, as such, most of the vineyards are planted on "very steep, southwest facing slopes created by ancient glaciers."

Jongieux is one of the villages found in the heart of the region and its name is given to one of the winemaking communes. The Jongieux white is made entirely from the Jacquère grape and this rare-ish baby definitely hits my Wine Century Club  tally as one that I haven't tried before. Jacquère is the most important white grape grown in the Savoie but, according to Jancis Robinson's Wine Grapes, there is not much grown elsewhere in the world - perhaps a bit in the northern Rhône and some in pockets of Portugal.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wine. It had a nice full body that was matched by good acidity and bright citrus notes. I can't say that this is indicative of all Jacquère wines, but I see that the winery's vineyards are graced with warm microclimate for the region and the wine is aged on its lees (or spent yeast cells), the former helping to ripen the fruit and the latter fleshing out the body of the wine.

In any event, I was fairly taken by the wine. I'd have been happy enough to simply add Jacquère as #179 to my tally, but it's always nice to get that added bonus of liking the wine to boot. This is an encouraging start for the other "wild & wacky" wines to come this week.

(Benjamin) Bridging the Country

Now that I'm into the last 100 bottles before I hit the blog's stated goal of 2001, I'm hoping to open a healthier proportion of nicer bottles than we usually would - particularly during the middle of the week when it's just dinner at home. I figure this is a great place to start because I've been waiting close to a couple of years just to get my hands on a bottle of tonight's wine, let alone get to knock it back.

I don't think I would have known about the wine or the winery had we not, by happenstance, been sharing a table at an Australian Wine Appreciation Society winery dinner with Matt Lane - also known as @champagnelane on his Twitter handle.  I published a post about that dinner - an AWAS tribute to Peter Lehmann after he passed away - but what I didn't say in that post is that Matt has a passion for bubbly, particularly Champagne, and he advised us that he thought Benjamin Bridge - hailing out of all places, Nova Scotia - produced sparkling wines that rivalled some of the best of France.

Now, Boo and I had taken a quick "guided" tour of three or four wineries in the Gaspereau region of Nova Scotia when we visited Halifax in 2008 but I don't recall anyone mentioning Benjamin Bridge at all. And, heaven forbid that Nova Scotian wines would ever make it all the way across the country to be listed for sale in BC. When I saw a notice saying that some of the winery's Brut had actually made its way to BC liquor stores, I ran out to grab a couple of bottles.

Tonight we got to pop the cork.

1902.  2009 Benjamin Bridge Brut (Nova Scotia)

The winery saw its naissance around the turn of the last century. In 1999, the 60 acres that makes us the winery lands were purchased and, in the following years, the lands were cleared and studied and the first blocks of vines were planted. The winery's website explains that those studies determined that the Gaspereau is "one of the rare grape-growing regions with a growing season remarkable similar to Champagne. The valley's geography and cool climate foster extremely low natural cropping levels - leading to a precious, expensive yield of grapes with rich flavours, texture and length."

The inaugural release of a Benjamin Bridge sparkling wine was in 2004 and the production of and praise of the wine has been building ever since. The Brut is made in the traditional méthode classique; however, the fruit going into the wine are largely foreign to growers in Champagne. While a quarter of the grapes are Chardonnay, and therefore traditional to Champagne, the balance is made up of two grapes commonly grown in the Gaspereau: L'Acadie Blanc (57%) and Seyval Blanc (18%) and, although you may have never heard of them, both grapes merit reference in Jancis Robinson's tome, Wine Grapes.

The wine is aged three years on its lees, resulting in a richness on the palate. We were surprised by the surprisingly bright citrus notes though. The wine was full of tart grapefruit and lime. It could have been a sipper on its own and it was a good contrast to some rich halibut cheeks but I think it was at its best paired with some soft cheeses that we brought out for dessert. Personally, I would have loved a little more mouthfeel from an amplified mousse but I'm thrilled to have had a chance to try such an up and comer.

An added bonus is that I get to add both the L'Acadie Blanc and Seyval Blanc grapes to my Wine Century Club tally - although I'm somewhat surprised by that as I know we've had both grapes previously. I suppose it must have been before I started keeping track on this blog. This brings me up to 178. Who knows, maybe I can hit 200 and a doppel membership before I reach my goal on this blog.

Can it be any wonder why I so love this Odyssey of trying wines of all types from all regions? Here's a renowned bubbly from a tiny little region in Atlantic Canada and I get two "new" grape varieties to boot. I hope to keep 'em coming is all I can say.

A Valentine's Day Treat

Valentine's Day. Saturday night. How often does that come along? Thing is, Boo won't get home from work until about 8pm; so, we decided to just stay at home and take it easy. Guess we've seen enough Valentine's Days over the years that simplicity can work just as well as a big night on the town - particularly if I spend a good portion of the day prepping things in the kitchen and make sure that the martini was ready to pour as soon as my sweetie walks through the door with his standard, "Honey, I'm home."

Finding some heart-shaped pasta at Cioffi's was a great start. Adding in some fresh scallops, asparagus and vodka cream sauce would certainly be a way straight to my heart. The hope was that it'd work on Boo as well.

1862.  2013 Sea Star Blanc de Noir Rosé (Pender Island - BC)

Thinking a Rosé would suit the occasion, I grabbed a bottle of Sea Star's Blanc de Noir. Seeing as how 2013 was the first vintage of wines produced by Pender Island's Sea Star, I'm thinking it must say something that this is the third bottle that I've added to The List - especially when I believe they've only released five wines for a grand total of 1400 cases (only 312 cases of this Rosé). Luckily, we visited the winery last Thanksgiving and managed to coax some wines out of owner, David Goudge, even though the winery was sold out of almost everything except the Ortega. I guess those years of bumping into David at various fundraising events paid off big time.

I know that David and winemaker, Ian Baker, were justifiably proud of the Rosé. It was made entirely from island grown Pinot Noir and it was awarded a "Best Rosé in Show" at last year's Northwest Wine Summit. Perhaps reminiscent of Southern France more than what we'd associate with South Pender, there was a lovely acidity that balanced out the tart fruit on the palate.

I can't wait to get my hands on some of the vintages to come. I can just see making those bottles a bit of Valentine's present to myself.

1863.  2008 Sonoran Estate Ehrenfelser Icewine (Okanagan Valley VQA)

No Valentine's Day is complete without some sweets as well and - for my money - a crème brûlée paired with Icewine is about as good as things can get. I'm not all that familiar with Sonoran Estate's wines. It's been around a decade longer than Sea Star but I just don't seem to find my way to many of the so-called Bottleneck Drive wineries outside Summerland. I picked up this bottle at the winery during a visit with the BC Wine Appreciation Society on its annual Bus Tour a couple of years back.

Made from Ehrenfelser grapes, this bottle had a bit of a pedigree of its own in that it won a Silver medal at the 2012 Northwest Wine Summit. With tropical fruits abounding, it truly was a marvellous pairing with the creme brûlée.

Even if the menu plan might have been totally in sync with some of my favourite tastes, I think it's fair to say that it hit the mark for Boo as well - but decency mandates that I defer on discussing how he showed his appreciation. Suffice it to say that he can be pretty sweet in his own way.

Greek Treat

We don't typically drink much in the way of Greek wines in our home. I think I've previously noted that most of the Greek wine we drink is by the litre or the carafe while scarfing back calamari or souvlaki at a local Greek taverna. Boo and I, however, are seriously looking at travelling to Greece this fall. So, I'm trying to find a few, higher end Greek wines to whet the palate.

I grabbed this bottle from one of the local specialty wine merchants (as opposed to the larger government-run stores) to pair with a travel guide book as a Christmas gift for Boo. It turned out to be quite the Greek treat.

1856.  2011 Alpha Estate Axia - Malagouzia (Greece)

Now, I wouldn't know a prototypical Malagouzia wine from one that simply stuck that label on any one of a dozen white juices, but Jancis Robinson et al, in their tome, Wine Grapes, advise that Malagouzia characteristically produces "full bodied, aromatic wines," exhibiting a big mouthfeel and bouquet - but lower acidity - when the grapes are grown in hotter sites. The wines can exhibit more acidity when sourced from cooler, higher elevations but those wines "can be thinner and less impressive." Thin and not-so-impressive being catchwords for most of my previous experiences with white, Greek wines.

 I like how the winery's website says that this Malagouzia is "fat but balanced." I think that's a pretty apt description of the wine.

Wine Grapes also says that the grape was "recently rescued from oblivion" and one of my favourite sources of more unfamiliar grapes (before he retired from his blog), Rob Tebeau of Fringe Wine, wrote a nice, little piece that talks a bit of how the grape was brought back from obscurity to become "one of the most important white grapes grown in Greece."

Not being that familiar with Greek wines, I'd never heard of the winery. Most of the Greek wines I run into are Boutari, Domestica or Tsantali. Alpha Estate was founded in 1997 and is found in the northwest part of Greece in the Florina region of Macedonia. An indication of the winery's modernity is that, in addition to traditional Greek grapes, the estate's vineyard grows such international varieties as Sauv Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Noir, Montepulciano, Tannat, Merlot and Syrah.

We haven't done one iota of planning for this Greek Odyssey of our's; so, I have no idea if we'd make it anywhere near Alpha Estate during our travels, but I do know that I want to take in some wineries and find a whole lot of wines as tasty as this one was.

Even if we don't make our way to Alpha Estate or run into any of their wines, I'm already benefiting from their wines. I've yet to add Malagouzia to my Wine Century Club tally. So, this bottle gets me #176 on that list. Now that I've got less than another 150 bottles before I hit 2001 on The List, I'm hoping to pull in that last two dozen wines to hit 200 varieties before I get to take a bit of rest. I might need to find some more Greek wines before we actually hit the islands.

Dreaming of a White (Wine) Christmas

I don't think that it was the result of an over-abundance of Bing Crosby's or Michael Bublé's crooning, but my holiday dinner turned out to be an all-white wine Christmas. As is our family tradition, my sis, Vixen, hosted Christmas dinner for the gang. Other than to spoil the nieces and nephew, my job is to bring along the wine. Funny that.

1833.  N.V. Bailly Lapierre Réserve Brut (AOC Crémant de Bourgogne - France)

I was tipped off to this bottle following a bubbly tasting held at Marquis Wine Cellars awhile back. I wasn't able to make the tasting but this Crémant was apparently one of the hits of the tasting. Crémant wines, simply put, are Champagne-style wines that can't be called Champagne because they don't come from the Champagne region. The Crémant de Bourgogne (or Burgundy bubbly) was the first Crémant appellation to be authorized - along with Crémant d'Alsace - in 1975.

Bailly Lapierre is a cooperative of 70 families growing fruit around the town of Bailly in the northern part of Burgundy. Their sparkling wine is made from the region's permitted grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir and Aligoté. in reading about the cooperative, I was intrigued that the wines are aged in the old, underground quarries for the town, especially since the quarry work extracted from Bailly provided stone for some of France's best known architectural triumphs - Notre-Dame de Paris, Chartres Cathedral and the Pantheon Paris.

The limestone-based soils lend themselves to a minerality that the bubbles cut through and elevate. A nice balance between subtle tree fruit and the biscuit-y notes so typical of Champagne doesn't hurt either.

And to add to the celebration, with the bucks you save by buying Crémant instead of Champagne (generally a half to a third of the price), you can spend more on presents for the family. This is a particularly enjoyable aspect of this wine to the young'uns who don't care to join in with the toasting and sipping.

1834.  2013 Sea Star Siegerrebe (Gulf Islands - BC)

When picking the turkey wine, I thought I'd forego the classic Gewürztraminer and take one of the wines I was lucky enough to pick up during our Thanksgiving visit to Axel and English Doc on Pender Island. I say, "lucky" because all of Sea Star's wine have been totally sold out for some time now. Quite the feat for a first vintage release, especially when you produce varietal wines like Siegerrebe and Ortega - grapes that most folks have never heard of before.

As it was, I didn't stray too far from the "tried and true" since Siegerrebe is a cross of the Madeleine Angevine and Gewürztraminer grapes. I also knew there's wasn't much risk - even for the family Christmas dinner - since the wine was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2014 Northwest Wine Summit - one of the wine competitions I actually pay some attention to. Plenty of aromatics, with great acidity and some nice soft fruit, along with that bit of Gew spice, coming through on the palate.

I'll definitely be on the lookout for some more of this in vintages down the road.

1835.  2012 Red Rooster Riesling Icewine (VQA Okanagan Valley)

To close out the dinner, I grabbed a bit of a treat - for both those gathered and for me. Admittedly, it might have been a tad selfish, but knowing my family's inclinations for various wines, I was pretty sure that only Vixen and I would think about seconds. Choosing an icewine was also a conscious choice though to try and build on the nieces' introduction to wine. As newbies to the wine scene, a little - or in this case a lot of - sweet never hurts.

I think this is the first icewine that Red Rooster has released and, even then, this was a limited production of 547 half bottle cases. Boo and I grabbed some bottles during our last visit to the winery for an Adopt-A-Row event. As one of the treats the winery pulled out for the adoptive parents, we tried a barrel sample of the Riesling Icewine. Nabbing a couple of bottles was a no brainer.

I also figured that, since it was once again my responsible to bring bread pudding, the Icewine would be a grand match to the dessert - especially since I remembered to add the sugar to the pudding this year. The Icewine likely would have still paired nicely with last year's more savoury bread pudding but I think the match was a little more traditional this year.

An interesting note on the wine was that the folks at Red Rooster started picking the grapes around 2 a.m. on January 1, 2013. You've got to wonder about being out in the vineyard in -8 to -14°C weather to pick frozen grapes on the first day of the year. That's either one helluva way to finish your New Year's Eve celebration or quite the start to the year to come - a 2 a.m. wake-up call.

I'm glad they bit the bullet for us though - because that Icewine was a far nicer "end" to the dinner than the end the girls were subjected to once the table was cleared. I'm not entirely sure what prompted this display but it was hardly in tune with the joy of Christmas and suiting up in your onesie to watch Mama Mia.

Except to say that it was one "mother" of a way to end the dinner.