Walking A Tightrope

When I started this blog back in 2009, there were around 170 wineries in production in BC. Six years later and there are over 250. With a few wineries changing hands every year and some closing down altogether, there's a steady stream of new wineries every time you take a new look. Given Boo's and my participation in the BC Wine Appreciation Society and the number of times we visit the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys or attend industry-coordinated tastings, I figure I have a better handle on local wineries than most.

I still can't keep up with the ever-changing landscape though. There's only so much space on the Naramata Bench but it seems that we find a new selection of wineries even there when we pay a visit. I ran across this bottle when trying to locate a hard to find wine from the Bench at the Naramata General Store. Being an out and out aficionado of Rosé, I grabbed this instead when my other wine wasn't available.

1908.  2013 Tightrope Rosé (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Tightrope began selling its wines in 2013 but I had yet to run across them. The winery is a new venture of Lyndsey and Graham O'Rourke. The couple are hardly strangers to the Okanagan and the Naramata Bench though. Lyndsey was the award-winning winemaker for Ruby Blues and Graham was a viticultural with Mission Hill. According to local wine scribe, John Schreiner, Graham learned about Okanagan growing conditions in 26 vineyards through the valley and "launched the Mission Hill sustainability program and ... composting program." I figure it's fair to say that they bring a bit of a pedigree with them to the fledgling winery.

Both Graham and Lyndsey have left their respective positions to concentrate on their own 10-acre vineyard and wines - although they still make some time available for consulting services. The couple has planted a selection of grapes known to do well on the Bench including Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier, Pinot Noir and Merlot. They've also added small blocks of Cab Franc and Barbera, the latter being one of the rarer varieties to be planted in BC. Barbera doesn't even make the list of top twenty red varieties planted by tonnage or by value. It's rare enough that its production falls behind those juggernaut grapes Zweigelt, Dunkelfelder and Rotberger.

Tightrope's Barbera makes it into this Rosé, however. The variety was about 15% of the 2013 vintage, the balance of the wine being Pinot Noir. All of the grapes came from Tightrope's own vineyard and production was definitely on the smaller side - only 100 cases of the Rosé was made in 2013 - but the abundance red fruit and bright acidity on the palate will make it worth running into again.

There was still no tasting room for the winery when I came upon this bottle but word is that the O'Rourkes hope to have a tasting room up and running sometime in the near future - hopefully before the 2015 tourist season kicks in for the Okanagan. We'll have to give them a taste next time we make it up to Naramata.

A Barbera Kind of Night

1853.  2007 Beni di Batasiolo Sovrana Barbera d'Alba (Barbera d'Alba DOC - Piedmont - Italy)

It's mid-week. A spaghetti and meatballs kind of night. In my book, you can't really go wrong with Barbera d'Alba. From the home of Barolo and Barbaresco, Barbera d'Alba's generally one of the easier drinking, lighter red wines (along with Dolcetto) from the Langhe region. With a bit of spice and dark cherry notes, this Barbera was a bit richer than expected - but that was no problem whatsoever.

It would seem that Beni di Batasiolo produces two Barbera d'Alba wines because I've already added a 2007 to The List all the way back at #169. While I couldn't see any reference to differences in the two versions on the winery website, I see that the Sovrana sells for a bit more. So, the Sovrana may be made from more premium grapes.

In any event, I'm a fan.

Office Holiday Party Time

I know that the holiday season is in full swing when I have to miss a big BC Wine Appreciation Society tasting because it's being held on the same night as my office holiday party. Only to have just enough time to recover and finish preparing for THE annual social event in our neighbourhood the next night - which would only lead into our curling league's Ugly Christmas Sweater party the next day.

Yes, it's one of those weekends and, as such, I was hoping to stay on a pretty even keel at our office dinner - even though it was R-Bone's last day with the firm and that was as good of an excuse as any to repeatedly raise our glasses to toast this and that.

Considering we'd returned to Ciao Bello for an Italian repast, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that I'm adding a couple of Italian wines to The List tonight. It's far more surprising - to me at least - that I'm only adding two bottles. The Boss likes throwing out a good selection of wines at the start of the evening - a couple of this and two or three of that - but I didn't start on the wine until we sat down to dinner. I'd joined Boo in a Gin & Dubonnet cocktail and that kept me going for quite awhile.

1820.  2012 Barone Ricasoli - Campo Ceni (Toscano IGT - Italy)

There were a couple of wines - both red and white - at our table when I joined R-Bone and gang but I jumped right into a red. I'm not sure how I got to share R-Bone's table with him on his final night but he said that Boo and I were a special request of his wife's. It was an offer that I couldn't refuse, particularly since there was no mistaking the fact that the table was well on its way to a fun evening.

I think it's safe to say that none of us was paying much attention to the wine being poured but this entry level Super-Tuscan seemed to be the pour of choice. Easy drinking - and fruit forward - for an Italian wine, I just noted that I'd had the previous vintage at last year's C&C holiday do. The bottle proved more popular tonight than it did last year though.

1821.  2012 Fontanafredda Briccotondo - Barbera (Piemonte DOC - Italy)

The Barbera was a bit simpler in profile but seemed to go down easily enough. Considering how much Briccotondo was being quaffed back by the gang, I'm surprised that I don't have a picture of the bottle - except for one of our table with an unfocused bottle calling out to folks. What can I say? I must have been enjoying the chat and banter that happens outside of the office setting because it would have to take something major to get my mind off the blog. I should know those priorities by now.

Indeed, if I'd really been thinking, I could have taken a picture and included a Guest Alcohol to this entry as well. The Boss sent along a round of Limoncello to cap off the evening but that addition to the blog just wasn't to be. That sip was enough to cap off my evening as it was. Despite my calling it a night, I understand a healthy number of couples simply moved the party on to a neighbouring hotel and kept the holiday spirits flowing until well into the morning. There was talk of Boo and I taking a few interested (though straight-laced) folk to a leather bar not far away but my guess is that there hadn't been enough wine to fully fuel that folly.

Thankfully.

There are definite benefits to be had by bidding one's "adieus" and getting out while the going is good - particularly when you want to live to write about it.

The More Italians The Better

1690.  2008 Ca' Bianca - Chersi (Barbera d'Asti Superiore DOCG - Piedmont - Italy)

If you can't guess from Boo's and my waistlines, we love to eat our pastas in our household. Make that we love to eat most things Italian - particularly panzanella or bread, bocconcini, tomato and basil salads. As such, I like to stay on the lookout for lighter Italian reds since my wallet doesn't let me live on Amarone, Barolo or Brunello alone - and because I'm not the biggest fan of most of the Chiantis I've tried in our market.

Barbera is a good alternative, although I can't say that I think we have the widest selection of Barberas in our local market. This was a new one that I ran across but I can't say that it jumped out as anything special for us. It might just have been that, as a 2008, the vintage might have been a bit long in the tooth for Barbera. I generally think of Barbera as a more easy drinking, fresher red that isn't made so much for ageing - not that I know anything more than the most basic of facts about the variety and know nothing about Ca' Bianca as a producer.

Guess I'm still on the lookout. Hopefully, I'll run across another Chersi on another occasion with a more favourable outcome.

Teotihuacán - Pyramids of the Sun and Moon

Our visit to Mexico City was different from most vacations in that we didn't really have a game plan - not even a list of places that we wanted to definitely visit - except for ensuring that we took in the old ruins and pyramids outside the city. With our bud, Mexican Lou's, assistance we figured out our timing and a tour and this was the day. 

As is wont with taking a group tour, there were a few stops along the way - even if you were really only interested in the main event. The old Aztec site, Tlatelolco, and the Plaza de las Tres Culturas - right in Mexico City - was our first stop. A quick history lesson, some Mexican tour guide humour and a church built on the ruins. Not exactly a tour highlight. 

Next up was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe - the most visited Marian shrine in the world (shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary). I knew this was one of our scheduled stops and it didn't really appeal much to me beforehand; however, I will admit that the church (churches), the plaza and the gorgeous gardens and old chapels on the hill of Tepeyac were well worth the visit and were both quite interesting and stunning. I was told that the surrounding plaza is filled with countless folks during special occasion masses - despite the fact that the Basilica itself can seat 10,000, with the second floor and atriums bringing that total to 50,000. I couldn't find confirmation in any materials but the figure of a million+ on the plaza sticks in my mind as being possible. Blows the mind.

The iconic picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe is seen everywhere in Mexico City; so, it was quite impressive to see the original tilma (peasant's cloak) hanging in the Basilica. Even more impressive, however, were the old basilica nearby - showing its definitive slant from the shifting lands beneath the church - and the simple chapel that sits atop the gorgeous gardens on the hill of Tepeyac - where legend has it that, in 1531, Our lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, an Indian peasant, and bade him to see that a church be built on the site in her honour. A couple of miracles later and Mexico's patron saint was well on her way.

I definitely think a picnic - with a little sacramental wine - would definitely be a worthwhile excursion. It wasn't in the cards for today though.

Teotihuacán - and its Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon and Avenue of the Dead - was the real goal of the day. Having visited the Mayan city of Copán many years back and visited, more recently, the Great Pyramids of Egypt and Machu Picchu with Boo, you might think that I have a bit of a jones for these windows into past civilizations. You'd be right.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right, Teotihuacán is found approximately 50 kilometres outside of Mexico City and it should be no surprise that it is the most visited archaeological site in Mexico. In its heyday - between 100 BC and 550 AD - the city's population was estimated at 125,000 or more and it was one of the largest cities in the world at the time and the largest in the Americas.

Just don't forget to liberally apply the sunscreen, bring water and be prepared to climb. The accompanying picture gives a good representation of the steepness of the Sun Pyramid and, thankfully, my propensity to experience vertigo was well-behaved today. No doubt, the chain handrail in the middle of the primary staircase acted as a bit of security blanket.

I was equally thankful that I didn't have to make my way down the pyramid on my butt - but ever so glad to have climbed the pyramid in the first place. Plus, that effort was definitely worthy of some well-earned cocktail action upon our return to Mexican Lou's.

An "authentic" Mexican lunch was part of our tour but, for the evening, Lou had arranged for dinner at Azul Condesa - one of the trendier restaurants in his already trendy neighbourhood. The restaurant is operated by Mexican celebrity chef, Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, who wrote the book on Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy - and I mean literally wrote the book.

Azul Condesa is known for its authentic, regional cuisine and, each month, its menu is celebrates a different theme. Contemporary Yucatan cuisine was the feature with this month's festival menu. I wouldn't know the difference between a Yucatan dish, a Oaxacan plate or something else altogether but we'd mentioned that we hoped to see what a higher end Mexican restaurant would be like. When presented with a menu that meant virtually nothing to me, Boo and I simply took some tips from Mexican Lou and sampled soup, shrimp and pork. Oh, and a house specialty: the guacamole with chapulines. That would be the grasshoppers that add a little crunchy note to the guac.

1578.  2011 Cuatro Niñas - Cosecha (Valle de Guadalupe - Mexico)

If making my way through the menu was a tad difficult, trying to figure out a wine to order was beyond hope. Unfortunately, neither our waiter nor the sommelier knew more than bare bones English; so, Lou tried to translate the waitstaff's comments on the forty odd Mexican reds that were available on the wine list. We ultimately went with "Four Girls" Cosecha. When we were told that this was a blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, I remembered back to having enjoyed a Mexican Nebbiolo (L.A. Cetto) at the Vancouver International Wine Festival some years back and thought this might be worth a go.

The wine was big - and enjoyable - although I'll admit it went better with the meat dishes than it did with the lighter fare. Maybe that's why drinking cervezas with dinner is more common than wine around here. Par for the course with the Mexican wines we tried on the trip, I couldn't find any online information about the winery or the wine after the fact. Alberto Rubio is apparently the winemaker and the one reference I found about him briefly stated that he's yet another up and coming, young winemaker in Mexico's Valle de Guadalupe.

I figure it's better to have tried these local wines and still know nothing about them than to not have even tried them. I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open for future opportunities and maybe, by then, I'll know a little Spanish or, more likely, the person introducing the wine will know English.

All considered though, it was a day for the ages. Unexpected religious treats. Historical wonders. And fine dining. In my book, that's what vacations are supposed to be all about.

There's More to Miami Than South Beach

Indeed, there is more to Miami than just the hustle and bustle of South Beach - and, luckily for Boo and I, Esperanza and Cruncher offered to play tour guide and show us some of the sights.

As much as I might have liked to drop in to visit Gloria Estefan or Ricky Martin on one of the chi-chi gated island communities, that wasn't quite in the cards this time around. We did, however, head over to the chi-chi-esque Coconut Grove where we took in Barnacle Historic State Park and wandered by some of the more reasonably priced homes. Hell, you can find a townhome next to the park for a couple of million.  Who knows, Boo may want to move back to Florida after all.

Our primary destination of the day, however, was Key Biscayne - in part, to see how one heckuva lot of locals spend a sunny Sunday. Traffic out to the parks and beaches was bumper to bumper for a good portion of the way. No doubt, everything was busier than normal because the Sony Open tennis tournament was on to the fourth round and there were plenty of big names playing. Had we known in advance, we might have tried to pick up tickets since Milos Raonic was still playing and he likely could have used a bit of Canadian support.

Tennis may not have been in the cards. But, we did stumble upon a perfect picnic table, away from the teeming masses and the sand, while hiking the seawall that carried on beyond the end of the beach. A bit of shade, some gorgeous weather, a picnic lunch and a couple bottles of wine. Worked for me.

1572.  Candoni Pinot Grigio (Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie IGP - Italy)

Remembering the ins and outs of al fresco dining from Antigua, we went with a couple of whites that we figured would suit the occasion. I'd never seen the Candoni brand before but we quite enjoyed the 100% varietal wine. I'm not always the biggest fan of Italian whites. I often find them flabby and rather bland - at least when compared to the readily available BC whites at home - but this one had nice acidity and fruit. I don't know whether it's the fact that the grapes for this wine were organically grown, but I'd have no problem giving a Candoni wine another pour.

1573.  2011 Trimbach Riesling (Alsace AOC - France)

We don't tend to drink many Alsatian wines either but at least I recognized the Trimbach brand as being a wine available back home. As a Riesling aficionado, I may need to get a little more familiar with the brand. The wine was a great match to our day and to our sushi and panini picnic. Great citrus and acidity for a warm Florida afternoon.

As relaxing as the afternoon was proving to be, we realized that we had to contend with all the beach and tennis traffic, we took a final hike past the Cape Florida Lighthouse and made our way back to the car and the mainland.

I think my catch-of-the-day is a little more exciting

Upon our return to South Beach, we happened upon a street market - which was both a blessing and a bummer. I love taking in markets while on vacation but there was no real opportunity to buy any of the fresh produce or baked goods since we were leaving the next day.

Esperanza had also mentioned that there was a small Spanish/Latin-themed street that was known for restaurants. So, we made our way there and, as much as we hardly needed more food, a light snack quickly turned into a full dinner. Italian none-the-less. I was thinking that a few Cuban tapas might be nice. Next thing I know, we'd ordered Caesar salad for four, grilled calamari, pizza and pasta.

Good thing we had plenty of time - and another bottle of wine.

1574.  2010 Cascina Chicco - Granera Alta (Barbera d'Alba D.O.C. - Piedmont - Italy)

For me, one of the joys of travelling is to try wines that I don't recognize from home. The problem with trying those new wines is that, when you really enjoy one - like we did with this Barbera d'Alba - it can suck when you realize you'll likely never find it again at home. That just meant that we had to savour it for as long as we could. As much as we liked the wine and as tempted as we were to buy a second bottle, we concluded that, vacation or not, we probably didn't need any more.

And on that note, we made our way back to the B&B, thanked Esperanza and Cruncher for all their hospitality and started to get things in order to move on to the third stop of our journey - Mexico City. Miami certainly has its share of latin flair, but something told me my total lack of command of the Spanish language might just prove to be a bit of a test. (Besides speaking Spanish is what Boo and Mexican Lou were going to be there for. My job would be to order the wine.)

It might have been a short visit to Miami but it was an eventful one and I did manage to add another eight bottles to The List - and Esperanza promised to help me add a good number more if we make down to visit again. There's a standing offer.

La Spinetta Pin

On a last minute whim, I grabbed two tickets for the Vancouver East Cultural Centre tonight. I just happened to hear on the radio that Canadian Dance Legend, Margie Gillis, was teaming up with collaborator, American actress Elizabeth Parrish, to stage their piece "Bulletins from Immortality...freeing Emily Dickinson." I knew nothing of the show but I do have a most marvellous memory of the one time I saw Margie Gillis dance a short piece years ago. The thought of an entire show was simply too enticing to pass up.

The plan was to grab a quick bit to eat before the show. We were hoping to luck into a table at Via Tevere (since it's only a couple of blocks from the Cultch); so, we brought along a BYO bottle that'd be worthy of a Gillis performance. As usual, Via Tevere was packed and we didn't have enough time for the expected 45 minute wait. Luckily, the wait was only 5 minutes at Marcello's and they allow BYO as well (although I think their $25 corkage fee is rather cheeky considering they have such a limited and pedestrian wine list).

1459.  2006 La Spinetta Pin (Monferrato Rosso DOC - Piedmont - Italy)

La Spinetta has been a favourite of our's ever since Boo and I visited the winery during a second honeymoon and our short stay in Piedmont. This was one of the bottles that Boo and I were able to bring home with us but we promptly hid it in the cellar. Once in a blue moon, I'll see a bottle of La Spinetta in the Vancouver market but they're always priced as high end buys. I certainly wish that we could have brought a six-pack of this home with us because, the one time I saw a bottle for sale locally, it was for easily twice the price we paid for it in Italy.

La Spinetta is best known for its Barbarescos and Barolos but Pin is a take at a more approachable blend of 65% Nebbiolo and 35% Barbera d'Asti. The Nebbiolo provides a complex depth and structure while the Barbera adds a lighter fruitiness to the wine. The wine might have been a bit big for our pizza - particularly since the winery's tasting notes say that the wine could continue to evolve for 25 years - but we didn't seem to have any problem finishing the bottle off in time to make the performance.

Marcello's squeezes in the tables and we were definitely within ear-shot of our immediate neighbours - two young women. It was virtually impossible not to learn that they had spent the past summer travelling through Italy. We struck up a bit of conversation with them and, ultimately, asked our waiter to pour them a glass of our Pin. I don't know if they really enjoyed and appreciated the wine but they certainly professed their love of the wine and they let it linger to try and enjoy the nose and taste far longer than Boo or I ever could have.

As much as we were enjoying the wine and 'za, our timing was getting tight and we needed to leave for the show. Once there, we lamented the fact that the theatre doesn't allow drinks during the performances. It would have been nice to carry on with a bit more wine. I'm the farthest thing from a dance critic - hell, I barely scratch the surface in knowing my way around wine - but I wanted to enjoy the performance far more than I did. As much as Margie Gillis will forever remain a stellar memory for me, this piece didn't place her on an even higher pedestal. I liked the concept of the interplay between spoken word and dance, but the execution just didn't excite.

I'll just have to find another bottle of La Spinetta to cheer me up.

Memphis & Priscilla - No One's Leaving Hungry

Ever since Skipper decided that spending a good portion of the winter in Palm Springs was more fun than curling and drinking with us, I don't see an awful lot of the dude. Luckily, we managed a few brews over the summer - but not nearly enough wine. We managed to link up with Skipper and GQ for dinner and drinks - starting with a bit of a cocktail at our place.

1396.  2010 Paolo Conterno Barbera d'Alba Bricco (DOC Barbera d'Alba - Piedmont - Italy)

GQ announced that he enjoyed discovering the Paolo Conterno so much awhile back that he went out and bought a case and declared it his "house wine for the summer." I don't think I've seen this Barbera before but, on the whole, I quite enjoy Barbera's as a "category" of Italian wines.

Paolo Conterno is a multi-generational family run winery. Having been founded in 1886, the Conterno family now in its fourth generation. They don't make a lot of wine - apparently only around 4200 cases annually and that's inclusive of Nebbiolo (both Barolo and Langhe DOC), Barbera and Dolcetto wines. That surprises me a bit that our market would see much of it. Maybe GQ bought up most of it.

The Barbera is single vineyard - "Bricco Sant'Ambrogio" - designated and it was pretty big for a Barbera. It might be worth trying to snag a bottle off of GQ before he finishes them all off.

The idea for dinner was to hit The Drive and settle in wherever it struck our fancy. After a false start or two, we settled on Boo's favourite: Memphis Blues and their Priscilla Platter.

Brisket, pulled pork, chicken, sausage, ribs. There was no chance of anyone leaving hungry. Luckily, there were no vegetarians in our midst! Although I suppose even they could have been happy with the fries, slaw and potato salad.

1397.  2010 Le Paradou Grenache (AOC Cotes du Luberon - France)

We didn't bring any of GQ's "house wine" with us; so, we went with the Grenache, thinking it would likely go with the smorgasbord that was our platter. Memphis Blues' wine list is always small (like four reds and four whites) but it is generally well thought of and reviewers often refer to the amount of thought that goes into choices.

Le Paradou is a young project from the folks behind Château Pesquié - the well-recognized (at least in Vancouver) Rhône producer. The name comes from a "centuries-old farmhouse" belonging to the Chaudière family and the wine hails from the Côtes du Luberon, a region to the south-east of the Rhône.

Unlike so many of the bigger Rhône wines, this Grenache is meant to be consumed to be right away especially since this version of France's "King of the South" is fermented and aged in stainless steel and cement. The resulting freshness lends itself nicely to the different meat flavours and smokiness that was served up by Memphis Blues.

It would have been nice to try the two wines next to each other. As it was, we didn't try the Italian wine with our meal and that makes it hard to tell if one is preferable over the other. I'm thinking not as we had no trouble polishing off either of the bottles.

Thankfully, instead of a third bottle of wine, we opted for another Drive favourite - Dolce Amore and their incredible gelato!

Red wine. Good friends. Memphis Blues. Gelato. Talk about "sweet love" and la dolce vita. Keep it coming. Please.

The Arrival of Fall

OK, I guess Fall has officially arrived.  It's getting darker earlier, leaves are changing colour and it's definitely cooling off.  Cooling off enough that we had our first stew of the season.  That hearty stew called for something equally as hearty and we pulled out another vintage of an old fave.

1255.  2003 Sandhill three (VQA Okanagan Valley)

three is part of the Sandhill Small Lots Program and you can find a fair bit written about Small Lots elsewhere on this blog.  Accordingly, I won't go into the program in any detail this time around.  Suffice it to say that, with this '03 vintage, "small lots" means only 424 cases.

three is winemaker Howard Soon's take on a SuperTuscan wine.  The '03 was a blend of 53% Barbera, 21% Cab Sauv, 13% Sangiovese and 13% Merlot and I think it's fairly certain that no one else was making anything like this wine in BC in those days.  In fact, I'm not so sure that anyone else is working with Sangiovese and Barbera even still.

Still a keeper, but I think we might have enjoyed it more a couple of years back.  Boo's stew wasn't much more than meat, potatoes and tomatoes and it could have handled more oomph than showed up in the glass.  I think that oomph would have been there some years back though.  As it was, the tannins and fruit had faded more than the acidity.  Not a bad weight for Indian Summer overall.  Just a tad shy with the beef-cutting tannins.

Or we could just bring on a pizza.  After all, you know that something's pretty much guaranteed to go with Sandhill one way or another.

Taking it to Nashville

As much as I may feel and little bruised and battered by yesterday's federal election, I'm likely still in better condition than most of the Canucks. After seven rough games with the Blackhawks, the Predators aren't exactly playing cooperative by rolling over and letting our boys breeze through the new series.

Having split the first two games in Vancouver, the teams have moved on to Music City USA for Games 3 and 4 in Nashville. In the mean time, it was a no-brainer for tonight's game wine. Game 3, Sandhill Small Lots Three.

794. 2001 Sandhill Small Lots Three (VQA Okanagan Falls)

The wines for the first games, One and Two, were basically Bordeaux or Meritage blends. Three goes a different route - a bit of a take on a Super Tuscan. Winemaker, Howard Soon, has overseen the planting of two traditional Italian varietals at the Burrowing Owl/Sandhill Estate vineyard - Sangiovese and Barbera - and blended them at 50% and 30% respectively. He's then completed and filled out the wine with equal portions of Cab Sauv and Merlot. While the addition of the Cab and Merlot is quite indicative of the so-called Super Tuscans, the blending of Sangiovese and Barbera is highly uncharacteristic of Italian winemaking - as the former is the primary grape of Tuscany, while Barbera is mostly grown in Piedmont.

This 2001 vintage was the first release of Three and it is believed to be the first commercial release of a wine involving either Sangiovese or Barbera by a Canadian winery. In keeping with his approach of showcasing the specific vineyard (all Sandhill wines are single vineyard designated), Soon has also looked to innovative practices in BC to try and best express the characteristics of the fruit. Knowing he was the only winemaker using these Italian varietals, he introduced the utilization of a yeast strain that is particular to the Sangiovese grapes that are used for making Brunello - one of the big guns of Tuscany.

As part of the Small Lots Program, only 398 cases of the wine was made. So, we were lucky to still have a bottle laying around. I'm not sure that ten years of aging was suspected when we bought the bottle, but I'm glad to say the wine didn't seem to suffer.

I am glad, however, to be finally opening all these lovely old Sandhill wines. It might have taken the Canucks finally getting past Chicago in the playoffs, but matching Sandhill to a playoff series has been a goal of mine since this Odyssey has been around. Now, if only the team could figure out a way to get the puck past the Predator's goalie, Pekka Rinne.

The boys pulled out a second win in the series tonight - but it did take OT and a power play at that. I'm definitely finding that I'm needing these wines to calm my nerves during all these cliff-hanger games.

Real Wine Boyz Drink Pink

Summer weather. Summer entertaining. An easy excuse to drink. Call it what you may, but Friday saw another edition of Wine Boyz - and, in honour of the summer and one of this summer's trends, we were drinking pink.

Now that the general wine world is discovering that there's more to Rose than White Zinfandel, I figured it would be fun to try an assortment of pink wines to see if we could reach a general agreement or identify some favourites. I think we succeeded on both fronts.

Boo got called in to work at the last minute, so our eight became seven but we still had a rousing time and we encountered a couple surprises.

527. NV Royal de Neuville Vin Rose Petillant (France)

This wasn't an official entry in the evening's tasting. Being "bubble," it was going to be too identifiably different from all the remaining wines and was simply meant as a cocktail while we waited for stragglers. Good thing we had it as well since The Marquis was delayed by a seat-belt infraction and a possible hauling off to the cop shop. Seems his stunningly good looks and accent weren't cutting it with the newbie officers. He probably could have used something stiffer than a sparkling Rose upon his arrival though.

I had to smile upon reading this label and seeing that it was referred to as "Crackling Rose Wine." I almost broke out into song and old Neil Diamond classics. Thing is, even though I remember liking the song "Cracklin' Rosie" when I was growing up, that was one helluva long time ago and I no longer remember the tune or any of the words.

But the real evening was spent blind tasting the seven wines that everybody brought along. It was quite an array; however, after all the wines were revealed, I was quite surprised by the fact that there were two Okanagan wines, one from Italy and all the rest were French. Out of all the Rose wines in our market, most people still grabbed a French wine. A bit of a surprise since I don't think any of us generally reach for vin francais as a rule.

Most of tonight's guests admitted that they don't drink much Rose either and they were surprised at the array of shades in colour and by the fact that all of the wines were dry.

I think we were all equally surprised by our overall choices. Our first two choices were virtually tied. Four of us picked the evening's first pick as their first choice. The second place wine took the other three first place votes. Even more surprising was that both top spots were taken by the two BC wines! Probably the most determinative factor was the fact that I ranked the number two wine as my fifth choice.

Here are the wines as they finished in our ranking (total points in brackets - lower being "better") -

528. 2008 Therapy Vineyards Pink Freud (VQA Okanagan Valley) (13) (Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cab Sauv & Shiraz)

530. 2009 Meyer Family Vineyards Gamay Rose (VQA Okanagan Valley) (22) (Gamay Noir)

Only 150 cases made of it.

529. 2009 Domaine Houchart Rose (AOC Cotes de Provence) (15) (Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah & Cab Sauv)

531. 2009 Lorgeril L'Orangeraie (Vin de Pays d'Oc - France) (30) (Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah & Merlot)

532. 2009 La Vieille Ferme Rose (AOC Cotes du Ventoux - France) (34) (Cinsault, Grenache & Syrah)

533. 2009 San Silvestro Cantine Monferrato Chiaretto (DOC Monferrato Chiaretto - Piedmont - Italy) (41) (Barbera)

534. 2008 M. Chapoutier Beaurevoir (AOC Tavel - France) (41) (Grenache)

As seems to be the case with these evenings where there are a number of bottles to add to The List, there's not a whole lot of time or space to write much about the wines or the producers. It was also interesting that the last two wines received the same number of points. The difference was that almost everyone had the Monferrato ranked as one of their least favourites, the M. Chapoutier was the most polarizing of all the wines. Five of our tasters rated it as their last place wine, while The Marquis ranked it as his second and I had it smack dab in the middle.

The fact that the BC wines took the top two spots was surprising to all - and, in particular, I was pretty shocked when I saw that the Therapy was our overall favourite - including mine. I've always thought that the marketing was brilliant, but I just never took it all that seriously as a wine. Guess I'll have to now. I'd definitely re-think their pink and re-visit Therapy's Pink Freud.

Just goes to show, chacun son gout. And that even real boyz can drink pink.

Italy vs. Greece

Italy

vs.

Greece

This was another match in our little World Cup of Wine preliminaries where the arbitrarily seeded country should easily put the bottle of an upstart challenger to rest. When I think of Greek wine, it's usually white house wines in Greek restaurants (don't mention retsina though, please) - not red wine.

On the other hand, the Italians and red wine go pretty much hand in hand at our pasta-loving dinner table.

498. 2004 Prunotto Fiulot (DOC Barbera d'Asti - Italy)

499. 2007 Boutari Agioritiko (Nemea - Greece)

I've got to say that the taste-off was a lot closer than I had expected. The Greek wine was quite palatable, while, as much as I like Prunotto as a producer, the Fiulot wasn't nearly all that I'd hoped for.

Generally, I find the Barbera varietal to produce approachable wines, with less tannin and a bit more fruit on them than a lot of the big Italian reds. I wasn't so captivated by this bottle - although it was still drinking fine and was a more developed wine than the Boutari. Alternatively though, the Boutari was made to highlight the fruit - perhaps a bit too much as it didn't have a lot of structure to it.

The Boutari label talks of Agiorgitiko as being "Greece's most talented red grape." That might be, but it didn't quite match up to the talent found in the Italian glass - even if the Prunotto wasn't my favourite bottle of Barbera.

As it ended, Italy gets a tentative win into the quarter-finals, but it will have to up its game to keep moving on. The Greek wine wins in the fact that I'd actually consider buying another bottle the next time we eat souvlaki - plus, I get to add the Agiorgitiko varietal to my list for the Wine Century Club.

I'd score it 2-1 (mostly because the Greek wine deserves a point but the Prunotto deserves the win).

How Much? In a BC Liquor Store?

198. Vinicola del Sannio Benvenuto Barbera (IGT - Campania - Italy)

This bottle was added to the basket at the government liquor store simply because I find I'm becoming a bit of a fan of Barbera and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of a wine can be found in our liquor system for $6.99. That's like an unheard of thing up here in the Great White North. Known for health care and taxes in general, the sin taxes on wine are particularly draconian in BC. No Two Buck Chuck up here.

So this was simply going to be a bit of an adventure. A mid-week wine at home for under $10 has got to be a good thing. As far as adventures go, this one was pretty much one where you get what you pay for. It was far from bad, but it was a simple wine that isn't going to offend but won't send you running back to the liquor store to stock up.

The Barbera grape is a star in its native Piedmont, but it's not a standard grape for the region where this wine originated, Campania. Then again, Campania isn't exactly one of the star regions of Italy when it comes to wine. Tourism, yes. What tour of Italy doesn't at least consider the Amalfi Coast and/or Mount Vesuvius? But, wine, not so much. Located to the South of Rome, I looked up the region's primary wines and, a couple of hours later, I don't even remember what wine varietals are actually sanctioned.

Since Barbera isn't a varietal allowed in Campania, the producer has to market this as an IGT wine - or a wine that is typical of the area. Since IGT is the only designation available to the Super-Tuscans, it's hardly a kiss of death on the marketing front. All the same, the Super-Tuscans flying the IGT banner don't sell for $10 either.

Hopefully, the next time we try it, we'll be in a trattoria or enoteca on the Amalfi Coast seeing just how typical it is of the region.

Paella Perfection

Boo and I (and The List as well) lucked out the other night. Awhile back, we realized that we hadn't seen Axel and the English Doc for some time. So, I e-mailed them to see if we might be able to get together for dinner. We managed to decide on a Friday night, but I guess I worried them a bit with a "warning" that I wasn't going to promise anything extravagant since I'd be at work all day. Axel decided to host us instead since he had the day free.

My guess is that he didn't have a whole lot of free time during the day because there was plenty of food that all took a good amount of prep time.

Seeing as how Axel also invited along some other friends, it made for, not only an evening of good food, but also a chance to add a number of wines to The List.

168. NV Segura Viudas Cava Brut Reserva (Spain)

Much of the evening's menu flowed from Spanish tapas food. So, a bit of Spanish bubble seems like a good fit for the evening. Serving sparkling wine along with food seems to becoming more popular even at home dinners. Food and wine writers have long praised the foodworthiness of bubbles and it seems to match particularly well with tapas.

This wine is a perennial favourite of critics and writers as it is made in the traditional methode Champagnoise but is sold for a fraction of the price. For the wine trivia lover in all of us, it's also a blend of three grape varietals that few (short of the bona fide geek) would recognize - Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.

Space likely won't allow as much information on the remaining wines from the evening, but you could tell that Axel had let his guests know the planned menu in advance. Most of the wines were fine matches for the paella and tapas.

169. 2007 Bene di Batasiolo Barbera d'Alba (DOC Barbera d'Alba - Italy)

I'm finding that Barbera is a bit of "go-to" varietal for me nowadays. It always seems to be quite food-friendly and this was no exception.

170. 2008 Quinta Ferreira Rose (VQA Okanagan)

I was intrigued to see that this Rose was a blend of a number of varietals - Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. I wouldn't normally expect so much blending in a Rose.

171. 2005 Bodegas Zabrin Atteca Old Vines Garnacha (DO Calatayud - Spain)

Tyrant brought this along and it definitely showed why he's on a bit of Spanish wine kick at the moment. Bang for buck. Isn't that music to all our ears? Lovely wine (although it's completely in a New World style and that might not be your bent) and nice marketing job on the packaging. I'll keep my eye open for their wines in the future.

172. 2005 St. Hallett Unearthed Touriga Nacional (Barossa - Australia)

I couldn't find much about this wine online but I briefly read the back label of the bottle that evening. The information proferred stated that every so often the winery finds, or unearths, some blocks of grapes - not normally used for single varietal wines - that scream to be set apart that year. St. Hallett normally uses its Touriga Nacional (one of Portugal's big grapes and a primary ingredient for Port) in one or more of its red blends, but the 2005 vintage saw this separate bottling. I don't think that they've done it again since.

173. NV LaFrenz Liquer Muscat (Okanagan)

The final wine of the evening was another treat brought along by The Tyrant. We have some of this at home as well - one, because it's from LaFrenz and, two, since it's fashioned after the Aussie "stickies" that I love so much.

This is a perennial award winner for the winery and those awards are won at some of the bigger competitions around in these parts. It received a Double Platinum (one of only eight awarded) by Winepress Northwest this year; was given Gold & Best Fortified of Show at the Northwest Wine Summit; and brought home Gold at the 2008 All Canadian Wine Championships.

It was a grand way to sit back after dinner and finish off a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The Barbera Diet

Having thoroughly enjoyed the La Spinetta Barbera D'Asti the other night in New York, we thought it only made sense to give a local version a pour as well.

Having seen this "advertisement," there was no question.

I'd rather thought that my university days were still haunting me and I was paying for them by having to sport a "beer belly." I can't say that I drink much brunello, but it sure looks like it's a close relative (although I do wish to point out that the top picture in the ad is NOT me).

As previously mentioned, I'm a fan of Howard Soon at Sandhill Estate Vineyard. I'm particularly fond of his Small Lots Program. Mr. Soon is quoted on the winery website as stating that "our Small Lots Program provides a glimpse into our wine future, capturing the essence of small batches of promising new varietals."

Barbera is one of those varietals.

92. 2004 Sandhill Small Lots Barbera (VQA - Okanagan)

Sandhill is one of the very few Okanagan growers, if not the only one, that is taking a chance with Barbera and Italian varietals. I don't know if things have changed in the last couple of years, but when Sandhill first started producing their Barbera, it was the only straight Barbera being made in Canada.

There still isn't a whole lot of it to go around. This vintage only saw 297 cases produced - a pretty good indication that the varietal is still an experiment for the winery.

As with all of Sandhill's wines, this is has single vineyard designation and these grapes are grown on the estate vineyard. There is only one small block of Barbera grown (the winery website has an interesting map that shows the various blocks and the grapes grown) and it is one of the hottest spots in the vineyard - next to a cliff. The accumulative heat from the nearby cliff rock assists in the ripening process. The ripeness of the grapes definitely showed through in this bottle.

I haven't had a chance to call the number in the "ad" yet, but I'm not so sure that the pasta we served with the Barbera is necessarily going to help get rid of our Brunello bellies. I sure hope that Howard Soon finds some more acreage for planting Barbera though because I could easily add this wine as a regular staple to my diet.

Go Ouest Young Man

For our last night in Manhattan, we decided to head out on the town and have an early celebration dinner for Boo's upcoming birthday. Since the Wicked show was my b-day present, I figured it would only be fair to take him out for a wicked dinner. With recommendations from both Berra Yogi and Chowhound, we decided to stick with our Upper West Side neighbourhood and headed to Ouest.

Interestingly enough, one of Vancouver's perpetually top rated restaurants started its life as "Ouest." It's subsequently changed its star chef and its name to "West." We have yet to make it there, so this Ouest seemed a perfect fit. Despite the lackadaisical service, the evening was a fine way to finish off the vacation. We had a lovely corner table; the food was thoroughly tasty and the wine was nothing short of perfect for the evening.

89. 2006 La Spinetta Ca di Pian (Barbera d'Asti DOC)

La Spinetta was another of the wineries that we went to visit while in Italy last year. I didn't really read any further on the restaurant's wine list once I saw that it was available. Our ability to buy La Spinetta is limited in Vancouver - largely because most of the bottles that you can find are well over $100 a pop. Ca di Pian is far more reasonable and I haven't ever seen it in Vancouver.

The wine is 100% barbera and the 1985 vintage was the first red wine that La Spinetta produced. It is also the red wine with the highest production for La Spinetta among it Piedmont wines.

I hadn't actually heard anything specific about La Spinetta prior to our visit to Piedmont. I vaguely remember seeing the distinctive label on the high end shelves of one of the local private stores, but it became a choice to visit when one of the shop's staff recommended it as a "don't miss" winery when thinking of appointments to make. We're glad we took him up on the suggestion.

It turns out that La Spinetta is one of the top producers in Italy. It is one of only two wineries to have received three stars in Italy's top wine journal, Gambero Rosso. The other winery is the legendary Angelo Gaja.

I mentioned that I remembered seeing the distinctive label previously. The primary label features an old woodcut drawing of a rhino and our tour guide mentioned that the question that she gets asked the most is "what's the history behind the rhino on the label?" Both she and the web site state that the unspectacular truth is that the winery's founder, Giorgio Rivetti, has always had a great admiration for the Albrecht Durer drawing. The story behind the drawing is perhaps more exciting but that's for another time.

The wine was lovely. The dinner was worthy of a birthday. And we had a plane to catch in the morning.

I hope we can find more of this wine at home!!