Roast Beast Just Calls For a Cab

A little roast beef calls out for some Cab Sauv around this household. Since Boo wants us to start using up some of the wine we have on hand, I figured I was pretty lucky to find a bottle that was still hanging around from the days when we seemed to buy a couple cases of Burrowing Owl every year - back when higher end BC wines were a little more limited. Indeed, it seemed like everyone was clamouring to grab as much Burrowing Owl as they could in those days.

1146. 2003 Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon (VQA Okanagan Valley)

2003 was the year of the infamous Okanagan Mountain fire. While the worst of the fire was wreaking havoc further north of the Burrowing Owl vineyards, there were still small fires being fought closer to Burrowing Owl and nearby Osoyoos. As you might guess in a summer of fire, it was a hot year. The heat units were sufficient to ripen the Cab Sauv but there were fears that the lingering smoke might have a detrimental effect on the grapes and resulting wine.

Although this probably wasn't a favourite of the Burrowing Owl wines I've had over the years, I don't think it was the smoke that diminished the wine's punch. It definitely matched up nicer with the beef, but I fear the wine wasn't very notable for either structure or fruit profile when sipped on its own.

It might be a case of waiting a bit too long before opening it, but I can't publicly attest to that because then Boo will simply insist I can't buy anything new until we finish off all our bottles of a certain age. Heaven forbid.

Dinner Club Like Never Before

After the "build up" of the last couple posts, it's time for the big "reveal." Over the years, our Dinner Club has seen its share of themes, holiday dinners and al fresco locales, but this is the first time that we've actually hit the road. Ever the innovator, Tyrant suggested that, if everyone was willing to hop the strait, he'd love to host his round at his new place and let everyone escape the hustle of the city for the long weekend. Coordinating everyone's availability can be a task - but there wasn't a whole lot of arm twisting required.

Boo and I arrived yesterday. Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed had the tightest schedule but caught one of the puddle jumping flights from harbour to harbour and, then, Jeaux and Matinder completed the gang with an afternoon ferry arrival. There was a tiny bit of island touring and artisanal cheese shopping, but by the time Boo and I arrived back from a quick trip to the Farmers' Market and local wine shops, everyone was enjoying an early start to the cocktail hour.

847. 2009 Elephant Island - Pink Elephant (Product of Canada - Naramata Bench)

Tyrant and co-host, SYG2, started us off with a novel and refreshing twist. Pink Elephant is Elephant Island's Methode Champenoise wine that's made with Granny Smith apples and finished with a dosage of the purely fruit winery's Cassis. On its own, Pink Elephant is reminiscent of a Kir Royale - with a twist - but Tyrant also kicked it up a level with "pour your own" Vodka and an additional fruit cocktail. Knowing we were already headed for an evening long on the wine, I opted for Elephant straight from the bottle. I heard of this fairly new offering from the winery, but I hadn't tried it before. Add some warm weather and I think we'll be trying it again down the road.

When it comes to our Dinner Club, I always run into a problem of not being able to give sufficient props to, adequately discuss or even show pictures of all the wine and dishes presented. This dinner was no exception when it came to outstanding food. Seeing as how it was the Canada Day weekend, Tyrant asked everyone to bring all Canadian wines to match up with a menu of worthy Canadian products.

848. 2001 Hawthorne Mountain Gold Label Series Chardonnay (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The list of wines showed that some folks clearly pulled some bottles from the lower reaches of their "cellars" (such as they are). I very much doubt that there are many bottles of this 2001 Chardy still hanging around - and, you know, it did okay. Maybe not quite as fresh as the sunny afternoon could handle but it had the body to stand up to one of Tyrant's appies, a lamb and pesto bruschetta.

We were ever so lucky that the weather turned nice for our dinner date. Thus far, this has been a bit of a bummer of a summer, but we managed cocktails and three early courses before we had to head inside for the main course. The fountained patio was as pleasant a dining location as the Dinner Club has seen in the great many years that it's been around.

849. 2010 Dirty Laundry - Woo Woo Vines Gewurztraminer (VQA Okanagan Valley)

850. 2009 Artisan Wine - Rigamarole Rose (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Tyrant was so true to his July 1-themed dinner, but the pièce-de-resistance had to be his gazpacho with "Canada" written out in crème fraiche. As much fun as we had with the presentation of the soup, we probably had more fun with the WooWoo and Rigamarole labels. Dirty Laundry's story of the winery's location being an old brothel/Chinese laundry is always a fine tale to tell and Rigamarole's use of "legendary" animals can definitely set you to talking. Good thing both of the wines can hold their own against "worries" of marketing departments gone awry.

851. 2005 Burrowing Owl Syrah (VQA Okanagan Falls)

During our tour of the "estate," Boo had commented on the sorry state of Tyrant's rhubarb plant. What Boo didn't realize is that most of the plant had been harvested to make a palate cleansing sorbet. As we moved into the reds, the rhubarb freshened us up enough to appreciate the consistency that is Burrowing Owl. Merlot hasn't generally been my first pick of Burrowing Owl wines but the years behind this bottle hadn't hurt the integration of the wine. Hardly a big fruit bomb, but totally befitting the circumstances.

852. 2007 Howling Bluff - Sin Cera (Okanagan Valley)

853. 2008 Bonitas - Artist Series Merlot/Shiraz (Okanagan Valley)

Following in Burrowing Owl's footsteps (so to speak), Howling Bluff is gaining its own reputation as a bit of a cult wine producer. After its triumphant arrival on the scene with a Lieutenant Governor's Award for its Pinot Noir, howling Bluff has concentrated on a limited number of wines - unlike many Okanagan producers with more than a dozen offerings. The Sin Cera is Luke Smith's entry in the Bordeaux blend/Meritage stakes in the province. Merlot-dominated, the Sin Cera is one of the bottles that has survived Tyrant's and my visit to the winery a couple of years back. With only 200 cases produced in total, we'll have to consider ourselves lucky that we had the chance to savour it.

As for the Bonitas, this is yet another BC winery that I've heard of but can't recall ever having tried. Unfortunately, this probably wasn't the bottle that any of us wanted to be our introduction to the winery. Take a look at the face on the label. I think he might have tried the wine in the bottle as well. I don't think the bottle was corked but it might as well have been. Unfortunately, this was, by far, our least favourite wine of the night.

854. 2003 Stag's Hollow - Renaissance Merlot (Okanagan Valley)

855. 2007 Stag's Hollow Heritage Block Cabernet/Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Having two Stag's Hollow wines at one sitting was a rarity for me as well. Another winery that I've heard and seen more about than I've tasted, it's wines were rather more successful than the Bonitas. Jurgen Gothe, one of the local wine scribes, called the 2003 Renaissance Merlot one of "The Best Wines of the Year found close to home" in 2007. Personally, I enjoyed the '07 blend a bit more - however, I might have a completely different take on the wines after the fact. There had been a bit of imbibing by now. I just know that the wines went perfectly well with Tyrant's elk burgers. Rather fitting, I might say, given the stag on the label - not that I have the slightest idea of whether a male elk is called a "stag" or not.

856. 2001 Black Hills - Nota Bene (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The Nota Bene wasn't planned as a dessert wine - and wasn't exactly served as one. There was just no way that this bottle wasn't being opened - if only so that I could have a bit of night cap. I think this was our last bottle of the 2001 vintage and I figured the occasion called for its opening. Once again, none of us was likely at the peak of our tasting abilities by this point of the evening. But, I was pleased that the wine was definitely on queue and had aged gracefully after all these years. Much like our Dinner Club has.

All in all, it was another dinner to remember. If I could add this many wines to The List every week, I'd be through this Odyssey in no time. My liver might not survive the trip, but it would be a whole lot faster.

Big kudos to Tyrant and SYG2 for a grand evening and weekend.

Cruising the Straits

It's the Canada Day long weekend (more-or-less the same thing as the Fourth of July for all our American friends out there) and Boo and I are off to the Gulf Islands, in the Georgia Strait between the Vancouver mainland and Vancouver Island. It's Tyrant's turn to host the next Dinner Club and he's invited the gang over to his new place on Salt Spring Island.

Tyrant has graciously welcomed Boo and I to come over a day early to take in a bit more of the bucolic lifestyle. Even the one extra day is a welcome respite. We were lucky to grab a ride on a direct ferry to Salt Spring and not one of the milk run ferries with a number of island stops. It's still a good hour and a half ride though - far too long to go without some sort of refreshment.

Funny, but my choice of pick-me-up was a nice glass of wine to refresh with while taking in the ever enjoyable scenery. Opening the bottle is no doubt completely against ship policy, but we tried to be discreet about it and no one that might have caught a peak of our transgression seems to have reported us. No outraged shipmate came by to pour the wine over the side or make us walk the plank.

I thought it was all rather civilized.

843. 2003 Burrowing Owl Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I've added enough Burrowing Owl wines to The List to make it difficult at times to pull out a vintage that hasn't already been counted in this little Odyssey. Boo is twisting my arm (perhaps rightfully so) to start drinking more of the wines that we've laid down for a bit. "After all," he says "we don't know if any of the old BC wines were even made for aging."

I think it's safe to say that this one was. The wine was still a big sip - and one that hadn't lost its fruit or balance. If anything, it still might have been a bit much to just sip on without any further nourishment. There was plenty of breeze and cloud to keep us cool enough to handle the heat of the wine though.

Being the good boys that we are, we didn't finish off the bottle with a final chug as we started coming into Long Harbour. The island roads can be pretty curvey and we didn't exactly know where we had to go.

Besides, I thought that arriving with a nice glass of Burrowing Owl in hand to greet our host with would be a nice way to make an appearance. In retrospect, a full bottle might have been nicer but we brought along plenty of other bottles as well.

What a welcome start to island time.

A Burrowing Owl Classic

On the whole, it's been a fairly mild winter for we folks in VanCity; however, today was a snow day. So, I figured that called for a little comfort food and nice, big and hearty red to warm our cold and wet soles - you'll note that's "soles" and not "souls." We were merely hiking around in the white stuff; it's not like our spirits had been frozen or drained or anything as serious as that.

Any excuse to raid the cellar though.

One of the side "benefits" to having been placed on a "No Buy Leash" by Boo is that, sometimes, I have no choice but to grab what can only be thought of as a special occasion bottle. Reaching into the Burrowing Owl "library" isn't a normal affair around here, but a nice fireside sip has to be one of life's little pleasures. We've already added the 2002 vintage of this wine to The List (at #358) and the 2005 vintage was one of the earliest wines to be added at #39. But, if I have to try and "clear out" some of our older wines, so be it.

706. 2003 Burrowing Owl Syrah (VQA Okanagan Valley)

It didn't take many sips to understand why this wine won some serious Canadian wine awards. As is usual around here, I didn't actually realize the pedigree of the wine until I took a look on the internet after we'd finished the bottle. It turns out that this vintage was not only presented with one of twelve exclusive Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards in 2005 - perhaps the most prestigious award given in British Columbia - but it also won a Gold medal and was named Red Wine of the Year at the 2006 Canadian Wine Awards.

The 2003 was still only the fourth vintage of Syrah produced by Burrowing Owl, but it was abundantly clear that their vineyards were capable of producing some stellar fruit. At this time, the winemaking was still under the direction and tutelage of Bill Dyer, an all-star in the BC winemaking pantheon. There have been a number of changes at the helm since Dyer left Burrowing Owl not too long after this vintage, but the winery has wisely stayed with his basic approach to making wine.

I've always said that I'm not the guy you turn to if you want exuberant and overflowing descriptions of a wine, but even I'm comfortable in saying that this was a beautifully balanced wine, with plenty of dark - but NOT over-the-top - fruit. Comfort food doesn't necessarily need to be treated with care when it comes to wine, but this Syrah elevated every bite of our meatloaf with a special treat.

This is clearly one of the reasons why Burrowing Owl leapt to such prominence in the BC wine world right from the get-go.

I'm going to have to check and see if I've managed to store any additional bottles of this beauty because, snow day or not, I'd look forward to some more. Please.

The Tears are Flowing

It's called the "heartbreak grape" and I suppose I should have known better than to open this bottle for such a critical game as Game 6 with our back against the wall.  But I didn't think of this until after the game was over.

And a game it was.  Can you say "rollercoaster?"  

Slow start.  Fall behind rather early.  Tie it.  Things bleak when down 3-1.  Tie it up!  Take the lead!!  And so on and so forth.  Only to lose yet another.  Who'd've thunk we see a Canucks playoff game with a 7-5 score?!

I suppose there's some solace in the fact that the Canucks weren't even picked to make the playoffs at the start of the season. 

And, I guess, the wine wasn't all that bad.

51.  2006 Burrowing Owl Pinot Noir (VQA - Okanagan)

Pinot Noir isn't the most prolific award winner in the Burrowing Owl portfolio.  Maybe the winery doesn't enter it in as many competitions.  Maybe they don't produce as much.  Or maybe the vineyards just aren't as well suited for the grape.  For the most part, BC's most-acclaimed pinots seem to come from the wineries a little further north than Burrowing Owl's southern location.  

One of BC's most revered wine writers, John Schreiner, reported once that pinot noir was originally planted at Burrowing Owl because the new winery's first consulting winemaker, Bill Dyer, wanted to try his hand at it when he migrated up to the Okanagan from a 20-year stint at sterling Napa Valley producer Sterling Wines.

Mr. Dyer has moved on but the prominence of Burrowing Owl remains.  

And, now that the Canucks' playoff drive is done for at least this year, there likely won't be that much Burrowing Owl on The List's horizon for a bit, but its prominence has been acknowledged.

Until next season....

Game 5 - Time for One of the Big Guns

49.  2002 Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon (VQA - Okanagan)

So, big game, I figure why not bring out the 2006 All Canadian Wine Awards Gold medal winner for cab's.  For us, this is one those wines that we were holding onto for a "big" occasion.  Hockey playoffs.  Round 2.  Pivotal game.  If that doesn't qualify as a special occasion, what will?

I get a tad apprehensive when opening a BC wine when the vintages start getting a bit longer in the tooth.  It's hardly a 40-year premiere cru Bordeaux, but there was still plenty left to enjoy.  I think the fruit would have been livelier a bit earlier on but there was still a nice balance and enough tannin remaining to match up to a game-day steak.

In the last Canucks' posting, I recounted that cabernet franc has a potential future in the province as a varietal and that Burrowing Owl has one of the best.  I have to admit that I enjoyed tonight's cab sauv a bit more though.  It would be interesting to taste side-by-side like last week's meritage vintages.  

Oh, for an never-ending supply of Burrowing Owl, eh. 

OK, big gun in BC or not, it didn't work as a good luck wine - at least as far as the Canucks go.  It was a doozy of a game, and our boys were in it until the last bit of the third period when a couple of penalties did us in.  So, it's back against the wall, down 3 games to 2 and we're playing the next game in Chicago.  Keep the hopes high and the fingers crossed.

Luckily, there's still some more Burrowing Owl for Game 6.

I Believe... I'll Have Another Glass

I might need another glass, in fact it might have to be another bottle.  Can you believe that we were only 3 minutes - that's THREE minutes - away from taking a 3-1 lead in the series over the Blackhawks.  Now granted, it wasn't the prettiest of offensive games from a Canucks' viewpoint, but it was a road game and it's the playoffs.  I'm sure the bandwagon would have forgiven the team - defensive game or not - if they'd held on for those final three minutes and taken the 1-0 win.

Aaaaarrrghhh!  Losing in overtime just plain sucks!!

48.  2004 Burrowing Owl Cabernet Franc (VQA Okanagan)

If last game's Pinot Gris was possibly Burrowing Owl's flagship white, many would argue that the not-so-well-known cab franc is the winery's best red.  In BC, this varietal is more commonly used in Meritage blends (Bordeaux style wines), but it's coming along as a very nice varietal on its own and the Burrowing Owl version has been around almost since the winery's Day 1.  What's more, it's been consistently winning accolades for the winery.  

This particular vintage was chosen the best cab franc in Canada at the 2006 Canadian Wine Awards.  It was only awarded a silver medal but it was still picked the top wine for this varietal.  A number of wine writers actually see cab franc as a possible signature red for BC in that its slightly shorter ripening period helps in BC's cooler climate.  It's not as understood or recognized as cabernet sauvignon, but that might actually be a selling point for BC since not as many global areas produce a straight cab franc varietal.  Any area that can ripen cab sauv produces it, but not as many go for the lesser known cab.

I'm going to have to put some thought into the wine for the next game.  The fifth game is pivotal.  I'm glad it's going to be in Vancouver.

White Jerseys, White Wine

Canucks 3 - Blackhawks 1

Since the series has shifted to Chicago, the Canucks are wearing the white jerseys.  So, (unintentionally) we pulled out the one white Burrowing Owl that we have.  

47.  2006 Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris (VQA Okanagan)

Boy, did we like it!!  That was a bit of a surprise since we don't really drink a lot of pinot gris.  I took a bit of a Google and saw that this is considered by some to be Burrowing Owl's flagship white and the wine won a silver medal at the Canadian Wine Awards and a gold at the Okanagan Fall Festival.  

Turns out that pinot gris is the second most planted white varietal in BC and at least one commentator thinks that Burrowing Owl is the provincial benchmark for pinot gris.  If it's all like this bottle, I might have to agree - and try more.

I'm a little surprised that the Burrowing Owl vineyard is seen as a great location for pinot gris.  I think of pinot gris as being a tad more suited to the cooler vineyards further up the Okanagan Valley.  Burrowing Owl is almost as far south as grape-growing goes in the Okanagan.  Its vineyards are found at the northernmost tip of the Sonora Desert and that's a good part of why the winery is so well known for its red varietals - ones needing a good long growing season.  I don't mind them giving up so many rows of the red if the result is as good as this.

What's more, the wine not only worked for us, but it worked for the team as well.  If the pinot gris was a pleasant surprise, the win IN Chicago was awesome.

Two Wines for Game 2

For me, one of the best part of a Canucks playoff game is when Mark Donnelly sings the Canadian national anthem.  For the last so many seasons, his trademark has been to stop singing during the second verse of "O Canada" and he just lets the crowd sing their hearts out.  And they do!!  Just hearing the sold out stadium singing away gives me goose bumps!  (In fact, you can even You Tube it.)

So, this entry features me as I am standing at attention, with our wines for the night, and Lou (the Canucks' goalie and captain for the non-Vancouverites) in the background, while thousands of our neighbours and friends warble "with glowing hearts, we see thee rise..." and so on.  

Elzee came over for dinner and the game, so we knew one bottle wouldn't be enough - particularly when drinking Burrowing Owl.  I figured it might be best to feature two vintages of the same wine and chose:

41.  2001 Burrowing Owl Meritage (Okanagan) and

42.  2005 Burrowing Owl Meritage (Okanagan)

We thought that, if one bottle of Meritage was going to be good, two were going to be great.  Burrowing Owl has been producing a Meritage, Bordeaux-style blend, since 2001.  I couldn't find the exact blend of the 2001, but I did see a reference that the early years actually had a heavy lean towards the cab franc.  As the winery expanded its plantings and added some malbec and petit verdot, the 2005 saw all five of the traditional Bordeaux grapes being blended - with 64% merlot, 25% cab franc, 10% cab sauv and a smidgen of the malbec and petit verdot.  Both vintages saw a bit of hardware coming their way - including bronze medals at both the '04 and the '08 Canadian Wine Awards.

It likely goes without saying that we enjoyed both wines; however, it was nice to drink the two vintages side-by-side to see what some aging might do to a wine.  All three of us had a bit of a preference for the 2005 as it had a bit more fruit on both the nose and the palate.  Although the '01 definitely opened up a bit more on the nose by the time the second period had rolled around.

Two wines, a quick 2-0 lead for the Canucks.  We were sitting happy.  Unfortunately, the wine ran out, as did the Canucks' control of the game.  The Hawks just kept on coming and really out-played our boys, smacking them with 5 straight goals and, ultimately, a 6-3 loss.

Now, I don't think anyone realistically expected the Canucks to sweep Chicago, but this was a devastating loss.  If we're going to be superstitious about this, Boo and I may not be able to watch another game with Elzee - or drink another vintage of Meritage.

Round 2 - Canucks vs. Blackhawks

OK, so the second round of the playoffs has kicked off and our boys have drawn the Chicago Blackhawks as their opponents.  Using my Hockey and the Quest for the Stanley Cup along the Golden Mile, a new series calls for a new BC winery to be featured.  I decided this is a perfect excuse to open up some of the Burrowing Owl wines that we've been hoarding in wait for a special occasion.

Some might question putting a burrowing owl up against a black hawk but, remember, the concept is that these wines are going to top anything that Illinois can put up against them.

39.  2005 Burrowing Owl Syrah (Okanagan)

Go big or go home, they say, and this wine delivers on that front.  As with much of the wine world, 2005 is generally seen as being a year of good growing conditions in the Okanagan.  This syrah has garnered its fair share of praise - winning local, national and international awards.  A worthy wine to put up against Chicago.

The wine ran out long before the game was over - maybe that's why the Hawks made up a 3-0 deficit; however, our boys in blue, ultimately came through to take the first game.  A huge sigh of relief could be heard throughout the city.

The 9-day lay off between this series and Round 1 left me counting the hours to opening the Burrowing Owl.  As much as I'm looking forward to drinking the wines, I think I'd still prefer the Canucks to make short order of the Hawks.  Seven games would lead to some nice wines but it might also lead to my needing something stronger to drink than wine as a coping mechanism.