Misconduct

I can't say that I know very much about Misconduct Wine. I had heard about them and I may have seen them (and maybe even tried a wine or two) at various Okanagan tastings around town but I'm pretty sure that this is the first bottle that I've ever opened of their's. And, to give credit where credit is due, I picked up this bottle during a quick-as-you-can afternoon tour of the Naramata Bench with Bella Gianna during the Red Rooster Adopt-A-Row pruning weekend. 

Bella Gianna wanted to check out the possibility of holding a murder mystery at Misconduct's tasting room/restaurant because the winery has adopted a Prohibition era theme - evident in the winery's general release, Bootleg series where labels and names - such as Massacre Rosé and the Big Take - evoke the rebellion and misconduct of the times. To be totally frank, the obvious marketing push on the theme likely played a role in my not making a bee-line to winery earlier on. I don't generally associate big themes with quality wines but stopping here was first on Bella Gianna's list. 

1886.  2011 Misconduct - Suspect Series Chenin Blanc Viognier (Okanagan Valley VQA)

Since we were there, it only made sense to try a wine or two and we were told that the Suspect Series is a more premium, smaller production line that the winery releases. I was intrigued by the blend of Chenin Blanc and Viognier - not one that I can recall having seen before, especially for the Okanagan where very little Chenin Blanc is even grown. So, I picked up a bottle even though the tasting room wasn't pouring it that day. I'm glad to say that - for my palate at least - it worked. There was good acidity and body but, given the 30% Viognier found in the blend, I was a tad surprised by the subdued nose. All the same, it paired nicely with Boo's and my carbonara.

The back label contained a wealth of information for wine geeks such as myself. The label broke down the percentage of the blend (70/30), the variety clones, the location of the vineyards (Golden Mile and Naramata benches), elevations, yields and production style (whole cluster, medium press; 18.6C fementation temperature and 100% stainless steel).

Bravo.

I'm thinking I may just have to return to the scene of the crime and do some detective work on a few more of their wines.

Fifty Shades of White

A story on the Dîner en Blanc Vancouver website sums up the event as a "posh picnic" where diners "gather at a secret location with the sole purpose of sharing a high-quality meal with good friends at the heart of one of the city's most beautiful locations." Dîner en Blanc made its second appearance in Vancouver and Boo and I were lucky enough to attend. If you're not familiar with the all-white affair, the "must attend" event premiered in Paris 25 years ago and, since then, DEB has become a bit of a worldwide phenomenon. The epicurean delight crossed the Atlantic for the first time in 2009 when it landed in Montreal. It then migrated over the Canada-US border to arrive in New York City two years later. In the short time since then, it has grown to nearly 40 cities across five continents.

I didn't find out about last year's Vancouver début of Dîner en Blanc until just before the actual event and, by then, it was too late to corral an invite. I did, however, get onto the waiting list for the 2013 edition. When, back in July, I still hadn't heard a peep about this year's event, I figured we wouldn't be making an appearance this year either - particularly when I heard that tickets had already gone on sale to previous attendees.

Then, voilà, notice of waitlist tickets popped up in my InBox. The good news was that the Vancouver dinner was increasing in size from 1,200 to 2,500; however, there was also a warning that folks might want to make a run for the tickets right at the noon start time as there weren't many tickets left. While there was mention of high demand, the notice didn't mention that there were around 12,000 eager names on the wait list.

As you might guess from this post, I was lucky enough to get through in time and grab a coveted spot for Boo and I.

Little did I know that we'd also end up popping the cork on one of those "landmark" number wines on The List that night.

1400.  N.V. Charles Meunier Brutus (Cellared in Canada - Quebec)

Had I realized that our initial wine for the evening was going to be #1400 on The List, I might have ordered the more premium sparkling wine. But since I ordered the bottle on the spur of the moment, while being all concerned about the rushed nature of ordering the tickets, I simply picked the easy-going bubbles - especially since I hadn't heard of the wine before.

It turns out that Brutus is a commercial blend of Muscat and Chenin Blanc that is produced and carbonated in Quebec. There's little to know about the back story on the wine as it is a "Cellared in Canada" wine and I couldn't even find out where the grapes were sourced from. I think I could safely bet a pair of tickets to next year's Dîner en Blanc that the grapes weren't grown in Quebec though.

There was a noticeable sweetness to wine that actually complimented the brininess of our introductory course of caviar. And, even if the wine itself didn't rank as a landmark bottle, we were certainly enjoying it on a landmark occasion.

Part of the allure of Dîner en Blanc is that participants aren't told of the location in advance. All tickets have designated meeting points throughout the city attached to them and group leaders then coordinate transport to the secret site. Ironically, Boo and I discovered the previously secret location on our way downtown as the Skytrain passed right by the chosen locale. Unfortunately, we couldn't just get off and arrive on our own as we needed to check in with our team leader and, in what turned out to be perhaps the only real glitch of the evening for us, our group was one of the very last to debark at the "secret" location. As such, we missed out on all the early revelry in watching and mingling as the lucky few arrived and set up their tables.

In an interesting twist, the location - next to Science World and False Creek - was just across the street from where our former neighbour, Red, now lives. Ringing her up, I asked, "Where are you?" and when she replied "just sitting around at home," I asked her if she could see us waving at her. Her "You Buggers" reply confirmed that she was well aware of the event below her. Indeed, she'd already snapped the overhead photo from her balcony - nicely capturing the lay of the land as the sun was starting to set. Local writer, Sandra O'Connell, quoted Tom Robbins and reported that "It was as if a mai tai had been spilled in the sky. Streaks of grenadine, triple sec, maraschino and rum seeped over the horizon, puddled upon the sea." Not that there were any mai tai's being thrown back at DEB though.

Being the naughty boys that we are, I told Red to put on her best white frock and mosey on down to join us for a dance later on. By then, I figured we could find a way to sneak her in past the entry point.

But, first, there was foie gras with Port, duck rillette, truffled salami and prosciutto to be served along with a bottle that might have been a little more fitting of a landmark number.

1401.  2010 Groom Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

Established in 1997, when 87 acres of bare land was purchased, Groom is a small winery operated by the Marschall and Groom families. They only produce three varietal wines currently: Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and this Shiraz. The home vineyard is in the Kalimna region of the Barossa and they proudly state that they are directly adjacent to Penfold's Kalimna vineyard - a source of the Shiraz going into Penfold's renowned Grange, one of Australia's most sought after wines. Groom draws your attention to another ace that they have up their sleeve as well. Not only are the grapes grown adjacently to an all-star vineyard, but the winery has contracted the services of consulting winemaker, Natasha Mooney, who used to be a work with Barossa Valley Estates and their big gun, E&E Black Pepper Shiraz.

With "connections" to both Grange and Black Pepper Shiraz, there's plenty of reason to hope for a big wine for the big event. I'm a fan of big Aussie Shiraz and this Groom came through for us. There was plenty of dark fruit but that fruit was balanced with body and tannins. It wasn't just a fruit bomb without substance.

With only 900 cases having been made, I'm rather surprised that it was being offered as one of the feature wines being offered at Dîner en Blanc. I should have thought that they'd need a rather hefty supply of each of the wines when there were only six wines in total being offered. I'm jsut glad that we got our bottle.

Each couple is restricted to two bottles of wines. So, the Groom didn't match our crème brûlée as nicely as it did the entrée but it did substantially better with a small cheese course.

Not knowing entirely what to expect for the evening, Boo and I were a little surprised to find that we were likely two of the oldest folks in attendance. Guess most geezers our age don't want the hassle of carrying your own table, chairs and food. Leave that silliness to the 20- and 30-somethings, eh. I think we managed to hold our own - if I do say so myself. I certainly know that we received a number of compliments on our menu.

Besides, it's better to be the oldest guy at the cool event than to be an old fart sitting at home, I say. I think it's fair to say that Dîner en Blanc would have been a landmark event - whether or not we added #1400 to The List - but it was a nice coincidence.

Here's hoping that this old guy gets to add another couple bottles to The List next year as well. I know that speculation has already begun as to the location and the waiting list isn't getting any shorter. Besides, I need another reason to wear the white pants, shoes and belt I picked up. I can't say as they'll make it into regular rotation into my wardrobe otherwise.

New Year's Eve

We haven't been so lucky with Boo's work schedules the last so many years when it comes to days off during the holiday season. When we knew that he wasn't going to have to work this New Year's Eve, we decided to invite some folks over for a little low-key celebration - and, naturally, more than enough wine to end 2012 and get a good start on the year to come.

With a dozen or so folks in attendance, there was a grand selection of bottles open for the tasting. Not wanting to start 2013 with a troubled head, I tried my best to behave - and limited myself to celebratory sips of wines that were particularly new and interesting.

1333.  2011 Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups - Dix Arpents (Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC - Touraine - France)

Fist up was the Dix Arpents that K-Pop and Baby Mama brought. I'd never heard of the producer and asked them what prompted them to bring it along. They hadn't ever tried it before either but they thought it looked like an interesting new find when browsing through local bottle shop shelves.  It turns out that they uncovered a producer with quite the story. Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups is a relatively young winery by French standards as it was only established in 1988; however, it is seen as helping lead the way of securing a higher profile for the Montlouis region. Indeed, the principal force behind the winery is Jacky Blot. He's been called a "Loire Superstar" and has enough of a profile that his name is featured on the bottle's front label.

The winery's properties straddle a couple of appellations in the Loire Valley - Vouvray and Montlouis.  - although the majority of the estate's vineyards are located in Montlouis. Being a newcomer to the region, those properties are scattered through the region and Dix Arpents is a blend of fruit from a full assortment of vineyards that can number over 30 different parcels. All of those vineyards are planted solely with Chenin Blanc though.

I'm not that familiar with Chenin Blanc wines.  It's not a varietal that I run across all that often or one that I tend to buy regularly. Despite being the estate's entry level wine, the wine is still considered an intense introduction to Chenin Blanc. Vineyard cultivation sees extensive picking practices. The grapes are harvested in tries (or separate passes through the vines) - where individual grapes are picked, as opposed to entire bunches, to help ensure that each grape on a bunch is fully ripe before it is harvested.

It was an interesting way to start off the evening. There was some substance and weight to the wine - possibly due to the oaking that wine sees during ageing - and it didn't have as much fruit on palate as the few Chenin's I've tried from BC or South Africa. For a more extensive discussion of the Jacky Blot and Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups, you need only visit the informative entry on the Wine Doctor. That post was like a one-stop info source during my looking around the internet to hunt down the wine.

1334.  2009 Red Rooster Golden Egg (VQA Okanagan Valley)

New Year's Eve seemed like an event that's worthy of an icon wine from one of our favourite producers.  Karen Gillis, winemaker at Red Rooster, states that she's had a long time "fascination with 'Rhône-style' reds." Syrah now has a firm footing in the Okanagan but this is the first GSM that I've seen from a BC producer.  The blend is 59% Mourvèdre, 24% Syrah and 17% Grenache and there was a very limited production of 186 cases.

The small production stems from the fact that there is very little Mourvèdre or Grenache grown in the province. Karen worked with some of their long time growers and coaxed them into planting the two new varietals.  This was the first release of the Golden Egg as a GSM. (There was a previous Golden Egg wine but that was a Bordeaux blend - Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc and I believe it was last produced in 2003 under the previous ownership regime.)

The Golden Egg was medium bodied - with bigger acidity and a lighter fruit profile than most of the Rhône or Aussie GSM blends that I'm familiar with (surprise, surprise). The profile was more sour cherry or cranberry than dark fruit. The wine did win a Silver medal winner at the Wine Access 2011 Canadian Wine Awards but the $50 price tag might leave most consumers wanting a bigger profile. My guess is that the wine is better suited to the dinner table than it is for a cocktail party.

As midnight and the new year approached, I thought it'd be neat to try and sabre the bottle of bubbly that I'd picked up. After all, my earlier attempt back in the Fall with the BC Wine Appreciation Society bus tour was both successful and great fun and that experience made it seem easy-peasy. Boo pulled out a selection of sabre-esque knives to choose from and we were ready for the countdown. 5-4-3-2-1...nothing. A couple whacks and no bubbles. Ahhhh. Good thing no damage was done to the bottle and I could still pop the cork in the old fashioned way.

1335.  N.V. Chanoine Frères - Tsarine Rosé Brut (Champagne AOC - France)

I was drawn to this bottle - not so much because of the unique bottle design but - by the fact that I saw a advert stating that it was a Lanson product. Not that I get the opportunity to drink a lot of true Champagne but, when I do, Lanson is probably my favourite and as regular a "go to" Champagne as I have. I'd never seen anything that tied Tsarine to Lanson previously, but I was told at the wine shop that Lanson had recently purchased the producer, Chanoine Frères. The plan remained to produce Tsarine under the old name however.  Chanoine Frères is apparently the second oldest house in Champagne, the family having established a trading house in 1730. In the same year, they were permitted to excavate the very first champagne cellars in the town of Epernay.

The striking bottle design is meant to evoke the swirling spires of Russian architecture. In the 19th Century, Imperial Russia was the largest export market for Champagne and Chanoine Frères created the Cuvée Tsarine to honour that relationship.

The wine is equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir - all three of the classic Champagne grapes. The Chanoine Frères website states that "The Pinot Noir grape provides the back-bone of our wine, the Pinot Meunier lending softness and fruit aromas, while the Chardonnay grape imparts delicacy and elegance."

I think it's fair to say that our little gang found the Tsarine to be quite imperial. Easily my favourite tipple of the night. I'm hoping to run across more Tsarine long before another year has passed by.

1336.  N.V. Joan Raventós Rosell Cava Brut (D.O. Cava - Spain)

Continuing with our theme of bubbles, Red had brought along a bottle of Cava. This was a new Cava - or Spanish bubble - for me. Raventós Rosell is no slouch in historical pedigree either. Although the actual company only dates from 1985, the Raventós family has roots in winemaking and the Penedès region that date back to the 1870's. Penedès is the traditional region for the production of Cava - the Spanish equivalent of Champagne.

Raventós Rosell considers itself a smaller, family run producer, having approximately 250 acres of vineyards. Together with related producer, Heretat Vall-Ventós, they produce 18 different sparkling Cavas - as well as a number of still, table wines. The Cava Brut is a blend of Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel-lo and Chardonnay and while it didn't offer quite the same bubbly mousse or flavour profile as the Tsarine, it was less than half the price. Accordingly, we could drink twice as much - and likely end up just as happy as a result.

Not that we did that. At least, not that we're copping to "that."

Behaving myself - and limiting my wining to these four bottles - might have meant that I didn't get to add nearly as many bottles to The List as I might have liked to but it did help my morning after and my start to 2013 and, for that, I'm celebrating my foresight.

For the moment that was though, I figure we saw 2012 out with a fitting celebration of good friends and good wines. Hopefully, the new year will see plenty of new, exciting bottles of wine to add to The List and maybe even see me stay a little more current with my posts.  One can always hope!

Happy New Year!

Mayan Apocalypse or Night On The Town?

Wasn't sure whether I'd still be around to write this post or not.  What with the Mayan Apocalypse being predicted and all.  But here I am - and happy to be so, I might add.

Never one to let an end of the world threat get in the way of a good party, Tyrant continued to schedule his annual Winter Solstice party for December 21.  As his invite astutely stated, "End of the World you say? Well then I'd better have another glass of wine."  The thought was that if we were all going to go up in a big poof, we might as well be having fun with friends, drinking fine wines and nibbling on an endless supply of tasty treats.  Heaven may have its allure for many, but I'd say this party was a pretty good stab at "heaven on earth."

And for once, the soirée fell on a weekend night!  The good news was that I wasn't going to be obligated to play nice, limit myself to a couple of drinks and head home to be ready for work in the morning.  The bad news was that, if the world didn't really come to an end, I still had a lot of Christmas to plan for.

Thinking that we likely would all still be around come Saturday morning, I played it safe - even if I was one of the last to leave.  As always, Tyrant served up a full array of wines at the Solstice party but I only worked my way through a trio of the wines being poured.

1321.  2010 Marichel - Estate Viognier (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The fact that Tyrant opened a case of Marichel wines was a good indicator of his largesse - or his fear that the end of the world really might be nigh.  Marichel is the Naramata Bench winery that only produces wines made from two Rhône varietals - Syrah and Viognier - and they've never made more than a thousand cases in total.  I rather like their website blurb regarding their philosophy on winemaking. They don't try to mimic Rhône producers (or any others for that matter) and state that, "Much as we love them all, we don't make a Côte-Rôtie Syrah, a Barossa Shiraz, or a Viognier from Condrieu.  And while we adore Cold Heaven Viognier from California, Tarawara Shiraz from Yarra Valley, and Hermitage Syrah from the Rhône... they've all been done.  Instead we make wine that is singularly, identifiably from the Okanagan Valley.  Not only do we make no apologies for that, we exult in it."

There were only 90 cases of the 2010 Estate Viognier made and I was heartily recommending it to anyone making their way for a white wine - particularly when Tyrant, an avid fisherman, always has a superb spread of salmon and other treats from the sea.

The Solstice party has been a regular addition to my December calendar for years now and it's often the only chance I have to meet up with a lot of these folks during the holiday season. With some guests travelling hefty distances and making overnight visits into town, it can sometimes even be the only time I'll see certain acquaintances all year.  To emphasize the party's allure, this year, Jeaux and Matinder delayed a flight to the Caribbean long enough so that they wouldn't miss out on the evening's pleasures.  Attending the party trumped an extra day on Antiguan beaches.

Boo, on the other hand, had to work a night shift and miss the party this year.  Seems the hospital didn't give much credence to the end of the world and made Boo work his shift anyhow.  After being asked where he was for the umpteenth time, I finally texted him to say that I was getting tired of people asking about him and suggested that he just tell the administration that he'd contracted a Mayan flu and needed to leave.  He didn't think much of the idea, but he did text back a photo that I could show to anyone that asked after him.

Meanwhile, back at Tyrant's, those in attendance were all smiles - especially Desmond and the Divine Miss M as they modelled one of the evening's wines.

1322.  2010 Tribunal Red (Sonoma - California)

I hadn't run across this wine previously and I had to look it up afterwards.  Turns out it's a California blend and was picked as one of Vancouver Magazine's Best Red Wines of 2012 and was also named No. 5 on Wine Access magazine's Top 20 Bargain Wines.

It was hard finding out much more information about the wine with a simple Google search however.  There's plenty of hits that pop up but no real info on an actual winery or the wine itself.  I think it's pretty safe to say that most fingers point to this being a "vanity" label for Trader Joe's in the States.  It's proved to be so successful that they must have deemed it worthwhile to cross the border into Canada as well.  There's a rumour that the wine was styled after a well known California wine called The Prisoner and even that The Prisoner's winemaker, David Phinney, has been involved in the making of Tribunal but I didn't see anything formal backing that up that concept.  Indeed, if anything, any one connected to The Prisoner or to David Phinney denied his involvement.

It appears that the wine contains a little bit of everything and that the blend has changed a bit from year to year.  One site states that the current vintage contains Petit Sirah, Merlot, Syrah, Dolcetto, Sangiovese and a "secret" grape. Other sites have mentioned Cab Franc, Grenache, Barbera and Primitivo (or Zinfandel).  In any event, it was a big, bold wine and was a very popular choice among Tyrant's guests.

1323.  2007 Monmousseau Cuvée J.M. Brut (Touraine AOC - Loire - France)

The final wine that I concentrated on was the bubbly - another label that I wasn't familiar with.  Monmousseau has a history in the wine business of over 125 years and they produce primarily sparkling wines (80% of their total production has bubbles).  Back at the start of the 20th Century, a member of the Monmousseau family identified the fact that their region of Touraine, in the Loire Valley, had great similarities to the terroir of the Champagne region.  Accordingly they began to make sparkling wines using the Méthode Traditionelle and quickly garnered a name for themselves.  They remain one of the principal producers in Touraine.

The Cuvée J.M. Brut is made with the Chenin Blanc grape - different from real Champagne - but it sees second fermentation in the bottle which is in line with the traditional method for making Champagne. I liked the fact that the wine allows the fruit to show through and, while I wouldn't call the wine off-dry in any sense, there was a definite ease to the palate.  I could have started with this wine a whole lot earlier in the evening and carried on with it for some time.  It doesn't hurt that it costs about a third of real Champagne either ($19 in Vancouver).

As mentioned, the world didn't meet its demise, Mayan prophesies or not, but the best news about that is that we get to do this all over again next year when Tyrant will be back to a plain, old Winter Solstice party.  I can't wait.

Some Christmas Lights from Tyrant's Balcony

Road 13 Chenin Blanc

A bit of a quick post today. Not that I didn't like the wine or anything. I'm just getting that "you're falling behind on your posts" felling again and I'd kinda like to catch up a bit before we head off Down Under.

Tonight's bottle is making a second appearance on The List, but that first bottle was the 2006 vintage and we opened it over a thousand bottles ago. At #18, it was one of the first bottles opened on this Odyssey adventure. Indeed, the it was back far enough that the 2006 vintage was still released under the old winery name of Golden Mile. Things can change quickly in the BC wine scene - and I've got to try all that much harder to keep up.

1067. Road 13 - Old Vines Chenin Blanc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

There isn't a lot of Chenin Blanc grown in the Okanagan. Chenin's fame (or notoriety) as a varietal is associated far more with wines from the Loire Valley in France and from South Africa. There was (is?) a lot of Chenin grown in California as well; however, it is largely used for lower end, simple wines. The fact that Road 13's vines are 40 years old is rather astounding. 40 years of age makes those Chenin Blanc vines among the oldest of any vines in the Okanagan Valley.

I've previously mentioned in the blog that Road 13 has changed its core outlook in wine production in that, over the last couple of years, they have been phasing out many of their varietal wines in favour of making blends. They feel that the blends are more capable of capturing the real essence of what the Okanagan's terroir can be. There isn't a lot of it made; however, thus far, the Chenin Blanc has continued to survive as a varietal wine. I couldn't find any reference to the 2007 vintage, but small amounts of Reisling and Muscat have been used to up the ante of the Chenin flavour profile over the last so many vintages.

I thought the wine was pleasant enough. We maybe should have opened our bottle a little while ago as the reviews I saw tend to speak of more noticeable fruit than I tasted, but the bottle was under screw cap and should have kept its flavour profile longer than if it had been bottled under cork.

I might be more interested in trying Road 13's sparkling brut wine before I reach for the dry Chenin again though. The winery's bubbly, like those found in the Loire and South Africa, is Chenin based. I should think that must be a rather unique wine for BC.

There will definitely be more trips down Road 13 before this Odyssey comes to an end. I think I'm a little more inclined to their reds though. Guess we'll see.

Indian Dinner

(Still in pre-vacation speed entry mode)

588. 2006 Robert's Rock Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay (South Africa)

An easy accompaniment to an evening of pakoras, butter chicken, aloo ghobi and other Indian treats.

Cinqo de Mayo and Sinking Canucks Chances

It was one of those two birds with one glass kind of nights. The Canucks were playing the Blackhawks in Game 3 - so, I'm pulling out another bottle of Orofino to keep in theme with one BC winery for each round of the playoffs. But, it's also Cinqo de Mayo; so, we invited Mr. D over and put Boo in charge of whipping up some fajitas.

Although the thought of icy margaritas and hockey has some appeal, I figured that it only made sense to open a bottle of Mexican wine since we don't see it very often and I'm more likely to be forgiving of a questionable bottle on a day that calls out for all things Mexican (even if it is more of an occasion in the US and Canada than in Mexico).

436. 2006 L.A. Cetto Chenin Blanc (Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California - Mexico)

Although I didn't buy this bottle at the recent Playhouse Festival, L.A. Cetto was one of the wineries pouring at the Festival Tasting Room. The Festival program states that it is "Mexico's largest wine producer and the largest winery in Latin America with a production of about one million cases annually."

I know next to nothing about Mexican wines and the rare occasions where I've run across them in the past certainly didn't leave me screaming for more. Like much of the rest of the world, however, great strides in quality have been made over the last decade. I've read that Baja California is Mexico's answer to the Napa Valley and Valle de Guadalupe is apparently the most important sub-region in the country. Baja's climate and soil have been called comparable to both Napa and to the Rhone Valley in France.

My initial thoughts about Mexico and winemaking would be that the climate is just too hot to allow for extended maturation of the grapes. There should be no problem with ripening the fruit but I'd wonder if the grapes could hang long enough and have any acidity whatsoever left to them. The valley apparently gets a cooling maritime breeze that assists in the grape growing though.

Whether it's the cooling breezes or not, we were pleasantly surprised by the Chenin Blanc. It offered up nice fruit and still had enough acidity to nicely match up with the spice and flavour of the chicken fajitas. I'm not familiar enough with Chenin Blanc to say whether this wine showed varietal characteristics but, I can say that, at $14, I could see myself buying it again - and not just for Cinqo de Mayo.

437. 2009 Orofino Riesling (Similkameen Valley)

As one might well expect, the Riesling had quite a different profile. The contrast of acidity and a touch of residual sugar was more sophisticated and didn't quite match up with the fajitas as well as the Chenin did. As a result, the Mexican wine may have seemed an easier quaff with dinner. However, that fact didn't detract from drinking the Orofino on its own. I found that the three of us finished off this bottle first - even if the L.A. Cetto seemed a bit more approachable at first sip.

Orofino is making a bit of a name for itself and its Riesling. The vineyard's Riesling vines are now approaching 20 years of age and were planted long before the Webers and Orofino set up shop. Their grapes are supplemented by a couple of neighbour's Riesling vines that are also grown near the town of Cawston in the Similkameen.

Two good additions to The List wasn't enough to lead the Canucks to a second win though. Not sure what team showed up but it wasn't the Canuck team that we've come to expect at home games. They were bad - much like what I'd recalled of Mexican wine in the past - and, the resulting loss was so evident that Mr. D. didn't even wait until the end of the game before he ventured home.

I suppose it's possible that he could have left because the wine bottles were empty as well. Seeing as it was a "school night," we weren't likely to open another bottle - even though it could have come in handy to drown our sorrows about the Canucks. Now down two games to one, hopefully, the Canucks can find their game so that we can keep on drinking some fine BC wines - or come up with another "holiday" to celebrate.

Fowl Supper

254. 2008 Pampas del Sur Shiraz/Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

255. 2008 Pampas del Sur Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc (Mendoza - Argentina)

Discovering Chenin Blanc

One of the most enjoyable aspects of attempting this Odyssey is that we'll have to expose ourselves to all sorts of styles, varietals and areas in order to reach 2001 bottles on The List.

I liken our adventure in new wines and producers to the daily responsibilities of winemakers and growers - particularly in the newer wine producing areas of the world, such as BC. Just as we're finding out which wines and producers move us the most, part of the growing process for BC is to find out which grape varietals work best in the different areas that can produce wine in BC. The Northern Okanagan has growing conditions very different from Black Sage Road that vary from the Similkameen, all of which are a world away from conditions on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

We haven't drunk a lot of Inniskillin's wines over the years but there are a couple of aspects of the winery that I'm quite enamoured with - the first is that it is one of the few wineries that produce wines in both BC and in Ontario. The winery's Discovery Series is another facet of their approach that I like. Under this label, Inniskillin explores varietals that haven't been traditionally grown in the Okanagan.

80. 2005 Inniskillin Discovery Series Chenin Blanc (VQA - Okanagan)

Known primarily from South Africa and the Loire Valley in France, I find Chenin Blanc isn't all that well-known in BC - particularly when the grapes are actually grown in the province. Wikipedia lists over three dozen names that the grape is known as around the world. Seen largely as a fairly neutral grape, Chenin Blanc is adaptable to a great many set of growing conditions and flavour profiles.

Inniskillin's offering has always come across nicely to us in tastings - nice fruit, body, acidity. It's always been quite drinkable and versatile for simple glass of wine or for accompanying food. It's a great garden sipper. With the 2005 vintage, the vines were still fairly young and only 500 cases of the wine were produced. Production has been ramped up since then, but you still might have to hunt around a bit to find it. Luckily, it was still fresh enough to enjoy. We probably should have drunk this bottle a while back. I think it's worth another bottle or two down the road.

Canucks' Playoffs and the Golden Mile

So, if you hadn't noticed so many posts back, I'm a bit of Canucks fan and, you know what, considering the fact that Boo is a transplanted southren' good ol' boy, he's coming along to this whole Canadian hockey thing.

With our boys on that elusive quest for the Stanley Cup, I figured why not stick with that whole BC team, BC wine theme. And, even though it might seem too "stretchy" and "out there," I thought - what the hey - Golden Mile seems an appropriate metaphor to start with.

Hence, it's game 1, round 1, and we're serving up :

#18. 2006 Golden Mile Old Vines Chenin Blanc (Okanagan)

Chenin blanc is a varietal that I'm always interested in tasting and, at 40 years old, the winery's chenin blanc vines are some of the oldest of any vines in the Okanagan. Considering the fact that you don't see many wines of this varietal coming from BC, there's got to be an interesting story behind that. But I'm not the one to be able to tell it. You'll have to look further afield to find further enlightenment on that one.

I do know, however, that Golden Mile has gone through a lot of changes over the last so many years - new owners, new winemaker, new labels. In fact, you can't even find a current bottle of Golden Mile wine in the stores right now since they changed their name to Road 13 this year. After plenty of discussion, "Golden Mile" is now going to be used as the name for marketing that whole stretch of wineries below Oliver. One can only surmise that a concentrated marketing effort (along the lines of the Naramata Bench) will only help raise the profile of a number of very nice wineries located on the old golden mile.

Should the Canucks win the Cup, maybe they can have a victory parade along the "Golden Mile" to celebrate. I'm sure there must be more than a few fans in that part of the province. But, in the mean time, we're off to a good start on the golden mile with this wine.

PS. The boys did win Game 1 with a 2-1 score over the St. Louis Blues. You gotta believe that BC wine has got a thing or two over anything coming out of Missouri!!