An Okanagan Three-Way

Some days just seem to require an extra boost to them - more succour than even a couple glasses of wine can provide. Today was one of those days. As such, Boo and I thought we'd go the route of an Okanagan three-way: a "go to" red wine, a fruit dessert wine and a craft vodka.

1953.  2012 Elephant Island Apricot (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Okanagan Spirits Vodka

Grade 1 arithmetic aside, there are times when 1 + 1 can = 3. This might just be one of those occasions. We're long time fans of Elephant Island's Apricot dessert wine. If you're partial to apricots, this wine, on its own, just thrills you with the sweet, ripe apricot flavour heeled with a good brace of acidity. However, I remember - from many years ago - when we bought our first bottle, the last comment from the winery staffer behind the tasting bar was that the Apricot wine makes a great addition to a Vodka martini. Two parts Vodka, one part Apricot wine. Jackpot.

That's where the Okanagan Spirits Vodka comes into play tonight.

OK Spirits has been around for just over a decade now. Originally established in Vernon in 2004, they added a second location in Kelowna at the end of 2011. Having started with Liqueurs and Fruit Brandies, their "harvest-to-flask" philosophy of 100% locally grown fruits and grains has expanded to include Vodka, Gin, Whisky, Grappa, Aquavit and Absinthe. I can attest to the fact that it's difficult to leave their tasting room without a full shopping cart for the bar at home.

Their success at grasping the whole distillery concept is well substantiated as well. Okanagan Spirits was named "Distillery of the Year" at both the 2013 and 2015 World Spirits Awards. 2013 also saw them named "North America's only World Class rated distillery, a distinction [they] still hold proudly today."

Unflavoured Vodka isn't known for flavour, but this OK Spirits version was made from 100% pears and I noted a distinct fruitiness to the base liquor. Paired with the Apricot wine, we were well on our way to getting over the day's toils.

1954.  2008 Sandhill - Small Lots Sandhill Estate Vineyard Block C8 Merlot (Okanagan Valley VQA) 

Merlot may be the most highly planted red grape in the Okanagan but not many wineries or winemakers can work their magic on the grape like Sandhill winemaker, Howard Soon, does with this Small Lots, single vineyard, single block beauty. I first ran across this bottle at the 2011 Vancouver International Wine Festival. It can be hard enough to get your hands on many of Howard's Small Lots wines but, with a production of only 119 cases in 2008, the Festival was likely going to be my only chance to grab me some.

Even with a few year's ageing, it's a big wine with plenty of dark, ripe fruit and a lush nose. This is not a Merlot that Myles from Sideways (you remember him) - or anyone else - should sneer at.

It may have been a rough day but I think our little Okanagan three-way smoothed out some of the edges.

Cherysh the Thought

1854.  2010 Forbidden Fruit Cherysh Cherry Rosé (Similkameen Valley)

I'm at the stage of the blog where I always check previous posts to see if I've already added a particular bottle to The List. Since I'll often pick up more than one bottle of a wine's single vintage, those second bottles are cropping up (or the corks are popping out) more and more often. I didn't think there'd already be a bottle of the 2010 Cherysh on The List because we don't drink a lot of fruit wines - and it wasn't but I was a little surprised to see that I had previously added a bottle of the 2009 vintage at #1155.

As much of what I'd write this time around was written on the previous post and other posts on Forbidden Fruit wines, I'll just leave the link as opposed to re-hashing my earlier notes.

I will add, however, that the 2010 vintage was a very successful one for Cherysh. The wine won Gold at the All Canadian Wine Championship, Silver at the Northwest Wine Summit Competition and was a Finalist in the Spring Okanagan Wine Festival. Not a bad haul.

As with the 2009, I likely waited too long to open the bottle. I think we would have found more cherry notes on the wine if we'd opened it a couple of years ago. I just seem to hesitate on fruit wines when it comes to picking something for dinner. I generally don't see fruit wines going with a red wine dinner, but then it seems just as hard to pair (no pun intended) them with our standard white wine dinners. I simply opened this one, finally, as I would a Rosé and we did just fine (although it would seem I neglected to take a picture of the accompanying meal this time around). We had it accompanying duck with a pomegranate gelée - not quite a cherry sauce but close enough for government work (as they say).

I'm going to have to keep an eye open for a newer vintage and try sipping back on it a bit earlier, without the aging, because this could easily fit into our rotation of Rosé wines.

Some Forbidden Apricots

The definition of "mistelle" is grape (or other fruit) juice that has been fortified by the addition of alcohol prior to fermentation of the juice. The process preserves the intensity of the fruit and that was certainly the case with Forbidden Fruit's Apricot Mistelle.

1819.  N.V. Forbidden Fruit - Caught - Apricot Mistelle (Similkameen Valley)

I opened the Mistelle as I figured it would pair nicely with a cheese plate we were going to dive into after we'd made a visit to the Mircea Cantor show at the Rennie Collection. Good thing I know my way around wine pairing just a tad better than I know my way around contemporary art.

If you like the flavour of apricots, this is about as good as it gets. The label says that three varieties of tree ripened, organically grown apricots were crushed to make the nectar that resulted in the intensely sweet (with a hint of spice) wine.

I could sip away on the Mistelle by itself and be fully sated but I remembered the folks at Elephant Island - one of BC's other acclaimed fruit wineries - advised that one of the most popular uses for their apricot dessert wine was to use it in a vodka martini. I can highly recommend that using this Mistelle in that manner results in one fine - if not a favourite - sip as well. I'd be a very happy Bob if ever given the chance to enjoy the Rennie garden rooftop - or a future gallery show - with such an apricot martini in hand. Whichever route you go, we can just look at this as a flexible, as well as tasty, sip.

I know folks that can sit down and finish off a big bowl of cherries in a single sitting. If all apricots tasted like this, I'd be sitting down with bowls of them as well.

Turkey Wines

Of course, the title "Turkey Wines" refers to the wine we drank with our Christmas turkey - not wines that were made in Turkey, although I would like to try some of those one day.  But, I digress.

Forgetting one's camera at home on a big family event day like Christmas isn't supposed to happen.  But, I suppose sh*t really does happen - at least it did to us today.  Hence, there won't be any "idyllic family by the tree" shots or extravagant "Grampa slicing the roast turkey" photos this year.  Just a couple of blurry iPhone clicks that are hardly worth the effort.

Ah well, we shall persevere.

As tradition would have it, my sis, Vixen, hosted dinner.  She's got the kids; so, the day's largely about them anyhow - even though those kids are rather grown up now.  The oldest, Stargirl, is 18 and our start to dinner was delayed this year because she was the one working during the day.  Generally, it's Boo's hospital shifts that mess us up but he actually had the day off this year and. luckily so, because it turned out he was particularly happy to be there to open his presents from Vixen and the kids.  It's funny how much they've come to know his little sic-fi leanings, but he was tickled pink with his VIP pass to The Hobbit and his USS Enterprise pizza cutter.  To the extent that he quickly announced that the Enterprise was so special, it was never going to cut an actual pizza.

Sci-Fi geek or not, I suppose I have to allow him his Star Trek nerdiness.  After all, he lets me obsess about wine, as much as I do, without complaint - that is, except when he goes on about how I regularly get carried away with the purchasing of said wine.

I just have to be quick to respond to any of his whines by pointing out that all that purchasing helps put us in a position of always having bottles ready to bring along for dinner when needed.

1327.  2008 Red Rooster Reserve Gewürztraminer (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I'm not generally the biggest Gewurz fan around but I have no problem wrapping my tongue around Red Rooster's Reserve - particularly with pre-dinner cheeses and with Christmas turkey and its myriad of trimmings.  We got to enjoy the wine with food, but this has been a palate pleaser with or without an accompanying nibble.  I doubt that the Vancouver Magazine judges were enjoying it with roast gobbler and they still named this Gewurz as one of 2010's Best BC Wines.

Beyond Gewurz, I always think of Pinot Noir as another "go to" wine for matching with turkey and fond memories forced me to grab this next bottle when I saw it on a local shelf.  Only problem is that I forgot to take a picture of the bottle during dinner.  Too much seasonal excitement I suppose.

1328.  2009 Del Fin del Mundo Reserva Pinot Noir (Patagonia - Argentina)

I was quite pleased to find the Del Fin del Mundo Pinot locally because Boo and I quite enjoyed quaffing some back on our final night in Buenos Aires a few years back.  I'd discovered the winery during the 2010 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (as it then was) but we weren't going to be able to make our way down to Patagonia to visit the winery.  Del Fin del Mundo, however, had opened a happening restaurant in B.A. to highlight their wines and the region's cuisine. The folks at Experiencia Del Fin del Mundo treated us royally and we had one of our most enjoyable meals during the whole trip. Unfortunately, we were well past being able to fit a couple more bottles into our luggage for the trip home.  So we couldn't bring any more of their wines home with us.  This was the first time I'd run across the Pinot Noir in Vancouver.

Patagonia is hardly the wine region that immediately pops into most people's heads when they think of Argentine wines, but Del Fin del Mundo is one of the wineries leading the way to try and make just those thoughts more de rigeur.  Being located much more to the cooler climes of the South, Patagonia is gaining a particular reputation for Pinot Noir.  It's definitely on the New World end of the Pinot scale - bigger and bolder than many Pinots in our market, but the bottle quickly disappeared into glass after glass.

Turned out that we had an extra Christmas "treat" and a Guest Alcohol to the blog when Big Trucker brought out a specialty cask of Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey that he and Vixen had run across during their wanderings in Washington State.  That "beautiful" golden bottle is one of Jim Beam's specialty decanters that were first introduced in 1955.  This particular beauty was purchased by the original buyer (and was recently discovered as part of an estate) in 1972 for $21.  These liquor decanters became an popular limited edition item for Jim Beam and the concept actually became quite popular with other liquor producers as well.  By the 70's, up to 20 distillers were producing similar decanters.  Jim Beam was one of the few companies that owned their own china factory however.  All in all, over a thousand different decanters have been made over the years in all styles - from classic cars and wildlife to sport and politics - and there are all sorts of web pages and sales dedicated to them.

Big Trucker's bottle featured 172-month old bourbon back in '72; so, add the 40 years since then and this was some fairly well-aged hooch.  Not my regular cuppa, but I figured I'd best take advantage of a pretty rare opportunity.

1329.  2008 Rustic Roots Iced Orin (Similkameen Valley)

Our last bottle of the evening was served up with Boo's pies.  He'd made his Mom's trademark pecan pie, as well as an apple pie (for the benefit of the kids).  As Southern' as it may sound, bourbon and pecan pie isn't necessarily everyone's first choice for dessert; so, I'd planned ahead and brought along the Iced Orin apple wine, thinking it would be a perfect match to Boo's apple pie.

Having had the Forbidden Fruit Bliss fortified white cherry last night, we figured why not continue with a Similkameen fruit wines and moved on to a wine from just a few miles down Hwy 3.

Now operating a fifth generation farm, the Harker family helped settle the Similkameen Valley back in 1888 and the family has been selling produce from their 30 acres of organic farmland for many a year.  Finally Troy and Sara Harker decided it was time to make some wine with some of all that fruit they'd been growing and had at their disposal.  The Iced Orin has turned out to be a highly commended wine for them.  Indeed, Radio & TV personality and wine show host, Terry David Mulligan, has sung the wine's praises many a time over the air.

Made from certified organic Sweet Orin apples, there isn't a lot of it.  Only 200 cases was made of the 2008 vintage and I was happy to see some of it in Rustic Roots' tasting room awhile back when I had stopped in on the way back from the Okanagan.  There was no doubt that it was about the best match imaginable for homemade apple pie.

After a day of prepping and fussing, it was also a sweet and tasty way to bring a close to another Christmas.  Hopefully, here's to many more.

Christmas Eve Treats

As busy as I've been over this holiday season, this Christmas was destined to be different.  With Mom's passing over the summer, this would be our first without her sharing the good times.  Christmas day has traditionally been spent at Vixen's place; so, I figured it'd be nice to have Christmas Eve at our place.

This was just the sort of gathering I'd been waiting for so that I could pop the cork on a bottle of - of all things - English bubble.  Dad's cousin and his wife - Phil and Liz - had come to visit back in the summer and I'd asked them to find and bring along a bottle.  I've read a few stories about English sparkling wines and how they're becoming surprisingly good and I figured I'd never run across a bottle in our market.  We would have popped the cork while Phil and Liz were in town but we were rather occupied with Mom's illness at the time.

Christmas would be the perfect time to toast both Mom and our English benefactors.

1325.  N.V. Chapel Down Reserve Vintage Brut (England)

I'm sure that many, if not most, North American wine drinkers' first reaction to hearing of an English wine is that it must be just a novelty item.  That's probably not that much different of a reaction from what many American or Australian consumers would think if you were to bring up the topic of Canadian wine.  Just as Canadian producers have made amazing strides over the last couple decades, there are now over 400 commercial vineyards and 124 wineries in the UK and some of those wines are garnering some serious buzz.

Like Canada, England's weather is stereotypically seen as being too cold and wet to grow grapes capable of becoming a decent wine. While that might be a somewhat realistic starting point, that doesn't mean that some regions in the South of England aren't suitable for growing grapes that prefer cooler climates.  Global climate change is certainly seen as a possible influence for the years to come as well.  English farmers may not be able to grow -  or at least not consistently ripen - some of the bigger and better known grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz or Merlot, but other (and perhaps less recognizable) varietals can make a decent go of it.

Indeed, the limestone soils found in the South of England are seen as being similar in terroir to France's Champagne region itself.  Accordingly, much of English winemaking has tended towards the production of sparkling wines since achieving full ripeness may not be quite as critical to the success of a wine as it is with still, table wines.

One bottle of English bubble and a little online research certainly isn't going to render me an expert in English wines; so, I'll leave my recap at that but there still is the wine.

I gather that Chapel Hill is a well known - and respected - brand in England.  Their website mentions that the Vintage Reserve Brut was awarded a Silver Medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2012.  The site doesn't go into much detail about the wine itself.  It does, however, confirm that the wine is made using the same méthode traditionelle as is used in making true Champagne.  The wine sees second fermentation in the bottle and, according to the site, the "house style" sees extended ageing of the wine on its lees (or spent yeast cells) to promote that classic toasty note to the wine.  I'll attest to their success on that note.  There was a definite, and pleasant, yeastiness to the nose.

A hallmark of English bubble is supposed to be a higher note of fruit on the palate than a traditional Champagne will see.  While there was a bit of green apple or similar tree fruit, I wouldn't say that it was prominent.  What was noticeable was the high acidity.  That might recede a bit with a little more ageing but it actually helped out our cause as it was served with a rich tourtière and the acid cut through the fat in the ground meat and the crust.

I tried searching a little bit to find out what grapes were used in making the Chapel Down Brut but I only saw some general reference to grapes that the estate vineyards grow.  I did find one reference to the wine's provenance when Jamie Goode - the noted English writer behind jamie goode's wine blog and Wine Anorak - stated that the Vintage Reserve Brut was a blend of Rivaner, Reichensteiner and Pinot Noir.  That post was written back in 2008 though; so, it's possible that the make-up of the wine has changed over the years.  I'd like to confirm that blend though because, if it's correct, I believe I get to add two new varietals to my Wine Century Club tally.  (Editor's Note:  I heard from the good folks at Chapel Down and they advise that the varieties used are Pinot Noir 49%, Chardonnay 33%, Pinot blanc 10% and Pinot Meunier 8% - no Rivaner or Reichensteiner this time around for the Wine Century Club, I guess.)

Previously untried varietals or not, popping the cork on the Chapel Down was a nice way to help celebrate the season and to toast Mom's memory.  While Dad and Big Trucker moved on to beer, Vixen, Boo and I stuck with the bubble while watching a little Christmas cinema.  There was a bit of discussion as to which movie to watch but Team Love Actually won out over Team It's A Wonderful Life.  Surprisingly, even Dad was chuckling throughout the movie.

I made bread pudding to finish off our evening as it's become a bit of seasonal tradition around here and we wouldn't need any for Christmas dinner since Vixen had talked Boo into make a couple pies.

1326.  N.V. Forbidden Fruit - Bliss - Fortified White Cherry (Similkameen Valley)

Being a special evening, I figured I'd pull out a special wine to accompany the bread pudding.  It was going to need some sweetness to it to match up with the pudding; so, I thought we could try a fortified wine from Forbidden Fruit.  The English bubble might be rare in our market but this bottle of Bliss is rare in any market.  Being a fortified white cherry fruit wine that isn't made every year and is only made in small batches when it is made, you're not going to run across it easily.  Indeed, owner/winemaker, Steve Venables, says that he doesn't know of any other winery that even tries to make a similar wine.

Bliss is made from 100 percent estate grown, organic Rainer white cherries.  The Rainer cherry apparently has a unique taste for a cherry and that uniqueness carries through to the wine.  Interestingly, the wine sees some young oak and Steve likens the final taste to brandy or cognac.  Admittedly, the taste wasn't entirely expected but it easily met acceptance as even the oldest niece, Stargirl, finished off a small glass and she's only just starting to experiment with wine when we get together.

At just under $30 for 200ml, Bliss is pretty much as expensive as icewine - but then again, there is that whole "rare" aspect to this bottle as well.  I couldn't pass it up when I saw it for sale at the winery and I'm glad we got to try it.

As Bliss-ful as the evening might have been, everyone needed to get home to bed before Santa was set to come.  There was a busy day in store and we'd managed to fit in a couple of interesting bottles as it was.  Can't say that there was any wine left to go with Santa's cookies though.  I wasn't too concerned though.  Knowing how naughty I've been with staying current with the blog this year, I'm not so sure Santa was going to be leaving me any wine anyhow.

The Cousins Come to Dinner

1219.  2008 Alderlea - Auxerrois-Chardonnay (Vancouver Island)

1220.  Seven Stones - Speaking Rock Pinot Noir (Similkameen Valley)

1221.  2007 Forbidden Fruit - Cerise d'Eve (Similkameen Valley)

C&C Charity Dinner

I definitely need to get back and write this one soon.  It was not only a bang-up of an evening, but I'm adding some interesting wines to The List tonight.  A Méthode Champenoise Peach Wine, a Hawaiian Pineapple wine and a Hungarian dessert wine.  Not standards in our household by any means.

1196.  Forbidden Fruit - Flirt Sparkling Peach (Similkameen Valley)

2009 Orofino Pinot Gris (Similkameen Valley)

1197. N.V. Tedeschi Vineyards - Maui Splash Pineapple Wine/Passion Fruit (Hawaii)

1198.  2008 Herder Meritage (Similkameen Valley)

1199.  2007 Késöi Szüretelésü Tokaji Sárgamuskotály (Hungary)

(And believe it or not I don't even get a new grape varietal for the the Wine Century Club. Apparently, Sárgamuskotály is a Hungarian name for Muscat à Petits Grains which I added awhile back.  Darn.)

Winner. Winner. (Butter) Chicken Dinner.

I figured we must have been long overdue for a round of butter chicken - after all, no one should have to go for long without this basic food group. Luckily Boo whipped some up. My task was to match it up with a wine - but only from wines in the cellar - I wasn't allowed to buy anything new.

1155. 2009 Forbidden Fruit - Cherysh Cherry Rosé (Similkameen Valley - BC)

I figured that the fruit and residual sugar of the Cherysh would counter the spice and heat of the butter chicken nicely and I think it did - even though it wasn't nearly as off-dry as I'd expected. Made from organic Stella cherries, this is one of my favourite table fruit wines. IMHO, Forbidden Fruit (along with Elephant Island) stands at forefront of fruit wine making in BC. I find that many dessert wines and fortifieds made from fruit can stand tall with those made from grapes; the still wines, however, aren't necessarily on the same level - yet.

Cherysh consistently fits the bill though. The only "problem" is that it can be hard to find in the shops that I tend to frequent because the BC Liquor Board doesn't carry it and it's not made from grapes, so the VQA shops can't carry it. We pass by the winery every other year or so and we generally manage to pick up a bottle or two at that time.

Being a 2009 bottle, I wasn't sure that the wine would still be fresh. Can't say that I know the ageing capability of cherry wine. But, thankfully, it still tasted fine and we'll no doubt continue to pick up that bi-annual bottle next time we drive by.

Miss Jaq Returns

What a surprise! I got a call from the lovely and talented Miss Jaq saying that she was back from Abu Dhabi and, this time, it's for the foreseeable future. Nice surprise for us. Not so sure what surprises are going to be in store for her. She'd decided that the politics of work in the Emirates was proving to be a bit much and that, after ten years of tax-free living, it might be time to give Vancouver another try. As I say, great for us but this might prove interesting for her.

Over the last decade, we've been lucky to see her a couple of times a year. She's always made it home for a bit of a vay-cay in the summer - after all, if you're given some time off in 50+°C weather, who wouldn't come back for a bit of Vancouver summer? - but that short time doesn't allow for more than a couple of dinners and the annual Miss Jaq Wine Picnic.

The girl obviously had some new stories to tell; so, we invited her over here for dinner as soon as she could make it.

1081. 2005 Majella Sparkling Shiraz (Coonawarra - Australia)

Seeing Miss Jaq is always a celebration; so, a little bubble was an appropriate start. With Boo's and my trip to Oz just around the corner, I thought "Why not pop the cork from a winery that we hope to fit into our travels?" I met Brian and Ros Lynn, two of Majella's principals at the recent Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival and they were among the most pleasant and interesting folk I met through the final weekend of tastings. I loved the Sparkling Shiraz at the Playhouse and I picked up a bottle (since Boo let me off the "No Buy Leash" for the Festival) but it turns out I had an earlier vintage at home and that's where we started.

A bit of an Aussie tradition, this sparkling red is still make in the traditional champenoise method - with bottle fermentation (on the wine's lees - or spent yeast) for close to four years. It is then disgorged and an interesting dosage of vintage Port is added as a bit of a sweetener to the wine. Although not nearly as bubbly as more traditional sparklers, there's a lightness to the big Shiraz that is a wonderful way to a start the evening with appies or to accompany a brunch.

Something tells me I'll be looking for an opportunity to pop a cork on a sparkling shiraz while Down Under.

Despite the new movie, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, neither Mis Jaq nor Boo & I have ventured there. Yemen may be in the same region as the U.A.E., but, quaint movies or not, it's not the safest places to visit. We had to settle for an evening of Eating Salmon on The Drive. Ewen McGregor may not have featured prominently but we did introduce Miss Jaq to an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race afterwards.

1082. 2006 Howling Bluff Pinot Noir (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

I've been looking forward to opening this bottle of Luke Smith's Pinot for some time now. We've tried Luke's wines at a number of tastings over the years but the only full bottles we've enjoyed have been his Meritage blend, Sin Cera. That's partially because it's generally easier to find the blend in the stores. Indeed, the 2006 vintage was Howling Bluff's first and there were only 120 cases of this Pinot Noir made - and it was next to impossible to find any since it was awarded one of the 2009 Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Excellence in BC Wine.

Luke is quick to tell the story of how he started the winery with a goal of eventually making a world-renowned Bordeaux blend. Having now produced a handful of vintages, he seems agreeably resigned to the fact that Mother Nature appears insistent on pointing him in a completely different direction. Having planted the majority of his Summa Quies vineyard in Bordeaux varietals, Luke is naturally finding that it is his Pinot Noir that is gaining him the most notoriety. Our bottle of the 2006 won him his first L-G's Award, but that was quickly followed up with another in 2011 for the 2009 vintage. To top that off a bit, the 2008 vintage won Wine Access magazine's 2010 Red Wine of the Year award - the first Pinot to ever do so.

Luke has reluctantly reached the conclusion that he needs to wake up and smell the Pinot. That probably won't be that difficult or painful because our wine had a beautiful nose on it - a nose that opened up even more with a second glass, as did the flavour profile. Grafting over or replanting all of his Bordeaux varietals may prove somewhat agonizing, but it's going to result in even more Pinot Noir and different options for Luke - and that can't be a bad thing for the rest of us.

Boo made us a blackberry pie for dessert (perhaps one of his best ever) and I figured the pie called for an accompanying sip of its own.

1083. N.V. Salt Spring Blackberry Port (Gulf Islands - BC)

Surprisingly, I couldn't find out much about the Blackberry Port - other than that it's made from organic blackberries, grown on the Gulf Island, and that it's one of the most popular products that the winery makes. The winery's entire production of wine is limited to about 2000 cases; so, not unlike the Howling Bluff Pinot, I doubt there's much of this to be found. As full of flavour as Boo's blackberry pie, I'm glad we nabbed the bottle that we did.

With Miss Jaq back in Vancouver, we'll hopefully fit in more and more little visits. You just know there'll be some good wines involved. However, with her no longer in Abu Dhabi, I don't know that we'll be heading back to the Emirates any time soon. Guess Boo won't get much opportunity to address his silk carpet jones. That means we'll just have to settle for trips - like Australia - in the mean time. I know. It's tough; but somebody's got to do it.

Pie & Wine

Two neighbourhood holiday bashes in two weekends. What's with that? You might actually start thinking that we like our neighbours.

But, how can you not get excited about a "Pie & Wine Party?" OK, so I don't think I've ever been to one before, but I like pie and I love wine; so, what's not to like?

This time around, it's not a group affair but a more manageable house party being hosted by Nature Boy and Mr. Principled. There was a pie sale fundraiser at work and Mr. Principled did the right thing and bought a full selection of pies for the evening - even so far as to have a gluten-free crust and sugar-free filling available.

This was not necessarily an evening to attend if you're at all concerned about fitting that Christmas party dress or New Year's Eve tux - unless you have some serious self control. The pies were all made by a collective of grannies and stay-at-moms and you know that they had their pie crusts down and flaky. It was sort of like Lay's potato chips - you couldn't only eat just one piece.

N.V. Civ & Civ Lambrusco di Modena - Amabile (DOC Lambrusco di Modena - Italy)

There were plenty of wines to go with all the pies as well but, wouldn't you know it, I started with a non-vintage wine that I've already added to The List. They may have changed the label and the district may have received DOC appellation status since I added it as #590, but it's still the same wine and I can't (not even as a Christmas present to myself) add it to The List a second time.

I was rather rushed at the time I wrote about the earlier bottle though (note to self: when aren't you running behind with these posts?) and didn't say anything about the wine. Lambrusco is both a grape varietal and a type of wine that is made from the grape (and/or its many clones). The wine can often be found in a somewhat sweetened version, called amabile, that has some slight frizzante or sparkle to it. At one point in the 70's and 80's, Lambrusco was the biggest selling Italian import in the US. Not so much any more.

I don't recall going gaga over the bottle we'd previously tried and I can't say that this bottle did a whole lot for me either. If I'm thinking about a fizzy red, I'd definitely lean more to a Brachetto d'Acqui or a Sparkling Shiraz. The sparkle for the evening, therefore, needed to come from the conversation and with neighbours such as Nature Boy, Rock God and Shameless Hussy in attendance, you know there's going to be no shortage of things to talk about.

1019. The Fort Wine Company - Ghost of the Bogs White Cranberry 180 (Fraser Valley - BC)

Unfortunately, the second wine that I tried tonight didn't do anything more for me than the Lambrusco did. Mr. Principled said that this bottle was sold to him as a dessert wine. I don't know what kind of desserts the clerk likes to eat - but they sure can't involve sugar at all. At least the winery website refers to this as a "table wine" and not a "dessert wine." Although some might take it as a good thing that the wine truly reflected the base flavours of the fruit it was made from, if you want to imagine this wine, just imagine biting into a raw cranberry. Not my favourite flavour profile for a beverage (although I do like cranberries floating in my Metropolitan martinis).

The winery was started back in 2001 when tugboat captain and cranberry farmer, Wade Bauck, had an abundance of cranberries. He has since expanded into producing six table wines - from cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, pears and apples - and five dessert wines - again from cranberries, blueberries and apples and raspberries and blackberries as well. I didn't see a vintage on the wine label but I did not the number "180." I'm not sure if this is maybe the 180th bottling of the wine or something like that but I can't say as I'll be worried about rushing out for another vintage so that I can add that bottle to The List. Not so likely.

Al lin all, not the best night for new wine sensations. Good thing I like the neighbours.

BCWAS Bus Tour Day 2 - Similkameen Valley

There was an offer of a Blue Mountain Brut mimosa to accompany Chewbacca's special Eggs à la Honey C, but, surprisingly, there were no takers. I suppose even the most ardent wine lovers can take a pass at 7.30 a.m. Sunday morning. Besides it wasn't as if we'd have to wait long for our first glass on the day's journey.

Today, the bus made a right turn out of Osoyoos instead of driving straight up Hwy 97. Our destination - the Similkameen Valley - has long been recognized for its agricultural products. Indeed, with 40% of its farms being organic, the region is thought to have one of the highest concentrations of organic farmers in the world. It has, however, largely remained in the shadow of the Okanagan Valley when it comes to wine. Grapes from the Similkameen have journeyed over the local hills and into Okanagan wines for years; however, many of those grapes are now being kept at home and made into wine by the dozen or so wineries that have recently set up shop.

Awhile back, enRoute magazine named the Similkameen Valley one of the "world's 5 best wine regions you've never of" and, for many in our gang, today's trip into the Similkameen was going to a be first. Boo and I are pretty familiar with interior BC's other wine valley due to all the drives we've made through the region to get to the Kootenays. This was going to be the most thorough visit I've ever experienced though since we've usually only had an hour or so at most during our previous outings.

The tour's first stop on Day 2 was Robin Ridge - and this was a first time for me. We were greeted by owner/winemaker, Tim Cottrill, and the balance of his family, including the "guard" turkey, as this was definitely a family-run affair. Tim guided us through four of his wines and advised that their 10 acre vineyard grows both table grapes and enough fruit to produce about 1500 cases. He doesn't see the winery growing much more in production as he's reached the conclusion that, to keep afloat in the BC wine industry, you either have to be small or commit to large-scale production.

One of the more intriguing wines that Tim poured was his Robin's Return, an easy drinking red. What piqued my interest was that the wine was blend of Pinot Noir and Rougeon - the latter being anything but a classic varietal and one that definitely hasn't been added to my Wine Century Club list. It's going to be soon.

Herder Winery & Vineyards wasn't too far up the road and it was our second stop of the day. The bus was split into our three groups again as Lawrence Herder took each group for a tour of the winery facilities and a barrel tasting, Sharon Herder led the groups through a tasting of their current releases and a third component of the visit was a bit of "down time" that allowed us to wander about and try out our swing on Lawrence's pitch & putt.

Herder Winery & Vineyards wasn't too far up the road and it was our second stop of the day. The bus was split into our three groups again as Lawrence Herder took each group for a tour of the winery facilities and a barrel tasting, Sharon Herder led the groups through a tasting our their current releases and a third component of "down time" allowed us to wander about and try our hand at Lawrence's hillside pitch and putt.

This was my first visit to the new Herder winery. Five years ago or so, Boo and I had been to the original vineyard and tasting room that was located further along the valley. These new premises have to be close to, if not "the," envy of the Similkameen. A combination of dream home and working winery, the setting and facilities are impressive. Now nestled against rock cliffs on the valley's upper bench, Lawrence advised that the cliffs act as a heat sink and that his vineyard can be 5 degrees hotter than properties less than a mile away.

Lawrence's explanations of blending and tasting techniques, barrel ratings and tricks of trying to marry the right wood with the different blocks of grapes was the stuff wine geeks live for. I thoroughly enjoyed our stop there and found it interesting that Lawrence doesn't expect to see a whole lot more expansion in the Similkameen. Winter kill and frost issues are still big threats in the valley. Accordingly, he doesn't see that there's much land that's still available and suitable for vineyard planting. If anything, he thinks some current growers may even switch back from grapes to apples.

The No Buy Leash may have prevented any extensive purchases on my part, but I did sign up for their newsletter.

If there's any Similkameen winery that I am familiar with, it's going to be Orofino. I was first introduced to John and Virginia Weber and Orofino about five or six years ago at a BCWAS tasting that featured Similkameen wines for the first time - and their wines have been a regular purchase for me ever since. Indeed, I featured Orofino wines on the blog for one of the 2010 Canucks playoff rounds (unfortunately, not even the wines could propel the Canucks to a series win over the Blackhawks) and The List already has more than a dozen Orofino wines on it. Likely one of the biggest number of wines for any one winery - particularly when you consider Orofino's limited production. And there are plenty more to be added - I've just been waiting for some of the bigger reds to truly hit their stride.

There was plenty of opportunity for Q&A as we toured the vineyard and barrel room. For those that hadn't been here before, the story about the building of and reasoning behind the straw bale construction for the winery was particularly novel.

We also lucked out with the weather and the setting for our lunch that was provided, at the vineyard, by Joy Road Catering - another one of the big culinary names in the Okanagan. Matched up with Orofino's Riesling and Red Bridge Merlot - and the company of the Marvelous Mavens, four sisters and regulars on the Bus Tour - it was a great lunch.

Despite my extensive efforts to resist, I fought through the tug of the No Buy Leash and ended up buying a full case of John's wines. I'm blaming it on his willingness to ship the case back to Vancouver so that I wouldn't have to take any with me. The transaction was long finished before the Wine Grrrlz found out. As such, they were unable to assist Boo in curbing my extravagances. They did try to "punish" me somewhat by bending me over a barrel for a spanking. The picture looks more like they were preparing for a bit a grab rather than a smack down though. Good thing Boo loves Orofino as well.

Next up was Seven Stones and George and Vivianne Hanson. The view of the valley, at the top of the post, was taken from just outside the tasting room. It gives you an idea of the beauty that is the Similkameen. George (to the right of erstwhile BCWAS President Brian) first purchased the 20 acres that now form the vineyard in 1999 when it was still a hay field. Since then, he's been planting and nurturing the vines that produce for his, largely, big reds.

Although the winery/tasting room has only been open for business since 2007, Seven Stones already garnered its share of medals (as have most of the wineries we've visited) including a nomination of its 2006 Meritage as a finalist for Red Wine of the Year at the 2009 Canadian Wine Awards.

Quite the personality, George walked us through a tasting of the seven wines he currently had available - including his premium Meritage 2009 Legend. He chose the best barrels of his Bordeaux varietals to make only 100 cases of Legend - and, to top it off, he was only releasing the wine today - in honour of our visit.

By the time we made it to Forbidden Fruit, our final stop on the Tour, it was clear that a forest fire was blazing - and not too far away. There weren't a whole lot of details about the fire to be had, but the powers that be obviously didn't think that it posed enough of a threat to put the kaibosh on our tasting. The gathering smoke caused a few problems for some of our bus mates though. Our host, Steve Brind'Amour started his presentation by telling us they had 146 acres under production - at least they did before the start of the fire. He was also quick to point, as well, out that we could all just jump into the river if the necessity arose.

Between concerns over the fire, the length of the day and a windy outdoor setting, the attentiveness of our gang was getting a tad suspect for this tasting - and it was another extensive one. Like Orofino, I've been fully aware of Forbidden Fruit over the years. Regular readers of the blog know that I'm a sucker for dessert wines and Forbidden Fruit has an extensive selection of particularly tasty ones. My only problem is that I continue to pick up an assortment when I taste them but I rarely open them once I get them home. I suppose I'll have to work on that.

A number of Forbidden Fruit wines have made it to The List, however, so I won't go over the winery's history in the region again. If you've seen one of the stylish Forbidden Fruit wine labels, you'll know that it's based on Adam and Eve and the Garden of Paradise. Steve recounted that Forbidden Fruit became the theme behind the winery not only for the idyllic setting, but because tree fruit is often thought of as being a forbidden source for quality wine and because the Brind'Amour's early pioneering of organic farming in the Similkameen was also somewhat "forbidden" when they started farming.

One of the wines that we tried was new to me - the winery has released its first sparkling wine. It's made with freestone peaches in the traditional methode champenoise and was initially made as a special wine for Steve and Kim's daughter's wedding. It is called Flirt and I naturally had to pick up a bottle to add to The List down the road.

It was soon time to gather back on the bus and head back to the resort though. There'd still be a bit of mingling in the evening for those who were up to it - and there was plenty of sorting out wines that had been purchased - but the winery visits were now officially over. I'd love to know how many boxes of wine were ultimately purchased by our little gang. I have no doubt that our two days of visits generated a substantial share of sales for the participating wineries. If I were a BC winery, I'd lobby to get my winery on next year's itinerary.

In fact, plans are already under way for the 2012 Tour. A straw vote was held on the bus as we made our way back to Osoyoos. There were votes for the Naramata Bench, for the North Okanagan/Lake Country region and even for Vancouver Island; however, the clear winner was to take the bus and hit the Okanagan Falls wineries. Considering the grand time I had on this year's tour, I think I see a little Blue Mountain, Painted Rock and Wild Goose - just to name a few - in my future. I'll just have to try and empty our cellar a bit between now and then so that the No Buy Leash isn't quite as tight.

All in all, this year's BCWAS Bus Tour has to be considered a great success. I'm certainly glad that I've finally been able to make the Tour. Big thanks are in store for all the organizers and winery principals - and to the Wine Grrrlz for finally making me see the error of my ways in not having jumped on bus previously. The promised cuddles may not have happened but I think we still managed a few laughs and good times.

If nothing else, I'm certainly going to look forward to drinking my way through all the wines I picked up (not that Boo will ever be made aware of which wines are which).

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.