A Star for the Gulf Islands

Here we are down to the final ten wines before we reach the titular 2001st bottle. To kick off these "last" wines, I'm going to the Gulf Islands and to Sea Star - a new(ish) venture of owner, David Goudge, and winemaker, Ian Baker. I was excited to see that Sea Star's initial vintage from 2013 was as well received as it was. The winery entered the 2014 Northwest Wine Summit competition and came away with two gold medals, a silver medal and a "Winery of Distinction" accolade as one of only 16 wineries to win two gold medals.

Some of my initial attraction to Sea Star stems from the fact that, off and on, I've known David for many a year, crossing paths at various community and fundraising events and even the odd party or so. To see an acquaintance "burst" onto the local wine is great thrill.

The fact that the winery is located on Pender Island was equally exciting because it means we might be able to fit in a visit every so often seeing as how Axel and The English Doc have set up house not far from the Sea Star's home vineyard. Indeed, spending Thanksgiving with the boys last year was how we managed to pick up some Sea Star wines. The winery was virtually sold out of its initial vintage but David managed to find a couple of wines for us to buy.

1991.  2013 Sea Star Stella Maris (Gulf Islands)

It's not much of a surprise that the bulk of Sea Star's limited production is white wine. Pender Island is a cool, coastal climate and - until the warming effects of global climate change have run their full course - there won't be much in the way of big, international reds. Indeed, "coastal" is as apt a descriptor as you'll find. As far as David knew at the time of our visit, Sea Star is the only winery in Canada where the vineyard actually runs down to and touches the ocean. The winery has sections of Pinot Noir planted in the warmest parts of the vineyard but the first vintage of a varietal Pinot Noir is still some time away as the vines were still maturing to a point where the fruit is deemed good enough to result in a fully representative Pinot.

Stella Maris, which is Latin for "Star of the Sea," is a blend of Gewürztraminer and (that young) Pinot Noir "with a splash of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Ortega and Schönberger" (as the winery describes the wine). Nicely dry but with plenty of tree fruit and a bit of spice, it's a wine that easily disappears from your glass and matches nicely to full array of foods.

With the "final" bottle of this Odyssey so quickly approaching, I have no idea about where the blog might head or what might be in store. I am, however, sure that I'll be making effort to pay another - and longer - visit to Sea Star.

Middle Kingdom Meets The Seven Kingdoms

Boo is an unabashed Games of Thrones fan - and he's pulled me into all the intrigue hook, line and sinker as well. So, it was a bit of a no-brainer that we'd take in Season's 4's final two episodes when they were shown at one of the local IMAX theatres. The only theatre in Vancouver's Lower Mainland region to screen the episodes was in Richmond - a bit out of our normal stomping grounds but there really was no choice in the matter. We just made the best of the trek by grabbing dinner in one of Richmond's myriad of top notch Chinese restaurants.

Not that we'd know where to go.

Luckily, Boo has a number of Chinese colleagues who are well acquainted with the Richmond dining scene. We tried one of the higher end Chinese seafood restos but it was already full to capacity because of a wedding. Boo made a quick call to one of the girls at work and she recommended that we simply cross the street and try another - which we did. Admittedly, we weren't all that adventurous with our choices - salt & pepper squid, Peking Duck and house seafood noodles - but they all sounded good and we hadn't been there before.

The wine list was on the short side but we went with an Aussie white, thinking it could go with anything that came out of the kitchen.

1851.  2012 De Bortoli Family Selection Traminer Riesling (Riverina - Australia)

De Bortoli is the largest producer (by some margin) in Australia's Yarra Valley outside Melbourne. Part of the sizeable production is based on the fact that the winery does source a good percentage of its fruit from other regions. Bottle in point, this blend of Traminer and Riesling was made with fruit from the more commercial Riverina district. Traminer can be the name for a couple of grapes in Oz - as it is used interchangeably with Gewürztraminer but can also be used in its more genetically distinguishable form which would be Savagnin Blanc or White Traminer. Although the website doesn't state it, I'm guessing this is a Riesling/Gew blend as it is the far more prevalent grape.

At $13 in the Vancouver market, I consider this to be an entry level (if not commercial) wine. We found it to be a bit on the sweet side - which normally might have been okay with Chinese food but, on this occasion, our meal choices didn't really have enough spiciness or heat to match up with the wine.

We had more important fish to fry than to try and spice up our meal though. The Seven Kingdoms were calling and our change in restaurant plans had left us rather tight for time. So, we hastily retreated from our visit to the Middle Kingdom and made our way to Castle Black and Westeros. It would appear that the finish on our wine was a fair bit sweeter than the end met by many of those in the Game of Thrones.

I can live with that.

Oh Joie! - A Shower For The Happy Couple

For the last couple of years, my sister, Vixen, has been obsessing about her upcoming wedding to Big Trucker. She didn't get that grand, old white wedding - that I understand all little girls dream of - with her previous guy. Three kids, but no walk down the aisle. So, she's making up for it this time. For months now, Boo & I have been well advised that we're throwing a shower for them. As if I'm supposed to know the difference between a wedding jacuzzi and a shower.

When asked why we're slated to throw this instead of the gals in the wedding party, she stated, quite perfunctorily, that "Mom and I threw a shower for you two, you're damned well throwing one for me." When I retorted that, "I thought Mom threw that shower," she simply glared and shot back, "Don't you kid yourself. That was all me and you will throw me the best, f*ck'n shower ever or your ass is grass!" Okay, I might have embellished the last quote a teensy bit but I swear it accurately reflects her true sentiments - even if she didn't really say that my ass'd be grass.

So, food and booze. No problem. I can even get a balloon or two but was I really supposed to know that showers traditionally involve games and cake? Who knew that Jack & Jill parties run on the same principles? Let's just say that I might have been scrambling a tad when it came to organizing the "activities," but I can confirm that having more than enough food and booze compensates for missing a few other niceties.

An example of my lack of organization? I made up a big batch of sangria and didn't even remember to take a picture of the sangria or the wines that went into making them. Boo's clean up was so thorough and quick that I couldn't even take a picture of the wine bottles (and box) after the fact. Guess I'll just have to miss out on adding those wines to The List.

Thankfully, I didn't forget to get a shot of the double magnum bottle I opened for the celebration.

1620.  2011 Joie Farm - A Noble Blend (3L bottle) (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I just happened to have the double magnum of Joie lying around after I'd picked it up at a charity silent auction awhile back. At the time, I had no idea what kind of event would prove worthy of pulling the cork. I surely wasn't going to open the bottle for a quiet dinner for two. I figure a gathering of the clan for Vixen's imminent nuptials is about as good a reason as you could ask for though.

Now, I think it's safe to say that I don't buy many oversized bottles. I pretty much need to know that I like the wine - a lot - before I'll put out the extra bucks. No problem with this wine though. I've had A Noble Blend on a number of occasions and it's a perennial fave for the folks at Joie Farm. I've actually added the 2011 vintage to The List back at #1188 but that was a standard 750ml bottle. So, I figure it's fair game to add the over-sized bottle to The List as well.

Styled after the white blends of Alsace, the 2011 wine is dominated by Riesling and Gewürztraminer (38% and 33% respectively) with Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois and Schoenberger completing the mix. Various scribes have called it "rubenesque," "lengthy, tangy and mouthwatering," "a stunner" and "magic." I just call it tasty and refreshing and a hit with the crowd at hand.

As for the games? Turned out that I had more than we needed. Our New-to-Be-Wed Game showed that the happy couple actually knew each other pretty well. But, then again, you've got a 50/50 chance of being right if your answer for any Big Trucker question involves his car or the Miami Dolphins.

There were plenty of laughs reading all the bits of relationship advice that the guests offered to the happy couple - and at least a couple surprises when folks were asked to guess who was "the better at..." or "more likely to...." It probably wasn't too much of a surprise to see that the vast majority thought Vixen would be better at making a martini (after all I taught her everything she knows) or that she'd be the more likely of the two to send a "sext" message. It might have been more of a newly learned secret, however, to find out that neither admitted to being more likely to bring the other breakfast in bed. I think their joint response to the question was "What's that?" Big Trucker upped that with a "it'd more likely be a who'd deliver nachos in the bathroom kinda thing."

Relatives - what can you say? I suppose it good to learn that the new ones are likely to be just as crazy and weird as the current ones.

I just hope to be around when Vixen opens one or two of the bottles they received as gifts.

Thanksgiving Pie and Birthday Cake

My sis, Vixen, is now fully into the whole Brady Bunch blended family with her man, Big Trucker. Vixen's kiddies still live at home but B.T.'s three chillun's is all grown and moved out. As such, it can be difficult to try and gather the combined clan for family dinners - particularly when the Big Trucker kids traditionally spend Canadian Thanksgiving with their mom. As a result, Vixen thought she'd have everyone over for an early Thanksgiving dinner and combine it with Big Trucker's birthday.

I get to be truly thankful for the fact that she does all the cooking. my job is simply to bring wine for dinner.

1446.  N.V. Rosenblum Cellars - Stark Raving Red (Sonoma - California)

Boo and I arrived to an already opened bottle of this Stark Raving Red. I'm not sure if it was Vixen or one of the girls that picked up the bottle but they clearly succumbed to label's allure and knew nothing about the wine. Neither did I before looking into it a little further. My first thought was that, if this is a Rosenblum wine, what's going on? I've never known much about Rosenblum but I always recall the fact that I was told many years ago that it was one of the "R" wineries in California that make a mean, premium Zinfandel. The Stark Raving Red is a non-vintage, entry level wine that is an unlikely blend of Tannat, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cab Sauv and Petit Sirah. It didn't sound much like a Rosenblum wine.

One website promoting the wine says that it is "made for the man who likes his wines big, bold, jammy and luscious." Reading that, it's pretty easy to conclude that this brand is as much about marketing as it is about wine. While the winery website doesn't talk much about the wine itself, it didn't take much of a Google search to lead me to a video that takes you to a behind the scenes look at a photo shoot as the powers that be work on wine label images. Some wineries promote videos touring the vineyard and facilities. Others, I suppose, take you to fashion shoots worthy of America's Next Top Model.

It was much later that I learned that the Rosenblum family actually sold the winery (and name) to drinks conglomerate, Diageo, back in 2008 and the winery's old take on Zin is being largely usurped by new directions.

The wine wasn't bad but it's hardly the best commercial wine that I've tried either. The $15 price tag in our local market may well help the label stick around for some time to come though.

1447.  2009 Talbott - Logan Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands - Central Coast - California)

Another California red was up next but this was just a tad more upscale - read "just a tad" as a polite "head and shoulders above...." We'd picked it up awhile back during a visit South of the 49th Parallel. But, like the Stark Raving Red, I didn't really know anything about this bottle.  A little searching revealed that Talbott Vineyards has been making Pinots and Chardonnays for three decades now, releasing largely single vineyard wines.

The grapes for the Logan Pinot were all estate grown fruit from the home Sleepy Hollow Vineyard. While the wine is definitely on the lush, fruit-driven side of Pinot Noir, it was a popular pour. It's probably a bit big for turkey but no one seemed to care much about that.

1448.  2010 Robin Ridge Gewürztraminer (Similkameen Valley)

We don't tend to drink a whole lot of Gewürztraminer in our household. Boo doesn't have much time for it and it's not my favourite for a white varietal wine. I tend to appreciate the grape's floral and mouthfeel more when its characteristics show through on a white blend than I do when it's served up as a varietal wine. All the same, we usually have at least a couple nice Okanagan bottles that we've stumbled upon just for occasions like this - you know, ones generally involving turkey.

Not exactly an Okanagan wine, Robin Ridge hails from the neighbouring Similkameen, but it still reflects that BC tree fruit and spice-driven profile. Not the easiest of sells with this crowd but, hey, traditional pairings are traditional pairings.

Another pair of traditional pairings are cake with birthdays and Boo's pecan pie with Thanksgiving. Vixen even managed to coax an extra apple pie out of Boo as well.  Let's just say there was plenty of dessert to go around. There might have been no worries about getting enough dessert but Big Trucker had barely blown out the candles and the forks dove directly into the cake. No need to cut slices with this crowd apparently. Thankfully, folks gave Boo's pies a little more respect than they gave that chocolate cake. If they'd tried pulling that stunt with his toiled over crusts, it might have been the last pies they'd get to taste.

Whew.

Turkey. Pie. Chocolate Cake. Tasty Pinot. The fact that it's Big Trucker - and not me - getting another year older. I'd say there were a couple decent things to be thankful for - early or not.

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.

Turkey Talk

After last night's duck dinner and our initial take on this year's adventure in Thanksgiving poultry, it was time to talk turkey.  It's long been a family tradition to have these dinners at Vixen, my sister's, place.  This year's version was going to be somewhat different though.  There was going to be some of that whole "circle of life" bit. 

This would be our first family dinner since Mom passed away this summer.  An additional twist stemmed from the fact that Vixen and her man, Big Trucker, got engaged this summer as well - and this was would be the first full gathering of both clans.  Nothing new about Vixen and her three chilluns but all of Big Trucker's three kids have never joined in before. His girls have gotten used to our clan but BT's son was joining in for the first time.

I'm not sure he knew what his dad had gotten him into.  Hopefully, we didn't scare him off too badly.

It did make it clear that we're about to experience the Brady Bunch first hand though.

1257.  2008 Mistaken Identity Gewürztraminer (British Columbia)

Our new family members are more of a beer and football crowd but Vixen and I were there; so, you have to know that there'd be some wine being added to The List as well.  When talking turkey wines, Gewürztraminer is usually one of the first suggestions that comes out and I figured I'd grab a bottle that we'd picked up last year on Salt Spring Island.

Mistaken Identity is the third - and newest - winery to open on Salt Spring and 2008 was the first year that they had a winery licence and an actual vintage.  Turns out, though, that the vineyards weren't actually planted with any Gewurtz; so, enough grapes were sourced from the Okanagan to produce 500 cases.

It takes a pretty special Gewürztraminer to win me over.  The varietal's trademark floral tones often overwhelm me.  That wasn't an issue with this bottle.  While there wasn't much of a floral kick to it, the wine also seemed to be missing the spicy note that I do like to look for with Gewurtz.  This one was pretty much all soft fruit - and, while I might have been called a "soft fruit" myself, now and then, over the years, it's usually not my favourite drop of wine.

Mistaken Identity also grows an interesting assortment of varietals at the estate vineyards than the standard grapes we hear about - ones that are considered more suitable for the mild coastal climes.  I think I might be more inclined to try one of their wines made with Madeleine Angevine, Reichensteiner or Agria next time around.

An added bonus to the Thanksgiving dinner was that it was Big Trucker's birthday.  He might favour beer over wine, but he does like his chocolate - and that might be reason enough to welcome him with open arms into the family ranks.  I'm sure that Vixen can elaborate on a few more endearing traits - but that'd be different blog.  You'll have to reach her directly for further goodies.

Two nights.  Two birds.  Two wines.  Things are good.

The Neighbourhood Dine Around Comes Around

Despite the fact that I was out last night for what was likely my first "last call" in I don't know how many years, the old "no rest for the wicked" proved itself true because I had to get right back on the social horse and wagon and get ready for our annual Neighbours' Dine Around. The players may have changed somewhat and those involved have expanded a bit over the years, but the basic premise of spending a short time eating and visiting with our neighbourhood gang during the holiday season remains the same.

The array of food and drink never ceases to amaze me and tonight was no exception - even if I wasn't fully participating in all the wines and cocktails that were available.

1013. 2008 Mon Ami Rascal GSM (VdP Meditterannée - France)

After a bit of jockeying for positions, this year's extravaganza started off with Cupcake and Haggis and, being the rascal she is with all things witty, Cupcake served up the cutest little olive, carrot and cream cheese penguins. The kids loved them and you can count me in as one big kid. Whether they went along with the GSM is irrelevant - they were too cute to care.

Mon Ami Rascal is the house blend made for the earls restaurant chain by the Perrin family in the south of France. GSM (or Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre) is a traditional Rhone blend and, as you'd likely expect with a house red, it's an easy drinker with plenty of fruit and easy tannins. It's an easy way to start the evening avec nos amis rascals.

1014. 2010 Thornhaven Estates Gewürztraminer (VQA Okanagan Valley)

BabyMama and Arty400 offered a butter chicken as well as a vindaloo curry. I could have easily just chowed down on a couple heaping bowls of this and called it a night - but I had to show some restraint and limit myself to just a sample since there were another four homes to visit - and stop #2 is still considered appies in the greater scheme of things.

I always look forward to seeing what wines Arty400 serves up since he's a bit of wine fiend and he's always on top of the latest suggestions that Barb Philip, one of Vancouver's resident Wine Masters, is touting. I totally get serving the Gewurtz with the curries and the Thornhaven exhibited all the classic characteristics of a Gewurtz, but it wasn't my favourite wine of the night.

I didn't get to spend too much time with Nature Boy and Mr. Principled at their stop because I had to make a quick exit to get our place all set up, but I was able to hang around long enough to try their most delicious lamb stew. They matched it up with a very tasty red wine but I only had time for a quick sip and didn't even catch the name of the wine. I may have to try and follow up on that with them.

1015. 2009 Stoneboat Chorus (VQA Okanagan)

Boo and I teamed up to make a tourtiére seeing how it's a classic Québécois dish to serve up at Christmas. I'd never tried making it before but, if I do say so myself, it was pretty darned good. Boo made one of his best crusts ever and the filling was bang on tasty. When our tourtiére got the seal of approval from Marquis and Red, our resident Montréalers, I knew we'd pulled it off.

I offered up both a white and a red as the joy of tourtiére is that it'll match up with almost anything. An earlier vintage of the Chorus was added to The List a couple of years back, at #336, when the wine was still called "Nebbia." A blend of six white varietals, it's a summer sipper kind of wine that captures all the fruit of the Okanagan. I figured it would match nicely with the pork and crust.

Plus, the wine's a bit of Christmas present to myself because I'm going to add the Schönburger varietal to my Wine Century Club list this time around. I didn't add the grape last time because it's only provides a small percentage of the blend, but I'm adding all the varietals I find in blends nowadays since I've finished off the initial century. Besides, I rather doubt that I'll run across many wines that feature Schönburger in anything more than a supporting role.

2006 LaFrenz Shiraz (Okanagan Valley)

I brought the LaFrenz out simply because it's a beautiful wine and it made sense to share LaFrenz with our friends. Actually, I didn't exactly have to foresight to think of that little witticism before I opened the bottle but I'll use it since somebody pointed out what a nice idea it was. Credit where no credit's due. Gotta like that. I found the wine to be a little more acidic that I recalled in the past, but that was likely a good thing with the flavours of the tourtiére.

I do know that everyone was asking about the LaFrenz. So, I guess I'll let that make me feel a bit better about the fact that I served a wine that's already on The List. I'm not supposed to do such a silly thing.

By now, I was starting to fade a bit, but there were still two homes to visit. I kind of made an executive decision to back off on the wine though when I started nodding off - martini in hand - in a cozy old couch at Shameless Hussy and Rock God's place. At least I didn't spill the martini at all or start to snore. I don't know that I'd be able to show my face in the neighbourhood after such a faux pas.

As if they haven't seen way worse.

A double dessert and quick massage in Widya's "alien attack" chair basically spelled the end of evening for me. No cigars or Port this time around but it was yet another great little affair for the crowd. Now it's time to diet before the rest of the Christmas dinners to come.

Such a Sparkling Event!

A beautiful bride. Sparkling Hills Resort. What better nom-de-ma-plume could there be for my cousin, Centreman's, now legal squeeze than Sparkle?

I could go on about the stunning setting and lovely outdoor ceremony, the several "sap boy" moments or the abundance of hockey players, firemen and lively gal pals at the wedding, but this is a wine blog (at least, primarily a wine blog). So, I'll bypass all the wedding niceties and say that I was intrigued to find out what wines had been chosen for the reception and dinner. I know that we did a whole lot of tasting before we chose the wines for our reception. As such, I like to see what other folks decide upon for big events.

I was hoping to be able to add a couple of new wines to The List and hadn't counted on being lucky enough to add four new wines.

953. N.V. Yellowglen Pink (Australia)

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to get a shot of the bottle. The glasses kept coming out ready and filled - with nary a bottle in sight. But I did get a shot of Boo toasting his glass of Pink in the art piece that was a wooden "fur" coat.

I don't think I've ever tried this easy sipping, fruity sparkler prior to the wedding. I see that Yellowglen promotes itself as Australia's "#1 sparkling wine brand" and, as part of the omnipresent Aussie juggernaut, Fosters Group, I maybe see how Pink (and its mate, Yellow) are the biggest selling bubblies Down Under. It's definitely entry level - as opposed to vintage - bubbly but it's priced well and is made from the classic Champagne varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. An interesting choice, but I can see how it perfectly suited the reception and Sparkle's pink-themed wedding.

The dinner tables all featured red, white and rosé wines - so that all tastes could be covered - and so that I'd get three more bottles to add to The List.

954. 2010 Quails' Gate Rosé (VQA Okanagan Valley)

It was nice to see that a Rosé had been included in the wine choices. Rosé wines can be a tough enough sell in downtown Vancouver - let alone with the rough and tumble interior guys. Quails' Gate produces a nice, dry version though - made, largely, from Gamay Noir (90%) with some Pinot Noir filling in the balance. Nice and dry, the bottle was quickly emptied at our table.

The remaining two wines were special bottlings for the Sparkling Hills Resort by Bounty Cellars. The Resort had teamed up with Swarovski Crystal for the design of the resort and Swarovski is found throughout the hotel and spa. They've even connected with a local winemaker for a pair of house brand wines that are called Crystal. Naturally, all the labels sport small Swarovski crystals on them.

955. 2008 Bounty Cellars - Crystal Gewurztraminer (Okanagan Valley)

956. N.V. Bounty Cellars - Crystal Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (Okanagan Valley)

These are the first Bounty Cellars wines that I've added to The List. I have seen their products around but I've never actually had a bottle. Bounty's is an interesting story. They work much in the way of a French wine négociant where the company buys wines and grapes from other producers and growers from BC, Washington state and elsewhere and then puts out a finished product.

They also fill a particular niche in that they specialize in private labels for their wines - just as we see with the Crystal label. Most wineries won't get involved with private labels unless there is a large, minimum order; however, Bounty will apparently produce a wine for individual customers for as few as two cases of wine. John Schreiner has reported that the company created more than three hundred private labels in the winery's first three years of existence. He also states that the "private label niche accounted for about 60 percent of the revenues" in 2007.

To be honest, we were all far more caught up in the wedding to pay an inordinate amount of attention to tasting and thinking wine.

I've been to a great many weddings over the years, but Boo and I don't take in many nowadays. Most of our friends are long past married (or divorced). I certainly go to a lot more wine events than I do weddings. So, it was nice to see the younger folk kicking up their heels and having a great time.

I know that there have been more than a couple weddings that I've been to where the joy of the occasion was not only on the happy couple's face but more than matched by the guests. This one actually stands out for me though. I am sometimes reminded of my Mom raising her hands in the air to sing along with "It's Raining Men" and our reception, but I'm glad to say that there were some equally memorable moments here.

Cheers - and our very best wishes - to the happy couple.

A Rustic Gewurtz

Last weekend was of course my little jaunt up to the Okanagan for the BCWAS Bus Tour. I'd arrived a day before the Tour actually kicked in and, as otherwise reported in this blog, the Wine Grrrlz and I did a little pre-emptive tasting on the Golden Mile and Black Sage Road between Oliver and Osoyoos. We drove back and forth a couple times along Hwy 97 that day and we continually saw a collection of roadside signs announcing, "The Zin is In!"

Now, Zinfandel is not exactly one of the more common varietals grown in Okanagan. So, on my way back to Osoyoos, I thought I'd pay a visit to Rustico Farm & Cellars and see what all the zin was about. In spite of the fact that I'd arrived only ten minutes before the scheduled closing, proprietor, Bruce Fuller, gave me as warm a welcome and "Howdy" as I've ever received at a winery.

As soon as you've driven on the Rustico property, it's not hard to grasp that there's going to be something different about this winery. If the clothesline - featuring petticoats and long johns - remaining from an old movie shoot isn't enough of a hint, the Wild West entry and ubiquitous folk art has to be.

Oh yeah, Bruce's full moustache, cowboy hat and overalls tend to play into the initial impression as well.

In creating his vision for the winery, Bruce decided to celebrate the characters and the richness of the region's ranching, mining and agricultural history. The Tasting Saloon, yes that's correct, you're visiting a "Saloon," is actually part of a heritage log cabin that was originally a silver mine bunkhouse from the late 1800's. The bunkhouse was purchased by the vineyard's original owner and moved to its present location in the 1960's, a couple of logs at a time, from the old Sally Mine that was located on Anarchist Mountain - about a two to three hours drive full of steep, winding roads.

932. 2008 Rustico Farm & Cellars - Farmer's Daughter Gewurztraminer (Golden Mile - Okanagan Valley)

The thematics of the winery carry right through the labels and wine names as well. Bruce was telling me that he aims to produce an aromatic, well-bodied Gewurtz that he wants people to get real cozy with - just like the farmer's daughter that is central to so many jokes of old. Since Bruce likes his Gewurtz particularly dry, he reckons this one's bracing acidity leads to "her" being a "bit of a tart."

Despite my late arrival, I was served up all seven of the wines that Rustico now offers - including one of the few Zins in the Valley. Although Bruce only opened the doors to his Tasting Saloon in September 2009, the vineyard actually has some of the oldest vines around - including one of the few blocks of the Chancellor varietal that remain in the Okanagan - and has been producing grapes for many of the neighbouring wineries for years. I ended up leaving with three or four bottles (including the Zin but remembering, of course, that I was on my No Buy Leash) and this is the first of those bottles that Boo and I have opened.

As a rule, I don't buy bottles of Gewurtz in big numbers; so, the fact that I picked one up at Rustico is a pretty good indication that I rather liked the Farmer's Daughter myself.

And there is no doubt that I enjoyed my chat with Bruce. I have a feeling that he might give Bill Eggert, of Fairview Cellars up the road, a bit of a run for his money when it comes to who's the wine industry's biggest character in the Southern Okanagan. It'll take some time for Bruce to have as wide a selection of wine stories to keep up with Bill, but he's off to a good start.

One of those stories involves the fact that Rustico is likely the only winery in the Okanagan that has a hitching post outside the tasting room so that folks riding on the near-by horse trail can leave their steed outside while they sample a bit of wine before galloping away. Funny thing is that Bruce really does get some visitors arriving at the winery on horseback.

I think it will be interesting to see how the winery does over the next so many years. The theme behind the winery will likely act as a draw for many but it may prove to bit a bit gimmicky for some.

In the mean time, I just say "yeee haaaw."

Blasted Church Gewurtz

The last wine that I clocked in with was a bit of a study in marketing. Whether Vincor's Open series succeeded or not might be debatable. On the other hand, I don't think there are many that would argue with the success that Blasted Church has experienced. Known for it's cutting edge labels and sense of fun, IMHO they've worked as hard on producing better and better wines - as much as they've worked on the whole marketing end of the business.

I haven't explored the winery's entire website but what I've seen of it is both informative and entertaining. It's easy to find the humour and inventiveness that must abound at the winery.

901. 2009 Blasted Church Gewurztraminer (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Blasted Church has always been known for its colourful cartoon labels. I recall that, when they first appeared on the market around a decade ago, response went all over the map. Many even questioned if the wines were meant to be taken seriously? Still going strong after all these years, the vintages that were released in 2010 were adorned with new labels that are even more cutting edge.

Local wine scribe emeritus, John Schreiner, likens the characters on the labels to avatars. This is the first of the newly labelled bottles that I've tried and I'm prone to saying that I'm on the fence about the new art, but this Gewurztraminer was eminently drinkable - whether I gushed over the label or not.

Being one of the Germanic varietals, BC's climate is well suited to growing Gewurtz and there's a fair bit of it around. I'm not necessarily the varietal's biggest fan - particularly when the floral and perfume-y characteristics of the wine are highlighted or exaggerated. I didn't find that exaggeration at all with this wine though. Indeed, if I hadn't opened it as a Gewurztraminer, I might not have guessed what it was. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

The 2010 releases also saw the winery introduce new eco-friendly bottles that weigh a third less than the bottles used previously. This lighter glass helps with better efficiencies in transportation, handling and resource requirements. Capturing the cheekiness that abounds with Blasted Church, winery owner, Evelyn Campbell, has been quoted as referring to the new bottles and the "significant environmental benefits" as "a godsend."

It's been a few years since I've ventured by the Blasted Church tasting room. It might just be time to try and get there again. I see that they've introduced a few new wines and a premium tier since I was last there. With even more irreverent names like Nothing Sacred Meritage and OMG Sparkling, a visit sooner than later would be a blessing.

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.

Saturna Gewurtz

Boo and I may drink our fair share of BC wine. There's little doubt, however, that the vast majority of that wine comes from the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Every so often, we run across the opportunity taste a bottle from BC's Wine Islands.

A couple of years back, Mickey Rooney asked us to visit them at their place on Saturna Island. That little trip happened before I'd started off on this Odyssey of mine. So, unfortunately, I didn't get to do a couple of postings there - because we certainly finished off more than a couple of bottles. Indeed, we had a grand weekend that included the Island's annual Canada Day Lamb Roast. It also included a hike along the cliff top and a leisurely lunch at the island's only winery. I'd have liked to add a picture or two from the weekend, but I couldn't find any of the pictures quickly.

Tonight's bottle has somehow managed to last until now before we've gotten around to opening it. I'll say that's because we kept wanting to get Mickey Rooney over to our place so that we could knock it back with them, but it might be more reasonable to admit that we don't tend to drink a lot of Gewurtz.

717. 2007 Saturna Island Family Estate Gewurztraminer (VQA BC Gulf Islands)

This one we liked though. I remember thinking that it was our favourite of the estate's wines at the time and I was glad to see that it hadn't suffered from our delay in popping the cork. Neither too floral on the nose, nor too acidic, this was a dry fruit-laden sip that I'd easily go back to again and again.

The Gulf Islands bank a lot on their climate that they liken to the Northern Mediterrean, but they are largely limited to growing white varietals and to Pinot Noir (with a few stabs at other early ripening reds). Although during the late 1990's, when the winery was just getting started and the vineyards were still being planted, grapes used to be purchased and shipped in from the Okanagan, but all the grapes are now being grown on the estate's 60 acres.

Maybe we can find some time and persuade Mickey Rooney to have us over again and I can blog some Saturna wines property. I'll just have to look into that.

Serving Up the Record Sockeye

581. 2006 Red Rooster Reserve Gewurztraminer (Naramata Bench - VQA Okanagan Valley)

581. 2009 Quintay Clava Pinot Noir (Casablanca Valley - Chile)