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.

Terravista Fandango

Senka Tennant is one of a number of pioneers in bringing about a reputation for sophisticated wines in the Okanagan. When she (along with her husband, Bob, and a couple of business partners) worked on the launching of Black Hills Winery in 1999, she was responsible for the introduction of one of the region's most iconic wines: Nota Bene, the Bordeaux blend that quickly attained cult status and ingrained Senka's name into the minds of BC wine drinkers.

As anyone familiar with BC wines knows, Senka and Bob sold Black Hills to a investment consortium in 2007 and the Tennants took a bit of a breather.

That breather didn't last long, however, the couple purchased new property on the Naramata Bench in 2008. They also decided to blaze a trail with their new project, Terravista, when they were the first in Canada to commercially plant and harvest Albariño and Verdejo - two grapes that are associated more with the northwest of Spain and Portugal than the northern climes of the Naramata Bench.

1922.  2012 Terravista Fandango (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Senka's penchant for blends was also seen in another of Black Hills' better known wines, Alibi - a white Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Tennants may not have continued making Bordeaux-styled wines but they have carried on in the direction of blends. They are currently only producing white wines - a Rhône-style blend called Figaro and tonight's bottle, Fandango, a blend of the Albariño and Verdejo grown on their new property. They don't make a lot of either wine either. Local wine writer, John Schreiner, has reported that Senka found the whole expansion and growth of Black Hills to be a bit overwhelming and that she and Bob intend to keep production at Terravista around a 2000 case maximum.

The 2012 is the second bottling of Fandango and it would appear that it can stand up to a bit of ageing because, after a couple of years in the bottle, this is still a fresh and vibrant - not to mention tasty - glass of wine. I'm no expert on either of the two grapes making up this wine, but I'd love to do a comparison tasting of the Terravista and a Spanish and/or Portuguese version.

As of the 2012 vintage, Fandango still couldn't qualify for VQA status - despite its pedigree and the quality of the product. To my knowledge, that still hasn't changed. Neither Albariño, nor Verdejo have been recognized by the provincial wine powers as approved varieties. Until that happens, Fandango will simply have to rely on the fact that its fans know its value - even if it doesn't have an executive stamp of approval.

I'm just glad to see Senka and Bob back in the wine business.

Walking A Tightrope

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Misconduct

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

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

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

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

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

Bravo.

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

Pruning Our Little Ones

It's pruning time for us Red Rooster Adopt-A-Row types. Boo and I have been part of this early-adopter version of a wine club for Okanagan wineries. As more and more wineries started to appear on the BC wine scene, there weren't many ways for customers to enjoy an "intimate" connection with the wineries. Red Rooster introduced the Adopt-A-Row program where "parents" do exactly that - they "adopt" a row of the Malbec vines that are planted right outside the Red Rooster winery. There may be a number of unique opportunities nowadays but I think Red Rooster might have been the very first to try something like this.

It's not like the program gives you any control over the management of the vines or in the making of the wine, but you can find your name on a row, you receive wine (naturally) and the winery throws two parties each year for the parents: a harvest party in the Fall and a pruning party, like the one at hand, in the Spring.

Boo and I haven't been able to make the last couple of celebratory weekends. So, I was happy to see that I could make the drive to the Naramata Bench this time around - sans Boo, unfortunately - but at least our vines got a little lovin' from one of their adopted daddies.

The weekend kicked into gear with a winery reception on the Friday night and, this year, they hosted a parlour game where they served up eight wines blind - a pair each of four varietal wines - where one wine was made by Karen Gillis and the Red Rooster team and the other was an international wine from a region well-versed in the particular grape variety. There were also four cheeses paired to the varietal wines. It was our job to identify the grapes AND which of the two was the Red Rooster wine and to name the type of cheese (from a list of four choices).

There were some clues to the grape varieties. So, I'll admit that I found naming the varietal wines - Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir - to be easy enough. Picking which one was the Red Rooster wine was a bit tougher but I figure I've quaffed enough Red Rooster over the years that I had a pretty good handle on Karen's stylistic traits. Picking the cheeses was a crap shoot.

The good news was that I was the grand prize winner and, furthermore, they announced that, for the first time when they've played this game, the winner had gotten all of the answers correct. Humble, as always, I had to admit that the cheeses were pure guesses for the most part. It was nice to know that it can pay off to drink all that wine that I have over the years.

Being solo Friday night, I was able to make an early evening of it and was even able to get up the next morning with enough time to complete a short run to fit in some training for the Half Corked Half Marathon. The race takes place through the vineyards of the Oliver-Osooyoos area and was coming up at the end of May. The region might be a half-hour down Highway 97, but it's the closest I'd be able to train on the race course.

After the run, it was time to get those pruning juices flowing. The first time we attended a pruning party, the winery actually trusted us to decide where to make the initial cut on the vines. I think they must have learned that might not have been the smartest move for the ensured longevity of the vines. Nowadays, the vineyard staff have pre-cut the vines and we parents are tasked more with clearing out the cut vines. There was plenty of cutting and carting to be accomplished though as you can see by the pile of cut vines.

Karen and vineyard manager, Rolf, also talk some about how the winery operates and why certain steps are taken. I found it interesting that, this year, the cuttings were all going to be burned - as opposed to being mulched for compost - because they felt that there were some traces of a black mould that had appeared on some vines that had been damaged by a particularly cold winter spell the previous season. They wanted to ensure that the mould wasn't introduced to any future compost.

After our efforts in the vineyard, everyone is treated to a lunch and wine tasting in the winery. A pretty good payoff for maybe an hour's work in the vineyard.

It's become a bit of tradition that the Adopt-A-Row weekend is ended with a winery dinner for those who can attend. Luckily for me, Bella Gianna was able to play "plus-one" for me in Boo's absence. She drove down from Lake Country and we had a grand afternoon touring the Naramata Bench before we headed off to the dinner.

1880.  2012 Red Rooster Reserve Malbec (VQA Okanagan Valley)

As with most wine dinners, there was a wide selection of wines served. However, since our Adopt-A-Row vines are all Malbec, it seems like a good idea to add the newest vintage to be released to The List.  With only 194 cases having been made, the Malbec is rather rare and is initially released only to Adopt-A-Row members. There isn't a lot of the wine made because Malbec isn't one of the more common grapes grown for varietal wines in the Okanagan. Rather, it is generally grown as a component of BC Bordeaux or Meritage blends.

Being a blending component was the intent for Red Rooster's Malbec vines as well; however, back in 2006, the winery team decided that the Malbec fruit and resulting wine was good enough to bottle as a varietal wine even if it might limit the Meritage production a bit. The winery has released a varietal Malbec ever since.

Bella Gianna and I were particularly blessed in our table mates that night in that winery manager (and all-around good guy and goof), Blair Dufty, joined us and, to top that off, winemaker, Karen, joined us for the main course since there was an empty seat at our table. Both Blair and Karen are always good for particularly insightful stories about the Red Rooster in particular - and the BC wine industry, as a whole, in general. Information doesn't come much more directly than that.

By the look of the count on with this bottle, this may well be the last Adopt-A-Row visit that I'll make before I hit bottle number 2001 on this little Odyssey. I'm pretty sure that it won't be the last Red Rooster wine to make The List, but I'll just have to see how I continue with the blog once that landmark goal is reached. Something tells me this won't be the last Adopt-A-Row venture that I'll write about.

Until then, it's back to The List at hand.

Swedish Mussels and Wine Picks

It's not too often that I go out for dinner and someone else takes full control of the wine list and for ordering the evening's fare. Given my wine indulgences, most dining partners don't want to have anything to do with choosing a wine. They just leave it up to me. As such, it was interesting to see Bergmann just take charge when I joined him and my old neighbour, Red, for dinner on The Drive.

Bergmann was down to his last days in Vancouver before he returned to his native Sweden for the summer. His winter on the Whistler slopes and in Red's arms was bout to end and Red hoped that we could all get together. Red called up La Gondoliera to join in and the setting was there for an engrossing dinner. It would seem that Red still misses the old hood because we could have gone anywhere for dinner - and there are some new, happening restaurants near her new digs - but she quickly opted for the moules-frites at Carthage, maybe two blocks from the old home. She says that Carthage remains a favourite of her's and Bergmann's and that they've shared many a bowl of mussels there.

I mean, who doesn't love muscles? Oops, that's "mussels," right?

1871.  2013 Humberto Canale - Diego Murillo Malbec (Rio Negro - Patagonia - Argentina)

In any event, I was happy to let Bergmann assume the role of wine director - particularly since he had a rapport and history with our waiter. They bantered back and forth for a bit and settled on a Malbec. I must say that I might not have gone that direction with mussels (and La Gondoliera opted to stick with her much beloved Prosecco) but it was an easy drinking, fruity Malbec and it paired better than I might have expected.

I've certainly seen the Diego Murillo label sitting on local shelves but I can't recall ever having tried it before. Like many wineries in Argentina, Humberto Canale has been around for many years - long before the arrival of Argentine Malbec on the global wine scene. The founder and namesake of the winery established the company in 1909 and the fourth generation of the family is currently manning the operations.

I found it interesting that this is a Malbec from Patagonia and not the more ubiquitous Mendoza region. Patagonia, in general, sees a cooler climate than Mendoza; so, that might have lent itself to a bit lighter structure in the wine. That being said, however, this is truly an entry level wine. There aren't all that many bottles in our market that come in at under $10. So, I'm not sure this is the best example to use when forming an opinion on wines from the region.

Regardless of the wine's pedigree, the bottle was empty soon enough and we needed a second.

1872.  2011 3 Mile Estate - Cabernet Merlot (Okanagan Valley VQA)

Bergmann's second choice was even more of a surprise. In part because I couldn't recall having seen it before and I figure I have a pretty good handle on BC wineries. At first, I thought it might be one of the virtual wineries producing bulk wines that may or may not be made of local fruit but I then saw that it was an Okanagan Valley VQA wine - meaning that it not only has to be made from local fruit but that the wine has to pass inspection by a tasting panel that qualifies wines as meeting minimum quality requirements.

In thinking back (after the fact), I recall that Luke Smith, of Howling Bluff, has previously referred to a 3 Mile vineyard on some of his labels. So, I don't know if the folks behind that vineyard have opted to produce some of their own wines now rather than sell all their fruit or if it's a totally different operation but I do see that there is a 3 Mile Road that runs along the Naramata Bench.  I guess that just gives me even more to look into next time I'm up visiting the Bench.

The Cab Merlot didn't blow my socks off but that might have been because, by now, we were drinking it with no further accompaniment than our conversations. Our entrées were long finished and the wine was a bit big for the desserts on offer. There was nothing left in the bottle upon our departure though; so, it was hardly a flawed wine.

And, as I often say in this blog, I always like to see what other folks pick when it comes to choosing wine. So, to have Bergmann so readily step up to the plate was intriguing. We didn't discuss what the wine culture is like in Sweden but that too will just have to be a topic for me to look into further in the days to come. I don't think Boo and I will make it to Scandinavia any time soon but Bergmann's scheduled to return to Whistler - and Red, naturally - this Fall. We'll just have to make plans for more mussels.

Sauv Blanc Rocks Naramata Bench

Seeing as how my last post might not have come across as one extolling the merits of Howling Bluff's wines as much as a post on marketing, I thought it'd be good to pull the cork on another bottle and just sing the praises of one fine Okanagan Sauvignon Blanc.

As much as the Okanagan Valley is home to many a fine white wine, it doesn't seem that a large number of wineries have jumped into Sauv Blanc production. Or maybe I just don't tend to gravitate much to them. There are always exceptions, however, and Howling Bluff's is one of them.

1844.  2012 Howling Bluff Sauvignon Blanc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

In taking an online look at Howling Bluff and Sauv Blanc, the majority of references are to the popular Sauv Blanc/Sémillon blend that the winery produces. For the last couple of vintages, proprietor Luke Smith has also made a varietal Sauv blanc - to some solid success. The web site proudly announces that its 2012 vintage was the "highest rated Canadian Sauvignon Blanc last year according to the National Wine Awards...in fact there was only one gold medal awarded in the Sauvignon Blanc category."

Of course, there was very little of the wine to be found - often a problem with boutique wineries. The Sauv Blanc is a winery tasting room only find as there were only 300 cases in 2012. I was lucky to make this my last stop following the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference that had just been held down the road in Penticton. There wasn't much left but I was able to grab some.

As might be expected from the Okanagan, there was bright acidity and plenty of fruit but I liked that the wine still had a nice balance and, overall, tasted more Sancerre than New Zealand - which is almost inevitably a good thing with me.

And topping that off was the fact that we paired it with mussels. Another inevitable win in my books.

Now, the task is to find some more.

Summa Quies

As much as I like Luke Smith and his pursuit of fine Pinot, I do get confused with his many changes in labelling and naming. I guess the problem is that I don't know his Howling Bluff wines intimately enough to be able to lead you through all the various incarnations but I know enough to realize that there have been a number of changes to the names, labels and branding in the decade or so since Luke arrived on the Naramata Bench wine scene.

I realize Luke was advised to abandon his old label with the howling wolf because Vancouver's higher end restaurants told him that they couldn't sell it as a premium Pinot Noir because patrons thought the bottle looked like just another "critter" wine.

I think he's now settled on his branding but I'm still a little bewildered.

1843.  2010 Howling Bluff - Summa Quies Three Sisters Pinot Noir (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Case in point. The winery is still called Howling Bluff Estate Winery; yet, that name is nowhere to be found on the front label. The focal point of the label is Summa Quies, the name of Luke's vineyard and Latin for "attaining peace" or "attain perfection." I'm not sure how Summa Quies fits into this equation though seeing as how the grapes used in this Pinot were grown on and purchased from the Three Sisters vineyard a little further down the Bench.

I'm sure, as a former Vancouver businessman, Luke's done his consultation and due diligence. I'll just put it out there that I find the whole Howling Bluff vs. Summa Quies juxtaposition a tad bewildering.

I guess at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the wine in the bottle leaves you wanting more - whether you understand the label or not. I found this glass hits that middle point between New World and Old World - a straddling of the two styles that seems to be one that BC wines are getting very adapt at. There's definite red fruit on the nose and palate but it's more subdued than bold and there's more acidity than earthy notes coming through. I think it's fair to say that this wine will be enjoyed more with food than it would be as a sipper on its own. This isn't the most complex Pinot I've tried from Howling Bluff but let's keep in mind that the bottle was $28 and hardly the price of Willamette Valley, Central Otago or mid-range Burgundy.

If nothing else, I'm certainly sure that I'll continue to follow and open more Howling Bluff wines - regardless of and future direction the label may take.

Hardly A Laughing Matter

Lately, and possibly even justifiably so, Boo has been on a major campaign to drink some of the older BC wines that we have in our cellar. He's tightened the "No Buy Leash" (like that's anything new) and he's determined to free up some space in our place. It's not like we're running into a lot of flawed bottles but, admittedly so, a lot of the BC wines that we've got in the cellar were made by fairly new wineries that were only learning about their Okanagan terroir and were made from pretty young vines. None of those factors are necessarily hallmarks of long-aging wines.

As such, we might be seeing a few wines - on a Tuesday night - that aren't exactly Tuesday night wines. I suppose I shouldn't complain though - especially when they show as well and taste as fine as tonight's wine did.

1806.  2006 Laughing Stock Portfolio (Okanagan Valley)

I haven't added a large number of Laughing Stock wines to The List but that's primarily because we don't have a many of them to open. Production is limited and finding the wines can be difficult unless you happen to be travelling on the Naramata Bench shortly after the wines have been released. Unlike a number of Okanagan wineries, Laughing Stock has decided to limit the number of wines that they'll make and the grape varieties that they'll work with. I think they're still limiting themselves to the two red blends - Portfolio and Blind Trust - the Syrah and a similarly limited selection of whites. And none of those wines are made in big volumes.

I think the easiest way of giving you the goods on the provenance of Laughing Stock's Portfolio is to refer you to an article written by BC wine scribe extraordinaire, John Schreiner, in which he sets out a nice little recap of Laughing Stock's first decade, especially of this flagship blend.

In addition to reading John Schreiner, I always find it to be great fun to read the "ticker tape" gracing Laughing Stock bottles and this vintage of the Portfolio is no exception. In addition to setting out information on wine inside, the label shows the value of highly held stocks on the day that the grapes were picked. On this particular label, Research In Motion was still selling for $133.31 a share and it had seen a rise of $4.02 that day. I'm not sure there are many more vintages showing RIM in such a good light.

Most vintages of Portfolio do, however, show that the wine skews to the Right Bank of Bordeaux-style blends. The '06 vintage was 61% Merlot, 16% each of Cab Sauv and Cab Franc, 5% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. Merlot dominant blends are common enough for the Okanagan but, if they all tasted as good as this one, I'd say keep bringing them on.

Big with generous dark fruit, this baby is still a strong buy - if you could only find any. Sadly, it was our last bottle. I'm just glad that Boo had me open it while it was still this tasty.

A Delectable Pinot Gris

Where did all the photos go? It seems that, as soon as Merlot Boy and Margarita boarded a plane to take the #2Kangaroo Tour for a week of adventure in NYC, I forgot how the camera worked. Despite probably my needing to de-tox after spending a week with the Aussies, Boo and I did continue to enjoy a glass or two while we awaited their return. I just can't find any pictures of what we drank - except for a few on my phone or those that I downloaded onto my Delectable account.

1666.  2012 Nichol Pinot Gris (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

There's a lot of Pinot Gris produced in British Columbia. Indeed, it's the most widely planted white grape variety in the province - and it's easy to find a range of styles, from bone dry to light and fruity with a touch of sweet.

I've always like Nichol Vineyards' somewhat unique take on the grape.

Although Pinot Gris was named after a gray-ish tone often found to its skin ("gris" being French for "grey"), the grape's colouring can vary a fair bit - from a deep golden yellow through copper to brownish pink and darker. That colouring permits wineries - like Nichol and its neighbour Kettle Valley - to leave the crushed juice on its skins for a bit of time to impart some additional body, flavour ... and colour. For this 2012 vintage, the back label says that the juice is given "up to 36 hours of skin contact" - and you could easily mistake it for a Rosé.

Nichol's style also differs somewhat in that they also ferment a portion of their Pinot Gris in neutral, French oak, thereby adding a touch more body and complexity.

I think this is the fourth vintage of Nichol's Pinot Gris that I'm adding to The List. So, I won't go on any further about the winery or their Pinot Gris, but I can add a link to a post I wrote back in 2011 when the 2009 vintage was added as #904. You can easily head there for a little more extensive account should you desire.

Me, I'd like to find out why I don't have any photos for a whack of wines. Like I need another delay factor in my writing here.

An Aussie Touch to Canada Day

It might be not quite as celebrated as our Christmas Dine Around but the Canada Day BBQ has now become a reliable tradition in the neighbourhood as well. Not only is it a great opportunity to kibbutz with the gang but, because we're able to congregate outside as well as in, we can expand our numbers over our December do. The BBQ allows neighbours from up the block to join us, provides an opportunity for travelling Aussies to join in and gives us a chance to catch up some some old buds who have up and moved away.

The latter folks may have abandoned us on a day-to-day basis but there's one or two that we still like enough to invite back to the hood.

So long as they bring a potluck item and some booze.

1662.  2012 Red Rooster Pinot Gris (VQA Okanagan Valley)

1663.  2008 La Frenz Rattlesnake Vineyard Merlot (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

It may well have been Canada Day but Boo and I seemed to be the only ones that brought along Canadian wines. I always say that I enjoy seeing what other folks bring along to the party - probably because there are often some interesting and/or surprising choices.

Red Rooster and La Frenz wines are certainly no surprise as additions to The List. Both have been producing enjoyable wines on the Naramata Bench for years now - and Boo and I still participate in the Adopt-A-Row program that Red Rooster promotes. As such, we kind of have a bottle or two of their wines around. Our row at Red Rooster may be planted with Malbec grapes but we're equal opportunity drinkers when it comes to their wines. So, the Pinot Gris called out as a wine for the sun and fun. Since this was a party for neighbours, I figured I'd grab a bottle of La Frenz as well since they're just down the road from Red Rooster on the Bench. With this one, I figured I should give our in transit Aussie, Merlot Boy, an idea of what BC Merlot can be like. He did not turn down a second glass.

I think both wineries are fine ambassadors for BC and Canadian winemakers.

1664.  2012 Barone Montalto - Nero d'Avola Cabernet Sauvignon (Sicily IGT - Italy)

With Boo's pulled pork in good supply and Mr. Principled grilling sausages left, right and centre, it's probably a good thing that someone brought along a big ol' Sicilian red. Our neighbourhood may not exactly be the Little Italy that it was decades ago but I'm sure there's been more than a few botti's worth of Italian wines thrown back in the immediate vicinity.

I didn't know this producer at all but it's interesting to see more Sicilian wines showing up in our market. It'll be even more interesting to see if that new stream of wines sticks to Sicily's indigenous grapes - like Nero d'Avola - or if more of the international grapes start showing up in their wines, either as varietal wines or blends.

One thing that you can pretty well be guaranteed about at our neighbourhood events is that there won't be a shortage of food. We rather tend to take the word "potluck" to mean "keep eating because with any luck you won't notice any increase in the size of your pot belly." From salads to corn on the cob to cupcakes and sweets, we can pretty much be assured of pleasing vegetarian, kosher and carnivorous diets.

We haven't quite mastered the All Canada, All Dance party playlist yet, but we do serve up everything from Stan Rogers through kd lang and from Bublé to Arcade Fire. Not to mention the old Hockey Night in Canada theme song.

1665.  2012 19 Crimes - Shiraz Durif (Victoria - Australia)

If I had to guess (which I don't), I'd put a couple bucks on the fact that our 2Kangaroos brought along the 19 Crimes. Merlot Boy hadn't run across this wine back home in Oz and he was intrigued by what the label was marketing to Canadians: that many of the new settlers to Australia were criminals.

As if we didn't know all of that already.

Canada Day or not, I'm always in favour of an Aussie Shiraz. If I can send a few bucks down their way, so be it. Anything, you know, to build on our two countries' great friendship.  Besides, what goes better with a slab of barbecued meat than some juice from Down Under? That, and a big, fruity wine is just an epitome of our buddy, Merlot Boy.

I'm sure there must have been a few other wines served up during the day but these four were the only ones that I got around to trying. Since July 1st fell on a Tuesday this week, I was going to need to be at work bright and early in the morning and, therefore, needed to behave.

Besides, if there wasn't enough wine already, there was a full array of craft beers that made their way to the party as well. And, as good a boy as I might have been striving to be, I'm hardly going to turn down an opportunity to try a taste of what's in 49th Parallel's Banana Hammock.

And, on that happy note...it was time to lower the flag and head off to catch a few winks.

Howling Bluff - 3 Mile

We've been on a bit of run of BC wines lately: eight of the last ten bottles to be added to The List have all been local wines. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm a big fan of eating and drinking local. And, as Boo urges me to use more of the wines we already have in the "cellar," there's bound to be a lot of BC wine since that's what we have the most of.

We followed suit with another wine from the Naramata Bench tonight.

1623.  2009 Howling Bluff - Three Mile Wines - Stone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir (Naramata Bench)

There's little doubt that Luke Smith's adventure with Howling Bluff has taken a decidedly Pinor Noir-esque focus. Luke may have started the winery with Bordeaux in mind, but after his first vintage of Pinot Noir (in 2006) won a Lieutenant Governor's Wine Award and his 2008 vintage won an award as Canada's Best Red Wine of the Year in 2010, he determined that Mother Nature was telling him that his Naramata Bench vineyards were best suited for Pinot.

Not to say that Luke still doesn't make some Sin Cera - his homage to Bordeaux - there just isn't nearly as much as there used to be and more recent vintages are likely going to be a Merlot-dominant wine since he's been regrafting his original Cab Sauv and Cab Franc vines with more Pinot Noir clones.

That being said and award-winning wines aside, Howling Bluff has had its issues with consistent marketing. They've gone through a couple of label changes and re-brandings in their short life already - in part, because the stylized howling wolf reminded higher end restaurants too much of critter wines. This Three Mile Wines Pinot Noir simply added to the confusion (at least for me). I think this was a single vineyard wine that Luke made from grapes that were sourced from some neighbours on the Bench. I also believe that this is the only vintage that Howling Bluff produced (although there is a 3 Mile Estate winery found on the Bench nowadays).

Too confusing for me, I'm afraid.

Luckily, despite the confusion, the Pinot went nicely with grilled salmon - first of the season for us.
However, once the fish was done, the acidity on its own was a bit much and the wine wasn't as enjoyable as a sip on its own.

Guess that just meant we needed more salmon - or needed to keep half the bottle for dinner the next night. Needless to say, that last possibility didn't happen. "Leftover wine" isn't a phrase that is either well understood or appreciated in our household. Just meant the last half of the bottle wasn't as pleasing as the first half was.

A Pleasant Surprise - Muscat Ottonel

1469.  2011 Hillside Muscat Ottonel (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I took a look back to see how many vintages of this wine had already been added to The List and I was quite surprised to find out that were none. I say "surprised" because Boo has always had a soft spot for this wine since he says it reminds him of some of the Muscadine wines he grew up with in the American South.

The grapes have nothing to do with each other but, you know, Muscat Muscadine. Fruity, white wine that tends to carry some residual sugar. His mind just works like that.

In any event, there's an added bonus to this surprise in that I haven't added the Muscat Ottonel grape to my Wine Century Club tally either. With this "new" variety to add, I'm now hitting 165. I may hit my "doppel" membership yet.

As you might guess, Muscat Ottonel isn't the most common of grapes grown. In fact, a number of sites advise that Hillside is the only Okanagan winery producing a Muscat Ottonel wine. Hillside definitely appears to have the only varietal wine made with the grape. If anyone else is using it, they must be putting it into blends.

The grape does, however, merit a page in Jancis Robinson's (et al) tome, Wine Grapes, where it is noted that the grape is a cross of Chasselas and Muscat d'Eisenstadt (not that I've ever heard of the latter). The book also points out that wines made with Muscat Ottonel are best known from Alsace and Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary and Romania. This last fact may explain the grape's appearance in the Okanagan since the original owners of Hillside were Czech immigrants Vera and Bohumir Klokocka.

Interestingly enough, Muscat Ottonel was the first variety planted at the Hillside farm in the mid -1980's and the varietal wine has been somewhat of signature grape for Hillside ever since it was the first winery to open on Naramata Road back in 1990. Cult status for the wine or not, production is limited. Only 781 cases were produced with this 2011 vintage and the wine goes quickly for such an uncommon grape.

Muscat Ottonel is known for its delicate profile and I think I'll just go with a quote from Daenna Van Mulligen's Wine Scores site where she writes, "It's a wonderfully scented white, which you may want to wear as a perfume, but it tasted too good to waste." Virtually every reference or review of the wine says that it pairs perfectly with Thai food - particularly if there's a bit of bite to the dishes. It worked equally as well with our mussels - and knowing of the wine's tendency to show a bit of sweet, it allowed me to jack up the heat on the mussels.

Gotta love a wine that let's you jack up the heat so as to compliment the wine.

Now I just have to figure out why the wine hasn't made it to The List previously.

Alexandria

1434.  2012 La Frenz Alexandria (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

With Boo actively trying to enforce his "No Buy Leash" on my wine purchasing tendencies, it's been some time since I've bought La Frenz by the case - even when it's by the mixed case. As such, I haven't been able to pick up a bottle of the winery's Alexandria for some years. Although the Muscat of Alexandria grape isn't highly planted in BC, the fair bit of it that is grown generally is used in making the popular Okanagan white blends.

La Frenz makes one of the few straight varietal wines that I'm aware of and it has become somewhat of a cult favourite. If you don't order a case of La Frenz wines, you pretty much have to visit the winery - shortly after the wine is released - because there isn't a lot of it made and it inevitably sells out long before the Fall arrives.

Part of its popularity is that the wine consistently serves up a whack of fruit on both the nose and the palate and it leaves some residual sugar that matches nicely with the spicy ethnic foods that are plentiful in Vancouver. La Frenz owner and winemaker, Jeff Martin, only enters his wines in a couple of competitions and he usually only enters the tougher ones where the medals might be seen as actually meaning something. This 2012 vintage pulled in Gold at both the 2013 All Canadian Wine Championships and the 2013 Northwest Wine Summit. Not a bad haul for a grape that very few drinkers would recognize.

As such, I was rather shocked when I saw a bottle for sale on Salt Spring Island the other week. "No Buy Leash" or not, I grabbed it and offered up a big "thank you" to the shop.

Tyrant and Panda Guy's Big Day

When the timeframe of my last post ended, the weather sucked. Rain was pouring down just as we were primping to attend Tyrant and Panda Guy's wedding. Luckily, 15 minutes on the Gulf Islands can see an entirely different weather pattern kick in. As we arrived at the lakefront site for the wedding, the sun was shining and the smiles were almost as bright.

Tyrant's and my friendship is into its fourth decade now and he's always been the consummate entertainer. He's one of my most mentioned drinking buddies in the Blog and we've chatted over and thrown back many a bottle of wine in our days. Seeing as how Tyrant has one of the most extensive wine collections I've had the pleasure of knowing, I was excited to see what wines he'd chosen for his and Panda Guy's big day. He didn't disappoint with a collection of some of the biggest icons in BC wines.

N.V. Blue Mountain Gold Label Brut (Okanagan Valley)

Everyone was greeted at the door with a glass of Blue Mountain Brut. I wasn't surprised to see this favourite bubbly. Tyrant had asked what my first choice would be for a BC sparkler and - even though there are many equally fine BC bubbles produced - I didn't hesitate in nominating the Blue Mountain. Seeing as how Boo and I served it at both our commitment ceremony all those years ago and, again, at our "formal" wedding when gay marriage became legal in Canada. The winery has a range of traditional method wines available now but the vintage and Rosé wines can be difficult to obtain. This Gold Label Brut is generally available and, at under $25, is a bargain.

Thing is, the bottle doesn't get a number for The List since it was added long ago, back at #261. As mentioned, this is a bit of a "go to" wine for me. Consequently, I'll gladly quaff it back anytime - number on The List or not.

After the scene had been set with Brut in hand and sun in the sky, the faithful were gathered out in the lakeside garden for the ceremony. Thinking back on one's own marriage ceremony seems rather de rigueur at every wedding, but this one held a little special magic for Boo and I. Tyrant and PG had asked long time friend, Hizzonner, to perform the nuptials. I believe this is only the third ceremony that Hizzonner has officiated at - the other two were both Boo's and mine.

When you add the fact that Tyrant had M.C.'d at our commitment ceremony reception and then remembered that Tyrant's old love, Cher, had helped decorate the cake and arrange flowers for this day as well as for our commitment, we started joking that Tyrant should have just engaged us to re-stage our wedding - albeit with a much expanded budget and a fiercely fabulous setting.

There was definitely one difference though. Tyrant recited part of his vows in Mandarin. The closest I had to worry about when it came to a foreign language was to speak slow enough so that Boo's relatives from the Southern US could understand seeing as how I couldn't realistically recreate a drawl.  Following the ceremony at hand, we tried to determine just how flawless Tyrant's pronunciation in Mandarin had been. Mandarin isn't the easiest of languages to fake and I always recall one story where a Cantonese friend was practicing his Mandarin at a formal dinner and got slapped by his wife for ordering rather "delicate lady parts" instead the crab. Who knows what Tyrant could have ended up promising?

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

The "I do's" seem to have passed without incident and they were heartily toasted with Monmousseau. This far into the wedding, I wasn't having much "luck" in adding bottles to The List. I'd added the Monmousseau last December, at #1323. when Tyrant served it at his legendary Winter Solstice/ Mayan End of the World party. No wedding had been announced back then but maybe they were trying out the bubbles to see how they'd go over with the gang. Obviously well enough to see their corks popped all over again.

And I might add that, indeed, many corks were popped.

In going back over our photos, it would seem that I was more concerned about being caught up in the wedding and the event than I was thinking about the blogging to come. There were wines being served from an assortment of top BC wineries - including the likes of Black Hills, La Frenz, Laughing Stock and Red Rooster - but do you think I took a picture of all the different wines on offer. Not a chance.

Then again, I didn't try every wine on offer either. Even if I'd wanted to, some of the bottles were quickly gone as many of the guests knew the pedigree of Nota Bene and Portfolio just as well as I did.

I probably did some damage to a couple other wines through the evening - particularly downing some white wine while noshing on the sushi being made to order on the lake dock. (Tell me they weren't happy at this station when the rain clouds cleared up.) But I must have given up on wine pictures after reining in a couple reds to add to the bubbles.

1430.  2010 Marichel - Deep Roots Syrah (VQA Okanagan Valley)

As I was writing this, I realized I'd better check to make sure I haven't already added this bottle to The List as well. Both Tyrant and Lady Di have been big fans of Marichel ever since I introduced them to the new (at the time) winery on the Naramata Bench. I've added other vintages of Marichel Syrah to The List and a 2010 Viognier has been added but, luckily, I'm good to go with this Deep Roots Syrah.

Not that I could find out much about it online. The winery website doesn't refer to the wine at all but I figure that's likely because it was sold out and/or the "Deep Roots" label might have been a one-off vintage in 2010.

I do know, however, that Marichel might have been the smallest producing winery - and the least known amongst the bunch being offered - and, consequently, I cold keep refilling to my heart's content because not many others knew how nice the wine was drinking.

1431.  2011 Tribunal (Sonoma - California)

While checking to make sure that I hadn't added the 2011 Tribunal to The List either, I was surprised to see that I added the 2010 vintage to The List on the same night as the Monmousseau. Looks like Tyrant was doing some major "market testing" that night at the Solstice party. Either that or he was serving up some of his faves just in case the Mayan "predictions" were right and we weren't going to make it past last December and he wanted to go out on a good note.

In any event, the Zin, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cab Sauv and Merlot blend was the only non-BC red being served. Whereas Boo and I decided to serve Blasted Church and Church and State as two of our wedding wines in a tongue-in-cheek nod to the arguably blasphemous standing of our marriage, Brent wittily chose Tribunal as a tip of the hat to all the old law school chums in attendance and to the fact that there are still many folks who will sit in judgement of a gay wedding and proclaim guilt.

The only thing we were guilty of that night, however, was being guilty of being in love - and of enjoying all the wines and the delicious food at hand. Add in some love for the live jazz band and the plentiful dancing and the makings of a truly memorable evening were all there.

Incredibly, the afternoon's rain clouds stayed away until well into the evening - after most people had moved inside or left anyhow. So the outdoor beauty of the venue was fully enjoyed by all.

Although Boo and I had wished the happy couple all the best and made our way back to our cabin, I'm told that the boys' wedding had one final point of similarity to Boo's and my earlier ceremonies. We always joke that it ain't a party unless the police come by. Our commitment ceremony saw three different squad cars come by over the course of the evening and even our much smaller, formal marriage ten years later - held in our back yard with maybe 50 people - saw the police arrive to ask us to tone it down. When they told us our neighbours were complaining, I said, "I kind of doubt it since most of our neighbours are here," the response was that "these neighbours were two blocks away."

Considering Tyrant lives in a rural setting on a lake, I'm thinking the party levels must have kept building after we'd left.

I probably should have stayed longer.

Congrats boys! Here's to many years of happiness of good wine to come.

2013 BCWAS Bus Tour Begins

One of the perks of sharing a suite for the Annual BCWAS Bus Tour with Shelback and Chewbacca is that they coordinate breakfast so that we're well prepped to take in a day of wine tasting. Having Chef Boy KC in the suite with us made things even easier this year. He was so omnipresent in the kitchen that all I had to do was worry about OJ and coffee. A task that is not beyond me - even early in the morning.

Chef KC's treats were offered to Dolce & Gabbana (otherwise known as Gloushan - in honour of the great couple names like Brangelina or Klaine), Mr. Technicolour, Haley and Cockney Queen. With Mr. T. joining us, the "Sabering of the Breakfast Bubble" became a must event for all future Bus Tours - even if some attempts to sabre were less successful than others.

1421.  2006 Blue Mountain Blanc de Blancs (Okanagan Valley)

As far as starts to the morning go, this special vintage Blue Mountain brut is hard to match. I can't speak for the others, but there was NO OJ being mixed with this baby in my glass. Made in the Méthode Traditionelle, this 100% Chardonnay brut was aged sur-lie for five years before being disgorged, finished off with dosage and aged for an additional nine months before release. This was anything but an easy bottle to find; so, it was a very generous bubble to be shared with our  assembled gang - especially before 8.00 a.m.

1422.  2008 Steller's Jay Brut (VQA Okanagan Valley)

It's a whole lot easier to find a bottle of the Sumac Ridge stalwart but Steller's Jay is a treat in itself. Sabering a bottle of Jay seems entirely appropriate to the Bus Tour as well - seeing as how Sumac Ridge is on tomorrow's itinerary. I also recall that my first attempt at sabering some bubbly was a bottle of Steller's Jay while on the BCWAS Bus Tour two years ago.

The Steller's Jay is also made in the traditional Champenoise method; however, Sumac Ridge adds a component of Pinot Blanc to the classic Champagne grapes - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Serving up both of these lauded BC bubbles was just the kick we needed to get us started for our first day on the bus. A true breakfast of champions, I'd say.

Our first stop with the entire BCWAS gang was Upper Bench Estate Winery - the new-ish winery found at the start of the Naramata Bench. 2013 will be only the third vintage for Upper Bench and winemaker/proprietor, Gavin Miller. Gavin and his wife, cheesemaker Shana, purchased the winery from part of the Lang/Holman bankruptcy a few years back. Accordingly, they are still working primarily with the grapes planted by the previous owners. Gavin is working on revamping the vineyard and is transitioning to organic farming.

They currently offer four whites, three reds and a rosé and our tasting was a first introduction to the winery for most of the folks on the bus. The accompanying cheese tasting was equally eye-opening to the crowd. I'd dropped in on Upper Bench during a previous visit to the Naramata Bench because I'd heard that Shana used to be the assistant cheesemaker at Poplar Grove. That asterisk on her resumé and the fact that Gavin had previously been part of the winemaking team at Painted Rock made them folks to be contended with in my book.

If part of the reason for the Bus Tour is to introduce our members to new facets of the BC wine scene. I think a check mark was earned with Upper Bench.

My fave of the tasting was the 2012 Chardonnay and, yes, despite the No Buy Leash, I did pick up a bottle of that Chardy to add to The List in due course (as well as two of Shana's tasty cheeses).

Our next stop was just up the road at Poplar Grove. I doubt anyone on the Bus Tour was unfamiliar with Poplar Grove - long a star producer in the Okanagan. This was the first time, however, that I'd been on a tour of their facilities and a first chance for an extensive tasting in the winery's new showcase, reserve tasting room. The unveiling of the general tasting room a couple of seasons back was incredible enough, but there's just a touch more cachet to a private group tasting being led by Poplar Grove's founding winemaker Ian Sutherland. He was particularly engrossing when talking about the process behind the design and construction of the new showcase winery. Ian talked of his years of travelling the world - something that allowed him to, fortuitously, co-opt some of the best ideas he'd encountered in wineries visited along the way.

The wines are always impressive at Poplar Grove but, during our tour, I admit I was immediately drawn to Maxine, a 40 foot tank used to blend the red wines. The tank is so big that it holds the contents of four smaller tanks and thereby allows all of the finished wine to be the same blend - instead of a "mostly the same" blend. The shipping behind this baby was a story in itself.

Picking a favourite wine at Poplar Grove is like choosing a favourite child. I will say, however, that I was particularly taken with the 2012 Viognier during our tasting. That might well be because it's a limited production wine that is generally only available to Poplar Grove's wine club members. Lucky them.

And, lucky us, not only because we got to try the Viognier but because lunch had been arranged at the winery's on-site restaurant, Vanilla Pod. Sitting out on the patio - with a commanding view of Penticton and Okanagan Lake, we had a superb lunch. I'm hard pressed to come up with a memory of ever having tasted a better tomato salad. Each of the myriad of heirloom tomatoes was better tasting than the last and combination of those tomatoes, high end olive oil and balsamic and a delectable fresh burrata was sublime. They could have served me another three of those salads and I'd have been good for the rest of the day.

There was more food - and wine - to come though; so we moved on to our next stop on the tour - Township 7.

Brad Cooper, winemaker at Township 7 - and all-around funny guy - arranged for all of us bus folk to get involved in an inter-active blending exercise. Soon, Brad was going to need to start work on the winery's flagship blend, their Reserve 7. He thought it would be an interesting exercise for us to break into groups - and work with the same component wines that he'd have to work with - to come up with our own blend. He led us through a tasting of each of the separately aged wines and spoke of what he saw as their most compelling traits. We then tried a team approach at creating a wine worthy of impressing Brad and the buying public.

Working with Dolce & Gabbana and R-Ball, I'm sure there was little doubt that our take on the classic Bordeaux blend was the "winning" blend. I will say that, in all honesty, even Brad said that he was impressed with our finished wine. Now, he might have said that to everyone, but we gave him our systematic breakdown all the same so that he could re-produce it for the winery. We agreed that no credit or consultancy fee would be necessary, but that we'd be more than happy to take a case of the finished product.

There were additional wines to try in the tasting room but, after a couple, I opted to take a glass of red and plop down in the sun (and shade) for a bit - because, of course, blending and tasting a winning wine is hard work.

Our last stop on the Tour for Day One was Red Rooster. Anyone familiar with this blog knows that Boo and I are very well-acquainted with the gang at Red Rooster since we've been long time participants in the winery's Adopt-A-Row program. The winery was in full motion during our visit. Not only was winemaker, Karen Gillis, off-site tending to early harvest concerns but General Manager Blair Dufty was busy tending to all the parents and kids that had shown up for the local Fire Department interaction and appreciation day.

I'll admit that I missed a bit of the very extensive tasting of the winery's portfolio. I knew I'd tried most of the wines already (and probably had most of them at home in our "cellar") but I wanted to check out how our Adopt-A-Row babies were doing and, naturally, to chat up a fireman or two. Our Malbec grapes were coming along nicely and so were the firemen and their hoses. Being the intimate that I was with Red Rooster, I was even made a Junior Fire Chief.

Try and top that one.

I will give Mr. Technicolour his due though when he cracked up the gang by announcing that "the big difference between Bob and Charles' row and all the others is that their Malbec is much fruitier."

And on that happy note, we all got back on the bus and headed home for a brief respite before dinner.

Dinner was at the resort's Local Lounge and Grill and they didn't hold back anything in an attempt to add a little wow factor. Dinner featured a combination of wines from Tom DiBello and Van Westen Vineyards. Tom's is a well known name among Okanagan winemakers as he steered the way for many years at CedarCreek. He left CedarCreek a few years back and now spends his time consulting and producing a very limited 300 cases of his own Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah. Originally basing his wine production at Okanagan Crush Pad, he has just relocated to Van Westen Vineyards.

1423.  2011 Van Westen Vineyards VD Pinot Noir (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

I don't generally add a bottle to The List from wine dinners but tonight's extravagance calls out for one. I think my favourite pairing of the evening (before everything just got to be a little bit too much for one sitting) was the VD Pinot Noir with the bison tartare. This has to be one of the most interesting choices in wine marketing that I've ever come across. For those not familiar with Van Westen Vineyards, all of their wines have proprietary names that start with the letter "V." This Pinot is a co-effort between Rob Van Westen and Tom and, wisely or not, they took the first letter from both of their names and came up with "VD" since the wine was being released on Valentine's Day.

I'm not so sure that everyone will want to offer up a glass of VD to their sweetie on Valentine's Day but I was okay with it tonight.

Plenty of food. Plenty of wine. And a bunch of plumbed tuckered BCWAS folks. If there was any effort in taking the party a little further into the night, it did so without me. I definitely needed a little beauty sleep before doing it all over again the following day.

Prepping for the New Curling Season

With Fall either having arrived or just around the corner, it also means that the curling season will be shortly upon us. More and more of the teams in our league are sporting team names and uniforms and the pressure was on for us to move a little past blasé. We weren't having much luck reaching any consensus with simple e-mails going back and forth. So, in an effort to get ourselves a little more organized than last year, the team decided to meet for dinner and drinks - hoping that abundant libations would prompt the free flow of our creative juices.

For the first time in many years, I was going to be starting out with the same team as I played with last year. For the last so many seasons, we've needed at least one or two new members to flesh out the team as folks have moved from Vancouver or simply moved away from the game. While there's no fear of us challenging for supremacy of the "A" or "B" Divisions in our league, the hope is that we'll be able to build on last year's learning experience - and avoid the dreaded "F."

That "improvement" is, of course, with the actual curling. Anyone who curls knows that the after-game drinks are as much a part of the game as throwing the rocks. We've never had a problem with the cocktails.

1414.  2012 Les Roches Bleues - Pays de Maures Rouge (Pays des Maures IGP - France)

Fisher was brand new to our team and to curling last year and I think it was simple kismet that he ended up playing with us - or at least with me. Fisher and his partner, Paddy, are members of the Opimian Society. So, I can pretty much rely on the fact that, when we get together, he's going to have a bottle or two that I've never seen before.

Such was the case with Les Roches Bleues. This bottle remains largely cloaked in mystery, however, as I couldn't find an easy reference to the wine or winery online. Pays de Maures is a département on the Mediterranean coast of Southern France that produces Vin de Pays wines. The red wines are made with traditional Provencal varieties and this is a Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre blend. The only reference I could find to a Domaine Les Roches Bleues was in the Beaujolais district of Brouilly and this wine clearly had a different pedigree. There wasn't much labelling on the bottle but I did see a reference to Bernard Perrin. So, we might assume that this is somehow related to the many wines under control of the Perrin family.

It was pleasant enough out in the garden to get us started. It didn't exactly whisk us off to the Mediterranean coastline but we needed a simple transition from our starting martinis.

1415.  2009 Garcia Carrión - Antaño Rioja Crianza (Rioja D.O.C. - Spain)

M'og brought along this Rioja that is an entry level blend Mazuelo (Carignan), Graciano, Garnacha (Grenache) and Tempranillo and it seems to pull in a fair bit of hardware. Our bottle featured a sticker touting a Best in Class Silver Medal at the 2012 International Wine and Spirits Competition. Antaño is the Garcia Carrión line for Rioja production (there are well over a dozen different brands in total) and they make a lot of wine. Enough to export to over 130 countries.

Burger wine. But it still didn't capture our collective vote.

With the BBQ behind us, it was back to the garden to get down to the business of choosing a team name. As luck would have it, our neighbour, Baby Mama, dropped in and the lady is known for her cultural proclivities and her writing talents. She might be of more assistance than the wine.

M'og wasn't overly thrilled with team names that incorporated a gay naughtiness with curling puns. "Tight Ends" just didn't work for him. Nor did he gravitate to the culturally cool "Legion of Broom." He was leaning towards a name that referenced the sheets of ice that we'd be playing on but his first choice of Ice Storm seemed a tad esoteric for the gang. No one wanted "Ice Queens" despite the fact that we play in a gay league.

Fisher and I thought that "Fifty Sheets of Gay" was witty and topical - as did Baby Mama - especially since they just announced that the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey would be filmed in Vancouver, but M'og and Kaz were hesitant.

Kaz seemed particularly drawn to "Sheet Show" as the pun could reference both our poor play if we sucked or our stellar "show" if we managed to put it all together.

We mulled over it some more as I opened what turned out to be our favourite wine of the evening. Indeed, a possible fave for the memory banks.

1416.  2006 Pacific Breeze GSM (Cellared in Canada)

Like the Les Roches Bleues, this was a GSM; however, I know a bit more about this wine. Its provenance is rather modern. As noted previously in this blog, Pacific Breeze is a garage winery in the truest sense of the word. They operate out of a storage unit in urban Vancouver. They source their fruit - primarily from California and Washington - and ship it to New Westminster where their garage operation turns out some very tasty wines. This bottle featured fruit from the High Valley AVA in Lake County, California.

I'm generally not a fan of the Cellared in Canada wines as they are generally bulk wines, mass produced for the entry level market but Pacific Breeze works on producing a premium sip even though they have no option but to sell under the "Cellared in Canada" banner.

Predominantly Syrah (51%) and Grenache (43%) - with a 6% shot of Mourvédre - this was a definite New World take on Rhône blends. Much more reminiscent of Aussie blends than the South of France. Smooth, fruit forward with plenty of nose and flavour, there clearly wasn't enough of it to go around and we all bemoaned the sight of the last bit being poured. Baby Mama asked for a bit to take back to her man, K-Pop, but I later bumped into him on the street but it appears the glass never made it quite as far as to his lips. Best laid plans o' mice and baby mamas, I suppose.

Too bad there were only 400 cases made of this GSM and it's from 2006. I'd certainly like to get my hands on some more of it.

2006 La Frenz Merlot (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Our last bottle of the night was the La Frenz and we were so engaged with our discussions of team names and uniforms (the latter of which we made very little headway) that I didn't even remember to take a photo of the bottle. Could be that I subconsciously knew that I'd already added this vintage of the Merlot to The List (at #425) and that, therefore, it wouldn't be featured to the same extent. The Pacific Breeze was a hard act to follow but the La Frenz did a good job of standing up for itself - earning itself some fine kudos from the assembled gang.

Unfortunately, our curling club's bar doesn't carry wines of this calibre. We're more of a beer league in the truest sense of the words. That just means that our little "Sheet Show" will have to plan a few more of these little get-togethers.

As for the mean time, "Good Curling."