Some Intensity With That Port?

As long as Boo has been working in the same job, he's still not high enough up in the seniority rankings to rate extended vacation time during the summer. Consequently, we weren't able to join in with some of the family as they cruised to Alaska. We did get to hear some of the tales over dinner upon their return, however, and that led to a couple bottles of wine at our place afterwards.

1985.  2013 Mistaken Identity - Intensity (BC VQA - Okanagan Valley)

Mistaken Identity is an organic vineyard and winery that set up shop on Salt Spring Island and released its first wines in 2009. Although perhaps not "mistaken," the identity of this Cab Franc is a little mysterious. Boo and I visited the winery once (when cavorting with Tyrant on Salt Spring) and I know that they grow largely white grapes there. They certainly weren't trying to grow Cab Franc. Indeed, I rather doubt that any of the Gulf Islands are able to fully ripen any of the big red varieties; hence, the grapes for this wine were sourced from the southern Okanagan Valley. The wine was still produced in a manner to comply with VQA rules and the label advises that the grapes were also grown organically (so as to stay in sync with the balance of the home vineyard grapes), but the wine doesn't have much more of a connection with the Gulf Islands.

A simple search online didn't reveal much more about the wine either.  I did discover, however, that the winery has since been listed for sale and may well have been sold by now. So, we may not run across any Mistaken Identity down the road.

1986.  1997 Broadbent Port (Portugal)

Like Mistaken identity, Broadbent is also a relatively new producer - although "relatively new" in the world of Port can still be decades. There's no mistaking the identity of this wine though as the Broadbent name comes from the father and son team of Michael and Bartholomew Broadbent. The former has been the Chairman of Christie's International Wine Department and his son has made a name for himself as one of the "world's top authorities on Port and Madeira."

The first Broadbent Port was produced in 1994 and the pedigree of the Broadbent name was solidified when they asked winemaker Dirk Niepoort to do the honours for them. The Niepoort family has been in the wine business since 1842 and knows a thing or two about making wine, particularly Port.

The 1997 was only the second declared vintage for Broadbent and their overall production is limited as they only make about 500 cases a year.

We came across this bottle when a client was downsizing his home and he needed to divest himself of some of his home assets because his new house wouldn't have enough space for everything. I refer to the bottle as being part of the "Carpet Collection" because Boo wanted to buy a couple of the Persian carpets that the client was selling. That meant, however, given the nature of tit-for-tat, that I got to buy some of the Port that was up for sale. Two carpets. Twelve bottles of Port. I think I let Boo off easy - and we all get to enjoy both the carpets and the Port for many days to come.

I think it particularly comes in handy when the family just pops in for a bit a tongue-wag session. Even if we didn't get to go on the cruise, we can enjoy a little vintage time of our own.

A Naughty Weekend in NYC

Out of the Pride Parade panoply and into the fire. Following our adventures in Pride last weekend, Boo and I were looking to keep the groove flowing - and where else to give it the old college try than in the Big Apple!

I'm set to make my way to the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference that's being held next week in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Boo decided not to join me at the conference but I was able to talk him into a naughty weekend in Manhattan beforehand.

We arrived at our hotel late Friday night and were pleasantly surprised with the fact that we were staying a stone's throw from the Empire State Building. Not that Manhattan is ever without a view at hand, but catching one of the iconic shots from your front door and your room window is a bonus.

Desperately eeding a bite to eat, our concierge directed us to Lupolo, a new hot spot that just happened to be on the same block. He advised that there's normally up to a two hour wait to get a seat but we might luck out seeing as how it was already 10 p.m. and our hotel had an "arrangement" for priority seating for its guests when possible. Despite the hour, the restaurant was full. After a surprisingly brief wait, we took two seats at the bar.

The name - Lupolo - apparently means "hops" in Portuguese and this was a take on the beer-centric tavernas in Portugal called "cervejarias." In New York terms, we'd found an upscale brewpub. Thing is, we didn't know that at the time. We'd been told that the proprietor had a more elegant, Michelin-starred restaurant in town and this was all about Portuguese tapas. In retrospect, that probably explains the limited wine list.

No matter, we took the bartender at his word that he had a Rosé that paired perfectly with everything on the menu.

1967.  2014 Herdade Rocim Mariana Rosé (Vinho Regional Alentejano - Portugal)

Turned out he was correct.

Herdade Rocim is an example of a new breed of Portuguese wineries, particularly in the southern part of the country, that are adopting a more modern take on winemaking - including cropping yields, production standards and updated equipment in the winery and a goal to execute a more restrained and elegant wine (as compared to many of the rustic and simple table wines that Portugal was more associated with in the past).

The winery was only established in 2000 - a mere pup by Portuguese wine measures. Their Rosé is a blend of Touriga Nacional (60%) and Aragonez (40%) (a regional name for Tinta Roriz) that was medium-bodied and fully dry with, perhaps surprisingly, a nice streak of acidity.

As suggested, the wine went far too nicely with our range of tapas - from shrimp turnovers and octopus rice to açorda (bread porridge) and duck hearts. The last plate was a special that night and it was a real hit with Boo and I. Composed of duck hearts that were grilled with pickled mango and jalapeños, we thought this would be a prime dish to try and recreate for our Dinner Club. We just wouldn't be able to tell Lady Di or She Who Must be obeyed that the protein was duck heart.

Being tired from the day's travel, we didn't stick around for a second bottle or any of the multiple offerings on tap. Nor did we play bright-eyed tourist and hit the town. Kinda sad, in hindsight, for a Friday night of a "naughty weekend," but it felt like a pretty good start for a couple of old guys like us.

Big Finish For a Wild & Wacky Week

It would seem that this bottle will our last stop on this Wild & Wacky Wine Week that I had going. It's been quite the ride with introductions to Jacquère, Grechetto, Drupeggio, Malvasia Bianco, Verdello, Mavrud, Teroldego, Callet and Manto Negro but they say "all good things must come to an end" and tonight's grapes will likely be the last stop on this train for awhile.

And where else would you stop to find some offbeat and intriguing grapes but Portugal? With over 250 different indigenous varieties in its vast array of grapes, Portugal is a helluva place to start if you're looking to join the Wine Century Club.

1917.  2011 Niepoort Diálogo - Douro Branco Snow (Portugal)

When I picked up this bottle, I hadn't realized what a find it was on the new grape front. Notes for the wine, however, says that grape varieties used in making the Branco Snow include Rabigato, Côdega do Larinho, Gouveio, Dona Branca, Viosinho, Bical and others. That bodes well for a hefty score on the Wine Century Club tally as I try to complete my second century of grapes. The only thing with some of these more indigenous varieties is that they're often found by more than one name. So, it takes a bit of workout to make my way through Jancis Robinson, et al's, encyclopedic Wine Grapes and check all the various names against my own list.

I'm tickled to say that I get to add another five new varieties. Out of the six grapes listed, I had previously sipped on and added Gouveio under another of its names, Godello. In my books, five for six isn't so bad though.

There wasn't much to find on the five new grapes but Jancis and friends pointed out a few facts that I've latched on to:

• Rabigato - almost exclusively found in the Douro in northern Portugal and is rarely used to make a varietal wine.  Rabigato is favoured for blending particularly because of propensity for high acid levels.

• Côdega do Larinho - primarily noted for intense aromas of tropical fruit but, opposite to the Rabigato, can be rather low in acidity.

• Dona Branca - or "White Lady" in Portuguese - has, confusingly, been used for a number of distinct varieties in Portugal but there is a genetically distinct grape grown under this name in the northern part of the country where it produces "soft, fruity wines without any great distinction."

• Viosinho - is a relatively rare variety. It is also found almost exclusively in the Douro region; however, unlike some of the other grapes mentioned, Viosinho is well thought of as a quality grape that has good potential for quality wines - even so far as to having been referred to as the Portuguese Sauvignon Blanc. The biggest issues limiting that undeveloped potential is that it the grape is known for low yields and for being susceptible to oxidation.

• Bical - is found perhaps a bit more extensively in Portugal as it is recognized in a number of appellations and is known mostly as an aromatic, early-ripening grape.

Being a blend, I can't really comment on the individuality of the different grapes employed. I don't even know if the characteristics of one grape stood out more than another's, but I presume this should be a case of the whole tasting better than any of the component parts. The winery has prepared a great little tech sheet on the wine and it points out that 25% of the wine sees some aging in French oak and that all of the wine - whether aged in oak or stainless steel - has contact with fine lees (or spent yeast cells). I'm inclined to associate oak and lees to fullness in body and to some longevity in the wine's life but I think this one is better drunk when fresh. We just opened the 2011 vintage - and I see that it's still the current vintage in our government stores - but I wouldn't say that I found much in the way of fruit or acidity on the palate.

On the flip-side, the winery tasting notes talk of a "very long and salty aftertaste." I didn't notice that either but I think I'm just as glad to have missed the salt.

Diálogo sports a whimsical label that, according to an article of Jancis Robinson, is different in every country to which the wine is exported. That's got to take some dedication by the marketing department.

I see that Niepoort produces a red Diálogo as well.  I may need to source some out should I find myself in the throws of another Wild & Wacky Wine Week. In the mean time though, Wine Grapes goes back on the shelf. I celebrate five new grapes for the Wine Century Club (taking me to 193) and I get to put some thought into the final 80 some odd wines I need to reach #2001.

A Little Boxing Day Bubble

Mistletoe, World Junior Hockey and bubbly. How great of a combination is that?

Feeling sorry about the fact that Boo had to miss last night's Christmas dinner because he was working, I invited Dad, Vixen, Big Trucker and the kids to come over to our place for a Boxing Day dinner the next night. The dinner was going to be much lower key but I did decide to pop the corks on some pretty special wines.

1836.  2002 Barossa Valley Estate E&E Sparkling Shiraz (Barossa Valley) 

One of the more perplexing questions I've run across while drinking all these bottles of wine is why a bottle of E&E Sparkling Shiraz costs two-thirds the price of a regular bottle of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz. The same premium wine is used and the process of making sparkling wine is way more intensive and costly, but the still wine is the costlier of the two. Go figure. I suppose the idea of Sparkling Shiraz is still mostly a novelty sip outside of Oz.

The end result is that our's is not to question why, our's is just to take advantage of the bargain pricing - "bargain," of course being a relative term when we're still talking $65 bottle - when you can even find it. I haven't seen the sparkling Black Pepper on local shelves for years now. Too bad since this is our last bottle.

This bubbly red isn't likely going to be the first choice of a traditional Champagne lover. Even though the wine is made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise, there's not a lot of mousse filling your mouth and any expected biscuit-y notes are subdued by the bold, dark fruit that's still evident on the palate but I thought it was an interesting start to the evening and was big enough to carry us through until the hockey game ended and Dad was willing to sit down to dinner.

I don't make tourtière very often - indeed, it seems to have become a bit of a rarified, seasonal treat for every second or third Christmas. Tonight's pie - aided by yet another perfect crust from Boo the CrustKing - proved to be a popular treat, even for the picky eaters that the nieces and nephew have become. It certainly didn't hurt that the homemade tomato jam really did taste darned fine with the tortière. Turns out "tomato jam" is just a fancy name for ketchup, but this was the best ketchup I'd ever had.

1837.  2012 Synchromesh Thorny Vines Vineyard Riesling (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

1838.  2005 Duckhorn Paraduxx (Napa Valley - California)

Being a mix of pork, beef and veal mince, I figured we could likely get away with both a Riesling to cut through richness of the crust and fat and a Napa blend to match up with the meat. When both wines are as good as these two were, I think I could have gotten away with serving a couple pieces of salami with a boiled potato and the wines still seen everyone leave the table happy.

I'd discovered Synchromesh and its racy Rieslings back at the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference that was held in the Okanagan. They were part of the Okanagan Falls Wine Association gang that took a gaggle of us bloggers hiking up to a spectacular viewpoint and wine tasting. Synchromesh is only a couple of vintages into its production but they're already a label that I'd go out of my way to find. Problem is they just don't make very much. When we drove by the winery early last September, they had already sold out of their 2013 vintage.

While the Synchromesh winery and home vineyard is just outside of Okanagan Falls, this Riesling is made from purchased fruit that is grown on the Naramata Bench - half an hour or so up the road. The vineyard is planted with a single German clone (218) of Riesling and bright with citrus and apple, pear flavours. I haven't seen many Okanagan winemakers marketing the clonal background of their fruit. Maybe this is a sign of a growing sophistication among BC wine drinkers. This was only the third fruit on these vines; so, I'd be really hopeful that the wines to come will be even more complex and tasty.

Paraduxx, on the other hand, has had some time to master its wines and I think it's pretty safe to say that they've done so. The '05 vintage is a Zin dominant (60%) blend with Cab Sauv (32%), Merlot (6%) and Cab Franc (2%) filling out the glass. Although I've had the odd chance to taste Paraduxx at various events, I don't think I've ever had a full bottle before. Even when Boo and I visited Duckhorn, we visited the Anderson Valley vineyards and not Napa. So, they were serving up Duckhorn Pinot Noirs there. It may have take awhile to finally pull the cork on one of these bottles, but I'll just consider it to be a bit of Christmas present to myself.

1839.  1978 Kopke Colheita Port (Portugal)

As fond as I am of Ports and stickies, I can't say that I was familiar with the term "Colheita" when this bottle more-or-less dropped into my lap. A client of our firm was downsizing his home and he needed to divest himself of some Persian carpets. Having a spouse who is an avowed Carpet Queen, I was given the head's up and we visited the client. Boo came away with two carpets.

The downsizing also included the divestment of a good portion of the wine cellar. So, in lieu of a carpet, I picked out a mixed case of Ports. Having married a Portuguesa, our client had an extensive collection of Port wines. This is the first of our dozen to be opened.

Like the term "Colheita," the Kopke winery was equally unfamiliar to me. Founded by a German diplomat in 1638, Kopke has been declared the world's oldest Port house, having celebrated over 375 years of continuous wine production. (Compare that to Synchromesh's five years or so of production). Kopke is also a market leader in Colheita single year tawnies. After a little reading, I've come to learn that Colheita Port must be aged for a minimum of seven years in oak casks before bottling and that the extended time in wood can result in a richer, more viscous wine due to evaporation over the years. That additional ageing also leads to Colheita's distinctive tasting notes, including raisiny fruit, caramel, honey, toasted nuts and oak.

Colheitas are considered mature at 20 years and the bottles should feature two dates on them: the harvest year and the year the wine was bottled.  Our bottle's old school, hand stencilled label declares the 1978 vintage and the back label stated that the wine wasn't bottled until 2002.

Tasty stuff - and if the rest of our dozen bottles are just as fine, Boo and I are going to have some rather delightful endings to a few more special dinners. Hopefully, we won't have to wait until next year's holiday season to find reason to pull a few more corks - and an even bigger hope is that Boo will be able to actually join us on Christmas day next year.

Holiday Dine Around

There's been a bit of change in the neighbourhood over the last decade. Folks have come and folks have gone but, thankfully, there's one constant that (so far) has shown no signs of fading away. Indeed,  it would appear that the only thing threatening our hood's Holiday Dine Around is its success.

The catalyst of the event was the fact that six new households all started up around the same time as three adjacent duplexes were completed. Following the first year of meeting the new neighbours, we thought it might be nice to visit each household for half an hour or so for a bit of cheer and some nibbles. We're now into our second decade and the participants have expanded to include three of the houses immediately next door or across the lane. Without doubt, it's one of the most anticipated evenings on the McSpadden calendar.

With potentially nine stops on the tour, it makes for a lot of wining and dining. As such, we were actually pleased to give two "free passes" due to renovations that hadn't been finished in time. We'd have been happy to give a pass to Biker Boy and Steffi since they are juggling a four-month old bundle of joy but they said they were still game.

The possibility for adding seven or more bottles to The List was probably there but I needed to 1) pace myself and 2) enjoy some of the libations offered that hailed from different bottles. We do live in Yeast Van after all and, as an equal opportunity drinker, who am I to discriminate?

1822.  2011 Masi Campofiorin (Rosso del Veronese IGT - Italy)

I did gravitate towards the Masi Super Venetian that Arty400 and Baby Mama were pouring. I always like to try what Arty serves up since he gets a whack of tips from one of Canada's Masters of Wine, Barbara Philips, on a regular basis. Plus, they were serving up some stylin' pizza and it just seemed a natural fit. There was boar, there were figs, there was blue cheese and pear. I could have made an entire evening's meal here alone but this was only one of many delicious stops.

1823.  2011 Ravenswood - Old Vine Vintners Blend Zinfandel (California)

A Zin was a bold choice for the green curry that was served up by Widget but as a cocktail wine can you ever go wrong with a Zin? Especially if it's meant to an accessible crowd-pleaser like this Ravenswood is meant to be. Made from grapes that hail from appellations all over California and blended with Petite Sirah, Syrah and (my favourite) 3% mixed blacks, it's big and bold with plenty of fruit for standing around or for recovering from Widget's extreme massage "chair of death." I don't know why I do it, but I submit myself to multiple winces of pure pain every year at this time. A bold drink was exactly what I needed after an episode in that chair.

I didn't even have any wine at our place - although Boo and I did open a bottle of Red Rooster red and white since we received our annual box of wines under the winery's Adopt-A-Row program this week. I opted for a glass of Boo's hard core - and, okay, famous - eggnog. I knew how much rum and bourbon went into the nog; so, I knew better than to have anything more than that one glass. The creaminess sort of matched up to the butter chicken we were offering as well. The white wine would have been fine but we still had another two or three stops to fit in and I can always add those wines at a later time since they are readily handy.

1824.  2013 La Vieille Ferme Rosé (AOC Ventoux - Rhône - France)

We went from green curry to butter chicken to bouillabaisse at Nature Boy and Mr. Principled's home. What was funny was that Boo and I changed our mind to go with butter chicken at the last moment due to time constraints but Widget had thought about butter chicken before she decided on the green curry and seafood. We had to laugh when Nature Boy said that they'd been thinking about butter chicken and only changed their mind to go with the bouillabaisse in the last day or so. We came very close to a seasonal butter chickens bake off.

That could be a viable idea for a future neighbourhood gathering though.

The boys went with an oh-so-appropriate choice of a Rosé with the fish stew. I'm not sure if they were aware that fish stew and Rosé wine go hand-in-hand in France. I've seen and tried the other Vieille Ferme wines but I hadn't seen the Rosé before. Made from Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah - traditional red grapes in the region - I was happy to be transported off to the Mediterranean for a half an hour or so.

1825.  Quinta do Bom Retiro - Ramos Pinto RP20 Tawny (Portugal)

For a first time in eleven years, Shameless Hussy and Rock God took a pass on hosting. The dust and torn up floors - that they currently call home - just wouldn't have worked out as well this year. Feeling guilty, however, they paired up with Cupcake and Haggis and brought along a special treat - a 20-year old Tawny Port to go with Cupcake's desserts.

I haven't run across this Tawny previously and I'm a regular at the Port tables every year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. I'm not sure how Shameless Hussy came across it but Ramos Pinto has been in existence as a Port house since 1880 and has been part of the Roederer Group since 1990. I'm going to have to keep an eye for it down the road as it provided a sweet and carmelly end to another successful Dine Around - as should only be expected from a fine, old Tawny.

And, the holidays continue...

A Day to Take It Easy

It would seem that we successfully saw Vixen and Big Trucker married yesterday and I think we all needed a bit of a rest day. We made it home in the early afternoon which was perfectly timed for a late lunch on The Drive and an afternoon nap. Vacation or not, our #2Kangaroos (as they'd taken to calling themselves on Twitter) were just as pooped as Boo and I. Boy was I glad that I'd managed to get the day off of work.

Our evening ended up being just as laid back. It's amazing what a little al fresco and a night of TV can do to revitalize a tired puppy.

1659.  2012 Tantalus Rosé (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Rosé in the garden patio comes pretty darn close to my idea of summer perfection - particularly when it's a glass of Tantalus that you're sipping on. I have to admit that my mind immediately goes to Riesling when I hear Tantalus mentioned - and that's likely followed by their bubbly. Given the stellar reputation (well earned I might add) those wines have, it might be understandable that I sometimes need a gentle reminder that there's even more Tantalus wine out there to be sipped.

The Rosé is a blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. I can't think of many wineries growing Pinot Meunier in the Okanagan. My first thought, on hearing that Tantalus has some older vines (planted in 1985) still producing, is that they'd be using them in their sparkling program. That's not the case, however, at least not presently. The winery's bubbly is all Riesling. The Meunier is dedicated to the Rosé. Okanagan producers can be full of surprises; that's for sure.

I took the picture in front of our raspberry vines because it was a great reminder of the fruity acidity that is so abundant with the wine.

Following last night's banquet and our hefty lunch earlier in the day, our guests let me off easy for kitchen duty. They swore a little pappardelle and a simple tomato, basil and prosciutto sauce would be more than enough. So long as there was plenty of wine flowing as well.

I mean, duh.

Our next bottle wasn't exactly Italian, but I figured a Portuguese red can fill in on the odd occasion. I'd pulled this bottle out earlier in expectation of opening it for one of the World Cup games. Indeed, I'd expected to open a few Portuguese wines during this year's competition but their team was knocked out much earlier than expected - and I felt that I needed to open at least one bottle.

1660.  2006 Quinta do Crasto - Crasto (Douro D.O.C. - Portugal)

The Crasto is made from grapes that are well know in Portugal but they're largely unrecognized elsewhere in the world: Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional don't flow off the tongue nearly as easily as Merlot, Cab Sauv or Pinot Noir.

Having advised Merlot Boy and Margarita that Quinta do Crasto is a perennial favourite at the Vancouver International Wine Festival - particularly when Miguel Roquette is manning the tasting booth. A quick viewing of Miguel's picture had Merlot Boy ready to swear off Merlot and fly off straight to Portugal. Margarita said that he'd have to somehow manage to get there before her first.

The wine wasn't a hard sell.

I may have gotten off easy with kitchen duty but Boo decided to make his trademark pecan pie for our Aussie guests. Not that I'd ever try to dissuade him from making a pie.

1661.  2010 d'Arenberg - The Stump Jump Sticky (Adelaide Hills/McLaren Vale - Australia)

That pie is one sweet mother; so, any further wine would have to be just as lush. I'd run across a bottle of The Stump Jump Sticky and grabbed it. I'm an easy sell on stickies but I don't think even the Aussies had run across this one before. We were all intimately familiar with The Stump Jump as an every day bottle to be reckoned with, but a sticky from d'Arenberg was another thing.

The wine is a blend of botrytis affected Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon and Pinot Gris and is a relative bargain compared to Sauternes or to BC's icewines. It was tough to hold up to Boo's pie but it was a great finish to the evening as we did a bit of a binge viewing of more Archer episodes. Not only was the wine a sweet finish but we could only imagine how much fun Archer could have with a "sticky" wine. For those who are familiar with the show - "phrasing."

Good thing we had a relatively easy day though because we were scheduled to be back on the full ride with prepping for the neighbourhood Canada Day picnic now mere hours away. Heavy sigh.

An Anniversary Dine Around

As everyone was planning for our annual neighbourhood Holiday Dine Around, we realized that this is now our 10th annual gathering. That meant that the three remaining couples from the original batch of six had all been in our places for just over a decade. Time has certainly flown by. I guess we must have been having fun.

If tonight's soirée is anything close to representative of our hood, I can guarantee you that we've had some fun, indeed.

The Dine Around sees everyone host the gang for drinks and nibbles at their place for about 45 minutes before we move on to the next. We could easily spend an evening at each home but we don't have any choice but to limit our time if we're going to fit everyone in before the holiday season has long since passed us by. We're now at nine sets of neighbours if everyone is able to participate. I think you can do the math and determine that makes for many hours of food and drink.

1488.  N.V. Beato Bartolomeo Breganze Prosecco Extra Dry (Prosecco D.O.C. - Italy)

Some of the pairings served up are quite inspirational - like the bell pepper and onion soups served in shot glasses, along with yet another Prosecco to add to The List. With all the non-vintage Prosecco's out there, I'm always happy to be able to add another one - because I'm a firm believer that there can never be enough events featuring Prosecco. There are only so many of them in our market though. I could be a whole lot further towards hitting that 2001st bottle if I could add every bottle of Prosecco we help finish off to The List.

2011 Nk'mip Riesling (Okanagan Valley VQA)

That darned "rule" about not adding the same vintage of a bottle twice just gets in the way at times - particularly with Prosecco's. I might have gotten lucky getting to count tonight's Prosecco as a new one but I wasn't so lucky in counting the Nk'mip Riesling. We've already been there and sipped that with the 2011 vintage. As such, we simply got to sip and enjoy this one. Although I think this choice goes to show that Mr. Principled and Nature Boy have some decent taste in wine.

1489.  2012 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - New Zealand)

When not filling our glasses with her trademark collection of martinis (which, of course, were available tonight is you wanted one), Shameless Hussy has been on a bit of a Sauv Blanc kick lately. I was intrigued to see that she'd run across the Whitehaven version. I'd only encountered it for a first time a month or two ago at a big New Zealand wineries tasting event. I'd quite liked the new entry into our market but I hadn't gotten around to picking up a bottle yet. The Hussy saved me that effort.

1490.  2011 Mission Hill - Limited Edition Viognier (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I don't know if everyone was just serving white wines through the evening (although I highly doubt it) or whether I simply chose to go with the whites, but I notice that I've only been adding whites so far. Considering the fact that most of them are Okanagan wines, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of them were new to The List. Unlike with our Dinner Club, I haven't done any active training with these guys to get them to check the blog before they choose a wine to serve.

This Limited Edition Viognier was a nice add as well. I'd tasted Mission Hill's Viognier back in the Fall just before the BC Wine Appreciation Bus Tour but I didn't have any room to pick up a bottle or two. If I'm not mistaken, the Limited Edition wines became Mission Hill's Martin's Lane label last year. Varietal Viognier wines can be a bit of a hit and miss for me but this one definitely swings to the "hit" side of the pendulum.

By the time we'd arrive at our final two stops for the evening, it was clear that we'd managed to tone down a bit on the amount of food that was proffered this year. Some of our most recent Dine Arounds saw entire course being served after entire course - or full buffets at house after house. Not that there's anything inherently evil with an abundance of food, but it did have a tendency to leave folks tuckered out or too full to function by the time dessert came around. Not to mention that it left less room for drinking.

And we definitely wanted to leave room for dessert this year.

1491.  2012 Wayne Gretzky Okanagan - No. 99 Winemakers Selection Pinot Grigio (Okanagan VQA)

Cupcake and Haggis were the first dessert stop and, as you might guess from her nickname, Cupcake is noted for her baking. Naturally, she delivered in spades - and delivered another white for The List. I hadn't even heard that the Great One had set up shop in the Okanagan. I knew that Canada's hockey hero was established in Ontario, but I didn't know anything about a venture out West. I haven't really looked into the move to the Okanagan yet but I have since heard that Wayne Gretzky wines are being made by or in conjunction with Peller Estates.

Game on.

1492.  2008 Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage (Portugal)

1493.  N.V. Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny (Portugal)

Boo and I took the final stop this year; so, we decided to finish the evening off with my now "famous" bread pudding and a pair of Ports. The bread pudding's been adapted from a recipe I'd picked up some 30 years ago at the New Orlean's School of Cooking. Between family dinners and events like the Dine Around or a Mardi Gras party, the tasty dessert gets made at least a handful of times a year.

The two Ports were a nice accompaniment and, in my book, a grand nightcap for finishing off the evening. It was interesting to note people's preference between the two - and the Tawny was the bigger hit, despite the fact that it wasn't the tawniest of Tawnies that I've run across. To me, it still featured a lot of Ruby Port-like fruit on the palate - but there was no problem finding takers.

The biggest concern for whoever goes last on the Dine Around is that - despite the extended length of the evening - 'tis the season to be jolly and there can be a reluctance for some to call it a night, particularly since no one needs to drive home. A short stumble would be the worst that anyone has to endure. No such problem this year though. Once it was determined that there wasn't going to be enough demand to establish a dancefloor, Mr. Principled made the move across the lane to his bed and the rest soon followed (to their own beds and not to Mr. Principled's bed I do believe).

All in all, it was another gold star for the neighbourhood - and I'm always a happy Bob whenever I get to add six new wines to The List in one evening. My head may not always agree the morning after but, hey, I'd already said that "this is the season..."

The Last Mexican Cat Dance

GatuBela, one of our old neighbours, is in the 'hood. It's time for her annual fundraiser - the Mexican Cat Dance. Even though GatuBela may have moved away from the neighbourhood last year, it's a definite case of "gone but not forgotten." In fact, we probably see and hear from her more than most of the other folks that actually live on our block.

GatuBela has been organizing her Mexican Cat Dance for a decade now. The funds she raises are used to keep street cats and dogs healthy, help locals spay and neuter pets, offer euthanasia for sick animals and, generally, assist the displaced cats and dogs of Mazatlan's streets.

This is to be the last dance however. GatuBela is spending more and more time in Mexico nowadays and planning the dance in Vancouver has become a little too taxing.

That meant we had to mark the night down in pen on our calendar even though there were other events scheduled for that night. For the last so many years, she's held the Cat Dance at the Casa Verde Restaurant; so, a small batch of neighbours met to have a little dinner beforehand. Boo and I were joined by Mr. D, Red (and a spunky friend who has yet to pick her "nom de blog"), Mr. Principles and Nature Boy.

N.V. Aveleda Casal Garcia - Vinho Verde (DOC Vinho Verde - Portugal)

Seeing how this is a non-vitage wine, it's no surprise to me that I'd already added it to The List. I found it amusing though that, when it was added back at #933, we were at an earlier edition of the Mexican Cat Dance and the accompanying picture is with some of Casa Verde's calamari. Some things are just constants in life I suppose. No sense repeating myself all over again and writing the same blurb about the wine. I think it'll suffice to say that Casal Garcia has been for years - and continues to be - an easy drinking "go to" bargain kind of wine for Latin food and picnics.

1433.  2012 Vila Regia - Douro Vinho Tinto (DOC Douro - Portugal)

Our second wine of the evening is a new addition even though it's apparently the #1 selling Portugese red wine in British Columbia. The Vila Regia may not be a constant pour for us; we were, however, far more predictable with our choice of the restaurant's flaming chorizo. It's a house specialty and I mean, really, could there be a better dinner offering for a gay guy than a flaming sausage?

Vila Regia is one of the brands that is part of the huge Sogrape Vinhos portfolio. The wine's made from some of the most traditional grapes found in Portugal's Douro region: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barocca and Tinta Roriz. Those grapes may not mean much to the average drinker, but anyone who tried a Port - or one of the new Portugese table wines that are starting to become better known in BC markets - has quaffed them. It's marketed as a drink now wine that's easy on the pocket book and, while it's definitely Old World in its profile, it takes a more modern New World take on emphasizing the fruit. I doubt I'd run back to it like I do the Casal Garcia, but it served its purpose and worked nicely with the sausage.

Following dinner, we carried on into the "banquet" room to scope out the silent auction and take in a little cat dancing. Being the old mean guy - who covets lots of dancefloor to work my patented moves - I hadn't noticed that the little guy in the picture had wandered onto the floor to join us and I knocked him flat on his posterior. Many might think that I was trying to take out the competition for the limelight but, really, I was simply trying to teach him that, if you want floor space, you need to keep your elbows up.

Feeling guilty about making the little guy cry, I retreated to the silent auction to spend a little more money than I would have if I hadn't caused the tears.

Boo felt guilty by association and used the accident as an excuse to get me to leave before the big floorshow of the cats dancing their choreographed routine around a Mexican sombrero to the dulcet strains of Donna Summer belting out "Last Dance." I'm not so sure that floorshow actually took place - it is rather hard to choreograph cats after all - but I had suggested to GatuBela that it'd be a marvellous way to end the run of Cat Dances on a high note.

With or without the dancing cats, GatuBela has done a lot of great work in Mazatlan and I'm sure she'll continue to find ways to keep up her good deeds. Buenos Noches Muchachos.

Curling Dinner

Generally, I only get to add a whack of wines to The List in one night when it's our Dinner Club gang getting together or a Wine Boyz tasting. Tonight, however, Fisher threw a dinner for our curling team now that our regular season is over and the playoffs are about to begin.

And I can attest that the wine was flowing - particularly when you consider it was a school night. Guess we really worked up a thirst on the ice today. Ending the regular season with a win might have had something to do with it.

Despite the fact that we had two bottles of one wine and two of the wines have already made it to The List, I'm still adding four new wines to the total.

2011 Lang Vineyards - Farm Reserve Riesling (Okanagan Valley)

2006 Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

The Langmeil Shiraz is a favourite around our home; so, it's hardly surprising to already be on The List. The Lang Riesling isn't quite as common since Lang was in receivership and this is the first vintage of wine that's been produced in a number of years. Nice to see that the Riesling doesn't seem to have lost any of its tastiness.

1281.  2011 Domaine de Milhomme - Cuvée Le Mûrier (AOC Beaujolais - France)

Fish was new to our team this year and a rookie to the league. Turns out that he and his partner, Paddy, are wine aficionados as well. I'm all for chumming around, on and off the ice, with wine geeks - especially when Fish can dig into his cellar of wines for bottles like this Beaujolais that I wouldn't normally see otherwise. Fisher and Paddy are members of the Opimian Society and I understand their case deliveries can be full of surprises. This was pretty big for Beaujolais but I'm not complaining. I'm not sure that, in retrospect, I caught the "hint of blueberry, cognac and balsamic reduction" that the Opimian notes mentioned though.

1282. 2010 Pierre Henri Morel - Signargues Côtes-du-Rhône Villages (AOC Côtes-du-Rhône Villages - France)

The man behind the label is the Commercial Director at Chapoutier wines and Monsieur Morel established the winery in 2007 when he purchased the assets of a winery that had gone bankrupt. He makes two Châteauneuf-du-Pape with grapes grown on the home vineyard and three wines, including this Côtes-du-Rhône from purchased grapes. The wines are made by the staff at Chapoutier and this primarily Grenache sip is blended with Syrah and Mourvèdre to meet the specifications required by the AOC in order to be designated as Signargues - a small plateau region in the Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. It looks like he's aiming to match Chapoutier's reputation of delivering nice wines at reasonable prices. It's certainly nice to see at least this one of his wines hitting our market because he's apparently only making about 250 cases of each of his wines.

1283.  2008 Quinta da Barreira Reserva Touriga Nacional & Cabernet Sauvignon (Portugal)

I think this was another of Fisher's Opimian bottles because I can't find much reference to the producer or the wine in local searches. I can't say that I can recall a blend like this. We're starting to see a few more still, red wines from Portugal in our market but most of them are entry level commercial bottles and the mixing of Cab and Touriga Nacional sure seems like a bit of new school Portugal to me. It would appear that Portugal will no longer simply be known for Port in local markets.

1284.  2010 Layer Cake Garnacha (D.O. Calatayud - Spain)

Seeing as how, thus far, the evening's additions to The List hailed from France and Portugal, I suppose it might make sense that we sipped back on another bottle from that part of the world. The last wine of the dinner - although we were long past the ever-so-tasty crab cakes and lamb stew that we feasted on - was from Spain. This Garnacha (or Grenache) is one of the newest entries in the Layer Cake collection. As a side project, California cult wine proprietor, Jayson Woodbridge, produces wines from regions around the world, picking what he feels is the top grape grown in a particular region and making big, fruit forward wines.

The Spanish Garnacha joins a Californian Cab (and Chardonnay), an Oregon Pinot, an Argentine Malbec, an Aussie Shiraz and an Italian Primitivo. The wines are continually lauded as over-delivering with bang for your buck. Despite the number of bottles that had already been polished off, there was no problem finishing this one off as well.

That last bottle pretty much polished me off for the night though. Being the oldest member of the team, I know better than to try and match the younger bucks glass for glass. For all I know, Kaz and M'og probably hit a bar on the way home. All power to them - provided they've sobered up for our playoff game next weekend.

There was no doubt that Fisher and Paddy passed Fish's rookie initiation! He's definitely invited back for next season - regardless of whether he offers to cook up another dinner or hit the wine cellar for us. Hell, he even earns a few "free" hogged rocks next year as a thank you for the evening. We might normally end our games at the club with a pitcher of beer, as opposed to a bottle, but get togethers like this might just harbour the start of a new trend. Curlers getting their rocks off with a bottle of wine. I like it.

A Mid-Week Portugese Blend

1275. N.V. Bonifácio - Encosta dos Curiosos (Portugal)

A low-key night at home, a panini on the grill, it just seemed right to pop the cork on this bottle from the "Vineyard of the Curious" that I'd picked up at Marquis awhile back. An entry level wine, the back label states that this is a wine made of "Portugese traditional grape varieties." That phrasing of "Portugese" "traditional" and "varieties" is likely what prompted me to grab it in the first place. Known for the vast assortment of varieties that can go into its blends, I'm always hopeful that a Portugese blend might provide another addition to my Wine Century Club tally.

It took a bit of online searching - and I never did find a definitive breakdown - but I discovered the the three main varieties going into EC are Castelão, Tinta Miúda and Alicante Bouschet. I've already tallied the first and last grape but Tinta Miúda looked good for an add.

That is, until I checked Jancis Robinson's tome, Wine Grapes, and found out that Tinta Miúda is just one of many synonyms for the Graciano grape - and Graciano was a Wine Century Club add a long ways back. Darn.

With no new grape variety to focus on, I tried finding out a bit about the winery but there wasn't a whole lot of depth or interesting information readily available. I did see that Bonifácio was founded in 1963 (after years of family involvement in the wine business), is still family operated, and is based in the district just outside of Lisbon. The winery utilizes organic practices and releases wines under a number of brand names.

For the under $15 category (remember I'm in Vancouver), this was more interesting than a lot of its peers. EC is still a commercial wine but it doesn't rely simply on big, sweet fruit. It was more red fruit than black and it probably drank a little nicer with the food than on its own. I don't think it's readily available in the market, but I'd probably consider opening another bottle when in similar circumstances - i.e. mid-week simple wine with a light dinner in front of the TV.

The Seasonal Neighbours' Dine Around

It's now been almost ten years since Boo and I moved into the neighbourhood and one of the constant joys of living where we do is the Neighbourhood Dine Around.  The back story is that six new homes were built at the same time and all six were moved into within a few months of each other.  There was obviously some common ground between all the new neighbours and we were ever so lucky that we all enjoyed each other's company.

We started up the first dine around after we'd all had a year to both settle in and to start adding those individual touches to our homes. All the homes started out pretty much as carbon copies of the same plan.  So, a 45-minute visit to each home for drinks and nibblies allowed for a bit of a snoop as well as some seasonal cheer.

Well that original six-some has seen some changes.  After last summer, we were down to two of the original six couples; however, the replacements have continued to fit right in.  Indeed, we saw two new couples move into the hood this year.  And, then, there's been a bit of an expansion to the guest list to boot.  It started with the addition of Big Red and The Marquis and their house as it shared a fence line with Rock God and Shameless Hussy.  Then Mr. Principled and Nature Boy moved in across the lane and we figured it wasn't too much of a trek to include them as well.  Finally, this is the first year that we're including Irish John - even though he's been one of the chattiest neighbours on the street for years.

Our little seasonal mingler even made it into the Globe and Mail newspaper last month as an article on neighbourhoods.

With a diverse array of foods and cocktails, we're just a little concerned that we've outgrown the coziness of the original event.  Nine homes in one night takes some concerted effort.  And some self-pacing.  That's why I don't have nine different wines to add to The List after the evening - even though there was an assortment of bottles well in excess of what I managed to sip away on.

We started with an oyster bar at one of the new couples on the block.  They went all out on the menu and "obviously" didn't check the blog first to make sure that they were serving a wine that hadn't made it to The List already.  Their Adriano Adami Dei Casel Extra Dry Prosecco (Valdobbiandene Prosecco Superiore DOCG - Veneto - Italy) was a lovely match to the oysters but it's a non-vintage and was added back at #1185 at another neighbourhood party.  I'll have to fill them in a little more before next year's event.

1300.  2010 Les Vins Bonhomme - el petit bonhomme (Jumilla D.O. - Spain)

So, the first wine of the night to be added to The List also has the distinction of hitting another landmark century mark on this Odyssey - #1300!  The wine is getting all sorts of good press locally as a marvellously valued and tasty wine. It's made by ex-Montréal native Nathalie Bonhomme in collaboration with well known, Spanish winery Bodegas Juan Gil.  It's a take on a Spanish GSM, likely explaining heavier use of the M - being Monastrell (the local name for Mourvèdre) - and lighter take on the Garnacha (Grenache) and Syrah.

I don't think that K-Pop and Baby Mama had necessarily intended on matching it with the latkes and applesauce but I could have cared less.  I was only disappointed in the fact that I had to check my sipping on the easy sipper since we still had more six stops to take in.

Those stops kept up the varied approach to the treats.  I tried a bitters and soda for the first time with Cupcake and Haggis, tried a comparison to Boo's homemade eggnog and quite enjoyed the pulled pork sandwiches and great cheese spreads that were served up at those stops.  Of course, there was the milk stout and multitude of brews being poured as we paid a first visit Irish John's place and his "man cave."  I think it was a common conclusion amongst the gang that Irish John has the best view of the city of all our places.  And we're holding him to his offer to host a man cave party in the near future.  I was quite intrigued to hear that the milk stout is made just down the road from us at 49th Parallel brewery.  The hood continues to grow more interesting.

1301.  2007 Hillside Estate Reserve Merlot (Okanagan Valley)

1302.  2008 Hillside Estate Reserve Merlot (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

I don't know how interesting most folks found the mini-library pouring of the Hillside Merlot but it seemed like a fun thing to try since we happened to have both the '07 and '08 vintages handy.  Hillside has been around for some years now but it's not a winery that we patronize all that much.  They did a tasting with the BC Wine Appreciation Society this year and we really enjoyed a couple of their small lot Merlots.

I didn't get my hands on any of the small lot wines but it was nice to serve up the two rather distinctly different takes on the "same" wine.  The 2007 was made from grapes grown in the warmer Oliver region of the Okanagan while the 2008 wine only used grapes from the Naramata Bench - where the winery is located.  I'm not sure about the 2008 wine, but only 400 cases were made of the 2007.  We don't try these comparison tastings very often but it just went to show how common vintage variations can be with smaller, non-brand producers.

It seemed that the slightly fruitier profile on the 2008 was a bit more popular though - if you're taking notes.

1303.  N.V. See Ya Later Ranch - SYL Brut (VQA Okanagan Valley)

We even had a bit of participation from one of our former neighbours.  The Marquis wasn't able to attend our gathering this year, but he sent a couple bottles of the SYL Brut all the same.  This is a BC bubbly that I'm not that familiar with.  It's a very traditional take on bubbly though with toasty brioche notes that are very reminiscent of real deal Champagne.  It was even just named as one of local writer, Anthony Gismondi's, top choices for reasonably priced sparklers for the holiday season.

Our final stop of the night was a bona fide tawny-fest.  Rock God and Shameless Hussy served up an early Christmas present with three different fortified tawny ports.  This is my kind of nightcap; however, you have to remember that, by now, we'd been at the Dine Around for five hours-plus.  Accordingly, I did a quick tasting of each of the wines but I chose to play the good boy and only fully partake in two of the bottles.

1304.  Niepoort Colheita 1995 (Douro - Portugal)

1305.  N.V. Buller Fine Old Muscat (Rutherglen - Victoria - Australia)

Again, I found it interesting to try different approaches to very similar wines.  Both wines are considered tawnies - as opposed to ruby ports.  Tawnies are standardly aged for many years (10+ years in both of these instances) in oak casks unlike the rubies that are bottled much earlier in the ageing process to preserve the deeper colouring and fruitier profile on the wine.  One of differences in the approaches in the two wines at hand is that the Colheita is a more rare-ish, vintage dated tawny port.  Most tawnies are wines that blend in new vintages to end up with a consistent non-vintage profile but the Colheita features fruit just from the 1995 vintage.  Another difference is that the Aussie wine is made from 100% Muscat but the Portugese wine, like most Ports, features a variety of grapes including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão and Tinta Roriz (and some unnamed others).

I love the fact that two of the named varietals in the Colheita have yet to be added to my tally for the Wine Century Club.  So, that early present from the Hussy was all the more special.  Tinta Francisca and Sousão become grapes #145 and 146.  Season's greetings to that!

As for the third tawny served up, I'll just have to go back to the Taylor Fladgate on another occasion.  As you might easily imagine, we had long become rather tired neighbours and our numbers were diminishing with every passing stop.  For the hardy stalwarts, every oversized couch or chair just seemed to call out as a practical - if not entirely comfy - resting spot.  And you have to know that overflowing chair capacity often leads to unexpected consequences - like spilled drinks - and those consequences are best avoided because you know we'll be doing it all over again next year.  And you don't necessarily want to be the neighbourhood story during the intervening months - especially with the looming possibility of being written up in the papers.

Good thing we have such accommodating and good-drinking neighbours.  I'm pretty much guaranteed a grand entry for the blog every holiday season.  Merry Merry!