The Margarita River Road Trip

With the Carlton Blues winning the footy game last night, everyone was in fine spirits this morning - and we hadn't even had a drink yet.

We were hoping to remedy that situation sooner than later but first we needed to hit the road again. Visiting the Margaret River wine region has been on my Bucket List for some time now. With Merlot Boy and Margarita in tow, hopes were high for a bang-up weekend.

Indeed, as soon as we knew that Margarita would be joining us, Margaret River morphed into Margarita River and I may never think of the region by its original name again. It might be best, however, even if for blog purposes only, I still refer to Margaret River by its actual name. Can't be confusing the readers now, can I?

For me, Margaret River has just been a name that conjures romance and fine wine - two things that I'm rather fond of. Funny thing is that I've never really known a whole lot about the region. I think my fascination with it all stems from one bottle that I tried on my first visit to Australia in 1996. I've no memory of what the wine was or where I had it but, boy, did the name "Margaret River" ever stick in my mind. We don't see many wines from the region in our market, but I've generally found that the wines I do find generally hit the mark - and that certainly helps to keep the infatuation going.

Margaret River is about a three hour drive south of Perth and it's likely the best known - and likely the best regarded - wine region in Western Australia. It only accounts for 3% of Australia's total wine production but it certainly accounts for more than its share of highly sought wines. Although the region right around Perth has produced wine since 1829, that wasn't the case in M.R. - and, previously, Western Australia had never really been a powerhouse in Aussie wine as the Swan River region is noted as being one of the hottest viticultural regions in the world and, accordingly, not the best for growing premium wine grapes.

Margaret River, on the other hand, has been doing its best to make a mark in the wine world. It is able to rely on the cooling influence of breezes coming off the Indian Ocean and its prominence on the wine scene has continued to increase ever since the first significant vine plantings in 1967. Whereas the Swan Valley region around Perth accounted for 90% of all production in the state in the 1970's, it only accounts for 10% of it now. Margaret River has definitely taken the lead with over 120 producers now located in the region.

We'd teed up another intriguing spot to stay. Like Wroxton Grange, Boo's and my fuel stop in the Barossa Valley, we opted to stay at a working farm and winery in Margaret River. Lara and Jamie McCall have been operating Burnside Organic Farm since 1997 and it didn't take much of a perusal of their website to decide that the Burnside Bungalows looked very inviting. They lived up to all expectations - no, actually, they exceeded them. Our bungalow was marvellous; the grounds were exciting and the ability to wander freely and enjoy fresh produce from the garden made it all that more special.

After a quick check-in with Lara to take in the lay of the land, we jumped at the opportunity to hit a winery or two before all the cellar doors shut down for the day.

Lara pointed us in the direction of McHenry Hohnen - a boutique, family owned winery within hailing distance of Burnside Farm. Like most M.R. producers, I'd never heard of the winery. Once there, however, it was quickly apparent that there was a strong pedigree behind the wine. McHenry Hohnen was only established in 2004 but David Hohnen, Murray McHenry and their respective families had long histories in grape growing, winemaking and the selling of the finished product. Hohnen played an instrumental role in establishing Cape Mentelle (one of the few Margaret River wineries that I did know about in advance) and Cloudy Bay in New Zealand - and who hasn't heard of them?

The winery generally produces between 7000 and 9000 cases; however, they do have a fairly large option in deciding what to make. The extended family's three vineyards grow twelve different varietals, allowing plenty of choice - from Bordeaux, to Chardy, to Rhône varietals through others like Graciano and Tempranillo.

1122. 2011 HcHenry Hohnen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (Margaret River - Australia)

We hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast - if you don't count the footy-themed jujubes that Margarita served up in the car - and the winery had a small kitchen and patio. They were just closing up, but they graciously agreed to put something together for some hungry Canucks. Naturally, we needed a bottle of wine to go with.

The wine was a great little, easy sipper for the patio and our grilled cheese - I can't recall what Aussie name they gave the sandwich but it was basically a case of a grilled cheese by any other name will taste as good. One of our favourite Aussie foods is passionfruit and there was a good little dose of it in our glass - on the nose and palate. There was a nice little bit of body on it as well that may have been "tweaked" by ageing a small portion of the wine in new oak and leaving it on its lees (spent yeast) for five months. The blend was almost equal - 56% Sem, 44% Sauv - and the bottle went down quickly.

It was a grand start to the weekend. I could easily see myself heading back to the winery if I were a local - particularly after seeing the incredible looking meat and olive oils that they grow and produce on top of the wines.

We stayed a tad longer than expected at McHenry Hohnen; so, we only had time to make one more winery visit. When I asked our hostess, Freya, for a suggestion out on the patio, she said that she probably had no choice but to recommend Cape Mentelle since one of their winemakers was sitting at the table next to us and could hear every word that was being said. As mentioned, Cape Mentelle was one of the wineries that I'd tried previously and had actually played a part in perpetuating my love-on for the region. Indeed, I've added two of their wines to The List since starting the blog. So, I guess they deserved a visit.

Cape Mentelle has been around since 1970 and, as such, is one of the pioneering wineries in Margaret River. The winery, while still under the direction of David Hohnen, played a major role in bringing attention to the quality of wine that Margaret River was capable of producing. The winery won the Jimmy Watson Trophy - the most prestigious wine award in Oz - for its 1982 Cab Sauv and then repeated the task in 1984 for the '83 vintage. If the wine world knew little of the region before, it was certainly taking notice now. Cape Mentelle was purchased by the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy conglomerate in in 2000 and it is still noted as one of the premium producers around.

We had a thorough tasting in the snazzy tasting room but I think poor Merlot Boy and Margarita were wondering what they'd gotten themselves into. Both are excellent drinkers - among the best we know - but any talk of phylloxera, battonage or limited drip irrigation and their eyes glaze over. Actually, Boo's probably did as well.

And as resident wine nerd, I had to accede to a sense that it was time to move on. I'm just going to have to keep an eye open for some of their wines when I get home - especially that Cab.

We had reservations for dinner that night at one of the premium winery restaurants anywhere - Leeuwin Estates - but that wasn't until 8.00. So, how do we pass the time? Duh. We go back to Burnside and break open a bottle of wine to enjoy on our patio overlooking the vineyard. Nothing rough about it IMHO.

1123. 2009 Release Non-Vintage Balnaves of Coonawarra Sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra - Australia)

With only a couple of days left to our sojourn Down Under, Boo and I had to put some serious thought to lightening our stash of bottles that we'd picked up along the way. The Balnaves was first to go. The Aussies have had great success with Sparkling Shiraz, but this bottle we nabbed in Coonawarra was the first I can recall seeing where the bubbles were added to Cab Sauv.

Although the bottle is labelled as 2009, it is not a vintage wine. Rather, the Sparkling Cab is a blend of reserve wines from nine different vintages that are matured in a solera system. When the aged bottles are prepped for their final corking, they are topped up with a little something extra - in this case, the dosage was a vintage port with a touch of Shiraz juice concentrate to supplement the flavours.

Dark and concentrated are not descriptors I generally use with sparkling wines, but you surely can with this bubble. Granted, there might not have been tons of actual bubbles noticeable in the glass of the mouth but we all thought it was a nice wine to sit back and relax on the deck with.

That is, until it was time to start moving on to the much anticipated visit to Leeuwin Estate.

Cossaks on Prozac - N'Awlins Style

One of the perks of having those cocktails on the stoop of the Royal Barracks Guest House was that our hostess, Kelly, gave us some tips for restaurants and spots that are patronized more by locals than tourists. After all, there's hopefully more to N'Awlins than just Bourbon Street - at least, one needs to hope so when you hit our age.

We decided to have dinner at one of Kelly's suggestions, just outside of the French Quarter - the Marigny Brasserie on Frenchman Street. Just two blocks out of the eastern edge of the Quarter, Frenchman is known as a local haunt for jazz and music clubs. Some tunes, after throwing back a bit of Cajun or Creole fare, sounded like one heckuva plan.

981. 2010 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River - Australia)

The Cape Mentelle was a perfect choice for Margarita's hankering for Sauv Blanc and played to Merlot Boy's bent for Aussie wines. The fact that I have a serious jones for Margaret River didn't come into the equation at all - hardly. I fell hard for Margaret River wines the first time I toured Down Under in 1996. When I returned to Vancouver, it was next to impossible to find any wines from that region. Cape Mentelle was one of the few wineries that had any sort of a presence at all in our market.

It's a little easier to find wines from Western Australia but I still wouldn't say that we have a comprehensive assortment of wines to choose from. I'm quite looking forward to an upcoming visit to Perth (for the first time) next year. I want to try and immerse myself in all things Margaret River. But, for the moment, the Cape Mentelle will just have to be a bit of teaser of things to come.

The big surprise of the night wasn't the wine though. Rather, it was Boo's discovery of Red Velvet Cake. I'd heard of Red Velvet before but I don't think I've ever tried any. I'm a tad surprised that Boo had never had it before though - after all, I believe it's a Southern thing and the boy was raised in the South. All I know is that the cake was a hit and Boo is determined to recreate it at home. Lucky me.

I found the tunes to be an extraordinary find as well. We'd wandered down Frenchman Street and decided on Maison seeing as how Merlot Boy and Margarita had enjoyed a brief visit previously. The unfortunate thing was that our timing was a bit off. The band didn't start until about 45 minutes after we arrived. It was standing room only and our feet were pretty sore from walking all day.

When the show actually got under way, Maison was hopping! I think the band was rather well known in the city because folks were singing and dancing along - and they weren't exactly the easiest lyrics to learn, considering they were in Russian. The band was called Debauche (pronounced "de-bosh"), a.k.a. Russian Mafia Band, and they call their music Punk Rock Hooligan Russian Street Songs. "Cossaks on Prozac" wasn't what we'd expected wandering down a famous New Orleans jazz street. Hardly music to sip wine by - try swilling beer or downing vodka shots - it sure was great fun though.

The feet ultimately gave out for Boo and Margarita though. So, we headed off home at quite the decent hour.

Merlot Boy and I weren't quite ready to give up the ghost though - after all, it was Saturday night in The Big Easy. And Merlot Boy isn't anything if not "easy" - to have some fun on the town with that is. So, we dropped Boo and Margarita off at the guest house and the Boy and I wandered over to the Golden Lantern - the bar just around the corner. As luck wouldn't have it, we just missed the weekly drag show. But a couple of the gals were hanging around for a drink - and nothing seems to entice a drag queen more than an Aussie accent.

I didn't even ask if they had wine at the bar. Something told me that we were better off sticking to the vodka. Once our new friends moved on, Merlot finished his flirt with the "farm boy" of a bartender and we made our way home to get ready for the next day.

Nepenthe

I can't recall how we come about adding this bottle to our wine rack, but it appears the winery has had a bit of a rollercoaster ride of late. According to Aussie wine scribe, James Halliday, Nepenthe's founder and owner died unexpectedly in 2006. The winery was purchased the following year, only to close in 2009. The winery assets were sold, but the winery has since been re-opened and seems to have re-established itself in the Adelaide Hills region.

I certainly didn't know any of that information when I picked up the bottle.

963. 2007 Nepenthe - Tryst White (Adelaide Hills - Australia)

The 2007 vintage would have been assembled during those tumultuous years and was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (68%), Semillon (27%) and Pinot Gris (5%). According to the website, the wine is made to be enjoyed young. Looks like we maybe waited a bit too long and I think maybe that was reflected in our rather lackadaisical response to the wine. The bottle was under screwcap; so, it theoretically should last a reasonable time, but it didn't come across as fresh as the whites we're more used to in BC. Then again, I drink way more Aussie reds than whites; so, it may just be that Aussie whites don't turn my crank quite as much.

The website also says that the name "Nepenthe" is "described by Homer in The Odyssey as an Egyptian herbal drink so powerful that it eases grief and banishes sorrow from the mind."

I'd be one of the last to categorize this little blog, "2001 Bottles - A Wine Odyssey," as a peer of the literary tome that is Homer's "Odyssey," but I think he was likely drinking something other than this particular bottle when he referred to Nepenthe. We didn't experience quite the same "power," however, the wine certainly didn't cause us any grief or sorrow either - and it did pique my interest to look for the circumstances surrounding Homer's quote.

World Cup of White Wine

I think I got so wrapped up in the Canucks' recent and most excellent run in the Stanley Cup playoffs that I didn't turn my mind to other events coming up on the horizon. The drive to the finals went on for so long that I basically forgot that the Women's World Cup was nearly upon us. I was coming back from the Farmers' Market the other day and realized that I "hosted" a World Cup of Wine for the Men's World Cup a couple summers back. I figured that - in a world of chivalry and fairness - I needed to come up with something to celebrate the women. Particularly since the Canada Women's team is ranked 6th in the world heading into the World Cup.

Since the Men's World Cup of Wine was premised on red wine, it seemed like a no-brainer to come up with a Women's World Cup of Wine that features white wine. I suppose I could have gone with pink wines, but that's just a tad precious methinks.

The easy part was to come up with the concept. As is oft the case, the difficulty was in the details. I needed a format - quickly. There are only sixteen countries entering the World Cup and they don't all produce white wines - especially white wines sold in the Vancouver market. As tough as it might seem to believe, I don't think there are many - or more likely "any" - North Korean, Brazilian, Nigerian or even Swedish wines available on Vancouver shelves.

Going through the teams that made it to the World Cup, I found six countries that have white wines ready for the quaffing. As it turns out, there are two from North America (Canada and the US), two from Europe (France and Germany) and two from Oceania (Australia and New Zealand). Other great possibilities - like Chile, Argentina, Italy and South Africa - just didn't qualify for the competition.

I'm dealing with a limited number here. Six isn't even enough to go directly to the quarter finals grid. So, a little continental qualifier competition was the way to start. We'll determine a continental champion and take it from there.

First up, Oceania.

Australia vs New Zealand

Seeing as how this is only the first round, I figured I should keep the bottle price to under $20. Accordingly, I ended up opening a perennial darling of local wine scribes (the Clancy's) and a bottle that I'd picked up at the 2010 Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival when New Zealand was a featured region (along with Argentina). I don't even know if I could find the Kiwi wine in Vancouver today, but I still had it around; so, it works for me.

837. 2009 Peter Lehmann Clancy's Legendary White (South Australia)

838. 2007 Omaka Springs Riesling (Marlborough - New Zealand)

The Clancy's is a classic Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend, while the Omaka Springs is a straight Riesling varietal - despite the fact that I (along with likely everyone else) normally associate the Kiwis with Sauv Blanc.

I think the Kiwis might be hitting a new stride with Riesling. One of the most identifiable characteristics about New Zealand Sauv Blanc is the bracing acidity and that acidity can be just as prominent with the best known Aussie Rieslings (think Clare Valley). I suppose there was a distinct possibility of an overwhelming acidity with this Riesling as well. While there was still plenty of acidity on the Omaka Springs, it wasn't a dominating presence and it rather complimented the slight honeyed effect of the fruit coming through on the palate.

I think the general conclusion in wine circles is that it's tough to go wrong with a Peter Lehmann wine, particularly with its consistent entry level wines. Eminently quaffable on a summer afternoon, the Clancy's White was definitely the zestier of the two wines, but its overall profile was maybe a little more one-dimensional than the Riesling.

This wasn't a slam dunk but the Kiwis are going to take the win and move on directly to the semi-finals. I don't know that a match on the field would have yielded the same result but I'm going to give the Kiwis a 2-1 win. The one disappointment about the Omaka Springs is that there were only a thousand cases made. I doubt that there's much of a chance of finding any more around.

And, with that, our World Cup of White Wine is up and running.

A Colossal Win

So it's time for Game 4 and the team's down in San Jose. The Sharks managed to bruise our boys a bit in the last game but we're still hopeful that the Canucks might dine on a little shark meat. Two thoughts for tonight's wine - 1) the team'll be wearing their away jerseys. They're white. So how about a white wine? 2) Canucks'll need a bit of strength and determination to pull this off. I call for muscles to match that white wine - or is that mussels? Whatever.

809. 2008 Jackson-Triggs Proprietor's Grand Reserve White Meritage (VQA Okanagan Valley)

We don't tend to see a lot of Sauvignon Blanc grown in the Okanagan. I'd say it's becoming a somewhat more common, but it's hardly a varietal that I immediately associate with the region's wineries. We see even less Semillon. So, a blend of the two isn't something I'd regularly expect to see unless it's from one of the bigger players - like J-T. I didn't see any notes online about this particular vintage. The J-T website says that the '09 vintage is 80% Sauv Blanc but I couldn't find a reference for the '08. My guess is that it's fairly close.

I'll be honest with you as well though. We don't tend to see many hockey games starting at noon either; but this one did. As much as these playoff series' bottles are linked to the games - and there was a glass of the Meritage downed during the game itself, maybe a good one at that - I did keep the better part of the bottle for dinner that night. Polishing off a bottle of wine before the afternoon was hardly half over wouldn't have been in my - or our garden's - best interest since I headed out there after the game.

I think the wine might have been a bit better as an accompaniment to the game than it was to the dinner though. There was some big acidity in the wine and it didn't quite match up to the cream, tomatoes and chipotles that the mussels were cooked in.

Mussels. Muscles. Sem. Sauv. What's it all matter anyhow? The Canucks scored three huge goals in a couple of minutes to bust open the game and, luckily, seal that third win. Time to bring the series home to VanCity and finish it off.

As much as I wouldn't mind any number of future J-T wines, I'd just as soon move on to the Stanley Cup Finals and a new winery.

Boxed Lizards & Rabbits

It's hard to believe that we're reaching the tail end of August. Can Fall be long off? It hasn't exactly been a summer loaded with picnics, but we found the opportunity to fit at least one more in for the summer.

Boo and I thought we'd hit Granville Island to pick up a few dinner treats. We then decided to move along to the other end of False Creek and set up shop in the recently celebratory Olympic Village. Now open to the public to wander through - and, hopefully, buy up all of the unsold condos - I hadn't been down here yet except to go for a run along the Seawall.

We figured that we'd also managed to fit in a quick sip/cocktail at another of the Biennale installations. Cocktail, yes. Biennale, no. Apparently the 15-foot high sparrows aren't part of the exposition but are permanent pieces of the city's public art program. I guess it was fortuitous that we didn't spend the entire picnic there since it wouldn't have even counted as a check mark in the Biennale wine column.

We carried on down to the edge of False Creek and its views of the downtown skyline, the Science World dome and the Olympic Village. The Village may not be fully populated yet but it boasted a steady supply of folks on a stroll for people watching. Seeing as how I figured there aren't going to be a lot of picnics in the foreseeable future, I brought along both tetra-pak boxed wines that I'd picked up for such an occasion. Neither wine was expected to excite, but I do hear, every so often, that boxed wines are improving in quality.

569. 2007 Cheviot Bridge Thirsty Lizard Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (South Eastern Australia) 1L

I'm not so sure even the winery intends that you'll expect a wine named Thirsty Lizard to be a 90+ point wine. Surprisingly though, the Sem/Sauv blend wasn't that bad at all. I don't think it'll leave premier Bordeaux white wine producers shaking in their boots, but it is from the same people that bring us the Long Flat range and I think that's a bit of pedigree in the bargain, value wines. This one was easily worth the $11 that the litre will set you back. I wouldn't have a problem opening another box given similar circumstances.

I can't really say the same thing about wine number two.

570. 2008 French Rabbit Cabernet Sauvignon (Vins de Pays d'Oc - France) 1L

This is probably more along the lines of what most people generally think of when they conjure up boxed wine. The French are making conscious efforts at improving their more basic table wines. I think they're going to have to keep tweaking this one. If the Lizard wasn't going to spook Bordeaux producers, this Cab isn't likely going to elicit even a "spit in your general direction" by Left or Right Bank chateaux.

Something tells me that there were more medals being won by the athletes that wandered these paths during the Winter Olympics than either of these wines will win. In fact, if the box of Rabbit hadn't told me it was a Cab, I wouldn't have guessed that in the least. Ah well, just like at the Olympics, you win some, you lose some.

Charity Dinner

For the last so many years, the firm where I work has had an annual silent auction as a charitable fundraising activity. The donated items go all over the map - from bottles of fine Scotch to a girls' night of cocktails and nails to throwing a pie in the face of a co-worker. Much to Boo's great delight (yeah, right), I've donated a wine dinner for four at our place. It's proved popular on the bidding front and we finally managed to find an evening that would work for last year's high bidders.

It just happened that The Boss inched up the bid one last time and ended up winning. He said that he was going to leave it to the next bidder to win - but that bidder didn't show up in time. So he was stuck with us. I warned him during the week leading up, though, that I was going to have to behave myself since the company was entering a team in the Sun Run the next morning and - whether he was going to show or not - I had to be able to at least make it to the start line. Accomplishing that feat might mean hustling him out the door before he was ready to hit the road. Forewarned is fore-armed, I figure.

A couple of days before dinner, he advised me that he was bringing along some wine. I told him that the prize included wine with dinner, but he was adamant that he had already picked some out. They have a place up in the Okanagan that's only about a mile from the nearest winery; so, I figured he was bringing along some Blasted Church or wine from a neighbouring vineyard.

Turned out that he and Bosswoman thought it'd be more fun to head to one of the specialty shops in town and find some wine that I might not have run across before. Boss knows about this blog and made it a bit of an evening's fun and a challenge for the wine clerk. He did a good job; I tell you. We opened one of the bottles he brought as our first of the evening.

441. 2006 Firriato Harmonium Nero d'Avola (IGT Sicily - Italy)

I wasn't quite sure what we were going to get when I opened the bottle. I generally think of Nero d'Avola as a Southern Italian grape that is used in entry level wines. This was no entry level wine. That's for sure. There was lots of fruit and structure and it's given a whole new appreciation for what is possible with Nero d'Avola. It wasn't too much of a surprise that it sells for $50 a pop in VanCity. All the same, it was one of the favourite wines of the evening.

The weather was totally cooperative and unexpectedly nice, so Bosswoman, The Duke and Duchess all thought we could do appies in the garden. I grabbed the Sicilian red since we were serving up peppered pecorino cheese drizzled with truffle honey and were taking advantage of the occasion by pulling out the salt block and "grilling" thinly sliced lamb and quail eggs. How can you go wrong with al fresco steak and eggs?

Once the temperature started getting a bit nippy without coats, we moved inside and the first course was a favourite of mine - Soupe aux Moules - a Provencal mussell soup made with plenty of wine and saffron. When I think Provence, I think Rose.

442. 2008 Domaine de La Renaudie Perle de Rosee (AOC Touraine - France)

This Rose isn't actually from Provence but I'd picked it up with an assortment of Rose wines for the upcoming summer season. Not only did the wine go wonderfully with the soup, but it turns out that I get to add another varietal to my list for the Wine Century Club. The wine is made from the Pinot d'Anuis varietal - one that I'm definitely not very familiar with. Wikipedia says that the varietal was a favourite of Henry Plantagenet (England's King Henry III); so, I suppose it's sensical that we were serving it to a Duke and Duchess.

443. 2008 Fairview Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

We stuck a little closer to home with the next wine, but the fact that it's from the Okanagan doesn't necessarily mean that it's an easy find. I was actually quite surprised to see a bottle on the shelf at Everything Wine (one of my favourite places to pass an hour or two); so, I just grabbed it.

Bill Eggert of Fairview Cellars is known for his big reds, but, for the last couple of years, he's been offered a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc that he's blended with an even smaller amount of Semillon to produce his "oyster wine." We didn't serve it up with seafood, but we did match it up with another classic pairing - goat cheese - which formed the base of the sabayon cream that we served on the asparagus.

So far, so good.

444. 2002 Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir (VQA Okanagan)

The main course was duck confit; so, I pulled out one of our favourite local Pinot Noirs - the Cedar Creek Platinum. Boo doesn't often reach for Pinot Noir when he has a choice, but he immediately fell for this wine when we first tried it a couple of years ago. When available (the winery doesn't necessarily produce the Platinum wine every year), I think it usually clocks in around $40. As such, it's a special occasion wine - as befitting an evening like tonight - and a bargain when compared to top flight Pinot Noir from around the world (not that I want to encourage the folks at CedarCreek need to rethink their pricing).

We finished this bottle off rather quickly, however, so I grabbed another from the wine that Boss had brought along.

445. 2006 Frescobaldi - Tenuta di Castelgiocondo - Lamaione (IGT Tuscany - Italy)

Good Boss. I think we could have cellared this bottle for some time to mellow it out some, but, after having polished off four bottles already, I can't say that I paid a whole lot of attention to what I was about to open. Again, The Boss succeeded in bringing along a wine that I wasn't familiar with. I will be now.

Lamaoine is a Frescobaldi Super Tuscan from the Castelgiocondo vineyards and winery. Located in the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG region, it's a wine made with 100% Merlot. Since it's not a Sangiovese varietal wine, it therefore, has to be an IGT wine and can't be denoted as a traditional wine for the Montalcino or even Tuscany region. It doesn't matter that this wine was rated given a 95 point score by Wine Spectator. Technically, it is not a traditional appellation wine and is labelled with the "lesser" IGT designation.

A single vineyard Merlot, Lamaione is said to be the first of its kind to be produced in Montalcino and was only started well after the Frescobaldi family purchased the old "Happy Castle" in 1989. Legend has it that the old estate is where the Mona Lisa was painted and, hence, the castle's name was born. It's bottles like this that made this dinner and our home into a happy castle.

446. NV (Series 122) Seppelt Para Aged Tawny (Australia)

A star from the land of "stickies." I've been waiting to serve up this bottle for some time now. I figured that this was a great occasion, especially when matching it with Elzee's famous Torte di Mele con Pinoli e Uvetta (Apple Torte with Pinenuts and Raisins) and a cheese plate.

An SGM blend (Shiraz, Grenache & Mataro/Mourvedre) - unctuous, luscious, rich - call it what you may, Seppelt is a (if not "the") personification of Aussie fortified wines. However, that "is" might be a "was." In the mid-2000's, Seppelt was sold to the Fosters group and they, in turn, sold the collection of fortified wines to Kilkanoon. Fosters kept the name "Seppelt" though. So, you won't find any new series of this wine beyond Series 226. There is a Para Tawny being made but it's now produced by Seppeltsfield.

Luckily, I didn't have to shoo The Boss out the door in order to get the needed sleep before the big race. Bosswoman did a pretty good job of doing that herself. All in all, I think the dinner was a grand affair - hopefully, worthy of a high bidder. I figure it was a pretty darned good collection of both folk and wine. If nothing else, it's a great addition of six wines to The List.

A Bit of Olympic Cheating

I wouldn't rank it up there with news of a positive drug test at the Olympics, but I am cheating a bit with today's entry on the Olympic Wine quest. Yesterday's gold medallists came from Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. I'm not going to find any wine from the Russians or Swiss in any local wine shops and we've done the other three already. So, I figured I'd cheat a bit and go with a French wine. I never drank French earlier in the Games when they did win a couple gold medals, and they did win a silver medal in Women's Biathlon and a bronze in Women's Ski Cross yesterday. So, they're fairly golden and deserve the opening of a bottle.

375. 2007 Chateau Marjosse Entre Deux Mers Grand Vin de Bourdeaux (AOC Entre Deux-Mers - France)

In a bit of a coincidence, this wine has a bit of a gold medal heritage to it - not this particular wine but the driving force behind it. It turns out that Chateau Marjosse is owned by Pierre Lurton who is the estate manager of two of the superstars of the French wine industry - Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau d'Yquem. The Lurton family itself has been in the business of Bordeaux wine since 1650 and Pierre is one of 17 family members from this generation that are currently in the wine trade.

Wines from the Entre Deux-Mers appellation aren't meant to challenge the big Bordeaux boys, but the appellation is seeing more improvement in quality as the rest of the world continues to catch up with (or out-perform) France. The region is part of Bordeaux but isn't the classical Right and Left Bank regions. Rather the "two seas" that it finds itself "between," in the regional name, are the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers. Hence, the Left Bank is on the left side of the Garonne and Entre Deux-Mers and the Right Bank is to the North, above the Dordogne.

All wines falling under the actual Entre Deux-Mers appellation name are white, dry and will be limited to four varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc. The fruit profile can vary greatly depending on the blend of the grapes but, like this wine, they tend to be fresh with high acidity. I didn't see anything "official" about the breakdown of this blend, but I did see one online site say that the mix was 85% Semillon and 15% Sauv Blanc.

One of the good things about Entre Deux-Mers wine though is that the price tends to be user-friendly when compared to many French wines in our market. This one comes in at $21.

I guess, if I had to "cheat" on our Olympian task, it might as well be for a wine that's worth the effort.

A Hard Day at Work

After a busy week at work, it didn't take much of an arm twisting to step out onto the office balcony for a quick refreshment. The call was actually for a beer, but one of our local buds got caught up with a last minute client - and HE was the one supposed to bring along the beer.

There were only TWO beer in office fridge (Yeah, I hear you, "What kind of an office fridge is that?!") and there were three of us ready to call it a day at a quarter of five. I lost the coin flip. That meant I had to go on a bit of hunt and I found the following bottle hanging around. I'm not going to mention where I found the cache though since there are a few folks from work that actually read this blog once in awhile.

140. 2003 d'Arenberg The Stump Jump (McLaren Vale - Australia)

You can almost be counted on to remember d'Arenberg wines as much for their intriguing names as you do for the wine that's in the bottle. In fact, I remember the first time a Stump Jump wine was ever recommended (it was the red at Bin 941 many years ago).

As an entry level wine, The Stump Jump can always be counted on to please as an easy drinking and accessible bottle. The white blend changes from year to year and this vintage was a blend of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Marsanne. Not eaxactly a blend you'd find in France where all these varietals are main stays in Alsace, the Loire and the Rhone, but it can't be seen as a surprise when we're talking Oz.

A cool wine on a hot day, out in the sun at the start of a long weekend. This is a glass of wine that I can handle.

Lady Di Does Dinner

Jackpot!! It was time for Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed to host the Dinner Club and wow us with their culinary talents. The Lady invited a few extra guests in addition to the regular four couples. After all, if you're already cooking for eight, what's another four?

What it meant for The List though was that there was a bona fide plethora of wines in the evening's line-up. Between opening cocktails and the multiple courses, there was a full dozen wines being served through the evening. It's a good thing that the evening carried on for hours and there was plenty of cool white wine to help with the warm weather.

Taking full advantage of that weather and the fact that their building has a wonderful common garden patio, Lady Di found a way to seat us outside in a most delightful setting. There was even a small musical interlude of a little Simon & Garfunkle (for those old enough to remember) as two of the guests found sage, rosemary and thyme right behind their seats in the garden. I'm sure there might have been some parsley there as well had we searched a little longer.

I'm fairly certain that I was the only guest that tried all 12 wines being poured. I just felt compelled to try every wine if I was going to mention it in the blog and add it to The List. It certainly helped that I was in charge of the corkscrew and delivery of open bottles. I think there was only one or two that almost missed my glass. Let's just say that my good friend, Mr. Tylenol was of some assistance the next morning.

I will add that it's a good thing I'm not presenting tasting notes in this forum because that would have been ever so distracting and, more than likely, a futile exercise as the numbers got a bit higher. However, we did a fine job on the wines and Lady Di and She Who Must did a marvelous job on the menu.

The evening's first wines were served up with three appetizers of seared tuna, a bruschetta of bocconcini and fresh green pea spread and potato latkes with smoked salmon.

124. 2007 8th Generation Pinot Rose (Okanagan)

125. 2008 Blasted Church Mixed Blessings (VQA Okanagan) (Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Ehrenfelser)

126. NV Gazela Vinho Verde (DOC Vinho Verde - Portugal)

The remaining wines for the evening appeared as needed with courses of prawn ceviche, tortilla soup, roasted beet and goat cheese salad, and prosciutto wrapped chicken. The only thing missing was a little gnocchi on the side.

127. 2008 Stag's Hollow Sauvignon Blanc (Okanagan)

128. 2008 Wild Goose Gewurztraminer (VQA Okanagan)

129. 2008 Wild Goose Mystic River Gewurztraminer (VQA Okanagan)

130. 2007 Poggio Vignoso (Chianti DOC - Italy)

131. 2006 Riccisoli Brolio (Chianti Classico DOCG - Itlay)

132. 2005 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot (Columbia Valley - Washington)

133. 2007 Chateau de Sancerre (Sancerre AOC) (Sauvignon Blanc)

134. 2005 Francois Crochet Le Chene Marchand (Sancerre AOC) (Sauvignon Blanc)

135. 2004 Blackwood Lane Alliance (Okanagan) (Mertitage blend - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc)

I think my favourite wine of the evening was the Domaine Francois Crochet Sancerre. It came highly recommended from Marquis Wine Cellars and it lived up to the praise. I didn't find much information about the winery on the net, but "Le Chene Marchand" refers to the vineyard where the grapes were grown. Apparently it's quite the prestigious vineyard in the southern part of the Sancerre and is located on a well-exposed hillside that allows plenty of afternoon sun to fully ripen the grapes. The soil in the area is a more chalky terroir that imparts a different taste and mouthfeel to the wine than the more flinty soils found a little further north.

Sancerre white wine means Sauvignon Blanc and we just found that it was was lovely, refined Sauvignon Blanc that had plenty of integrated body, acidity and fruit but wasn't as overtly green or in-your-face as you can find with some of the better known New Zealand counterparts.

At $40 a bottle though, I don't think this is going to be a regular white on our table regardless of how much we liked it. This will have to remain a special occasion wine - like when the Lady Di entertains.

Bottle Hopping

My days of cutting a swath through a parade of parties in a single week are so far behind me, it's a rare occasion that I'd even try to fit two into one night. But here we are - taking a true test of social stamina.

Like a great many of the sipping partners I have that grace these postings, Camper and I were buds back in university days. Despite the annual Christmas e-mail exchange exclaiming that we need to try and get together in the upcoming year, it just doesn't seem to materialize as often as we'd like. It's generally a tallying of years - rather than months or weeks - between visits.

When I ran across her name and number in a directory at work the other week, I gave her a quick call. Voicemail only. But, when she got the message the next week, it did lead to an impromptu, and last-minute, invitation to dinner as Camper had invited another couple from that old gang over for a BBQ. Boo was working and I'd already committed to a party that night, but I figured that the opportunity doesn't pop up that often; I'd better try and fit in at least an hour or two or regret it as a "whaddya mean you're too old to fit two parties into one night" kind of moment.

118. 2008 See Ya Later Ranch Nelly Rose (VQA Okanagan)

Plus, there was bound to be some wine around and, lately, I'm not one to toss a vinous opportunity out lightly. As you might guess by the advanced nighttime lighting of this bottle shot, there were so many laughs and memories that my best intentions to leave by 8.00 turned into a "gosh, it's 9.30 already" run out the door.

Just as last night's Wine Boyz went summer, I figured a rose would hit the spot. I hadn't seen this wine from SYL before and I can't help but note the marketing choice to call their rose "Nelly."

The label says that the wine is named after one of the winery's originator's favourite dogs. C'mon. There may well have been a puppy named "Nelly," but this has to have been a conscious choice. Pink/magenta label. Rose wine. Nelly. I don't know if SYL is marketing the wine to and during the Vancouver Pride Festival, but they likely should be. It all reminds me of Kim Crawford's rose, Pansy. They come right out on the label and say that the wine is specially made for the Sydney Gay Mardi Gras.

This Nelly is a blend of Gamay Noir, Cabernet Franc and Gewurtztraminer. An interesting blend if there ever was one. For a rose, it had a lot of colour and heft to it, but Camper and I managed to do a good job on that bottle.

It was tough to leave, but there was another soiree to attend. The second event was a group 40th birthday party for a couple of our neighbours. Since there were three celebrants, I suppose it was a 120th b-day party.

The shin-dig was well under way by the time I arrived and it was evident that the wine had been flowing freely before my arrival. The red was pretty much done and there was one part glass of a rose to be had. So, I spent some time with the white.

119. 2007 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - New Zealand)

New Zealand. Sauvignon Blanc. It's one of the most identifiable combinations in the world of wine. I won't try to add anything to the topic.

It was great to see that the party featured its own concert by Karen Lee Batten, the now-country crooner that was a finalist on Canadian Idol in 2003. What a wonderful surprise and treat! There was some singing. A bit of dancing. I'll toast that kind of party favour any time.

I'm going to assume that the music and wine choices were courtesy of our Illuminare Gal and not Sham-A-Lama. The latter is a beer, scotch and cigar kinda guy. I had to move on (to bed, not another party) as the scotch and smokes started making their appearance. But I heard that one spousal neighbour went to retrieve a wayward husband from Sham-A-Lama's wicked grasp around 3.30. I think I used to last that long into the night (or morning as it may be). Happy Birthday to the young'uns.

Rabbits, Breezes & Rigamaroles

I'm falling behind again on my postings. Either I'm too excited about the prospect of blogging and adding more wines to The List or, just maybe, we drink a lot. Nah, must be the excitement of blogging. Regardless, I'm going to pull another catch-up posting and put a series of nights at home in one entry. Nothing overly exciting about the evenings, the food or even the company (not that Boo isn't exciting company enough - but we were watching TV as well). But you do get three for the price of one:

103. 2005 Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc (Central Coast - California)

Apparently inspired by their friends "down under" (at least according to their web site), the folks at Rock Rabbit have come out with their own "critter" wine. However, I think the inspiration was supposed to come more from the style of wine more than the colourful labels and names.

Rock Rabbit only produces two wines - a Shiraz and this Sauvignon Blanc. Styled on the renowned New Zealand sauv blancs, this winsome bunny is supposedly "everything that California Chardonnay is not." Sourced from vineyards in the cooler (for California) Central Valley around Monterey and Santa Barbara, it's Pinot Gris with a 9% splash of Gewurztraminer to heighten the aromatics of the wine. I don't think I'm familiar with that addition.

104. 2004 Lake Breeze Seven Poplars Merlot (VQA - Okanagan)

Couldn't an awful lot on the net about this particular bottle - although I did see that it won a bronze medal at the 2007 all-Canadian Wine Championships.

Lake Breeze is one of the longer standing wineries on the Naramata Bench; however, their production is still on the smaller scale, producing about 9,000 cases a year total. The Seven Poplars range is their premium level of wines. The winery started out probably being better known for their white wines (and for the fact that their South African founder planted some Pinotage vines to bring a little bit of his Cape home with him), but they are expanding into the red varietals more as the years pass.

The winery has 17 acres under operation but I couldn't find out if all of the grapes for the Merlot were estate-grown.

105. 2007 Rigamarole Red (VQA - Okanagan)

Launched as part of the Artisan Wine Company portfolio, Rigamarole is one of the labels produced under the Mission Hill umbrella. Introduced as a different approach at reaching the wine-drinking public, this line is based perhaps as much on the eye-catching label marketing as on the promotion of the wine itself. Bottled with a variety of labels for each of the four wines produced, our Red featured the "dancing rhino."

I don't know if this qualifies it as yet another entry into the "critter wine" category, but the labels certainly are intriguing. No doubt the concept is get Joe Public to buy the first bottle because of the label and hope that the product convinces him to buy another bottle (maybe the one with the elephant eating soup next time).

The wine is a rather unique blend of Merlot, Cab, Gamay and Pinot Noir and, marketing effort or not, it does carry VQA certification. There are certainly less enjoyable wines in the demographic out there. I'll likely go back looking for the elephant at some point.

We don't tend to drink a lot of Lake Breeze's wines on a regular basis, but I think both Boo and I liked the Merlot the best out of the three wines on this post. I guess it's not too out of line then that it clocked in at the highest price point. The current vintage lists at $25. The Rigamarole was under $15 which brings it more in line with a Tuesday night wine - at least for us.

The Man From Margaret River

38.  2004 Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Margaret River - Western Australia)

I've always found the selection of Margaret River wines to be rather scarce in BC liquor stores.  As mentioned previously, I'd picked up a bit of a jones for the region while visiting down under back in 1996 - not that I made it as far as Perth and the West Coast.  Upon returning to Vancouver, I made a bee-line for one of the specialty shops but there were only a couple of wines available.  I remember that Cape Mentelle was one of them and it was affordable, being in the $20-$30 range - a bit of a splurge for a Tuesday night, but it wouldn't break the bank.  I continued to keep an eye out for it.

The winery doesn't seem to be on the shelves regularly nowadays though - which is too bad because it's garnering a lot of attention back in Oz as one of the premier producers in the Margaret River area and in the country.  I like my sauvignon blanc this way - not quite as grassy and acidic as is commonly found while so many strive to be New Zealand all over again.  However, that "restraint" might relate a bit to the fact that this was the 2004 vintage and the winemaker recommends that the wine be opened in the first couple of years.  The back label recounts that there is a bit of oak treatment, but it must be limited because it certainly didn't overpower the still noticeable fruit.

I hope to see more of Cape Mentelle.

...And We're Off...

I've been wanting to find a fun, and hopefully, interesting way to keep track of our adventures in wine for some time now. I've been toying with blogging as being the means of reaching that end. Being the computer-challenged chap that I am, the odd thought about taking a stab at a blog is about as far as anything has progressed so far. The Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival and its myriad of bottles last week made it just that much clearer that, the longer I delayed, the more opportunities I was missing out on.

So, today's the day and I get to start with a bang!! I'm adding our first seven bottles in the count.

For a couple of years now, every so often, a group of us gets together for a blind tasting of wines to try and discover some new faves or find out a bit more about a particular wine or wine-producing area. I've been calling it our "Wine Boyz" nights since there was a four-man cadre that formed the backbone of the tastings. We've had tastings of Bordeaux blends, BC whites, Aussie reds, grenache and so on.

Last night's theme was totally new - everyone was to bring a wine that was either a varietal they'd never tried or heard of before or was from an area that they'd never really thought of as a wine-producing region. We were hoping for some really different wines to show up and, you know, we pretty much did. I don't know that any of them would necessarily have been choices that I would readily have reached for to take home from the liquor store.

But we had to laugh when - out of all the wines in the world there were to choose from - two people brought the same wine. Both of them truly took the theme to heart - it was the tannat grape and the wine was from Uruguay. They both may well have chosen the only Uruguayan wine available for sale in the city and tannat is hardly a varietal that many could talk about. But what made it even crazier was that one of the bottles was corked!! And it was our neighbours that brought the corked bottle - after they'd brought a corked bottle to the last tasting. What are the odds!! Are they storing their wine along with the dirty diapers they currently have gracing their home?

In any event, the first wines on our road to 2001 are:

1. 2007 Woop Woop - Verdelho (Australia)

2. 2006 Arndorfer - Gruner Veltliner (Austria)

3. 2006 Domaine De L'Ecu - Gros-Plant du Pays Nantais - Melon de Bourogne (Loire)

4. 2007 Domaine du Tariquet - Sauvignon (blanc) (Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne)

5. 2005 KWV Cathedral Cellar - Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)

6. 2007 Cantina Santa maria La Palma Alghero Le Bombarde - Cannonau di Sardegna (DOC Sardegna - Italy)

7. 2007 Pisano - Reserve Tannat (Uruguay)

Despite the hope of discovering a new varietal that just jumped up and said "buy me, drink me, love me," it was the more recognizable South African cab and the French sauvignon blanc that proved to be the favourites among the gang. 4 of 7 picked the sauv blanc as the top white (although I picked the Gruner Veltliner) and 6 of 7 picked the cab as their fave red. No one picked the tannat as their favourite and 4 of us said it was the least enjoyable. With the whites, 4 of us announced the Nantais as nasty.

Here's hoping that there's lots to be enjoyed in the remaining 1994 bottles to be imbibed!