Vancouver Gay Men's Wine Social

I like to think that I know a lot about wine events in the Vancouver area but I was taken by surprise that there's been an event - that's right up my alley - that has been ongoing for almost a year now without my hearing about it. While chatting about the blog with one of my teammates during our curling league's Pink Broom bonspiel, he mentioned that he's ben attending Vancouver Gay Men's Wine Social events for awhile now. That announcement certainly piqued my interest, but even better, he said that one was coming up shortly and that he'd see if he could swing me an invite.

He did - and here we are.

The VGMWS was started by a couple - new to Vancouver - after moving from NYC. The monthly get togethers in the Big Apple had been a staple of their New York lives and they apparently missed them enough to try and re-establish them here. Each month, a different wine lover volunteers their home for between 25 and 50 "Wine Boyz" - experienced and wannabe alike.

The host picks a theme for the evening and everyone attending brings along a bottle matched to the theme. Our first stab at the VGMWS saw California Cabs as the theme.

Rough way to start.

1473.  2010 Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

Getting decent shots of the wines was tougher than getting a glass of wine. I had to use my phone as I didn't bring along my camera and, more to the point, I didn't want to be overly obvious since this was our first foray into this scene. No sense standing out too much or messing up the decorum, you know. I'm more than willing to sacrifice a sharper picture if it is going to play into another invite. (Of course I'm saying this just to make it clear that the fuzziness of the picture has nothing to do with the copious amount of wine that was available).

It was nice to see the assortment of wines that had been brought along - despite the fact that I hardly find there to be a great assortment of Cali Cabs at decent prices in our market. While it's certainly better than it was a decade ago, there's still something about wine crossing the border - and the prices that result from that crossing.

I didn't know anything about the Cannonball brand but the label caught my eye. The wine seemed a bit light compared to the Cabs we were trying in Napa and Sonoma back in the Spring; however, we did tend to try to go as high-end as could back then. After all, this is only a Friday night social - not a high falutin' tasting extravaganza.

1474.  2010 Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley - California)

1475.  Rock & Vine - Three Ranches Cabernet Sauvignon (North Coast - California)

We continued to try a number of wines over the course of the evening but the two that stood out for us were the Avalon and the Rock & Vine. I don't know that either would stand a chance against a real big gun from California but, then again, you could drink a whole lot more of these two than you could for the price of one of those big gun bottles.

Neither Boo nor I knew many of the attendees at this month's social but, needless to say, I'm all over this concept and I'll have to hope that I can make it to more of them down the road. I can think of all sorts of themes that could be all sorts of tasty.

Wine Boyz - The Grenache Edition

I always look forward to our little Wine Boyz gatherings - where we round up a gang for the evening and we taste a series of wines on a double blind basis. Whoever plays host that night decides on the "flavour du jour" and everyone brings along a bottle, in a brown paper bag, to fit the theme. While tasting the wines, we neither know what the wine is, nor who brought it. We try the wines both with and without food and are ultimately cajoled into ranking them - top choice through least - before the night is out.

The revealing of who liked or disliked what wines is always a great part of the evening - especially when the overall favourites are revealed. We all just sit there praying that we brought one of the favoured drops.

I'm afraid, however, that this is going to have to be one of those "Colour Me Bad" posts. In the time since the actual tasting and my writing this, I've misplaced all my notes from the evening - including my preferences and the overall rankings. The best I can do now is add the wines to The List and let you know that Boo's and my wines, naturally, were among the favourites.

Honestly.

Skipper assumed the host's mantle and he decided that Grenache and Grenache blends (so long as the "G" figured prominently in the mix) was the chosen path. We'd tried a Grenache tasting years ago and it was one of the most popular evenings that we could remember. Skipper wanted to see if a different set of wines would be as popular with a different "gang of pour." We had some Wine Boyz virgins joining us and there was a fair bit of "what the heck is Grenache anyhow?" before the actual evening. The fact that you find it called Garnacha, almost as often as not, on local shelves wouldn't have helped. I 'm pretty sure they'll have a good chance of remembering what it is now.

There were no restrictions on where the wines could come from tonight - and, after the reveal, I was intrigued by the sources: four Spanish, two French and two Aussies. I truly regret that, for the moment, I can't even say whether there were any preferences by region - personal or overall.

1162. 2007 Conde Valdemar Garnacha (Rioja D.O.C. - Spain)

1163. 2010 Bodegas Artazu - Artazuri Garnacha (Navarra D.O. - Spain)

1164. 2008 Malondro Besllum (Montsant D.O. - Spain)

- 50 Garnacha 50 Cariñena

1165. 2007 Torres Gran Sangre de Toro (Catalunya D.O.C. - Spain)

-60 Garnacha 25 Cariñena 15 Syrah

In retrospect, it's interesting that there were twice as many Spanish wines as there were French or Aussie. Since I'm usually the one picking wine for dinner and outings, a big part of the fun for me is seeing what wines other people choose. It's not too often that I'm familiar with them.

1166. 2007 Domaine Vieux Lazaret - Châteauneuf-du-Pape (AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France)

- Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre & Syrah

1167. 2010 Perrin Réserve Côtes du Rhône (AOC Côtes du Rhône - France)

-GSM

I was glad to see that there was a Châteauneuf-du-Poof, as my sister refers to them when around us, brought to the table. It's just appropriate given the crowd.

1168. 2007 d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache (McLaren Vale - Australia)

1169. 2010 Rosemount Grenache Shiraz (South Eastern Australia)

- 55 Grenanche 45 Shiraz

I'm kicking myself about the lost notes because Boo and I brought the d'Arenberg as one of our wines. It was one of the wineries that we visited when we visited McLaren Vale a couple months back. I'd love to know how it stacked up against the others - and what we thought of it when tasting it blind.

The fact that there's a picture of me with Elzee and the Conde Valdemar has me wondering if that was the favourite of the evening. That bottle also happens to be on the "end" of the bottle line-up (down below); so, there's always a chance that they'd been lined up in order of favourite to least for the shot. Or, that could have been just too organized and thought out - after polishing off the better part of eight bottles.

In any event, we obviously enjoyed Skipper's hospitality and the wines since the evening carried on for hours. Should I ever find the notes, while cleaning, I can always revise the post and give the rightful winner its due taste in the sun. I'll just have to be more organized when it comes to our next edition. Hopefully, that'll be sooner than later.

Wine Boyz - A New Year's Eve Edition

Poor Boo. He got scheduled to work New Year's Eve - after having to work Christmas Day as well. And for the second year running, I'd have work a little to find a means to a kiss at midnight. Luckily, Skipper stepped into the breach and suggested that he host a special edition of Wine Boyz - Ringing in the New Year. GQ was going to be in town and they needed an excuse to show off the new dining room light fixture.

Our concept for Wine Boyz is that everyone brings a wine according to a pre-announced theme but they keep the wine literally under wrap (in a paper bag) so that we can have an innocent bystander pour the wines into a carafe and no one knows what wine they're tasting. Some of our regular attendees were going to be out of town but it's been almost a year since our last Wine Boyz tasting, so we decided to go with it anyhow. To top it off, Skipper thought that New Year's Eve called for a lifting of the traditional $25 cap on the bottle price. A "big" night called for even bigger wines.

Seeing as how Skipper and GQ had a Italian treat hanging around from their visit a couple years back, he thought Tuscan Reds would make for a great theme. We ran into a bit of problem in that one of intended guests only drinks white wine. So, the compromise was five Tuscan reds and three BC whites.

N.V. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (AOC Champagne - France)

Is there any better way to start off New Year's Eve off than with a bit of bubble? Skipper wisely decided to open the real Champagne while we were still sober enough to truly enjoy it. The Veuve was non-vintage and it had already been added to The List (at #385) when we were celebrating the Canadian Men's Hockey Team's 2010 Olympic win; so. we started the evening off with a wine that doesn't even make The List. But, celebrations like gold medals and new years are few and far between, so I think this pointed us in the right direction for a pretty decent evening of our own.

After blind tasting each of the wines - with and without nibblies - the Wine Boyz (and Grrrlz) all rank the wines from favourite to least. Then we count up the points and low score wins. Although all three of our whites went in different directions, there was very little to choose between them. After one sip, you'd like #2. With another, you'd move on to #3. I think the fact that all three wines scored within 2 points of the others confirms that.

1031. 2010 Ganton & Larson Prospect Winery - Ogopogo's Lair Pinot Grigio (VQA Okanagan Valley)(13 points)

1032. 2010 Road 13 Stemwinder (VQA Okanagan Valley)(14 points)

1033. 2010 Orofino Riesling (Similkameen Valley - BC)(15 points)

Ganton & Larson walked away with the win, but I think it'd be easy to call this a statistical tie - given a margin of error for the number of glasses consumed. If memory serves (which might be a questionable issue), each of the three wines got at least one first place vote.

There's more of a variance in the scores for the red wines. I find myself at a bit of disadvantage when writing this entry. By the end of the evening's fun, it didn't even dawn on me to bring my tasting notes home with me. Skipper, being the fastidious cleaner that he is, had tossed the notes by the next morning. So, I can't elucidate on how I responded to each of the wines - except that I know my favourite of the evening went completely against the grain of all the other Wineboyz.

1034. 2008 Gianni Brunelli Rosso di Montalcino (DOC Rossi di Montalcino - Tuscany - Italy)(13 points)

1035. 2005 Fanti Tenuta San Filippo - Rosso di Montalcino (DOC Rosso di Montalcino - Tuscany - Italy)(14 points)

Another statistical tie if you ask me. One different vote and the order could be completely askew. I'd brought along the Fanti Tenuta so it's in my best interest to push that position - not that I knew anything about the wine or the producer beforehand, but bragging rights for the top pick go a long way with this crew.

I enjoyed the fact that there was a bit of variance in the type of wines that were tasted. All of the reds were Tuscan but there were four different styles and sub-regions represented. It's even more interesting to me that the two Rosso di Montalcino's - or Baby Brunello's - were the general favourites.

1036. 2007 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Riserva (DOC Chianti Classico - Tuscany - Italy)(18 points)

1037. 2008 Tenuta Sette Ponti - Crognolo (IGT - Tuscany - Italy)(21 points)

1038. 2007 Poliziano Mandrone di Lohsa Rosso (IGT Maremma - Tuscany - Italy)(26 points)

I also find it interesting that the two Super Tuscans were the gang's least favourite wines. The Tenuta Sette Ponti and the Poliziano were the two wines that made use of grapes that were not traditionally allowed in Tuscan wines (hence the IGT designation). The Crognolo is Sangiovese/Merlot blend and the Mandrone di Lohsa is predominantly Cab Sauv with additions of Alicante, Petit Verdot and Carignan.

My personal pick of the night was the Poliziano; however, every other person ranked it as their least favourite. I find that somewhat ironic that Skipper announced that it was the most expensive wine of the night (by at least $20). Just goes to show - no, not that I have the most sophisticated palate - that price doesn't mean everything when it comes to pleasing the masses. The good news for me was that I got to drink as much of the bottle as I liked. While the others scrambled for the other wines, I got to sip away on the big gun all to myself.

The fact that I get to add the Alicante varietal to my Wine Century Club list is an added bonus. Perhaps I subconsciously knew that the wine was blended with a new grape and, as a result, my pleasure zone was just tweaked into a higher gear.

NV. Bastianich Flor Prosecco (Veneto - Italy)

When midnight finally rolled around, the cork was popped on another bottle of bubbly. Again, it was a non-vintage bottle that has already been added to The List (#409). So, we ended the evening's wines like we started - with a bottle that doesn't help me get any further to my goal of 2001 different bottles.

That might have been the end of opening new bottles but it certainly wasn't an end to the evening's festivities. And, despite what you might think about the accompanying picture, things didn't get nearly as out of hand as it might appear. The picture was staged, honestly - whether you care to believe it or not - indeed, GQ doesn't even really like white wine that much. So, he'd never guzzle it like that.

Skipper's home has a sizeable deck with a lovely view of False Creek and the downtown Vancouver core - and it became an impromptu dancefloor that beckoned two different sets of neighbours. A bloody freezing dancefloor, no doubt, but a dancefloor all the same. And what's a little chill on New Year's Eve? I will point out that there were some pictures of the skyline without the squiggly lines. I just chose this shot for artistic merit - as we tried to determine how to get a shot without a tripod. It wasn't just the wine. Scout's honour.

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable start to 2012. New Year's Day was perhaps a little more challenging, but I just have to face it that there are going to be a few occasions where I'll have to sacrifice myself a bit to ensure that this little Wine Odyssey reaches a conclusion. Big thanks to Skipper and GQ for playing such a big part in helping out with that quest.

I suppose it's a no-brainer that I should set a resolution to keep more up-to-date with my postings. I'll give that a whirl - but it's a good thing I don't actually make resolutions anymore.

Happy Happy for the upcoming year! Here's to an abundance of great wines in 2012!

Wine Boyz Go South

Par for the course, it's been far too long since we've managed to put together a gathering of the Wine Boyz - our little impromptu blind tastings (with whomever we can put together) to blindly taste wherever our theme may go. In fact, we haven't pulled off a tasting since last summer.

The actual Boyz that sip changes up pretty much every time we get together and four of our participants were newbies this time around - with Kaver & Katz joining us all the way from Arizona. Our other virgins - Nature Boy and Vice-Man - came all the way from across the lane.

The evening's theme - playing a bit with Boo's and my trip last Fall - was South American Reds. The wines chosen and the tasting results were both interesting and rather surprising.

733. N.V Familia Schroeder Deseado (Patagonia - Argentina)

As we waited for all the Boyz to arrive, we kicked off the evening with a little Argentine bubble - not the easiest of wines to find in our market. The fact that this one was even here to be grabbed is a little surprising seeing as how there were only 1750 cases made. We're a long ways away from Patagonia for such a limited release wine to make its way up here. Made in the Charmat method, the bubble was made from 100% Torrontes and was a semi-sweet start to the night.

N.V. Luis Pato Maria Gomes Vinho Espumante Bruto (Portugal)

We actually went through a second bottle of bubble before the real show started but we've already knocked one of them back (and added it to The List at #498) - at another Wine Boyz event as a matter of fact. Accordingly, we can't count it again. With this wine, we were cheating on the theme anyhow since it's from Portugal. But then, how many people have an extra bottle of South American sparkling wine just sitting around on a regular basis?

Seeing as how all the wines were brown-bagged and tasted blind, we didn't find out that I was the only one to bring wines that weren't from the from the Mendoza region in Argentina - until all the rankings were in and the wines had been revealed. I hadn't expected any Peruvian or Brazilian wines to be in the mix, but I thought we might see at least a couple from Chile instead of our lonely one. I don't know if that's an indication of where Vancouver tastes are when it comes to South American wines or not but it was a little surprising.

For the most part, there wasn't a whole lot of difference in how everyone reacted to the wines. Everyone ranks the wines from most to least favourite and we give points accordingly - 1 for favourite and 8 for least. Therefore, if one wine took all first place votes, it would end up with 8 points. Our winner only won by 4 points and only 3 points separated the next four wines. All it took was one person to dislike a wine to put a wine's final ranking at risk.

734. 2008 Bodega Vistalba Corte C (Mendoza - Argentina) (23 points)

I have to say that I was rather pleased to see that Vistalba finished first this evening. Vistalba was one of the wineries that Boo and I visited while in Mendoza and we were a tad surprised to find it at a number of bottle shops when we arrived back home. Although it wasn't anyone's favourite for the night, it was the second pick of five of us - with a third and fourth thrown in as well.

I never get much of a chance to talk about the wines in detail in recapping a Wine Boyz night but the Corte C is an 80/20 blend of Malbec and Cab Sauv. I think the Vancouver market still mostly thinks of Argentine wines as strictly Malbec, but Boo and I found that our faves while in Argentina generally tended to be blends. Hopefully, we'll continue to see more and more of them in our market.

735. 2005 Montes Alpha Syrah (D.O. Colchagua - Chile) (27 points)

Second place went to the lone Chilean wine that made it to the table. It was also the only Syrah. In a fit of cleaning that night, Boo tossed all the tasting notes that were left behind; so, I don't recall if a big difference was noted in general. However, the wine split the gang a bit more than any other. It received three first place votes (including mine); yet, it also took two 7th place votes.

The next three wines were only separated by one point. I think it's pretty fair to called them tied for third. All three of them received at least one first place vote.

736. 2007 Bodega del Fin del Mundo Single Vineyard Malbec (Patagonia - Argentina) (29 points)

The Del Fin del Mundo was the other "favourite" of the night in that it received three first place votes - like the Montes Syrah; however, from first it went to two 4th's, a 5th, 6th and 7th. Funny that it was a bit of a "love it or loathe it."

Not that any of the wines were truly "loathed." There wasn't a heck of a lot left of any of the wines at the end of the night.

737. 2009 Bodega Clop y Clop - Los Clop Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina) (29 points)

Not a wine that I've seen before. It was right there in the middle of the pack and no one particularly disliked it - the "worst" it fared on the evening was three 5th place votes.

738. 2008 La Posta Bonarda (Mendoza - Argentina) (30 points)

The only Bonarda, the fact that someone even found or thought to bring a Bonarda to the tasting was neat. Ending right up there with the other wines is a good indication that there may well be a market for more Bonarda wines to make it up to our market.

739. 2009 Bodegas Bianchi - Arrabal (Mendoza - Argentina) (43 points)

740. 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina) (44 points)

Again, not much these two wines. Both wines picked up one second place vote; then the only real difference between them was one third place vote for the Arrabal. Except for the second place votes, I don't think there were many Boyz wrtiting down the names to run out and buy either of these teo wines.

741. 1983 Weinert Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza - Argentina) (63 points)

Unfortunately, there was little doubt that this was the least favourite of the evening's wines - and that's right, it was a 1983 vintage. Tyrant pulled this one from out of his cellar and thought it would be a treat to serve. It's not too often that our crowd gets to sample an aged wine like this. The bottle wasn't corked, but it had clearly lost any of the charm it likely held in years past. It pulled in seven of eight last place votes and the one dissenter ranked it second to last. In a way, it's too bad that Boo tossed the note sheets because there were some doozies when it came to the nose on this wine. If memory serves, some involved locker room aromas while others related to unsavoury bodily functions. I doubt the folks at Weinert would have wanted those descriptors detailed though.

I suppose it goes to show that not all wines are meant to be cellared. I'm sure, however, that this was a fine wine in its day. We've previously had another Weinert wine (back at #98) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I won't be scared off from the winery - but I might be a little selective if the vintage appears to be getting on.

All in all, a grand affair. There were laughs galore and the Boyz didn't leave until well after midnight. I did hear, however, of at least a couple slow morning after's that were encountered. I'll have to make sure that it doesn't take nearly so long to get the next one organized.

Real Wine Boyz Drink Pink

Summer weather. Summer entertaining. An easy excuse to drink. Call it what you may, but Friday saw another edition of Wine Boyz - and, in honour of the summer and one of this summer's trends, we were drinking pink.

Now that the general wine world is discovering that there's more to Rose than White Zinfandel, I figured it would be fun to try an assortment of pink wines to see if we could reach a general agreement or identify some favourites. I think we succeeded on both fronts.

Boo got called in to work at the last minute, so our eight became seven but we still had a rousing time and we encountered a couple surprises.

527. NV Royal de Neuville Vin Rose Petillant (France)

This wasn't an official entry in the evening's tasting. Being "bubble," it was going to be too identifiably different from all the remaining wines and was simply meant as a cocktail while we waited for stragglers. Good thing we had it as well since The Marquis was delayed by a seat-belt infraction and a possible hauling off to the cop shop. Seems his stunningly good looks and accent weren't cutting it with the newbie officers. He probably could have used something stiffer than a sparkling Rose upon his arrival though.

I had to smile upon reading this label and seeing that it was referred to as "Crackling Rose Wine." I almost broke out into song and old Neil Diamond classics. Thing is, even though I remember liking the song "Cracklin' Rosie" when I was growing up, that was one helluva long time ago and I no longer remember the tune or any of the words.

But the real evening was spent blind tasting the seven wines that everybody brought along. It was quite an array; however, after all the wines were revealed, I was quite surprised by the fact that there were two Okanagan wines, one from Italy and all the rest were French. Out of all the Rose wines in our market, most people still grabbed a French wine. A bit of a surprise since I don't think any of us generally reach for vin francais as a rule.

Most of tonight's guests admitted that they don't drink much Rose either and they were surprised at the array of shades in colour and by the fact that all of the wines were dry.

I think we were all equally surprised by our overall choices. Our first two choices were virtually tied. Four of us picked the evening's first pick as their first choice. The second place wine took the other three first place votes. Even more surprising was that both top spots were taken by the two BC wines! Probably the most determinative factor was the fact that I ranked the number two wine as my fifth choice.

Here are the wines as they finished in our ranking (total points in brackets - lower being "better") -

528. 2008 Therapy Vineyards Pink Freud (VQA Okanagan Valley) (13) (Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cab Sauv & Shiraz)

530. 2009 Meyer Family Vineyards Gamay Rose (VQA Okanagan Valley) (22) (Gamay Noir)

Only 150 cases made of it.

529. 2009 Domaine Houchart Rose (AOC Cotes de Provence) (15) (Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah & Cab Sauv)

531. 2009 Lorgeril L'Orangeraie (Vin de Pays d'Oc - France) (30) (Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah & Merlot)

532. 2009 La Vieille Ferme Rose (AOC Cotes du Ventoux - France) (34) (Cinsault, Grenache & Syrah)

533. 2009 San Silvestro Cantine Monferrato Chiaretto (DOC Monferrato Chiaretto - Piedmont - Italy) (41) (Barbera)

534. 2008 M. Chapoutier Beaurevoir (AOC Tavel - France) (41) (Grenache)

As seems to be the case with these evenings where there are a number of bottles to add to The List, there's not a whole lot of time or space to write much about the wines or the producers. It was also interesting that the last two wines received the same number of points. The difference was that almost everyone had the Monferrato ranked as one of their least favourites, the M. Chapoutier was the most polarizing of all the wines. Five of our tasters rated it as their last place wine, while The Marquis ranked it as his second and I had it smack dab in the middle.

The fact that the BC wines took the top two spots was surprising to all - and, in particular, I was pretty shocked when I saw that the Therapy was our overall favourite - including mine. I've always thought that the marketing was brilliant, but I just never took it all that seriously as a wine. Guess I'll have to now. I'd definitely re-think their pink and re-visit Therapy's Pink Freud.

Just goes to show, chacun son gout. And that even real boyz can drink pink.

Wine Boyz & World Cups

Today is the start of the 2010 World Cup being held in South Africa. Now I can't exactly say that I'm as passionate about my soccer as I am about my wine - particularly when Canada failed to qualify, yet again, for the world's favourite sporting tournament. But The World Cup does provide plenty of opportunities to for imaginative pairings of wine and soccer.

Unfortunately, for those of us following the tournament on the West coast of North America, I don't think there will be a lot of sipping back on wine while watching the games live. The games starting airing here at 4 or 5 a.m. and even the latest games of the day kick off at 11 a.m. I'm likely to neither still be up from a night of partying to carry on with drinking prior to "breakfast time" games, nor will I be opening many (any?) bottles - particularly during the work week - for the lunch hour.

That won't prevent us from finding ways to enjoy both wine and soccer over the next month though. And it started this evening when we called a Wine Boyz night. The World Cup only comes around once every four years and, lately, it seems that we haven't been calling in the gang for tastings much more regularly. I think our most recent gathering was last August. Sad.

But this was a great opportunity to meet and I thought an appropriate theme for the evening would be "red wine from any country participating in this year's tournament - for under $25, naturally." It was about as wide a theme as we've ever had - and, while we wouldn't be trying any Canadian wines, almost all the big guns in the wine making world also seem to have a bent for soccer. Italy, Argentina, France, U.S., Australia, South Africa, Chile. The list goes on.

As usual, all the wines were brought to the house in brown bags and they were numbered and decanted by a non-drinker so that none of the participants would know what they were tasting - or which wine was their's. Since everyone would be picking their most and least favourites of the evening, we don't want any pre-conceived notions floating around.

We had a full slate of eight wines for tasting tonight, but we actually started off with a meet and greet wine while we waited for everyone to arrive. I figured it was only fitting that kick the evening off with celebration of the South African tournament.

470. 2009 Nederburg Limited Edition twenty10 Dry Rose (W.O. Western Cape - South Africa)

Nederburg has created a limited edition of three FIFA sanctioned wines to commemorate the arrival of the World Cup on the African continent. There's a Cab Sauv, a Sauv Blanc and this Rose which is also made completely from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. A Cab Sauv Rose would be a pretty rare product in our neck of the woods. If a BC winery can ripen Cab Sauv grapes, they inevitably go into a varietal or Bordeaux blend wine. Despite the use of a different - and big - varietal, the wine was still fresh and full of red fruit. I don't think anyone was shouting out "Goooooooooooal!" after sipping it, but it was a fine start to the night.

Unfortunately, in a subsequent cleaning frenzy, Boo threw out all our notes and "scoring" sheets. As a result, I don't have all the final scores after we all ranked the wines from first to last and tallied the scores. I still remember what the first three choices were and what the least favourite of the evening was - however, there wasn't a single wine that didn't have at least one admirer and, except for the two most popular sips, the total scores were pretty darned close.

I can list the three favourites in order, but after that, I don't know how we ranked the wines except for the bottle pulling up the rear.

471. 2005 Sabor Real - Vinas Centenarias (D.O. Toro - Spain)

A clear fave with this crowd. Out of the six voting participants, it received four first place votes and two second place votes. I was quite intrigued when we unveiled this as the favourite wine of the night. I had purchased this bottle after we thoroughly enjoyed the Sabor Real "entry level" wine last Christmas (#289). This makes two wines in a row for this producer; we've obviously hit upon a winemaker that meets our collective palate - and then some.

472. 2006 Bodegas Mahler-Besse - Taja Monastrell (D.O. Jumilla - Spain)

This bottle received the other two first place votes and it was probably the best bargain of the evening. Whereas the Sabor Real was $25, this bottle was only $12 - and in this city, that's a very reasonable price point. It's not a general listing at our government liquor stores though. It was picked up at Marquis Wine Cellars but they're now all but sold out. Too bad.

473. 2009 Bodega Renacer - Punta Final Malbec (Argentina)

I was also pleased to see that this wine was favourably reviewed. Renacer was one of the wineries that I'd enjoyed discovering at this year's Vancouver Playhouse Festival.

I don't recall the actual order of the next four bottles; however, there wasn't a whole lot of difference in their point rankings. A move up or down by one or two points might have completely changed any order in any event.

474. 2008 Clos de los Siete (Mendoza - Argentina)

475. 2006 Franco Molino Nebbiolo (Langhe Nebbiolo DOC - Italy)

476. 2008 J.P. Chenet Premier de Cuvee - Merlot/Cabernet (Vin de Pays d'Oc - France)

477. 2007 Chateau de Paraza Cuvee Speciale (AOC Minervois - France)

2006 Bodegas La Milagrosa Milcampos Tempranillo (D.O. Ribera del Duero - Spain)

I don't get to give a number for The List to the last Spanish wine. Not because it was the bottle garnering the lowest number of points among our tasters, but rather because we already added it to The List back in January (#332). I was really quite surprised to find that it was our least favourite because I recall quite enjoying that earlier bottle.

The funny thing about the bottle though was that Arty400 brought it. The poor boy has been cursed with his limited participation with the Wine Boyz. The first two bottles that RD4 brought to the table were corked. Tonight, it was the least favoured. Methinks he's never going to come by again. At least, the bottle wasn't corked tonight.

During the evening, we'd picked up some of the neighbours who were drinking in the streets. (Yes, we have a fun neighbourhood.) The Shameless Hussy and her Rock God stopped in and then Red and Marquis paid us a visit as well. As such, we figured another bottle would make a fine addition to the mix. I'd picked up a sparkler as well since this was a celebration - plus it provides another addition to both The List and my Wine Century Club efforts.

478. Luis Pato - Maria Gomes Bruto Vinho Espumante (Portugal)

I'd tried one of the Luis Pato wines last summer (#163) and was pleasantly surprised; so, I figured it might be fun to have another Portugese bubbly on hand. After all, Portugal is one of the faves heading into the World Cup. I think our tasting capabilities might have been a tad suspect by this time however. Suffice it to say that I think we'd all be happy to pop one of these corks should Portugal have a long run for the Cup.

All in all, it was a great little start to all the soccer madness to come. It was interesting to see that our selection of wines was so Euro-centric and that Spain led the way with our top two picks. Is this an omen for the tournament to come? And why no Aussies or South African wines?

We ended the tasting on a fun note that will continue into the next month. My niece, Skeletor, was around to play drawmaster and pick the line up of countries that will go head to head in our World Cup of Wine - but that's a whole other set of postings and this one's getting way too long. Until then, I think I better work on making sure that the Wine Boyz don't take so long to meet up again because this was a hoot.

Wine Boyz Go Gris

Mr. D. offered up his apartment for a Wine Boyz (and Grrrl) night and, given the heat wave Van City has been experiencing, he decided that the theme would be cool and white. As the refresher du jour, he asked us all to bring along a Pinot Gris - or for the more Italian of us, Pinot Grigio.

Most of the gang in attendance were avowed red wine aficionados and, in fact, most Wine Boyz nights are red-based affairs. We didn't know quite what to expect but we were looking forward to the reactions.

With five folks in attendance, we have five new wines to add to The List:

113. 2006 Domaine Mersiol Pinot Gris (Alsace - France)

114. 2007 Kim Crawford Boyszone Pinot Gris (Marlborough - New Zealand)

115. 2008 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio (DOC Valdadige - Trentino-Alte Adige - Italy)

116. 2008 Tinhorn Creek Pinot Gris (Golden Mile - VQA Okanagan)

117. 2008 [yellow tail] Pinot Grigio (South Eastern Australia)

At a couple of the most recent tastings, we've had duplicate bottles brought by chance - when the themes were much broader. So it was a surprise that we had five different nations represented this evening. Quite the wide spectrum for comparison.

Even more surprising was the fact that our reactions were quite similar across the board. Although all five bottles would be gone in a heartbeat at a patio party, the top two faves and the least popular of the night were very clear.

The Domaine Mersiol Alsace was the clear "winner" with 4 of 5 first place votes (with the remaining vote being a second place). Although it's not always the case, this winner was also the most expensive of the lot. Elzee actually broke the under $25 rule. This was a $29 bottle that she found on sale for $27. When the clerk heard the reason for the purchase, she discounted the price a bit more because she thought we needed to try it. Elzee can "cheat" whenever she wants if we get to enjoy the wine as much as we did. The wine had a touch of residual sweetness and that might have been the winning factor. Rather expensive for a summer patio sipper, but I can think of any number of other reasons to grab a bottle.

Almost as clear cut was the Kim Crawford Boyszone. Wine Boyz. Boyszone. It just made sense to bring this bottle along. I guess the fact that it was a solid second choice proves the point.

Unfortunately for Davey Boi, his [yellow tail] took all five last place votes. This was a bit intriguing considering the amount of slagging [yellow tail] wines seem to take in the wine world nowadays. It should be pointed out that it was the cheapest wine by probably a good $5 though.

Maybe this was an evening of you get what you pay for.

...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!