Raspberries and Black Noble

Everyone - in particular, the gardeners amongst us - has been complaining about the lack of summer weather in Vancouver. Everything green seems to be weeks behind a normal growing season. The "Bummer Summer" doesn't seem to have had an evil effect on our garden raspberries though.

We're enjoying our best crop ever and Boo harvested our current bounty today.

Not only that. He even decided to accentuate the positive and make a pie for us to dig into as well. Such an occasion called for an equally special wine to accompany the taste treat. We have a bit of a stockpile of dessert wines; so, it seemed like a no-brainer to reach for a bottle that's been there waiting for a chance like this.

863. N.V. De Bortoli Black Noble (New South Wales - Australia)

Looking at this wine, you'd be hard pressed to guess that it hails from white grapes and Australia. The Aussies have quite a history with "stickies" and fortified wines as many wineries started with that style of wine when the Australian wine industry was getting established.

Black Noble is a pretty unique wine all on its own though. One of De Bortoli's most lauded wines is its Noble One - a Botrytised Semillon somewhat stylized on a French Sauternes. With this wine, the De Botoli's take some of that late harvest Noble One and add a couple of bonus steps. They both fortify it and age it in a solera-like, fractional blending system. The Black Noble sees an average aging process of eight years in oak.

The end result is an unctuous, deep wine that is regularly commented on as displaying overtones of coffee and toffee - two of Boo's favourite flavours. With notes like that, it was just desserts all around.

I'll have to hope that we get another harvest of berries - to see what other surprises might be in store.

A Sicilian Surprise

It was to be a simple dinner - a "spaghetti night" on the home front - however, Boo did say that, in his humble opinion, the sauce was one of his best ever. I figured that called for a nice Italian wine and I grabbed one that we'd been given as a gift a little while back. It turned out that Boo's sauce was definitely a good one and the wine turned out to be up to the task.

862. 2005 Feudo Montoni Nero d'Avola (IGT Sicily - Italy)

I can't say that I know much about Sicilian wines - especially ones that clock in at $50-plus - but this Nero d'Avola is apparently one of particular note. It's a single vineyard wine and the Vrucara vineyard has an interesting history. Having first been planted in the 16th Century, the wines produced from the fruit were prized almost from the start as Andrea Bacci, the Vatican court's official sommelier of the time wrote about the wine in his "De naturali Vinorum Historia." One site says that the wine is still served at the Vatican.

The Vrucara vineyard is located in the Sicilian hills where it is largely surrounded by grain fields and livestock farming and has been for centuries. The relative isolation has served the winery well though. Vrucara is now known for its particular clone of Nero d'Avola, having a distinct identity that has been preserved, without genetic mutation, for all these years. The isolation of the vineyard even protected it from the Phyloxera louse that devastated the vineyards of Europe in the 19th Century.

The vineyard is only 5 hectares in size though and the vines have an average age of 90 to 120 years. As a result, Vrucara doesn't deliver a whole lot of fruit. In a good year, the winery can produce maybe 3,000 bottles.

Not knowing enough about Nero d'Avola as a varietal, I can't say how representative or how uncharacteristically different the wine was. I can say that there was a balance and drinkability that I don't always find with Old World and Italian wines. The wine's feet were firmly planted in those Old World, Sicilian soils but there was a modernity to it that certainly suited our palates.

I was caught yet again, however, learning more about the wine AFTER we'd finished it. It would have been nice to have a better sense of the wine while drinking it. A future task - if ever there was one.

Front Runners BBQ

For whatever reason, I haven't been joining in with the Vancouver Front Runners and their bi-weekly runs much lately. In fact, I think it's more than fair to say that it's been years since I made regular appearances. Whether it's because I'm spending too much time sitting at the computer blogging or because I'm just getting too old, fat and lazy to make an effort (or maybe somewhere in the middle of the two), I need to put on the old shorts and runners a whole lot more and join in.

I didn't make the group run this morning, but I did join in on the gang's summer BBQ. Rozie hosted a bang-up event with an endless spread of tasty treats. I can't recall having been to a kosher BBQ before but it felt and tasted like any other BBQ I'd ever been to. I'm pretty sure that the wine I brought along wasn't kosher but I'm pretty sure it didn't matter.

861. 2006 Azul Portugal Ribatejo (D.O. Ribatejo - Portugal)

What did work out well for me is that, in my rush out the door, I hadn't realized that I grabbed a bottle that's going to help get me started on my second century of varietals - mere days after having completed the first century and my application to the Wine Century Club.

The Azul Ribatejo is a blend of the Castelão and Tricadeira grapes - both of which are common to the Ribatejo district. I couldn't find out much about Azul as a producer; however, it appears to be part of the large food and beverage producer, Saven, in Portugal. Their website for wine is currently under construction. So, I couldn't get much information from the producer itself.

The Ribatejo appellation certainly isn't the best known wine region in the country. It continues to struggle to forge an identity in wine for itself; however, it is the second largest wine region in the country. It just happens to be known as much, if not more, for horse and cattle raising - particularly animals used for riding and battling in the bullfighting ring. According to one national website, Ribatejo appellation law permits a "dizzying array of wine grape varieties."

It would appear that I'm able to start my second century of varietals by adding Castelão as #101. It's known to have robust tannins early in its life, but to mellow nicely with age into a wine featuring red fruit and spice on the palate. It is also known in some regions as Periquita. Either way, it's a new varietal for my list.

I certainly would have expected to add the Tricadeira as #102, but this varietal is also known as Tinta Amarela. And, lo and behold, a quick look shows that I'd already added it to my application due to its presence in a Six Grapes Port. I don't think I would have remembered that varietal on my own, but it makes sense since Tricadeira is largely used to blend in Port because of its rich blackberry overtones.

The two of them together worked well for the garden and BBQ setting. It was fine for sipping at the start of the event - neither too bold nor tannic - and what little was left went well with the food.

Now, I just have to get motivated and head out on a run.

One aspect of making group runs, on a regular basis, I do like, however, is the likely bonus of being able to drink a little more wine without any guilt because of all the calories I'll be burning.

Last Chance Qualifier

I'm finding that holding a World Cup of White Wine can be a tad difficult when there are only six countries, participating in the actual Women's World Cup, that produce white wines that are easily available in our local market. It is allowing me to be rather inventive in how I approach the taste-offs however.

Last week, I pitted the two countries, from each of North America, Europe and Oceania. That produced continental champions in Canada, France and New Zealand, but it left me with only three semi-finalists. In order to name a fourth participant in the semi-finals, I've decided to have a back door entry for one of last week's losing teams.

That means we're tasting wines from Germany, the US and Australia in order to pick one more country to move on in this little wine tournament. With the US and Australia maybe being known more for their reds, I might have headed into this tasting thinking that the Germans have a bit of an edge. That might seem even more appropriate with the World Cup being held in Germany and the German women being among favourites to win the Cup and their third championship in a row.

858. 2008 Export Union Piesporter Treppchen Riesling (QbA Mosel - Germany)

I couldn't find out a whole lot about this producer. I gather it must be a collective, or négotiant, that buys up fruit and produces wine - in this case for export. The wine was being featured by our provincial Liquor Distribution Board as a great buy for the summer. Generally, I'm a big Riesling fan, but I think this was a bit one dimensional in its profile - and that profile was definitely on the off-dry side of things. I think the German's home advantage might have just disappeared.

859. 2006 Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay (California)

The Grand Reserve is a blend of grapes from a series of estate vineyards and varying growing conditions. Since we don't drink a whole lot of Californian wine, I don't know my Californian appellations very well, but the fruit for this wine comes from two of the state's cooler coastal regions - Monterey and Santa Barbara. I found that, for a Californian Chardy, there was a good amount of ripe fruit but I still found that there was more oak on the finish than I particularly enjoy.

860. 2008 Yalumba Y Series Viognier (South Australia)

Many writers credit Yalumba - and Jane Ferrari in particular - for re-invigourating Viognier's presence and profile in the wine world. Yalumba now produces four Viognier wines with the Y Series being more of an entry level, fruit-driven line. To the buying public, Viognier is likely opened fewer times than Chardonnays or Rieslings and, when compared to the other two varietals tonight, that unfamiliarity was perhaps understandable as the Viognier was somewhat underwhelming on both the nose and the palate - a bit surprising in itself.

I think it's fair to say that all three wines had something going for them; however, at the same time, none of the three had either Boo or I saying that we definitely need to go out and grab some more.

But we need a winner and, for the purpose of picking a "team" to move on in the World Cup, we decided that it going to be the US and Kendall-Jackson's Chardonnay. The American girls are expected to put up a good show in Germany. I guess the white wine counterparts live to see another day in our little competition as well.

The Century is Made!

I've mentioned the Wine Century Club a number of times on this blog. I hadn't heard of the group prior to starting, but, as soon as I learned about it, I set my mind to making it an exciting part of 2001 Bottles - A Wine Odyssey. The concept is simple enough - keep trying new wines, new regions and new varietals and keep track of the different varietals you've tried. Once you've tried 100 different varietals, you can apply to become a member. The club's website say that "of the thousands of applications downloaded, less than 3% are completed."

I'm thrilled to say that I'm now free to send in my application.

Knowing that I was only a varietal or so away from being able to complete my application, I thought it would be a good idea to go over the wines that I've noted on the application form and compare them to ones that I've listed on the Blog Page that I'm also using to keep track (located off on the side panel). In going through those lists, it would seem that there are a few glaring absences.

I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't made a note of Cabernet Franc yet. It would have been one of the varietals that I could have added first to my application. I'm thinking that I must have realized that I could just add it at any time. Knowing that, I might as well hold out for the chance that someone might give us a bottle of something spectacular like a Chateau Cheval Blanc - perhaps the world's most famous wine that focuses on Cab Franc - so that I could add a special wine in my application. The Cheval Blanc doesn't seem to have arrived. So, I'd best go with what I've got - granted, it's not a bad substitute for the big gun Bordeaux. And it's substantially cheaper.

857. 2003 Poplar Grove Benchmark Cabernet Franc (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Being North of the 49th Parallel, successfully ripening some of the big red varietals can be a task. Merlot may still be the most widely planted red varietal in BC and many growers may not even attempt the later-ripening Cab Sauv, but more than a few wine professionals in the province think that Cabernet Franc has a real future in the region. The varietal is still grown primarily for blending, but more and more wineries are starting to produce a varietal wine and, IMHO, this is one of the best.

Poplar Grove was one of the first Okanagan wineries to cotton on to the potential of Cab Franc as a single varietal. I don't think you would have found too many varietal wines being produced back in 2003 and, even with his early enthusiasm for the varietal, winemaker Ian Sutherland only made 320 cases of this Benchmark wine.

Luckily for us, the wine was still fresh and packed a good punch for a round of Memphis Blues take-out BBQ. 2003 was great vintage for the Okanagan and these vines were cropped at a mere one ton per acre (compared to other vineyards with yields of four tons per acre). The wine showed the complexity that is possible with Cab Franc and it was wonderful way to add the 100th varietal to my application form.

Now to start working on hitting 200 varietals.

Salt Spring Winery Tour

Despite the fact that, once again, I'm falling behind on my postings, it would be rather remiss of me not to post at least a little bit about our tour of the wineries that have set up shop on Salt Spring Island. As temperate as the Gulf Islands may be by Canadian weather standards, they're still trying to find a true footing in the wine world. The islands definitely don't receive the summer's heat that the Okanagan does - after all the Southern Okanagan Valley is actually a desert - however, the more temperate winters generally don't put the vines at risk either and the growing season, albeit short, seems to work nicely with a variety of white grapes and some early ripening reds. A number of island wineries are working with Pinot Noir as it seems adaptable to the island climate and, with a bit of luck in the weather, can ripen well enough to produce some nice wine.

Given our short stay on the Island, it was a bit of a whirlwind wine tour. There are now three wineries on the island and we stopped at two of them after making a pick-up of Dinner Club guests at one of the ferry docks and we fit in a quick visit to the third on our own way back to catch a ferry home.

The two "more established" wineries, Garry Oaks and Salt Spring, are located almost side-by-side in the aptly named Burgoyne Valley. Both wineries have put significant energy into growing Pinot Noir; so, I found it amusing that they're found in a valley named after the most famous Pinot Noir region in the world, Burgundy. It seems that the Valley was named Burgoyne long before anyone had though to set up a vineyard though. Whomever named the valley must have been a bit of a visionary.

We didn't have the time to try and make arrangements for a full on tour of either of the wineries, but we naturally had sufficient opportunity to visit both tasting rooms and give the wines a proper tasting. Since we ended up buying at least a couple of bottles from all of the wineries, I think I'll save any real information on the wineries until we try one of their wines and add it to The List. I'll just have to try and open those bottles sooner than later.

The very short wanders that we managed in the estate vineyards showed that the grapes are definitely being affected by the slow start to our summer this year. The vines are two to three weeks behind where they'd normally be at this point in the growing season. You can barely make out the clusters on the vines - and, remember, the grapes shown in the picture are early ripening varietals.

We did get to take in the beautiful setting of the Burgoyne Valley and one of the shots above shows one of the larger Garry Oaks that still remain in the valley and in the vineyard and that acted as the namesake for the first winery to set up shop on Salt Spring. Even as the elder statesman on the island, Garry Oaks was only founded in 1999 though.

Neighbouring Salt Spring Vineyards started up a few years later in 2003 and has already seen a change in ownership. Boo and I had a marvelous chat and tasting in the Salt Spring tasting room - and, no doubt, that chat was so enjoyable largely becuase we'd lucked out in sharing our time with one of the owners, Joanne McIntyre. She walked us through a larger than usual number of wines and never made us feel that we were taking up too much of her time with all the questions. She was personable enough - and the wines were enjoyable enough - that Boo even loosened the "No Buy Leash" enough to pick up close to a full case of different bottles.

Salt Spring's setting was incredible and I'll definitely look to make our next visit more of an event. The winery is doing some interesting work with experimental varietals and I'd love to learn more about what's involved and what differences in both approach and flavour profile might be expected.

A relaxing picnic in the area around the winery sounds rather appealing as well. We'll just have to see if we can wrangle another visit to Tyrant's when the weather might be reliable enough to cooperate.

None of the three wineries has a big production. Salt Spring is about the largest, but even they only produce around 2500 cases. Garry Oaks puts out about 1700 (but that included some wine made from grapes sourced from the Okanagan and that practice is about to stop apparently) and the newest player on the island block is still under 1500 cases.

That third winery is Mistaken Identity and it's found just North of the town of Ganges. Having opened in 2008, they're starting off with an eye to BC's ever-increasing view to natural foods. The estate vineyards are being operated on an organic basis and, as such, the owners have opted for varietal plantings that are "optimally suited to a west coast temperate climate." Once you finish the Chardonnay, the remaining varietals offer some novel names that will likely raise a few eyebrows with most wine drinkers. When's the last time you knocked back some Madeleine Angevine, Reichensteiner or Agria? I don't think those varietals are even on my application to the Wine Century Club and I'm at #99. Mistaken Identity could come in handy down the road.

For, supposedly, just a quick post, I seem to be a bit long on the length. I'll leave it at this, but I'll look forward to looking a bit deeper into all three wineries as the various wine we picked up get opened.

Dinner Club Like Never Before

After the "build up" of the last couple posts, it's time for the big "reveal." Over the years, our Dinner Club has seen its share of themes, holiday dinners and al fresco locales, but this is the first time that we've actually hit the road. Ever the innovator, Tyrant suggested that, if everyone was willing to hop the strait, he'd love to host his round at his new place and let everyone escape the hustle of the city for the long weekend. Coordinating everyone's availability can be a task - but there wasn't a whole lot of arm twisting required.

Boo and I arrived yesterday. Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed had the tightest schedule but caught one of the puddle jumping flights from harbour to harbour and, then, Jeaux and Matinder completed the gang with an afternoon ferry arrival. There was a tiny bit of island touring and artisanal cheese shopping, but by the time Boo and I arrived back from a quick trip to the Farmers' Market and local wine shops, everyone was enjoying an early start to the cocktail hour.

847. 2009 Elephant Island - Pink Elephant (Product of Canada - Naramata Bench)

Tyrant and co-host, SYG2, started us off with a novel and refreshing twist. Pink Elephant is Elephant Island's Methode Champenoise wine that's made with Granny Smith apples and finished with a dosage of the purely fruit winery's Cassis. On its own, Pink Elephant is reminiscent of a Kir Royale - with a twist - but Tyrant also kicked it up a level with "pour your own" Vodka and an additional fruit cocktail. Knowing we were already headed for an evening long on the wine, I opted for Elephant straight from the bottle. I heard of this fairly new offering from the winery, but I hadn't tried it before. Add some warm weather and I think we'll be trying it again down the road.

When it comes to our Dinner Club, I always run into a problem of not being able to give sufficient props to, adequately discuss or even show pictures of all the wine and dishes presented. This dinner was no exception when it came to outstanding food. Seeing as how it was the Canada Day weekend, Tyrant asked everyone to bring all Canadian wines to match up with a menu of worthy Canadian products.

848. 2001 Hawthorne Mountain Gold Label Series Chardonnay (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The list of wines showed that some folks clearly pulled some bottles from the lower reaches of their "cellars" (such as they are). I very much doubt that there are many bottles of this 2001 Chardy still hanging around - and, you know, it did okay. Maybe not quite as fresh as the sunny afternoon could handle but it had the body to stand up to one of Tyrant's appies, a lamb and pesto bruschetta.

We were ever so lucky that the weather turned nice for our dinner date. Thus far, this has been a bit of a bummer of a summer, but we managed cocktails and three early courses before we had to head inside for the main course. The fountained patio was as pleasant a dining location as the Dinner Club has seen in the great many years that it's been around.

849. 2010 Dirty Laundry - Woo Woo Vines Gewurztraminer (VQA Okanagan Valley)

850. 2009 Artisan Wine - Rigamarole Rose (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Tyrant was so true to his July 1-themed dinner, but the pièce-de-resistance had to be his gazpacho with "Canada" written out in crème fraiche. As much fun as we had with the presentation of the soup, we probably had more fun with the WooWoo and Rigamarole labels. Dirty Laundry's story of the winery's location being an old brothel/Chinese laundry is always a fine tale to tell and Rigamarole's use of "legendary" animals can definitely set you to talking. Good thing both of the wines can hold their own against "worries" of marketing departments gone awry.

851. 2005 Burrowing Owl Syrah (VQA Okanagan Falls)

During our tour of the "estate," Boo had commented on the sorry state of Tyrant's rhubarb plant. What Boo didn't realize is that most of the plant had been harvested to make a palate cleansing sorbet. As we moved into the reds, the rhubarb freshened us up enough to appreciate the consistency that is Burrowing Owl. Merlot hasn't generally been my first pick of Burrowing Owl wines but the years behind this bottle hadn't hurt the integration of the wine. Hardly a big fruit bomb, but totally befitting the circumstances.

852. 2007 Howling Bluff - Sin Cera (Okanagan Valley)

853. 2008 Bonitas - Artist Series Merlot/Shiraz (Okanagan Valley)

Following in Burrowing Owl's footsteps (so to speak), Howling Bluff is gaining its own reputation as a bit of a cult wine producer. After its triumphant arrival on the scene with a Lieutenant Governor's Award for its Pinot Noir, howling Bluff has concentrated on a limited number of wines - unlike many Okanagan producers with more than a dozen offerings. The Sin Cera is Luke Smith's entry in the Bordeaux blend/Meritage stakes in the province. Merlot-dominated, the Sin Cera is one of the bottles that has survived Tyrant's and my visit to the winery a couple of years back. With only 200 cases produced in total, we'll have to consider ourselves lucky that we had the chance to savour it.

As for the Bonitas, this is yet another BC winery that I've heard of but can't recall ever having tried. Unfortunately, this probably wasn't the bottle that any of us wanted to be our introduction to the winery. Take a look at the face on the label. I think he might have tried the wine in the bottle as well. I don't think the bottle was corked but it might as well have been. Unfortunately, this was, by far, our least favourite wine of the night.

854. 2003 Stag's Hollow - Renaissance Merlot (Okanagan Valley)

855. 2007 Stag's Hollow Heritage Block Cabernet/Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Having two Stag's Hollow wines at one sitting was a rarity for me as well. Another winery that I've heard and seen more about than I've tasted, it's wines were rather more successful than the Bonitas. Jurgen Gothe, one of the local wine scribes, called the 2003 Renaissance Merlot one of "The Best Wines of the Year found close to home" in 2007. Personally, I enjoyed the '07 blend a bit more - however, I might have a completely different take on the wines after the fact. There had been a bit of imbibing by now. I just know that the wines went perfectly well with Tyrant's elk burgers. Rather fitting, I might say, given the stag on the label - not that I have the slightest idea of whether a male elk is called a "stag" or not.

856. 2001 Black Hills - Nota Bene (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The Nota Bene wasn't planned as a dessert wine - and wasn't exactly served as one. There was just no way that this bottle wasn't being opened - if only so that I could have a bit of night cap. I think this was our last bottle of the 2001 vintage and I figured the occasion called for its opening. Once again, none of us was likely at the peak of our tasting abilities by this point of the evening. But, I was pleased that the wine was definitely on queue and had aged gracefully after all these years. Much like our Dinner Club has.

All in all, it was another dinner to remember. If I could add this many wines to The List every week, I'd be through this Odyssey in no time. My liver might not survive the trip, but it would be a whole lot faster.

Big kudos to Tyrant and SYG2 for a grand evening and weekend.

Saltspring Cocktails & Dinner

Upon arriving on Salt Spring, we'd meandered our way along the island roads for a bit and located Tyrant's new digs. The consummate host that he is, Tyrant poured a glass of Island wine so that we wouldn't have to take our tour of the property empty handed. I doubt there are many wines that could live up to a first impression of the Tyrant's den, but this was a lovely start.

844. 2010 Garry Oaks Pinot Gris (VQA Gulf Islands)

There are three wineries situated on Salt Spring and Tyrant said that he'd been trying to get a bit of a grasp of what the island had to offer. He'd quickly discovered this Pinot Gris and was giving it a bit of a go as a "local" house wine. Add a little sunshine, the magical location and some lively conversation and it's easy to declare this crisp white a great start to the weekend.

I won't go into any real detail about Garry Oaks winery at this time - other than to say that it has a limited production of less than two thousand cases. The better part of that production is from grapes that are grown on the ten acre estate. They have found that, with the Island's climate and a cool but long growing season, they can grow a combination of whites like Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay and a few reds like Pinot Noir, Zweigelt and Leon Millot. They have a bigger red, Fetish, that they make with Okanagan grapes but that is apparently being phased out as they prefer to stick with the locally grown grapes.

Unlike most BC wines using the varietal, this Pinot Gris is actually fermented in barrels and sees some aging on its lees (the yeast remains) which adds a rounder richness to the wine while maintaining a bright acidity. We quite enjoyed our welcoming glass and needed a refill before we'd even finished viewing the property.

It's easy to see why Tyrant has taken to the new property so completely. Located on one of the "larger" lakes on the island, I'm going to hope for plenty additional opportunities to knock back a whole lot more wine that we can add to The List down the road. The fact that the new home doesn't have any sort of wine cellar - yet - is no deterrent at all. I'll be happy to BYO.

Since we knew Tyrant was going to have a hectic day in the kitchen tomorrow prepping for the Dinner Club, we suggested that we go out on the "town" and eat at one of the local restaurants. Tyrant still hadn't been to House Piccolo in Ganges yet. Boo and I had dined there years ago and remember it as a memorable meal; so, we had our plan. As a bit of a novelty, Boo had picked an appetizer of herring two ways and our hostess suggested that he try it with a traditional Scandinavian accompaniment - ice cold Aquavit.

The Aquavit was one single shot though and since our dinners were all over the map - from herring to goat cheese and lobster risotto to lamb - we needed a wine that was going to be compatible with a wide assortment of flavours. I think we ended up with a nice choice.

845. 2008 Alderlea Pinot Noir (Vancouver Island)

I'd remembered trying Alderlea for the first time when Boo and I had crossed the Strait and gone to Vancouver Island a couple of years back. As much as Alderlea is acknowledged as a leader in Island wine production, we just never seem to see their wines over on the Mainland and in Vancouver. That's no doubt related to the fact that they, like Garry Oaks, produce fewer than two thousand cases.

Pinot Noir is one of the "most desired" red varietals that has been identified as a good fit for both Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; however, Alderlea's owner and winemaker, Roger Dosman, has stated that Pinot is still a marginal grape for the region. In order to help ensure that his fruit fully ripens, he tents his Pinot Noir vines with plastic for a couple of weeks in the Spring. He finds that it creates a bit of a greenhouse effect and can help ripen the fruit a couple of weeks earlier than the vines would ripen otherwise.

This was the first Alderlea Pinot that I'd had and it was as nice as the other Alderlea wines that we'd sampled on that last trip to the island. With any luck, I might find a couple bottles in the local wine shops that I can take home with us.

Having done a good job on the Pinots - both Gris and Noir - we were in a fine mood to mosey over to the waterfront and take in the Canada Day fireworks. We hadn't even known that they were going to occur. The thought of jostling with all the fireworks folk didn't ring quite as appealing as the idea of heading back to Tyrant's for a bit of a nightcap though. So, we just jumped in the car and made our way back to the lake.

846. 2007 Orofino Red Bridge Red (BC)

It had been a long day and we didn't quite polish off the whole bottle, but that's no indication of the quality of the wine. This is the third vintage of Red Bridge Red that I'm adding to The List - the 2006 can already be found at #448 and the 2003 was one of the first wines to make it to The List, being #12. This was the first occasion, however, that Tyrant could remember having been introduced to Orofino's wines. Like us, he'll be returning.

Red Bridge Red is an eminently reliable wine and it's a great example of what BC Merlot - the province's most widely planted red varietal - can be. Being such a nice wine, it's a little surprising that the wine is only shown as a "Product of British Columbia" on the label and doesn't show any higher designation. Owner and winemaker, John Weber, hasn't found that he needs to participate in the VQA program though and, while Orofino is located in the Similkameen Valley, the fruit used for Red Bridge Red is actually purchased from grower Chris Scott and his Oak Knoll Vineyard located over the near-by hills in Kaleden. As such, the vineyard is neither Similkameen, nor Okanagan designated.

Big and full, a relaxing glass a the perfect way to end the evening. And the fact that there was a bit left just mean that the potential for breakfast just got better. it was was going to be a big day tomorrow, so a restful island slumber beckoned.

Cruising the Straits

It's the Canada Day long weekend (more-or-less the same thing as the Fourth of July for all our American friends out there) and Boo and I are off to the Gulf Islands, in the Georgia Strait between the Vancouver mainland and Vancouver Island. It's Tyrant's turn to host the next Dinner Club and he's invited the gang over to his new place on Salt Spring Island.

Tyrant has graciously welcomed Boo and I to come over a day early to take in a bit more of the bucolic lifestyle. Even the one extra day is a welcome respite. We were lucky to grab a ride on a direct ferry to Salt Spring and not one of the milk run ferries with a number of island stops. It's still a good hour and a half ride though - far too long to go without some sort of refreshment.

Funny, but my choice of pick-me-up was a nice glass of wine to refresh with while taking in the ever enjoyable scenery. Opening the bottle is no doubt completely against ship policy, but we tried to be discreet about it and no one that might have caught a peak of our transgression seems to have reported us. No outraged shipmate came by to pour the wine over the side or make us walk the plank.

I thought it was all rather civilized.

843. 2003 Burrowing Owl Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I've added enough Burrowing Owl wines to The List to make it difficult at times to pull out a vintage that hasn't already been counted in this little Odyssey. Boo is twisting my arm (perhaps rightfully so) to start drinking more of the wines that we've laid down for a bit. "After all," he says "we don't know if any of the old BC wines were even made for aging."

I think it's safe to say that this one was. The wine was still a big sip - and one that hadn't lost its fruit or balance. If anything, it still might have been a bit much to just sip on without any further nourishment. There was plenty of breeze and cloud to keep us cool enough to handle the heat of the wine though.

Being the good boys that we are, we didn't finish off the bottle with a final chug as we started coming into Long Harbour. The island roads can be pretty curvey and we didn't exactly know where we had to go.

Besides, I thought that arriving with a nice glass of Burrowing Owl in hand to greet our host with would be a nice way to make an appearance. In retrospect, a full bottle might have been nicer but we brought along plenty of other bottles as well.

What a welcome start to island time.

The North American Champion

I think I'm a tad happier about Canada going up against the US in a virtual wine contest than on the field at the Women's World Cup. The US has won the World Cup twice and is going into the 2011 tournament as one of the top ranked teams. I couldn't even tell you when the Canadian gals last beat the US - if, indeed, they ever have.

Canada

vs.

United States

Most people would likely cringe at the thought of even matching Canadian wines against American ones as well - but I think we've got some wines, particularly with the whites, where we can completely hold our own. However, since we have a financial limit to the cost of the wines in these early rounds and since Boo, once again, has me on a "No Buy Leash," I had to just pull two wines that we have in the cellar for tonight's contest.

I actually don't know anything about the American winery, but something must have tweaked my interest enough to pick up a bottle. It's likely the fact that it's a Riesling. Regular readers will know that I'm rather fond of my Rieslings. Hopefully, this match-up isn't skewed too much in the Americans' favour because of the varietal.

841. 2008 Montinore Estate - Almost Dry Riesling (Willamette Valley - Oregon)

842. 2008 Poplar Grove Pinot Gris (Okanagan Valley)

I think the operative part of the American label is "Almost Dry." Myself, I might be inclined to say, "Almost Dry - But Still Really Close to a Dessert Wine." To me, "almost dry" should still connote some presence of acidity - to counter the residual sugar. Maybe things are a little different in Oregon though, because I didn't particularly find any "dry" to this wine.

That's not always a bad thing. There are plenty of occasions that cry out for a little sweetness. I'm not so sure that a head-to-head taste off against a Pinot Gris is one of them though.

Montinore's website says that the Almost Dry Riesling has gone "through an evolution over the last few years" and that they've "come to realize that we like this Riesling with just the slightest hint of sweetness on the front of the palate with a crisp and dry finish." That's what I would have hoped for as well, but I don't think that description was fully delivered in the bottle. Perhaps that description relates to the fact that they're now promoting the 2010 vintage and we opened the 2008.

The Montinore label refers to the wine as organic; however, the website states that the estate vineyards were actually certified as biodynamic in 2008. That's some big time organic. We still don't don't tend to see a lot of organic wines in Vancouver. So, that's a definite plus in my books. I wouldn't be opposed to sampling one of Montinore's other wines - particularly a Pinot Noir since that's probably the most notable varietal that abounds in the Willamette Valley - but, hopefully, it wouldn't be "almost dry."

In any event, the Poplar Grove Pinot Gris was the favourite for the night. Owner, Ian Sutherland, refers to the Pinot Gris as the winery's "signature white wine." As much as I like Poplar Grove, this wasn't exactly everything that I'd hoped it would be either. Its tendency to "off-dry" with this vintage might have left the Canadian "entry" as an also ran in this "World Cup" match had the American wine not been even sweeter.

I don't want to be simply branded as a "homer" here, but I'm going to give the wine win to Canada. It's only a 1-0 score though as neither wine really captured the imagination with a stellar performance. I don't know if the result on a soccer pitch would be the same but that will have to be for another occasion. I actually wouldn't mind seeing our girls meet the Americans in the real World Cup though. It'd mean that they've moved well along into the playoffs - where anything, like a Canadian 1-0 win, is possible.