Some Island Aromata

1292.  2009 Salt Spring Vineyards - Aromata (Vancouver/Gulf Islands)

When I grabbed this bottle, I thought it might be one of the Salt Spring Vineyards wines that feature the new Swiss-engineered Blattner grapes - particularly since this bottle featured a little Silver Medal sticker from the 2010 Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards. I knew Salt Spring's white Blattner wine had picked up an award on the national stage and I thought that might have been the reason I picked up the bottle. Looks like Salt Spring picked a second medal from Wine Access because there are no Blattner grapes to be found in this bottle.

There may be none of that new breed of grape evident in this glass but Aromata is still a blend of largely unknown grapes - try Auxerrois, Sylvaner and Bacchus. I wouldn't bet too much on your average wine drinker being able to tell you much about any of those grapes. That is, if your average wine drinker could even identify them as grapes.

On the other hand, while I know of all three grapes, I have yet to add Sylvaner to my tally of grape varieties for my Wine Century Club list. I took a quick look back on my blog posts and I've referred to Sylvaner on a handful of occasions, but those mentions have mostly revolved around its having been a parent (or grandparent) in the creation of grapes like Bacchus and Ehrenfelser. I know that Sylvaner has been used in some white blends that I added to The List. I guess I just missed adding it to the Wine Century Club list.

Adding it now works for me. Particularly when the wine didn't exactly jump out of the glass for either Boo or I.  Being an aromatic, light blend, I might have waited a bit long to open it (seeing as how it's a 2009 vintage) because it didn't really have the bright nose and sharp acidity that I was expecting. The bottle was under screw cap but I was rather hoping that it would cut through the cream sauce on our pasta a bit more than it did.

Oh well, I get to add #153 on my way to a second century and that's a pretty good replacement for a little lost acidity.

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 4 - Fairview Cellars

We're six weeks out from the start of the 2013 Wine Blogger's Conference and it's time for a fourth stop on my little Pre-WBC13 Road Trip through some of my favourite BC wineries. This time round, it's a visit to the top end of the Golden Mile and to Bill Eggert and Fairview Cellars. To get there as you head South of Oliver, you just need to remember to turn right when you see the sign for the golf course. It's important to watch for the golf course because you're likely never going to find the winery if you're relying on Hwy 3 signage. I'm not sure if Bill has finally relented and put up a sign but, from Day 1, he had been deliberately avoiding one. If your wine preferences lie with big reds though, you're going to want to find Fairview.

Fairview is synonymous with Bill and Bill is synonymous with Fairview. It's hard not to be when you've pretty much been a one-man operation for over two decades. And, if there's one common response about Bill from folks in the Okanagan, it's likely going to be that he's about as big a character as there is in the region. "Iconoclast," "Madcap," "Bear," these all might be names of Fairview wines but they're also words that easily come to mind when describing the man himself. Indeed, the "Madcap Red" moniker was born when one of the higher profile wine scribes in Vancouver referred to Bill as the "madcap winemaker." Being the rogue that he is, Bill simply worked the comment into the name of a wine. You only need to ask but there are, naturally, stories behind additional wine names like "Bucket O' Blood" and "Two Hoots."

Born in Ottawa and raised in Northern Ontario, Bill was first introduced to the wine industry while working on his uncle's vineyard near Beamsville on the Niagara Peninsula.  At the time, Inniskillin and Chateau des Charmes were the only small wineries in existence. His uncle grew grapes and sold them to Jordan Wines. Back then, the majority of grapes were still hybrids that were blended with imported juice. "The wines were wonderful, but they had no real attachment to the terroir" and the story goes that Bill had no luck in convincing his uncle to replant the hybrid vines with vinifera grapes.

Bill also worked for a short time at Charal Wines in Ontario before he ultimately made his way out to the Okanagan in 1984. Upon arriving, he worked at Covert Farms (which is now a winery itself not that far from Fairview) but ended up heading back to Ontario for a bit. He returned to BC, for good, in 1986 - the lure of vinifera grapes and better skiing were just too much of a draw.

Bill purchased his own property in 1989, when he found and fancied a six acre parcel with a South-East facing slope, located on an alluvial fan of the Reed Creek and overlooking the first tee of the neighbouring golf course. He began planting grapes in 1993, starting with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - and a bit of Cab Franc since it arrived in his order by chance. His experience in the valley and with growing grapes, generally, convinced him that his land was best suited for the red Bordeaux varieties and he saw no reason to plant white wine grapes when the land was telling him red was the way to go. Financial constraints and water issues made planting a lengthy process, however, and he didn't finish planting the vineyard until '99.

During those early years of setting up the vineyard, Bill found that the biggest obstacles to making wine in BC all revolved around the relative size of the industry. Being such a small industry, the ability to source supplies and information was limited. Luckily, Bill finds that this isn't as serious of a problem nowadays as the industry is maturing and the introduction of technological practices is exploding.

Fairview Cellars finally opened the doors to its wood cabin tasting room in 2000 - although the winery didn't really have tasting room hours.  If you knew about the winery, you could call to see if Bill was going to be around or you could just drive by and honk. If he heard you arrive, he could likely arrange for a tasting.

It didn't take long for Fairview's reputation as one of the best small, premium wineries in the Okanagan to grow as Bill's wines found favour with folks looking for BC reds that had some oomph to them. Fairview only offered reds until the 2006 vintage when Bill was given some Sauvignon Blanc that he vinified. The Sauv Blanc proved to be very popular and he's promised to keep making it as long as the grapes continue to be made available. The Sauv Blanc has yet to be given a catchy name for the label but Bill does refer to it fondly as his "oyster wine."

As much as he likes drinking Sauv Blanc, Bill's admitted that his favourite grape to work with is Cab Sauv. There are certainly those that feel the Okanagan just isn't suited to ripen Cab Sauv on a regular basis but Bill isn't one of them. He'd much rather "listen to the vines, not the wine writers." It may just be that his vineyard is particularly suited to the variety but he finds Cab "easy to grow, easy to ripen and easy to make wine with." He particularly likes the fact that his Cab Sauv's drink well in their youth but are still holding well into their second decade.

There's also plenty of discussion around Okanagan growers focusing on Cabernet Franc as it is seen as an earlier ripening grape than Cab Sauv and Bill originally thought that he might end up growing more Franc than Cab Sauv himself. As much as it might be out of the ordinary though, Bill finds that his terroir lends itself to the Cab Sauv regularly ripening sooner than the Cab Franc and the end result is that he doesn't have a whole lot of Cab Franc planted - although he certainly wouldn't mind having more as he finds that he tends to garner bigger accolades for his Cab Franc varietal wine than he does for his other wines.

1291.  2007 Fairview Cellars Cabernet Franc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

After taking a look at the Fairview Cellars wines we had on hand, I decided to go with a Cab Franc since, in keeping with the raison d'être of this blog, I need - and want - to add a new wine to The List. I would dearly loved to have open a bottle of The Wrath Cab Sauv - likely a one-time only vintage due to the hail storm right around picking time - but I don't think it's quite as ready to open yet. Another time. When you find yourself making a decision on which bottle of Fairview to open, one thing Bill is known for is putting a "Best After" date on his reds. In this case, he advised the the '07 bottle would be "best after Dec 2010." I think we're safe.

The fact that there were only 300 cases of the '07 Cab Franc produced just goes to illustrate how difficult it can be to find Fairview's wines. If memory serves, I ran across this one when Bill was serving it at the Vancouver International Wine Festival a couple of years ago.

If I had to choose a most memorable characteristic of this wine, it would be that the nose just jumped out of the glass and it was stellar. Being Franc, the wine was more nuanced than a big Cab and it tasted better with every bite of our BBQ'd rib-eye. Once the steak was gone, I didn't find that the fruit was as big on the palate as it was on the nose but there's no doubt that the bottle was empty long before we would have liked it to be. Funny that.

Looking back, I remember first hearing about and meeting Bill, some years ago, at one of the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival tastings. We were advised not to miss trying his wines because he was a "winemaker's winemaker." Funny thing is that a healthy number of articles over the years have quoted Bill as refusing to call himself a "winemaker" because he's never had formal training. Rather, he considers himself, first and foremost, a grape grower.

Indeed, when the UBC Alumni Association recently held a panel event titled, "The Grape Debate - Should BC Have a Signature Wine Varietal," Bill was vocal in his disappointment with the fact that neither the pro- nor the con- side of the panel featured a grape grower to discuss the topic. Bill sees the topic as being one driven more by Vancouver media than by growers and winemakers. He doesn't agree with the premise that BC needs to have a signature grape in order to be able to market and export its wines to the world.

For Bill, there are more factors involved in resolving a signature variety than marketing concerns. He advises that "the Okanagan, where a vast majority of the grapes are grown, is a very unique area for many reasons. Its small area, mountainous terroir, soil variability and the long, narrow North/South aspect make it difficult to identify similarities in terroir required to produce a big enough volume of one varietal to call it a signature grape." He continued, "as a result it has always been my humble opinion that BC should celebrate its diversity. We have the ability to grow successfully almost every commercial grape save those grown in extremely warm climates. By celebrating diversity, we also embrace other regions with their completely different terroirs such as the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and many of the other small pockets of vineyards popping up around the province."

He posits, is there any economic sense in pushing for a signature grape when the act only seems to elicit a race to the bottom on pricing? Not from his standpoint. He finds it hard enough trying to make a living when you might aim to produce 4000 cases in an exceptional year.

Being a one man show in such a demanding business is a helluva way to make that living; so, Bill has actually changed things up a bit in the last year. He's finally hired a "general manager" to work with him at the winery. Bill's keeping the head winemaker's hat but he's also now referring to himself as Fairview's CEO - a moniker he rather fancies.

The assistance at the winery will also allow Bill to keep up with what's happening in the political realm of the business. He plays an active role in the structure of the BC Wine Institute, currently sitting on the Board of Directors and on a number of committees. The help also comes in handy as Bill is adding to the portfolio by embarking on a Pinot Noir operation with some additional lands further up the valley. With a different terroir and an unfamiliar grape now in play, Bill's encountered a whole new learning experience.

He also looking forward to completing some expansion of the Fairview facilities. He's looking to double the size of the cellar. The expanded facilities will provide him with the opportunity to bring all of his primary fermentation tanks inside where he'll be able to address temperature control and work toward an even more accomplished end product in the bottle.

And, speaking of a favourable end product, when asked if he had the opportunity to serve any one of his wines to all of the WBC13 participants, what would it be, Bill said that he'd love to serve up either his Cab Sauv or his Bear (Cab/Merlot blend) from the 2005 vintage. He doesn't think they're showing at their peak yet but he does think that they show what can be done with Cab Sauv in the Okanagan. He considers 2005 to be the best vintage in BC since 1994 and is pleased that the wines are showing particularly well - thanks to his vines being that much older and his collective understanding of vineyard characteristics and the winemaking process being a decade stronger. He believes that the '09 and '12 vintages are also excellent but that the wines just haven't had enough time to mature yet.

As you might imagine, the man and his wines are quite intriguing - if not downright fascinating. His involvement in social media is tempered for the time being. He has a limited presence on Facebook and you can find him regularly enough on Twitter with his @FairviewCellars handle - particularly if there are political issues being discussed online. He's not convinced that social media does much to increase sales at the winery though.

If you run across him during WBC13 - or otherwise - and want to hear some first-hand tales, you can't go wrong if you show up with "any Scotch over 15 years old." Not to say that he wouldn't be open to other options. I think it's safe to say that it'd be worth your effort.

Memories of Mendoza

I joke a fair bit about Boo putting me on a No Buy Leash, but he is serious and I generally try and limit my purchases as much as can realistically be expected. Sometimes there is simply no choice in the matter though and I have to buy the bottle - regardless of the consequences at home.

Plus, this time I was pretty sure Boo wasn't going to be upset at all. After all, I was truly surprised to see this wine on a local shelf and there was no telling if it would be a one-off or a new regular to Vancouver.

1290.  2009 Tapiz Torrontés (Mendoza - Argentina)

Boo and I have some incredible memories of our time in Argentina back in 2010. Without a doubt, it would take no arm twisting to get either of us to return to dig a little deeper into an amazing world. One of our fondest memories was staying at Club Tapiz for two nights while in Mendoza. While planning the trip, I'd thought that it'd be special to spend a couple of nights at an Argentine winery. We managed to succeed but it wasn't the easiest of tasks. The possibilities are definitely expanding nowadays as wine tourism grows but, even as short as three years ago, the opportunities were limited.

Finding our winery accommodation is where Lucila Planas of Exotic Patagonia came in. She suggested we stay at Club Tapiz. We did and we loved it! Part of an estate that dates back to 1890, our stay included a walk through the vineyard (despite a pending thunderstorm), evening cocktails with the other guests, a wander through the old winery and dinner at their acclaimed restaurant.

Ironically, we couldn't fit in a tour of the current Tapiz winery. It was a couple of miles down the road and we didn't realize that until we'd already fully booked our limited time there.

And, to make matters "worse," we didn't really have an opportunity to bring back Tapiz wines. Canadian customs are such that each person is allowed to bring back a whopping two bottles of wine and Boo and I were well over our limit by the time we had to make our decisions about picking up some Tapiz wines. Considering we'd enjoyed two Tapiz tastings and wine at our dinner, we had to decide to pass on more bottles and had to keep our hands in our pockets.

That's why it was so exciting to see a bottle locally.

The winery is well established and produces a couple dozen different wines under the Tapiz label (and further wines under the second Zolo brand) - from the expected Malbec (including young vines, select label, reserve and single vineyard icon), Bonarda and Torrontés to the more adventurous sparkling wines, reserve cab sauv and a special edition blend of all three "signature" Argentine grapes.

I don't know if the Torrontés would have been my first choice if I were forced to only pick one bottle of Tapiz while in Mendoza but, then again, beggars can't be choosers. We chilled it down as soon as I got home and served it up with that Argentine culinary delight, panini. Okay, maybe panini isn't so much an Argentine delight - but the tropical fruitiness matched well with the melted cheeses and prosciutto.

If we ever make it back to Mendoza, we'd definitely look into staying at Club Tapiz again. In the mean time, we'll just have to remind ourselves with the odd bottle of Tapiz wine when we come across them.

Belated Birthday Wishes

We seem to have been experiencing a bit of difficulty when it comes to catching up with Elzee. I know that Boo's and my schedules can be difficult to coordinate because of his forever shifting shift work but, goodness, Elzee has been crazy busy. As such, we all looked to the skies in disbelief when we finally figured out a night where we could get together.

There was a bonus for Boo and me as well. Elzee had been feeling "guilty" - for some strange reason - about not seeing us lately; so, she offered to cook dinner as a birthday treat.

Now, Elzee is one helluva cook. So, the dinner invite is something in itself but she served up a bit of a trump card as well.  She popped the cork on our first bottle of the night - one she'd been holding on to for a special occasion. Luckily for us, we qualified.

1287.  1998 Duval-Leroy Authentis de Champagne Trépail Brut (AOC Champagne - France)

We actually have a bit of history with this bottle. A couple of years back, Elzee ran into one of those landmark birthdays and she managed to forget about all the drama of entering a new decade by celebrating in Paris with very good friends, Toolin and Q. We knew that her travelling cohorts would have a bit of time in the City of Lights before Elzee arrived. So, we arranged for Q to find a special bottle of Champagne to present to Elzee for her b-day. The expectation was that they'd pop the cork while in Gai Paris but, lo and behold, Elzee brought the bottle home with her.

And she decided to finally pop the cork for an entirely different b-day.

We'd given Q free rein when it came to choosing the bottle and I certainly don't know much about his ultimate pick. I have run across one Duval-Leroy Champagne previously - and it too was a special bottle (see #417 on The List) - but it was a non-vintage house cuvée. The Authentis label appears to a premium release from the winery and the Trépail is a vintage blanc de blancs made from organically grown Chardonnay grapes from a single Premier Cru vineyard in Trépail. If Wikipedia is to be believed, however, the Trépail Authentis is no longer being produced.

The aging on the wine showed through in the deeper colour and dominant biscuit notes. Fully dry, with little evidence of fruit on the palate, I was hoping for an explosive mousse for a bit of birthday surprise but, alas, this was a rather unbubbly bubbly.

I think it still qualifies as a treat though.

1288.  2001 Tahbilk Shiraz (Nagambie Lakes - Victoria - Australia)

Our second bottle for the evening is an Aussie producer making another appearance on The List and in our glasses. I added the 1999 Shiraz way back at #323 and wrote more about Tahbilk than I'm going to repeat here. Suffice it to say that, while I don't see or taste a lot of Tahbilk wines, they always seem to impress. We are starting to see more and more Victorian wines in the Vancouver market. So, I suppose I should keep my eye open for some more.

Being located in Victoria (north of Melbourne), this is a cooler climate Shiraz for Australia. That is if any Aussie wine regions can really be thought of as cool climate from a Canadian perspective. I tend to find the hallmark, calling card of Victorian Shiraz is that it isn't as ballsy or big as Barossan or South Australian Shiraz. That said, nowadays, there seems to be a general trend of pulling back on the over-the-top nature of premium Barossan Shiraz. Victorian Shiraz just seemed to start from that point a little more naturally.

This is one bottle that definitely disappeared a little too quickly for my liking.

1289.  2010 Alderlea Vineyards Bacchus (Vancouver Island)

Because the Shiraz vanished as quickly as it did, we sacrificed ourselves to the chore of opening a third bottle. There was a little bit of self-justification in that we were moving into a white with a "much lower" alcohol content. After all, how strong could a Vancouver Island white be?

I was actually quite surprised to see the Alderlea bottle in Elzee's stash. Their wines don't tend to appear much on this side of the Georgia Strait. Elzee wasn't positive about the bottle's provenance but she thought it might have been a gift from a colleague on the Island.

I've said on many an occasion, and definitely in this blog, that Alderlea is a fave of mine from Vancouver Island. I don't think, however, that I've tried their Bacchus before. Light and bright with tree fruit, it matched beautifully with Elzee's signature apple and pine nut tart (which I'll take practically any day over a birthday cake).

I understand that we may see even less Alderlea Bacchus in the future. Owner Roger Dosman is known for his striving to determine what grape varieties are best suited for his vineyard and for the challenging Island climate. Accordingly, he has replanted a good portion of his Bacchus with more disease-resistant vines such as the Blattner varietals. Good thing we got to enjoy this one when we did.

Not that we needed a night cap but Elzee recently vacationed a bit in Mexico and she wanted to pour a little high end Tequila that she'd picked up. The Clase Azul Reposado Tequila was definitely a sipping tequila - as opposed to a simple margarita mix bottle - although I would never have expected the ceramic bottle to contain tequila. As a night cap, Elzee could have easily used this as a Mexican replacement for Grappa in the cafe corretto we tried on a previous visit when Mama and Papa Elzee were visiting as well.

Maybe we can try that next time we're visiting and the folks join us. In the mean time, we just need to find more occasion to get together with this gal!

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 3 - Blue Mountain

Like bubbles? If so, you may well be apt to agree with Lily Bollinger when she states that "I only drink Champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty."

It's time to gear up for a third stop on this pre-WBC13 road trip and I ran across that quote while taking a look at Blue Mountain's website. Obviously, you can't buy a true "Champagne" from this - or any other winery in the Okanagan - but Blue Mountain is well known for making some of the finest bubbly in BC. Indeed, the range of sparkling wines makes up about a quarter of the winery's total production and they are all made as Méthode Traditionelle or Méthode Champenoise wines.

Blue Mountain makes four bubblies: a Non-Vintage and a Vintage Brut, a Blanc de Blancs and a Rosé Brut and I think it's safe to say that any one of them - if you can find a bottle - will compare favourably to similar wines from the "real McCoy." And, no doubt at a far more reasonable price. The sparklers are made predominantly from the traditional Champenoise grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir - however, both the Non-Vintage and Vintage Brut feature a small percentage of non-traditional Pinot Gris, giving the Brut its own touch of a house style.

As highly acclaimed as Blue Mountain's sparkling wines are, they may not be the wines that the winery is best known for. Indeed, there's a lot more to the winery than some well-made Brut.

The Mavety family has been farming the home vineyard since 1971; however, at that time, the family was only growing grapes for sale. During those early years, the BC wine industry definitely suffered from a lack of a clear vision. It was really only a change in economic times during the 80's and a desire on the part of Ian and Jane Mavety, Mère and Père, to improve the basic nature of BC grape-growing and winemaking that resulted in Blue Mountain's transition from grape vineyard to winery in 1991.

The winery has been a favourite of BC wine lovers basically since that first vintage in '91 and the view from the vineyard is now one of the most recognizable vistas when it comes to BC winemaking. Standing at the winery, the view overlooking Vaseux Lake towards McIntyre Bluff has graced their label since Day One and become iconic. But, more than a pretty view, consistency has been a hallmark of the winery - as in consistently good - and Blue Mountain really did come out of the gate running.  Perhaps it's true that, back in 1991, there wasn't all that much competition, but there is now and Blue Mountain has had to work hard to stay in the public's eye.

The winery has always been family-owned and operated and, even today, production is limited to around 16,000 cases annually.

As much as the wines have been consistently popular, the winery itself has had to adapt to the changing industry. A new tasting room was opened in 2011 and public access changed dramatically. Prior to the new tasting room, visitors needed to call in advance to arrange a tasting. Whether it was because there was often no wine available to sell or not enough family members around to man a tasting room, the winery was often associated with an unfortunate reputation of being aloof or unapproachable. When a forest fire ravaged the Okanagan in 2003, the Mavety's were lucky when the fire stopped short of their vineyard. The joke of the day, however, was "Why did the fire stop at Blue Mountain's gate? It didn't have an appointment."

Suffice it to say that that was then and that the winery has raised its profile and is far more interactive with the wine buying public nowadays. The winery welcomed the BC Wine Appreciation Society during its annual Fall Bus Tour last year - the first bus to invade the winery on mass - and current winemaker, Matt Mavety, led a BCWAS tasting last Fall that was a great hit with the club. The updated website is informative. A winery blog premiered in June 2012 and there's even a Twitter handle @BlueMtnWinery. Whether the expanded approach stems from greater competition and an ever-growing number of wineries, to a more direct involvement of the next generation of Mavety's in day-to-day operations or just to the fact that the winery has a larger staff today, the change seems to be well received.

Ian and Jane Mavety have been the face of Blue Mountain for decades but the winery is seeing a thorough integration of the next generation. As briefly mentioned, their son, Matt, is now head winemaker. After contributing "cheap labour" to the winery since he was 14, Matt finished his viticulture studies at UBC and in New Zealand and jumped into the winemaking business full bore, taking over the reins, as winemaker, in 2005. His sister, Christine, now operates the marketing side of Blue Mountain.

The story always comes back to the wines though. For the most part, the winery has been inspired by French wines as opposed to New World styles. They currently grow six varieties of grapes - primarily Burgundian: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc - and all of Blue Mountain's wines are made only from estate grown grapes. After 40-plus years in the vineyards, the Mavety's have a great handle on what's been done in the vineyard and what might be expected. The vineyard itself has a bit of everything in terms of terrain: east-, south-, north- and some west-facing slopes that are all planted with the same grape varieties. Over the years, the family has learned that each of the layouts of the terrain impart different characteristics to the fruit and that diversity allows for a greater depth of complexity when the grapes are blended together.

I'd mentioned the prominence of the sparkling wines in Blue Mountain's portfolio and, indeed, Boo and I served the Non-Vintage Brut at both our original commitment ceremony in 1998 and at our 10-year anniversary party (and formal marriage ceremony since it was legal in Canada by then). The winery, however, might be recognized even more for its Pinot Noir - and it's a bottle of Pinot that I'm going to add to The List for the purposes of this post.

1286.   2007 Blue Mountain Striped Label Reserve Pinot Noir (Okanagan Valley)

The winery grows nine different Pinot Noir clones - three of which are used solely for the sparkling wines - the assortment of clones giving Matt, as winemaker, an opportunity to take advantage of the different traits that each of the clones exhibits and impart a greater complexity to the finished blend. Aficionados of the winery already know that Blue Mountain has traditionally produced a cream and a striped label. The striped label wines have always been known to be a reserve level; however, it's only been recently that the word "Reserve" was actually added to the label. A quarter of the winery's production is released as striped label wine; but Matt was clear to point out to the BCWAS crowd that they make all their wines to a "reserve" level. There is no difference in how the fruit for the two labels is grown - whether it be thinning, shoot positioning or any other means of vineyard care. Furthermore, they ferment and age their wines block by block in the same manner. It's just that certain lots or barrels seem to offer a fuller expression of what happens in the vineyard.

Whatever the winemaking régime was behind our Pinot, it worked. The wine had a gorgeous nose, full of cherries and red fruit with hints of vanilla and spice. The flavours were just as expressive. And smooth. We had our first glass with duck confit and thought it matched wonderfully and, then, the wine opened up even more as we whiled away the evening, glass in hand.

Returning from our bottle at home to the winery as a whole, Matt has also advised that their vineyards enjoy a rocky soil and a micro-climate that is distinct from the sandier soils found on the Black Sage Bench, the sub-region that is on the same side of the valley but found to the South of Blue Mountain and its Okanagan Falls neighbours. The Mavety's refer to their little area as the "Vaseux Bench" and it is a few degrees warmer in the winter - which can be critical to a vine's survival in the Okanagan - and is a few degrees cooler in the summer which is beneficial for the winery's white varieties. Accordingly, all of Blue Mountain's wines are made from cooler climate grape varieties.

Starting in 2001, Matt also oversaw the introduction of some wild yeast fermentation of their wines (as opposed to using cultivated yeasts). The use of wild yeasts can be risky but many feel that it also lends itself to more expressive wines. Up to one-half of some particular varietal wines at Blue Mountain might now have seen wild yeast fermentation.

Blue Mountain is also one of the few BC wineries to emphasize the possibility of the Gamay Noir grape as a star in the Okanagan. Few wineries consistently offer a varietal Gamay wine and Matt has been quoted as saying that the "varietal has so much potential and is under-rated." He feels that Gamay Noir offers so much more than just being used as a blending grape or for Rosé wines and he notes that the winery always sells out of the thousand or so cases that they release each year.

Personally, one of the most interesting practices that has been introduced at the winery is that their latest plantings are seen as adding a new facet to Okanagan vineyards. The winery has decided to change over to high density planting - where both rows and vines are planted closer together. The new alignment of vines is closer to Burgundian practices and results in almost twice or even three times as many vines per acre than were previously planted. The vines are only just starting to reach their potential and the winery is still learning how these vines might need to be tended to differently in terms of canopy management and exposure to the sun and optimal yields but, so far, they are happy with the "interesting fruit" that is resulting from even the young vines.

With the new plantings, the winery is also introducing a higher degree of sustainable viticulture and they have worked hard on expanding the winery's composting program. The new planting method has also required the introduction of some new equipment. With the tighter spacing of the rows, the old tractors no longer fit amongst the rows. When I saw one new piece of machinery, my immediate thought was that I'd stepped onto the side lot of a Star Wars production. I'd love to see that baby in action.

Old. New. Consistency. Innovation. Blue Mountain and the Mavety's seem to be spokesmodels for all of those topics. I just know that the winery and I go back a long ways and that I hope to enjoy their wines for many years still to come.  After all, we're well on our way to needing some bubbly for our 20th anniversary - and WBC13 attendees would be well advised to accept a glass of Blue Mountain if one should be offered during the Conference.

Treats at The Pear Tree

As the years continue to pass me by, I don't put a whole lot of stock in birthday celebrations any more. I can handle being showered with affection by friends and family on the landmark dates, but I'll happily forget that the ones in between that continue to pop up.

That is unless the Significant Other is offering dinner at The Pear Tree Restaurant as a birthday treat. If it takes me turning another year older to be able to let Scott and Stephanie Jaeger wow yet again, so be it.

Knowing that it's rare visit to The Pear Tree where one of us doesn't gravitate to a pork belly or lamb dish, we decided to take advantage of the BYO rules now in place and we brought a celebratory red along with us. Not that this stopped us from ordering house cocktails and a glass of white for the lighter dishes.

Boo had forgotten to make a reservation but, luckily for us, Scott and Stephanie had room for us. Our good fortune was magnified in that Scott was working on some new seasonal dishes and, as such, was offering a tasting menu that night. I think this might be the first time I'd been privy to such a treat at The Pear Tree. So, it was a no brainer to take that route for dinner. It meant that I didn't get my fix of Scott's Twice Cooked Pork Belly and Spot Prawn Cassoulet, but we managed to keep a perpetual smile through our six courses - including halibut, duck and lamb. Oh my.

1285.  2005 Barrosa Valley Estate E&E Black Pepper Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

The wine we took with us was a fave from the Barossa Valley. We first ran across E&E Black Pepper Shiraz at a small tasting that was put together by BVE's local agent, close to a decade ago, when winemaker Stuey Bourne was in town. Following the tasting, a small gang of us, including Stuey, took in another couple of bottles in Yaletown before Lady Di and I took our "early" leave on a school night. Now, Stuart Bourne has a rep of being a wild one - even for an Aussie - and I understand the balance of the evening included a trip to the Roxy and a little "more cowbell" with the band on stage.

I may not have made it to the Roxy that night, but I did head immediately to one of the specialty liquor shops and grabbed a couple bottles of the E&E. They aren't the easiest of wines to come across.

I think it's fair to say that some of Stuey's big personality shows through in his wines and the Black Pepper Shiraz is his icon. Stuey has since left BVE and moved to another Barossa stalwart, Chateau Tanunda, but the '05 vintage was definitely his. The BVE website states that the "Black Pepper Shiraz is the pinnacle of Barossa Shiraz, representing the best parcels of Shiraz that Barossa has to offer." The '05 vintage saw three vineyards selected from nine different blocks in the northern Barossa. It's big. It's beautiful. And, with a $100 price tag, it's a special occasion wine.

An occasion, much like a birthday dinner at one of the best restaurants in town.

I mentioned the halibut, duck and lamb that we enjoyed. I've yet to mention the chicken and waffles that we were fêted with. This is a new combination to me - although I understand it's quite popular in the States - but I told Stephanie (and Scott) that they were welcome to come by and serve me waffles (with or without the chicken, but preferable with) any morning that they'd like. In fact, I think I said that, if need be, they could come over and get hooched the night before, stay in the spare bedroom and get up to cook breakfast at whatever time struck their fancy. We're taking tasty here.

And, I'm hoping this isn't the last I see of this dish. I think it could easily be a long term fave on the menu.

As we were leaving to head home, Boo and I were thinking exactly the same thing. I'm not sure who verbalized it first, but we both agreed that we need to make it back to The Pear Tree so much sooner than later. Celebration excuse, or not.

That is, unless the Jaeger's take us up on our breakfast offer first.

Curling Dinner

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

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

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

2011 Lang Vineyards - Farm Reserve Riesling (Okanagan Valley)

2006 Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Greek Sisteris You Say?

Greece may have been in the news for all sorts of economic woes and political upheavals, but it's also appears to be making a concentrated push to bring more and more "New Wines of Greece" into the world market. This is certainly a new one for me - and, as such, I've got another grape to add to my Wine Century Club tally.

1280.  2010 Parparoussis - Les Dons de Dionysos - Sideritis (Greece) 

The name of the wine translates as "The Gift of Dionysos."

There wasn't a whole lot to be learned about the winery from their website as the pages are as basic as they come, stating that "this website is currently being developed." It does state, however, that the winery was established in 1974 at the Parparoussis family estate outside of Patras on the Peloponnese coast. Proprietor, Thanasis Parparoussis, is Burgundy trained and returned to Greece to take a lead role in a new wave of Greek boutique winemakers. He has been joined by his two daughters who now work by his side at the winery.

Luckily, there is more to be found online about Mr. Parparoussis, including the fact that, when he returned to Greece, he didn't shepherd the introduction of international grapes like Cab or Merlot (as many other Greek winemakers were doing in the 1980's). Rather, he looked deep to his roots and decided to work with mostly "off-the-beaten-track choices" like Roditis, Nemea Agiorgitiko and Mavrodaphne.

Parparoussis also chose to work with Sideritis, a grape that is thought to be indigenous to central Greece, but one that remains largely unknown and definitely "off-the-beaten-track."

I suspect this is a wine that's likely better when drunk while young. Deeper in colour and richer that I'd normally expect for a Greek white wine, our bottle wasn't quite as bright on the palate as most commentators on Sideritis seem to lead you to expect. I figured going Greek with shrimp and feta would be a no-brainer and the wine certainly passed the test but it didn't stand out such that it made me cry out for another bottle.

The grape is named after the Greek word for iron, sidero, but there are varying reasons behind the name. In her book, "Wine Grapes," Jancis Robinson says it is because of the grape's rough skin. Others, like Greek Wine World, say it is because of the grape's tendency to be high in minerality and acidity. Jancis also points out, though, that Parparoussis is "leading the way" with Sideritis in Patras, making approximately a quarter of the entire region's production of the grape.

Interestingly, Parparoussis also distills its Sideritis wine and then ages it in oak for 12 years to be sold as an eau de vie.

I might be more inclined to try the eau de vie before rushing off to buy another bottle of the table wine. This bottle clocked in around $30 where I found it in the Vancouver market and that's a touch rich for my tastes when talking basic white table wines. As you might guess, I can bend that rule a bit for a roll of the dice on a new varietal wine though. That ship has sailed with the Sideritis though.

On a final note though, with my last three post's including the addition of the Tinta Miúda and Cabernet Foch grapes as #150 and #151 to my Wine Century total, this Sisteris makes it three new grapes in a week. Who knows, 200 varieties may still be in the offing.

A Second Look Ahead to WBC13 - Tinhorn Creek

Sandra Oldfield. Tinhorn Creek.

Need I say more when it comes to BC wine and social media? As such, I think it only makes sense to pay a virtual visit here for my second stop at a BC winery as we lead up to WBC13.

If you're a blogger who's attended a previous Wine Bloggers Conference or you're intent on making your way to the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference - or even if you just immerse yourself in the social media side of wine - you're probably well acquainted with @SandraOldfield and her blog, Oldfield's Wanderings, She's prolific. She's interesting. She's responsive. When you add in she's full time mom, I swear she must be the busiest woman in the business. And she happens to make some fine wine to boot.

Sandra started out as a California Girl. She grew up there and completed her Masters in Enology at UC Davis. It was there that she met her future (and current) husband, Kenn Oldfield. Once the schooling was completed, Sandra joined Kenn when he returned to Canada and the Oldfields established Tinhorn Creek with their business partners - Calgarians Bob and Barbara Shaughnessy. The Oldfields arrived back in BC in 1994. During the intervening nineteen vintages, the four partners have built the winery from nothing into one of the most dynamic operations in the province.

Moving to a new country and to a fledging wine region had to have caused some trepidation for a woman who had previously worked for California's Rodney Strong Vineyards and did the leg work for her Master's thesis in Robert Mondavi's To-Kalon vineyards. She called the Mondavi experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; however, Sandra also advises that when she "first saw the Okanagan stretched out before me, it was not a difficult decision. It is simply spectacular up here and a new wine industry that I could grow with was right up my alley."

The Okanagan's experience with growing European vinifera grapes really only started in 1988 with the introduction of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the US. Prior to that the Okanagan was primarily planted with hybrid vines or even old lambrusca grapes. Accordingly, the Oldfields and Shaughnessy's put that UC Davis schooling to test when deciding what grapes to plant in their two vineyards - found between Oliver and Osoyoos. They knew that they only wanted to rely on estate-grown grapes. They also knew that they wanted to focus primarily on red wines - there was just that feeling that it might be too challenging to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon in the Okanagan. So, they planted Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. For whites they planted Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. Be it global warming or not, weather patterns have changed enough that the folks at Tinhorn have added sections of the later ripening Cab Sauv, Syrah and Viognier, plus a bit of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

Although hardly exhaustive, they have a good selection of varieties to work with. The flip side, of vourse, is that there has been plenty of speculation in the press in recent years as to whether or not BC needs to focus on a specific grape varieties - or grape varieties - if the industry ever wants to garner a bigger global reputation. Sandra's take on the debate is that the Okanagan is far from being "one homogenous area." She notes that neither Pinot Noir nor Riesling thrive in the Southern part of the valley where Tinhorn is found and, similarly, the Northern parts of the valley around Kelowna find it difficult to ripen red varieties (with the exception of Pinot Noir). Far from wanting to see the local industry pigeonholed like a Kiwi Sauv Blanc or an Argentine Malbec, Sandra loves that the Okanagan, with its range of micro-climates, is still in "high experimental times" and notes, furthermore, that the main markets the region is serving love the diversity of wines that are available.

Despite her love of variety in the vineyard, there's no doubt that Sandra has become a bit of a spokesperson for Cab Franc. She was a pioneer in BC when she insisted on those original plantings and Tinhorn has probably been alone in having made a varietal wine since 1996. As a testament to her perseverance, a couple of years back, Sandra delivered one of the BC Wine Appreciation Society's more memorable tastings when she shepherded BCWAS members through a 12 vintage vertical tasting of her Cab Franc - every vintage that had been released to date from the first vintage in 1996. The tasting even included some of the difficult 1999 vintage that Sandra referred to as her "Jesus wine." I no longer have my notes from that tasting but local wine luminary, Sid Cross, wrote that Sandra called the wine that because "it started out as bad green beans but with age has turned into an unusual orange peel chartreuse like wine - Jesus turning water into wine." She also admitted that the '99 vintage almost made her turn her heels and head back to California.

Luckily for us, she decided to stick it out though and, earlier this year, Sandra took to Twitter to proudly announce the first release of a reserve level 2010 Oldfield Series Cabernet Franc. The wine is a single block beauty from their Diamondback Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench and it was one of the wines Sandra poured this year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. Folks needed to jump quickly if they liked it, however, because only 374 cases were made.

If anything, Sandra is heartened by the fact that Cab Franc is generating "great buzz" in BC - as are lightly oaked Chardonnays and Syrahs that are starting to reveal distinct regional variations. But, if she could serve one wine to all the incoming WBC13 attendees, it'd be her Cab Franc. In addition to the variety's ability to facilitate her desire to capture and evoke the unique terroir of the region - that of sage-covered desert - she'd love the opportunity to tell a story about Cab Franc from a "vineyard, cellar and social media aspect." Indeed, she's been working at this already. The team at Tinhorn followed one vine of Cab Franc over the past year and, in conjunction with an Ontario producer that did the same thing, discussed "the 2012 season through the use of those two vines" weekly for six months. You can visit Sandra's blog and click on the #CabFrancTuesday 2012 tab to read her comments and follow the vine's progression through photos. I understand that she's about to start a second journey with #Gewsday (Gewürztraminer Tuesday).

When it comes to adding a bottle of Tinhorn Creek to The List with this post, it might seem natural to open a bottle of Cab Franc - especially since I have a couple bottles of that 2010 Oldfield's Reserve - but that Oldfield's is just a baby and I'm going to let it lay for awhile. Sandra and Tinhorn also produce a series of blends - their 2Bench Red and 2Bench White - that I'm very fond of and I think one of them will satisfy just as well.

1279.  2009 Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series 2Bench Red (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The 2Bench White has been part of the Tinhorn portfolio for a longer time than the Red but I happened to have a bottle of the Red at home. The 2009 2Bench Red is only the third vintage of Sandra's Bordeaux or Meritage blend for the premium series and this year's blend is 45% Merlot, 30% Cab Sauv, 22% Cab Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. This is also still a young wine but we allowed the bottle to breathe and took our time with it. Our patience was definitely rewarded in that the wine opened up noticeably and the tannins retreated some into the bright, dark fruit.

I suppose if I'm ever to finish this post before WBC13 actually arrives, I'd best make a few final points and call it a day. There is plenty to write about, however. Perhaps I should consider doing my own Master's dissertation on Sandra.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tinhorn's efforts in sustainability and innovation. Tinhorn was the first winery in BC to try bottling wine with Stelvin screw cap enclosures when they bottled a portion of their 2001 Merlot. They introduced a sharp, two-bottle package that contained one bottle finished with cork and the second topped with the screw cap. It was novel and an effective way to show the BC market that the Stelvin closure could arrive in a good way and it let consumers see first hand if they found any difference. The winery carried forward from there and was also the first to bottle its entire portfolio with Stelvin caps.

The winery was additionally the first in Canada to be declared "carbon neutral" and it makes extensive efforts in composting, using biodiesel fuel and water conservation - among such other activities as habitat preservation.

The opening of Miradoro Restaurant at the winery, in April 2011, created quite a buzz in the Valley as it heralded a joint venture with two top names from the Vancouver restaurant scene. Being named, by Wine Access Magazine, as one of the "World's Best Winery Restaurants" only helped make Tinhorn even more of a destination winery. And that doesn't even take into account the winery's 350-seat amphitheatre that spectacularly overlooks the valley and plays host to a series of outdoor summer concerts.

One thing that doesn't come to mind when thinking of Sandra is shyness. The lady doesn't seem to have a problem when it comes to speaking her mind and I quite loved all the press she received last year as the debate over shipping wine across provincial boundaries was growing into a bit of a brouhaha. Sandra upped the ante by showing it's easier to order a firearm and have Canada Post ship it half way across the country than it is to order a case of wine and ship it to another province. It was legal for Sandra to order her first firearm - a Maverick 88 shotgun - and find it delivered four days later. It was not legal, however, for anyone to order a case of Tinhorn wine and have it shipped outside of BC. Steps are slowly being made on that front but I'm quite sure Sandra could give a tip or twelve to provincial bureaucrats when it comes to legislative regulations.

In fighting her good fight, Sandra has utilized social media to great effect and she launched #BCWineChat as a means of discussing topics near and dear to industry insiders and BC wine aficionados. BC WineChat and its 8-9 p.m. timeslot on Wednesdays is now a fixture on Twitter - regularly trending as a topic in BC and Canada - to the point where a recent Oysters and Wine topic attracted "porn-bots" en masse.

I'll end with Sandra's response to the question of whether there is any particular aspect of or fact about BC winemaking that she'd like visiting bloggers and guests to learn or be exposed to. She stated that, "I'd like them to focus on wines other than Icewine and not come with too many preconceived notions about us. I'd love for them to explore the touring aspect we have here - a beautiful area with many wineries and lot of other activities to do as well. it is a great place to go for a vacation. Lastly, there are many opportunities to combine touring with eco-tourism and agri-tourism that make BC so unique. There are wineries with major investments here - small and large and every size in between - so we are working hard at building on something here that will last." That about sums it up, doesn't it?

Speaking from experience, BC's oft-proclaimed "Twitter Queen" and Tinhorn Creek are well worth catching up with - and, should you run into her at WBC13, you can likely keep her willingly engaged by arriving with something Alsatian, a glass of Portugese table wine or a Riesling. You won't regret it.

An Easter Bonnet Failure

Time to get some catch up blogging done. The whole 2013 Wine Bloggers' Conference and Boo's and my California Road Trip threw for me a bit of a loop. I wish this were an April Fool's heading and post but it's true. Even though this has an April 1 publishing date, it is actually being posted in July. Unfortunately, I'm still writing about adding bottles to The List back in March. My sister, Vixen, is convinced that my schedule isn't preventing me from publishing this post. Rather, she's announcing to all that I'm simply afraid to announce that her Easter Bonnet was a runaway "best" at this year's annual paper plate Easter Bonnet extravaganza and family dinner. On the other hand, it's true.  My stab at creating a winning bonnet this year was a bust. After last year's birthday cake-inspired winner and the year before's playoff hockey inspired piece, the juices just weren't flowing this Easter.

Good thing there was still plenty of wine to soothe my battered ego.

1276. N.V. Stoneboat Piano Brut (VQA Okanagan Valley)

I was introduced to this bubbly at the recent Vancouver International Wine Festival. It was nice to taste the wine shortly after I'd heard about Stoneboat receiving a loan from the Federal Government to assist in the purchase and installation of equipment that has resulted in the re-introduction of Charmat method production in Canada. Sparkling wines produced in Charmat style undergo secondary fermentation and carbonation in stainless steel tanks. It is the same production method used to make Prosecco in Italy. Member of Parliament Dan Albas announced the federal involvement as a mean of promoting innovation and new Canadian products into the market. There are plenty of bubbly Canadian wines made but they largely use the traditional méthode champenoise where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle that the consumer ultimately buys. Piano is the first modern Canadian wine made in the Charmat manner and the hope is that it will be well received in the local market as an alternative to imported Prosecco, as well as result in an entry point to international markets - particularly China.

John Schreiner has written a nice post - and a thorough one to boot - on Stoneboat and the story behind the production method's history in Canada. So, I'll just refer you there rather than go into everything all over again.

Piano is blend that pairs mostly Pinot Blanc with a bit of Müller-Thurgau. It was a pleasant sip with a slightly off-dry taste that showcases Okanagan fruit and is definitely a contrast to the more "serious" bubbles that we generally see from the Okanagan. Too bad it's currently a non-vintage wine. As such, I'm only able to add the one bottle to The List. That likely won't stop us from buying another bottle though.

1277. 2010 Meyer Family Vineyards - Tribute Series - Sonia Gaudet Chardonnay (Okanagan Valley)

Each vintage, the Meyer family releases a Chardonnay as part of its "Tribute Series" whereby the wine is a "dedication to a Canadian for an outstanding achievement in their field." The 2010 wine is dedicated to Sonja Gaudet, a Canadian, world and two-time Paralympic champion in wheelchair curling (it looks like the spelling of "Sonja" on the label was a typo). Reading up a bit about Ms. Gaudet, I was intrigued even more by the wine when I realized that I was actually in the crowd cheering her on in the Gold Medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics.

As part of the Tribute Series, the Meyer family also donates $5,000 to a non-profit foundation, endowment or scholarship to "encourage" and "honour" the legacies of the outstanding Canadians chosen for the label. Ms. Gaudet requested that this vintage's donation be awarded to a student graduating from her hometown, Vernon's, high schools "who, regardless of the challenges in their own life, continues to strive for excellence and role models that giving up is not an option."

Thankfully, the wine not only has a great background story but it also tastes mighty fine. It stood out for Boo and I while we were on the 2012 BC Wine Appreciation Society Bus Tour. During our group's tasting at Meyer, we were advised that the winery strives for a Burgundian style that is crisp with flavour. The grapes are sourced from their Old Main Road Vineyard on the Naramata Bench - a vineyard that is unique for the Naramata in that it slopes up the hill and then dips back to the north-east, providing more shelter than many of the Bench's vineyards. Little did we know when we picked up this bottle that it would later be chosen as the Number One BC Wine in the 2012 Wine Access Magazine Canadian Wine Awards.

Note to self. If I'd read up more on this wine before I started designing my bonnet, Maybe I'd have found a little more inspiration for this year's design.

1278. 2006 Alderlea - Fusion (Vancouver Island)

Our final wine of the dinner held some surprises of its own. Alderlea is perhaps our favourite Vancouver Island winery. I have to say "perhaps" because we don't get a lot of opportunity to try their wines over on the Mainland. Alderlea doesn't send any wine over to the Vancouver market and we have to be content to bump into it on the rare occasions that we make it to the Island or, if by chance, we run across it in one of the wine shops on Salt Spring Island if we're visiting Tyrant.

This is the only bottle of Fusion that I've run across. I don't know how much of it is produced but it is rather unique in that it is varietal wine made from Cabernet Foch - one of the Valentin Blattner grapes that were developed in Switzerland as heartier alternative varieties for colder climate vineyards. I've written about Blattner varieties somewhat in other posts; so, I won't go on here, but I have to note that this is the first time that I've tried the Cabernet Foch and, as such, that means I get to add another grape to my Wine Century Club tally. This is a bit of benchmark grape as well since I'm hitting the 150 mark with this grape - and that has to make up a bit for a lacklustre bonnet this year.

As you might guess, Cabernet Foch is a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Maréchal Foch. No sane winemaker would try to grow Cab Sauv on Vancouver Island and expect it to fully ripen. That's enough of a challenge for the Okanagan. On the other hand, no one is going to make a name for themselves in today's market basing much of their marketing on Maréchal Foch. Granted, there are some cult classics out there for Foch lovers but, realistically, being able to incorporate "Cabernet" into your wine is going to be a much savvier route to go.

Alderlea's 2005 vintage of Fusion was the first commercial release in BC of a Blattner wine. This 2006 bottle, however, was the last year that the wine was labeled as Fusion. The Argentine producers of mass market FuZion purchased Alderlea's trademark for the name in Canada and, from 2007 on, Alderlea's Cabernet Foch varietal wine has been released as Matrix.

After this initial tasting, I'm not convinced that Cab Foch is going to gain a foothold in the Canadian (or world) market but it will be interesting to see how the vines are producing with a bit of age on them. I'll also look forward to an opportunity to maybe try a tasting that compares Cab Sauv, Cab Foch and Maréchal Foch. Indeed, it sounds like a good idea for a future blog post.

So, you see, my creative juices haven't completely abandoned me. I might not have had the best of bonnets this year but there's still the odd idea left to be processed by this old mind of mine. Alternatively, next year, I could just drink a little more wine prior to starting my bonnet to get those idea flowing. Just hope I never become quite as creative as Boo's new Papal Celebration Bonnet or Big Trucker's Easter Fountain. Some things - as creative as they might be - should just never see the light of day.