Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 7 - Nk'Mip Cellars

I confess to having missed a couple of weeks on my pre-Wine Bloggers' Conference Road Trip. Some might well argue that an actual "get-in-the-car-and-drive" road trip hardly trumps or pre-empts a virtual road trip; however, I'm afraid I could only handle one at a time. Despite some lofty hopes of keeping up with the blog - and posting some more pre-WBC13 winery visits - the reality of taking a stab at the Life of Riley proved a little too time-consuming to sit and blog with the laptop.

I think that might be a good thing though. If I ever get caught up and write a bit about our vacation (after all, lots of wine was sacrificed to fuel our trip), I'll check back with you to see what you think.

It's about time I returned to my pre-Conference tour of some of my favourite BC wineries though and, this time around, I'm going to visit Nk'mip Cellars - North America's first aboriginal owned and operated winery. The winery is located just outside of Osoyoos and is owned by the Osoyoos Band - one of the seven bands that make up the Okanagan Nation.

I find the Nk'mip story to be both interesting and inspiring. It began in the 1960's with the planting of vineyards on Band lands found a little ways up the Okanagan Valley - closer to Oliver - in what is now known as the Inkameep Vineyard. No one in the Valley was planting vinifera grapes at that time but the Band sold its hybrid grapes to the wineries of the day and eventually began replanting the vineyards with vinifera grapes. The Band's Riesling vines are now some of the oldest in the valley. Much of the credit for those original vineyard operations is given to Sam Baptiste, the Band Chief at the time. Upon retiring as Chief, he continued his involvement with the operations he helped create and he is now the vineyard manager.

Current Chief, Clarence Louie, was first elected in 1985 and he has continued to move the Band's presence forward in the winemaking business as the industry continued to develop in the Valley. The Band's achievements with him at the helm have earned Chief Louie many business awards - including Aboriginal Business Leader of the Year - All Nations Development Corporation in 1999 and the 2000 CANDO Award for Economic Developer of the Year. During these years, Chief Louie has also shepherded the Band's vineyard operations into a full-fledged winery. Nk'mip Cellars was opened in 2002 - with state of the art facilities - as a joint venture with Vincor, one of the biggest wine corporations in Canada (and now part of the global Constellation Brand).

Randy Picton was brought on board as winemaker in 2002 and has been with Nk'mip ever since. Although not a Band member himself, Picton has mentored Band member, Justin Hall, who started with the winery in 2004 and has worked his way up from cellar hand to assistant winemaker. Aaron Crey, a member of the Sto:lo Band from outside Vancouver, has also taken up residence with the winery and is now the cellar supervisor. Both Hall and Crey have completed winemaking programs at Okanagan University College and have respectively worked on vintages in Western Australia and New Zealand to further their abilities and knowledge.

Not only is the winery a testament to the Band's dedication to creating a culture of self reliance, but it makes a comprehensive range of award-winning, tasty wines - to the extent that Nk'mip is continually named one of the top wineries in Canada in past Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards - including Top BC Winery in last year's edition.

1323.  2006 Nk'mip - Qwam Qwmt Syrah ( VQA Okanagan Valley)

The winery produces two levels of wines - the introductory Winemaker's label and the premium Qwam Qwmt series. In the local Okanagan language, "Qwam Qwmt" means "achieving excellence" and this latest wine to be added to The List was a dark-fruited, spicy bit of excellence by our take.

The winery now has the capacity to produce 16,000 cases annually of its range of reds and whites (there were around 950 cases of the '06 Syrah made) and all of the grapes used by Nk'mip are grown by the Band - either in the vineyard immediately surrounding the winery or in the Inkameep Vineyard. These lands in the southernmost part of the Okanagan Valley are actually the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert - the desert that runs all the way up the West Coast from Mexico - and is Canada's only pocket desert. The region boasts long, hot summer days and cool nights and allows the Band to both ripen big red grape varieties and maintain good acidity levels.

And there's no mistaking the fact that the winery is found in desert country. We made a quick drive up to the Okanagan to take in some of the sagebrush spotted landscape (and wines) during the summer of 2003 when our bud, Merlot Boy, was visiting from Australia. Under somewhat surreal circumstances, we sipped back on a glass of Nk'mip wine on their new patio as we watched water bombers dip into Osoyoos Lake to collect water to fight small outbreaks of fire in the surrounding hills. Think Nero playing the fiddle while he watched Rome burn. The fires around us weren't that intimidating at the time; however, they were all part in parcel of the wild fire that threatened to ravage much of Okanagan wine country that summer.

Although not the most active participant among BC wineries, Nk'mip does have a Twitter presence and came be followed at @nkmipcellars. You can also learn more about additional Band operations like the Nk'mip Desert Cultural Centre, Resort and Gold Course at both the winery website and the Band website. I find Nk'mip's story to be both intriguing and inspiring - and it certainly doesn't hurt that the wines are enjoyable as well. Hopefully, WBC13 participants will get an opportunity to discover Nk'mip themselves.

A Milestone During the Road Trip

Sometimes the timing of our wine consumption doesn't necessarily lend itself to adequate celebration of "landmark" bottles on The List - which is, after all, the primary raison d'être of this blog. The last bottle added to The List was #1299 and it was part of my Wine Wednesday lead up to this year's Wine Blogger's Conference. I knew we'd open #1300 at some point on this road trip but I wasn't quite sure when or where. Had I known a more precise time for the celebratory bottle, I might have been able to plan something a tad more lavish. As it was, I guess I should just be glad it wasn't the bottle we had in Coos Bay.

As much as there wasn't anything holding our attention in Coos Bay, our start to the day - and the drive ahead of us - didn't see quite as early a start as we might have liked. Accordingly, we tried to make up as much time as we could to reach the day's destination: Mendocino. As much as we wanted to arrive at a reasonable hour, we also needed to avoid those deadly Pacific Highway speed traps. We saw three other cars, going slightly faster than us, get pulled over. So, I suppose we might have been a little bit lucky, but it meant we didn't arrive until close to sundown.

We'd passed through Mendocino for a day some 16 years ago but we've always had fond memories of that short visit. Unfortunately, we were only going to be able to stay the one night again but we arrived in time to take a bit of a wander down the quaint main street and to the cliffside walk - martini in hand - before sunset.

It's easy to see how the city passed for New England in the old Murder She Wrote TV series. We fell in love with it all over again.

Funny thing is, we never opened a bottle of wine to add to The List. We dined at the highly recommended, local Irish pub and had a brew. However, we did stay at the most wonderful B&B - the Blue Door Inn. It was as delightful a B&B as we've ever stayed in. If we didn't have reservations the next night in Sonoma, we'd have tried our darnedest to stay a second night. It was that comfortable and luxurious. It would have been a marvellous spot to celebrate #1300.

But, as sad as our having to leave was, we needed to make tracks in the morning. No wine but an awesome time all the same.

Before we'd left Vancouver, I'd asked the Twitterverse for some suggestions of wineries to visit on our tour. Sandra Oldfield of Tinhorn Creek in our Okanagan Valley responded, "I only have six words, Anderson Valley, Anderson Valley, Anderson Valley." Our chef that morning at the Blue Door Inn was an accredited sommelier (as well as a delightful chef); so, we asked her for some tips and she was incredibly helpful. I'm rather sure we wouldn't have made the stops that we did without her.

The first of those stops was the (small "c") champagne house, Roederer Estate. Building upon its 200 year existence in (capital "C") Champagne, Roederer set up shop in Anderson Valley to take advantage of the valley's cooler climate and proximity to the ocean. The days are still warm but the nights are cooler, allowing for a slower maturity of the grapes and a more optimum balance of sugar and acidity needed for classic sparkling wines. They may not produce a bubbly with the cachet or pedigree - yet - of their Cristal Champagne but, then again, their French operations have been at it a tad longer. Who knows what they'll be producing here in another century or two?

The grapes are all estate grown and all the wines are made entirely from Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir. Approximately 80% of Roederer's production is their Multi Vintage Brut but they also make a Multi vintage Brut Rosé, a vintage reserve L'Ermitage and vintage reserve L'Ermitage Rosé. The Roederer bubblies are all made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise and the tasting room appeared to be a very popular stop for folks passing through the Anderson Valley.

Just down the road a bit was Toulouse Vineyards - a small family owned and operated winery that produces give or take 5,000 cases annually. Were it not for our B&B tip, we would never have stumbled upon Toulouse. Of that, I'm sure. It was a treat that we did, however. Being a small operation, our tasting was actually with Rita, the assistant winemaker, and we ended up chatting with owner/winemaker Vern Boltz as well as he was passing by and was within earshot of our incessant questions. We tried all eight of the wines they had to offer: three Pinot Noirs, a Rosé and four whites, being Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and a blend. The Pinot Noirs are Toulouse's stars though and a vast majority of their vines planted are Pinot Noir.

The estate was bare land when the Boltz's purchased the property in 1997 and their first wines produced hailed from the 2002 vintage. So, my guess is that there's plenty more to come. You'd never mistake Toulouse's rustic building and tasting room for the sophistication and money behind Roederer but their friendly demeanour was equally as welcoming.

We had time to make one last stop. We just hadn't expected to settle in for a healthy break and a taste of the Life of Riley at Goldeneye. I wasn't aware of Goldeneye before we stopped in but I have crossed paths with sister wineries Paraduxx and Duckhorn as they've attended the Vancouver International Wine Festival over the years and, no doubt, some of the California Wine Fairs that have come to town.

If Toulouse was rustic and Roederer was sophisticated, Goldeneye combined the best aspects of both. The tasting room was stylish enough itself but we were afforded the opportunity to leisurely taste our way through their Pinot line-up while relaxing on the patio with a light lunch and a marvelous view of the vineyard. We lapped that up - both the patio repose and the wines. These were not inconsequential Pinots - not in the least - and I'd have been more than happy to plant myself there indefinitely sipping away but, after an hour and a half, I could definitely hear Sonoma calling out to us.

Unfortunately, lack of trunk space (and the $80 price tag, on average) prevented us from taking much of that Goldeneye experience with us. Should we ever make it back to Mendocino - or the Anderson Valley - we'll be sure to fit in a more comprehensive visit with some Goldeneye wines. With some inspired planning, we might even be able to coincide a visit with the annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. Goldeneye was hosting this year's festival but it was still three weeks away and as welcoming as the winery was, a three week stay was somewhat out of the question.

Luckily, the rest of the road trip still had some treats in store - even if not a Pinot festival. And Sonoma was the start of it. We managed to arrive in time to check in and grab a well deserved sip before heading out on a quest to find a sports bar that would be willing to show the Canucks - San Jose playoff off on at least one of its screens.

1300.  N.V. Roederer Brut (Anderson Valley - California)

Seeing as how this is a landmark bottle on The List, I thought it was entirely appropriate to celebrate with a bottle of bubbly that we picked up earlier in the day. Our plastic, travel flutes may not have been the finest crystal for enjoying bubbles and delivering mousse but I was glad that we'd brought them along because they certainly livened up to the occasion - particularly when kicking back and resting up in a vintage hotel room.

In a 2012 column, Eric Asimov of the New York Times referred to Roederer Estate as "as gold standard for California sparkling wine." Other writers have been similarly generous with praise, naming the Non-Vintage Brut as a Top Value and one of the best around in its price range.

Having just visited the winery, it didn't really matter what anyone else thought of the wine. Limited trunk space or not, we'd made room to fit a bottle - and were all the happier for it.

Unfortunately, we couldn't toast a Canucks playoff win with the Roederer. We managed to find our sports bar and, surprisingly, the bartender was a hockey fan and was happy to show the game on one of the bigger screens. The only folks in the bar turning their gaze to the game, however, were all Sharks fans and they took more than a little pleasure in ribbing us as the Canucks blew a last minute lead and then lost it in overtime.

Good thing the rest of the day went a whole lot better.

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 6 - Orofino

Many of the participants planning to attend the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference wouldn't be able to raise their hand if asked "How many of you have ever finished off a bottle of BC wine?" I'm willing to bet a couple bottles of that wine that even more of those hands would have to stay down if the question were to be phrased as "How many of you have tried a bottle of wine from the Similkameen Valley?"

Yes, there is more to BC wine than just the Okanagan Valley.

The Similkameen and Okanagan Valleys may be neighbours - just like Napa and Sonoma - however, the Okanagan has a much higher profile for its wines. That may not be entirely surprising, given that the Okanagan has been home to the majority of BC wineries since the modern era of the BC wine industry started in earnest in the 1980's. The Similkameen has long been known for its agricultural bounty though and many of the grapes that were grown over the last three decades were destined for Okanagan wineries.

In recent years, many of those grapes have been staying in the valley as the Similkameen has seen a burgeoning of wineries in its own right. Indeed, a few years back, the Similkameen Valley was named by enRoute Magazine as "one of the world's 5 best wine regions you've never heard of." That sentiment was echoed more recently in Vines magazine when the Valley was lauded as "one of the 6 most underrated wine regions in the world."

I figured I'd use this stop on my pre-WBC13 tour to introduce everyone to one of our favourite Similkameen wineries - Orofino Vineyards.

John and Virginia Weber started Orofino after they'd decided to change up their respective lives as a teacher and a nurse back in Saskatchewan. Thoughts of operating a greenhouse turned to growing grapes - the latter being far more "romantic" especially when you hail from Saskatchewan - when they discovered two properties were available, the first being one in Okanagan Falls and the second a six-acre vineyard in the Similkameen. They drove all night, on a Thanksgiving weekend, across the prairies and through mountain passes, to the thriving metropolis of Cawston (pop. 900-1000) and immediately "fell in love" with the Similkameen vineyard. It certainly didn't hurt that the vineyard had been planted with grapes in 1989 and the vines were already well-established. A deal was struck and the Webers then simply needed to learn something about grape growing and winemaking.

That was in 2001 and, at the time, the Similkameen wasn't known as a wine-producing region. The "frontier feeling" of the industry appealed to the Webers and they saw "a great opportunity to build something." However, they realized that participating in a new industry can be problematic as well. The small size of the industry makes it expensive to get the equipment and barrels needed to make top wine. Weather in the Similkameen can be challenging as well as the region is "really on the edge of where vinifera can survive and prosper." The weather is always going to be a concern but John feels that the local weather may also play a part in helping make BC wines as good as they can be. The prohibitively high cost of land doesn't help either - unless you're backed by deep pockets.

Realizing they were taking on a challenge, John figured he might need to supplement his experiences of pulling beer taps in England and making beer at a Saskatchewan brew pub, John took a wide-ranging collection of courses at Okanagan University College - covering farming, winemaking and marketing aspects of the industry. For the first so many years, the Webers sold their grapes, finally releasing their first vintage of Orofino wines in 2005.

Photo from Scout magazine

The wines were definitely well received from the start and it didn't hurt that the Webers had an interesting story to catch people's attention with in the early days. A healthy amount of press was garnered by the fact that Orofino was the first (and possibly still the only) winery in Canada made from straw bales. The construction method is not only environmentally friendly, its 21-inch thick walls gives the winery wonderfully high insulation properties, creating ideal conditions for maintaining constant barrel room temperatures and keeping the buildings cool in the summer, desert heat. John's sense of community building was evident when, in June 2004, they built the accompanying tasting room. A 5-day educational workshop was designed to allow 22 people the opportunity to participate in a hands-on experience of learning the dynamics of straw bale construction.

Photo from Orofino website

The Weber's innovation and commitment to environmental self-sufficiency didn't stop with the straw bales either. More recently, John was involved in the design of and installation of new "hybrid solar photovaltaic and solar thermal heating" systems. I'm not going to pretend to understand what all that means but Orofino is the first winery to this install new technology and it allows the tasting room to operate pretty much "off the grid." John has been quoted as foreseeing the application of this technology to other BC wineries that could benefit from the economic savings as well as significantly reduce the winery's energy footprint.

When asked for his view on the whole "signature grape for BC" debate, John responded that he felt "we are too young of an industry to determine that. Our market is predominantly provincial...and to ask BC consumers to love our Pinot Blanc or Cab Franc or Merlot because that is what we do best would turn our business plans upside down and we would all need to look for an export market. We should capitalize on our local/tourist market and produce a variety of wines to satisfy and keep their interest. I like making a number of wines and I am not sure which I would choose if you ask me to pick just one. That would be no fun and would stunt the growth and experimentation of what does well. Look at what Syrah has down here in the past 5 years! What's next?"

Accordingly, you might not be surprised to see that Orofino produces a healthy range of whites and reds - and even a new Moscato Frizzante bubble that has proved to be very popular. The wines are largely vineyard specific and are a combination of estate grown and locally sourced grapes.

1299.  2008 Orofino Red Bridge Red (BC)

When choosing an Orofino wine to add to The List in this post, I grabbed this bottle of Red Bridge Red as it is consistently one of our favourite BC Merlots. It was only after I'd opened the bottle that I realized that, of course, I'd chosen the one wine that Orofino makes that isn't made from Similkameen grapes. Silly me. I could have gone back and opened a different bottle to highlight the local terroir but I decided that, if the grapes are good enough for John to continually buy them as his only non-Similkameen grapes, the wine is good enough for this post.

The Red Bridge Red (now called Red Bridge Merlot) is named for a local landmark, is 100% Merlot and is a single vineyard wine from the Oak Knoll Vineyard in Kaleden - a 25 minute drive from Orofino. The wine is unfined and unfiltered and is intense with dark fruit. Production is limited to under 1000 cases and I'm a fan.

If you read through this blog, you'll also see that we've knocked back our fair share of vintages of Orofino's Riesling as well. John is particularly found of making Riesling and I'm particularly fond of drinking them. I'm really looking forward to orchestrating a side-by-side tasting of the three single vineyard Rieslings he produced for the 2012 vintage as this is a first for Orofino. All of the grapes were grown in the Similkameen - either on the home estate or at near by vineyards - and John was excited to experiment with barrel ferments and wild yeast ferments in making the wines. They aren't available yet but I'll be watching for them.

A couple of years back, I was fortunate enough to participate in a memorable luncheon at Orofino during the 2011 BC Wine Appreciation Society's Fall Bus Tour but John and Virginia also host an annual event that I've never been able to attend - but would dearly love to. The 100-mile diet took BC by storm a couple of years back but this special winery evening takes locavore dining to a new level, its being a fundraising, five course dinner that features only foods provided by artisan producers from within a 1.6 mile radius of the winery. I read that, one year, the dinner even featured butter and ricotta that was made from Orofino's own dairy cow. I'm hoping that they'll keep hosting the dinner and that, one of these years, we'll be able to fit it into our calendar.

Not to say that John's a stereotypical example of the adage, "it takes a lot of beer to make a good wine," John is a fan of craft beer and both he and Virginia would be willing to pop more Champagne corks (if only the wallets were more willing) as they do love their bubble. As mentioned, Orofino currently produces its Moscato Frizzante, but John's not adverse to trying his hand at playing with some traditional method sparkling wine down the road.

While John understands the reach of social media and tries to "use it to stay in the game," he, somewhat sheepishly, admits that Orofino's presence on Facebook and Twitter is limited as "we were really dragged into it as neither Virginia nor myself are really keen to get involved." You can follow their Twitter handle, @OrofinoWinery, though and catch some of their latest news. I'll be watching for the release of those 2012 Rieslings.

If anyone attending WBC13 is flying into Vancouver, you should consider renting a car and driving the Southern route to the Okanagan. The Hope-Princeton is one of the nicest drives in Canada and the continuation of Hwy 3 through the Similkameen just makes the journey all the more enjoyable. The Similkameen Valley is a favourite of our's and, now that wineries like Orofino - and Herder and Seven Stones and Forbidden Fruit and Clos du Soleil and others - are integral parts of the Valley, it's even more enjoyable than it already was.

And, it'd be a first hand introduction to the fact that, as wonderful as the Okanagan can be, there's lots more to be discovered when it comes to BC wine.

Oregon on The Quick

One of the most daunting tasks Boo and I faced on this road trip was going to be how to figure out which wineries to visit.  An afternoon in this valley or a day in that region didn't exactly afford us a leisurely visit to multiple wineries - particularly when I didn't really have a good grounding in any of the areas we'd be passing through.

We were going to have to wing it for a lot of this trip and draw on our "inner Blanche" to rely on the kindness of strangers to map out this little "streetcar" of a tour for us. I simply started asking wine folks we encountered "Where would you send your out-of-town friends if they only had time for one or two wineries?" and "Are they any wineries that shouldn't be missed?"

Certain names tend be repeated if you ask those questions enough and I figure they're likely going to be the best starting points. Bergström Wines was one of those names. I don't recall having ever run across them before but it seems that all the big names in the wine world definitely have: Robinson, Parker, Tanzer, Burghound, Wine Spectator and Wine & Spirits have all sung the praises of the family owned, boutique operation that only produces around 10,000 cases (depending on vintage variation) of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Our's was simply a drop in tasting. Had we known about Bergström beforehand - and had more time - I might have tried to set up a more comprehensive tour. That's not to say that we didn't have a thorough tasting though - four Pinots, a Chard and their just-released Pinot Rosé. An added treat was that we lucked into a chance to chat briefly over a glass of that Rosé with owner, John Bergström, who had just returned from out of town and had wandered by to try the Rosé for the first time himself.

Such a pleasure. Bergström will definitely be included the next time we manage to make it down Oregon way.

Considering how the morning had pretty much flown by, we figured we only had time for one more Willamette winery before we headed off to hit the coast and another name that had come up a couple of times was White Rose. Due to vineyard work and minimal signage, we didn't recognize White Rose's tasting room and we drove right by it - a couple of times - thinking it was just someone's home. We'd pretty much given up and decided that we might as well take our chances with another winery that we'd driven past during our hunt. Turned out that Domaine Serene, the neighbouring winery we happened upon, was no slouch either.

It's not hard to understand how "Serene" plays a role in the winery's name. Gorgeous lands. Beautiful facility. Sitting back and enjoying a picnic and a bottle of wine here would definitely result in some serenity - although I'm not sure how serene a morning after might be should anyone try and make their way through the whopper of a bottle they had on display. This one wasn't even full and lifting it was a good workout.

We mentioned our difficulty in finding White Rose and our host at Domaine Serene confirmed that the house we'd driven by was, indeed, the winery tasting room. Apparently, we weren't the first folks that had raised the issue. Although we were running behind, we hit White Rose's dirt road for the fourth time and finally managed to find the front door. I got the feeling that an extended visit and tasting here would be a very interesting time. From the site's history of producing quality fruit (before White Rose set up shop) and the rather unique take (to me at least) of their vine trellising, there was plenty of interesting information and sipping that had to be left for another time.

Besides, we had a coast to catch and the day wasn't getting any longer.

Our hope had been to leisurely cruise the ocean highway and fit in a couple of stops along the way but we also wanted to finish off the better part of the Oregon Coast before evening kicked in. After our hesitation to leave the Willamette wines behind us and our late start, our highway drive wasn't quite as languid or relaxed as it might have been. We drove the whole afternoon and decided to call Coos Bay and the Mill Bay Casino our home for the evening. While the casino accommodation itself was fine (if a tad pricey), we certainly didn't get any chance to find out if Coos Bay had anything to offer tourists. What little we saw would suggest the answer is no.

1298.  2011 Duck Pond Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley - Oregon)

The casino restaurant had a limited wine list and we wanted to stay local; so we chose a Willamette Pinot Gris thinking it would match nicely with our largely seafood-based dinner choices. This Duck Pond Pinot Gris apparently had the pedigree as it had won Double gold at the 2012 Wine Press Northwest Platinum Judging Competition - one of a handful of competitions that I actually take some stock in. Sorry, but for me, the wine came across more as a commercial, bulk wine than it did a double gold winner. Perhaps it was the fact that we weren't overly impressed with our meals (except for the oysters) and, as a result, the wine itself suffered.

At least we finished the bottle - which is more than I can say about the bottle of bubbly plonk that greeted us in our room. It's not often that we open a bottle and we don't drink enough that it makes it to The List. We took one sip of our gift and promptly put aside our glasses, deciding to make a martini with the duty free vodka we'd picked up at the border instead.

I suppose there are some benefits to freewheeling a vacation and having the ability to play it by ear and set your agenda as the days progress. That's not usually me though. As a rule, I tend to have vacations - and particularly accommodation - mapped out long before we hit the road. This time, however, we decided to leave some gaps in the trip for flexibility and this was the first of those gaps. I think next time, I might need to do a little more planning when it comes to taking in the Oregon Coast  though. Winging it didn't seem to work so well for us this time.

Ah well. One evening and one dinner do not a vacation make. After all, we'd picked up some lovely wines in the morning and we've still got plenty of miles ahead of us - and lots more wine that will agree with us. Of that, I'm sure.

Rex Hill and Me

Par for the course, the start to our road trip was later than we'd hoped but then can you expect anything but a delayed onset when you don't finish packing the night before? Luckily, we weren't hit with a long wait at the border and we actually found ourselves driving over the Portland bridges by early afternoon.

Thinking we'd likely stop for a bit in Portland on the way home, we just kept on driving to try and fit in a couple tastings in the Willamette Valley. I know very little about Oregon wines and wineries but I certainly had my interest tweaked last summer at the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland. I considered myself lucky enough to be part of the bus that enjoyed a tour, tasting and dinner in the vineyard at Rex Hill as a conference side trip. Being thoroughly impressed at that time, I figured Rex Hill would be an appropriate place to start this time around.

Our schedule was limited to a quick sidle up to the bar in Rex Hill's gracious tasting room - and it quickly became clear that Boo and I were going to be sorely tested on this trip. Firstly, we brought the Miata for the trip. I mean who wouldn't for a summer road trip? Top down on winding coastal roads is a no brainer - even if trunk space was going to present a major challenge. But, on top of little space for wine purchases, Canadian Customs only allows each of us to bring back two - that's TWO, as in one, two, not two dozen - bottles of wine.

We could have easily gone over our limit at Rex Hill alone. We limited ourselves to a couple of single vineyard Pinots though and took off for Raptor Ridge, one of the other wineries I had a favourable impression of at WBC12.

Raptor Ridge is named for the many raptors that make their homes in the vineyard - red-tailed hawks, kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks and owls. The vineyard is located on a ridge of the Chehalem Mountains  and the tasting room offered a superb view of the surrounding area. A small producer, each vintage consists of only around 7,500 cases; however, in addition to Oregon's celebrated Pinot Noir, Raptor Ridge also interestingly produces a Grüner Veltliner and a Tempranillo.

Our afternoon had flown by and it was time to make our way to McMinville, our resting spot for Day One.

While trying to locate the historically handsome Hotel Oregon, we happened to drive past Dobbes Family Estate. With Boo's last name being "Dobbs" (without the "e"), we had to make a pit stop - even if there was only about 15 minutes until closing time. Despite our late arrival, we were treated to an extensive tasting flight of single vineyard and cuvée Pinots, as well as some Syrah and a fortified, port-styled wine that we needed to buy regardless of our Custom's limitations.

Throughout our wine tastings, we checked with our hosts for their top recommendations for wineries and restaurants when visitors are faced with restrictive time frames. One of those suggestions was to head off to the back room of Nick's restaurant, which just happened to be around the corner from our hotel.

We also discovered a possible saving grace for our wine purchase and storage problems - Bring Your Own wine. By taking advantage of as many BYO restaurants as possible on this trip, we were going to be able to be a little more appreciative with our wine purchases.

1297.  2009 Rex Hill - Shea Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley - Oregon)

I don't generally reach for a Pinot when dining on Italian fare, but they certainly drink lighter Chianti and Valpolicella by the gallon in Italy. So, I didn't think we'd be losing out on our Shea Vineyard Pinot. One thing we quickly learned is that there seems to be a lot of correlation between the Shea Vineyard and fine Oregon Pinot Noir. All three of the wineries we visited today offer a Shea Vineyard Pinot. We were advised that Shea is perhaps the state's best-known vineyard site and that wineries line up to buy the fruit produced by Dick and Deidre Shea. Fewer than a couple of dozen wineries are fortunate enough to get the coveted fruit.

Even those wineries that do get their hands on Shea fruit don't necessarily get a lot of it. The 2009 vintage was a big one in the Willamette but Rex Hill was only able to make 247 cases of Shea Pinot Noir.

Seeing as how special our bottle was, I was a little concerned that we were drinking it too soon. I'd normally like to lay bottles of this pedigree down for at least a couple of years, but I think it's fair to say that it was drinking beautifully. Lush and fruit forward, it was a big Pinot but it was a great match to our meatballs, pizza and lasagna. Starting off with this Rex Hill was a real treat. Indeed, if every bottle we tried on this trip were this tasty, it was going to be one enjoyable trip.

If only.

It had been a long first day though and we wanted to try and hit another couple wineries in the morning before heading out to the coast. As such, we reluctantly passed on the Hotel Oregon's rooftop bar and their McMenamin's home brews.

And this was only Day One.

Terracotta and Kung Fu

Boo and I are heading off on our West Coast road trip in the morning and neither one of us felt like cooking or cleaning - especially when we still had to pack our bags. The obvious solution was to head out for a bite to eat. We decided to hit Terracotta, the new "Modern Chinese" restaurant that's opened up in Gastown.

Terracotta is on the small side and, not too surprisingly, they have a limited wine list - maybe four whites and four reds. We were hoping for a bit of spice with our crispy squid and ginger beef. So, we went full bore and hoped to pair everything with the Riesling.

1296. 2011 Charles Smith Wines - Kung Fu Girl Riesling (Columbia Valley - Washington)

The Kung Fu Girl seemed appropriate seeing as how we were hoping to hit the Washington border in less than 12 hours. Charles Smith is one of those bigger than life Washington winemakers that I see in all sorts of articles and news stories. I don't know his wines however and, having made a quick search of the blog, I think this is the first to be added to The List.

Charles Smith Wines is a second brand, started in 2006 and was "themed as 'The Modernist Project'" as it focused on immediate drinkability - since that's how most modern drinkers consume the wine they buy. Immediacy doesn't mean that craftsmanship needs to be tossed out with the grape skins though. Kung Fu Girl might be an entry level bottle but it is still a single vineyard production that isn't afraid of letting the minerality and acidity of the grape shine through. Indeed, this 2011 vintage was named a Best Value Wine by Wine Spectator for the third year in a row.

No doubt, Smith gets asked "What's the story behind the name" in every interview he gives. His stock answer is that "both Riesling and Girls kick ass."

This might be the easiest of Smith's wines to find. He produces a good number of wines (perhaps up to thirty) but he often doesn't make more than a hundred or two cases of many of those wines. Kung Fu Girl sees a bigger production though and it's become a bit of a signature wine for him.

I don't know that the Kung Fu knocked me out - considering all the wonderful Rieslings we see in our market - but it was certainly good enough that we'd finished off the bottle long before we ran out of food. That's got to be a good sign.

With the wine gone, however, it was time to head home and get down to packing. I might've preferred sticking around to order a second bottle though.

President's Night and a Preview Cab

Prior to becoming the wine geek that I am today, I downed my fair share (in fact, more than my fair share) of beer during my university days at the Deke House. I don't get out to UBC and the old alma mater very often nowadays - just the odd visit to Alumni Weekend or an alumni night at the fraternity. This was the first time, however, that the boys have gathered at the actual Deke House for President's Night. The old house, where I experienced all my school days memories, is now long gone. Indeed, the new house has likely been around for at least a decade but this was the first time that I've been at the house while there was still daylight.

Doesn't look too bad from the outside.

There wasn't a huge turnout for the evening's festivities but there were enough of us to keep the stories flowing - not to mention the wine. I'm not sure but this may well be one of my few evenings at the Deke House where there was more wine than beer consumed and, at least for me, I have a feeling the evening's primary wine might have been chosen because of the lion that is part of the logo. The fraternity's symbol is the Rampant Lion after all. Regardless of the reason, it's a California wine that I wasn't familiar with and it provided for some good conversation seeing as how Boo and I are heading down to California wine country in a matter of days.

1295.  2008 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

As mentioned, I'm not familiar with the Hess brand but I believe I've noted that the Hess Select label is the more the entry level of their three labels. Made more for "immediate enjoyment" (according to their website), the wine is primarily Cab Sauv with a bit of Syrah (8%) and Merlot (7%) added for good measure. The grapes are sourced from Mendocino, Lake and Napa Counties to incorporate the different qualities that each of the different regions have to offer and it was easily approachable enough.

Seeing as how I'm as far behind in my writing as I am, I think I'll just refer you to one of the more interesting pieces I saw in researching the winery and the wine. I thought this "Forbes Wine of the Week" story did a nice job on capturing a bit about the winery, the man behind the wine and the wine world that is California. The actual wine of the week wasn't this Select Cab but I think you'll get the idea.

My evening at the Deke House was a tad different from days of yore though. My earlier days were truly filled with "school nights" and they often didn't end after a couple glasses of wine. Nowadays, I just use the "school night" term as a reason for behaving when I have to work in the morning. The lesson learned might be a tad sad - watch the celebrating when work's going to come a'callin soon enough - but it's a valuable one.  Maybe I killed fewer brain cells than I might have originally thought.

Florida Wines?

Boo had to take a short trip to Florida for a family gathering. So, I asked him to keep an eye open and try to pick up a couple local wines as something different to try.

Locally made wine isn't usually the first agricultural product one thinks of when talking Florida, but the history books apparently note the St. Augustine area as being the birthplace of American wine. Spanish missionaries are credited with growing grapes for sacramental wine as early as 1562.

Despite the state's storied past, I don't think there are any Californian winemakers quaking in their boots yet. There does appear to be a couple dozen wineries in Florida nowadays though, producing wines made from grapes and from tropical fruit. Due to the state's tropical climate, traditional vitis vinifera grapes do not grow well and, accordingly, grape growers look more to hybrid varieties that have been developed to flourish next to the beach loving locals. The primary grapes used for winemaking in Florida - like Muscadine, Blanc du Bois and Noble - are hardly varieties that you'd find in Napa, Oregon or Washington but I have seen them grown further up the East coast to be used in making Virginia and North Carolina wines.

I've also seen mention of Florida wines made from tropical fruit like mango, key lime, oranges and grapefruit and I was rather hoping that Boo would bring back an orange or a key lime wine. That was not to be, however, as he didn't see any of those bottles on his limited journeys. Indeed, his kin and most stores looked at him rather strangely when he even asked about Florida wines.

1295.  N.V. San Sebastian Vintners White (Florida)

Boo did manage to find a few Florida wines though and we opened one promptly upon his return. San Sebastian has been around since 1996 and the winery is found just outside of the St. Augustine historical district. They currently produce just shy of a dozen different wines - including cream sherry and a port - and all of their wines are made from grapes.

The Vintners White is made from Muscadine and, although the website proudly trumpets all the awards and medals the wine has won, I don't know that this is the wine that is going to put Florida wineries on the international map. I don't try a lot of Muscadine wines; so, I can hardly speak from any position of authority, but the simplicity of the wine and the decidedly off-dry nature aren't going to result in my lobbying for local wine shops to bring in some Floridian wines any time soon.

I will still look forward to trying an orange or key-lime wine though.

Looking Ahead to WBC13 - Week 5 - Painted Rock

The first so many stops on this Pre-WBC13 tour of favourite BC wineries have largely been long-time players and innovators on the Okanagan wine scene. Today, I'm stopping at a new kid on the block - albeit a NKOTB that sang out loudly "look at me" from Day One. And with good reason.

Painted Rock Estate Winery offered its first wines for sale in September 2009 and there really hasn't been any turning back since that time. From his earliest conception of establishing a winery, proprietor, John Skinner, has focused on delivering premium wines - and, in producing a "premium" wine, he takes a global perspective. John doesn't just look to see his wines compared to those his Okanagan neighbours are making, he wants the world to notice Painted Rock. He's a firm believer that the Okanagan is capable of making - and needs to make - superb wines and he set out looking to participate in and, hopefully, to help elevate an industry that was still largely in its infancy.

During his previous life as an investment broker, John travelled extensively and had become both a student of and collector of wine. That hankering for fine wine ultimately developed into the goal of owning his own winery and, although considerations were given to locating in France or elsewhere, numerous visits to the Okanagan to scout vineyard sites or operating wineries, led John to ultimately decide to start from scratch. By starting anew, he realized that he wouldn't inherit any problems or issues of an existing vineyard or winery.

He found his site in 2004 - a 60 acre parcel on bench land just south of Penticton on Skaha Lake. The site had been an apricot farm - the largest in the British Commonwealth at one time - however, it had lain fallow for 17 years as the farm had fallen prey to and had been devastated in the 1980's by a gypsy moth infestation. John purchased the property in 2004 and the first year of operations consisted of a massive clearing of old tree stumps.

Over the next two years, the newly cleared vineyard was planted with Bordeaux reds, Syrah and a small block of Chardonnay - with multiple clones of each variety. Planting Syrah wasn't part of the initial planting strategy; however, John tips his hat to BC wine writer emeritus, John Schreiner, who strongly suggested that Painted Rock consider planting it as writer John was keenly aware of what was succeeding elsewhere in the southern Okanagan. Nowadays, winery John gets a special thrill working with the Syrah, particularly because it wasn't part of the original plan.

Indeed, during his years in business, John knew that you needed to trust others when you weren't the expert. When setting the groundwork for Painted Rock, John saw the biggest obstacle to making great wine in BC as simply being the relative youth of the region. Not having any experience himself in farming or winemaking, he brought in consultants to help build the business from within. Whether those consultants have been recognized international winemakers like Bordeaux's Alain Sutre or experienced locals like Michael Bartier, John looks to learn from prior experiences that are there to be shared by other growers, owners and winemakers.

A few years back, John and his new Painted Rock wines paired up with the Rain City Grill for one of the BC Wine Appreciation Society's most memorable dinners. One of the entertaining stories John told that night revolved around a bit of self-deprecation and his learning curve in winemaking. He recounted how, knowing that they were growing two clones of Syrah in the vineyard, he asked Alain Sutre if they should consider producing both a Syrah and a Shiraz to take advantage of the two clones. Sutre apparently looked at him and asked if he was crazy. Sutre went on to tell him that, with wine, 1+1 do not equal 2 but that, rather, they can equal 3 or more when blended. He advised John that he'd be better off to capitalize on the strong points of both clones and trust that the resulting wine would be both more complex and more enjoyable.

A second story goes that Sutre was so impressed by the Painted Rock terroir that he asked to have his contract extended so that he could continue to see how the vineyard would evolve. He's been quoted as having said that Painted Rock could well be the Pétrus of the Okanagan. Not a bad comparison when you consider that Pétrus is perennially one of the most sought after wines in the world.

Sutre has also played a large role in determining the blend for Painted Rock's flagship wine, Red Icon. In striving to get the most from the vineyard, John asked Sutre to look for a real expression of the Okanagan and the Painted Rock lands and to not simply look to practices that speak purely of Bordeaux. The fruit was all estate grown and John and Sutre were both surprised to find that their blending tests on the first vintage consistently led them to a result that was unique - even for the Okanagan - one that featured Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot as the predominant components.

The resulting wine helped validate John's mandate to cut no corners and to strive for excellence. Indeed, when asked, if given the opportunity, was there was one of his wines that John would like all WBC13 attendees to try, he advised that it would be the 2009 Red Icon. It's the 2007 vintage that I'm adding to The List with this post though. We'd been saving it - both for a special occasion and to give it some time to age - but this seems like an appropriate time to pull the cork.

1294.  2007 Painted Rock Red Icon (VQA Okanagan Valley)

If they hadn't taken note already, BC wine drinkers in the know certainly cottoned onto the arrival of Painted Rock when it was named Best New Winery at the 2009 Okanagan Fall Wine Festival or when the '07 Red Icon and the '07 Cabernet Sauvignon took two of only eleven BC Lieutenant Governor's Awards for Excellence given out in 2010. Red Icon was that unique blend of 33% Cab Franc, 20% Petit Verdot, 16% of both Cab Sauv and Merlot and 15% Malbec. Painted Rock's terroir was speaking - and loudly.

That award worthy pedigree was still evident as Boo and I were both enthralled with the wine. The nose immediately jumped out of the glass with ripe dark fruit but the wine was hardly aggressive with an Aussie or a Californian fruit forwardness. Rather, what struck us most, was the almost velvet texture of the wine on the tongue. There was an integration of smooth, ripe tannin, acidity and fruit that just lingered and got even better when paired with some grilled flank steak.

This was our only bottle of the '07 Red Icon, but I'm happy to say that we have a few other Painted Rock bottles salted away.

The accolades have continued for the winery. Indeed, Painted Rock won another two Lt. Gov. Awards in 2012 for the '09 Red Icon and the '09 Syrah and that same Syrah took a Silver medal at the 2012 Syrah du Monde in France where it was up against 445 wines from 24 countries. The winery was the #1 rated BC winery at the 2011 Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards and '09 Red Icon as named Canada's Best Red Blend in that same competition.

For that first vintage (and, indeed, the second) Painted Rock didn't have its own winemaking facilities and the 2007 and 2008 vintages were made with the assistance of fellow Okanagan wineries - the '07 at Poplar Grove and the '08 at Stag's Hollow - and, to date, the public tasting room at the winery has been a small shack with a great view.

The story on the tasting room is about to change, however. The winery is excited by the prospect of opening up a spectacular, new tasting room by the end of the summer. One that might be just a tad more representative of the premium wines that are served there.

Unfortunately, as you can see by the photo that John forwarded to me this week, there's still a ways to go with the new facility and it won't be completed by the arrival of the Wine Bloggers Conference. The winery's hoping for an August 1st opening and I'm certainly looking forward to a first opportunity to enjoy some wine there. If we're lucky, maybe this year's BCWAS Fall Bus Tour will feature a tour of the new digs.

Even with the new facilities, Painted Rock's target production is a relatively small 5000 cases a year. That doesn't make for a whole lot of availability - especially when John has already entered into agreements to export his wines to growing markets in China and Japan.

With all the recent discussion and debate over a possible need for Okanagan wineries to focus on a signature variety, John takes the view that the region is starting to identify grapes that do particularly well in different parts of the region. He notes the excitement arising from how beautifully Syrah is working from Penticton south and how Riesling and Pinot Noir are seeing equal success further north. He's quick to point out, however, that the Okanagan is a diverse region and that real progress isn't necessarily going to come from a signature variety. Rather, he sees that progress coming from the knowledge and experience that continues to build as winemakers and growers become more aware of Okanagan terroir and regional strengths - and as more wineries commit to producing wines of even higher quality.

It's that commitment to understanding the specific strengths and terroir of his own vineyard that also makes John passionate about the creation of sub-appellations in the Okanagan - starting with the Skaha Bench as being a prime example of lands that are different from anywhere else in the province. Believing that it honours the consumer to define exactly where the wine they're drinking is from, he probably couldn't have a better argument on his side than the ability to pour his Painted Rock wines.

Sub-appellation or not, John Skinner and Painted Rock have definitely put the Skaha Bench on the BC wine map. If any WBC13 participants hadn't heard of Skaha before they arrived in Penticton, hopefully, they'll know a lot more before they leave. I know that if John has any say in the matter, his presence will be prominent at the Conference.  I'd catch him if you can.

A Run, A Broom and Some Bubbles

Busy day today.

Photo from Vancouver Province

The morning started off with the 2013 Vancouver Sun Run. Coming only a week after the Boston Marathon bombings, there was a special feel to this year's run - particularly as much of the course and many of the runners were decked out in blue and yellow - the colours of the Boston Marathon.

My "training" for the annual 10k jaunt hadn't been what it might have - or, perhaps, should have - been. So, I wasn't expecting to set any personal bests or anything similar. I did, however, have a bit of a time deadline hanging over my head.

Our curling season was coming to an end today and I needed to get to our playoff game on time and in a reasonable state. The run started at 9.00 a.m. and I had to finish my run, get home, shower and make it to the curling rink by noon. There wasn't going to be much time to hang around with 50,000 or so of my closest running buddies.

Luckily, I made it to the curling rink with a couple of minutes to spare. Unfortunately, we lost our playoff game.

The good thing about our league is that, win or lose, there's generally going to be a little something to drink after the game. We drowned the sorrows of our season-ending loss with a beer and, promptly, headed off to get ready for the league's closing "banquet" that evening. Seeing as how Kaz lives only two blocks from the banquet location, he invited Fisher, M'og and me to meet at his place for a further cocktail before joining up with the other teams.

1293.  N.V. Chamdeville Blanc de Blancs Brut (Bordeaux - France)

To toast the season that was, Kaz popped a celebratory cork on a bubbly that's new to me. I couldn't find out any information on the wine during a bit of an internet search - other than it seems to be readily available in all sorts of markets. Given its approachable price of $15 (in the Vancouver market) and its "generic" pedigree, I'd assume this is a commercially produced, value-priced, crowd pleaser. And, please our crowd is exactly what it did.

I don't think this Chamdeville will ever be confused with higher end Champagne but I can see it taking the place of any number of Cava's or Prosecco's as a regular pour. Quite pleasant on its own, it could easily pair with OJ for brunch or with Aperol when lounging in the back yard, dreaming of Venice. It was well worth taking a note of the label.

After our quick celebration, it was off to our beer-guzzling curling buds and a few last cheers before we all took the summer off from the ice and brooms. Between the run, the curling, the beer and the bubbles, I was fairly tuckered and called it an early night - leaving the real partying to the younger guns. Busy day, indeed.