Verdicchio - worth a try this summer if you can find it!

Unfortunately for us, Verdicchio wines from Italy's Marche region, just to the east of Tuscany on the Adriatic coast, aren't exactly the most common wines around but luckily, there are a couple floating around the market here in BC as well as Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and all the other Canadian provinces. All I have to say about wines made from the Verdichio grape is this: if you come across them in your neighbourhood liquor store, they are definitely worth a try on a warm summer day when eating seafood, or just about any traditional light summer fare.
Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi is an appelation in Italy for crisp, refreshing unoaked white wines with surprising body and richness.

The wines I tried today were from one producer, Marotti Campi and his verdicchio wines are known under the name of Luzano Verdicchio Dei Castelli de Jesi. He ferments his wine on the lees (dead yeast cells) and allows them to stay there in steel vats for quite a long time. This adds a nice complexity and toasty/bready flavour to the wine. The tasting I went to today had the purpose of showing the ageability of these spectacular italian whites. While I thoroughly enjoyed the new 2008 vintage which was crisp with good minerality and some citrus notes along with a savory edge, it lost alot of it's glamor after I tried the older wines. Although it's still worth getting the 2008's and the 2007's that are on the market as they are thoroughly enjoyable now. Also, another thing to note about this area is that production varies immensely between producers so while some may make wines that are aged on the lees for complexity and to offer the possibility of longevity, others may opt for a more refreshingly crisp and simple route. I can't guarantee what you're getting from the store near you but either way, it's a wine for the summer months ahead; especially since most of the wines from this region seem to be under the $20 mark.

Here's a little look at how these wines developped with age. This was my first vertical tasting of this style and I hope you'll find my notes as educational as I found the tasting itself!
While the 2007 was still acidic and refreshing, it showed it's time on the lees significantly more than the 2008. It was again very mineraly with crisp citrus and savory notes but it was rounder and softer on the palate with a bit more zing. I also felt that there was a bit more ripe orchard fruit and maybe some grapefruit...but that's getting into the useless technicalities from hanging out with a bunch of wine geeks like myself all day!

The 2004 really took me by surprise. I thought that this wine would start to fall flat by this point but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was starting to develop some beautiful secondary notes distinctive of age. Again, it was charastically minerally but it started to show some honey and dried apricot notes. It went REALLY well with this albacore tuna that was served. To be fair to the other wines though, they pretty much all went well with Tuna - it was the sauces that made the difference.

On the 2002 I saw a lot of the same stuff as the 2004 but more so with a bit more honey and a bit of orange rind as well as a few toasty notes from the lees which were showing up well again (better than the '04 anyway). The acidity in this wine was still holding up fantastically and the complexities given to it by age made it phenomenal for food pairings.

Now onto the 2000 - by far my favorite of the flight. it was all honey, dried fruits, herbal/savory notes with some floral scents that made their way throughout each vintage. On the palate, this wine retained it's acidity so well I had to keep reminding myself that this wine was 10 years old. It was rich, crisp with similar notes to the nose. Slightly less herbal than the others which might be one of the benefits of age. Absolutely fantastic overall and sadly probably more than $20 - but hey, if you buy a case of good '07, it'll be like this in a few years!! This one went fantastically with Ahi Tuna - unfortunately I forget what kind of marinade it was in.

We then tried this winemakers first vintage - the 1999. This was the only one with oak on it. When i first tried it I thought it was severely lacking in something... maybe depth, body, acidity. Anyway, I thought this wine was dead. There was vertually no fruit left and nothing up front. Everything was in the back of the mouth. This wine however, surprised me when it came time for the food. We had very simply done, marinated BC scallops and when paired together, this 1999 just sparkled. Suddenly it felt like an explosion of flavours and texture. I couldn't beleive the transformation in this wine and I'd certainly never experienced anything like it before. It was simply spectacular.

So the moral of this tasting is; Turns out unoaked white wines can be aged if they are the right white wines. A good area to check out for ageable white wines is Marche in Italy. At least a few Verdicchio from classico areas in Marche can be found in all markets across Canada. Look for one that has had some time on the lees. The older it gets, the better it goes with simple seafood like scallops, tuna, halibut (classic pairing of the region).
Worth a try for all those wine adventurers out there!

As a side note, I poured the 2007 of this vintage recently at a BC Liquor Store and it had overall some really nice reviews. One person even commented that it would go well with Avocado and I would probably have to agree with that due to the creaminess found both in the wine and the avocado (guacamole and white wine anyone!!). I believe the '07 vintage is still available at quite a few BC Liquor stores in the lower mainland so check it out!

Estampa Malbec/Petit Sirah 2008

At $17 my first impression was that I had spent a little too much on this bottle of wine. I found the acidity in this wine to be a little off balance with very little other characteristics to counter the acid and make this wine palatable. Over the next 30 minutes or so of exposure to air I noticed a marked change in this wine. The acid became more integrated and the previously harsh powdery tannins smoothed right out. On the nose, the black fruit still held strong with some nice savoury spices and herbaceousness coming through. On the palate, after the overpowering acidity faded away, I found that black fruit and spice made this wine fairly enjoyable. Others said they liked this wine because of it's full body and spiciness.
Overall, not a bad wine and definitely a good choice to bring along to a dinner party. I think this wine shows itself best when paired with food, especially meats. It would also probably show really well at a BBQ.

This wine is pretty interesting in that Malbec is so rarely seen in Chilean wines but the grape does well in the Colchagua Valley of Chile and this area is gaining reputation as a producer of top world class wines. I expect we'll be seeing a lot more wines like this in the future here in the northern hemisphere.

This wine is available for $17.00 at Marquis Wine Cellars on Davie St. in Vancouver.

Awesome label and it's actually a good wine

Usually I'm scared off by labels that are flashy and cool but this wine was given to my manager as a blind taste and he thought it was a much higher end wine than it's actually classified as so I decided to give it a shot. After giving it a try, I have to agree! Even if you never try this wine, and you really souled since it's $15, check out this winery's website. It ROCKS! The wine is made by 2 girls out in California and what I love most about their philosophy towards wine is that it's best enjoyed when the pretentiousness is taken out of the mix. This allows them to make something fun and adventurous and when you consider that in this bottle you can find a mix of 5 grapes, one of which I've never even heard of before, fun and adventurous is definitely what you get.

This red wine has a very bright, dark, purplish but mostly brick red complexion. At first sniff, I found that the dark Merlot fruits had a dominant role to play in this blend of Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Tempranillo and Alicante Bouschet, a unique and increasingly rare grape variety that has Grenache as one of it's parents. On the nose I got a lot of berries, both black and red and also some blueberries thrown in the mix. I also smelled and tasted grape and to be honest, despite the fact that wine is made from grapes, I've never gotten grapes out of red wine. There's really a lot going on in this glass. Some chocolate powder, some pepper which is classic of Californian wine, especially Zinfandel's, some cedar-like woody smells. The layers just keep going. On the palate, this wine is berry filled and grapey, with chocolate making a proud showing. The tannins are a little rough around the edges at first but tone down with air and food. It has a medium mouthfeel that picks up around the finish and isn't as jammy as most Californian basic reds. Definitely a unique blend that changes and evolves in the glass giving the observant drinker a party for the senses. Overall, it has great fruit, great complexity, nice finish, balanced acidity and is well worth every penny of the $15 I paid for it. Something I will start recommending as an entry level Cali red.

I'll hobnob this wine anyday!

From Dictionary.com: hobnob\HAHB-nahb\ , intransitive verb;
1.To associate familiarly

And this Pinot Noir presents itself with familiarity right from the start. With it's bright brick red colour and clean, black cherry, red fruit and cedar nose and onto a red fruit filled palate it's elegance and charm makes you want to be friends with this wine from the very first sip. It's tannins are strong enough to hold up to many foods but it is so well integrated into the wine that it has the potential for great gastronomic versatility. It went surprisingly well with my avocado, jalapeno and Monterrey jack omelet sandwich. It had a lot more fresh fruit than what I'd have generally expected from something coming out of southern France but I'm really happy about that. It also opens up to more really nice red fruits if given a few extra minutes. The only thing that was a little disappointing in this wine was the first part of the mouthfeel that was almost watery. The wine picked up near the middle and finished off very nicely but just that first moment when it hit the tongue lacked a bit of weight. With food however, or even after the first few sips, this feeling starts to fade and this wine becomes an easy drinking, Sunday afternoon pleasure wine.

Light, easy drinking, versatile, elegant and under $20 bucks. Definitely a wine to go on the do not forget about me list.

Southern France has been coming out with some really great stuff over the past little while, partly due to a huge market, in France and world wide, for French wines that are more than your basic table wines and partly due to lots of investments and improvements in the wine making of the area. This wine promotes itself as a Vin de Pays d'Oc which means that it's slightly above the most basic of French wines (the table wine) and is therefore allowed to mark down the grape varieties in the bottle. Pinot Noir in this case. This region encompasses a good chunk of southern France around the Mediterranean coast from just west of Marseille through to to the Spanish border. The grapes can essentially come from anywhere in this area and what probably happened with this wine is that someone bought a bunch of grapes or grape juice and bottled it under their name, so really as a consumer we don't know exactly where the grapes came from in this vast area. However the juice got in the bottle, something right was done and we ended up with a product that I'd most definitely recommend and drink again.

$17 at a BC Liquor Store near you and $19.35 at my store if you feel like coming to visit! Worth checking out for your next dinner party or your next regular ol' get together.

Alright, I just pulled out all the wines that are backlogged that I want to try for my blog. Most of them are from the store I work at but some of them are not. Most importantly, they are all under $20.
I now have 15 bottles sitting in front of me and I must admit that the task of trying to decide which to taste and review first is a bit overwhelming. Therefore, I’m putting it to a poll. I’ll list the wines and trust you guys to tell me which you’re most interested in and I’ll go from there.

RED:
California;
Bear Flag Red Wine Blend #1, Moedesto California, 13% abv, Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Merlot, Tempranillo blend, crazy art, super funky label, $14.75 Village wine store in Park Royal, $12.99 BC liquor stores

South America;
Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere blend 2008, 13.5% abv, Valle de Colchagua Chile, organically grown grapes and carbon neutral delivery, $17.05 Village Wine store in Park Royal, $14.99 BC Liquor Stores

Las Moras Reserve 2007 Tannat, 14% abv, San Juan Argentina, cool grape variety that I’ve never tried before :D, $17.?? Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $14.99 BC Liquor Stores

Australia;
Shot in the Dark Shiraz/Petite Sirah 2008, 14.5% abv, very generic but I’ve heard good things about it from knowledgeable people who had it stuck in a blind tasting. $15.85 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $12.99 BC Liquor Stores,

Rolling 2008 Shiraz, 14% abv, Central Ranges Australia, whole bunch of awards given for this wine, $18.25 Village Wine Store in Park Royal

South Africa;
The Wolftrap Boekenhoutskloof 2008 Syrah (68%) Mourvedre (30%) Viognier (2%), 13.8% abv, Western Cape South Africa, Came recommended by a colleague, $17.?? Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $14.99 BC Liquor Stores, $13.95 LCBO

France;
Hob Nob 2008 Pinot Noir, 13% abv, Vin de Pays d’Oc Southern France, I got it because in class this week we’re studying southern France and I thought it would be good to give a wine from that region a go before going into class. $19.35 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $16.99 (2007) BC Liquor Stores,

Domaine de La Renaudie 2008, Touraine AOC Loire Valley France, Could be a variety of grape varieties but probably Cabernet Franc based, 12% abv, $19.00 Marquis Wine Cellars

Mouton Cadet 2007 Bordeaux, 12.5% abv, as basic as they get for Bordeaux and a very unpretentious wine. I’ve had the 2005 and 2006 vintages and have enjoyed them. They are associated with the wine making empire of Baron Philippe de Rothschild and so will always guarantee a minimum of quality. Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot blend, $14.95 BC Liquor Stores, $14.25 LCBO

Italy;
Ricossa Antica Casa Barbera D’Asti DOC 2006, Piedmonte Italy, 13.5% abv, Barbera is the grape variety, Piedmonte wines are just magical in general which is why I’m excited for this wine, $18.20 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $15.98 (05/06) BC Liquor Stores

Spain;
Trio 2004 Syrah-Tempranillo-Cabernet, 13.5% abv, one of the most popular wines in the stores so I figured there’s got to be some reason why people keep going back to it so I might as well give it a try. $13.65 Village Wine Store in Park Royal,

WHITES:
Italy;
Villa Chiopris Pinot Grigio 2008, Fruili DOC Italy, 12.5% abv, I’ve only ever had a sip of this wine and I thought it was way more expensive than it actually is so I want to explore it a bit more. $19.35 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $18.95 LCBO

Portugal;
Sogrape Gazela 2009 Vinho Verde DOC, 9% abv, Neutral wine, great for summer, definitely a wine to be drunk on a sunny day. Super light and neutral, $12.50 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $9.99 BC Liquor Stores, $8.95 LCBO

ROSE;
South America;
Pascual Toso 2009 Malbec Rose, Mendoza Argentina, 13% abv, I’m fascinated by the idea of making a rose out of malbec. I’m surprised by the high alcohol volume but hopefully this wine will turn out ok. $16.00 Village Wine Store in Park Royal, $13.99 BC Liquor Stores, 11.95 LCBO

OTHER;
South America;
Sua Lemon Sparkling Wine with natural Lemon pulp, 10.5% abv, sounds just fantastic. Who wouldn’t want to try this with summer coming up? $16.95 Village Liquor Store at Park Royal,

The simple joys of the Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine

Clocking in at $20 exactly, this wine is worth every penny, and maybe even more. All I have to say about this wine is that it is absolutely fantastic. Of course, with my tastes, it has that hint of eccentricity and one or two unique flavours that make it a rather obscure wine in most North American wine stores, but it can be found for those willing to seek it out.
The wine I'm here to tell you about today is another Loire Valley wine, but from the region just to the west of Tourraine where that Gamay from my last post was from. This wine is from the Nantais and carries the appellation name of Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine. Wines from this area must be made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne grapes and a common trend is for wine makers to employ lees stirring as a technique. This is essentially the process of aging the wine for a period of time of the deposits of dead or residual yeast cells and tends to add an extra layer of complexity to the wine as well as notes of bread and baked goods.
Domaine Pierre de la Grange, also sometimes referred to as Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin is widely recognized as a wine that provides excellent value for money. It is also on the list of wines imported by Louis/Dressner in the US, an importer who tends to bring over a lot of wines that appeal to my palate.
At 12%abv, it's not a heavily alcoholic wine but makes up it's body with what I feel are the flavours imparted by the lees stirring. It is a pale wine with notes of Baked bread, red apple/orchid fruits, stony and mineral with some white blossoms coming through. This wine kind of made me picture freshly baked apple pie. On the palate, it was pretty much the same as the nose. I felt that the lees added a nice bready complexity to the wine and also added some roundness and richness. I thought there might have been a hint of oak but I might have been confusing that with the yeast flavours. It turns out that there was some old wood aging which explains why it was such a background flavour and so well integrated. The finish was nice and long and I would have happily followed this bottle up with another of the same a few times over. A great wine and especially with summer coming around, a wine worth trying while enjoying the sunshine, the beach and the ocean.
Can't wait for the next bottle!!

Loire Valley meets the Gamay Grape

Gamay is just one of those grapes that's hard not to like, unless you don't like simple, honest and straightforward. It's a kind and peaceful wine that in my mind is perfect for just about any occasion. I've tried Gamay wines from Ontario, BC and of course also it's native homeland in Beaujolais which is in the southern part of Burgundy in France. All of them have pleased me for their delightful character and charm, their fresh fruitiness and uncomplicated persona. They aren't wines that want to slap you in the face or screw you over, they just want to help you forget about how evil the world can be for a little while.

When I came across the Domaine Octavie 2008 Gamay from Touraine in the Loire Valley, I immediately knew I would have to try this wine. The Loire Valley in France in a part of the wine world that I've only recently started exploring. It has a variety a climates and as a result produces a whole range of red, white, rose, sweet and sparkling wines.

I wasn't fully aware until I started researching this bottle that Gamay was much of a grape in the Loire Valley, and while it's not one of the main grapes of the area, it's common enough to at least get a mention in the litterature for the area.
Domaine Octavie is part of Terra Vitis which encompasses vitners and growers from around France who are working together to promote sustainable viticultural practices. This movement towards environmentally concious grape growing practice is a trend that seems to be taking root more in the Loire Valley than anywhere else in France, although many other areas such as Burgundy are seeing a growing trend in this direction. I personally beleive that it does make a difference in the wine and this is part of the reason why I love the Loire Valley so much. Plus, I just like alot of the wines from here. What's also nice about the Loire is that Robert Parker never really liked wines from this area so the prices are still reasonable and the winemakers tend to stick to the ideas they have for their wines instead of trying to create wine specifically for the Parkerized market. Consumers therefore end up with unique, terroir driven wines. This alone is a great reason to explore the Loire Valley.

Now about this wine; 100% Gamay grapes, 12% abv, It has the typical fruit forwardness of Gamay with the distinctly cherry, almost sour, kind of underripe cherry flavour I associate with cooler climate Gamay's like Ontario or BC instead of the warmer Beaujolais ones. It has also some distinct leathery/earthy tones that add a nice rusticness to this wine, as well as some slight peppery notes. It's medium body and elegant, well balances with tannins that aren't harsh at all. Overall a very enjoyable, easy drinking red wine. I imagine it would go well with a cheese and cold cut platter.
Have already had this bottle twice and would definately get it again. Worth trying for the adventurous and the cautious wine drinkers alike!