Vinho Verde

This beautiful weather here in BC is ensuring that I'm still on the lookout for some perfect summer wines. My search wouldn't be complete however without looking at Vinho Verde's from Portugal. This area of northwestern Portugal is well known for making light and refreshing wines that are meant to be drunk young. Generally these wines are fairly low in alcohol (8.5-11%) and often have a slight pétillance to them which adds to their refreshing character. I find these wines to be fairly neutral despite their distinct minerality and nice citrus fruit. In general they also have what I find to be somewhat green/grassy character which again only adds to the refreshing nature of this wine.

Overall, I don't think anyone could go wrong drinking a Vinho Verde on a warm and sunny summer's day.
What's also great about Vinho Verde's are the price point. Rarely will you find one over $20 and usually they'll be under $15. Both Gatao and Gazella, pictured above, are available at the BC liquor Stores for $10.99 each. I thoroughly enjoy both, with Gatao maybe having a bit more fruit to it and a somewhat fuller mouthfeel. It's still however deliciously light and fresh.
Ontario readers will also find a few excellent options at their local LCBO with most falling in the price range of $9.00-$15.00. Not a bad deal!!

Malbec! and I like it. (#7)

Malbec has got to be one of my all time favorite wine varietals. It's hard to mess this one up folks. Hit the store and pick any one of those gazillion bottles of Argentinian Malbec on the shelf and you'll likely find yourself lovingly caressing the bottle after the first glass. I decided to splurge a little and went for a slightly higher end Malbec this time around. I paid $16.99 at my local BC liquor store for a bottle of the Gascon 1884 Reserva 2008 Malbec. But a warning, it doesn't say Gascon anywhere on the label. It's identifiable only by it's bold 1884 Reservado label and listed attributes below. While seemingly widely available in BC, it sadly doesn't seem to be available in Ontario. You're missing out guys. But it was in Ontario that I discovered my love for Malbecs so I'm sure you'll be able to find something if you visit the Argentina section of your local LCBO store!

The Escorihuela Gascon winery apparently still functions on traditional principles and while I hope that's why I enjoy this wine so much, I'm currently reading a book that puts all of these "wine making traditions" into question. It looks at how many winemakers today use science to alter their wines (either for better or for worse depending on the critic) to better fit the market. If you're interested enough to read more, this book will bring you on an adventurous journey to find out how the world has diverged from this idea of traditional wine. The book is titled The Battle for Wine and Love or How I saved the world from Parkerization and it's by wine writer Alice Feiring. Either way, I'm enjoying this wine so I'm just gonna continue drinking it regardless of whether it's fully traditional or not.

This vibrantly coloured wine is perfect for just about any occasion. With it's black cherry, dark plum, slight cooking spice scents and flavours and soft, easy to drink medium tannins there's a wide array of food that it will go well with this wine. I'm just drinking it as is. No food, no messing around. Just this wine and me and my laptop will make this night wonderful. A word for those about to enjoy this wine, it opens up very nicely after a few minutes. This is usually the case with red wines, even cheap ones. A few minutes of exposure to the air will bring out a new dimension to the wine.

Enjoy!