The Bubble Season is Upon Us!!!

Seriously - I cannot tell you how much I love all things 'bubble'!  I personally think that any occasion is a bubble occasion and I love that as we enter into the month of December, more people purchase a bottle or 10 of sparkles to add some zing to their holiday celebrations.

Over the next 5 weeks, starting today, I will review 5 bottles of sparkling wine from Spanish cava to French champagne.  Ohhh, how I love the subject of sparkling wine and how it came to be and all the stories that a bottle can tell you...

The history of champagne is fascinating and most believe that the French invented it, specifically the famed Benedictine monk, Dom Pe´rignon.  This is simply not true although it has been an amazing marketing campaign!!!  I will be writing about the history of champagne in more detail on my fifth week as we have a few bottles and types of sparkling wines to get to first!

One thing I would like to say first off is that for a sparkling wine to be called champagne, it MUST be made in the Champagne region of France in a way called 'me´thode champenoise'.  Champagne only uses three grape varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  Champagne really is the rock star of the sparkling wine category for good reason.  However, the lovely and affordable Spanish cava would be the amazing lead guitarist on stage getting the crowd up on their feet!

My review this week is on Segura Viudas Brut Rose´.

Note the "Me´todo Tradicional" - this tells the buyer that it is made in the champagne style.

This pink charmer will turn any ones grey, cold day into one filled with a little sunshine.  Cava is, in my opinion, one of the BEST values in the wine market today.  The reason?  Other than its' amazing taste, it is made exactly the same way as champagne but uses Spanish varietals.  Segura Viudas website When you compare this Rose´'s cost of $15.99 at the B.C. liquor stores to a $65+ bottle of champagne, it tastes even better and you can get a few bottles at this price!

Segura Viudas stole my heart about a decade ago.  And, the Rose´has stolen it again!  This cava is a lovely pink/salmon colour with a glorious amount tiny bubbles that don't seem to end.  On the nose, I smelled strawberries and grapefruit.  On the palate, the taste matched what I smelt with the strawberries and grapefruit but had a bit of a toasty overtone that I loved.  It was dry with high acidity but light in body with a medium short finish.  YUM!

This little pink number was truly delightful.  My husband and I opened it up on Tuesday night and we decorated our Christmas tree while sharing a glass of pink sparkling cava.  I think a new tradition was born!  Segura Viudas's Brut Rose´goes into my 'Hell Yes' category.  You cannot beat the colour, the uniqueness and the price of this pink glass of love!

Enjoy!
XO
C

A Margaret River Beauty

Hello and happy Wednesday.  I hope your week has been wonderful.

I have decided to post my new reviews on Wednesday - wine Wednesday - as there is no better day of the week to indulge in a lovely glass of wine and anticipate what the weekend will bring!  As the weather has really turned grey on us here in Van City, I have tended to lean towards the black grape variety as there is something about a full bodied glass of red wine to snuggle up with. 

My review this week is on ring.bolt's Cabernet Sauvignon.  ring.bolt is a winery from Margaret River, Australia, which has been described as having conditions very similar to Bordeaux, France in dry vintage years.  I have learnt quite a bit on the Margaret River region and its grape growing bragging rights! 

 The climate is amazing and perfectly suited for both black and white grapes which does not always happen, specifically in Australia.  Margaret River has over 500,000 visitors a year just coming to check out the wineries and countryside.  Yes, it is now on my list of places to see!

ring.bolt winery takes its name from a famous ship-wreck off the coast of Western Australia.  Defined by the oceans, the Margaret River region enjoys a temperate, maritime climate with high winter rainfall and pristine, robust sea breezes to cool the precious fruit – wonderful conditions for growing superior Cabernet Sauvignon.  ring bolt wineries website

The wine is a deep ruby colour and with pronounced aromas of plums, violet, chocolate and vanilla.  This Cabernet Sauvignon is dry with medium + acidity and medium tannins.  It is a full bodied wine with flavours that mirror the nose - plum, violet, chocolate but I also taste a bit of pepper and black cherry.  This wine has a nice long finish but I felt that it needed to open up for about 45 minutes before it mellowed.  This wine would pair beautifully with a lamb or beef dish.

Priced at $19.99 in the B.C. liquor stores - it is a great deal and, again, tastes like a more expensive wine.  Wines from the Margaret River region of Australia are popular for a reason - they make excellent wine!  This winery is so dedicated to the Cabernet Sauvignon grape that it only produces this one variety of wine, which is another unique aspect to this little number and is why it definitely falls into my "Hell Yes" category!

Thank you for reading.  For the month of December, I am going to review some champagnes and sparkling wines for the upcoming holiday season.

If there is anything you would like me to review - please do leave me a comment!
XO
C

Cornucopia's Winners at every Price Point Seminar

Hi all.  I trust you are keeping well and had a few moments of reflection over the Remembrance Day long weekend.  Something about the sound of bagpipes and seeing the expressions on Veteran's faces truly makes my heart melt...

My family and I headed up to Whistler on Saturday so that I could attend one of Whistler's Cornucopia events.  This annual event brings both B.C. and international wineries to Whistler as well as showcasing an amazing  'foodie' component with local chefs, suppliers and restaurants taking part.

I selected "Winners at Every Price Point" as the seminar to attend.  It was run by Barbara and Iain Philip from Barbarian Wine Consulting. http://barbarianwine.com  This husband and wife team are quite the dynamic wine duo as Barbara is the head purchaser for the European portfolio for B.C. liquor stores and Iain is an educator at the Art Institutes' Wine College.

The room smelled delicious as I walked in along with the other 70+ attendees.  In front of us was a tasting circle of 5 whites and 5 reds.  The seminar was set up as a blind tasting so that we could not judge how much we liked a wine based on its name, brand or price.  Brendan, a fellow wine enthusiast,  sat beside me.  He was passionate about wine and we had a fun time trying to guess each wines' value before it was revealed.

The lovely wines in a circle!

Barbara and Iain spent about 30 minutes educating us on why wine prices vary from $6.99 up to $25,000 for the most expensive bottle of wine you can buy (which is Romanee Conti from Burgundy, France.)  Good grief $25,000 for a bottle of wine?  Holy Dinah...that is pricey!  There are so many factors to consider: land, labour, laws, yield, grape growing techniques - just to name a few!

We had about 7 minutes with the whites and then the results were revealed.  The 5 whites ranged in price from $9.99 to $49.99.  My favourite was Schloss Reinhartshausen Riesling.  At $19.99 this beauty is a wine to stock up on! It is from the Rheingau region in Germany.  The wine was dry and crisp and balanced.  I am still in shock at how fantastic this Riesling tasted at under $20.  I will be heading to the liquor store to stock up!

The champagne we tasted was the $49.99 entry and a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc was the $9.99 entry.  (Send me an email or leave a comment if you would like me to send you a list of all the wines from the seminar).

Next up were the reds.  I consider myself to be more of a white wine drinker, in general, so I felt quite 'blind' in the red tastings.  I did discern correctly that there was a French Rhone blend in the flight but that was as far I got.  I chose the most expensive entry this time as my favourite.  It was Masi 2007 Amarone Valpolicella for $49.99.  Here is a PDF of the label and tasting notes from the winery.

It was outstanding and tasted like a $100+ bottle of wine.  This, again, is one I will happily buy a few of and would be great for a 40th or 50th birthday present to a dear friend or family member.  My second favourite, and close behind the Masi was Chateau Labrande Cahors Malbec for $19.99 from France.

Malbec has become the red 'go-to' wine of late.  Most people think it is an Argentinian varietal but its' origin is in France.  This selection was really tasty and, again, for under $20, it is a great deal.  (When I went to buy this at the Park Royal Signature store, they were sold out on the shelves but the manager nicely went into the back and brought 2 bottles to me to have.  A restaurant had put the rest of the stock on hold.  Always ask the store managers - if they can help you - they will.  Thank you, Mike!)

"Winners at Every Price Point" seminar was fantastic and I am thrilled to have attended.  It was $40 for the ticket and the value and knowledge I left the room with was perfect.  Next year, I hope to get a group of people to go up and attend together.  Let me know if you are interested!

Enjoy the week!
xo
C

A B.C. Wine for the Remembrance Day Weekend

Happy Friday!  What a bizarre week it has been and I am VERY happy it is Friday today! 

After posting 3 reviews on international wines, I wanted to do a review on a BC wine for the Remembrance Day weekend.

My review this week is for Cellar Hand's Punch Down Red. This is the second label from Black Hills Estate Winery of the Nota Bene fame in Oliver, B.C.  The Cellar Hand label is a lower price point than the Black Hills premium wines.  I took a gamble on this wine.  I really enjoy spending time in both BC liquor stores and smaller wine shops and talking to the staff.  I find, more often than not, that I am led in a direction I wasn't intending on and I end up a happy and satisfied customer!  So - I guess it wasn't a gamble after all!

Cellar Hand's Punch Down Red is a blend of 45% Syrah, 28% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is available at Village VQA Wines.  There is a location in Edgemont, Kits and Dunbar.  At $24.90 a bottle, it delivers a nice and balanced blend of flavours.  It has a lovely dark ruby colour and smells of raspberries, black cherries and tobacco leaves with a hint of vanilla. 

On the palate, I taste a really delightful array of red and black fruit flavours along with pepper, vanilla, chocolate and smoke.  Punch Down Red is a very juicy, fruit forward wine with medium tannins and medium acidity so it is a perfect balance of the three grape varieties in the blend.  It is smooth and silky with a nice medium/long finish.  I think this is a great deal for a good quality wine and a much lower price point than one would expect from such a nice balance of flavours. You guessed it - it falls into my Hell Yes! category.

I suggest this wine for Remembrance Day weekend as it is unique and special.  It is a wine to sit and enjoy and reflect over.  I, personally, will be thinking about my Grandad Liston who fought in WWII in the Navy.  I will sip this wine, savour it and be thankful for this life that I have been given and this country that I am so incredibly proud to be a citizen of.

This entry is a dedication to all of the veterans who fought to keep Canada strong and free.  Thank you.

Australian Pinot Noir - Little Yering 2011

Happy Monday!  The weekend went by in a flash, however, I was able to slow down and taste a bottle of Pinot Noir from Australia.  Something about a rainy Vancouver night that calls for a glass of red wine, or two!

My international wine tasting continues with Little Yering Pinot Noir 2011.  At $15.99 a bottle - this is a great deal if you are looking for a light red wine at a good price point that has some complexity and nice balance.

On the nose, I smelled quite a bit of spice and black cherry.  There was a nice hint of vanilla and it was not at all overpowering.  I checked on their website and they ferment this wine in French barrels that create a nice, soft vanilla flavour.

The taste was nice and light with delicate tannins.  I definitely tasted the black cherry again and it was a nice, juicy flavour in the mouth that mixed with some spice and some earthy qualities.

Pinot Noir is a delicate grape to grow.  It is temperamental but often worth the effort.  It has become one of my favourite grape varieties as it really has a distinct taste of where the grape was grown.

Australia, not really known for Pinot Noir, is a great hot climate for growing the more full and hearty black grape varieties like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.  However, the Yarra Valley, which is where this winery is located, has a cooler climate than the rest of the country making it an ideal location for a Pinot Noir grape to reach perfection.

This wine was not my favourite Pinot Noir that i have tasted - but at the price point of $15.99 - it is a great buy and pairs nicely with turkey and/or salmon dishes.  I would put this into the "if you are in the mood" category to try something new.

I hope you enjoy this wine and I would love your feedback on it!

Have a great week.
Christine