Recently I had the opportunity to introduce 20 lovely people to 9 different grapes from 5 different countries, in 3 different sparkling wines, and 2 still ones.
I am not a fan of boring wines, nor of showing people what they already know and love (or don’t). So, this was a great chance for me to win a few converts to new wine styles and grapes.
When everyone was arriving, we started with a small glass of Bella’s sparkling Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay. Bella is
Canadian and located in the Okanagan Valley’s small town of Naramata. I paired it with two classic matches – Ruffle potato chips and popcorn.
Wine number two was another sparkler – but this time, a Cava from Penedes made of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello. Only two people had tried a Cava before and it proved to be a big hit when paired with some Iberian ham and Manchego cheese.
Everyone has had Prosecco, so I introduced the group to an Italian Lambrusco which was an enormous hit. Shockingly, only one person had tried Lambrusco before, and not like this one – beautifully light and frothy, slightly off dry and fruity with rosemary and watermelon aromas and flavours. The bruschetta appetizer matched the wine’s acidity perfectly. This wine was a highlight of the evening.
For the first still wine, we had Domaine Wachau’s entry level Gruner
Veltliner from Austria. A new experience for everyone there, it was phenomenal with the schnitzel and creamy coleslaw. Dill, white pepper and tarragon in both the food and the wine showed beautifully and the acidity kept us wanting more.
We finished with the Jeune Red from Lebanon’s famed Chateau Musar. No one had known that the wine referenced in the Bible (turning water into wine…) is believed to have been from what is now the Bekka Valley. The Lebanese (aka The
Phoenicians) are the ones who introduced wine to Greece and Rome. Wine has a solid 6,000 year history in that region of the world. And this lovely red of Cinsault and Syrah was perfect with our mini soft pita and beef topped with tzatziki.
It really was a phenomenal evening – with lots of laughter and chatter. My watch warned me several times it was dangerously loud!
That’s how wine should be – fun, and loud, and new, and exciting.
Mission accomplished.
boysenberry, black pepper and red flower. Absolutely magical. Purchased in Seattle, I enjoyed sharing this with FH and SL in Vancouver.
Translucent garnet with a nose of cherry, pomegranate, rose and sandalwood, bolstered by blackberry, Byng cherry, fern, mint and oak on the palate. Beautifully clean and delicious. I’d visited Ricasoli in summer 2022, but hadn’t had time to taste. This was one of the best Mother’s Day gifts I’ve ever received from JN and AN.
A beautiful translucent deep shade of coppery tangerine showing some significant development as it has been curled up in a bottle for 12 years. The nose is strong straw with herbs and honeysuckle. The look of it tricks you into thinking it’s an unctuous sweet wine, but it’s not at all – lemon, both green and overripe tangerine and mandarin orange, fresh apricot, wax, quince, cinnamon, dried herbs and nettle. After some time, it opens further and continues to be even more incredible. The acidity is super tight, proving that this wine could still go for another decade, if not more. Outrageously elegant and fabulous – and the perfect match to FH’s onion tarte.
This wine was a true stunner, and not so much a surprise as I fully expected it to be super cool, being from Savoie and all. LN brought this back for me from France and it didn’t disappoint! A partially translucent cherry red, the nose is full on intense herbal tea, blue and purple fruit. The palate is deep blackberry and dusky deep plum. It’s super fresh and with these tannins, could go much longer. An absolute treat.
Marc Roulot makes it from handpicked Bergeron apricots which are grown by one of the world’s most famous winemakers for him – Jean Louis Chave. The result is a mind-blowing shot of mandarin orange and Tang crystals with orange jello, honey, apricot, cinnamon and mint. Not cloying in the least. Unbelievable.
rosehip, bergamot, lemon curd, and composted yellow apple. I guarantee you, this is nothing like any Gew you’ve ever tried before. I love the wines this couple makes.
I enjoyed this half bottle at Restaurant Primula in Camogli, Liguria with a dish of calamari, chick peas and passion fruit. The wine was the accompanying piece de resistance – intense yellow fruit, ripe peach, almonds, nettle and acacia. The fact that I spent 3 weeks in France and Italy, and included a note about this white wine should tell you something.
On an afternoon when my sister and I were commiserating, I pulled this one out of the cellar where I’d left it for a decade. The result? To-die-for Cosmic Crisp apple, ripe Bartlett pear, clover honey, quince, and composted yellow plum on both the nose and palate. The lightest whiff of gasoline hovers over the glass. Super acidity and beautiful fruit have helped this wine blossom into a thing of beauty. The medium plus body is almost unctuous. Don’t let anyone ever suggest that Okanagan VQA wines cannot age.
winellama 