Okanagan Wine weekend

Wine of the Week

May 24 - Okanagan Wine Trip

This week I am here to talk about my recent weekend wine tasting trip to the Okanagan. This was the usual camp on Okanagan lake, wine taste for a few hours starting in late morning, and finish with a fatigued palate with some beer by the lake. I took the Friday off to beat the usually mass migration away from the city, and didn't hit as many wineries; as I am supposed to be drinking old world classic wines for my current course.

I decided to start my tasting weekend by going a little out of my way into downtown Kelowna to go to Sandhill Estates. I have enjoyed their wines but never made it to their tasting room. It is a large, beautiful and modern building; and their staff were knowledgeable about their great wines.The whites were fresh and crisp, but I really enjoyed their two Italian greats Sangiovese and Barbera. They also have some great red blends, and I found most of their wines quite nice. Ended up leaving with their Barbera and the newly released untasted Petit Verdot.

After a beautiful night enjoying either taking pictures on the beach or sitting by the campfire; I got up early enough for my day off and headed to Osoyoos. As always when I go that far south my day starts at Moon Curser. This is by far my favorite winery and they have one of the most diverse grape selections. If anyone needs to get me a gift..., wink wink, nudge nudge. Unfortunately a lot of their wine was sold out, and the next vintage is not released yet. I did get to sample their Touriga Nacional, a Portuguese grape mainly used for Port production, and it was most wonderful mmyum..... I left with a a bottle of their dry Rose "Nothing to Declare"; which is made with Syrah grapes from bleeding off some juice from their red wine vats. I also bought their highly regarded 50% Tannat & 50% Syrah blend, "Dead of the Night" for a special night, and "Border Vines" their Bordeaux style blend, for our cat sitter.

My next stop was Young & Wyse near the border. I was not a fan of their reds as they seemed to be a little off, maybe with a bit of Brett undertones. The whites were bright a floral, and I bought the fruity and floral Viognier, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris blend "Amber".

Before going home a took a detour looking for Vinegar Works which is no longer in business, and is now a B&B; ....so I ended up at Dirty Laundry Winery. That is always a fun free tasting and they had 9-10 wines open. Good atmosphere and good vistas too. It was then back to the campsite to study my wine books instead of bottles, and drink some beer.

After freak heavy rain storm that destroyed my pop tent Saturday night. I left camp early to go to Timmies for breakfast. My stove was way to wet to start, and I had no where dry to go. After breakfast I meandered my way to the Naramata Bench to check out two new to me wineries. First up was Serendipity. The wine was being poured by the owner/winemaker and she spoke with such passion and enthusiasm you could taste her dedication in the glass. Both reds and whites were delicious and I wish I could of brought more home. I did leave with her dry Alsatian style Rose which is a blend of her 5 red grapes, and the nice full body oaked Pinot Noir. Definitely worth the visit. Next up was Deep Roots; 4th generational Naramata fruit growers. Again the whole line up was well made and delicious. I bought their un-oaked Chardonnay and their Gamay Noir, but the Malbec and Syrah were a close contest as well for purchase. Both wineries I would visit again.

Great quick solo trip camping and tasting wine!

 

Petit Verdot

Wine of the Week

Petit Verdot

Sorry for the gap in posts. My time has been engulfed in my level #3 wine course; .....way more intense then I had anticipated.

So tonight I am taking a break to tell you about Petit Verdot; which is one of my favourite wines when you can find them as a single variety. It is a french grape that calls Bordeaux home. Although it rarely ever gets more than 10% of the blend, and usually less than 5%.

It is a dark think skinned grape that ripens even later than Cab Sauv. When it does ripen fully it produces a rich concentrated full body tannic wine. It usually produces wines that have dark fruit flavours, earthy notes, and some exotic spice. It has done well down it the warmer temperatures regions of Australia where it can ripen fully. Several producers in the new world will grow small percentages for their Meritage blends (Meritage - are Bordeaux style blends, made outside of Bordeaux). There are also a few wineries in the Okanagan also growing this little gem.

Moon Curser in Osoyoos is one of my favorites; and I liked the Pirramimma's Petit Verdot from Australia. It is best if you decant it at least 1-2 hours before drinking to let it open up a bit, and release it's flavours. If you don't have a decanter; pour it into a ceramic mixing bowl, and funnel it back into your bottle when you are ready!

So if in your travels you come across a single variety Petit Verdot; I would suggest to explore something new.