Spain Trip - Part 1 - Rioja wine tastings

How was Spain? Well I saw wine for as cheap as 0.90€ ($1.30), and was once given a free bottle of wine with lunch! My plan was simple - rent a car and road trip my way to the Batalla del Vino (wine fight) in Haro Spain; deep in the heart of the Rioja wine region. I had 5 days to kill before needing to be back near Barcelona for a wedding; which i figured is just enough time for me to learn Spain's 4 lane roundabouts.

Rioja is Spain's most famous wine region about 4.5-5 hours from Barcelona, or 1.5 hours from Bilbao. I made a loop out of the trip; leaving from Barcelona you can split off the main route at the town of Lleida and head slight north towards Pamplona. From here you head south west down to the Rioja. On the way back you take the main route down through the beautiful city of Zaragoza and back to Barcelona. 

This way you also get to travel through the foothills of the Pyrenees, see some stunning rivers and lakes, and also experience the Navarra DO wine region that is just north of Rioja. I ended up staying in a cute small town called Aibar in a nice B&B in the old part of town. The next day it was on to Pamplona and then south west down to Haro for some wine tasting and tours. 

First stop on the self guided trip was Bodegas GOMEZ CRUZADO est 1886 in the heart of Haro. It was on a weekday with only one English group and one Spanish group, so they combined the tours into one. I didn't mind this as I could take my time checking out the equipment and taking lot's of pictures. 

After a full tour of the beautiful facilities and a nice detailed run through of their practices I enjoyed a flight of 4 wines. First was their Gómez Cruzado Blanco, a blend of 85% Viura and 15% Tempranillo blanco. Then it was followed by 3 different categories of their Rioja wines, the Vendimia Seleccionada (Vintage Select), Reserva 2006, and their Honorable a field blend dominated by Tempranillo with Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo and Viura in the mix all which are from over 50 year old vines.


Next stop was directly across the street at the oldest winery in Haro, Bodegas R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia est 1877. Here I got to try 3 of their Tondonia wines; their White Reserva, Red Reserva, and Red Gran Reserva. It was a good tasting, however the only wine that stood out was the Gran Reserva but it was out of my price range.



Our next tour wasn't for a few hours and knowing that Bodegas Muga was literally half a block around the corner I had to stop in. Not realizing they were about to close early so staff could participate in the pre-festivities for the wine fight, I promised to be quick if they could offer me a full flight.

The full flight starts with some sparkle with both their white and rose Cava's, both delicate and delicious. Next up was their white, which like their white Cava is based on the grape Viura. Followed by a rose and 3 of their Rioja reds; their standard Rioja, Special Selection, and Torre Muga. All superbly crafted, showing well, and easy drinking; making it easy to fly through the flight in 10 mins.



Last stop of the day was at the stunning Bodegas Eguren Ugarte est. 1870 in Laguardia. An absolutely stunning winery and hotel. We had a lovely English tour through the winery and their hand dug cellars. There was only one other person in our tour. A cute elderly Scottish man who missed the morning tour with his wife because he was too hungover :) The tour guide was super knowledgeable and friendly.

 Their 2km worth of tunnels/cellars were all hand dug, mostly by Eguren and his son's as part of their weekly chores. Members of their VIP wine club can store their wine down there in allotted personal caves. There is even nice little tasting room like nooks throughout the tunnels to hold your own private tasting's. There is also one special area were the founders ashes are stored with his wife's and a few bottles of every vintage ever made. They will keep adding to it, but never drink from there in honor of Eguren.

The hotel on site looks wonderful and I would love to stay there one day. The tour finished off with a tasting in their shop of 3 of their wines accompanied with their own delicious canapes. I ended up buying their Reserva 2010, and their white Rioja made with Viura.



It was a great way to cap off a beautiful day of tasting, prepping ourselves for the upcoming wine fight. (I was going to go into great detail about the great wine fight, but I think it will easily become it's own post, so stay tuned for the follow up blog about the wine fight.)



Because the wine fight started at 7:30am and was done by 11:00am, we found ourselves back at our B&B bored, thirsty, and still smelling a lot like cheap wine. So I booked a last minute tour at the famous Bodega Marqués de Riscal. The hotel at the winery is world renowned and was designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry. An amazing building to get to see in person..


Again being a weekday my wife and I were the only English speakers booked for the 4:30 tour so we got a nice in depth private tour. It started with a video about the history of the property, its wine, and the building of such an iconic, beautiful, yet controversial hotel (locally).

Our guide was fantastic and wasn't annoyed by my many wine geek questions. You get to see the entire grounds, the winery, bottling line, cellar, and is the only way to get close to the hotel without paying $350+ a night. The tour was followed by tasting their white, Rueda Verdejo, and their Rioja Reserva. Due to my charm or many questions we were treated with an extra taste of their 2006 Gran Reserva; which was excellent, and then instantly purchased.

Besides the winery tours we also got to drink lot's of great Rioja's when we were in the region. In Rioja 90% the wine you can buy comes from Rioja; when we were in the Navarra region 90% of the wine you can buy comes from that region. It was weird to see at first, but then I realized that some of these wines are only available in that particular town, and was able to find some true gems. Luckily for me my favorite Spanish white, Rias Biaxas was available almost everywhere!

I would go back in a heart beat, and probably will as there is way too much to see and taste in one trip.

Stay tuned for future Blog's about the wine fight, driving one of National Geographics Drives of a Lifetime through the Priorat wine region, and a comparative tasting of two BC Albarino wines tasted alongside their forefathers, Rias Biaxas also made with Albarino. 

August Tasting - White, Rosé, and everything in between

Last Friday we had a a mixed bag for our flight of 9 wines. We had 12 people come out and I think this flight really helped them learn something about their own palate. As always all the wines were tasted blind and we picked our 1-2 favorites before the reveal.

I had picked 2 Rosé's an orange wine, a white wine made with red grapes, and 4 grapes most had never heard of. I had requests for both rose and whites and felt this was a good way to go about it transitioning through different styles and introducing new grapes.




1. Galil Mountain - Rosé 2015 - Israel - $15.99 (BC Liquor) - 3 votes

This is a kosher wine made up of a blend of 67% Sangiovese, 17% Pinot Noir, 9% Grenache, 9% Barbera. Made by the bleeding off (Saignee) method where some of the juice from their red wine is drained and fermented separately into a rosé.  A nice medium salmon colour with notes of strawberries and cream accompanied by a floral and slight mineral note. Dry, med body and easy drinking, nice patio sipper.








2. Miraval - Provence Rosé 2015 - France - $28.99 (BC Liquor) - 2 votes

Miraval is the Chateau owned by Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, and made by the famous wine family, Perrin. It is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Rolle. It is a very light pink in colour and the aromas and palate are both light and delicate. On the nose you get melon, peach and some earthiness. The palate has some citrus, strawberry and a nice minerality. There's a subtle finesse to the wine that would make it a good pairing with brunch. It is a nice wine but I do feel you can find a nicer Provence rose for less money.





3. Niche Wine Co. - Pinot Noir Blanc 2015 - BC - $19.99 (Swirl Wine) - 4 votes - Tied Top Pick

This is a white wine made with red grapes. The juice is pressed and drained off of the red skins immediately, so they can't transfer colour to the wine. The result is a light peachy orange colour. The 2015 vintage was one of the hottest on record for the Okanagan so this wine has a bit more sweetness to it than previous vintages making this an off-dry wine. On the nose you get some strawberry, baked apple/peach, with a hint of floral. The palate has some citrus and stone fruits with a hint of ginger.




4. Sage Hills - Rhymes with Orange - BC - $29.99 (Swirl Wine) - 1 vote

As the name suggests this is an orange wine mage with Pinot Gris; rose in style but made with white grapes instead of red grapes. Most white wines don't get any skin contact after pressing; if you do allow skin contact you can get orange wines. This wine had 5 days of skin contact to give it the rich medium orange hues. This wine had notes of smoke, soft gouda, savoriness, and some stewed strawberries. Good complexity and length, but most were put off by the smoke on the nose. It opened up as the night went on, I liked it and would pair it with something smoked to compliment it.


5. Boutari Mantinia - Moschofilero 2015 - Greece - $16.99 (BC Liquor)

 Moschofilero (moh-skoh-FEE-leh-roh) is a greek grape primaily grown in the Mantinia region. It provides nice dry white wines with good acidity usually with citrus, melon, and a floral note. These are refreshing summer wines. Unfortunately our bottle was corked! Meaning the cork was infected by a bacteria that will taint the wine. it is usually in a 1 out of every 15-20 bottles. It gives the wine aromas of damp cardboard. it is not bad for you, but can make the wine unpleasant.




6. Luzada Val Do Salnes - Rias Baixas - Spain - $15.99 (BC Liquor) - 4 votes - Tied Top Pick

Rias Baixas is my favourite Spanish white. It is made with the Albarino grape and always offers crisp mouth watering acidity some floral and mineral notes as well as citrus and some stone fruits. This wine offers good value for Canada as it is hard to find under $25 here, but can be easily be bought for $5 in Spain. This wine had some lemon, apple, some floral with a nice minerality on the palate.






7. Tahbilk - Marsanne 2013 - Australia - $18.49 (BC Liquor) - 3 votes

The Marsanne grape has it's home in the northern Rhone valley in France, but usually plays a role in a blend along with Roussanne. This was one of my favorites of the night and I usually try to seek out and buy Marsanne's as single variety wines. This one had notes of green apple, lemon, sliced almonds, and a hint of honey. It was medium bodied and could maybe substitute for an unoaked chardonnay.







8. Domaine Wachau Terraces - Gruner Veltliner 2015- Austria - $15.99 (BC Liquor) - 1 vote

Gruner Veltiner is Austria's signature white gape that usually makes crisp aromatic white wines. A Usual Gruner will have lemon. grapefruit, a green/vegetative hint, and a typical white pepper note. This is a good entry level wine hints all the notes with citrus, grapefruit, green pepper, and some minerality on the palate.






9. Bordertown - Gruner Veltliner 2015 - BC - $22.99 (Swirl Wine) - 4 votes - Tied Top Pick

I paired one of BC's only Gruner's with the Austrian version to see how it would hold up. Bordertown is in Osoyoos so the wine will probably have a more stone fruits than the cooler climate Austrian. It was the preferred one amongst the group. It had notes of ripe lemon, pineapple, a hint of floral and minerality. The palate brings along balanced acidity and delicate peach and apricot flavours.  They did pair nice beside each other to show differences in style & climate.

Why wine?

Why do I like wine?

It is quite tasty and fascinating! To be created, it requires the right and left brain working together in conjuncture with nature providing perfect weather. When done right a unique beverage emerges that could age over 100 years and may contain thousands of different aromas and flavours. Grape vines grown one row apart can have very different characteristics; every year the grapes are a little different. Every wine represents a certain time, place, and a story by the person who made it.

Growing up, my family kept some old world traditions that I will always remember. On special occasions the kids got a small glass of red wine with dinner, so it could of started there.... also, my last name Villard has 2 grapes named after it, Villard Noir & Villard Blanc; so I could have wine in my blood going back much further. I wasn't always into wine but as I grew so did my tastes.

The other early memory I have of wine is that if my Dad and uncle Tom were drinking wine it came from a box, and they would only drink out of these large metal goblets because wine glasses were too small. When the box was finished it was customary for my brother and I to fight over who gets to keep the inner liner / silver pillow / water toy / air drum / or what ever the hell it is that we did with them.

In high school, ....I didn't drink at all.....because that would of been illegal. But if I did, I mostly drank cheep beer, and probably would go on a tequila kick for awhile. The closest I would have gotten to wine was something cheap called "Rotting Grape" that was made by the Mikes Hard Lemonade people.

In Whistler when I was legal to drink, I drank mostly beer, Kokanee beer to be exact. It was cheap, came in 30 packs (less travel) and I'm sure it tasted better back then. A few times a year I would go to my Aunt & Uncles for dinner, and since I was raised right correctly, I would bring a bottle of wine. Despite being a snowboard bum on a budget I would sometimes splurge for a 'nice' bottle. This meant the $13-14 range instead of the $8-10 I might buy. I eventually got back into wine my second year tree planting. My planting partner Eric and I would buy a box of red wine every week heading into the bush. It was cheap, traveled well, kept well and was the perfect amount for two disgruntled planters sitting around swatting mosquitoes for a week.

In my twenties just after film school I finally had that wine moment. No bottle of wine had ever made me think of it as anything other than fermented grape juice. I have forgotten who's party I was going to and what the occasion was. All I remember was it was from Salt Spring Island and it was a Pinot Noir, early 2000's, and maybe $20.  It blew my wine mind with its depth of aromas and flavours. It was pale in colour but full of layers of complexity that lingered in your mouth.

I went to my first winery tasting room in 2009, at a small winery in Oliver called "The Golden Beaver".  Their name has now been changed to the Italian translation, "Castoro de Oro". We hadn't planned on doing wine tastings on this trip, but as any good Canadian would, I just had to turn the truck around and go visit anything called The Golden Beaver. We walked in and told the lady it was our first time and to be gentle. She walked us through a wonderful tasting, and it was a great experience where I learned a little about wine and what I kinds I liked.

At this point I started to at least explore wine a little and see what else was out there. It wasn't until I badly broke my leg Mt biking that I really switched gears about getting to know wine. I wasn't able to bike or snowboard that year, so I was forced to slow down and find a different passion. I ended up touring the Okanagan and Napa Valley on crutches and I was hooked. Every winery was like walking into a different art gallery where all the paintings were scratch and sniff. You quickly figure out what you like and you meet such passionate people sharing their wines with you.

I have since bought a wine fridge, filled it up, taken several courses in wine, and try to hold monthly tasting's for friends. I write this blog, subscribe to wine magazines, and joined the wine Century Club by tasting over 100 different grape varieties. I will take time to taste the dirt when visiting a vineyard, but have learned to move swiftly in wine shops as my patient wife waits in the car. I've participated in the Batella de Vino (Wine Fight) in Haro, Spain; where they waste more wine then a small winery in the BC makes in a year.

Wine has its health benefits, made by passionate people; the grapes will change with the weather, and the wine can change in the bottle. There are over 10,000 different grape varieties all over the world with always something new to try. It is a social drink we have been sharing with each other for thousands of years and creating memories from it.

So why wine? Wine not!

Rose follow up - Making the Pink

How do you make it pink?

Wine grapes usually fall into two categories black or white, and as you may gather red wines come from black skinned grapes; white skinned grapes make white wine. The colour in red wine comes from the juice having contact with the skins during fermentation. Almost all the pigmentation in grapes is in the skin. White wines usually don't have any skin contact during fermentation, but if they do they will make an Orange wine, but that will be for another post. You can make white wines from black skinned grapes if you don't allow any skin contact after crushing; this is because most grapes have colourless juices. Pinot Noir can make a nice white wine like the nice example called "Pinot Noir Blanc" from the Niche Wine Company in BC.

Rosé may of had a bad rap before due to all the cougar juice (off-dry to sweet blush wine) on the market. French rosés are almost always dry, and there are some great examples of dry rosés coming out of the Okanagan. Great patio wine and food friendly.


There are 4 ways to make Rosé wine:

DIRECT PRESSING:

The red grapes are crushed and pressed as if you were making a white wine. With minimal time having the juice in contact with the skins. This makes the palest coloured rosés due to minimal skin contact.

DRAWING OFF:

Here the red grapes are crushed and pressed as if making a red wine with the juice staying in contact with the skins. The juice is left on the skins for 6 - 48 hours, or longer like the 3.5 day wine from Baillie Grohman we had at the last tasting. The juice is then drawn off of the skins, and the longer the skin contact the darker the colour of the wine. The fermentation will continue at a cooler temperature once the desired colour/richness has been reached.

BLEEDING (Saignee)

This is the same process as Drawing off except only a portion of the juice is bled. This is done to give the winemaker's red wine a richer concentration; reducing the amount of juice sitting on the skins will add depth to the flavours. The rosé is just a byproduct of that red wine's process, and can add a quick cash flow to the winery while they wait the 2-3 years to release the red wine.

BLENDING:

This is where a winery has blended the juices of red and white grapes after fermentation to make pink wine. This is usually only done with cheap low end wines.

Spring Rosé Tasting

We had a flight of 8 Rosé's from around the world to welcome in spring!

For me, spring and summer  means lots of dry rosés . BC makes some amazing dry rosés that I've gotten people who hate either reds/whites/roses to drink and enjoy. This was a really popular tasting and will hopefully hold a rosé - part deux in summer! We tasted the wines blind and in pairs that would hopefully highlight or contrast certain characteristics.




1. Gazela - Vinho Verde Rosé - Portugal - $9.49 (BC Liquor)

Vino Verde (green grape) is a wine from Portugal usually light, fresh with a little fizz and made from a blend of local varieties. They come in white and rosé versions, are usually cheap and go great with breakfast or brunch depending on your mood. This was refreshing with delicate red fruit notes. A good palate cleanser between the richer rosés.






2. Beringer - White Zinfandel - California - 2014 - $8.79 (BC Liquor)

This is blush at it's best, or as we called it in Whistler "cougar juice". Cheap simple off-dry to sweet rosé. Unfortunately this is what most people still assume most rosé wine is like which is obviously not true. This popular (for this style) one tasted like red berry juice with a side of cream. Off-dry, fruity, simple, and can be made into a cocktail with peach schnapps if there is absolutely nothing else to drink.







3. Spy Valley - Pinot Noir Rosé - New Zealand - 2015 - $21.99 (BC Liquor)

Most rosé from New Zealand will be Pinot based. This one tricked a few of the blind tasters into thinking it was french. Not all the grapes were allowed to sit on their skins allowing to keep this pale colour. It was the palest of our flight and had notes of light strawberry a bit of peaches, with a nice minerality to it and a floral note in the background.







4. Baillie Grohman - Blanc de Noirs Rosé - Okanagan - 2015 - $22.00 (Swirl Wine)



I paired this with the NZ rosé for a few reasons; both 100% Pinot Noir, their contrast in colour, both 2015, and the BC one was also made by a NZ winemaker! This wine spent 3 1/2 days with skin contact giving it the rich dark colour to it. Also giving it a rich texture to it and an added depth to the palate. It had nice notes of pomegranate, cranberry, raspberry, and a nice floral note. Dry, full body, and a bit of tannin.








Serendipity - Curiosity Often Leads To Trouble Rosé - Okanagan - 2014 - $19.12 (Swirl Wine)

Inspired by the old world this rose had 24 hours of skin contact which gives it it's dark rich colour and flavour. This wine is a blend of 40% Syrah, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Pinot Noir. It has aromas of a tart strawberry rhubarb pie with some raspberry and floral notes on the palate. It is bone dry, medium+ body with high acidity to give it it's mouth watering texture.






Hester Creek - Cabernet Franc Rosé - Okanagan - 2015 - $17.99 (BC Liquor)

This rich Cab Franc rosé had 12 hours maceration the skins has a beautiful texture in the mouth. 2015 was one of the warmest on record ripening all grapes to proper sugar levels. This wine had aromas of raspberry and cranberry. The palate has ripe strawberry and some black pepper but is dry and fresh with a great mouth feel.  Hester Creek's regular Cab Franc is also quite delicious







Domaine Houchart - Côtes de Provence  - France - 2015 - $17.49 (BC Liquor)

The fancy bottle is a signature of Provence wines; where 4/5's of the wine they make are these usual pale rosés. It is popular on the french coast served to the tourists with their with their lunch or as an aperitif .  This wine is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has faint aromas of orange blossom, almost ripe strawberry and a lingering hint of wet stone and spice. Dry, soft and delicate.






Domaine Lafond - Tavel Roc-Epine - France - 2014 - $23.99 (BC Liquor)

Tavel is one of the other famous rosé appellations and it can be found in the southern Rhone. Only rosés can be made there and they are usually dry full bodied and dominated by Grenache and Cinsault. This one is a blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 15% Cinsault. On the nose you'll find cherries, strawberries, watermelon, and a nice floral note. Rich and full-bodied with a mineral note on the palate but needs time to open up, so a pull from the fridge and decant for 20-25 mins.


Thanks for reading, and happy sippin'

Stay tuned for my part 2 with the Summer Rosé Sipper coming soon......