It has been a wonderful week of worldwide celebrations, coordinated by The International Wine & Food Society, recognizing the historic Steven Spurrier event held fifty years ago on May 24, 1976. Lots of current wine tasting results named “A Retrial of a Verdict that Changed History” are being posted on WWW.IWFSEA.ORG/JOP50. Check them out. Also consider your scribe’s thoughts on this historic tasting posted in the Wednesday Ask Sid feature on April 1, 2026 linked here. Our Vancouver Branch of IWFS held a commemorative wine tasting on May 20, 2026, featuring two single-blind flights—six whites and six reds—scored by eleven keen wine aficionados: James Robertson (and wife Milena, who was busy cooking a fantastic lamb shank and thus did not score the wines), Alvin Nirenberg, Kim Mead, Van Doren Chan, Leagh Barkley, Nellie & Vincent Tan, Dr. Bob Rothwell, Bob Vukovich, Joan Cross, & Sid Cross. The wine selections were brilliant and included some of the exact wines from the original 1976 event. It was a most interesting experience and the best wines rose to the top with a surprising consensus. However especially with the reds which were all over 50 years of age there was bottle variation—particularly for the 1970 Chateau Latour & 1970 Château Palmer, which were not in my opinion the very best bottles. The wines are listed below in the order they were served single-blind, along with a few of my comments:

2020 MEURSAULT-GOUTTE D’OR PREMIER CRU DOMAINE DES COMTES LAFON FRANCE: Light green look. All the whites looked quite similar. This had the most reductive (“struck match”) nose as I expected from Lafon and Tolpuddle. Young, stylish, vibrant apple, pear, peachy fruit aromas. Pinch of sulphur. Restrained; not quite fully developed yet. Top quality but not singing. Postscript: IMHO it would have shown cleaner and better if it had been decanted and given more air to develop.

2019 TOLPUDDLE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA: Also reductive but with greener fruit. More open, with grassy, floral notes and a good salty “cabbage” nose. High acidity with less ripe fruit. It stands out as a rather different Chardonnay from the others. PS: I have tasted later vintages including the outstanding 2024 that have much more balanced ripe spicy fruit to match the natural higher acidity levels and would have shown better here than the 2019.

2021 CHASSAGNE-MONTRACHET PREMIER CRU “MORGEOT” JEAN-CLAUDE RAMONET FRANCE: Bright shiny appearance. Best nose of pure agrumes (ripe citrus) – precise, classy aromas – very French white Burgundy. Stylish, well balanced, complex, and delicious. Leaner and less oaky than some, but it clearly showed the best minerality phenolics in this flight.

2020 CHECKMATE ARTISANAL WINERY FOOL’S MATE CHARDONNAY OKANAGAN VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Fresh grapefruit but with softer sweeter tropical notes. Forwardly. Rather good but with less distinct varietal character. PS: It’s a blend of 5 vineyards and 11 clones, but it’s not as complex as their Little Pawn single vineyard from Jagged Rock Vineyard.

2022 CHATEAU MONTELENA CHARDONNAY NAPA VALLEY CALIFORNIA: Quite citrus and vegetal notes; delicate and less full-bodied. Still young with a lot of finesse. It doesn’t seem textbook Burgundy styled but is almost Chablis-like (though no Chablis was in the tasting). Will develop further. PS: More restrained elegant style than the first place 1973 winner in Paris but their balance-over-power philosophy for longevity is present.

2023 BEAUNE CLOS DES MOUCHES BLANC JOSEPH DROUHIN FRANCE: Interesting inviting herbal, honey, full-bodied, ripe pineapple fruit. Open and enticing. I found it round softer textured with some heat from the higher alcohol especially on the finish. Mixed feelings. PS: Later learned it was indeed 14.5% ABV compared to the other two French whites at a lesser 13.5

The Chardonnay group results showed a clear preference for France. The Beaune Clos des Mouches Drouhin received 5 of 11 first place votes for 208.5 points followed by the Chassagne-Montrachet from Ramonet at 199.5 with 3 first place votes.

1970 CHATEAU MONTROSE AC SAINT ESTEPHE FRANCE: Darkest, deepest, and youngest-looking of the flight. It developed a fragrant bouquet with earthy sous bois forest floor, and leather characteristics. It had lots of powerful concentration with solid fruit and tannins still present. This must be Montrose from St. Estephe with that full, dry, less elegant signature. No rush. Better with food. Postscript: This Second Growth ranked third in the 1976 Paris tasting. It showed the typical depth of the first-ranked 1970 Montrose that Harry Waugh admired in Vancouver in 1982 at a 1970 horizontal suggesting it was the 1970 Latour (which came in second). It continues to hold and develop well. Good bottle here though some have TCA issues.

1971 RIDGE MONTEBELLO CABERNET SAUVIGNON CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA: Also very dark but with less depth and a paler rim. Much more fruit is obvious here, both in the complex aromatic nose and the impressive intensity on the palate. It seemed quite a bit sweeter with herbal spices than the other wines. Was that the American oak used by Ridge, or the ripe plum concentration of Latour? Maybe too ripe, minty, and sweet for Chateau Latour 1970. Regardless this is an exciting, young wine for being 50 years old and clearly shows the best of this flight. PS: Your scribe provided this well stored bottle. Fifth in the 1976 event but even better here. Congrats to the Ridge team for this extraordinary 100% Cabernet Sauvignon at only 12.2 % ABV Estate Grown at 2300 feet on the Santa Cruz Mountains. Remarkable wine!

1974 STAG’S LEAP WINE CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON STAG’S LEAP VINEYARD NAPA, CALIFORNIA: Quite a bit browner garnet look with a mature edge. It looked older, with a sweet tertiary bouquet. It was drying out, with insufficient fruit remaining on the palate. Needs drinking up. PS: See Photo: This bottle had the highest fill by far, so there are no excuses for its condition. Warren Winiarski won the 1976 Paris tasting with his 1973 wine from young vines planted in 1970. This 1974 was a better red vintage being richer and more elegant than 1973 with supple round flavours. But Stag’s Leap also used some of the best grapes from 1974 for their first reserve Cask 23. These great historic wines are past their peak and need drinking soon.

1970 CHATEAU PALMER AC MARGAUX FRANCE: Lighter red with more development. Nose not the cleanest bottle, showing some fading floral notes. Rather dry, with vegetal, oxidizing notes. Disappointing showing. PS: This Palmer 1970 usually shows much better with a distinctive, unique bouquet blending 44% Merlot, 31% CS, 9% CF, and a high 16% PV, offering fine elegance and harmony. Poor bottle. See Blog November 1, 2021 linked here for a better showing.

1970 CHATEAU LATOUR AC PAUILLAC FRANCE: Mid range colour. Less open with a deep briary black tea-like statement. There is depth and interest on the palate but some oxidation detracts overall. I’m not sure what this bottle is, but it wasn’t the best one. PS: See the photo of the full bottles; the 1970 Latour had a very low fill with lots of ullage. Not a typical bottle that might have given Ridge a closer battle. See Blog November 6, 2017 & Latour vertical April 4, 2022 both linked here. Bullish recent reviews in 2023 by Jancis Robinson 19.5/20 “no sign of fading fruit” and John Gilman 96/100 “still deserves a bit more time in the cellar just to allow it to blossom completely!” Bottle variation.

1974 MAYACAMAS VINEYARDS NAPA MOUNTAIN CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA, CALIFORNIA: Much younger looking deep red appearance. It showed black olives with minty geraniums as non-French aspects. It should likely be Mayacamas, given those eucalyptus notes characteristic of California. It was a bit edgy and lacked cohesion. Bottle variation again? PS: Bob Travers made some brilliant wines from 1968 to 1978 but they haven’t been quite as outstanding since. Good but better bottles exist.

The amazing Ridge Montebello 1971 received 7 of 11 first place votes and a total score of 207.5 – a dominating win! What a remarkable showing! Second at 197 was 1970 Latour and third at 193 was 1970 Montrose adding credibility to the long aging potential of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux. Bottle variation among 50+-year-old wines is inevitable and likely affected the results. Still an interesting overall exercise.

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Question: I often use Vermouth (prefer Noilly Prat from France) in my cooking sauces. After opening a bottle I just keep it in my kitchen cupboard. Is that OK?

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In Vancouver, we are blessed with passionate wine enthusiasm from consumers. Just look at the longevity of the Vancouver International Wine Festival, which just celebrated its 47th year with the 48th already fixed for the week of March 8, 2027. However another important underdog wine event named Top Drop is making inspired steady progress. Sommelier Kurtis Kolt and wine importer Jeff Curry co-founded the first one in 2014 with 24 wineries and just completed last week the best one yet with 70. It sort of reminds me of the Avis Rent a Car ads from the sixties that focused against #1 Hertz: “When you’re only #2, you try harder.” Indeed, the whole Top Drop team (with charitable BC Hospitality) has worked hard to seek out smaller quality wine producers from around the world, emphasizing fine wine crafted from distinct terroirs. Such a remarkably diverse selection made it easy to find something for everyone’s preference, including your scribe. A few of the many highlights for me:

LEGRAS & HAAS CHAMPAGNE: It’s always fun to discover a new Champagne House with this one established in 1991 and now run by three brothers: Remi, Olivier, and Jerome Legras. I have visited Nicolas Feuillatte several times in Chouilly (a Grand Cru village in the Cote des Blancs) and know historic Pierre Legras but this is the first time I’ve tasted this grower-producer, who was showing four different good-value cuvées:

Institution: 51% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and 14% Meunier (no malo) with 25% Reserve wines using a 2022 base, disgorged 04/2024 with a 6g/l dosage at $69

Institution Rose: 58% Chardonnay, 19% Pinot Noir, and 12% Meunier plus 11% red Pinot Noir added using a 2021 base, disgorged 01/2024 with a 6g/l dosage at $69

Blanc de Blancs Les Visions: 100% Chardonnay from Grand Cru Chouilly using a 2021 base, disgorged 10/2024 with a 6g/l dosage at $75. It clearly shows the creamy, ripe Chouilly terroir plus balance.

Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2018: 100% Chardonnay Grand Cru Chouilly from 2018, which they call “sun & soil,” disgorged 01/2025 with a 7.1g/l dosage at $99. Lovely richness.

SYNCHROMESH: Enjoyed revisiting Alan Dickinson who has done a brilliant job developing complex, site-driven Rieslings from Storm Haven Vineyard in Okanagan Falls British Columbia, since 2010. Remember an earlier Top Drop tasting where he clearly showed me the vibrant higher acidity of the 2016 vintage versus the rounder, softer 2015s. This time he offered his wonderful 2025 vintage, and we were pleased to taste them before they are quickly sold out. I always admire their top Storm Haven label Riesling, clone 21B on 3309 rootstock from Block 2 (planted 2010) and Block 3 (planted 2006). In 2025 Block 2 is 10.11% ABV (cellar 2024-2040) and Block 3 is 7.82% ABV (cellar 2024-2053). Alan’s very apt comments on them are: Block 2 “Taste: lychee, pear, gooseberry, & lemon curd with Structure: medium body, soft texture, and rounded acidity for an almost dry finish,” and for Block 3 “Taste: mango, candied ginger, ripe peach, high viscosity, dried apricot and seamless balance with Structure: intense complex acidity and viscosity that integrates to a very long off-dry finish.” Recommend early purchase.

GUNDERLOCH: Founded in 1890 by Carl Gunderloch, I was impressed by my discussions with Owner-Winemaker Johannes Hasselbach (the 6th generation of the Gunderloch family) and his excellent dry Nackenheim Rothenberg (steep, SE facing) Riesling Grosses Gewächs, featuring both the young 2024 vintage (from certified organically grown grapes) and the aged 2010 vintage. Johannes’s father, Fritz, was one of the pioneers of GGs. I found the 2024 had riper fruit, but it is still delicately complex with a lingering finish. It needs time. Johannes states: “Concentration of white peach, pink grapefruit and hibiscus flavours.” The classic 2010 shows balanced elegance with long mineral notes drinking beautifully today.

Also checked out the family estate Weingut THORLE (dating back to the 16th century) with principal Christoph Thorle from Rheinhessen, Germany. Their limestone subsoil produces worthy Rieslings and elegant Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir).

LA CHABLISIENNE & PASCAL BOUCHARD: As a big Chablis fan, I liked that Top Drop featured two producers. LA CHABLISIENNE has been a cooperative since 1923, comprising hundreds of growers and holding the largest share in Grand Cru Grenouilles. I tasted five very representative pure vibrant Chardonnays from those unique limestone soils ranging in price from $30 to $145. PASCAL BOUCHARD poured six excellent value wines, including some from the nearby emerging regions of Saint Bris (Sauvignon Blanc), Vezelay (Chardonnay), and Irancy (Pinot Noir). Educational.

SADIE FAMILY: This amazing winery established in 1999 in Swartland South Africa by winemaker/viticulturist Eben Sadie was the highpoint for many at Top Drop. Legendary white blend aromatic Palladius (many grape varieties), and the sensual, harmonious red Columella (Shiraz with Mourvèdre) were very popular. Boutique Wines is bringing some of the 2023 wines we tasted into this marketplace. Fortunate to drink the impressive complex 2018 Columella at dinner last month; it is young and aging well. Perfect Top Drop selection.

DIEGO CONTERNO: I finished my insightful tastings with many red wine producers, especially Italian ones. AURELIO SETTIMO offered six typical Piedmont selections, including three from Barolo, featuring an outstanding vintage 2019 Riserva from Rocche Dell’Annunziata. DIEGO CONTERNO is another Conterno to be reckoned with, welcomed by Stefano Conterno. Also this week another Conterno visited Vancouver: Franco Conterno with Cascina Sciulun in Monforte D’Alba. Previously your scribe visited Giacomo Conterno, Conterno Fantino, and Paolo Conterno in Piedmont. Conterno is certainly a very popular but confusing name in Piedmont wines. Olivier Brands Ltd is bringing these new wines to us, including well-made ageable Barolo from the top Ginestra vineyard.

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Ustill, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

Question: What is Muschelkalk?

Answer: It is the name given to the shell calcareous limestone soils in Germany. It is sometimes compared to the Kimmeridgian limestone of Chablis for producing wines with that chalky mineral salinity. Muschelkalk has become a significant factor for excellent wines made from the Sylvaner grape variety in Germany’s Franconia region. Check out Stefan Vetter’s and other top wine producers’ work.

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There is always a buzz in the air when the yearly Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards are announced. The 37th Edition was released last week, featuring several hot new spots and other deserving restaurant veterans. Your scribe was a long time judge for this credible competition and commends the dedicated efforts put into it. Your scribe wrote up the 2025 Awards on May 12, 2025 linked here. The Awards presentation ceremony itself has become a meeting place for so many in the hospitality industry. Just like the newly opened Culinary Commons at 1250 East Georgia Street in Vancouver, developed by The Chefs’ Table Society of BC is becoming a hospitality centre of learning. This exciting venture already has arguably one of the largest cookbook collections in North America and is becoming a beehive of activity. British Columbia has a unique camaraderie in this usually very competitive industry. Wonderful to experience. If you plan to visit Vancouver in 2026, this vanmag.com selection is definitely your best dining guide (with apologies to Michelin). Also pay attention to the reliable Readers’ Choice neighbourhood selections and best dishes. Below is a very useful, up-to-date list of the Best Wine Lists in BC.

Seven highlights among many:

BEST NEW RESTAURANT: This year’s list is very impressive, featuring the talented Chef VISH MAYEKAR and team as the outstanding gold winner at ELEM. However, silver runner-up KAVITA received BEST INDIAN and bronze newcomer CHEZ CELINE took BEST FRENCH. Amazingly current.

CHEF OF THE YEAR: Your scribe can’t give enough credit to the outstanding culinary contributions of the remarkable Chef ROGER MA of BOULEVARD – BEST FINE DINING. There are wonderful artistically high-quality dishes there, but also such a mentor and community contributor. Roger is even this year’s winner of the last Curry Cup of All-Stars for the Chefs’ Table Society. Excellent choice.

HALL OF FAME: Many who have contributed for years to Vancouver’s highly rated dining scene deserve this recognition. This year the spotlight fell on two stars of UMBERTO MENGHI & TOJO.

CHEF WITH HEART: A big thank you to Chef TJ CONWI for a significant community giveback. Many thanks.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR: Perennial favourite DYNASTY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT won this plus the Award for BEST CHINESE.

SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR: Special salute to IORI KATAOKA of YUWA for conscientiously attending so many wine seminars, learning a great deal, and educating us all on the versatility of sake.

BIG IMPORTANT MOVERS: Congrats to Richard Jaffray of LFG Growth and his competent team including Manager/Sommelier Sebastien Le Goff for such exciting brilliant growth in his top establishments: NIGHTINGALE – BEST INFORMAL CONTEMPORARY (Special kudos to Wine Director Chris Rielly) NOOK – BEST CHAIN ODDFISH – BEST SEAFOOD

More details are linked here: vanmag.com

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