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The January 2024 deep freeze of temperatures in the high -20sC (following the cold December 2022 one) destroyed so many vines in the Okanagan vineyards. The damage has been so extensive that many wineries are expecting no wine production from Okanagan grapes this year. Many grape varieties have been affected including so many successful Pinot Noirs. Winemaker Grant Stanley & Owner Bill Knutson of outstanding Spearhead Winery report 100% loss of Estate pinot noir grapes in 2024. Perhaps the hardest hit grape variety has been Syrah. Severine Pinte, talented winemaker/viticulturist of both Le Vieux Pin in Oliver & La Stella in Osoyoos calls it “catastrophic”. Will they risk replanting their fantastic Syrah or not? It is a real dilemma for wineries as the marginal grapes like Syrah that have been so successful up till now are the most vulnerable to these increasing winter freezes. Where does Syrah go from here? For the wine consumer the decisions to be made are much easier. Buy now all the Syrah (and Pinot Noir) from the Okanagan that you are able to find in your local marketplace. Supplies will continue to be way down and demand will be way up pushing prices even higher. This buy recommendation comes from wide experience by your scribe in tasting many vintages of Syrah produced in British Columbia over the past few years. What amazes me the most is that some of the most successful and best aging ones are quite inexpensive. In fact all Okanagan Syrah is very good value. This was an undiscovered success story gathering momentum but now has been roadblocked. Among the best Syrah for aging has been CHABERTON ESTATE WINERY from the Fraser Valley but accessing top Syrah fruit from the Okanagan Valley. Not surprising as the co-owner (with retired Vancouver respected lawyer Eugene Kwan) is Hong Kong businessman Anthony Cheng – a red Rhone admirer and keen wine aficionado. They developed an excellent Reserve Syrah under the “Canoe Cove” label with a Chinese character stylized seal meaning “Superior” by calligrapher Tang Cheong Shing. Tasted recently the 2006 & 2004 vintages that both showed an amazing complex bouquet textbook Syrah definition. Chaberton accurately described it as “The strong varietal characteristics of blackberry, cherry and plum harmonize perfectly with a spicy cinnamon, dark chocolate and smooth vanilla finish. ” Surprising ageability! The more current vintages of 2016-2019 (shorter heavier bottle with black label) continue in this same vein with riper fruit: 2016: 100% Syrah from Okanagan Valley in Oliver at Desert Hills. Juciy plums with smoky cloves on the nose plus smooth flavours with a touch of white pepper at 13.6 abv 2017: Similar with more cinnamon easier drinking at 13.4 abv 2018: Fuller blackberry/cherry notes with more black pepper spice is big and rich at 14.7 abv 2019: Aged 26 months in new oak barrels is toasty but with lots of big fruit mocha pepper notes with a touch of elegance at 14.2 abv. $32. Another Okanagan Syrah falling under the radar has been SANDHILL Syrah Terroir Driven Wine. The 2015 was selected out of 600+ wines from 85 wineries and from all the Platinum medals for the very top Premier’s Award at the BC Wine Awards in 2017. What amazing value under $30 Canadian! Tried the 2015 & the 2018 Sandhill Syrah recently and they indeed are big fruit value for the money. No rush. Good luck in searching for our diminishing Okanagan Syrah!

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Question: Sid, do you have a best recommended method to pour Champagne into a wine glass?

Answer: I prefer to tilt the glass to try and save as many of those precious bubbles as possible. Suggest pouring very slowly from the bottle down the side of the tilted glass. Don’t fill the glass more than two thirds full. However, the more accepted practical view is that it is not necessary to tilt but just to pour a small amount into the standing glass, wait a few seconds to allow the initial effervescence to subside, and then complete your pour. This is the usual procedure at most restaurants as well where they avoid extra handling of your glass and save time with their service. Try out different pouring techniques and Sparkling wine glass shapes!

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Celebrating a birthday has been around forever. It started with the Pharaohs back in Ancient Egypt. Today we often think of birthdays in the context of kids having fun with balloons, magic tricks, and even sleepovers with their young friends. Candy and the traditional birthday cake with candles come to mind as necessities. Some parents are now wisely using it as an occasion to teach children about kindness to others and learning to give back by donating toys etc.

As we age some of us continue to celebrate each year in our own way – even if it is just on one of the social media connections like with your Facebook friends. Others including your scribe tend to ignore this hallmark of the passing years as we get older. Presently many of us are aging in relatively good health and living longer. Trendy websites like family friend Dr. Peter Attia (best selling book “Outlive” – The Science and Art of Longevity) and IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) are helping us to make healthier lifestyle changes for more possible birthday celebrations in the future. Older age is worth celebrating. Consider it.

On July 4 a dear older friend Alice Spurrell brought together 49 of us for dinner at Blue Water Cafe to celebrate her birthday. BWC is a top Vancouver restaurant often mentioned on this Blog for events of the Group of Eight of which Alice’s recently deceased husband Dave was an important long time contributing member. It was a wonderful idea to bring together some of her close friends for this celebration. An atmosphere of respect and admiration filled the room for Alice’s contribution to our community. My wife Joan and I have known the Spurrell family since the seventies when Alice & Dave arrived in Vancouver and both started work at BC Hydro. Alice was the true entrepreneur (we need more like her in Canada) deciding to go to Cordon Bleu in both London & Paris to become a culinary marvel. She returned to do catering with her business Menu Setters but not satisfied with only that went off again to learn all she could about cheese and founded one of the best cheese shops in the universe called Les Amis du Fromage. Vancouver is most grateful to her for all she has done to make our city more livable and a better culinary place. Alice is also a long standing member and enthusiastic supporter of activities of our thriving International Wine & Food Society and a former President of our Vancouver Branch.

This dinner was well planned and executed. The famous BWC Seafood towers to start and a three course menu to follow with clever 3 diverse options in each section for guests to choose. We chose the delicious loaded Dungeness + Shrimp Cake, Chef Frank Pabst recipe for Sablefish – our fav, and superb warm dark chocolate finale. Well chosen French wines of DRAPPIER Carte d’Or Champagne Brut, CHABLIS PREMIER CRU FOURCHAUME 2021 famille Gueguen, and SAVIGNY-LES-BEAUNE 1er Cru LES NARBENTONS 2020 Domaine Michel Ecard all paired nicely with the food.

This was an inspiring way to celebrate one’s birthday! Even your less birthday celebratory scribe enjoyed it immensely. Well done indeed.

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Question: What is Criolla?

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We are fortunate in Vancouver to have the wonderful wine meetings of the Group of Eight – many of them posted here on this Blog. We just enjoyed #122 on July 2nd at Blue Water Cafe over a dinner featuring a 11 vintage vertical of hard to find Vosne-Romanee Les Chaumes 1er Cru from Meo-Camuzet. Our story reminds your scribe of sharing wine experiences over time similar to those related in the interesting book “The Bordeaux Club” (1949-2019) by Neil McKendrick released by Academie du Vin Library. A highly recommended read. Our Group of eight is led by Ian Mottershead an experienced very knowledgeable aficionado of the finest wines in the world. Most remarkable is his foresight in collecting many outstanding bottles and his generous willingness to kindly share them with other enthusiastic members of this group. Such an amazing vertical wine experience would not be possible without him. Memorable.

This event started with the historic VINTAGE 2008 DOM PERIGNON BRUT. They describe it as a “Tale of a Vision shared by Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon, a complete Dialogue between two men and Nature”. This Legacy Edition is already impressive indeed with a vibrant freshness yet a rich creaminess that continues with time to evolve with more complexity.

Our main focus was on a so-called “lesser” Premier Cru of Vosne-Romanee named Les Chaumes from the respected producer Meo-Camuzet. Ian prepared for us a well researched Summary page of the region and aptly quoted “There are no common wines in Vosne”. Les Chaumes though is lower down the slope in the SW corner of Vosne with more clay and alluvial soils in the two plots of Meo-Camuzet planted in the late fifties and seventies. The founder in 1902 was Etienne Camuzet followed by Jean Meo (1969-1984) and the Domaine name changed in 1981 from Camuzet to Meo-Camuzet. Iconic winemaker Henri Jayer (1922-2006) worked for them including the 1945 vintage and retired in 1988. He provided valuable mentorship over 3 years to the present winemaker Jean-Nicolas Meo. Henri Jayer was a strong advocate against the inclusion of whole bunches & stems in the fermentation process. Jean-Nicolas has followed that generally but is using more experimentation with stems like 10% in 2017 Cros Parantoux & 15% in 2010 Les Chaumes – the first wine of this vertical. Some brief comments:

2010 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Small crop. Less red colour depth pale rim – possibly because of stems addition. Fresh, more elegant with some charm but leaner than expected. Approachable. Slightly disappoints. Question mark. Try again.

2009 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Deep dark red to the edge. Riper richer fuller fruit at 13.5 abv. but better structure than expected. Give more time.

2008 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Lively vibrancy but a bit too much acidity for the fruit. Refreshing with the tasty grilled langoustine course.

2005 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Most colour depth of the first flight at 13 abv. Best stylish aromas with perfect balanced structure for longer classic aging. Developing silky textures already. Impressive.

2003 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Heat waves produced more concentrated wines. Some earthy figgy fruit here but not raisiny. Not too big. Surprise of the first flight.

2002 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Perfumes. Purity of floral delicate fruit is lovely. Beautiful grace, finesse, and elegance of the terroir even at 13.5 abv

1999 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Darker with more intensity. Bit reluctant on the nose but developed well in the glass and later on with airing. Admirable depth of excellent fruit with power at 13 abv. Would like to have bottles of this in the cellar. With patience this should be truly outstanding.

1998 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET More austere with lighter fruit statements. Floral but simpler and ready to start drinking now.

1996 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Deeper look than 1998 but rather stewed pinot noir. Perhaps picked too late or used too much extraction? Thinking California but like their NICOLAS JAY Oregon project more than this bottle.

1990 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET A bit cloudy from sediment. Bigger roasted body but with less delicacy. Not singing presently. Aloof. Concentration of 13.3 abv shows potential. Popular among our group. My similar reaction to many 1990 red Burgundies – expecting other bottles and with more age to show better refinement.

1985 VOSNE-ROMANEE LES CHAUMES MEO-CAMUZET Bought from Martine Saunier as first vintage through Kermit Lynch imports. Initially had a BBQ overly smokey heavily charred oak burnt timbers nose. Too much. It had improved immensely at my Christmas dinner in 1996 against the same wine & vintage from Domaine Rion (showed less pinot variety more Rhone-like). Now nearing 40 years it is ready or past it but has that “Henri Jayer delicate” delicious drinking and different from the ten other ones but truly exquisite with magret de canard. Gives hope and promise to the other younger wines for further development in bottle.

2015 SCHARZHOFBERGER RIESLING AUSLESE EGON MULLER A young vibrant treasure at 7.5 abv. Long way to go for this outstanding Riesling. Also enjoyed the 1999 Auslese on October 8, 2022 in Germany with a more developed bouquet and richer flavours than 2015 but only at 8 abv. Love the intense fruit at low alcohol. Fond memories of visits to this property and enjoying a magnum of this vineyard as Trockenbeerenauslese 2005 at only 5.5 abv. No rush. Brilliant unique matching dessert with surprising flavour elements – including foie gras.

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