Question: I have been drinking more of the inexpensive sparkling Prosecco but finding most of them a bit too sweet for me. Your thoughts Sid?
Answer: Good point. Prosecco from Northern Italy is a sparkling white wine made mostly from the Glera grape but often has up to 15% of other grape varieties in a blend. Popular ones often do have a fair amount of residual sugar. They do have drier selections labelled as Brut (with 0-12 grams/litre sugar), but also Extra Dry (12-17) tried recently with a scallop dish plus pineapple & bacon, and called Dry (17-32) which is really sweet often served with dessert. The hot breaking news is that for 2017 we will see the first release of some Extra Brut for those who prefer a much drier style of Prosecco. Watch out for it and try it!
Your scribe enthusiastically endorses this newly published book Icon by respected wine historian John Schreiner. This topical 320 page tome perfectly captures the growing global respect for the special wines coming out of British Columbia. The growth of wineries has been really phenomenal now numbering more than 340 growing some 75 different grape varieties. This impressive work spotlights 98 of these top wineries plus some others “to put on your radar” who produce an “icon” (or flagship) wine being “the very best wine a producer can make”. He has suitably chosen his “wines with a track record of rising quality”, “not all… premium-priced”, and his “objective with this book is to encourage readers to collect verticals of favourite wines”. As expected most of the wines selected are red with some of the top white wine producers including small-lot Terravista Vineyards noted by their absence. Hopefully subsequent editions will be expanded to include them and some of the other newer star wineries. Some wineries get detailed vintage reviews like 13 vintages (their first one 2001-2013) Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin and Mission Hill Family Estate Oculus 17 vintages (1997-2013). This book is dedicated “to Winemaker John Simes, who created Oculus in the 1997 vintage at Mission Hill Family Estates, continually refining it until it became the Okanagan’s premier icon wine.” Others like the exciting quality Checkmate Artisanal Winery has only their debut 2013 vintage. Classic quality pioneer Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars has a spotlight on all their “Reserves” including pinot noir, chardonnay and sparkling.
As a long time wine collector of wines from around the world and as one who is so appreciative of aged wines it is interesting to note these knowledgeable comments on the cellaring of BC wines: “A $20 wine can be expected to peak in seven years (in a good cellar). Most icon wines are constructed to age at least 10 years, improving and becoming more complex as they age. Indeed, the wines will likely cellar longer than that. As vines in this province have grown older and winemaking has become more skilled, the best wines are living 15 or more years.” This is indeed encouraging news!
The organized notes by trained journalist John Schreiner (who started out as a reporter for the Regina Leader Post followed by a very successful long career as Western Canadian Editor for the Financial Post) are always so well researched and eruditely expressed. This adds enormously to the readability and easy reference of his latest admirable work all set out alphabetically by winery name. Members of the IWFS will please note John’s valuable continuing contribution as a distinguished wine consultant on BC wines for our annual Vintage Card and author of the respected Monograph “Icewine”. Wonderful photography by Christopher K. Stenberg is a welcome addition bringing the region alive with a focus on picturesque vineyards and excellent grapes. The publisher is TouchwoodEditions.com and the price is $39.95 US/Canada. You need this volume to be informed on this exciting unique wine region that has emerged and you will also enjoy reading it!
Drawing many parallels with the province of Ontario, the vineyards of Beautiful British Columbia truly began their ascent in the early 1990s when free trade laws forced local vintners to compete with wines south of the border. However, by utilizing the full potential of areas like the Okanagan Valley, B.C. has increased the number of wineries by an astounding 2000% since 1990, representing approximately 9,800 acres that make everything from traditional Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to sparkling and icewine. So have a look below and see how such a phenomenal amount of growth has transpired in such a short period of time across the Pacific Province.
1. The first vines were planted by the Roman Catholic Church near Kelowna during the mid-1800s.
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2. During the early 1930s, the province’s apple industry experienced a bumper crop that caused prices to plummet. Desperate for another source of revenue, the wine industry was able to convince farmers to switch from harvesting apples to grapes.
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3. Up until the 1980s, British Columbia was mostly known for growing hybrid varieties such as Marechal Foch, Rougeon, & Baco Noir.
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4. With the signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, local vintners now had to compete with California, Oregon, and Washington. In response and to help increase quality, the federal government paid vineyards to pull out their inferior hybrid varieties and replace them with vinifera grapes, known as the 1988-89 pullout.
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5. Following this decision, the area dedicated to producing grapes jumped by 182% from 1990 to 1999.
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6. The vast majority of British Columbia is too mountainous and/or too far north for growing vinifera grapes. Only a tiny strip in the southern end of the province can support winemaking.
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7. The most important and prestigious winemaking area in BC is the Okanagan Valley, which surrounds the Okanagan Lake and is nearly 500km east of the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the province’s few warm-climate wine growing areas.
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8. Another prominent wine region is Similkameen Valley, which along with the Okanagan Valley represents nearly 90% of all the vineyards in the province. Roughly 400km east of Vancouver, these two areas are protected from coastal rains by two moderate mountain ranges.
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9. Other areas include Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
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10. Today, there are more than 75 grape varieties that are grown by more than 340 wineries. Some of the most popular varietals include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.
Sources:
Aspler, Tony & Leslie, Barbara. Canadian Wine for Dummies. Mississauga: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., 2000.
Danehower, Cole. Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest. Portland: Timber Press, 2010.
Esrock, Robin. The Great Canadian Bucket List – British Columbia. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2014. Harding, Julia. The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Question: I see quite a few wines that have been stored in both American & French oak. Why is this?
Answer: Yes there seems to be a lot of them in the expanding number of New World wines – especially for bold reds and Bordeaux style wines. American barrels usually give more sweet assertive intense vanilla notes while French oak tends to deliver more subtle flavours with a better finishing lift. New barrels impart even more pronounced flavours than previously used ones. Larger size barrels than the traditional smaller barrique size help preserve the fruit so now are becoming more popular. Less use of oak is also an increasing trend. One reason for using a combination of oaks is that French barrels are generally much more expensive than American (or Slavonian and others). Another is what barrels does the winery actually have available to use in the cellar. Some winemakers do believe that using a combination does provide more complexity in the final wine. I must say I generally prefer French oak more though new American oak casks are much improved these days. Of course the key is always what does the wine smell and taste like after the seasoning of oak used regardless of where the wood comes from.
The International Wine & Food Society is alive and thriving in Vancouver. Last night our Vancouver Branch held their 50th Anniversary dinner (menu attached) at the Vancouver Club the same place where it all began back in 1967. Some wonderful stories and reminiscences throughout the evening. We toasted Andre L Simon (1877-1970) the Founder of our wonderful worldwide non-profit society in 1933 with a clear focus to bring together and serve all who believe that a right understanding of both wine and food is an essential part of personal contentment and health. We referred to the inaugural opening IWFS dinner in January 1934 for some 400 at the Savoy in London followed almost immediately by Andre’s journey to America establishing the first branches in Boston & Chicago in 1934 then by San Francisco, Los Angeles & New Orleans the following year. We remembered his previous career talking and selling Champagne highlighted by the story of the 1895 Pommery showing an unclear smoky sediment after release with the whole shipment being recalled on buyer full payback price + 5%. This decision resulted in an enhanced credible reputation for both Andre & Pommery with increased sales for the heralded vintages of 1900, 1904, and 1906 and those that followed. Andre Simon also lectured and wrote books as a hobby initially and later became editor of the esteemed Wine & Food Journal from 1934-1962. Lots of admiration mentioned for his 104 published books over 66 years with the 3 favourites perhaps being By Request (1957), In the Twilight (1969) and A Wine & Food Bedside Book (1972) by then Secretary of the IWFS Claude Morny with 70 articles selected from Wine & Food Journals. Some of us old-timers recalled memorable visits to the old IWFS headquarters then at Marble Arch House at 44 Edgware Road in London.
We spoke of some of the earlier International Festivals: 1971 Paris (top restaurants), 1974 San Francisco & Los Angeles (so many memorable winemakers including legends Joe Heitz & Robert Mondavi), 1977 (drinking the 1945 Chateau Latour collected for us by Andre), 1980 Australia (so many wine legends involved including Len Evans, Murray Tyrrell, Max Lake…), 1983 Vancouver (50th anniversary included delicious 1933 Moulin Touchais & 1933 Seppelt Para Liqueur Port) and 29 years later in 2012 it again returned to Vancouver. We are proud of hosting our two Festivals which both had all local members total participation!
The Vancouver Branch is in good hands presently under the continued leadership of Milena & Jim Robertson. They were heartily congratulated and honoured with the Awards of BGA Gold for Milena & the International Andre Simon Bronze for Jim. Both richly deserved!
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