IVSA So Many Wines… You Know The Rest

So *this* is where all the cool kids hang out. IVSA (Import Vintners & Spirits Association of BC) in Vancouver was a good time had by all at the Four Seasons downtown (this hotel really supports the wine world, hey?). If you are in the wine industry, you should consider joining the mobs of wine agents and buyers. If you’re not, you should find a way to get there next time around.

Roaming the room, taking it all in and chatting with familiar and new faces, you couldn’t help notice the serious on-a-mission tasters for wine columns, blogs, party recommendations, surrounded by the not-so-serious having a grand ol’ time with old friends industry veterans. Everyone was in great spirits and it felt a bit like Christmas in early November.

I met some lovely people, tasted some doozy wines, but there was no hope you could even dream of tasting half of the room in the 3 short hours, so I tried to stick to some bubbly on the note-taking, seeing as it is almost the season, and list a few sparklings, the real deal Champers plus a few bonus tracks for the holi’s:

• Bastianich Flor Prosecco – $19.99 – easy to drink and your fills the mouth with florals and light, lovely bubbles
• Codorniu Pinot Noir Sparkling Brut, Cava, $19.99 – full of zest but smooth as butter, and with a pinky-orangey hue for all you pink fans out there
• Nicolas Feuillatte Particuliere Brut, Champagne, $59.99 – Gismondi 90 pts.
• Champagne Moutardier Carte d’Or, $58.99 – unique 85% Pinot Meunier must try – 90 pts Burghound



Bonus Tracks:

• Penfolds Grandfather Port, $84.99 – nutty and rich, melts in your mouth and hangs around for a long time but not long enough!
• Chateau d’Orignac Pineau des Charentes, $39.99 – Wow. Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, one-third Cognac and ten years to produce – think thick, rich honey in a beautiful wine. Excellent value.
• Blue Raspberry Vodka, $23.75 – And why not add a little fun bubble-gum-esque blue vodka into the Christmas stocking? Goes with every typical mix I’d imagine or on its own on the rocks.

Thanks to Catherine at Rare Finds and Risha at Select Wines for making certain I made it out.

My Week In France

… in Vancouver.

What to do when you can’t jet off to France every other month? Seek France out in a hotel or community centre near you.

Last week I stopped into two local tasting events. The first, an industry tasting of Bordeaux reds and whites at the Roundhouse called Bordeaux Under One Roof. The second, the Rhône Valley at the Four Seasons Hotel at an event called Warm Winter Rhône – a benefit for the Children’s Hospital.

Great thing about my “afternoon in Bordeaux”: all wines presented were under $30. Beat that. Pretty decent value. It was a quiet room of just nine local agencies which made it easy to meet and greet and move around.

Before the tasting got started, it was optional to slip into the theatre adjacent to the tasting room and listen to an hour on Bordeaux from Montrealer and Bordeaux expert Nick Hamilton. It was a basic 101 on the region, terroir, grapes and wines, but served as very informative if you knew zero to very little.

Bordeaux wines are the true art of blending.
– Nick Hamilton

A Few Bordeaux Picks:

• Red: Chateau Mayne-Vieil 2005, $27.99 – rich, full body, lovely tannins, balanced and drinkable now / Merlot, Cab Franc
• White: Dourthe No 1 Sauvignon Blanc, $16.99 – Holy New Zealand! Very typical flare of a Sauvy B from NZ – citrus, grapefruit, fresh, zesty, yum – from France.
• Best deal of the day: Chateau Loupiac Gaudiet 2003, $17.99 (375ml) – sweet gem you could sip on all afternoon!

Across town and two days later, my “evening in the Rhône Valley” was splendid. This night was a benefit for the Children’s Hospital, so wonderful to see a packed room with eager note-takers and the “occasional” no-spitters… always entertaining. It was an easy room to try most wines, and that I did, along with my very-happy-to-taste-at-anytime-fellow-wine-enthusiast Tracey. Definitely found it easier to taste with one other person along for the ride, rather than a solo trek or a +1 +1 +1 etc. You can block out some crowds and get down to the task at hand with a second nose and set of taste buds.

Treats From The Rhône:

• Le Compagnie Rhodanienne 206 Les Combelles, $13.49 – easy drinking, light tannins and body with a nice balance – perfect entry into Rhône wine.
• Chapoutier 2005 Muscat Beaumes de Venise – other than the small twang of *slight* high alcohol at 15.5%, really, really lovely.
• Perrin Les Christins 2007 Vacqueyras, $26.99 – their marketing says it better than I: “rock-solid”.

My WSET Fine Vintage Favourites

What better time to start writing about wine then when you’ve just finished tasting roughly 18 wines a day over 6 glorious days?

Having recently completed Level 3 of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) with James Cluer at Fine Vintage, I have to give my props to some of the wine in this ‘Random Top 20(ish) Wines’ we were fortunate enough to taste while “studying”… listed in no particular order, according to my personal preference, with price point estimates (BC, Canada) and a few scribbles between the drooling, Ooo-ing and Ahhh-ing. Most of these, let it be known, I simply could not merely ‘taste’; a few slipped right down. A lot of these are wines you may want to break the bank on when the occasion presents itself, like, for instance, a quiet Tuesday evening at home. Why not?

WHITES:

1. Domaine Weinbach, Riesling Schlossberg, Alsace Grand Cru 2005 $70 – crisp and beautiful – spend the dough on this one, it will not disappoint.
2. Vinvent Girardin, Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts Burgundy 2006 $99 – oh-so-much-goodness. Melts in your mouth. Drink now.
3. Charles Heidsieck Cuvée 1995 $200 – Heavenly way to start the morning.
4. Zilliken Riesling Auslese Mosel (‘Auslese’ = German Late Harvest = sweet = FAB) 1995 $58
5. Muenchberg Grand Cru Alsace Riesling 2004 $104
6. Nicolas Joly Savennières Les Clos Sacrés (Les Vieux Clos) 2006 $47 – Bio-Dynamic
7. Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux 2003 $65 for the HALF L.
8. Château Dereszla Tokaji 2003 $30
9. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Alsace 2004 $58
10. Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 1999 $26 – What value!
(Bonus Number 11: blanc de blancs Champagne 1999 $85)

REDS:

1. Alentejo Incognito 2003 $67
2.Torres Salmos Priorat 2005 $35
3. Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2004 $114
4. Smith Woodhouse Tawny Port 1986 $65
5. Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 2002 $110
6. Château Beauséjour 1er Cru Saint Emilion 1998 $70
7. Château Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2001 $125 (All 13 grapes!)
8. Guigal Saint Joseph 2004 $110 (If I had to pick just one, god forbid, I can still taste this one…)
9. Felton Road Pinot Noir $110
10. Luce, IGT Super Tuscan, Montalcino 2005 $100

I’d be happy to expand on the what’s?/huh’s?/who’s-a? on any of the above if you’s like to know more. And if you are thinking of taking a wine course or two, and happen to live in Western Canada or Northwest US, you have to seek out James’ classes – you will not be disappointed.