BORDEAUX BLENDS/MERITAGE I’m going to try to make this short. There’s a part of me that finds it quite funny that a good number of producers ditch the Meritage concept. Meritage is a brand name for ‘Bordeaux-style-blend’. My big beef is: what then is the non-France name to apply to the Syrah/Viognier blends? No ‘Hermi-Meri-tage’ brand name? How about the … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: PINOT NOIR
PINOT NOIR Whereas some of the other red varietals don’t seem to step up to the international competition – Pinot Noir does for whatever reason. They have some Pinot Noir that is truly lovely, and at price points that are really hard to find elsewhere. Although none knocked it out of the park for me, there were memorable wines here, … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: MERLOT
MERLOT Merlot is high on my list of favorite varietals – I’m a big fan of right-bank Bordeaux. Because it’s the most broadly planted red grape here, I figured my palate would be a shoe-in to be praising the merlots. Not so much. Barring a few exceptions, I found them very thin, very heavy-handedly oaked, and lacking complexity. And at … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: PINOT GRIS
PINOT GRIS I’m going to broadly generalize that there are two camps of pinot gris here: the stinky camp, and the fresh fruit camp. Admittedly, I’m not sure why that seems to be the case. What I do know is that I am not a fan of the stinky MLF-Chardonnay-esque version. I do enjoy the bright fruit-driven crisp style, but … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: CHARDONNAY
CHARDONNAY If there was a movement to tear out all the white varietals in the South Okanagan and leave but the best, I would be marching day and night on Highway 97 with a sign reading “Save The Chardonnay!”. I find they do both fresh, fruity, stainless versions well, as well as barrel fermented MLF versions – and everything in … Read More
Top 5 South Okanagan Producers
Among the pages and pages of writing from my journey in South Okanagan wine, I figured it might be best to start with the best. Cut to the chase. Who are the best producers? Which are the best wines? It’s important to note that it is not a tight field – there are some seriously weak producers on the bottom … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: Mission Complete
I’m back. 22 wineries. 140+ sets of tasting notes and scores. Full review to come.