I’ve posted a few times about my intentions to build a wine cellar. Well barring some additional shelving that will be built this spring, it’s done. And thank the lord for that. Because I’m crazy and decided to try to grow grapes up here, I figured it would be prudent to learn to make both white and red wines this … Read More
Saskatoon Wine – 2009 Batch 1 Update
Batch 1 of 09 Saskatoon wine was bottled this week, and I figured it would be useful for other would-be-saskatoon-wine-makers to have some thoughts in the otherwise gaping void of online information about tackling this. First, I’m pretty sure this wine will mature nicely. For a long time, the wine had a tart cherry vibe that was awkward, nearly metallic, … Read More
2009 Red Sparkle Apple Wine Update
I’m very behind with posting. Fortunately my computer overlooks my smoking setup, so that I can type away while keeping watch on the now-smoking-bacon from this fall’s pig butchering event. Trying to avoid last time’s mistake. I’ve been meaning to post about my apple wine, as it’s been a remarkable success. Phenomenal break through. It now seeming like a lifetime … Read More
4 Wines & A Plate – Rhone [Southern]
Something connected here. Maybe it was the -32C weather that made us appreciate the wines, food and company a little more than usual. Maybe it was the variety and dynamics of some of the wines. Maybe the wines were really just that good. All 4 wines had major critic scores of 90+, so expectations were high, yet the wines still … Read More
100 Point Wine: An Education
An education indeed. That’s what I’ll call it as it sounds nicer than opulent self indulgence. Our wine tasting group had long talked about trying an obscenely expensive bottle of wine that was supposed wine perfection. I sourced such a bottle. Robert Parker scored it 100. The scale don’t go any higher than that. And, as sad as my inner … Read More
4 Wines & A Plate – Tuscany
Long a flogger of French varietals, I figured exploring some Italian varietals, of which there are many, was long overdue. Tuscany well deserves some attention, and I think is pretty misunderstood. The food was kept rustic: game stew. Imo, there were 2 lovely wines, and two boring wines. THE WINESA: 2004 Talenti Pian di Conte Brunello di Montalcino, WA93, $65Nice … Read More
South Okanagan 2009: BORDEAUX BLENDS/MERITAGE
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
Q&A about 4 Wines & A Plate
I generally just post a summary of our 4 Wines & A Plate nights for the folks involved, assuming it would be of little interest to others. But I got a great comment from Rhonda that made me reflect on how many things I learned the hard way, that might actually be useful to share if you wish to start … 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