Wonders of Wine and Food

Ortega and Bacchus  they get no respect!

Two of my favourite summer wines are Ortega and Bacchus. To me the wines are very much under-appreciated. You are not going to find them winning any Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence. In Robert's Selections, you will see that I gave Chaberton's Estate WineryReserve Bacchus 2106 a 94.

Bacchus: is a white wine grape that was created by viticulturalist Peter Morio at the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding in the Palatinate in 1933. He crossed a Silvaner x Riesling cross with Müller-Thurgau .Bacchus received varietal protection and was released for general cultivation in 1972.

Bacchus is the signature wine of Chaberton Estate Winery in Langley British Columbia. In BC Bacchus grape production is less than 1 % of all grapes grown in the province. Arrowleaf is another BC producer of Bacchus. Blue Grouse on Vancouver Island as well.

Ortega

Across between Muller-Thurgau and Siegerrebe varieties mostly used for white wine blending. Cold-hardy grape found in Germany and Canada. Comparable to Riesling. Ortega ripens early, is not sensitive to frost and reaches quite high must weights, typically 20 degrees Oechsle higher than Müller-Thurgau. It is therefore often used for sweet wines, which are considered to improve with cellaring. Ortega wines have aromas of Muscat and peach and are high in extract

Ortega's winter-hardy character has allowed this grape to be successfully grown in British Columbia, and with limited success in Canada's eastern province of Nova Scotia

Some top producers are Domaine de Grand Pré, Luckett and Jost in Nova Scotia. In British Columbia Larch Hills, Chaberton and Blue Grouse are among the best.