The Big Wow

There I was, sitting in a seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, the seminar was called Grapes Unknown excited to learn about twelve featured wines from France, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Romania and Canada's province of British Columbia.

In these types of seminars, one can expect to enjoy some excellent wines, those offered here did not disappoint. By the time we had tasted our way through the first seven wines, I had written the word WOW twice; and then came Chateau Chalon Savagnin 2009.

The aroma was fantastic but so different, at first, I did not realize what I was experiencing  It was indeed a wow moment, a huge "WOW" moment. I swirled the wine glass and once again sniffed the tantalizing aroma.

I was listening closely to the speaker, Nicolas Haeffelin, oenologist and specialist on the Jura Region of France where Savagnin is grown. As he spoke I tasted the wine; still amazed yet not quite sure what I was experiencing, it was not until Mr Haeffelin said the wine was developed on purpose not to produce a fruit-forward wine. "Nuts, I thought to myself, yes, nuts" that was the flavour of the wine, walnuts and almonds.

If any wine deserved a score of 100 this wine did!

The Château-Chalon AOC is dedicated exclusively to the production vin jaune wine. Savagnin or Savagnin Blanc is a variety of white grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune vin de paille.

The grape has been grown in France for over 900 years.

In Canada Chateau des Charme has grown and produced wine from this grape.

I hate it!

Yes, I do hate it when I read an article ( mostly from California writers) that calls the Okanagan the New Napa. Referring of course to the Napa Valley wine region of California.  A region famous worldwide for its wine production.

I heard this reference over 15 years ago and it may have held some credibility then. I read it again today and I read it in articles in 2019  2018 and 2017 and so on. Come on California we long ago surpassed you in quality wine production. In my humble and very unimportant view, Okanagan wines on the average are far superior to California.

A 2018 article from Culinary Vacations wrote:

"For those of you who love all that Napa Valley has to offer and are willing to take an adventurous chance on a lesser-known alternative, I’ve got just the place for you. This hidden gem, located in a breathtaking region of northwestern Canada, is where you can visit lush green wineries .. I visited  Osoyoos."

Just to get it right Osoyoos is not in the north it is in the south tucked right up beside Washington (us) boarder.

In 2006 the New York Times wrote an article calling the Okanagan the new Napa Valley.

In 2017 Explore wine & food wrote an article calling the  Niagara Peninsula the most interesting wine region in Canada the New Napa Valley.

I do not have space or time to list all the awards won by Canadian wines at worlds top wine competitions. We could start in the 1970s and fill two or more books.

In 1994 Mission Hill Family Estate put the Okanagan Valley on the map by winning the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London for 'Best Chardonnay in the World' and at the time the Master of Wine Judges were in such disbelief they re-tasted all of the wines and Mission Hill won a second time.

It is nice to get the respect of these writers referring to Canada's wine regions as the new Napa Valley but we are beyond that far beyond...

If you want to see how good Canada is against the wines of the world simply Google or do any web search using the term Canada wins World best ( better add the word Wine) In Google search I get 235,000,000 results.

At Last a Really Good Cider 

To set the stage let me take you back to my college years. The years when you would visit the bars with your buddies and drink a beer or two. The trouble for me was I did not care for beer. I desperately searched for an alternative, There was rum and coke a good alternative since you could get a weak one for just 98 cents. There was "Coolers" remember those; flavoured alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content. There was also cider. Wine was in my future.

Although cider offered a reasonable choice I did not find one that had remarkable flavour,

As the years went by I, of course, discovered wines. Wines became my main beverage. Occasionally I would try a cider. It seemed though that every bar, every restaurant offered the same brand X, It was okay but nothing that excited my taste buds.

It was not until the 2000s that there was a rise in the popularity of Cider. As the years went by more and more Cideries were opening. However in BC where I live it was still brand X dominating the pubs and restaurants.

In the last ten years, a number of Cideries have opened in BC producing quality ciders. Among them Twisted Hills Cider, Tod Creek Cider, Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse and Fraser Vally Cider Company.

However, nothing impressed to the point of jubilation until Jennifer Turton-Molgat owner of The View Estate Winery in Kelowna introduced us to Wards Cider. The one we have tried so far Picker's Hut Premium Cider. Where flavours abound.

Ward's Picker's Hut Premium Cider is the best cider. I have had in years. Full of flavour Apple ginger cinnamon with hints of melon 97.


Overall the future looks very bright for Wards Ciders and the View Winery. We have enjoyed many wines from the View over the years and look forward to tasting all Ward ciders.

Cider

 Tsawwassen's llluminaté Restorante

After taking care of errands in Tsawwassen on a rainy Tuesday afternoon and missing lunch, Barbara and I were ravenous by the time the supper hour arrived. We had heard that Illuminate` has a pizza special on Tuesdays so off we went before facing the 35-minute drive home.

Chef Roland Smith and his wife Joeqyna opened the doors of their restaurant on Oct 12, 2005. with the aim of bringing a quality Italian- inspired experience to South Delta; they have succeeded!

This time we did something totally different than previous visits, we usually sit at a table but this time we followed the suggestion of the hostess and sat at the bar which faces into the kitchen. What an amazing experience, I was fascinated by how Chef Roland and his staff orchestrated the preparation of each order that came through.

We noticed the cheerful smiles of the staff whenever they happened to look our way. It's little things like that that make a dining experience exceptional. The kitchen is immaculate!

We took our time looking over the menu which features elevated Italian cuisine from pasta to seafood, to steaks. We have tried various dishes over the years but never a pizza, as it *was* pizza night we went for the Pollo Aioli Pizza with chicken and mushrooms. It did not disappoint!

Pizza and wine go well together, I chose a very smooth fruit flavoured Pinot Noir from Cedar Creek. Barbara's choice was a Malbec Felino from Argentina, both good choices.

With the bar being in such close proximity to the kitchen it gave us an opportunity to chat with Chef Roland, an added bonus.

The restaurant features fresh local products, Roland and Joeqyna believe in working closely with the community. Over the15 years in business they have accumulated numerous awards along with the local paper's People Choice Award.

We topped our dinner off with coffee and a shared dessert which named Chocolate Heart, a soft-baked chocolate cake and vanilla gelati. Mouthwatering!

Did I mention how great our waiter was! Perfect service, a wonderful meal indeed, we felt very satisfied with everything as we set out on our drive home.

There are a number of dining choices in the community but none equal to five-star quality you receive at IIuminate Restorante whether it be for a pizza or a four-course meal!


Illuminate is located at 1077 56th Street Tsawwassen.

Is the wine world becoming too rich for us! I just checked into the price of staying at a winery guest house here in British Columbia. Minimum stay 2-night price $1000. That's right $1000.  Definitely the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Okay onward to the next winery. Here the room prices ranged from $189 to $369 depending upon the season. The amenities are good but still, that's expensive. A third winery prices ranged from $229 - $349 a night. These prices were for their lowest accommodation.

In this third one, you could pay a slightly higher rate for the executive suite. Listed amenities, daily housekeeping, free wifi, queen bed with a duvet and breakfast.

I checked out two more small family wineries with guest houses/ rooms. As hard as I tried without phoning them there were no prices listed.

Looking at hotels in the Okanagan wine country the best price I could find for offseason was $98.00. Sorry, no swimming pool. They did provide daily housekeeping, free wifi, queen bed and breakfast.

Two of the expensive wineries listed above had restaurants. Neither website provided a menu. I bet the prices will be above average.

Curiosity! I just had to go to one of the Okanagan's most popular winery restaurants to check out their prices.  Entrees range from $26 to $56. Although they add a wine suggestion for each meal they did not provide the wine prices.

A non-Okanagan winery entrees went from $27 to $29. The wines were twice the price at the restaurant than those in the tasting room.

Maybe  I should have saved more over the years.

A Look back at 2019

It was not a year to remember.  It would be known as the year of  Antibiotics! That meant we visited only three wineries all year long. The standard is three a day, not a year!

It all began the night before the Vancouver International Festival. I was packed and ready to go when a terrible pain stuck my left abdomen. I would spend the next seven hours sitting in the emergency ward. It would take three doctors and one operation before the pain was gone. Worst of all it took from January to May before the operation was done. They scheduled the operation on the day of my birthday celebration. Cancel all plans!

The operation did not result in total relief.  An infection developed more antibiotics were required. The infection came and went and came back again. Alcohol intake was quite limited throughout the summer and all the way into December.

At this time of the year, I usually write about wines enjoyed Christmas. This year I had only one BC wine a very nice L' Acadie from Whispering Horse winery located in Yarrow BC. It went extremely well with the Christmas turkey.

So let me close out this blog by mentioning the best wine of 2019. It surpassed expectations. I knew before opening the bottle that Wild Goose 2018 Pinot Gris would be a real treat. I did not expect it would be as good as it was. I gave the wine a score of 98.

Happy New Year!