Wine, Spirits & Cider

Vancouver Island Visit

This was my fourth visit to Vancouver Island and its wineries, but there were still a couple of new places to try out. And not just for wine as we will see.

Near Duncan we found Enrico Winery which has been in operation for a dozen years and produces about 3500 cases per year, all from grapes grown on the estate. My favourites included the Red Dragon Pinot Noir 2017 which had a mix of sour and sweet red cherry aromas, smooth mouthfeel, and light cherry, almost strawberry flavours. Another was the Shining Armour Pinot Gris 2017 – pictured below – which was made with stainless steel fermentation and aging (as opposed to the reserve, which saw some oak). It showed delicious light aromas of pear and yellow apple.

The view of Mount Baker from de Vine Wines & Spirits (at the top of this post) was spectacular, and so were their spirits. We tasted a couple of wines, but their Genever gin and Moderna Vermouth, both pictured above, stole the tasting. Both were made from distilled wine, as opposed to grain-based alcohols.

We finished at Sea Cider which uses both culinary and cider specific apple varieties to produce a wide range of ciders (see above). By far my favourite standard cider was the Bittersweet made from Dabinett, Yarlington Mills, and other English bittersweet varieties. The Pomona (named for the Roman goddess of apples) is made by first freezing the juice of crabapples, then fermenting the concentrated juice with Sauternes yeast to produce a sweet dessert drink that is closer in nature to wine than cider.

Some Recent Wines

We have been enjoying some exceptional wines this past month. The Acústic Celler Braó 2014 (Spain, DO Montsant – Opimian Society) was a brilliant example of what Spain is doing these days, as was the Spanish flight at a recent wine-tasting dinner: Pintia 2006 (DO Toro), Vega Sicilia “Unico” 1999 (DO Ribera del Duero), and Closa Batllet 2003 (DO Priorat).

I’ve already posted a few times recently about Desert Hills in BC’s Okanagan Valley, but I could not fail to mention the recent bottle of Merlot 2013 we enjoyed. The plum and dark fruit aromas, with supple tannins and robust flavours was marvellous. This is Canada’s red wine region for certain.

German Rieslings are popular in this house and the Fritz Haag Brauneberger Jeffer Sonnenuhr Trocken 2011, Grosses Gewächs did not disappoint. (I just had to list the whole label!) The GG designation indicates that this wine is from one of the best sites in Germany, the Trocken indicates it is in a dry style.

There just seems to be something about those classified growths from Bordeaux. Even the second wine of a great house shows well, even in an average year, as the Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2007 proved. Served blind without any hints, it immediately elicited a “this is a good wine!” comment.

In celebration of South Africa’s recent success against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship we recently uncorked a couple of our favourites from Warwick, purchased through the Opimian Society. The First Lady Chardonnay 2016 is unoaked and shows plenty of fresh fruit flavours. The “old bush vines” Pinotage 2015 shows just what is possible with this variety.

Upcoming Events

CiderFest – Royal Canadian Legion, The Boulevard, Friday/Saturday, October 12 & 13 – sold out.

Whiskies of the World – Delta Hotel, Saturday, October 13 – still some tickets left.

Wine Show – Delta Hotel, Thursday to Saturday, November 15 to 17 – tickets go on sale October 12.