December 8 Weekly Wine News Roundup
December 8, 2009
Wine awards are making news this week, as the outcome of a couple competitions were announced.
The 10th Annual Wine Press Northwest Platinum Judging is a competition between wineries of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and BC. Wineries are invited to enter wines that have already won gold medals. The panel then tastes the gold medal wines against each other to determine who will win Platinum. In order to get the award, three of the four judges must agree, if a wine goes four for four, it gets a Double Platinum award.
JoieFarm cleaned up in this competition, with their 2008 Riesling and their 2008 A Noble Blend finishing 1st and 2nd overall. The Riesling took the “Best of the Best” title as well.
Additionally, five BC wineries won three Platinum’s each:
- Domaine de Chaberton of Langley, B.C. (2008 Canoe Cove North Bluff White – Double Platinum; 2008 Bacchus – Platinum; 2006 Canoe Cove Shiraz – Platinum)
- Gehringer Brothers of Oliver, B.C. (2008 Private Reserve Riesling – Platinum; 2008 Minus Nine Ehrenfelser Ice Wine – Platinum; 2008 Schonburger-Gewurztraminer – Platinum)
- Inniskillin Okanagan of Oliver, B.C. (2007 Discovery Series Tempranillo Ice Wine – Platinum; 2007 Riesling Ice Wine – Platinum; 2007 Discovery Series Malbec – Platinum)
- Jackson-Triggs of Oliver, B.C. (2006 Proprietors’ Reserve Shiraz – Platinum; 2007 Proprietors’ Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – Platinum; 2007 Grand Reserve Riesling Ice Wine – Platinum)
- Wild Goose of Okanagan Falls, B.C. (2008 Mystic River Pinot Gris Double Platinum and top Pinot Gris; 2008 Pinot Gris – Platinum; 2008 Mystic River Gewurztraminer – Platinum)
Wine Access magazine’s December issue announced its top 101 Favorite Wines for 2009. Six BC wines made the list:
- Sandhill 2007 Phantom Creek Vineyard Small Lots Program Syrah (#52)
- Sandhill2007 Osprey Ridge Vineyard Small Lots Program Viognier
(#70) - Quails’ Gate Winery 2007 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay (#71)
- Gehringer Brothers 2008 Minus 9 Ehrenfelser Ice Wine (#79)
- Church & State 2007 Hollenbach Family Vineyard Pinot Noir (#82)
- Stag’s Hollow 2008 Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon (#86)
Outside of the competitions, there was a lot written about wines this week. Anthony Gismondi made some recommendations for hostess gift wines in the Vancouver Sun. James Nevison, the Province’s Wine Guy, recommends a trio of cheap and cheerful party wines for the holiday party season.
Tim Pawsey admires the art of the wine label in his column in the Vancouver Courier, while Jurgen Gothe treats himself to some Beaujolais in the Uncorked column of the Straight. David Scholefield chooses Heggies Chardonnay 2007 this week in Vancouver Magazine and John Schreiner samples a line up of Blue Mountain wines at Salt in Vancouver’s Gastown.
Wondering what the ladies of wine are up to? On her blog, Joanne Sasvari wonders about some women’s taste in bevvies. Amy Rosen tries to find out whether marketing-driven wines will corner the chick wine market. A story from the Montreal Gazette looks into what women want in wine.
Weekly Wine News Roundup
December 1, 2009
As we head into December and the holiday season, it’s time to curl up with a celebratory flute of bubbly (Blue Mountain’s Brut is delicious) and find out what’s going on in the world of wine.
If there is a favourite American wine that you have had on your wish list, but could not find for sale in Canada, FedEx has just announced that it will be able to help you get your fix…maybe. It seems that FedEx did not jump through all the regulatory hoops necessary and the announcement was a bit premature. The hope was that a new “direct purchase” scheme would allow U.S. wineries to send their vino to your home in BC, Alberta or Ontario. But don’t hold your breath for that special Cali Cab, as the future of the project is unclear. This will be an interesting story to follow on WineLaw.ca
In lighter news, The Province’s Wine Guy, James Nevison offers some affordable, drinkable solutions for doing your part to solve the wine glut — a world wide surplus in wine. He suggests Finca Flichman 2008 ‘Oak Aged’ Shiraz, Argentina ($10.99); Cooralook 2008 Chardonnay, Australia ($17.99); and Carpineto 2006 Chianti Classico, Italy ($21.99).
In the Vancouver Sun, Anthony Gismondi writes the second part of his holiday wine-buying guide, which concentrates on red blends. He also includes a varietal Malbec — a long-time favourite of mine – Punto Final Malbec.
The Vancouver Sun also included some food and wine pairing tips from Joanne Sasvari. She gave some additional guidance about pairing wine with cheese, which is informative reading for your upcoming holiday entertaining! If reading isn’t enough, there is also a Wine & Cheese 101 class coming up in Vancouver.
In the Vancouver Courier, Tim Pawsey sheds some light on Kiwi wines, which will be a featured theme at the Playhouse Wine Festival in 2010. Jurgen Gothe rounds up his “BOYs” (Best of the Year wines) in the Georgia Straight. In Vancouver Magazine, David Scholefield chooses Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Sun Rock Shiraz 2005 as his Wine Pick of the Week.
Keep your eye out in BC Liquor Stores for the winter issue of Taste magazine. It is set to feature secrets from Bordeaux, wines of Chile, tips on cellaring wine, a who’s who in BC wine and plenty more. Wine Access magazine recently published the 2009 Canadian Wine Awards. You can check out the winners online, or pick up an issue.
In and around BC, John Schreiner reports on Mission Hill’s proposed $80 million expansion, and Master of Wine James Cluer talks to Glenn Fawcett at Black Hills Winery.
After all this reading, I’m sure you’ve downed most of that bubbly by now and you may be feeling a warm glow, or maybe you’re tipsy? Balmy? Pam Freir explores the many ways to explain your buzz all around the world.
