I taste wine to assess its quality, but drink it purely for pleasure. While quality does affect the enjoyment, company and context play equally important roles. My most memorable wines in 2015 were shared with extraordinary people in amazing places. Yes, I know just how lucky I am.
Of my many jaunts to Italy this past year, one in particular stands out. I met up with eight friends from Vancouver for a week in Piedmont during white truffle season. As an added bonus, one of the gang was a professional chef. It was a joy the watch him revel in the localingredientsand an even greater pleasure to savour the meals he prepared for us. He reached a crescendo with a multi-course birthday feast. For this we picked up a double magnum (3 L) of the 2011 Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco. Every sip was delectable but it achieved perfection alongside risotto with shaved white truffles. The 2010 vintage is currently available in BC for $41.99 (750ml) and simply one of the best Barbaresco deals.
Rivalling the trip above was my July sojourn in Piedmont. I was invited to Collisioni, a festival combining music, literature and wine. How could I say no? After wine-filled seminars during the day, I took in the concerts at night. I also had the best seat in the house at Marchesi di Barolo. Imagine a villa overlooking the town of Barolo with a bird’s-eye view of Sting and Mark Knopfler performing on an outdoor stage. Any wine would have been just fine at that point but my gracious hosts filled my glass with their Cannubi Barolo. (There's a smattering of the 2009 here for $73.99.) Collisioni is an annual festival, so start planning your summer vacation now. Elton John and MIKA are headlining in 2016.
Not all of my excursions took me to Italy. I had the honour of judging Portugal's national wine competition in May and was blown away by the character and value these wines pack in. Afterwards, I visited the stunning region of Dão and fell in love with its full-bodied, flavourful reds dominated by Touriga Nacional and complex, minerally whites based on Encruzado. What really sealed the deal, though, was tasting these wines with the intense and creamy local cheese:Serra da Estrela. Okay, so this cheese rarely makes it to Vancouver, but you can find some great wines from the Dão on our shelves. One of the finest, most elegant reds is the 2011 M.O.B. Dão for $39.99.
On home turf, I spoke at a dinner where Donna Karan was honouring Vancouver’s Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia for her business achievements and philanthropic work. While presenting Krug Champagne, I recalled the wise words of Swedish Champagne expert Richard Juhlin: “If the opportunity arises, never miss the chance to drink a Krug.” I have been fortunate enough to have had Krug on a few precious occasions and always make sure to finish every single drop. In a roomful of truly exceptional and inspiring women, it was the best it had ever tasted. Krug’s Grand Cuvée kicks of the range at $239.99 a bottle. Gulp.
And for best local sip of the year, my vote goes to Blue Mountain’s Brut Rosé 2010. Gorgeous pure red berries, scented flowers and toasty biscuits stopped me in my tracks. The 2011 vintage is now on offer for $32.90 from the winery. I’ll be taking a bottle on my next trip abroad to show off BC’s potential for high quality sparkling to my overseas friends.
