Whoo-hoo! Its Vancouver Wine Festival week! If youre hitting the International Festival Tasting room, and you should, dont forget that the more you spit, the more wines you can sample and enjoy. Make sure you have a big meal beforehand youll need all the energy you can muster to navigate the rooms 177 wineries.
With this years theme being France, explore the countrys diverse regions and styles. Domaine Zinck from Alsace offers fresh, aromatic and zippy whites, while Maison Louis Jadot of Burgundy provides some wonderfully plummy Pinot Noirs, expressing gleaming minerality.
You can bet Ill be swinging by Lanson in the Champagne section more than once, and doing my best to get a little face-time with M. Chapoutier, the man himself, over in the Rhône Valley. When you find yourself knee-deep in Spanish wines, I heartily recommend you pop by Nathalie Bonhommes table. The winemaker/négociant always has some delicious wines to pour, and personality-wise shes a stick of dynamite who will leave you beaming.
Sitting Wine Fest out this year? Here are a couple wines to enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
This wine isnt going to be everybodys favourite because of its unique style, but if it does indeed speak to you, youll love it! The grape is Cabernet Franc, and its grown using organic and biodynamic practices in the gravel, clay and limestone soils of Frances Loire Valley. The grapes are macerated with their skins for just under a week, so the wine straddles the line between rosé and light red. Serve it with a touch of a chill; it will absolutely sing. The reason its not going to be everyones cup of tea? It tastes like those wonderful gravel, clay and limestone soils, and that will be the first thing that hits you. Cascading over all of that though, is a wave of crushed red berry fruit currants, strawberries, cherries and maybe a few rose petals floating on top. A light dusting of white pepper on the finish gives it some fine texture. Be adventurous and give it a go!
Matt Holmes is the winemaker at whats quickly becoming one of my favourite new BC wineries. Liquidity is a hop, skip and a jump from Blue Mountain in Okanagan Falls, a sub-region that is the heart of local Chardonnay and Pinot Noir country. Matts wines are consistently elegant and polished, this Chardonnay being a fine example. Lightly oaked, the wood in no way weighs things down, instead it offers a clean lift to the wines lime, star fruit and mango juiciness. Make sure to use the biggest wine glasses youve got; constant swirling will have you relishing those lovely, lovely tropical aromatics.
As always, if youre having trouble finding something or just want to say hi, find me via KurtisKolt.com or on Twitter @KurtisKolt.
