As Spring continues to bloom and we bound into sunnier days (or sunnier hours; we are on the West Coast after all), fresh releases from BCs brightest wineries continue making their way into town. A handful of vintage 2012 whites for you this week, a growing season that ended just a few short months ago. The prices listed are winery-direct, expect some mild fluctuation by the time they make it into local wine stores.
Tinhorn Creek 2012 Gewürztraminer | $18.49 | Tinhorn.com
What you want to do after a long day of work is swing by the store and grab a bag or two of Vijs At Home curries and then zip into a wine store to pick up a bottle of winemaker Sandra Oldfields lush-yet-perky Gewürztraminer. The moment you get home, boil up a pot of water for the best boil-in-a-bag dinner around, and ensure that bottles nice and cold by plunging it into icy water. Within no time, youll have your feet up and marvel at how those rich and spicy curry flavours are wonderfully enveloped by the wines opulence; full of lychee, lemonade and ginger!
Sandhill 2012 Sauvignon Blanc | $18.99 | SandhillWines.ca
Full disclosure: If I were to list my favourite wine grapes grown in the Okanagan, I seriously doubt Sauvignon Blanc would crack the top ten. Its not that I havent had a few enjoyable examples of it; just more that I dont see anything unique or very interesting that our local terroir brings to its table. This version is indicative of some of the better local ones Ive had, though; a textbook example of the grape, with grapefruit, lime, a light herbaceous note and some very lofty acidity. I asked Sandhill winemaker Howard Soon why he bothers with the variety, when theres so much more Okanagan suitability for Gamay, Riesling, Chardonnay, Syrah and so on. He replied that its simply because the grapes an ideal match for the fish and seafood from our waters, especially the halibut season were in the heart of right now. Hes totally right. Get to it.
Van Westen 2012 Viognier | $24.90 | VanWestenVineyards.com
As a third-generation Naramata farmer, part of winemaker Rob Van Westens soul comes from the very land where these Viognier grapes are grown and for many years hes had an uncanny way of making them sing! The freshest of orange blossoms, a nuance of vanilla and a lashing of fireweed honey are all woven together intricately across fresh-squeezed Mandarin oranges. Go to your local cheesemonger and feel free to go nuts with pairings for this one.
Fort Berens 2012 Riesling | $17.95 | FortBerens.ca
I had a whirl of this brilliant wine out of Lillooet (yes, Lillooet) the moment my deadline for this column hit, and Im willing to receive my editors wrath in order to sneak it in here! A tidal wave of peaches with lime leaf and marmalade, this pristine, thirst-quenching Riesling will make you wonder why theyre the only winery in the region.
As always, if youre having trouble tracking down any wines I write about, just give me a holler via KurtisKolt.com or @KurtisKolt on Twitter!
