While I do occasionally indulge in candy, I don’t typically have it with wine. So, my Halloween wine recommendations aren’t aimed at matching them with the treats your household collects. Instead, I’m highlighting some common tricks of the trade that make wine a treat to drink. There’s no nefarious trickery here; just honest wines you can sip on while handing out goodies, or bring them with you to a costume party.
SWEETNESS
I’m not against a little sweetness in white wines. When the acidity is searing, a bit of sugar can balance it out, making the wine friendlier – less austere or sour. The key is that the wine remains thirst quenching.
2014 Selbach Riesling • Mosel, Germany • $15.99
A lively combination of crisp Granny Smith, ripe orchard fruit and citrus sorbet, with pleasant sweetness offsetting the tangy backbone.
BARREL FERMENTING
Whether red or white, aging a wine in oak barrels can impact it in a variety of ways. The most obvious is the flavours imparted by new oak, such as toast and vanilla. Whites, like Chardonnay, may also be fermented in the barrel, which is said to give better integration of the oak.
2014 Quails’ Gate Chardonnay • Okanagan Valley, BC VQA • $20.49
Forty per cent barrel fermented, with the remaining 60 per cent fermented in stainless steel. Flint, lemon peel and peach meet nuances of pie crust and cream in this juicy, balanced Chardonnay.
BUBBLES
The world of sparkling is vast and beautifully diverse. When it comes to bubbly wines made with aromatic grapes (like Muscat or Riesling), that trapped CO2 is an important vehicle to transport whatever heady scent the variety has to offer.
2015 Batasiolo ‘Bosc d’la Rei’ Moscato d’Asti DOCG • Italy • $20.49
Moscato Bianco is one of the most gorgeously aromatic grape varieties. It lends itself to sweet sparklers, with Moscato d’Asti being the apogee. This low-alcohol (5.5 percent) delight actually smells and tastes of fresh grapes, as well as pretty orange blossom.
DRYING THE GRAPES
Appassimento– the process of allowing grapes to dry before being crushed – is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Most common in Italy, it concentrates flavours and sugar, producing a weightier wine with higher potential alcohol and, logically, a dried-fruit character. While Amarone della Valpolicella is the best-known dry example, it isn’t the only one.
2011 Masi Grandarella Refosco delle Venezie IGT • Italy • $27.49
Crafted from the characterful Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso grape, Grandarella is a rich, generous red, offering seductive notes of prune, dried cherries, spice and mocha.
BLENDING
Most wines are blends at some level, whether it’s combining a number of barrels or vats, bringing together grapes from separate plots of land, or mixing together different grapes varieties. Like cooking, the idea is that each component has something to add or counteract. Even when a wine is labelled by a single variety, a small percentage of other grapes is usually allowed. Most countries require a minimum of 85 per cent of a stated single variety, though this varies between jurisdictions.
2013 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon • Colchagua Valley, Chile • $23.99
The character here is very much Cabernet Sauvignon: full-bodied with blackcurrant and mint notes, along with lots of enveloping tannin. But it benefits from the addition of 10 per cent Merlot, giving a bit more lushness and charm in the mid-palate.
Prices exclusive of taxes. All wines available at BC Liquor Stores.
