Issue Number Two
Hey Gang, I hope that you’ve tried some new wines in the last 2 weeks.
Before we get into the recommendations, I wanted to talk to you about finding the wines that I write about in these newsletters. Every beer, wine, spirits, whatever we talk about on this site will be attached to a number. This is the governments system of tracking each product and every drop of alcohol in BC is controlled by the government. Even though you like to support the little wine shop down the street, those guys have to buy everything from the government stores. It’s a pretty messed up system we have here. Anyways, if you can’t find a particular wine that I chat about just go to the customer service desk at any government liquor store and give them the product number. (They generally don’t know the names of wines so it’s always best to tell them the number.) From there they can transfer products from other stores to you.
Alternately, you can do the searching yourself. On the BC Government Liquor Store website (www.bcliquorstores.com) there is a search engine that will allow you to search through every product that they sell province wide. You can search by name or number and find out which stores carry that product. For those of you in Victoria or Vancouver you can also check out the mega superstore, Everything Wine. Their recently updated website now includes a wine search as well. No searching by numbers though, only by name. Really, that’s no big deal.
Or kick it old school and use the telephone. Just call your local store and ask them. It saves you the frustration of going in for a specific wine just to find out that they don’t stock it. Now if they don’t have what you are looking for, then ask them to get it. Any decent beer and wine store is very receptive to what their customers want and will be happy to bring in products that they can mark up and sell to you. Remember that all the booze in BC comes through the government stores and private stores can order anything as long as they have that product number.
I don’t want to overload you with too many wines this issue but I tried a couple of decent value wines in the past 2 weeks. I was at Stage Wine Bar in Victoria on Monday night and had a great German Riesling that I had never seen before, Bex Riesling QbA 2006 (#55475 $17.99).
Light and refreshing with a lot of citrus, green apple, honeysuckle and minerality. Dry but with a slight hint of sugar and lots of bracing acidity. The acid in the wine paired really well with my foie gras. However, after looking at the BCLDB website, I found that it is only in stores on the mainland. Good thing I told you how to order wines from the government stores.
Have you ever try Portuguese white wine? There is a region in Portugal called Vinho Verde that produces wonderfully dry, fresh and crisp white wines. Vinho Verde literally translates into “green wine” and refers to their fresh, fruity youthfulness. Check out Gazela Vinho Verde 2008. (#141432 $10.99) Made with native Portugese grapes it’s light and loaded with citrus and tart green apple notes. Very crisp and refreshing it’s perfect for a hot day……Hmmm, I’ll remind you in August. Oh yeah, there is a slight bit of fizz to this wine. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be there and part of the allure of Vinho Verde.
One of my favourite go to reds for company coming over is Doña Paula “Los Cardos” Malbec 2007. (#633628 $14.99) This is a big crowd pleaser at a decent price. Ripe red berries, plums and a little spice dominate the fruit forward nose. The palate is ripe and juicy, medium bodied with soft tannins that don’t get in the way. This is one of those wines that’s damn near impossible not to like.
Spain is an amazing place for great value wines……I’ll be talking a lot about Spanish wines, don’t you worry. One of my favourite daily drinkers is Bodegas Castano Hecula 2006. (#583690 $15.99) It’s from the lesser known region of Yecla, south west of Valencia The grape is called Monastrell which is a native Spanish grape that produces a heavier, drier style of wine. Hecula has big fruit flavours with blackberries, red currents leading the way followed by rich earthy notes. A medium bodied mouthfeel with those same fruit flavours, easy tannins and a soft lively finish.
It’s “Not Wine” time. Man, I love good cider and if you happen to be touring the dozen or so wineries in the Cowichan Valley, be sure to stop in at Merridale Ciderworks in Cobble Hill. These guys know how to make serious cider. I’m not talking about that crappy kiwi, watermelon, rockaberry garbage. This is the real stuff modelled after the best of England and France. My favourites are their dryer styles, Cidre Normandie and the Traditional Cider or look for a good pub that has the House Cider on draft. Merridale regularly make 8 different styles so there should be one to suit your apple loving tastes. They are also getting into the spirit business, making blackberry and apple brandies. I have yet to taste them I have a feeling that they may show up in future issues. Oh yeah, and they don’t sell them at the government liquor stores. You’ll need to go to a private beer and wine shop for the good stuff.
One last thing I wanted to mention. We’re about 5 weeks away from the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival in Vancouver. This is one of the largest wine festivals in the entire world. Winery owners and winemakers come from all over the world to share the passion behind their wines. It’s a week of wining, dining, education and parties. Whether or not you decide to check out a seminar, winery dinner or wine mingler you must attend the International Festival Tasting held on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. This is your chance to taste wines from over 175 different wineries pouring more than 700 different wines. It’s like going to the liquor store and saying “I’ll take the works.” Tickets are still available but I wouldn’t hesitate as they always sell out.
Have fun trying new wines. I’ll be back in 2 weeks with more boozy grape juice to fill your wine rack with.
Cheers,
Josh
http://eng.sogrape.pt/marcas/2/gama/681 (Gazela Vinho Verde)
www.donapaula.com.ar/cardos_ing/
www.bodegascastano.com
www.merridalecider.com