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| September & October 2005
There is a
KFC commercial on TV that shows a young
woman walking down the street when suddenly she begins to point and
scream at a lone russet-hued maple leaf lying on the sidewalk…a sure
sign that summer is near its end. Wow, can I relate. I love summer, the
sunshine, the light clothing, the patios, the summer fruit and summer
tomatoes and the smell of barbeque sauce wafting past my window.
In this Issue:
Airing your Dirty Laundry?I will admit, when wine agent Raymond Wong first asked me what I thought of a winery/wine named Dirty Laundry my response was, well let’s say not very positive. A raised Wine Diva eyebrow, and a, ‘Do you want me to be honest’? I thought it was a marketing ploy although to be fair, we’re all marketing ourselves and our businesses every day (look at this website…’nuff said). So when he finally brought me the finished package, I was floored. This has to be one the most innovative, modern and sexiest labels I have seen. Simple, clean and worthy of a second, third and fourth perusal. I kept picking up the bottle, reading the story on the back, (hush, hush, secret is out, brothels and dirty laundry et al) running my fingers over the simple white label and the embossed steam rising from a tiny, perfect strategically placed red iron. The red cap that tops the bottle matches the red iron and then with a smooth, quiet pop the cork slides free with the words ‘hush hush’ before you can even sneak a sample. Their website is still under construction www.dirtylaundry.ca, but you can check out the products under the previous name (some of you may recognize) www.scherzingervineyards.com . The wines I tasted were fresh, fun and superb sippers. Dirty Laundry Vineyard is committed to sustainable farming, biodynamic practices and is pesticide free.
Dirty Laundry
Vineyard Gewurztraminer, Woo Woo Vines, Okanagan BC, 2004- Semi-dry
with a lovely pinkish Wine Diva-hue.
Aromas of candied rose petals, lychee, glycerine and orchard fruit. Less
sweet than expected in the mouth, with a good balance of fruit, Asian
spices, licorice and white pepper.
Dirty Laundry
Vineyard Chardonnay, Okanagan BC, 2004- An off-dry fruity unoaked
Chardonnay (Scherzinger was also an advocate of unoaked Chardonnay).
Tropical fruit, soap leaves, white flowers, fresh cream and candied
limes. The sweet, ripe fruit comes through on the palate fresh from the
orchard and is then washed down with a crisp citrus finish.
More From BC
Mission Hill,5 Vineyard Gewurztraminer 'limited release', 2004-A
recent trip to the stunning Mission Hill Winery had me awestruck. I had
visited before, but the touring, dining and tasting I did during my
visit convinced me of several things. One, how serious everyone attached
to Mission Hill is about the wine they produce as well as the food they
pair with it. Gray Monk
Riesling, Okanagan BC, 2004- Just a tease of petrol on the nose with
minerals and white flowers. Round body with orchard fruit, lime zest and
a hint of spice on the finish. Great value sipper! Gray Monk
Siegerrebe, Okanagan BC, 2004- This wine is listed as ‘sweet’ but I
found it to be less so than the ’04 Gray Monk Riesling. Highly almost
potently aromatic with rose petals, creamed corn, tropical fruit and
anise. Rich and fat in the mouth with a long citrus-y finish. A
memorable wine with lush, Wine Diva
attitude! Domaine de Chaberton,
Gewurztraminer, Langley BC, 2004- Get it while you can! This Governor
General's award winner will not be made (at least not from this
particular vineyard site) next year. Gorgeous Gold-apricot hue with
aromas of candied rose petals, lychee, pineapple, mango, mineral and
anise. Sweet pink grapefruit, cardamom and cloves on the finish gives
lends zip to this slightly sweet charmer. Township 7 White
Meritage, Langley/Naramata BC, 2003- Arrowleaf Merlot,
Okanagan BC, 2003- A solid, well priced merlot from this very
northern Okanagan winery. Coffee, cedar, tobacco, green bell pepper,
earth and black fruit. Soft and round with smooth tannins and a long
finish. Granite Creek
Estate Ehrenfelser, Tappen Creek BC, 2003- New to the
Wine Diva who stumbled upon this
sweet little aromatic number recently and just had to take it for a test
drive. Ehrenfelser is a rare grape that we seem to do so well here in
BC, it's nearly overpowering aromatics, sweetness and slight booziness
combine to produce some of our best sippers. Golden hued with aromas of
sweet Asian spices, ripe tropical fruit, melon and minerals translate
into a rich, spiced, exotic fruit salad with a long ginger-lime finish.
A rose is a rose is a rosé….Always good for family dinners...Thanksgiving and Christmas! Sumac Ridge
Private Reserve Rosé, Okanagan, BC, 2004- I’ve noticed a trend in BC
rosé this season, less sweet, made in a more old world style which in
turn makes it better as a food wine. I love the brilliant ruby hue and
aromas of fresh strawberries, lemon and lime zest, hints of mineral,
zingy, crisp and refreshing. Keep this one around for the Thanksgiving
dinner!
Lang Blanc de Noir
(pinot meunier), Okanagan, BC, 2004- Candied red berries,
minerals and glycerin soap aromas. The sweet berry flavours really pop
in the mouth then clean up with a long and zippy, crisp finish.
Easing into the cooler months…
Oak Bay Gamay
Noir, Okanagan BC, 2004- Blackberry, spice, toast, black pepper and
tobacco. Lean body with vague fruit, bone dry and peppery, a wine meant
to drink with roasted dishes, and yes, again think Thanksgiving.
Domaine de
Chaberton, Gamay Noir, Fraser Valley BC, 2004- Red and black berry
with some stemmy-ness (green aromas/flavours) and spice. Very light body
with a slight prickle on the tongue long licorice and pepper finish.
White KnightsSawtooth Riesling,
Idaho, 2003- Potatoes and Wine…why not? A lovely Riesling, well made
and a real crowd pleaser, like a pretty country gal who makes it big in
Nashville. Classic petrol nose supported by ripe orchard fruit and lime.
Lush mouth-feel in an off-dry Germanic style. Long crisp finish with a
hint of citrus pith. Sawtooth Viognier,
Idaho, 2002-(77% Viognier, 23% Rousanne) Soft fuzzy-peach aromas
shimmying around in orange blossom, minerals and sweet anise. Smooth and
velvety on the tongue with soft orchard fruit and a long slick finish
without the new world booziness. The 6mos. oak aged Rousanne adds a
complexity to the blend and gives it a round, smooth mouth-feel and
weight. Lovely and elegant!
And as always... Pinot! Bouchard Pere &
Fils Santenay, Burgundy France, 2002- Stock your cellars with the
2002 vintage…well whatever you can find here in BC as they are few and
far between. I believe in letting Burgundy breathe (just in your glass
usually is fine) and this Santenay was no exception. Boozy to start we
let her sit a bit, open up and release her vibrant, fresh, red berry and
sour cherry aromas, fresh mountain stream, wet stone and earth. A light
bodied pinot noir with fresh berry flavours, tobacco, pepper and spice.
I would let this wine settle down for a couple of years at least to
soften those chewy tannins on the finish.
Belle Glos Pinot Noir, Clark & Telephone Vineyard, Santa Barbara Calif. 2002- I fell in love with this wine last winter when I stumbled upon it in a boutique wine store in Winnipeg. Visually stunning with its bowling pin bottle shape with claret hued wax draped over its head and neck it is also sensually stunning to the palate. Opaque ruby colour with blue undertones. Chocolate covered cherries, sweet cedar box and wet stone aromas. Richly elegant, simultaneously juicy and velvety in the mouth with ripe cherry, dried
fruit and tobacco. OMG this wine is yummy, a big, masculine pinot noir
that literally screams…made in California! Domaine Carneros, The Famous Gate, Pinot Noir, Carneros Valley Calif., 2001- Another stunning California Pinot Noir which hit arrived this past spring at a great discount. Classic pinot aromas of barnyard, tobacco, earth, sour cherries, ground berries and fruit leather. The flavours sing with red berries, sweet grass, tobacco and cedar and finishes with refreshing acidity and smooth tannins. Limited availability at private wine stores approx. $90.00 LTO $50.00 Alex Gambal, Nuits-Saint-Georges,
Beaune Côte d'Or France, 1999- This wine was a surprise to me in
some ways and not in others. Firstly 1999 was a great year
in Burgundy and the wines were drinking exceptionally well in their
youth, therefore I was expecting a well structured, juicy, fruit forward
wine forgetting the powerful masculine style Pinots that are produced in
the Nuits-Saint George. BIG REDS
Ram's Leap Shiraz, Western Australia,
2003- Organic wine. The 2002 was good, the 2003 is great! Chocolate
cherry and chocolate mints...hmmm a diet food? Ripe fruit jamm-y yet
still austere with earth, pepper and eucalyptus, soft and seductive with
fine tannins. Langmeil Cabernet
Sauvignon ‘Blacksmith’, Barossa Valley Australia, 2002- Intense and
opaque in the glass, creamy ultra ripe blackberry, sweet tobacco,
chocolate and eucalyptus, long smooth finish with soft tannins. Drinking
exceptionally well right now! Langmeil ‘Three
Gardens’ GSM (grenache/shiraz/mouvedre), Barossa Valley Australia, 2003-
Robust layers of black fruit, green aromas, earthy tobacco and leather
and spice with a long smooth finish. Well integrated tannins, a very
sophisticated wine. Heartland
'Stickleback Red' Australia, 2003-(Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz,
Grenache) Bodegas San
Alejandro 'Baltasar' Garnacha Vinas Viejas (old vines), Spain, 2003-
Deep ruby-purple with aromas of plum, smoked meat, black pepper,
jalapeño and spice. Smooth and full bodied with cherry, black fruit and
peppery tannins. A good value wine, intriguing and unique to impress
your guests. From the Cellar
Schloss Reinhartshausen, Hattenheimer
Wisselbrunnen Riesling Spatlese Qmp, Rheingau, 1994er-As much as I
enjoy these wines I cry every time I deplete my cellar stock. I love to
open them for Riesling fanatics so we can share a
Wine Diva moment together. Lush,
honeyed mango petrol, green apples fresh citrus and just a hint of
minerality. Batasiolo ‘Rosso’, Langhe Italy, 1999- Stemmy aromas rounded out with black cherry, violets and bluberry. Rich dried fruit and fresh cherry flavours and coffee with a long velvety finish and soft dusty tannins. Amazing that a wine simplified by the label ‘red wine’ could truly be so ‘not simple’. Wine Diva tasted-August 2005
Gualdo al Luco, Toscano Rosso, Castelli Del Grevepese, Tuscany Italy, 1997- A superTuscan style IGT Italian red wine with beautiful aromas of leather, cherry, earth, dried fruit, violets and mushrooms with a hint of the barnyard. Sophisticated and elegant in the mouth with bright red berry flavours, tobacco, and cedar and finished off with fine dusty tannins. Wine Diva tasted-August 2005
Beringer, Knight’s Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, ‘Appellation Collection’, California, 1997- Cedar box, blackberry, tobacco, plum, dried fig and coffee aromas leap out of the glass and slap you upside the noggin. Rich black fruit and spice with still firm tannins that will hold strong for another 5 years. Or if you are an impatient Wine Diva like me…drink now. Wine Diva tasted-August 2005 British (Columbia) InvasionRecently, the Wine Diva was tasting a selection of BC wines with a group of doctors who were visiting from various parts of the U.K. What better than to showcase BC wines to a captive audience who were hardly aware that BC made wine, forget that we make great wine! We put together a quick tasting with wines we could get our hands on quickly, wines that showed elegance, terroir and impressibility! I am proud and pleased to announce that they were stunned with the quality and flavour of our local wines. Wine after wine after wine was poured, and the Wine Diva spent three hours answering questions about the winemakers the terroir and the grape varieties that make BC wines so brilliant. What did we pour you ask? Here goes… Mission Hill 2003
Five Vineyards Riesling-$15.99
Everyone had their
favorite…seriously each wine was well received and this
Wine Diva managed to convert a few
United Kingdom’ers into Riesling lovers at the same time. Sad how many
people have to be convinced to let go of their old riesling stereotypes,
but I will make it one of my missions in life to change the perception
of Riesling.
Tastebitescaffè Sette
espresso galleria- ‘Java by day. Martini by night’. caffè Sette espresso galleria 818 Burrard Street 604-688-8234 www.caffesette.com
Watermark
on Kits beach- If you haven’t been yet, the view alone is worth the
trip. There are comments and critiques’ flying north, south, east and
west about Watermark and everyone has an opinion. We'd been twice and
thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, the third time was a strike out with three
hostesses standing around the desk gabbing, no clue what was going on in
the lounge. True, Watermark was still new, expectations high and kinks to
be worked out, like any new business. Check out the lounge first, order a glass of wine (need more by-the-glass options please) and the smashed fava, chickpea and mint dip with flatbreads and check out the view. Personally this Wine Diva can’t wait for the stormy winter months, seated warm and cozy wrapped in one of the complimentary blankets watching the west coast waves crash in. Watermark-1305 Arbutus (but if you don’t know where Kit’s beach is you need to get out more often) 604-738-5487 www.watermarkrestaurant.ca 7days 11am to 11pm
What is NU? Have you heard enough about the city’s favorite nu see-and-be-scenic hot spot? Not until the Wine Diva’s had her say you haven’t! Love it or hate it décor, (everyone seems to be in one camp or the other) be it cruise ship, 1970’s airport lounge or retro Miami casino (I’ve heard it all and everyone has an opinion) the location and well priced menu will keep the glitterati coming back. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Vancouver's favorite bartender, the gorgeous-tattooed-bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold, Mr. Jay Jones was scooped from West and now takes up residence at the bar, front and centre! But none of this is news to all you hip Vancouverites so I need not wax on…but hey when I think about planting a Wine Diva seat at a bar, having a small nosh an a glass of wine or a cocktail the first place that springs to mind…Nu! Nu naked+casual 1661 Granville Street
(under the bridge) 604-646-4668 Bought ‘Grazing’ by
Julie Van Rosendaal-Not a lot of photos (sometimes an issue for the
more 'visual' male gender) but I could swear, this woman has been
swimming around in my Diva brain.
She cooks, experiments and creates like I do in the kitchen. There are
recipes in this book that I have been making for friends for years by
memory or from slips of paper I’ve collected, floating about in numerous
binders and boxes around the house. But Julie has managed to put them
all into one little cookbook/entertaining Wine Diva
bible. She also provides a version of the beloved Lesley Stowe
Raincoast Crisp which we ALL know and love. Get Jammin’Juicy Jam-You
have to taste these fresh from the freezer jams! Pure, brilliant
flavour, fresh and intense. Keep them in the freezer and scoop out what
you need (the Wine
Diva has been known to just dip and
spoon in to satisfy a magnum sized sweet tooth). I love the concept and
the adorable, whimsical green & purple labels, and my guest proclaim me
to be brilliant when I serve them!
Bronx's Blueberry-
Warm it up for your carbs-be-damned pancakes or waffles. Or add some
bourbon and black pepper and use it as a marinade.
How Cheese-y !In my never-ending quest to sample the world of cheese I managed to liberate three new styles from the cooler at my local cheese monger Les Amis du Fromage, and visited the fourth.
PICDON carte noire- Goat's milk
from France-A lovely crottin sized puck of gorgeous buttery, earthy and
herbaceous its dense and creamy white interior surrounded by a firmer
rough exterior.
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