Archive for the ‘All About Wine’ Category

Wine Tasting with a Social Twist

June 4th, 2010 admin

Mike Nierychlo of Wine Garage TV (L) James (M), Mike Rathjen (R)

On Wednesday May 26th, I attended a fun event that mixed Wine with Social Media. Held at the CBC Audience Lounge in Vancouver and hosted by Tinhorn Creek Winemaker Sandra Oldfield. The MC explained how the evening’s almost like a Speed Dating session was going to work and then after the first bell which was a sound of a glass smashing which was a signal for the tasters to move on to the next station.

Sandra Oldfield - Winemaker - Tinhorn Creek

There were 8 stations and a reception station and each of the wines were brown paper bagged. All the guests were given cards to guess which was which, with a list of choices at the bottom with commentary for each. The crowd had a great time at this fun event. I was surprised to see that five people got all the answers correct. This was also a great event to learn about the wines produced by Tinhorn Creek.

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards has always been a leader in the BC Wine industry and embracing the age of social media has proven no different. The Tinhorn Creek team are avid tweeters, Facebook followers and are very LinkedIn.  All those who attended were encouraged to tweet while they sipped and took part in this unique game of guessing which wine they were tasting by writing on Twitter with the hashtag #socialtwist.

By: Richard Wolak

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Salud Chile at the Vancouver Winefest

May 1st, 2010 admin

On April 24th I attended this wine and grazing lunch held at the magnificent Teahouse in Stanley Park. This sold out event featured wine producers from all over Chile showing off their wines for people to taste. The crowd ate a variety of cheeses, canapes and other passed around food.

Everyone had a great time mingling about and tasting the different wines from the many wine regions of Chile.

By: Richard Wolak

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Vancouver Winefest 7th Annual Awards Lunch

May 1st, 2010 admin

As a part of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, on April 23rd I attended this 7th annual awards lunch that was full of restauranteurs, sommeliers, wine makers, and other interested folk. Since New Zealand and Argentina were both the theme countries of this years festival, the lunch featured a variety of food from both New Zealand and Argentina. I sat at the host table of New Zealand wine producer Ngatarawa with Alwyn Corban the Proprietor & Chief Winemaker.

Argentina Station-Grilled Skirt Steak

From the Argentina station, my favourites were the Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Criolla and the Chicken Asado Ensalada.

New Zealand station

From the New Zealand station, my favourites were the Mozzarella Caprese with Avocado Oil, Asparagus and Morel Risotto and the Veal Cheek Agnolotti with Blue Cheese Cream.

NZ station cooking the Risotto

New Zealand foods and Wine pouring in the background

When it came time for dessert, some of the Argentinean favourites that sounded good such as the Hot Chocolate Demitasse with mini Churos were quite disappointing. It seemed as the Chefs at the Vancouver Convention Centre didn’t know how to prepare the desserts from Argentina or New Zealand.

The winners of this years awards are listed here

By: Richard Wolak

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Afterglow 2010 Naramata Bench Wine Tasting

April 14th, 2010 admin

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen's Humbolt Squid

On April 12th, I attended a wine tasting that featured a large selection of wineries from all over the Naramata Bench area.  This ballroom tasting along with a silent auction held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel paired two wineries with food bites from a selection of local and Naramata region restaurants.

Westin Bayshore Chefs

These were my favourite bites as I was eating more than I was drinking at this event.

Friukno Salami, Guiness Mustard on Croistini

Salt Tasting Room rocked it with their Friukno Salami, Guiness Mustard on Croistini which was best paired with the Van Western Vinyards 2006 Voluptious.

Scallop Ceviche Taco

Naramata Heritage Inn and their tasty Scallop Ceviche Taco with Quince and Blood Orange Marmalade which was best paired with the Township 7 Vineyards 2008 7 Blanc.

Pacific Angels Qualicum Scallops

The Westin Bayshore with their Tempura Seaweed topped Pacific Angels Qualicum Scallops which was best paired with the Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2007 Sin Cera.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

For dessert, the best one in the house was the Chocolate Truffle Cake from the Westin Bayshore which was best paired with the D’Angelo Estate Winery 2006 Pinot Noir.

If you are planning a visit to the Naramata Bench region and want to check out some of the wineries, you may want to visit them online at www.naramatabench.com

By: Richard Wolak

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Port Wine Showcase

March 3rd, 2010 admin

Wines from Caves Santa Marta region

FENADEGAS represents a group of wine cellar cooperatives that began to promote their wines all over the world more than seven years ago. Today Wines from Portugal were showcased in Vancouver at the Metropolitan Hotel to members of the trade and media. My interest was on the Port wines and the varied wines available from the Douro Valley. Port Wine is a fortified wine that is steeped in history. A rich flavour with a high alcohol content, Ports have different aromas. The young, fruity Ports are naturally suited to the most varied occasions, to accompany local desserts or at the end of a meal. The more mature Ports, with more complex aromas, require more dignified and special occasions. The Vintages are excellent with a good cheese, while the Late Bottled Vintages can be appreciated during a meal instead of the usual aperitif, or between other wines.

Port Wine from Caves Vale Do Rodo

I enjoyed the taste of Reserva Ruby Porto from Caves Santa Marta. I also enjoyed Porto Vintage 2004 and the Porto Reggur 10 Years both from Caves Vale Do Rodo.

Ask for these Port Wines at fine restaurants around Vancouver and at the specialty liquor stores.

By: Richard Wolak

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Vancouver International Wine Festival 2010, Get Ready

October 8th, 2009 admin

New Zealand and Argentina the theme at largest wine festival to date

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival will mark its 32nd year with a celebration of the wines of Argentina and New Zealand and a global focus on rosé. The festival, which runs from April 19th to 25th 2010, will bring a record 197 participating wineries to the new Vancouver Convention Centre and top Vancouver restaurants and hotels for a total seven days of tastings, seminars, and wine focused events. A full list of participating wineries is now available online at www.playhousewinefest.com.

“2010 is all about altitude, latitude and attitude,” says festival executive director Harry Hertscheg. The combination of these two very different cultures and countries will provide both strength and sex appeal to this year’s festival (think Haka and Tango dancing) while the newfound confidence of rosé wine in the global market will add a counterpoint to the Pinot Noirs, Torrontés’, Sauvignon Blancs and Malbecs that will be poured.

“We see this as an opportunity not only to support a worthy cause but also to provide a platform for people to discover more about our premium wines and regions,” says Philip Gregan, CEO, New Zealand Winegrowers. With 41 New Zealand wineries from varying degrees of latitude participating in the 2010 festival, visitors can expect to find a wealth of diversity thanks to world class sauvignon blancs and terroir-driven pinot noirs, refreshing aromatic and fruit driven chardonnays, and complex fuller-bodied reds. Kim Crawford Wines will present a selection of wines, many of which have consistently scored 90 points or higher over the past 7 years with a special recognition in 2008 of 40th place in Wine Spectator’s Top 100. At Two Paddocks winery – located in the central Otago region and helmed by Sam Neill – the age-old techniques of Burgundian vintners are followed. Two Paddocks produces just 5000 cases per year from hand-tended low yielding vines, handpicked grapes, and small batch wines aged in French Oak barrels.

On the Argentine side, the dizzying altitudes and snow capped Andean mountains produce grapes that are ripened to perfection year after year. “We are very excited to participate in the 2010 Playhouse Wine Festival and to bring our wines to the Canadian and US market,” says Lis Clément, Wines of Argentina’s Marketing & Communications Manager. “The alliance with New Zealand is also very important since we view our two countries as being complimentary to each other.”  From rich Malbecs to the distinctive Torrontés, the 36 participating Argentine wineries in the 2010 festival will include the renowned Viña Doña Paula. An estate winery, Viña Doña Paula has an incredible combination of climates and soil types and utilizing hand-tended methods, generates a vast diversity of terroir-focused wines.

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Hungarian Winemakers Visit Vancouver

September 16th, 2009 admin

I had the great pleasure of being invited to lunch at Joe Fortes to dine and meet with Robert Koczuba (Winemaker at Torley) and ILona Kallay (Export Director at Torley) along with their importers to learn about their HUNGARIA Grande Cuvee Brut sparkling wine and Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio wine. Whitehall is the importer in Canada and represents Torley in all markets, the Hungaria Grande Cuvee Brut has been a shining star in British Columbia and is also a Silver Medal Winner and now has a general listing which means this wine is available in all BC liquor stores. The Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio wine which launched in BC in July’09 immediately sold out and a new shipment is on the way.

Ilona Kallay & Robert Koczuba

Ilona Kallay & Robert Koczuba

Hungaria Grande Cuvee (left) & Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio (right)

Hungaria Grande Cuvee (left) & Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio (right)

Torley exports 500,000 cases of their sparkling wine, of this 1/3 goes to Sweden which is their #1 market outside of Hungary, Estonia, Finland, UK and Vietnam are also large importers of their products.  Robert is responsible for the sparkling wines production and he has held this position since 2001. There are 3 methods that Torley uses to produce their wine. The Grand Cuvee uses the Transfer Method where the wine ferments for 3 months and then is aged for 15 months minimum, the grapes are harvested from their own vineyard in Etyek which is 35 km SW of Budapest in Hungary.

I asked Robert how many bottles of sparkling wine they currently produce and he said 1.5 million from the Transfer method, of that 500,000 bottles is Hungaria Grand Cuvee. I then asked ILona which sparkling wine has the highest market share and she said Canada.

Sandra Hubner with Whitehall Agencies holding the Grand Cuvee

Sandra Hubner with Whitehall Agencies holding the Grand Cuvee

Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio wines entered the Canadian market in July ’09 these wines use different grapes for their Pinot Grigio from Lake Balaton a region that is also SW of Budapest. Robert told me that this wine has a tasting notes of fresh, fruity and crisp and a good balance between nose and taste.

When introducing a new wine to a market, both Robert and ILona indicated that deciding on Distribution is the most important, followed by Press Tasting and then Competitions and exposure on the Internet.

Sandra Hubner will be taking part in this years “Slurp & Swirl” event that will be held on November 10th at Joe Fortes Restaurant with their Hungaria Grand Cuvee Brut.

By: Richard Wolak

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