This time we try a delicious, food friendly Tempranillo from the Castilla La Mancha region of central Spain. El Tocador was the name of a knight and this 2018 El Tocador is a tribute to his legendary grape growing prowess!
Wine And Then Somm
My journey to complete my WSET level 2 and my WSET 3 certifications was populated with many tastings and bottles of fine wine. In the older posts, read about my journey in this blog that featured wines in both of the courses. Now that I have completed my WSET 3, I now use this as a place to review and talk about different wines that I am currently drinking as well as wineries that I visit in my new role as a private Wine Tour Guide.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Time to Taste a Portuguese Red Blend from the Dǎo - under $20!!
This time we taste a delicious red wine blend (Pedra Cancela) from the Dǎo region of Portugal featuring the Touriga Nacional grape. This red wine, a 2018 Pedra Cancela Winemaker's Selection, is tasty and less than $20!
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Revival to Renaissance - Arneis White Wine from Italy
Arneis is yet another wonderful grape from Italy which makes wonderful white wine from the famous Piedmont region of Italy.
This “little rascal” is difficult to grow but has a unique taste and is a refreshing food wine!
Check out the video for this 2022 Broccotondo Langhe Arneis
Friday, October 27, 2023
Italian Wines of the Okanagan - A Labour of Love
After a glass of welcome wine (a Pet Nat from Sperling vineyard - tastes like a natural ferment) and some schmoozing, we sat down for the welcome presentation. The guest panel featured John Schreiner, a famous Okanagan wine author (actually, the most prolific Canadian wine writer) who is one of the premier wine critics in BC, Luke Whittall, another wine author who has written a great history of the Okanagan wine industry called Valleys of Wine, Simone Castellarin, from Italy, who is an expert on Italian wines and is the Canadian Chair of Viticulture at UBC, and the pseudo host, Donna Senese, the Associate Undergraduate Dean of UBCO, who is admittedly not a big wine expert but did a great job of hosting.
The panel gave an excellent overview of the history of wine in the Okanagan and its Italian roots. They then proceeded to taste their way through five or six of the wines that we were going to have the opportunity to try. All were very good to excellent according to these experts and they weren’t wrong!
After the panel, we were given the chance to drink and have a wine pairing with most of the wines.
I didn’t do a detailed tasting nor keep detailed notes, nor take a bunch of photos, but I did jot down a few comments when I returned home.
Speaking of Dolcetto, our next winery was Stags Hollow. I have had great wines from there and sometimes wines that were a bit blah but the two wines we tried were very nice. First was their 2020 Dolcetto ($26) which is unoaked so a bit more subdued and fruitier than others I have tried but still very tasty.
High Note is a newer winery that I hadn’t heard of before. They served a Super Tuscan (Italian grapes mixed with Bordeaux grapes) which was super delicious. The 2021 Cadenza ($40) is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon and was a delicious melange of dark fruits and oak. It was paired with the pork tenderloin which was my other food favourite and paring favourite.
Our final tasting was the La Stella 2021 Fortissimo ($36) which was another wonderful Super Tuscan (Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Sangiovese). This one was so good that it made me want to go back to Italy. Many years ago, before I knew a lot about wine, I was in Tuscany staying at a farmhouse that made Sassicaia - which was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and is considered one of the first Super Tuscans. Now, I want to return to Tuscany and try many more of the Super Tuscans!! The wine pairing was supposed to be with their Pinot Grigio but the chicken breast with lemon sauce - which was delicious - was just fine with the Fortissimo!
It was a wonderful night out. Tickets were $75 which I thought was well worth it for the many sampling of food and wine as well as an expert panel to kick things off. And now, when people say that they want to taste Italian wines, I know were I am going to take them!
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Time to Taste White Wine from the Hills of Bordeaux
Monday, August 7, 2023
Time to Taste some Baby Brunello
This 2019 Castello Banfi Rosso di Montalcino is truly an amazing Sangiovese from the heart of Tuscany.
The area is one of the best regions in Italy - and has some of the most expensive wines - but Rossi di Montalcino is an affordable, Italian red, perfect with food!
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Time to Taste - A Sémillon from the Central Valley of Chile
Sémillon for $20? That’s a great price! But how did this Chilean Sémillon (a 2022 Morande Valle Del Maule Sémillon) from the Valle del Maule stack up? Watch the video!
Time to Taste a Wine of La Mancha!
This time we try a delicious, food friendly Tempranillo from the Castilla La Mancha region of central Spain. El Tocador was the name of a ...
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On Wednesday (October 25), I attended an event called the Italian Wines of the Okanagan: Un Lavoro d’Amore - A Labour of Love at the Laurel...
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It's been a while..... School had to end, then we were off on a trip to Eastern Canada for a couple of weeks Then a fishing trip ...
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This time we taste a delicious red wine blend (Pedra Cancela) from the Dǎo region of Portugal featuring the Touriga Nacional grape. This red...