(And one from Malivoire.)
Château des Charmes Cabernet Sauvignon St David’s Bench Vineyard 2020 (St. David’s Bench, Niagara)
Deep purple in colour; cedary, blueberry nose with vanilla oak notes; medium-bodied, dry, savoury plum, blueberry and currant flavours with an engaging floral note; elegant and firmly structured. (90) Continue reading
Yalumba Organic Viognier 2021 (South Australia, $17.95, Vintages #28217, to be released April 29th)
Golden straw in colour; minerally, peach pit nose; medium-bodied, dry, white peach flavour; elegant with an intriguing note of almond-like bitterness on the finish. (90) Continue reading
Thursday, March 9th: Deborah and I were invited by Niagara College’s winemaker Allison Findlay to attend her winemaker’s dinner at the St. Catharines Club.
Winemaker Allison Findlay
The Niagara College wines for the dinner
Monday, February 27th: In December I got to choose seven Alsace wineries whose wines I was interested in tasting. They arrived a week ago in boxes with miniature bottles that contained a 1 oz pour. Before I got to taste them, I registered for a seminar put on by Salon Millésimes Alsace – DigiTasting: a virtual masterclass, titled “So Trendy,” based around four themes: “So Fresh,” “So Terroir,” “So Sweet” and “So Red.”
Wine personnel from 41 countries participated in Alsace’s virtual wine fair, which featured 74 wineries. The Masterclass was led by Thierry Fritsch, the head oenologist and chief wine educator of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d’Alsace, accompanied by Jenni Wagoner, global head of wine for Zuma restaurants, based in London; Yves Beck, Swiss wine journalist; and Manuel Peyrondet, the Best Sommelier in France (2008).
These are the wines we tasted together: Continue reading
Tender Hope Wines
Deb Murray on her website Year In Wine writes:
It has been a while since I enjoyed a Cabernet Sauvignon as much as I enjoyed the 2018 Phinny Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Tender Hope Winery. This wine is made in BC but the grapes are from Phinny Hill Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) in Washington.
Tender Hope Winery is relatively new to the BC wine scene. The wine industry however is not new for owner and winemaker, Ephraim Perel, who has more than twenty-five years experience as grower, cellar hand and winemaker.
Ephraim was born in Israel and he fell in love with wine twenty-seven years ago while he was living in Spain. His passion for wine has taken him around the globe, but now he and his family have settled in the Okanagan Valley. Prior to starting his own winery in 2016, Ephraim worked at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Nagging Doubt Winery and 1st R.O.W. Estate Winery.
Tender Hope Winery is named after Ephraim’s daughter, Rou Xi, which when translated from Chinese means tender hope. This small winery was born from the desire to create special wines with the hope that people would enjoy them while gathered with friends and family.
With the rising cost of real estate in BC, it is cost prohibitive to own vineyards, especially for young wineries just starting out. So Tender Hope currently works with eight vineyards located in the Okanagan and the Columbia Valley. Ephraim works with growers whom he feels a connection to – those that share the same philosophy for growing as he has.
Ephraim believes that good grapes and special vineyards create the best wines. When making wine, he strives to let the fruit shine, using traditional winemaking methods with minimal intervention. He states, “the way I look at it is that the fruit is the painting and the oak and tannins are the frame holding it up.”
Tender Hope Tender Summer 2021 (Okanagan Valley)
69% Riesling, 27% Chardonnay, 4% Sauvignon Blanc. Bright straw colour; honey, citrus nose of lime and grapefruit with a kiss of oak; medium-bodied, crisply dry, green apple and grapefruit flavours; long in the mouth with a racy citrus finish. (90) Continue reading
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