Wine Barbarian Bottles - Today's Tasting

Tuesday August 19, 2008

Louis Jadot - Rose de Marsannay 2006
Burgundy, France

Wine Barbarian Rating: 88 of 100 points

Price: $23.99 - BC Liquor Stores

Tasting Notes: If you still think rose means 1970s Mateus in a funny bottle, you are missing a world of wine pleasure. This very dry, sophisticated and extremely tasty rose is a perfect summer aperitif wine but has enough strength to match many summer meals on a hot night.

Think of a wine that both looks and tastes like wild strawberries - fresh, tart and delicious. Made from pinot noir - and the Jadot folks suggest it goes well with frogs legs!

* * * * *

Monday August 18, 2008

Edge Wines 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Barbarian Rating: 88 of 100 points

Price: $31.99 - BC Liquor Stores

Tasting Notes: A decent offering from Ray Signorello Junior of Signorello Vineyards - always a top producer - this is an effort to make an accessible, drink-now Cab at a lower cost.

It succeeds but for the price is pushing it's luck - our American neighbours will be shocked at the price because south of the border it retails for about $20.

It has good dark berry fruit, some but not heavy oak and nice finish.

We were desperate for a Napa Cab after seeing Bottle Shock, so this was satisfying but definitely not a Heitz or Caymus - fortunately, nor was the price.

Other Opinions: Tony Gismondi rates this a 90.

* * * * *

Sunday August 17, 2008

Goats Do Roam 2006 red blend

Fairview, South Africa

Wine Barbarian Rating: 84 of 100 points

Price: $14.99 - BC Liquor Stores

Tasting Notes: The Goats wines from South Africa are great value for money - and while the names are very funny, the wine is very good. This is the entry level wine and the parody is aimed at Cotes du Rhone wines from France. The blend isn't listed but expect to find syrah, grenache and mouvedre in a spicy and lighter style that is most drinkable.

If you like this offering, try their awesome Goat Rotie - yes, a take-off on France's famed Cote Rotie or their Goats Do Roam in Villages - a spoof on Cotes du Rhone Villages. The Goat Rotie is $23.79 at BC Liquor stores while the Villages is about $18 and is no longer carried by government stores but may be found at some private sellers.

Other Opinions: The Wine Spectator rates it 85.

Bottle Shock a great movie and a fantastic movie about winemaking!

Don't believe a single negative review - and there are more than a few of them out there - about the new movie Bottle Shock - because it is great!

Based on the true story of an historic tasting showdown between French and Napa Valley wines that took place in Paris in 1976 - with the upstart Californians winning the battle - this fictionalized film will appeal to wine lovers and those who just want a movie that tells a good story with humour, drama and interesting characters.

The price of the movie is worthwhile if simply to watch Alan Rickman's portrayal of British wine educator/merchant Steven Spurrier, a somewhat out of place Englishman in Paris who comes up with the idea of a contest between the snobby French wineries and the in-the-dirt, struggling young Californians.

Rickman is hilarious, but he also captures a wine snob learning that his horizons have been foolishly limited by focusing only on French wines.

The movie is solely about Chateau Montelena, which won the white wine top prize with its 1973 Chardonnay, beating out top crus from Burgundy in the blind tasting in what Time magazine called "Judgment of Paris."

An uptight father versus hippy son drama may be exaggerated for theatrical purposes but Bill Pullman as Montelena owner Jim Barrett and Chris Pine as prodigal son Bo Barrett - now Montelena's winemaker - is probably too close to home at times.

Throw in a love interest attractive blonde wine intern, a dedicated Mexican-American winemaker and a foppish American expatriate in Paris who urges Spurrier on in his quest, add a great soundtrack of Doobie Brothers, Foghat, Bad Company and other rockers of the 1970s and you have a vintage movie about wine.

There are quibbles of course - like only mentioning in the credits that the fabulous Stag's Leap Wine Cellars pulled off the equally impressive win in a red wine competition at the same time, or that regrettably Chateau Montelena hasn't exactly been a dominant winery in Napa Valley despite that early success.

But for all other than hard core winos these are insignificant points.

Bottle Shock - don't miss it!

Pair Bistro for an Earth Day meal of BC's best foods

Earth Day is a great occasion to celebrate the best foods British Columbia has to offer and one of the restaurants featuring BC bounty is Pair Bistro in Point Grey-Kitsilano.

So to enjoy Earth Day with local harvest - and to live up to my own 24 hours newspaper column - we walked over to Pair on Tuesday.

Pair has an exclusively BC wine list - something that would have been unthinkable maybe 10 years ago and almost undrinkable 20 years ago, with a few exceptions.

And it's a good list, with several wines by the glass - something every Vancouver restaurant should be doing but isn't.

My wife Shirley had a 2006 Van Westen viognier for $10.50, a very floral, fragrant wine from Naramata that I had not tasted before and was tempted to steal away.

I had a Blackwood Lane chardonnay for $9.50 from the Langley-based winery that sources grapes from the Okanagan but also has vines in the Fraser Valley. It's a tasty wine but may be a bit pricey for the value.

We started with Effingham Inlet oysters - an excellent, accessible choice that went well with both wines.

For my main I picked the special, Queen Charlotte Island tuna with julienned fennel and watercress. It was cooked perfectly and delicious.

I matched it well with a glass of 2006 Church & State sauvignon blanc for $10, recommended by proprietor Janis Hodgins, who was also one of our servers. [I really like owners who serve food - it keeps them in touch with customers and shows a commitment to their establishment. And I didn't know she was an owner till the end of our meal.]

Shirley had a favourite from the regular menu, Peace River bison ribs. It's a hearty meal that comes with cornbread and bbq sauce. She had a glass of Gary Oaks Fetish - a cabernet franc, merlot blend - for $11.

We had a side of assorted sauteed BC mushrooms to go with our meals - absolutely wonderful!

BC has an amazing assortment of foods available and Pair Bistro does an admirable job providing a huge number of choices for a small restaurant.