March out like a lion; April in like fine wine
Celebrating British Columbia Wine Month is easy.
“All you have to do is drink B.C. VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance),” said B.C. Wine Institute chair Christa-Lee McWatters.
“In fact, I’m a big fan of enjoying VQA wines everyday with family and friends.”
When Alberta banned B.C. wines for two weeks last month as part of the oilsands pipeline spat between the two provinces, Victoria thought it a good idea to declare April as B.C. Wine Month.
The idea was to bolster sales in this province while sales of about $1 million a week were lost in Alberta.
While the inter-provincial trade dispute was settled quickly, British Columbia decided to surge ahead with wine month.
After all, it’s still a sensational way to promote B.C. wine, especially as spring has sprung and many wineries are releasing 2017 whites and 2016 reds.
For example, McWatters, who is also sales and marketing director at Evolve Cellars in Summerland and Time and McWatters Collection wineries in Penticton, is rejoicing with two new Evolve releases.
The 2017 rose ($17) is a 100 per cent Merlot sipper bursting with juicy aromas and flavours of strawberry, watermelon and Bing cherries.
It’s also a versatile food wine that can accompany everything from pork, fish and salad to pasta, couscous and strawberry ice cream.
Keeping on the frozen dessert theme, McWatters likes to pair the 2017 Frizzante ($20) with blood-orange sorbet.
The gentle bubbles in this off-dry 100 per cent Gewurztraminer sparkler is a potpourri of aromas and flavours from roses, honey and ginger to lychee, grapefruit, peach and apricot.
With B.C. Wine Month starting smack dab in the middle of the Easter long weekend, it’s also prime time to hit the road and taste and buy at wineries, many of which kick off their seasonal openings this weekend.
For instance, you can do library tastings at Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland today and tomorrow, drop in on the Cuvee and Cupcakes events at Kelowna’s The View Winery today and tomorrow, pair wine and chocolate at the Spring into Easter celebration today at Kelowna’s House of Rose Winery, have brunch today at The Chase Winery in Lake Country, or sip new releases all weekend at the reopened tasting room at Blue Mountain Winery in Okanagan Falls.
Speaking of spring releases, West Kelowna’s Quails’ Gate Winery has quintuplet of them.
I actually featured the winery’s Boucherie Mountain Vineyard (BMV) Riesling ($30) in this column last month when I had a sneak taste.
Due to time in neutral barrels, that didn’t depart any oak aromas or flavours, but did add some texture and complexity, this is a Riesling that will stand up to a decade of aging.
Or, drink it now for fresh aromas and flavours of wet stones, lime, apple and nectarines. A pair of roses are pretty in pink. The 2017 Lucy’s Block rose ($25) is the premium release named after the winery owners’ grandmother, Lucy Mary Whitworth.
Like grandma, this 50-50 blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, is graceful and elegant.
The wine, not grandma, delivers with a nose of summer blossoms, spice and dried herbs on the nose and lifted red berries on the palate.
The standard 2017 rose ($17) is more approachable and fruit-forward with strawberry, pink grapefruit and white pepper aromas and flavours.
Quails’ Gate is one of the few Okanagan wineries to make Chenin Blanc, and it does it oh-so well.
The 2017 vintage ($20) is complex, but beautifully balanced, with notes of citrus, pear, quince, fresh flowers and grass on the nose and more pear, peach and wet stone flavours.
The lone red spring release is the 2016 Pinot Noir ($27), a medium- bodied expression of the varietal with red berry, violet, cloves and dried herbs aromas and flavours.
Liquidity weekend
Okanagan Fall’s Liquidity Wines is having a blow-out weekend with new releases, an adult Easter egg hunt and the reopening of its Liquidity Bistro.
The bistro’s new operator is Lucia Martin, who has more than two decades experience from working in Canada as well as abroad at Club Med Resorts in the Caribbean.
She brings her son, chef Matt Martin, with her to focus on seasonally-influenced wine-country dishes.
Matt has worked in kitchens in the Okanagan as well as picked up some global perspective cooking at the Michelin-starred Relae restaurant in Copenhagen and recently travelling through Thailand, Germany and Belgium.
Today from noon to 3 p.m. adults can search the 30-acre vineyard for some of the 500 age-appropriate Easter treats and gifts.
If you want to nosh pre-or-post hunt at the bistro, reservations are recommended.
While at Liquidity, you’ll want to try its trio of new releases.
The 2017 Pinot Gris ($19) has it all from lemon meringue, pear and honeydew to kiwi, pineapple and hints of almond.
Expect bold peach, quava, jasmine, apricot, lemon curd and a whiff of white pepper in the 2017 Viognier ($25).
And the 2016 Pinot Noir is opposingly complex, light, soft and earthy with cherry, raspberry, Earl Grey tea, vanilla and spice.
By the way, Liquidity is still high from its 2016 Reserve Chardonnay ($42) being ranked No. 1 in the world at Chardonnay du Monde in France earlier this month.
However, you won’t be able to get your lips on it.
The limited production is first being offered to wine club members and any that’s left will go on sale in the wine shop in July.
Steve MacNaull is The Okanagan Weekend’s business and wine reporter and columnist. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.