Be my valentine
Like all good love stories, this one involves ample romance and wine. Christopher and Betty Jentsch, owners of C.C. Jentsch Cellars in Oliver, have been together for 38 blissful years.
But it wasn’t until 2012 that they officially sealed the deal with wine.
That’s the first vintage of the Jentsch’s flagship Bordeaux-style red The Chase.
The graphic of the tiger and rabbit chasing each other on the front label symbolizes ‘the chase’ to always be better and the couple’s decades-long togetherness.
The latest release of The Chase 2014 ($20) again displays why this wine is worthy of the flagship designation and deserves to be uncorked for Valentine’s Day on Thursday.
The classic French Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot is smooth and juicy and full of cherry, blackberry, vanilla and toast aromas and flavours.
Such exceptional taste, combined with the reasonable price point, makes The Chase versatile as a mid-week wine with pasta or a bottle for a steak date night like Valentine’s Day.
Here are five more Okanagan wines that will also do the trick on Valentine’s Day.
It’s not a celebration of love without sparkling wine. So, pop open a bottle of Steller’s Jay Rose Sparkling ($27) from this Summerland winery for a frothy expression of pink grapefruit, apricot and tangerine.
This sparkler is fermented in the bottle the same way Champagne is made in France, so you’re in for a treat of lasting bubbles and refreshing acidity.
— The five varietals of a French Bordeaux show up again in Corcelettes Estate Winery’s red blend 2016 Meritage ($36) from Keremeos.
It’s plummy and plush with cherry freshness and chalky fine tannins.
— Orofino Hendsbee Vineyard 2016 Riesling ($22) from Cawston is an inspired pairing with that most aphrodisiac of foods – oysters.
It’s the driest of the three Rieslings Orofino produces, yet is still rich and lush with intense aromas and flavours of lime and wet rocks, which is a good thing in a Riesling.
— Orofino’s romance tie-ins also extend to its
2016 Passion Pit Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($29), which has just been released in time for Valentine’s Day.
It earned its Passion Pit name because the vineyard where the grapes are grown is a former commercial gravel pit where couples would make out on dark nights.
The fruit aromas and flavours in the wine are also dark, blackberry and black cherry, with hints of cocoa and cigar, which is a good thing in a Cab.
— This wine is also bold and perfect if your Valentine’s meal is low-brow, takeaway pizza or upscale rack of lamb.
The Black Sage Vineyard 2016 Cabernet Franc ($26.50) is made in Summerland from grapes grown in Oliver and has a profile of red currant, dried strawberry, vanilla and mocha.
Sparkling and macarons
Sparking wine and macarons, those little, circular French-style confections of meringue and buttercream filling, are a match made in heaven.
That’s why Township 7 Winery on the Naramata Bench is hosting special Valentine’s one-hour tastings of its two new-release sparklers with macarons today and Sunday at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
The cost is $20.
You can just show up and hope to get in, or make sure and reserve at 250-770-1743.
Both the 2016 Seven Stars Eclipse and 2015 Seven Stars Equinox are made the traditional way French Champagne is and offer up fine bubbles with aromas and flavours of apple, lime, peach and fresh-based biscuits.
Besides pairing them with macarons, they can also be sipped on their own or matched with other foods for lovers like oysters and anything with a cream sauce.
Pink Bub and Baby Bub
Let’s keep the sparking wine flowing with Pink Bub ($30) and Baby Bub ($16).
These are new releases from Okanagan Crush Pad’s Haywire Winery in Summerland just in time for Valentine’s.
Both are the same strawberry-and-citrus zippy sparkling Rose, but in different-sized bottles.
Pink Bub comes in the traditional 750 ml bottle and is perfect for a meal of salmon for two.
Baby Bub, in a cute 375 ml bottle, is what you pop open when you and your lover need just a glass each.
Pink Bub and Baby Bub used to be a limitedproduction sparkler released annually just prior to Valentine’s.
But with more grapes available and more sparkling-wine equipment, the Bubs will be available year-round.
Only Pinot
Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver is billing its first-and-only release of Pinot Noir ($40) as a Valentine’s Day miracle.
Because Pinot Noir is so tricky to grow, it’s also known as the heartbreak grape, an ironic twist for a Valentine’s release.
Black Hills is famous for its bigand-bold reds and usually leaves the more-delicate Pinot alone.
However, the 2017 growing season was tailor made for Pinot, so Black Hills decided to produce this one-off.
As a result, whether you’re alone or coupled up, the Black Hills 2017 Pinot Noir ($39) is a romantic expression of bright cherry and raspberry with hints of violet and subtle earth, which is a good thing in a Pinot.
Because of its limited production, the Pinot is only available for sale online at BlackHillsWinery.com in packs of six or more. Shipping on 12 or more bottles is free.
You can taste this new Pinot at Black Hill’s two-for-theprice-of one couples tastings Valentine’s Day through Feb. 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sip with your sweetheart
Valentine’s-themed wine and events abound and continue with the eighth annual Sip With Your Sweetheart wine-and-chocolate tour today and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., along the Westside Wine Trail.
Drop by any, or all, of the 13 wineries on the trail for a wine and sweet pairing.
They are Ciao Bella, Volcanic Hills, Off the Grid, The Hatch, Grizzli, Rollingdale, Indigenous World, Quails’ Gate, Kalala, Mission Hill, Little Straw, Mt. Boucherie and Beaumont.
Steve MacNaull is The Okanagan Weekend’s business and wine reporter and columnist. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.