Winemaker's dinner offers curated experience
Marquis Wine Cellars and Trialto Wine Group have planned a Domaine Faiveley winemaker's dinner at Blue Water Café on Tuesday, March 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jérôme Flous, the head winemaker of Domaine Faiveley, will lead a curated tasting of select Faiveley wines paired with a unique custom menu.
The dinner will highlight the highly touted 2021 vintage alongside exemplary wines from previous years, including comparing 2014 and 2021 Corton Clos des Cortons Grand Cru. Tickets are scarce even at the all-inclusive price of $499.99 per ticket, just a few dollars less than the individual price of three wines being served. Purchase tickets via Marquis Wine Cellars website, by phone at 604-684-0445, or at the store.
Alberta is attempting to block federally approved direct sales of B.C. wine to Alberta consumers. In a letter to B.C. wineries, Alberta appears to be extorting them by threatening to halt their wines from being sold in Alberta private wine shops if they don't cease and desist direct wine club shipments to Albertans.
Meanwhile, the same legislature turns a blind eye to the millions of dollars of “illegal” sales Alberta liquor retailers conduct selling imported wine and spirits to British Columbians. If you ask me, the complaint is all a bit rich for the largest conservative, so-called “free-enterprise” government in the country. What it really speaks to is what a farce liquor control is across Canada. It needs a major reset.
B.C. WINE OF THE WEEK Corcelettes Syrah 2021, Similkameen Valley $34.90 I 92/100 UPC: 626990231059
The 2021 follows an outstanding 2020, which was awarded a coveted platinum medal at the National Wine Awards. The '21 could be even better. Adding five per cent Viognier skins to the ferment adds a charm rarely seen in Syrah as big as this. The aging is 90/10 in French and American oak barrels for 18 months. It is surprisingly friendly now, but it will age effortlessly into 2028.
Like the Northern Rhone, the Syrah is grown on decaying Stemwinder soils, essentially stone, gravel and windblown sand. Look for dusty pepper sagebrush notes among a meaty red that entices from front to back. This is impressive work, although this fruit is under pressure from two cold winters. Buy it while you can.
VALUE WINE OF THE WEEK Pietrame Edizione Limitada Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2019, Abruzzo, Italy
$14.99 I 88/100
UPC: 8002001083350
This Montepulciano offers classic rich, round, dark cassis and black raspberry. The palate has low tannins and supple textures flecked with dried herbs, chocolate and licorice. Easy sipping for summer barbecues featuring chicken or pork — ready to drink and good value. Founded in 1960, Abruzzo's Cantina Tollo has grown into one of the foremost co-operatives in Italy, with nearly 800 shareholders and approximately 3,000 hectares of vineyards.
They bottle 30 per cent of their wine as Cantina Tollo and sell the bulk to other producers. This Montepulciano comes from 25to 30-year-old vines grown atop clay and limestone sites around Tollo.