pudgy hits the wine trails - day 4
Thursday, August 30, 2012
first real day in osoyoos and what a day it has been. for four days straight, it's been non-stop touring. i can't complain because i want to make the most of my time here in BC but it can be tiring. luckily for me, i don't venture out after 7 pm and there really isn't much of a night life here in osoyoos anyway.
the day started with a lunch at mica restaurant at the spirit ridge resort next to nk'mip cellars. the short rib grilled cheese sandwich was really good. i think i liked the side salad the best .. mixed greens topped with sliced almonds and crumbled goat cheese. the view was beautiful and it wasn't too hot.
after my lunch, i wandered over to nk'mip cellars tasting bar. it was busy so i walked over to the patio restaurant, sat on one of the benches and took in the view. it was just so pretty. eugene was right - the view was gorgeous. when the crowd cleared, i went up to the tasting bar to see what they had to offer for tasting. i tried a riesling, 2008 meritage, and 2009 meritage. the wine was very good but the best part was giving tips to the lady behind the bar. she admitted that her tasting skills were not the best, so i guided her through a tasting with their wines. that was pretty cool because one of the things i enjoy is teaching others about wine tasting. she was very appreciative and i think she learned a thing or two from me.
my visit to nk'mip cellars wasn't just for the wine. i was there to meet with the lead winemaker to talk about their wine making process. as you know, my favorite course in the wine program so far has been vinification and i have made it my goal to continue learning about wine making and the techniques used by different winemakers. unfortunately, the winemaker had an emergency and our meeting had to be postponed until tomorrow.
with the afternoon free, i decided to take a drive up along the okanagan lake. i felt at peace and it didn't matter where i was headed. eventually, i made my way to jackson-triggs okanagan. they had four complimentary wines to taste but were collecting donations for a charity. i appreciate wineries that donate to charity so i decided to try a few. i started off with their sparkling wine. initial nose was all toast but as the sparkling was given a bit of time, the toast was replaced with an apple aroma. it's no wonder it's an award winning sparkling wine.
i followed that with a 2008 meritage which was a predominantly merlot and cabernet franc blend. it was heavy on the cabernet franc notes (fairly herbaceous) and it's an acquired taste. it wasn't the most popular but i think with food, it could work. the 2009 cabernet sauvignon was more consumer friendly because it had sweeter notes of dark chocolate and cassis. the wine host gave me some chocolate to pair with it. wow.
i stopped in at tinhorn creek but friends had mixed reviews. claire said she wasn't blown away by their wines but eugene had mentioned it as one to go to. i'm glad i went in because their tasting notes were some of the best i had seen. how many tasting notes do you see that explains how much of their stock went through malolactic fermentation? they were more technical notes than tasting notes. i tried their gewurztraminer and it was all rose petals and lychee. very sexy.
gehringer brothers was just about to close when i drove up. they kept the tasting bar opened a little long so i could try some of their wine. claire mentioned that their desert sun white was very nice so i tried it. and she was right .. very refreshing. i had to pick one up for claire.
across the road from gehringer brothers was hester creek. before i entered the tasting bar, i checked in on foursquare. and good thing i did because i unlocked a special treat at hester creek! it said show this to someone at the tasting bar and receive a late harvest pinot blanc in a chocolate cup. the ladies at the tasting bar thought it was a hoot - they had never seen it before. but they gladly honoured the special. the late harvest pinot blanc is not like an ice wine. an ice wine usually has a BRIX of about 22 and the BRIX for their late harvest pinot blanc is about 8. for those of you who don't know, BRIX is a way of measuring sugar content of the grapes. the higher the BRIX, the more natural sugar in the grape. the late harvest pinot blanc is sweet but not as sweet as ice wine. for me, it's the perfect level of sweetness.
leslie, the tasting bar host, gave me a mini tour of the property. we walked through the vineyards and we picked a grape off the merlot bunch to taste. it was definitely tart. we talked about the age of the vines, the training system, canopy management, etc. i was in awe that she knew so much. she really knew her stuff. she thought i worked in the wine industry because i was asking questions that regular visitors don't ask. hmm, you mean people don't usually ask what they do for disease control? ;-)
i was near exhausted at that point and decided to head back to my hotel. i'm seriously pooped. thanks eugene for helping me reschedule my meeting with nk'mip.
wish you were here.
pudgy
the day started with a lunch at mica restaurant at the spirit ridge resort next to nk'mip cellars. the short rib grilled cheese sandwich was really good. i think i liked the side salad the best .. mixed greens topped with sliced almonds and crumbled goat cheese. the view was beautiful and it wasn't too hot.
after my lunch, i wandered over to nk'mip cellars tasting bar. it was busy so i walked over to the patio restaurant, sat on one of the benches and took in the view. it was just so pretty. eugene was right - the view was gorgeous. when the crowd cleared, i went up to the tasting bar to see what they had to offer for tasting. i tried a riesling, 2008 meritage, and 2009 meritage. the wine was very good but the best part was giving tips to the lady behind the bar. she admitted that her tasting skills were not the best, so i guided her through a tasting with their wines. that was pretty cool because one of the things i enjoy is teaching others about wine tasting. she was very appreciative and i think she learned a thing or two from me.
my visit to nk'mip cellars wasn't just for the wine. i was there to meet with the lead winemaker to talk about their wine making process. as you know, my favorite course in the wine program so far has been vinification and i have made it my goal to continue learning about wine making and the techniques used by different winemakers. unfortunately, the winemaker had an emergency and our meeting had to be postponed until tomorrow.
with the afternoon free, i decided to take a drive up along the okanagan lake. i felt at peace and it didn't matter where i was headed. eventually, i made my way to jackson-triggs okanagan. they had four complimentary wines to taste but were collecting donations for a charity. i appreciate wineries that donate to charity so i decided to try a few. i started off with their sparkling wine. initial nose was all toast but as the sparkling was given a bit of time, the toast was replaced with an apple aroma. it's no wonder it's an award winning sparkling wine.
i followed that with a 2008 meritage which was a predominantly merlot and cabernet franc blend. it was heavy on the cabernet franc notes (fairly herbaceous) and it's an acquired taste. it wasn't the most popular but i think with food, it could work. the 2009 cabernet sauvignon was more consumer friendly because it had sweeter notes of dark chocolate and cassis. the wine host gave me some chocolate to pair with it. wow.
i stopped in at tinhorn creek but friends had mixed reviews. claire said she wasn't blown away by their wines but eugene had mentioned it as one to go to. i'm glad i went in because their tasting notes were some of the best i had seen. how many tasting notes do you see that explains how much of their stock went through malolactic fermentation? they were more technical notes than tasting notes. i tried their gewurztraminer and it was all rose petals and lychee. very sexy.
gehringer brothers was just about to close when i drove up. they kept the tasting bar opened a little long so i could try some of their wine. claire mentioned that their desert sun white was very nice so i tried it. and she was right .. very refreshing. i had to pick one up for claire.
across the road from gehringer brothers was hester creek. before i entered the tasting bar, i checked in on foursquare. and good thing i did because i unlocked a special treat at hester creek! it said show this to someone at the tasting bar and receive a late harvest pinot blanc in a chocolate cup. the ladies at the tasting bar thought it was a hoot - they had never seen it before. but they gladly honoured the special. the late harvest pinot blanc is not like an ice wine. an ice wine usually has a BRIX of about 22 and the BRIX for their late harvest pinot blanc is about 8. for those of you who don't know, BRIX is a way of measuring sugar content of the grapes. the higher the BRIX, the more natural sugar in the grape. the late harvest pinot blanc is sweet but not as sweet as ice wine. for me, it's the perfect level of sweetness.
leslie, the tasting bar host, gave me a mini tour of the property. we walked through the vineyards and we picked a grape off the merlot bunch to taste. it was definitely tart. we talked about the age of the vines, the training system, canopy management, etc. i was in awe that she knew so much. she really knew her stuff. she thought i worked in the wine industry because i was asking questions that regular visitors don't ask. hmm, you mean people don't usually ask what they do for disease control? ;-)
i was near exhausted at that point and decided to head back to my hotel. i'm seriously pooped. thanks eugene for helping me reschedule my meeting with nk'mip.
wish you were here.
pudgy
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