Black Cloud - Unmatched Pinot Noir

Supper Clubbing at the Elite.

2012-01-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

One of the toughest transitions you'll ever make is the one from big city urban living to small city semi-rural living. I've been in Penticton for most of the last 16 years and it still surprises me at how hard you have to work to make 'off-season' life stimulating.
In the city we were used to everything being right at our doorstep. There were many times when we would just go 'out', to wander down a busy street and wait until something caught our interest enough to make us pause and perhaps engage. Restaurants, clubs, galleries, shops; all vying for your attention and wallet.
Not so much in Penticton and other small BC interior cities. You could wander around plenty but all you might engage is a little frostbite.
Now, in the depths of winter and at the end of January, we are at our most susceptible to periods of auto-pilot or Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) for the most extremely touched.
That's why when the invitation to participate in this new OkSUPPERClub at the Elite restaurant in Penticton came along was we jumped at it. The menu, prix fixe, looked adventurous and eclectic. And very reasonably priced at only $25 per person. Who doesn't love to experiment?

Dinner was advertised at 7 SHARP so we politely arrived about 6:45 and were promptly seated. The kooky, time-machine decor of the Elite amused us as we sipped a couple Cannery Brewing Squire Scotch Ales while watching a silenced The Misfits with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift on a nearby big screen. Suffice to say, the mood was established. The room filled and it was easily a sell-out. I'm glad I didn't opt for wine. It would have been nearly impossible to pick a single style to accompany the varied courses that followed.

Sometime around 7:30 the first course came out. It was the Elvis sandwich accompanied by the Bourbon Milk Shake. The two worked well together. I'm usually accustomed to this much sweetness at the end of the meal, but in some weird way it all actually performed admirably as a lead course. There wasn't much of description on the menu, and the servers offered no clues, but the peanut butter and banana inside a kind of toast was off-set by what we thought was a very nice carmelized onion relish with a little bacon. The milk shake was potent; enough to make the shooter-sized glasses very appropriate.

After a little break, serenaded by a selection of blues, surf and rockabilly oldies, we recieved the Chicken Noodle Soup. The broth was full and robust, there were ample noodles and vegetables. It was a perfect blend of home style and innovation. I could have devoured a big bowl with a loaf of fresh bread and been very happy.

Just after the soup we received a couple tumblers of home-made root beer. It takes decades if not generations to get a root beer recipe right. This one was a gallant attempt, but as explained by the developer, had a few things going against it, not the least was a failure to naturally carbonate. There were some very vibrant flavours at play but not quite in the right balance.

With only a small delay, the next course arrived. Billed as the Rick Reuben, it was a chunk of brisket lightly breaded and fried, topped with kind of slaw or kim chee like cabbage preparation, sided with what we guessed was potato salad and a coarse mustard. The pastrami-style brisket was smokey and moist, I would have loved to have this thinly shaved between two pieces of rye. The outer crust was a non starter. I didn't get much from it. The pickled cabbage and veg was not quite kraut, not quite slaw. It was very piquant, and when you added in the mustard and the brined meat, there was a true battle for vinegary supremacy going on the plate. Apologies for eating a portion before taking the photo. I saw many diners finishing every bit on their plates but for me it was too sharply acidic.

We were then served some very good French fries with a side of gravy. The fries were done perfectly with an understated spice note added. The gravy was mild and almost flavourless.

Dessert was banana cream pie. Many times this classic is prepared with a layer of banana slices somewhere in the pie. Which is unfortunate because by the time it is served they begin to brown and grow mushy. Very unappetizing. Not so with this dessert. The bananas were all blended into the cream section, and resting on a dark chocolate cookie crumble crust. Topping the pie was a praline whip cream that was beaten to within a hair of being butter. Top marks for appearance but I tasted an inordinate saltiness in the crust mixture. Loved the rich banana flavour of the filling.

Plenty of fun and a good learning experience for all. I'm looking forward to the next event. I'd like to see a bit more narrative; either verbally from the servers or written on the menus, about what we are being served and maybe, after the meal, a Q and A about choices the chef made in his sourcing and preparation.

2010 Fleuvage - Pinot Noir just around the corner.

2012-01-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

We're only a couple weeks from bottling the 2010 Black Cloud Fleuvage Pinot Noir. There have been some delays as we wait for the flavours to perfectly fall into place. We'll be looking at a spring release.

Fleuvage is our essential, fruit-driven Pinot Noir. It's $19.99 retail and a favourite among restaurants and lounges looking for a medium-bodied red to pour by the glass.

To be first in line to get some by making sure you're on our newsletter list. We encourage private customers and members of the trade to take advantage of this offer. Just fill out the form below.

Email Marketing You Can Trust

2011-11-10T21:12:00.001-08:00

Here's what one of our fans just said about the Altostratus on Twitter:

@Blackcloudwine Brad...09 altostratus is outstanding! Very Burgundian...could be right out of the cote d'Nuits #bcwine #premiercru
Pretty great comment! Thanks, Tim!

2011-11-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Altostratus is now available. It should be appearing in a few BC retailers soon. About 45 cases (including some magnums) are in Alberta and it's available at the Wine Shop on 16th SW in Calgary.

If you'd like to order some of the best Pinot Noir you've ever had, just drop an email to bradley@blackcloud.ca and we'll get the ball rolling.

Pinot Noir Prepares for Premiere.

2011-09-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting time of the year. The grapes are racing towards ripeness as unseasonably warm weather tries to make up for a very slow start.
Here at Black Cloud headquarters, we're preparing to release the 2009 Altostratus. We're starting with a free tasting and pre-release event at The Wine Shop in Calgary. The guys at The Wine Shop have been very good to us, easily our biggest reseller and spreading the word about Black Cloud to anybody who will listen. Winemaker Bradley Cooper (me) will be at the store from 2 to 5 this Saturday, September 10. We encourage our Alberta fans to drop by to taste and chat and maybe pre-order some Altostratus. A drop in crop levels in 2009 means we won't have as much available as before.

The BC release starts with an event in the works for Penticton (our home base) that coincides with the Okanagan Wine Festival at the end of the month. Watch this space for details.

We're also excited about the debut of our label re-design. Here is a rather high-quality photo (lol) of the mock-up. Trust me. It'll look way better on the bottle.

If you're looking to get some of the 2009 Altostratus, please join our Cloudy Club by emailing to info@blackcloud.ca and letting us know you want to get a little cloudy.

2011 Pinot Noir Inspection Tour

2011-07-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

My wife Audralee and I had a chance to drop in to Remuda Vineyard in Okanagan Falls last weekend and take a look at the Pinot Noir with the owners, Dwight and Arnie Gash.
Although a week or so late, just like last year, there is a lot more fruit. The damage from the 2009-2010 winter is just about resolved. We're looking for a longer ripening period for the Pinot and I hope the extra hangtime will result in the same rich and complex flavours we're familiar with.
This vineyard is on a 5 to 8 degree slope, with a southwest aspect. The soils are glacial till. Lots of gravels and boulders that allow excellent drainage. In the picture I'm in you can see some the large stones that have been cast up. Pretty typical for the whole property.
The vines, grown on a modified Scott-Henry trellis, are in great shape. A couple days after these photos were taken leaf plucking was started to give the fruit plenty of exposure. Colour is never an issue for the Pinot on this property.
All the Pinot from Remuda Vineyard goes to our Altostratus tier. We're currently selling the 2008 with the 2009 due for release in September.

Wine Making and Winery Ownership in BC - A pastime for the wealthy?

2011-04-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

After being in this industry for more than 15 years and observing how things work, I'm beginning to suspect that making wine for a living in this jurisdiction is an activity reserved for the rich.

This in itself is not a revelation.
I'm not talking about the day-to-day labour in the cellar or the vineyard. By wine making I'm suggesting the ownership of land and facilities in order to do so.
It's becoming clear that the regulations for operating and licensing a winery favour those with substantial financial clout and basically keep people of modest means from playing any significant role. I think some of those restrictions have been created for the sole purpose of restricting the number of players in the field and to promote the BC government's long time agri-tourism push.

And this kind of environment limits innovation, new blood and a free market.

Considering the price of land in BC, it would require a minimum of $300,000 just for dirt for a land-based winery license. That's before equipment, agricultural costs and infrastructure. One could entertain a 'commercial' winery license, but that's just basically an extension of the BC Liquor Distribution Board's retail system. You'd miss out on the great system of kick backs given to land-based wineries that produce VQA products.
Next add in the licensing requirement for a 500 case annual production. This artificial constraint means you'll be looking at a minimum of 8 tons of grapes (about 60 cases per ton) at a cost of somewhere between $1200 to $3,000 per short ton. Let's split the difference at $2100 per ton or about 17 grand right out of the gate.

The point is: if you're a good winemaker who would just like to buy some grapes, make some wine and sell it on the open market: you're out of luck.

Why should there be some arbitrary number for production? What has that got to do with great wine?

I queried friends in other jurisdictions. My contact in California knew of no constraint in the size of the operation while in Ontario another friend suggested things may be even worse.

There's no system to allow shoestring operators to simply take part in the market. I propose licensing follow the precedents set be the food industry. The priorities should be about good sanitation, proper disposal of waste and other environmental concerns in concert with local requirements. Not some made up number for case production and the requirement for tracts of land that may be the most expensive agricultural land in Canada if not all of North America.
It's time this lazy, bourgeois style of licensing was changed to allow innovative and dynamic new producers.

2006 "Fleuvage" Pinot Noir - Almost Sold Out

2011-03-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us from the beginning. We first started selling our 2006 Fleuvage Pinot Noir in the spring of 2009. It was the wine that got things going for us. It's with mixed feelings that we announce that the Fleuvage is close to selling out. We'll probably be shipping the last case sometime in April. We must advise if you are planning on purchasing some that you do it soon. Its rich, rustic flavours have never shied away form robust foods right off the summer BBQ or out of the cold weather crock pot.

We produced no Fleuvage level wines in 2007, 2008, or 2009. We do have a limited amount of 2010 on the horizon. We hope to have that available by Christmas.

You may qualify for reduced shipping charges. Be sure to ask when we process your order. Retail: $19.99

Simply email at wine@blackcloud.ca or

Use the 'contact' tab at the top right. Alternatively call

250-490-7314

Welcome!

2011-03-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome!: "I connected Blogger to my http://flavors.me page - http://flavors.me/bradley1"

What's Been Happening In the Cellar for the 2010s?

2010-12-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I attended an industry forum in the Okanagan Valley. Growers, winemakers and other principals gathered to informally discuss and digest the year that was vintage 2010.

The consensus:

Kooksville.

People that have grown grapes and made wine in the Okanagan Valley for 20, 25 and 30 years agreed it was the oddest year for weather. It was a growing season rife with unpredictable patterns and events.

Having said that, there was also consensus that some of the curveballs that were launched by Mother Nature were not impossible to hit. Look for more than a few home runs coming out this season.

I'll get more information out to you soon about the wacky weather in general. But first, I want to tell you about what is happening with Black Cloud and how we fared.

After 2009's short crop, I didn't want get caught with another small production year. The 2009 will only be around 125 cases. With our established vineyard source still recovering from 2008 and 2009 winter damage, we chose to engage an additional new vineyard that's just coming on-stream to guarantee 250 cases.

We're excited to start working with this young fruit and look forward to what flavours evolve as the vineyard begins to mature. Keith Loveridge has started a number of different Pinot Noir clones on his Naramata Bench ranch and from all appearances it looks like a promising site. We took delivery of his first commercial pick in mid-October. Being so young, there's not a lot of balance or expression of terroir established yet. But the fruit did get some great red berry flavour. At this time, we anticipate the Loveridge Ranch lot to end up in our Fleuvage tier.

The Remuda Vineyard in Okanagan Falls came through with flying colours. Not quite the crop load when it is at it's best but with all the rich, structured flavour we've come to expect. I'm confident we're going to have another remarkable Altostratus.

Both wines are now finished alcoholic fermentation and are completing malo-lactic fermentation. Now we let the wines naturally clarify and the barrels to work their magic.

Getting Your Hands (And Lips) On Black Cloud Pinot Noir

2010-12-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

It's true.
We only make Pinot Noir.

We decided to just specialize in this magnificent grape because it has so many different manifestations. We're going to indulge that difference and allow each season to define itself in every cru. For now we have the 2006 Fleuvage and the 2008 Altostratus.

Easiest way to get some? Just email wine@blackcloud.ca . We're featuring free shipping to most parts of the Lower Mainland for the month of December. And very reasonable rates to other places in BC and beyond.

Our current offerings:

2006 Fleuvage (.750 l) $19.99
2008 Altostratus (.750 l) $27.99
2008 Altostratus (1.5 l) $65.00

If you'd like to patronize our re-sellers, here is an updated list:

Our fans in Alberta can get in touch with

The Wine Shop in Calgary
They carry the Altostratus and can re-sell to other licenses as well.
Here's their Facebook link

The 'A' means they carry the Altostratus. Otherwise, Fleuvage or both.
Amante - Penticton - restaurant
Bainbridge - Burnaby - liquor store
Black Iron - Penticton - restaurant (A)
Brentwood Bay - Vancouver Island - liquor store
Brewhouse @ Whistler - restaurant
Broadway Wine - Vancouver - both
Bowen Island - liquor store
Fire Fly - Vancouver - liquor store (A)
Fire Fly - Maple Ridge - liquor store- both
Garrison - Chilliwack - liquor store
Gudrun - Richmond - restaurant
Hamilton Street Grill - Vancouver - restaurant
Kits Daily Kitchen - Vancouver - restaurant (A)
Liberty Granville Island - Vancouver - wine store (A)
Naramata Heitage Inn - Naramata - restaurant (A)
Naramata Store - Naramata - liquor store
Newport Liquor Merchants - Port Moody - liquor store
Ocean Point Liquor - Squamish - liquor store
O'Hares - Richmond - liquor store
Passa Tempo - Osoyoos - restaurant (both)
Raven's on the Beach - Harrison Hot Springs - restaurant
Royal Oak Liqour Plus - Vancouver Island - liquor store
Saanich Liquor Plus - Vancouver Island - liquor store
The Strath Ale Wine & Spirits - Vancouver Island - liquor store
Squamish Liquor Store - Squamish - liquor store
Victoria Liquor Plus (Douglas) - Vancouver Island - liquor store
Whatcom Wine - Abbotsford - liquor store
Woodys - Coquitlam - liquor sotre
Yaletown Brewing Co.- Vancouver - restaurant (A)

Understanding Wine and the relationship between the wine, the drinker and the chili.

2010-09-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest hurdles a producer of wine will have to leap is the preconception the end user (consumer, drinker) has for your product.
Trying to solve the riddle of what the consumer wants is a fools' game. In other circles it's called "chasing the market". As soon as you change your style and purpose, the market shifts, leaving you as yesterday's child.
What is the best wine and best way to make wine? It's extremely subjective. That's why I make wine that I like. Wine that I will drink , that my friends and family will drink and, along the way, some people agree with what I do.
It's a lot like chili con carne.
That's right. Spicy meat stew.
Why?
Because no one can agree what's the best way to make it and everybody has their favourite versions and that includes the vegetarians.
Chili (the peppers) with meat (of some kind) is a North American (primarily Texan) variation of something that has been going on for millenia. Ever since humans started preferring their meat singed by the flame, they've been looking at whatever nasty little beast they've managed to kill that day and asked,
"How the hell am I gonna make that taste good?".

Using local produce to flavour and/or preserve the meat is a time-honoured trick of history's chefs. Like keeping wine in oak barrels, often the necessity of the times becomes the preferred style.
A complete history of chili is here.
Here's how I make mine.

Start with your meat. The basic is some kind of ground beef. But if you want to be real use some tough cut like chuck or hanger steak. Remember, cookie was looking at some tired piece of mystery meat that was all dried up and turning a funny colour. And he was also looking at a herd of tired, hungry range hands who needed food. If you can lay your hands on it, use game. That gets closer to what the frontier cooks had to use. I've used ground moose.

Next, your chilies. Seek out some nice dried peppers that are remotely close to what you want in a finishing flavour. I don't go for scorching hot anymore; I prefer an earthy, slightly tannic pepper with some bitter notes. You can get these at any decent specialty grocery store. I'm using anchos/poblanos. Pasillas are also good for this. Here's a rough guide. Of course, your tongue is the best research. In the bowl in the photo has some fresh stuff from my garden that I'll use to 'finish' the chili towards the end. First thing, let's make tea.

Fire all those dry, crusty peppers into a pot and simmer in about half the pot of water for an hour or three. You can remove the stems and shake out a few seeds to start if you wish. I tend to do that at the end of the tea pepper steeping ritual. While you're waiting for pepper brew, chop onions. I like onions in my chili, There's no rules but part of chili tradition is to use what you have on hand. I like a medium sized onion to every liter of chili I make.

Fire those onions, finely chopped, into your destination pot. A little oil of your choice brought to heat will help. Wait til they're translucent and remove to a side dish. If it's been a couple hours we can start working the peppers. If not, grab a beer and go see if the game is on the TV. But set the timer or else the whole effort good go in the loo.

Let the pepper bath drain through a colander into a bowl. Stir about to allow the peppers to release all their liquid goodness. Reserve the liquid! You'll need it thin your chili or your paste. More on this shortly.

As you can see, I'm a tomato man. I love the tomatoes. I've got a couple pints of my garden's bounty(vintage 2009) ready to go in the pot. Tomatoes, and how much you put in, is a matter of taste. Which brings me to beans. I like beans. I like beans a lot. I even like beans in my chili con carne. But I do not put them in until the service. I do not cook my beans into the chili. Do what you wish, use the beans you wish. But I do not include the beans in the chili automatically.

Here's the pepper tea, still steamy.

Next, after allowing to cool, it is time to process the peppers. I remove the stems at this point as I don't want an overdose of tannins and phenols. Whatever.

It all goes in the food processor. How do you like my vintage Cuisinart DLC-10 Plus? Still works like a charm. Process it to mush, use a little pepper tea if you need to thin it and make it a little more mixable. Get it a little thinner than toothpaste but thicker than gravy.

Look at mine!

Not done with it yet. You can throw it in like this but you'll be picking pepper skin and seeds out of your teeth forevah! I toss mine in an old fashioned food mill at this point to get nothing but pure pepper goo.

So I mill it down. At this point you will have to taste it. Depending on what peppers you have used, this may be a a bit of a shock. Have some milk on standby. It's essential to know what you've created so you can gauge the addition of pepper paste. Who is your target palate? How much heat are you going to bring? This is a little like tasting red wine out of the barrel in the spring right after the fall harvest. You get a sense of the direction your little production is going to take. Of course, while I'm doing this, I'm also browning the meat in the same pot I started the onions. A little oil helps, especially it you're using very lean meat. No salt or pepper. Let the eaters add theirs later.

Just as the browning

is coming to an end, turn down the heat and add your garlic to taste. I loathe the bitter, angular taste of burnt garlic. But I love garlic done right. That's why I always make sure the heat is indirect and not on a bare cooking surface. Now it's time for the bulk of the non-meat items.

Here are the tomatoes, lightly fried onions and the pepper paste. Plus some fresh bits from the garden.

Stir it all up and let it simmer. To thin it, use the reserved pepper tea (will add a richer, spicier effect) or beer ( has an intriguing nuttiness). If your add-in bits of tomato, fresh pepper and such thin the chili too much the only approved (by me) thickener besides slow reduction is masa (corn flour).

Again, use the pepper tea to mix a masa slurry and then dribble/mix it into the chili. Tastes great right away and even better refrigerated and warmed up next day.

And that's how I make wine.

Taking A Closer Look At Biodynamic Agriculture and Wine

2010-07-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

In the world of vine growing and wine making there has been a rising interest in an agricultural school of thought called biodynamic.
Based on the writings and lectures of Rudolf Steiner, this form of agriculture intends to produce fruit, vegetables and grains (in fact, all products of a farm including animals) by using the natural rhythms of the land and treating the farm like one living organism. It's all explained here.

I think the interest in BioD is a natural progression of an agricultural community that is trying to be more of a land steward than a land 'user'. Words like 'green' and 'sustainable' pepper the media these days when talking about any innovative agricultural movement. Marketers are well aware that a few key words will engage a public becoming more convinced that their trip to the supermarket can be their contribution to saving the world.

Does Biodynamic farming produce better grapes? I didn't know. And I still don't.

To find out a little more I helped organize a field trip to Washington State to meet with renowned biodynamic vineyard consultant Philippe Armenier . Mr. Armenier generously donated some of his time in between consultations with his Washington and Oregon clients. Our group consisted of about 15 winemakers, growers, resellers, winery owners and some enthused members of the wine drinking public. We travelled first to the Tri-Cities area and then to the Walla Walla valley to view the vineyards, walk the land and taste the wines.

On Monday, June 28th, we travelled first to the Red Mountain AVA (American Viticultural Area) where we visited Hedges Cellars. About 40 acres there is dedicated to biodynamic practices. Vineyard manager John Gomez introduced us to the property and gave his impressions on what the effects of biodynamic practices were. As a winemaker, I was interested to hear that the Hedges wine making team had nothing bad to say about the biodynamic fruit in comparison to what they grew by conventional methods. Gomez passed that tidbit on as well as his assertion that he "thinks a small portion of biodynamic vineyard out of the total acreage is a good thing". He admitted to being skeptical at first, but now in year three, he was ready to accept that it was a good way to grow grapes. Hedges was already pretty 'green': no herbicides had ever been used in the vineyard. He seemed to enjoy the fact that he was presiding over an on-going experiment. He did lament that he couldn't devote more time to it.

Out in the vineyards, we learned from Mr. Armenier how biodynamic practices encouraged a link between the plant and the soil and supernatural forces that are in all living things. It's about bringing balance to the vineyard through the use of preparations and treatments that perform certain tasks to enhance the agriculture. Emphasis was placed on allowing three years to pass before the BioDy effects begin to show.

We tasted the tendrils of growing vines, first from the BioDy and then from the neighbour's conventionally grown vines. I've never tasted tendrils before. They were sharply acidic, tangy and sour. Some of our group professed a fondness for the BioDy tendrils. I felt they were equally unpleasant. The BioDy tendrils seemed more like unripe apples. The conventional tendrils seemed earthier or more tannic. I hope I never chew either again. Frankly, I find it quite doubtful that the taste of a tendril in June has anything to do with a grape in October. It's about as accurate as gnawing on the hoof of a cow and then surmising what the rib eye will taste like. More about cow later.

In many vineyards there is an attempt to mulch or compost vine and waste grape material back into the vineyard. There are recognized obstacles to this, not the least of which is making sure the pH of the waste material is compatible with good soil conditions. For that reason, it's important to compost and balance any soil augmentation materials heading into the vineyard. Mr. Armenier's thoughts on this practice are clear. Under his BioDy protocols, no grape waste is returned to the vineyard. In the Hedges' compost we saw only earth, manure and straw. Suffice to say, the post fermentation grape waste created more problems than it was worth. In addition, it was suggested the living vines may somehow sense the return of the now 'dead' grapes and certain 'feelings' of remorse may be experienced by the vines at the arrival of their offspring's wasted remains.

We concluded our visit to Hedges with a marvelous light lunch served to us on the front patio of the chateau with a couple of the Hedges family in attendance. I had the opportunity to demonstrate my cherry pit spitting prowess.

During the afternoon our group split into several smaller expeditions. Our pack traveled to Pacific Rim in West Richland. If you're not familiar with this Randall Grahm project, they do a lot of riesling. And virtually no red. Which is odd considering they're in sight of the Red Mountain AVA, famous for great reds. This state of the art facility is jaw-droppingly awesome in so many ways. Sophisticated yet basic, tech-driven but true to wine making art. From a winemaker's perspective, it's a great facility and the wines are remarkable at every level.

We overnighted in Walla Walla and included a group dinner at Whitehouse Crawford. Much of what we saw and heard that day help fuel some lively conversation. From my observation it was clear that people were beginning to fall into two camps: those who were increasingly skeptical about biodynamic practices and those who were becoming more enamored of this new agricultural method. I use the word 'new' because that aspect was stressed on several occasions. Having only been developed since 1924, the biodynamic method is relatively new when compared to other forms of agricultural practice.

Next day it was time to visit Cayuse Vineyards. Just across the Oregon state line but still in the Walla Walla Valley, Christophe Baron (the gentleman at left) has created stunning results from land most would have viewed as wasteland. And he's done it biodynamically. The wines he creates are formidable and exclusive. They're pretty much 'cult' status; available through a futures program by way of a (full) mailing list.

At Cayuse we were able to see a greater portion of the biodynamic farm functioning. Draft horses, used to tend the vines, grazed in a nearby field. Pigs, cows, rabbits, fowl and enormous compost heaps all had their place. It began to look less like the monoculture vineyards we're accustomed to seeing and more like a farm from the old days. Everything had a distinct yet co-dependent role in the biodiversity of the property.

We were also treated to a viewing of the horn pit. Cow horns are stuffed with manure and left buried on the property for a period of time. The composted material that results is then used in one of the biodynamic preparations. There are many preparations or treatments. Their use is strictly dictated by the biodynamic code and the timing of certain astrological incidents that allow full use of the cosmic powers around us.

Preparing these treatments is a structured activity. In fact, at Cayuse, a specialized device consisting of two copper cylinders is used. Like two old open washer machines, the contents are agitated and stirred with unique paddles as instructed by a programmable logic control (PLC). With the PLC, the contents are stirred first one way for a set time and then reversed. Mr. Baron and Mr.Armenier set up the device and filled the tubs with water to demonstrate it for us. Although no actual preparation was involved, Mr. Armenier asked many of the group to touch the water that was being stirred, noting that "it was no longer just water, it changes into something else".

We concluded our visit with another beautifully catered lunch, presented in the Cayuse cellar, joined by standout Cayuse wines and consumed on the sunny crush pad.

In the cellar, hovering above the centre of the room 5 meters above our heads was a giant paper mache pig. Strapped to the pig was a cartoonish rocket. Little wings also adorned the pig, which was painted in many colours and designs. The pig seemed to be a symbol for something. That against all odds and popular wisdom, it would appear that a pig could fly (with a little help). The same pig in a slightly modified form adorns one of the Cayuse labels.

As our time with Mr. Armenier drew to a close over lunch, I found myself suddenly aware of who might find biodynamic agriculture an attractive route. Is biodynamic right for you? The answer, in part, is perhaps.
If you're comfortable with the spiritual, if you're open-minded about the world around you and the possibility of the supernatural, you're going to love biodynamic agriculture. Acceptance, or surrender, to the rules of biodynamics means you don't have to rely on science anymore. You can follow the biodynamic way and know truths about how the universe and the world functions in the cyclical pattern of seasons. Life forces, unexplainable and defying examination, inhabit the ground, the air and living things. BioDy will allow you to make all of this work in harmony.
In this way, biodynmics differs little from various religions and other dogmatic, faith-based movements. A certain degree of acceptance is required. It's all about linking the soil, the place, the animals and the cosmos and using their life forces to create what we need. It's about trust and taking the leap.

Like to know more?
There's a forum thread here at Wine Beserkers that makes for some stimulating reading as forces on both side of the issue duke it out. Included are many interesting links supplied by Brigitte Armenier, Philippe's wife.

Here's how Valeria Tait, one of our participants on the Washington road trip, summarized her experience.

Let's Play a Wine Game!

2010-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves a challenging mental exercise in the form of a game or contest. While this isn't exactly a game, it is challenging. It's called design a wine label for a British Columbia wine. The other part of the exercise: next time you're in your favourite wine store, try to spot how many wines are not labeled according to the rules.

Perhaps you've noticed that Black Cloud Pinot Noir has a bit of an outlaw label. You would be right to think this.

The rules or regulations are many and they're designed by authorities on several levels. The federal poo-bahs have the Consumer Labelling and Packaging Act. We all know (at least in this country) there has to be plenty of English/French no matter where it is sold. As a result "Product of Canada" must also appear as "Produit du Canada". That and a host of other terms and notes. They also define how large the print should be for the alcohol and volume notes and how wide the space between the numerals and metric volume measurement.

Some of the rules

The metric net quantity must be at least 1.6 mm in height

There must be a space between 750 and ml

The above must be in boldface

Only this abbreviation is considered bilingual: "13.5 % alc./vol." Make sure the periods are in there.

There must be a space between "13.5" and "%"

Next, if you're part of the Vintner's Quality Alliance (VQA) program and are allowed to use the insignia "VQA" there are specific rules about where it should be placed on label and bottle. Plus, using place names as geographic indicators or appellations is controlled.

Some of these rules have good reason to be and are helpful for the consumer.

I think for a wine producer, the most contentious issue is the description of the primary display label. Bottles can have a front or back despite being cylindrical in 99% of all cases. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which enforces the Act mentioned above, interprets the label that is thought to be the one most often used to display the product as the primary display. It requires all the legal stuff about the colour of the wine and where it was made to be on the primary display label. The catch is: the producer doesn't get to decide, the government agency gets to define what the primary display label is.

If you've invested heavily in product package design it's not too much fun to have the image ruined by text that could easily be moved to the secondary or back label.

Thankfully, enforcement is sketchy. But that's why you can find all the 'artistic' labels in the stores. Happy hunting.

Newport Liquor Merchants - our latest partner

2010-02-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

Last week this great store in Port Moody became the latest partner in the Black Cloud Pinot Noir quest for world wine domination.
If you haven't been to this store I encourage you to drop in. It's a great spot with friendly, knowledgeable staff. Say hi to Janice and John and all the rest. And the neighbourhood is quite nifty with lots of other stores and services within walking distance. You can easily spend a couple hours exploring, grabbing a meal and buying wine around this spot.

Black Cloud Honoured As One Of The 17

2010-01-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

Black Cloud Pinot Noir was selected this weekend by the Vancouver Sun and Province as one of their 17 wines in 17 days - alluding to the upcoming Olympic celebrations beginning in the city shortly. It caught us by surprise. We had no indication we were being considered. If you got one of the these booklets

Turn to page 52 and 53 and there we are!

The article talks about how difficult it is to find some these wines. Indeed, you can't just drop in to any government liquour store and expect to pick some of these wines up. We thought this would be a good opportunity to update people regarding where Black Cloud Pinot can be obtained. Remember, the price varies greatly with each location's mark-up. You can always just email us (wine@blackcloud.ca) or call 250-490-7314 and we'll ship it to you direct. One bottle or 10 cases, or whatever amount you want.

Restaurants:
Whistler
       The Brewhouse
Vancouver
       Voya at the Loden hotel
       Hamilton Street Grill
Richmond
      Gudrun
Princeton
      Linguini's
Naramata
      Naramata Heritage Inn
Lake Country
      Ricardo's Mediterranean Kitchen
Harrison Hot Springs
      Raven's on the Beach

Wine Stores
Bowen Island
     Bowen Island Cold Beer & Wine
North Shore
     Village Taphouse
Abbotsford / Fraser Valley
     Whatcom Wines and Spirits
Richmond
     O'Hare's
Vancouver
     Broadway International Wine
Victoria
     Liquour Plus (all three stores)
Naramata
     The Naramata Store

Large Format Wine Bottles for Black Cloud

2010-01-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

We're planning on creating some large bottles for Black Cloud as part of our next bottling run.

I've had some feelers out there on Twitter and such, asking for opinion about the oversized bottle genre.

Most people seem to like the idea but they rarely purchase for themselves. In fact, most people seem more inclined to purchase large bottles as special occasion gifts rather than have a few on-hand in their own cellars.

I'm pretty sure we're going to do a few. They're great to have when a favourite charity or benefit comes calling for a contribution. And when we have a dinner party for more than 6 guests, our large bottle will dominate the table!

Change - It had to come

2010-01-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Playing around with the format and theme on the site. Bear with me. Embrace the change. I think I got the comment section back.

Comments? I messed up the comment thing.

2010-01-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

In the past, one could comment on my posts. But I was messing around with the template and I've lost comment functionality. Until I geek my way through this, just drop a line at wine@blackcloud.ca if you would like to add to the discussion.
Cheers

Is A New Winery In Your New Year?

2010-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

Starting a new winery is a daunting task. People come at the problem from varied backgrounds and levels of talent. Everybody has a different idea about what makes a winery a success. But few would argue that a winery needs to be a successful business.

Often the decision to start a winery happens in the blink of an eye. Sure, you may have mulled, pondered and ruminated about it for a decade. But for most people, it comes down to a single moment of conviction when your passion, drive and hope come together and you say: Let's do it.

Forget about the awards ceremonies, the glowing reviews and the adoration of thousands of wine lovers: that will all come in good time. The first thing you have to do is make sure you have a good business plan. Without the plan, you're like a ship without a rudder.

The wine business is capital intensive at start-up. Returns on investment are delayed, reflecting both the nature of a business linked to an agricultural cycle and a slow inventory turnover. Investors looking to make a quick buck should look elsewhere as a five year lag before returns in not uncommon. In fact, without proper funding, your winery could be in serious trouble by the time your second or third harvest comes around. You may find yourself strapped for funds and without the kind of cash flow you may have expected

The wine business is heavily-weighted to a brand-driven model. You'll soon have questions about how to best promote and market your brand. Before some of the details become insurmountable, consider engaging the services of a consultant.

In the wine industry that could be someone purely on the business side who has a familiarity with the workings of banks, government and the law. Or it can be someone from development and production, like myself (the friendly guy in the photo), who will be able to tell you what you'll need to achieve the kind of excellence we all strive for in wine.

Whether you're starting a new venture or working with an established company, there's never a bad time to re-visit the business plan with a fresh set of eyes. Consider the talents of a consultant when you need to clearly identify your wine business priorities and and create viable, profitable solution.

Winery Investors: We Welcome Your Questions

2010-01-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Over the last weekend we accepted our first Black Cloud investor participation in our company. Our focus has been on production and brand promotion, so we hadn't been actively chasing down private lenders.

But we were happy to accept this investor's trust and belief in our vision.

One thing that has been worthy of noting: People are surprised to learn how small their stake can be. Winery ownership doesn't require millions of dollars after all!

If you or someone you know is looking for a minority position in small, niche-market winery, drop us a line.

We look forward to any questions about our plan and how financial participation would look.

Everything We Do Now Shows Up In The 2010 Pinot Noir

2010-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

People often ask what a wine maker does this time of year. Some folks are just curious, not knowing how things are. Others are already sure that we're just loafing about, waiting for the grapes to grow ripe. Or goofing around like me and my son in the photo.

Truth is: I'm working on the 2010 vintage right now. A case could be made that I'm working on the next five, 10 and 20 vintages if you want to extend the premise.

I say this because everything I do in the next 10 months culminates in that one day in the fall when the grapes are picked and we begin to transform them into wine.

Every minute decision about the vine, about the winery and about the direction of our enterprise is reflected in the finished product.

Pinot Noir is one of the most reactive varieties when it comes to stylistic choices. "Style" can be defined in everything from vinification to cultural practices in the vineyard to the type of closure used on the bottle. Some of the other varieties seem to be able to produce consistent wines under different style regimes. But Pinot Noir walks a tightrope of quality. A consistent style allows the seasonal variations to shine in each vintage while protecting the integrity of the wine.

Black Cloud is still a young concept for a brand and a winery. There's quite a bit of style evolution to come. As an example, a year ago we were still planning to make some white wine. But we've come to realize our passion lies with Pinot Noir. That's where our focus will be.

We're still working on sourcing and growing the best fruit from our team of growers. Our plan is to do more work in the vineyards that allow our style choices to be accommodated easily. We're still working on defining what we think works best in the cellar to allow the treasures of the vineyard to be properly expressed in the bottle.

Around the world over the past year there has been tremendous change due to the global economic upheaval. It affects everyone including wine making operations. The important thing about this situation for a winery is to be adaptable and to see the change as something to embrace. It's what winemakers do every harvest; observe and accept the vintage and accommodate the change. Always with the same goal, which is to produce the best wine from the best grapes available.

For Black Cloud, that means consistently producing the best Pinot Noir in British Columbia.

Readers of this post: 2006 Black Cloud Pinot Noir is available for $19.99 + bottle deposit until January 8th, 2010. Regular price: $25.00 . Please email your contact details to wine@blackcloud.ca . We will respond to arrange payment and shipping.

Pinot Noir Examination with WinePlus

2009-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

I find it difficult to turn down a chance to try eight Pinot Noirs from around the world. As a maker of Pinot, I like to take every opportunity to see what other producers are creating and compare them with our accomplishments here in the Okanagan. So when the opportunity to join the Wine Plus Pinot Noir tasting event in Penticton last night came up, I jumped at the chance.

Wine Plus has a raft of courses and single night workshops that suit wine lovers at every level of interest. Rhys Pender steers the Wine Plus ship and he and his special guests make the proceedings casual, informative and lively.

The guest commentator was my old friend and Taboma master Mike Bartier from Road 13 . After a quick intro and outline by Rhys, it was time for Mike to make a few comments about Pinot Noir in general. His basic points, misquoted below:

Is there a positive correlation between colour and quality?Absolutely. Not.
the difficulty associated with the 'heartbreak' grape is not in making a good wine but in making 'great' wine.
Never mind climate or region so much, the defining moment in Pinot Noir quality is site selection when it's planted. The soil structures (how it's put together in layers and levels) are as important as the actual material it's made from.
In this region (the Okanagan) anything over 5 tons per acre will not fare well.

We tasted blind, with a reveal at the completion of the exercise and some discussion. One of the discussion points was the ability of Pinot Noirs to change in the glass very rapidly. This trait showed itself repeatedly over the course of the evening. First impressions were not always the last impression.

Please note: the prices are at time of purchase not at time of tasting. I believe they are all prices in BC but whether they are BCLDB or private store prices I don't know.

Here are my notes:

1 - Ventolera - Leyda Valley - Chile - 2007 - $19.99 - 14.5% alcohol

I put this one in my top three. Partly on value. Great fruit expression throughout the nose and palate with a little smoke up front. A velvety mouthfeel with lots of cherry and a hint of spice, maybe cinnamon? Lengthy finish. I'd expect some wonderful development over the next few years.

2. - Golden Mile Cellars* - Black Arts - Okanagan Valley - BC - 2006 - $35.00

Another one that made it into my top three. Quite a bit of complexity. I got a neat toffee and picnic ham on the nose with an earth cocoa dust that emerged in the palate as milk chocolate. A little leaner than other New Worlders, with a little rhubarb and Fisherman's Friend in the finish.

3. - Colutta Gianpaolo - Friuli - Italy - 2003 - $30.00 - 13% alcohol

Actually called Pinot Nero. I found this one slightly medicinal on the nose, with some adhesive or Vicks 44 qualities. Not one of my favourites. I found the palate a little lean, some cherry notes and an over all 'drying' aspect to the tannins.

4.- Yering Station - Reserve - Yarra Valley - Australia - 2006 - $50.00 - 13.5% alcohol

Strawberry/cherry nose with a lot of the group chiming in to mention a coffee note. Lots of bing cherry in the palate. I rated it in the middle of my group with an appealing bitter note in the background of a fresh plum finish. Superb balance with the acids well-represented.

5. - Cameron - Abbey Ridge - Oregon, USA - 2006 - $67.90 - 13.6% alcohol

Slightly candied/maraschino cherry in the nose with lots of cherry and developing secondary flavours in the palate involving clove-like expressions. The alcohol was a bit more noticeable on this one for some reason. This one also went through some remarkable changes over the course of the tasting.

6.- Louis Latour - Bourgogne - Burgundy, France - 2007 - $21.99 - 13.% alcohol

Cherry gum and slightly solvent smells in the nose. Sour cherry and cola in the palate. Somewhat drying in the finish and a short finish. Not my favourite.

7. - Volnay - Olivier Leflaive - Bourgogne - 1er Cru Clos des Angles -Burgundy, France - 2005 - $69.99 - 13.5% alcohol

Middle of the pack but a crowd favourite. Lots of creamy vanilla and toffee on the nose mixed with some slight herbal/medicinal notes. Leaness and lots of cherry on the palate. Structure was balanced and finish medium.

8. - Rabbit Ranch - Otago - New Zealand - 2007 - $27.00 - 13.5% alcohol

This proved to be my top choice and a crowd-pleaser as well. It had a nose that defied my ability to describe it at first. I have notes reading strawberries, raspberries and kiwi. The overall nose are these things but freshly cut or smashed. There's a sour cherry palate with underpinnings of dark, complex fruit. Perhaps the controversially termed "bramble berry". This wine is boldly structured and has a long finish. It's only question mark may be a slight deficit of acid. Next to the Chilean, it's probably one of the best values for what it offers too.

* Now known as Road 13

Black Cloud Fans - You Need To Get Cloudy

2009-12-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

We've been very pleased with the recent sales surge for Black Cloud Pinot Noir. It's been almost 10 months since we released the 2006. Despite having little marketing experience or budget, word has spread and people (you) seem to really like what we have to offer. It's really starting to take-off.

This kind of success means it won't be long until we'll have to start allocating Black Cloud wines. This means our partners and our private customers will have first dibs on any new release. We only make a few hundred cases. As you may imagine, we can't supply everyone.

So now we're asking our fans to get Cloudy.

If you're one of the restaurants or private liquor stores that have been selling Black Cloud, you're automatically on the list.

Private individuals who are interested should submit their email address by sending it to wine@blackcloud.ca . Don't assume you're automatically on the list because you bought some Black Cloud previously. We only add people to the list who really want to get Cloudy news. Nobody needs unwanted email.

Media: please indicate who you are and your primary food/wine focus.

New Black Cloud Partners

2009-12-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

Time to update everyone with our most recent places where you can find Black Cloud Pinot Noir.

O'Hares The wine selection at this store is very good. One of the better ones I've seen outside of the urban scene. Staff take an active role in rating the wines - all the wine notes are written in-house.

Gudrun This place has been getting great reviews since it opened. Meticulous care is given to every aspect of the menu and beverage list. It's all about rare cheeses, artisanal meats, eclectic beers and, of course, great wines!

Hamilton Street Grill The 'HSG' is one of the stalwarts of Yaletown. A traditional big-city steakhouse that you can depend on to deliver the goods. My favourite with my robust Pinot? The "16 unapologetic ounces of marbled certified angus" ribeye.

Okanagan Vineyards for Sale - Is now the time for you?

2009-11-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, the weather has turned cool and the leaves are all but gone from the deciduous trees and grape vines. While nature is in repose, signs advertising the services of realtors have multiplied in the Okanagan Valley. Choice vineyard properties are festooned with FOR SALE signs like rarely seen before.

If I stand on my deck here in Penticton facing northwest at the southern end of the Naramata Bench, I can see three or four parcels growing grapes and looking for new owners. As a winery and vineyard consultant I need to know why. After all, somebody reading this may be my next client.

Why now? The quick answer may be a knee jerk reaction. It would be easy to say it's because of the recession. While that reason is probably a big contributor on a macro scale, closer to home there are a number of other contributing factors.

Taking a look at fiscal cycles and lending institution practices, it doesn't take too long to determine that some of the owners are in a little tight. They need to divest themselves of properties that may not be as attractive as they were one, two or three years ago. Now that it's time to re-write the mortgage, it may be a better time to sell. But at what price?

Prices are down. Just around the corner is a property with fruit trees, a shade under 10 acres, three homes (not palaces by any stretch) and much work needed but potentially a great vineyard location. They're asking about $75,000 an acre. I doubt they'll get that much given the work needed to get the property in shape. Two years ago that property would have been closer to $90,000 an acre and would have been scooped up quickly. Now, it's been hanging out there for a few months.

This next point needs a little background.

The wine business is good but changing. Most of the 130 or so wineries grow varying percentages of the grapes they need. Some buy 90% of what they require. Others are self-sufficient, needing no other growers to supply them with grapes. Before you've been in the wine making business long, you realize the advantages of controlling the production of the grapes you'll need. More and more wineries over the years have started growing more of their crop

requirement. As an example, when I started with Township 7, the two locations managed to grow about 10% or less of the crop for a 3800 case winery. Next year we anticipate growing close to 30% ourselves and our production is in the 8500 case territory. On a large scale, Vincor's massive plantings in the Oliver - Osoyoos area are reaching maturity. If you used to grow grapes for the makers of Jackson Triggs and such, you may be looking at being cut loose soon.

More background.

Over the past four years we've seen unprecedented expansion in the planting of speculative vineyards. These are properties not tied to any particular winery by ownership or contract. The idea was to plant great grapes and then sell the fruit for the best price each harvest. This has worked for a couple years: prices have been high, tonnages have been lowish due to two hard winters in a row and the consumers have participated by buying up everything.

Here's the point: While land prices are down and wine quality is up, winery inventories are also up. I've heard rumour of some wineries thinking of making only the MINIMUM amount of wine necessary over the next harvest period. The consumer is looking for deals and is no longer co-operating like they did in the boom years. If you own a speculative vineyard, there's no guarantee you'll sell your crop or get the price per ton your banker expects you to earn. The 2010 harvest should be the largest ever recorded in the 'modern'* era.

Owners of vineyards know this and are doing what they can to ensure viability. For some it means sell. It means sell the land and get out. For others, it means locking in commitments from wineries. One of Township 7's best growers was around this week just to pose this question: Are we still on for next year? For my personal brand, Black Cloud, I've already locked in my supply of top end Pinot Noir. I can't afford not to. Which leads me to the next point.

If you're planning on owning a vineyard, be diligent about these items.

Quality: your grapes must be the best that can be grown. Make sure the site/variety selection is as close to perfect as possible. High quality grapes are the only way to increase or sustain your value in the market place. You need to set the benchmark for your peers.

Commitment: Lock in your customer's loyalty. Grape sales contracts are not worth much but a friendly, productive relationship with the winery buying your grapes is gold.

Passion: Cripes, what an overworked term. But you do need to surround yourself with people who have the drive and enthusiasm for the job at hand. People who sit on their hands and are happy with the way things are have no place on your team. That goes for the winery you sell to or your banker or the kid who comes in to cut the grass once a week.

Timing: I can't tell you when it's right for you. Yes, change is here in the marketplace. But I see more turmoil ahead as independent grape growers scramble to find a place for their 2010 crop. This may lead to lower vineyard properties but probably not. Land prices are sustained by other factors here in the Okanagan. What we may see is well-run wineries being in a position to acquire more real estate.

I have several clients and acquaintances actively looking for vineyard property. I'd be happy to assist you if you have questions about this post or the Okanagan wine/vine business in general. Drop me a line. Let's kick it around.

*The modern era dates from 1988-90 when most inferior grape varietals were uprooted in favour of traditional wine grapes in a government-sponsored re-plant program.

Harvest Report: A Preliminary Look at the Rollercoaster

2009-10-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

The harvest in Canada's famed Okanagan Valley and across BC is coming to a close for the wine business. Virtually all that remains are the vines designated for ice wine or late harvest wines.

It has been a truly exceptional year with a number of weather anomalies that kept wine growers guessing right to the end. Punishing winter temperatures last year resulted in smaller crops for many varietals. A late spring left growers wondering when they'd get a break. The summer growing season was long and warm. September, the month we must have perform, was beyond optimistic desires. And then, just a few days ago, the temperature plunged to record lows and abruptly slammed the door on the season. Milder weather is in-bound, but the vines are finished for the year and the crop is being pulled in.

Black Cloud Pinot Noir fared extremely well. A slightly smaller crop resulted in remarkable flavours. At this time, the Pinot is residing in French oak. It's finished alcoholic fermentation and is just beginning malo-lactic fermentation.

A more detailed report will follow in a few weeks.

The Black Cloud Journey

2009-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

The BlackCloud Harvest Offer

2009-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Black Cloud Pinot Noir grapes are coming in now and it looks like it's going to be a stellar year for quality. Two rugged winters in a row mean that volume is down a little on a per vine basis. But with all the recent vineyard start-ups lately things should even out.

Lower yields generally mean excellent fruit. That's what we're looking for as we prepare to harvest our 2009 Pinot Noir from Remuda Vineyard in Okanagan Falls. As we work through this vintage, we'll be documenting the whole process so fans of the Cloud will be able to see the process step-by-step.

To celebrate the vintage, we're offering this great deal to you and your friends:

Buy a case of 2006 Black Cloud Pinot Noir at regular price ($300) and get 33% off the next case. This is a great way to stock up the cellar for the cool months ahead when a hearty Pinot like Black Cloud is truly appreciated. Get together with your friends and take advantage of this great deal.

In addition, we're tossing in FREE SHIPPING to the Lower Mainland, southern Vancouver Island, Whistler and major urban centres in the Interior of British Columbia. That's about a $30 value per case.

This is how it works:

1. Your discount code is available on Twitter or by request email wine@blackcloud.ca

2. This offer expires at 23:59, October 31, 2009

3. Tell us how much you want. Contact us by phone or email. We'll need method of payment details and an address for daytime business hours delivery.

Summer's Second Safety Meeting features Salmon and BlackCloud Pinot Noir

2009-08-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah!

This Friday is the second Safety Meeting of the Summer.

We've got a big fish from Nootka Sound and plenty of Black Cloud Pinot to go with it.

If you're anywhere in the neighbourhood around 4:30 and after, drop by for a drop with local wine folk and wine fans at this strictly casual event.

Bring:

a side dish if you plan to eat

an interesting bottle if you'd like to share

a chair

It's at 1450 McMillan in Penticton.

Woodstock for Wine Bloggers

2009-08-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Wine Bloggers Conference II

Santa Rosa, California

July 24-25-26, 2009

Years from now, everybody is going to say they were there even if they weren't. Just like Woodstock in 1969, the actual attendance is somewhat smaller than the legend suggests.

I knew the Wine Bloggers Conference was going to be a wine-filled, wine-centric and wine saturated affair. I just didn't know how much it would be.

I always need a little time for things to sink in. The more information, the more time I need to establish what exactly it was that I experienced. I wasn't ready to blog about this because there was a tremendous amount of data.

Most of those who attended the Sonoma County-based affair were citizen bloggers. Around 275 dedicated believers who more-or-less regularly blog about their passion. What they got for their admission was a full-on, slightly over-the-top assault on their wine-loving senses.

Due to the size of the group, not everyone got the same experience, the itineraries were split up to better present the Napa and Sonoma wineries. At a couple of venues the group reassembled en masse. At the Culinary Institute of America, (photo)for instance, and later at Quintessa for the Grand Tasting. It was a marvel of mini-bus logistics with only a few hiccups.

Our headquarter for the conference was the restored Flamingo Resort in Santa Rosa. I recommend the hotel for a wine country base of operations. It would be a good place to park the kids (with supervision, of course) while you and your partner or posse head out to wine country.

The conference itself was packed with activity and detail. From registration on, every moment seemed to be choreographed to jam as much tasting and talking in as possible. Like a small herd animal, I went along with the flow. I could have opted out at any time and taken some 'me' time but I was there to see what was on offer. So I was all in.

I had brought some Black Cloud Pinot Noir and a selection of Township 7 wines I'd made in the hope that I could stage a little impromptu tasting event. Can you say crash the agenda? I could have given it a shot at a poolside table around 10 pm Friday or Saturday but by then most of the conferencers were at one of the sponsored 'after-hours' activities or asleep, exhausted by the day's rigorous pace. I ended up handing out full bottles to interested parties and that seemed to be appreciated.

There are many details I've left out. But over the coming weeks I'll use this space to explore some of the wine country concepts and images we were presented with and how this ultimately effects the consumer.

By the way, the third annual Wine Bloggers Conference is scheduled for June of 2010 in Walla Walla, Washington, Registration is open now.

Alberta Orders BC Wineries To Stop Shipping Wine

2009-08-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing shows how bizarre and antiquated our interprovincial trade relations are in this country than the letter I have reproduced here.

Every winery in BC got one of these. Basically the Alberta government is saying, don't try and evade paying us our share of the taxes. Stop shipping wine into Alberta because the dollars we're owed for every drop of alcohol is being evaded.

Never mind that BC is already getting 100% of their tax on the sale. Alberta wants their share too! Consider for a moment the tiny amount of lost revenue this is.

A ridiculous display of governmental malfeasance.

Legally, no, but morally and de facto - yes.

I believe clicking on the letter makes it bigger to read.

Marriage, WIne and Social Media

2009-08-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

The wine will flow and the vows will be said on the 18th of August. Karen and her man are getting married in Napa County, California. Trouble is: they want to get married in the vines but they don't have a location yet.

In a test of social media, Karen is hoping one of the winery/vineyard operations (or still some other) we visited during the Wine Bloggers Conference last week will step up and fill the bill. This isn't some elaborate set-up with hundreds of guests and music and food. It's just Karen, the groom, a photog and the vow-sayer. As I write this, the word is going out among the Twitterverse, the blogosphere and the interwebs. The experiment has begun.

She's got a few essentials to cover but really, it is simplicity in itself.

The bonus is: the winning wine operation will get international coverage. Lots of eyes read Karen's Winebard blog and you know she will relate (dare I say 'gush') all the details.

It's a win-win for all.

So if you run a Napa vino scene or know somebody who does, let them know about the Winebard's quest. When they get hitched, the winery gets pitched. It's that simple.

Here's a link with more details.

Karen's K.I.S.S list:

Rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines

Picturesque location for Wedding photos

Can accommodate four people for about one hour on Aug 18th

Preferably in the Napa Valley

A big bonus for the couple would be if you could hold a vid camera for 10 minutes.

Spread the word!

Shipping Wine is Troublesome

2009-07-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

No easy way.
On my way to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa.
I thought I’d just outline what’s been happening over the past week as I’ve tried to ship 24 bottles of wine to the conference.
In case you don’t know, I live in Canada and I’m a Canadian citizen. The shipping of alcohol by private citizens into the U.S. is pretty well prohibitive. It’s the same going the other way as ‘authorities’ want to inspect everything and get a piece of the action. As an example, outside of the allowed 2 bottles (roughly) Canadian customs permits, the border folks collect the 117% (approx) the BC government monopoly demands. But I digress.
The conference is in the United States. I’m allowed to bring a couple bottles of alcohol across the border each time I make a crossing. So since May of 2009 I’ve been visiting my mother’s summer home in Washington State. Slowly, I’ve been stockpiling wine for the enjoyment of my fellow bloggers.
Like most Canadians, I live within a short distance of the international boundary so this has not been an onerous task.
On Monday, I visited the shipper in Oroville, WA to send the wine. I was aware that shipping of alcohol from this particular depot was illegal. I also know that people do it all the time and there existed a “don’t know, don’t tell” attitude. Put it in an approved shipping container with no outside markings and say its vinegar if asked. Everything went very smoothly.
Or so I thought.
I was in line to return to Canada a half hour after shipping when I got a call from the shipper to return to the depot a claim my wine. Evidently they took it upon themselves to open my boxes and decided to reject the shipment. Indeed, when I returned, the boxes were opened.
Now I was a bit desperate. I had to ship that wine. How?
I put out a call on Twitter and @ksyrah responded saying she would help if I could get the wine to Burlington, WA. After some consideration, that looked like a good plan. Scheduling and commitments prevented me from getting to Burlington until yesterday. I was flying out of nearby Bellingham which made the 4.5 hour drive manageable. So I overnighted it and, with any luck, it will be at the Flamingo in Santa Rosa before I will be.
I hope it arrives and we all get to enjoy it. Maybe some day this will all seem quaint but I don’t hold out much hope.

Safety Meeting Next Week

2009-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Relax, if you can't make it, we're having a couple more this year.

What's a safety meeting? It's our euphemism for a casual get together in a rather plain setting.

Friday, July 10 at about 4:30 to whenever.

Place: Township 7 crushpad at 1450 McMillan, Penticton

We'll be supplying some beer, some BBQ and some BlackCloud Pinot Noir. You bring a side dish or appetizer and something to drink. Well-behaved kids and dogs are welcome. It's a good idea to bring a folding chair. And bring a friend.

Who's going to be there? Lots of people from the wine industry especially from along the Bench and other places. People who like wine and want to hang with the producers. People on vacation who would like to get some 'authentic' into their Okanagan experience. We always encourage people from all walks to represent!

If you're reading this, you're invited!

Questions? bradley@blackcloud.ca

Vintage in the Okanagan - Some thoughts about 2008 and other years gone by and what the future may hold.

2009-07-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Lately I've enjoyed fielding a few comments and questions regarding the Okanagan and the conditions under which we grow grapes and make wine. These days, most of the discussion takes place on Twitter. One hundred and forty characters is a difficult constraint for this subject so I thought I'd expand a couple ideas here on the old blog.

As people become more acquainted with something like wine, it's normal to expect a desire for more knowledge to surface. Depending on the individual, this can be a passive absorption of what comes their way or a single-minded compulsion. Most of the time it's somewhere in between. Personally, I find these discussions invigorating.

I think I made a comment about a vintage being typical. This led to some retorts about what defines typical in our neck of the woods. I now realize I was making one of the first mistakes of good journalism: assuming your reader already has a lot of the information. It occurred to me that I need to define Okanagan typical. So first, what are the factors that make this area unique among wine growing regions?

I want to try to establish what "cool climate" wine growing is and how it fits in to what we are doing in the Okanagan Valley. And finally, what kind of wine can you expect from the Okanagan in typical and atypical years?

There's a popular saw these days that sounds like this: there are no more 'good' or 'bad' years in the world's wine regions anymore because technology and spread of good cultural practices in the age of information have given producers the tools to eliminate or obscure some of the serious deficiencies of past vintages.

To a great degree this is true. The modern winemaker has a vast array of tools in the kit. There really is no excuse for the release of flawed wine. (Was there ever?) The grape grower also has many newish developments over the past decades to tap into. Together, a lot of factors can be manipulated.
At the end of the day, grapes and wine that have had a heavy hand applied will tend to be more homogeneous in style and quality.

Notice I didn't say good or bad. All I'm saying is that robust handling results in a displacement of the wine's sense of place.

(Well, I can hardly believe I wrote that last bit because, out here in the wild North west, terroir and all that is probably a few decades off. Or is it?)

Ahem.

The Okanagan is a wine producing region that knocks loudly on the doors of unconventionality. We grow a huge variety of different grapes, tended in a number of fascinating ways, harvested under a myriad of conditions and regimes. It's impossible to get a consensus-building answer on the right way to do anything wine and grape-wise in this valley. Wine makers and growers from all over the world bring their influences and teachings and put them to work. The result is: a Syrah made by me has almost no resemblance to one made by Jackson Triggs just down the road.

(old world wine growing regions: restricted by law or custom to a few varieties in each region, in-grained growing practices that differ little from one vineyard to the next, winemakers that are produced generationally at the same institutions)

Having said that, why not throw a couple more cats in the bag?

The climate here is unlike anywhere else. It doesn't allow that same Syrah to ripen like anywhere else in the world. We're farther north than anywhere on the globe that seriously grows grapes. We lucked out by having a chain of lakes that moderate the winters (and summers) so that all this is possible. Otherwise, it'd just be a dusty, sand and gravel extension of the North American desert system: arid and violent. Too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

Another factor that defines the Okanagan and causes the wines to be the way they are is the short growing season. When our pals in California are enjoying bud break and the beauty of wild mustard blooming we're still shoveling snow and breaking snot-sicles off our noses while we prune. The vines, though, are sort of pre-programmed. Cabernet Sauvignon needs in excess of 180 days of growing season. That's six months. IF April is nice you may see the buds emerge late in the month. Do the math. Has it been a long, warm summer? You MIGHT have ripe grapes by the third week of October. But probably not.

One thing in our favour: in the warmest part of the year, because we're so far north, the sun shines harder and longer than in points south. This is only good for a couple months but, hey, we'll take what we can get.

If you combine some of these factors you get degree days. It's a way of measuring the value of the sunshine. We rock. We often exceed a lot the 'classic' wine growing area like Germany and Bordeaux when it comes to degree days. Problem is: we have little shoulder season. It takes a long time to warm up and the season goes off a cliff around October 10th, give or take a few days.

So those are some of the factors that makes the Okanagan wine region 'unique'. We are cool climate wine growing. We are extreme cool climate wine growing. Next time you hear somebody from a 200 day growing season or anywhere south of 45 degrees latitude (northern hemisphere) wax on about cool climate conditions, give them a light cuff to the occipital and remind them that winter temperatures that hover near freezing do not make a region cool climate. If at harvest all you're worried about is a little rain, that's not cool climate. Try looking at your vineyard heavy with Merlot and 1 brix short of target and the weather man is saying the first Arctic Express is poised to break-out and head your way. That, my friend, is cool climate.

And that is unique.

Typical Okanagan vintage. Hmm. difficult to define. Because of our wild conditions, vintages here are less consistent or typical than other regions. But here's what: budbreak in early May, generally May is nice. Pray we don't get a killing frost during the first 15 days of May to whatever deity you wish. A couple of days or even weeks may see temps in the low 30'sC but the nights are still cool. June is encouraging at first but usually there are a couple weeks that seem a little too rainy. Usually during flowering which is a bummer. July it suddenly goes heat crazy with long periods of mid-30'sC. Nights are still refreshingly cool. But then the temps spike, temperatures in the south end are in the mid-40's and the nights don't dip below 20C. You get massive growth from vines that don't shut down in the mid-30sC (some do). August is when the grapes begin to colour and start tasting like grapes. If we get a heat spike in August there is rapid ripening (at the expense of flavour complexity) and we start picking grapes in September.

In a normal year, September is our golden child. We need 20/20. We need 20 days at 20C (daytime median) and then we should have it in the bag. Anything after that is bonus time, hang time, whatever. If the weather is dry you get to call the shots and wait for more on-vine flavours to develop. But don't wait too long, my friend. In a matter of days, you can go from crisp sunny days to 10 cm of snow in the vineyard and not a leaf on the vines.

In 1998, we had a very warm year, did the whole harvest in short pants and were sitting in the pub, showered, grinning ear to ear and having a beer while our friends in California were still waiting for grapes to come in. Atypical.

What can you expect from a season like this and a region like this? We will always struggle getting our reds ripe in typical vintages. Accept it. Celebrate it. Indeed, these conditions create wonderfully nuanced wines that have flavours and bouquets like no other. When it all comes together, they rank with the best in the world. We just have to understand it won't come together as often as we wish. With climate change there have been more good years for reds lately. But '08 put the kibosh on that. More on that in a moment.

Our white wines thrive here. With solid vineyard practices and good winemaking, our white will maintain their place as premium products. We should be careful to exploit the varieties that work and to use caution around planting warm region cultivars. It could be argued that we should just grow Gewurztraminer.

Hmmm. About 145 day growing season, tasty, fairly winter hardy.

Nahh. That would be taking the easy way out.

And now a word from 2008. Typical.
A late spring caused a delayed budbreak. Most vines survived a colder-than-average winter but there would be no fruit on about 20% of them. The vines that put out flowers put on lots so anticipated shortfalls appeared to be almost made-up. Good weather ensued. We had a nine week session of great summer weather and it appeared the vines were catching up. They were. But the actual grapes were not. We had no heat spikes. August saw a lot of hazy days with high cloud that reduced the degree days. Veraison was late. More than a week for some varieties. September saved us. We got the 20/20. But then things deteriorated rather rapidly. Pick dates were delayed. Not too much rain but not warm either.

I took a look at what was coming and decided to cut our losses and bring it all in by the last week of October. Best thing I decided all vintage.

Some decided to go after more 'hang flavours' and let it all hang out. November came in like an ice-filled fist and blew that idea.

2008 Tale of the Tape:
Whites should be uniformly good to excellent. Exceptional acids will have been reduced in cellar by blending or chemical means. Flavours may develop a little later in bottle.
Reds grown on good sites and with attention to detail will be exceptional if harvested before the killing frosts. Acids will be a little higher than the last few years but they are manageable. Know your producer, buy from those you trust.

2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference July 24 -26

2009-06-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks now until hundreds of enthusiastic wine types will converge on Santa Rosa, California for the second wine blogger conference.

This is a rare and excellent opportunity for any winery operation to see how it works and how blogging and social media can work for their operation.

As new media and social media begin to carve out their own turf in the world of information transfer (our world of ideas), wineries are beginning to make some interesting discoveries.

Like many businesses, the give and take between customer and producer in the wine world has always been present. Now with blogging and other forms of social networking, wineries and their fans can feel like they're one step closer to each other.

For some, it means they can skip the role a large media conglomerate plays. They don't have to worry about censure, interpretation or house policies. Bloggers are citizen winedrinkers who simply post their opinions about something they enjoy and, in some cases, feel very passionate about.

Wine bloggers come in many styles. Some work for wineries; helping to link the consumer directly with the producer. Some are pure reviewers; they drink the wines and post their scores and thoughts for anyone to read. Others deal with the business side whether that be growing grapes or devising clever sales campaigns.

So where do I fit in?

I've been blogging about my wine making life since about 2005. At times it's lacked focus. And it's always been haphazardly scheduled. I'd be surprised if I blog more than 3 times a month on average. Others are much more productive like this one. I think she's posted at least daily for the last half year! WTG, WannabeWino!

There are not a lot of wine maker bloggers. Some are ghosted by other writers and some wineries have other staff doing the company blogging. Until recently, I was independent. Now, of course, I blog to promote my own label Black Cloud . Despite this change, I'm still one of the laziest bloggers I know.

At the conference I hope to: find out if another platform will be better for my blogging, discuss ways to monetize the efforts, discuss collaboration projects with other bloggers, and try to determine if the knowledge I've acquired is worth anything. Or should I just leave it to the experts?

One thing I do know, it's time to engage! I urge wineries, wine marketers, wine writers and food people to attend or sent their representative. It's a great deal for the dollar, too!
Here's the link:
Wine Blogger's Conference

Reach Gallery Museum Event Needs Your Tastebuds

2009-05-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Winemaker’s Dinner in the Gallery

Part proceeds support children’s programming at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford.

Saturday, May 23 marks the first fundraiser at Abbotsford’s new gallery-museum, The Reach.
On behalf of The Reach, Chef Michael and his culinary team at The Ramada Plaza & Conference Centre, winemaker Bradley Cooper of Township 7 Vineyards & Winery, and Whatcom Wine & Spirits bring you an evening of gourmet food paired with highly acclaimed B.C. wine, right in the centre of art and artefacts.

The evening starts with a stand-up reception that includes warm and cool appetizers and Township 7’s Seven Stars sparkling wine, made in the traditional method. The evening then moves through four more courses paired with viognier, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot, and finishes with the much sought-after (very few cases were produced) Black Cloud pinot noir paired with dessert.
Between each course, Chef Michael and winemaker Bradley Cooper will talk to guests about their respective picks for food and wine. Seats are limited to 48, so you know the evening will be intimate, with Chef and winemaker able to pay personal attention to guests.
Six courses and six wines in support of children’s programming at The Reach: $125 per person. Tickets go on sale May 9 at Whatcom Wine & Spirits. Call 604-870-1050 ext. 6170 to reserve yours.

Black Cloud at Broadway Wine May 16

2009-05-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

We'll be pouring Black Cloud 2006 Pinot Noir at Broadway International Wine store on Saturday, May 16 from 4 - 7. There will probably be a hard-to-find Township 7 white as well.

If you're in the neighbourhood drop in for a taste and a talk.

View My Saved Places in a larger map

Black Cloud in more places

2009-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Black Cloud in more places means more Pinot Noir in more glasses

We're slowly adding to our list of retailers. Here's where you can get Black Cloud now:

Broadway Wine at McDonald and Broadway in Vancouver
Whatcom Wine & Spirits in Abbotsford
Village Taphouse in West Vancouver
Tumbleweeds just east of Kamloops
the Naramata Store in downtown Naramata
the LRS on Bowen Island.

Thanks for having some!

Talking WIne and Social Media in Kelowna

2009-05-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to showcase my wines and co-host a general discussion on the BC wine scene, Web 2.0 and social wine media to a gathering at the Wine Museum on Thursday night (May 7. 2009)

I'll be leading the assembled through a selection of Township 7 wines I've made over the past few years and, of course, I'll sneak in my Black Cloud Pinot Noir as well.

During the tasting, Julianna Hayes and I will talk about what's new on the BC wine scene and where things are heading. We'll also discuss what we're doing with social media and let the crowd know about what we think works for wine people. We expect to have a little give-and-take and some questions to answer.

Interested? Call the wine museum directly for tickets 250-868-0441

HOW do I order my own Black Cloud?

2009-04-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Very easy.

To order Black Cloud 2006 Pinot Noir just contact us here
sales@blackcloud.ca

Your email will get the ball rolling.

You can also call me direct at 250-490-7314

The price is $25 per bottle. Plus .10 bottle deposit.

If you live in the following communities and order a case, I offer free door to door delivery on my schedule.
GVRD (excluding Bowen Island and Electoral Area "A")
Squamish
Whistler
Hope

On days when I'm in the communities above I will often Tweet (follow http://twitter.com/BlackCloudWine ) as I make my rounds
and I'll free deliver smaller quantities of Black Cloud Pinot direct to your door. Stay connected!

BlackCloud.ca is up

2009-04-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's not going to win a bunch of awards for groovy websites but it's a starting point. We will be adding as we go and I have to thank the guys at VIN65 for their enthusiasm.

www.blackcloud.ca

Anybody who drops in for a peek can send us an email and request to be added to our mailing list.

That's the best way to keep informed about:

new wines we have planned

new locations to buy our Pinot Noir

restaurants where you'll find us on the list

events featuring our wines.

progress with our winery plans
how to become an angel investor

My wife and partner has been up in Kamloops this week and has done a great job meeting new customers and setting up accounts. We'll be letting you know where soon.

We met a ton of great people in Vancouver over the wine fest last week. We hope to have Black Cloud Pinot at a number of new locations soon.

Here's a couple of events that have crossed my desk lately that I recommend:

First, of course, one that I'm in. I'll be up in Kelowna joining Julianna Hayes of Vine Living at the next WEST (Wine Education Series of Tastings) event. It'll be April 16 from 7 to 9 at the Wine Museum. I'll present a flight of Township 7 wines and few others (maybe some Black Cloud) and we'll have a discussion on the wines and a few other topics like - what's new on the BC wine scene and how is social media affecting how we access our wine? We'll be pouring wine and sampling food. These are fun and informative events. Tickets are a great value at only $20 for museum members and $25 for non-members. Call the museum directly to reserve 250.868.0441

Can't beat the Kiwis for great wines. Love this event. A region very similar to what we have here in BC.

New Zealand Wine Fair Vancouver
Thursday May 28 2009 2.30pm-5.30pm VCEC WEST Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre 999 Canada Place To register or for more information on the wines and wineries, visit: http://www.nzwine-events.ca/

Not everyone knows the skinny on this up and coming region. This is a great opportunity to piggyback this event on the Okanagan Spring Festival. Easy to hit this event and still be in the Okanagan for other events.

Spring Release Event

Taste the Similkameen Terroir

Host:
Similkameen Wineries Association

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Time:
1:00pm - 4:00pm

Location:
Keremeos

Phone:
250.317.8796

Email:
info@similkameenwine.com

Sexy video fun at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival

2009-03-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sean and Graham over at www.vinifico.com shot some fun video during the festival.
Check it out.

http://www.vinifico.com/?p=1506

Gearing Up For The Vancouver International Wine Festival

2009-03-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a great week.
We're headed to Vancouver to attend the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, one of the biggest events of it's kind in North America. Thousands of winos will descend on the city to take in the offerings from scores of wineries. British Columbia is the feature region (for the first time) and Township 7 will have a table.
As Township's winemaker, I will be on hand for all of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I will be pouring at the trade and public tasting sessions. Be sure to come by, chat and grab a sample.
Although Black Cloud isn't officially entered, it will have an incognito presence. Just ask me when we meet.

Black Cloud making news.

2009-03-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

The Black Cloud wine team is back from their too-short vacation in Mexico and ready to roll.
We've started to distribute our 2006 Pinot Noir and we're really pleased with the reviews it's been getting.

Karen over at Winebard had this to say...

"A lovely example of new world Pinot Noir"

Kelly at Full Bodied noted ...

"Seek this wine out, it will reward you"

Kathleen at Between the Vines came up with this great food pairing and said . . .

Each sip made the food taste better, and each mouthful of food brought out the brilliance of the wine.

If you are seeking our wine you can find it at
Broadway International Wine store on Broadway at McDonald. Vancouver
Whatcom Wine & Spirits in Abbotsford

We're in the process of adding to this list. If you have a favourite wine-centric store that you'd like us to consider let us know. We're looking for progressive retailing partners to carry the Black Cloud line as it grows.

You can always order directly from us here. The Black Cloud team will be in Vancouver and surrounding area on Wednesday, March 18 making deliveries and meeting new clients. We can deliver yours too. It's a free delivery day for our greater Vancouver customers.

$25.00 bottle

In other news . . .

Talking to growers about interesting white varieties available to create a nice white for vintage 2009.
Considering a rose-ay.
Mulling the idea of sparkling Black Cloud.
Planning our public events schedule for spring and summer.

Black Cloud Pinot Noir is Ready!

2009-02-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a great journey! And it's only just begun.

My wife and I took a situation that was really a kick in the backside and changed into an opportunity.

Back in August, when we lost a big consulting gig, we started thinking about how it sometimes seems like things are going great and then a black cloud moves in and rains on our parade. We talked long into the night about our dreams, where we came from, how far we've come over the years. We talked about our vision of owning our own winery and how that seemed to be just out of reach.

Then one of us remembered how every cloud has a silver lining. We decided then and there to make the situation work for us and not against us.

The wine I had been consulting on was excellent. I knew if I could get some we could use it to shoestring finance our dream. Long story short, my employer, Township 7 , agreed to help us establish the Black Cloud brand until we can spin it off into our own licensed winery operation.

We decided to adopt the Black Cloud name to constantly remind us that adversity makes us stronger and, even if things look bad sometimes, there's always a way to make things better.

In the vineyard, grape vines that have things too easy become insipid and unremarkable. The best fruit undergoes stress and trial.

We hope that our 2006 Pinot Noir exhibits all the character and complexity you'd expect from a hand-crafted, small lot wine. Made from vines that flourished while being tested by the elements.

The labels are on and we are ready to fill orders.

Simply contact us at:

blackcloudwine@shaw.ca

$25 /bottle

Vineyard Winter Damage

2009-02-09T11:12:00.001-08:00

As pruning ramps up and people get out in the field, it's becoming more and more apparent that the cold snap in December has created some significant winter damage to grape vines.

Especially in the south part of the Okanagan Valley, vineyard workers are describing some blown primary buds and other damage.

As this time I don't have access to statistics but I will be checking and updating as available.

Wine, Social Media, Sex and me - explained.

2009-01-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

I've avoided trying to explain or describe or adequately define what's going on with media, social media, this blog, my wine work, Black Cloud and me up until now because I wasn't quite comfortable with my abilities to tie it all together.

But thanks to an old joke that I've mostly forgotten, I think I can give it a try.

First, if you're reading this, you've got at least a passing acquaintance with social media. Mostly if not all web/internet based, it's all those things (platforms, applications) like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, weBlogs that allow people (messengers) to inform others (message receivers) about stuff. Any segment of social media worth its salt then allows robustly active conversation around those messages.

How does that differ from old media?

Television, radio and print (even standing in the park on a soapbox) are mostly about one-way message delivery. The messenger crafts the message and then unleashes it on a mass audience, more or less confident that it will deliver the concept to most receivers most of the time.

As receivers, we just lie there and take it. Interaction has been limited to talk radio phone-ins, letters to the editor and heckling in the park.

So in the old joke there's a woman and a man having sexual relations and after it's over (as far as he's concerned) the man asks "Was it good for you?" (market research).

She responds, "Blue."

He asks quizzically, "Blue?"

She replies, "Yes, blue. I think I'll paint the ceiling blue".

Despite being confident he was delivering the right message, the messenger had no idea what the receiver was thinking or if she was even receptive. As they like to point out in the socmed world - message delivery = fail.

In new media, there's plenty of two-way communication from the start. Sure, things can foul up.

And social media won't replace old media but it will form a complimentary path.

By now you're aware that for the most part this is about selling things. But it's more than that. It's about giving people options in their lives and giving them choices. Its about those choices being qualified and vetted by their peers and other like-minded folk before committing resources. More than just dollars, those resources include time and something I like to call place of mind.

With so much information out there, having a band of brothers (and sisters) out there is like having your own socio-economic support group. Here's another sad attempt at an analogy.

Woody Allen is a recognized genius in world of cinema. However, there are varying degrees of Woody Allen fans. Some despise him and are not fans at all. Some will watch the movies but are critical of his off-screen life. Others will eat the whole buffet.

Social media allows you to surround yourself with the Woody Allen fans that approximate your degree of involvement. It's like going to the theatre and everybody is already on board the Woody Allen train. Not that there isn't the thrust and parry of criticism, but there is a genuine level of involvement not present in a random crowd.

As I prepare to launch my new wine brand Black Cloud, I'm considering what media to use to spread the word. In my mind, most old (mass) media is scattershot. You put out an ad in the paper or on TV and cross your fingers that you hit something. With social media, I think I can connect with people who have a degree of interest in what I'm doing. Using the right channels, I can talk to people who have already identified themselves as wine people. There's a focus in social media I don't see in mass media.

At least to start with, I'll be using social media almost exclusively to promote Black Cloud wine. I hope to make the suggestion, have a conversation and sell a few bottles of wine directly to the fans and winos who inhabit this world.

With a little luck, I'll avoid getting the answer "blue" when I ask the question.

Wine Bloggers' Conference - It's a GO!

2009-01-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

Looks like I'm headed to California in late July.

I signed up and paid for the second-ever Wine Bloggers' Conference to be held in Napa and Sonoma counties this summer.

Last time they did this, a couple hundred wine nuts (more or less attached to the internet) showed up and traded ideas, got up to speed, tasted an enormous amount of wine and generally had the opportunity to understand each others' unique perspective.

Participants travelled from all over North America and the world. They were extremely well treated by conference organizers and sponsors.

I was not able to go. (insert pout here)

It was in late October. Around that time, we here in the Okanagan are buried scrotum-high in grapes. It behooved me to remain at my post.

Other people in more gentle climes on the production side of things made some noise and voila! - summer in California for this version.

I'm really looking forward to this. That's the essence of understatement. I will have the opportunity to show off my wines and indulge in the following recipe.

Blend:

1/4 geek

1/4 webjourno

1/4 wine maker

1/4 Californiaphile

Top with sun, pool, hikes, bikes and good food.

Serve.

I strongly encourage my readers and associated wine folks to consider attending. Attendance is capped at 250 and I understand the sign-up has been brisk.

Newest Black Cloud Wine label mock-up

2009-01-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

As we continue to refine the Black Cloud wine label design we get closer to what we think will work.

Still not exactly what we will end up with but it's getting there. This cut-out is a bit kicked because we've been tossing it around and packing it from place to place.

The actual paper stock is a more glossy silver that will give some of the cloud detail more 'light'. The words 'Pinot Noir' will have more jump as well. The colour are close, but we still won't get the true representation until it start to roll off the press.

Since it's a Canadian label, we don't have to have the surgeon general's happy message. But we do have to adhere to regulations concerning English and French for certain key elements. Our final approval or checkpoint is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency which is now looking it over. They make sure all the federal regs are being met.

Anne O'Grady at Magpye Productions is who we are working with to get this done.

Okanagan Wine Services - Finally!

2009-01-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of entrepreneurs have stepped up and will soon fill a void in the Okanagan Valley - especially in the south end.

Okanagan Wine Services (OWS) will begin offering warehousing and host of other services to area wineries in an area that seems to be chronically short of dedicated wine-friendly capacity.

Larry Stranaghan and Jeff Keen dropped by my neck of the woods the other day to introduce themselves and let Township 7 and Black Cloud wines know what they have to offer. The plan is to get started immediately. While they will consider using an existing building, they are prepared to build from the ground-up to satisfy the needs of their customers. Penticton seems to be the prime location under consideration.

Among the many features local wineries will find attractive:

Climate controlled Storage: many wineries use off site storage but a lot of times you settle for less than ideal conditions to just get the stuff stored. OWS will be addressing the temperature, humidity and, hopefully, vibration issues.
Custom packaging: it's old news in other jurisdictions but not here. The plan is to offer wine club shipping services and custom pick and pack. For all intents and purposes, a wine industry fulfilment centre.
Inventory control through secure client access on their website. Shipped and received; barcoded and electronically recorded on your account.
24 -7 access and operation.

The website is operational at this time but there's still some detail to come. Use the phone number or email address under 'Contact us' to get more information.

www.wineservicesinc.com

Black Cloud Wine Label Sneak Peek

2009-01-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

A quick Bberry phone pic of one of the the mock-ups we've been playing with.

A lot has changed. Colours, paperstock, the vintage date is wrong, etc.

But it gives you a rough idea of the concepts we've been working to make this happen.

Taste BC with Liberty Wine Merchants

2009-01-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

Miss 604 has a great contest going.

http://www.miss604.com/2009/01/taste-bc-with-liberty-wine-merchants.html/comment-page-1#comment-27589

Heading to Kamloops, Wine in Hand.

2009-01-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

In early February, I'll be heading to Kamloops, B.C. to talk to Township 7 fans at a couple venues and to try and present the wines to some new customers as well.

The way the schedule is starting to align, it looks like my Black Cloud 2006 Pinot Noir will make it's debut on this trip as well.

So far the schedule looks like this:

Tuesday, February 3 - 7:00 pm
Gerry O's
2900 - 30th Street
Vernon, BC
(250) 542-3333

On my way to Kamloops, I'm stopping at this great store that sells our wine in Vernon. Once a month they put on these special tastings complete with food accompaniment. I suggest you call if you want to join me and taste a selection of Township 7 wines.

Wednesday, February 4 - 7:30 pm
Kamloops Winemakers

I think this is for members only but check with me if you're in the area and I'll try and sneak you in!

Thursday, February 5 - 3:30 to ???
Lansdowne Central Liquor Store
450 Lansdowne
Kamloops

I'll be at the store for a few hours, talking with wine drinkers and pouring a nice flight of Township7 wines. Drop in and meet!

Still working on: a trade tasting for Kamloops restaurants and license holders in the city and quick trip to Sun Peaks to talk to folks there. Will try to get a day in on the slopes Friday!

Our Wine Brand Name - Black Cloud.

2008-12-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

A little while back we asked friends, family and associates from the world of wine to help us come up with a name for our new wine brand.
We were flooded with replies.
Two things we learned.

People really want to help and will take time to offer what they can.
the people who do this professionally have talent and skills.

Some of the suggestions were excellent and gave us a reason to carefully consider their candidacy. Others, obviously tongue-in-cheek, were quite amusing.

We've made our decision and now we've retained Magpye Productions and Ann O'Grady to start with our logo and label design. Ann has done some great work with Lake Breeze Farm winery and a host of others. We feel good about our meetings we've had and look forward to looking at some samples in the early New Year. Hopefully we'll be able to share some for your perusal.

On another front, we are working on our incorporation documents and securing our brand integrity in a number of ways including copyright.

After weeks of pondering, mulling, analysis, consensus-building and teeth-grinding we're decided to call our wine brand

Black Cloud

Holiday Wine List

2008-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Paul over at the WINE PRO group on LinkedIn was asking:
What are you drinking over the holidays?
Usually I leave these things to the wine review blogs. But I started thinking about it and got all warm and fuzzy so I wrote something like this:

For the 'go-to' have-on-hand wine I'm going to search out some Cotes Rotie and other Rhonish varietals. There seems to me more of these grapes available to us each year. Best to get some research done.

The wife and I like to sip on cava as we chore, errand and task about the house with all the seasonal duties. Scrubbing the bathroom fixtures seems almost glamorous with a flute of bubble at hand. We tend to like some of the inexpensive Australian sparklers like Wolf Blass. The price is right at $13.99. We'll crack a domestic like Sumac Ridge's Steller's Jay or my own Township 7 Seven Stars if company is coming over and I have to pull on a clean shirt.

We aren't travelling for Christmas so the big turkey feast will be next year. We usually do duck for when it's just me,she and the boy. Duck is one of the few things in the world he likes. Probably team it up with Pinot Noir. I don't have an '05 Sokol Blosser (the link is to the '06)which is undeniably wicked cool. I will probably open a Black Cloud 2006. Black Cloud? Coming soon. Available in the early New Year. You read it here first.

New Year's Eve? I'll be a guest and drink whatever is put out. New Year's Day, however, is different. The plan is to fire up the outdoor grill and have a few folks over for mixed grill and pasta for a mid-day brunch kind of thingy. Maybe the Thomas Fogarty 2004 Fiddletown Barbera. Hope it's sunny and mild. We like to start the year like that and send photos to friends out east.

Any given night, with the snow swirling outside and the fire embering nicely, we'll pop an NV Port and crack some walnuts while we congratulate ourselves for another great year of us.

Can A Winery Name Be Arrogant?

2008-12-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

Looky here! It's December already. Before the holiday entertaining schedule ramps up to full speed I thought I'd pop up a post.

Working through the mountain of name suggestions for our new wine brand has been very educational. At one point I was a little exasperated with our inability to really 'love' any one suggestion. I expressed this to a colleague and he suggested -

"Why not just call it Bradley Cooper? Everything you've done rests on your name. It's already got some presence."

When I presented that option to the partner it was if I had brought a bad smell into the room.

"That's conceited and arrogant. I don't want to work for Bradley Cooper Wines. This is a partnership!"

The lambasting softened somewhat when I said, "Kim Crawford, Robert Mondavi, Thomas Fogarty and a host of others". It's not a new concept.

So as it stands now, we may select a name that means something to us, and start building the value and the story around the name or we may go for arrogance.

What do you think? Is naming a winery after an individual a 'no-go'? I await your pithy response.

An Economy In Crisis: This is the Best TIme to Start A Winery.

2008-11-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

The other day a friend of mine questioned my sanity in light of the current global economic woes and my decision to establish a winery.

He called me 'crazy'.

I can understand this reaction. But it's a reaction built on emotion. An emotional response to stimuli that produces more questions than answers and creates fear of the unknown. It's a diet of information that suggests volatility and instability in institutions previously considered to be rock solid.

Emotion alters our judgement. Rational discourse and strategic planning are difficult when running around the room pulling out your hair.

What is happening right now sets the stage for years of growth. Predicting the period of growth may be difficult. Just when it will happen is tough to say. But when it comes around, a business and its' drivers must be prepared for growth. If you're still in damage control at that point (or even just afloat) your going to miss the ride.

So starting a business at the bottom of the economic cycle isn't such a bad thing. It's important to be prudent, maybe even frugal, and make sure you're scalable.

We're starting shoe-string and with such a small inventory that I'll be able to hand-sell it myself. In fact, that's part of the plan. And without a plan, how do you know if you've screwed up or not?

Bad time to start a winery? I don't think so. Bad time to have a winery with a bloated inventory, no viable marketing plan and enormous debt? I think so. In our own backyard here in the Okanagan Valley, I think we're going to see some consolidation. Some of the bad actors will either merge or be bought outright. There will be deals to be had. Prices haven't dropped too much yet but they will as too much value is being attached to non-existent good-will.

So, my friend, my state of mind is not one of questionable mental health. Sure, I'm crazy.

Crazy like a fox.

First step: a limited company.

2008-11-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

As we head down this winery project road, we feel our first step is to incorporate.

A limited company allows us some protection of personal assets and helps legitimize our status.
The company will also allow us to develop a wine brand exclusive of the company name. We feel the company name will allow us to further diversify our efforts, when the time comes, as we spinoff other ventures. Not everything we do in the wine world is directly linked to our wine brand. So we see the company as a kind of fiscal umbrella.

At this time we are examining different company structures and trying to establish what the best format will be for our project. As an example, we may be considering outside investment at some point and we want to be able to act on that option without creating an entirely new entity.

Up until now, we've been operating as a partnership.

There's lots to learn for newbies. We're always open to comments about what we're doing. If you've had a similar experience be sure to comment on how it went.

New Wine Name, Different Wine Game

2008-11-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that this blog is no longer called Wine & Vine BC.
This reflects a couple of changes.
Number one is the fact that my wife and I are creating our own winery, wine brand and vineyard. We're going to use the blog to explain, promote and enrich our experience.

The other change was more subtle and slow and revealed itself over time. Despite my intentions, I was never really able to cover the wine scene in this province as the title would suggest I should have. It was a good idea but far beyond my available resources. Yes, a good idea and one I'll leave to another blogger who has the time and investment to get it right.

I hope my readers, those that have subscribed over the years and commented occasionally, will stay with me and enjoy the new angle. I'll still post as flippantly, glibly and erratically as ever.

In the meantime, please adjust your blog listings and other titles and pass the word.

Thanks for the support!

Wine Wordle

2008-11-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

It's kind of small but it's my wordle.
Kind of fun.
http://www.wordle.net/

Wine Brand Needs A Name

2008-11-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

After many vintages gaining experience and working on other people's dreams, my wife and I are embarking on an exciting project.

We're creating our own wine brand. Ultimately, we will be establishing a winery operation here in the Okanagan and living out our own dream.

Meanwhile, we have an exquisite 2006 Pinot Noir with no label and no name that is ready for release in a very short time.

We've been tossing around a few ideas. The ones I like, she doesn't and vice versa. The veto is getting plenty of use.

We're inviting friends, family and the wine drinking public to offer up some ideas that we can use to identify our brand.

If it helps, here are a few items in point form about our lives together than may inspire or suggest something.

I grew up in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

We met working in the bar business.

Our birthdays in April are only four days apart.

She grew up in a number of communties in the Canadian prairie provinces.

Our names arranged properly begin with A,B,C and D.

We both drive Toyotas

We married in a town called Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

We dislike animal names for wine or wineries, with some exceptions.

Our son has artwork that is being actively considered for label art. He's eight.

Of course, the winning suggestion or derivative of such will be rewarded.

Crush Crew 2008

2008-09-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Part of our crush crew for 2008 at Township 7.

We've been keeping busy bottling while we wait for the bulk of our grapes to ripen.

Season is late; blame it on the spring. Weather in September has been very co-operative.

Shipping Wine: Not in Canada

2008-09-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

This topic has been hot in the press lately. Another writer, Craig Pinhey, weighs in on the subject.
http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/625/Canada-direct-ship.html

Naramata Tailgate at Township 7: Post Mortem

2008-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Another sold out event saw wine fans and wine folk mingle at Township 7. About 400 sipped offerings from the 20+ Naramata Bench wineries, ate some great food and listened to the band.

I was late to the party due to other engagements but Elaine Davidson managed to take a few shots at the beginning of the show.

Great weather and great work by all the winery staffs and volunteers.

Here's the Lost Dog

2008-09-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

A dog wandered in to Township 7 winery yesterday.
Animal Control won't tell us where it lives (privacy issues).
Licence 1022. 24 hours and ticking.
Anybody want a geriatric golden retriever?

Click here . . .
http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4126349&id=623070701&ref=nf

From 1WineDude to Another

2008-09-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

I've been on this wierd winning streak lately.

First there was the stove top espresso machine and matching cups,

then their was the mini-weather station.

Then this

I submitted a food and wine pairing idea and ...
LO!

I scored!

This fine garment is courtesy of
1WineDude

You'll want to get one of your own.
Visit his site for details. Just click on the shop tab at the top of the home page.

100 Things You Can Eat

2008-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wine is always best with food and friends. Every once in awhile it's good to remind yourself of that point after you've been to yet another wine tasting event and the most exotic or interesting thing you could chew on was perhaps melba toast.

My friend Sonadora over at Wannabe Wino put this up on her blog. It serves to send the brain back into the memory files and recall the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of these things may be calling out for a wine match. Others, not so much.

I had a bit of fun with it and I hope you do too. Had to search a few terms to determine if I actually had consumed them or not.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. Bold wasn't working for me so I switched to colour.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. Or use an asterisk.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet Pepper* I am at the age where I would experience discomfort for days.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I ate a couple ants when I was 12 on a dare)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu* Probably not. Not going to roll those dice.
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin Dude, this dirt! Supposed to aid digestion.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Party Mixer: It's a Safety Meeting

2008-08-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our euphemistically termed gala is happening on Friday, around 4, on September 5.
The universal community of wine types, professional, amateur, fans, local, visiting: we congregate on the hallowed ground of the Penticton Township 7 crushpad to nibble, sip and chat.
If the weather is poor we squeeze into the barrel room.

We bad. We usually have a couple of these through the summer but . . .
This is the only one this season.

Reading this means you are invited.

Check in here,

http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=69476065180#wall_posts

Hope you can make it!

New Winery Grand Opening - Hijas Bonitas

2008-08-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

One of the newest wineries in the Okanagan Valley is having their grand opening all weekend.

Hijas Bonitas in Summerland is rolling open the doors and inviting the public to drop by.

There's barrel tastings and helicopter rides and, of course, the fanastic scenery.

Lawrence Hopper and family will be on hand to welcome you. It's in north Summerland. Watch for the signs and balloons. The event is on all weekend with live music and food.

I had the opportunity on Thursday to pull a few barrel samples for the VIP reception.

It was a great afternoon.

Wine From A Fisherman

2008-08-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

I walked the rows in my local liquor store, searching for my wine past. I was looking for labels that I cut my wine teeth on. Those old standards that might be still there taking up shelf space.

Why?

For Wine Blogging Wednesday.

The monthly themed wine tasting by the planet's wine bloggers is celebrating four years of internet exchange. Today's theme: go back to your past. Find the wine that turned you into a winophile.

I thought back as best as I am able and I kept coming back to Paul Masson Pinot Noir which I ordered with considerable gravity at the Cliff House in Bellingham, WA, slightly underage and awash in the approving gaze of my equally naive co-horts. If it was good enough for Orson Welles, it was good enough for us.

Then there was that big date when I was 16. Stuart Anderson's Black Angus on Robson in Vancouver. I was out with Roberta. We has a bottle of Mateus.

I had also drunk many swigs of bubbly "Duck" wines. But I didn't really care if they were wine or not.

I suppose I could count the bottle of '61 Chateau L'Arossee that I won in 1981 and drank in 1984.

(Interesting, woody, elegant, faded fruit) But that didn't rock my world.

The wine that ultimately lifted the top of my head was 1979 Puligny-Montrachet I drank in 1983. But that's not what this is about. As far as I am concerned, this is about the everyday wine you drank on a regular basis because you thought it was good wine.

Now to see if it actually still is good wine. Or, is it as bad as you may assume?

I chose Gustav Adolf Schmitt Fisherman Riesling. A 2006 Rheinhessen qualitatswein that is pretty close to all the fresh, accessible whites I started on. They were very affordable. Even today, this wine was only around $10. But, really, shouldn't it be Fisherperson?

This was the wine that showed me how wine could be marketed. In fact, it was a kind of viral marketing.

I was working at a new restaurant in Surrey, British Columbia. A national fast food chain wanted to break into the upscale sit-down market so they came up with this concept called the Haven that they plopped down into the mud and cow pastures and tract housing and car dealers and gas stations that was North Surrey.

A wine salesman came in and led us all through a how-to-taste and how-to-sell wine seminar just before the grand opening. Then he created an incentive plan to sell some wine.

Genius.

I could name the guy but:

A) I might be wrong and

B) It's still illegal to run such a promotion as it was then.

Basically, he told the dozen or more assembled servers that every time they sold a case of Fisherman, we'd get a bottle, or something like that. The weekly winner would be even more richly rewarded. He told everyone, in the same room and at the same time and subtly suggested that better waiters would win.

Oh yeah!?

Well, we sold it, we drank it, we strategized with our bus crew.

On some nights, looking around the 300 seat restaurant, you'd think that was all we had.

"Yes, sir, prime rib is the special tonight. Very good, sir, rare it is. Might I suggest a bottle of Fisherman Riesling? Excellent with your chosen dish, sir. Goes well with the lady's poached sole, as well."

We'd be cruising our sections, glance over at the neighbouring server and up would come a hand (or two) to signal his running total.

'Six? Shit. It's only 7 o'clock. He's full of it.'

The competition was fierce, open-ended and rife with emotion. There was hell when the bartender ran out.

"Whadaya effing mean, Clyde? How can you be out? Go get some!"

When the competition ended there was a visceral let-down. What was fun about selling it when there was no competition? Truth was, we still sold it out of reflex and the fact we had trained the regulars to order it and, I think, they liked it.

So this year's version?

A sharp hint of sulphur that did not blow off but was not particularly off-putting. It diminished and allowed peach and apple aromas to emerge. There was a slight fuel/mint background to the nose. The palate had some tropical bits like pineapple and passion fruit. Not as much apple or stonefruit as I would have imagined. The acidity and slight sweetness were well balanced. I suspect some kind of mouthfeel manipulation because there was slight 'coating' sensation in the finish. As Wannabe Wino might say, it clocks in at 11% alcohol.

On my ground-breaking, innovative new 1,000 point rating system: I give it a 633.

Worth having again. Simple, better very cold, drink with food and don't let your wine friends see you. Like riding a moped or dating a .... never mind.

VinoCamp: Geeks and Winos!

2008-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday (August 16) in Vancouver the first ever Vinocamp will get underway at UBC's botanical gardens.

The tech/web/internet crowd that also loves wine is putting this together. While you don't have to be a geek to enjoy the day, you'll certainly have company if you are.

Use the links to check out their site and to find registration information. As they say in their tagline,
This is definitely not the wine festival.

See you there!

Naramata Bench Tailgate Party

2008-08-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

The 5th annual Naramata Bench Tailgate Party is coming up September 13.
The venue has changed from last year. This year it will be at Township 7's rough n' ready location at 1450 McMillan (Naramata Road).

If you're used to the manicured lawns and elegant setting of previous events at Red Rooster then I'd advise a reality check. T7 is a bit more 'rustic'. There is no doubting where you are at when visiting Township 7: this a working winery and vineyard. Dress for it. Leave the heels at home, lover.

No matter how 'basic' the setting might be, it should be quite a party. There's more than 22 wineries on the Bench now. They promise a rollicking good time. Tickets can be purchased online at
http://www.naramatabench.com/

NO PARKING AT SITE: All guests will be shuttled to and from Township 7 as part of their ticket purchase.

Winery Work for Harvest Vintage Crush

2008-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Township 7 will require 2 healthy, strong individuals to join our crew for harvest season.

This is a temporary, seasonal position that would suit persons entering the wine production field or those with limited experience to this point.

Candidates should look forward to long hours, indoor/outdoor working conditions and shift work. The ability to lift and manage 23 kg is required.

Must be legally entitled to work in Canada, be available September 15 through November 30, 2008 and have fluent command of English, written and oral. There is a possibility of exending the work period based on performance.

contact:
brad@township7.com

Send your CV.

Golden Beaver or Pompous Ass?

2008-07-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

It's tough to choose. Over in NY's Finger Lakes they've got a Pompous Ass. Here in BC we've got a Golden Beaver.

They both use cartoons in their logo.

Thanks to Lenn for the head's up.

Exceptional Okanagan Falls BC Vineyard For Sale

2008-07-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD. NOV/08

Properties like this are rare. Mature vineyard with Merlot, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Viognier and others in full production. Beautiful 'southwest' style home and many service buildings. Right on Oliver Ranch Road with plenty of winery and agri-tourism potential. About 30 acres and about 2/3 in vines.
For more information, contact me directly.

cooper.bradley@gmail.com

Wine Grapes of British Columbia

2008-07-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Colleagues, friends, fans and members of the general public often ask me -
Just what are you growing up there?
So, in an effort to shed some light on this dark secret, I will now reveal the top grapes by tonnage grown in BC. Almost all the grapes are grown in the Okanagan Valley, but there are significant acreages on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and in the Lower Mainland portion of the Fraser River Valley.
These figures are supplied by the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI) and are for the 2007 growing season.

Merlot 3258
Chardonnay 2479
Pinot Gris 1687
Pinot Noir 1532
Cabernet Sauvignon 1390
Gewurztraminer 1339
Pinot Blanc 1307
Other (< 60 tons) 1125*
Riesling 979
Sauvignon Blanc 977
Cabernet Franc 777
Syrah/Shiraz 613
Gamay Noir 486
Ehrenfelser 228
Semillon 202
Auxerrois 189
Marechal Foch 170
Bacchus 124
Chasselas 104
Chancellor 103
Muller Thurgau 102
Icewine Riesling 99
Chenin Blanc 84
Viognier 84
Vidal Blanc 75
Zweigelt 67
Madeleine Angevine 61
Kerner 42
Pinot Meunier 41
Optima 38
Verdelet 14

*In the other category there are a lot of hybrids and some vinifera. Petit Verdot, Pinotage, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Muscat are just a few of the smaller tonnage titles.

While there are no 'native' grapes indigenous to the area, there are some tasty Saskatoon berries just up the mountain behind my house right now.

Does Gewurztraminer start with the letter 'S'?

2008-07-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

No, children, it does not.
But today I am participating in something called Wine Blogger Wednesday. For the first time.
It's been going on for about four years but I've never been able to get my sh*t together and participate.
One Wednesday a month, bloggers taste a wine and comment. There's a theme as set by the host. So today it is "Brought to you by the letter S".
The 'S' in my Gewurztraminer is the fact that I made it at Township 7, which has an S.
It's crisp, assertive, slighty spicy and full of fresh pear and apple. We blended three vineyards to get the depth and dimension. To me, as much as I like Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, this Gewurztraminer tastes like summer in the Okanagan Valley.

Winery Vineyard Supervisor Wanted

2008-07-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Based in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Growing operation requires experienced vineyard worker to maintain small winery's vineyard properties and enhance grower relations. Knowledge of annual and seasonal viticultural practices essential. Experience in people management, budgeting, planning and site development definete assets.

Contact me directly for more information.

cooper.bradley@gmail.com

Vinifico! is Magnifico!

2008-07-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

You can spend a long time looking for a wine site, based in BC, that day-in, day-out provides the same kind of quality wine reviews as Sean Calder's Vinifico. Actually, you'd be hard-pressed to find one this good outside of BC.

Sean acts like my point man in the market place. He's out there tasting and giving his two cents worth and that helps me find wines that are helping me compare and contrast my own projects. He has a liver of heroic description.

In the past, Sean has been assisted by fellow wine buff Graham. Not sure if that arrangement still exists but, nonetheless, they both have great palates.

Check out Vinifico before your next trip to the bottle shop.

Wine and a Hike in the redwoods

2008-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's not news to most people but here it is anyhow: California is full of things to do. For wine lovers, California is a diverse growing region with thousands of wine-related activities. But to return home after a truly rewarding experience in wine country is not always an easy achievement.

A lot of the time there is a cookie-cutter feel to many attractions. There pre-packaged tours and winery visits that start to look pretty typical. Most of the big name tours could be lifted from anywhere. Just insert different names where applicable.

Among the packed tasting rooms, the parade of buses and the drunk-filled limousines is a California wine country experience that really stands out as unique and fun. California Wine Hikes takes two great activities and combines them for some special memories and genuinely exclusive glimpses of the Golden State.

I've talked about California Wine Hikes in this space before as being something different I had heard about. Back in late May, I got to experience it firsthand.

My wife and I have our best hiking years behind us. We weren't looking for a death march with tough technical sections. So we were delighted with the trail chosen for us by Russ Beebe, owner, operator, guide and all-round great guy. We spent about half a day in the mountains at the south end of the San Franciscan peninsula, somewhere between San Mateo and the ocean. We saw huge redwoods, quiet ravines and an array of wildflowers. The traditional fog off the coast started the day. We ended it in full sun for our mid-afternoon lunch.

Of course, our walk was punctuated with visits to wineries like Thomas Fogarty and Savannah-Chanelle.

Russ' knowledge of the area, his running commentary on the flora and fauna and his contacts within the wine business makes for a memorable day out. Nowadays, I can't think of a trip to California without a wine hike in the itinerary.

(top photo: me and a redwood. Sorry about the focus. bottom photo: Me (left), my wife Audralee and Russ Beebe at Savannah Chanelle)

It's only a matter of time that this kind of thing shows up here. I'm sure BC is ready for one of these businesses dedicated to showing off the scenery and the wines in the various regions of the province.

Until then, make sure you book one of these hikes on your next trip to California.

Two Buck Chuck, Trader Joe's and a Dead Field Worker

2008-06-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

The saga continues as this diligent blogger does a little investigation.

Click here.

Wine Revelations: Inspired By Tom Wark

2008-06-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular wine blogs is Tom Wark's Fermentation.

Lately he's posted some revelations that I think would be good reading for anyone in the wine business (or just a wine lover) who is taking stock or just looking back on their life and wine.

It's here.

Have a read, grab a bottle of Rose and just muse on your own set of revelations.

Immersed in Wine Country

2008-06-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

There's nothing else like it around here. If you or someone you know wants the ultimate wine country experience they should check out Naramata Unfiltered.

Visitors and residents looking for the definitive BC wine-centric package will find it here.

Great accommodations, fantastic food, scintillating personalities and tons of different wines. It's a top-notch production.

Wine Country Weather

2008-06-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

Don't read this if the f-bomb is a problem for you.

The weather has improved since this would have been appropriate last week.

Wine Maker Wanted / Stag's Hollow

2008-06-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks for checking... POSITION NOW FILLED

One of the better small wineries in the Okanagan is looking for a wine maker. Stag's Hollow in Okanagan Falls makes around 5,000 cases and has a newish production facility. Prospective candidates should have considerable experience; a proven track record in wine making is required.
Contact Larry Gerelus directly at info@stagshollowwinery.com or
250-497-6162

More about Stag's Hollow

Cheap wine? At what cost?

2008-06-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Next time you wince at the price of BC wine and think some wine maker or owner is getting rich at your expense remember this example of how cheap wine is produced on the back of cheap labour and all the social ills that brings with it.

The story is here.

Double Gold Trophy for Township 7 Reserve Chardonnay

2008-06-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last week I was pleased to hear that the Township 7 2006 Reserve Chardonnay Harmony One Vineyard was awarded best of class 'double gold' at the All-Canadian. This was in the Chardonnay Over $20 category so I suppose that means it is one of the best Chards in the country. Thanks to all who helped me make this wine and to our fine growers at Harmony One. Year after year H1 produces excellent fruit.

If you're considering getting your hands on a case or a bottle, please do it now. There's about 60 cases left from the original 225.

Our regular Township 7 2006 Chardonnay was awarded a gold at the NW Wine Summit and the 2005 Reserve Chardonnay Stone Mountain Vineyard received a silver.

Overall, it looks like Township 7's Chardonnay heritage is shining through.

Contact Township 7 directly at 604-532-1766 or 250-770-1743 to obtain these wines.

Please Help Me Identify This Man

2008-06-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

When I was in California I met this solemn creature at a bookstore. I'm the one on the left.

He implored me to purchase his book.

I did so and he proceeded to give a talk for a good part of an hour about wine and it's place in our collective lives. An excellent speaker but damn if I can remember his name.

Oh wait! Here it is. Right on the book!

Okay . . . nevermind. Got it.

Wine Leads To Criminal Activity

2008-06-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more grasping and greedy than a government monopoly denied?

On my trip to California I truly enjoyed some marvelous foods and wines. Being a winemaker, I was naturally drawn to the tasting rooms and the wine lists that I encountered. Always, in the back room of my mind, there was a voice, "Even if you wanted this wine, you can't take it home."

Sure, I could actually take it home. But at the border, after clearing immigration, there would be customs. And customs is charged with collecting the cash that the government figures it is due. This is determined by whatever the provincial mark-up is on a particular product. If they don't actually have the product on their shelves then there is a formula to arrive on the 'proper' dollar figure.

"Surely," you say," you must be allowed something?" Yes, true, we are allowed something.

But no matter how long I stay, I am limited to 1.5 L of wine. That's two standard bottles. After 48 hours, I can bring $400 back in goods. But the wine volume stays the same. After 7 days, I can bring back $750 in goods. But the wine volume stays the same. It's all here in it's ridiculous splendour. If I only stay 24 hours then I have to pay the formula on everything.

The taxes, duty and mark-up or whatever euphemism you want to use is almost always in excess of 100% of your purchase price of the wine in Canadian dollars.

I have heard all the arguments for this kind of policy. Protectionism and public safety, control, maintaining the public coffers. Frankly, in this day and age, none of those tired old arguments are worth a thing.

What this policy leads to is the most elaborate and deceitful schemes by otherwise law-abiding citizens bent on getting a few extra bottles of wine or liquor back into the country. We're not talking about truckloads. We're talking about a half dozen or a case of something special, often not available at home, something that was picked up on vacation or on a business trip.

I know it may be necessary to draw the line somewhere, but this country has turned into a country of amateur smugglers. With the dollar virtually at par with its American counterpart, I imagine there's plenty of temptation.

Hell, I know there is. Here's what I had to do.

After 11 days in the U.S. I settled on 8 bottles of wine and not the 8 cases I really wanted. Sorry, U.S. wine sellers. I put two into my luggage. The other six I packaged and sent to a Washington state border town about 1 hour from my home. Good thing you can ship from California to Washington. I told the UPS guys on Sutter in San Francisco it was olive oil anyways and we all had a good laugh.

Today it arrived. My wife went and picked it up. She drove it to within 400 meters of the border and dropped in on my Mom and step Dad (Canadian citizens) at their lakeside summer place. There she gave them each two bottles and appropriate receipts. They had been stateside for 48 hours so they were entitled to two bottles free of border charges.

The other two bottles are stashed in the crawlspace of the cabin. Tomorrow my people will drive back across the line and into Canada with my wine I will meet them at the donut shop in Osoyoos before they head home. There, in the parking lot like a gathering of of criminals, I will accept the goods.

My next plan: I'm going to head south again soon. I'll stay for at least 48 hours and I'll buy two bottles of wine worth $400 together that are not available in BC. Then I'll bring them back and dispose of them as I see fit.

Tsk. Just sad behaviour I'm capable of. Almost as sad as a monopoly so fearful of revenue loss from cross border purchases that it has to impose these draconian rules on the masses. Isn't it time we used our overworked Border Service to protect our citizens from pedophiles, armed criminals and other threats to society? Isn't it time to stop searching Joe and Mary Sixpack's luggage and car for that extra bottle of White Zin?

I think so and so do a lot of my fellow Canadians.

Wine, Music and a Meme.

2008-05-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

I've never participated in a meme exercise. Usually because of a time crunch or because it doesn't have any reference point for my blog. This one doesn't either but it was sent to me by a wine and food blogger I respect and I'll honour her with this response. And I'm officially on vacation.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

I'm going to add a wine to the end of each one that should accompany the music.

1. For some reason I was humming "Born Free" while standing at the corker station on the bottling line yesterday. I think it was the Andy Williams version, who I always enjoyed because he was short and the way my Mom got all dreamy eyed when he sang "Moon River". Amarone

2."Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" by Grandaddy. Not sure who these guys are but this song is so hook filled and techno rythmic that I find it irresistable. The lyrics are cryptic yet familiar, like a scene from a David Lynch film. Tempranillo.

3. "Happy" by Keith Richards as performed by Sheryl Crow and Keith and an allstar lineup at a Central Park (NYC) gig a few years back. I've always like this rollicking, goofy tune. It's almost impossible to sing without sounding like you've already had a few pints too many. Cabernet Franc from the Okanagan Valley.

4. "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" . My eight year old has this Offspring ditty at the top of his list right now so we listen to it at full blast on the drive to school in the morning. Every morning. I love all the dated pop culture references (Ricki Lake?, oh yeah, I remember her). Really clears the cobwebs like a good Zinfandel.

5. I was thinking about Vancouver rocker Bif Naked and her battle with cancer lately and couldn't help recall "I Love Myself Today" and the great video that accompanies it. I hope she whips it. Hard-edged female singers attract me 'cause they're hot and scary. But Barolo shouldn't be.

6. "Theme from Jaws" by John Williams. The kid is into sharks in a big way and seems to be unfazed by the giant plastic shark devouring people in this 1975 Spielberg masterpiece. He walks around the house going da dum da dum da dum dadumdadumdadumdadum.
So I do to. Pinot Grigio

7. "Cold Hard Bitch". Seems a bit bitter, no? This Jet tune certainly rocks out and showcases the band's pedigree. Hard to sit still with this one on. You can brood while you boogie. Cab Sauv and blends of such.

Now who should I tag?

Wine, San Francisco, Giants, Jazz, More Wine

2008-05-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Only a few days before my wife and I begin our trip to California. Our 11 day excursion will be centred around the San Francisco bay area but we will be travelling to some other points as we taste and sip our days away.

This is a significant trip. This is the first trip since our honeymoon that is a) longer than three days and b) does not have a kid, dog, relative or friend travelling with. And it roughly coincides with our anniversary (9th). We were married in early June in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.

We're planning on a jazz concerts, have tickets to the Giants versus the Mets June 2, there's a spa thingy arranged and on May 31st we're going wine-hiking with California Winehikes in the mountains and redwoods of the south penninsula. We're inviting all Cal wine types to join us on the wine hike. It should be a gas! Contact Russ at his website for details.

If you're in the area, we'd love to get together for a drink. Call my cell 250-490-7314 or cooper.bradley@gmail.com

Fraiche

2008-05-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

Had an opportunity to drop into Fraiche for dinner last week while in Vancouver. I'm an old Vancouver boy so I was yearning for that view you get from the North Shore mountains. The same view you got when you took some of your first dates up the tram on Grouse Mountain or to Salmon House on the Hill.

I also needed some points in the spouse department as I had been predictably shoddy in recent attempts at Important Day Celebrations or IDCs. She'd accompanied me to the big smoke on this business trip so I surprised her with a dinner res at what must be almost 2,000 feet above sea level.

The room is bright, airy and dominated be the floor to ceiling windows facing south. There's a fair view from just about any seat. If you can't get a window seat for your baby, perch her at the bar where she can enjoy the view above the crowd and the crowd can enjoy the view of her. Change genders on that last sentence if you are so inclined.

At 7:15 on a Tuesday in late April the room was essentially full so make a reservation.

The weather behaved remarkably. The service was spot on. The food was flavourful, imaginative and worth the 20 minute jaunt from our downtown hotel. I wasn't in FM (foodie mode) and failed to take notes but suffice to say we each had a salad. Mine featured roasted beets and I think I'm now moving roasted beets up a few notches on the Top Veg Chart. Hers was centred around a small cylinder of goat cheese that was crunchy-crispy on the outside. Both were great. Our mains were duck for wife and lamb for me. Both were damn fine and were reduced to uttering grunts and squeals of appreciation to the chagrin of tables nearby. We paired them with a St. Francis Merlot I felt was a little flaccid which I attributed to my regionalized palate.

An old associate of ours from a decade ago turned out to be our server so we got a chance to share some laughs in remembrance.

The wine list was intelligent and stimulating. Not extensive but still plenty of varied choices. Hey! Township 7 Merlot. Don't forget to order it on your visit!

I was thoughtful and sensitive without any ennui.

I think we dropped a couple of C notes plus and felt we received a good exchange for our moolah.

Do you know how to get to Salmon House? Yes? Then keep driving up the hill. It's on Chippendale. No? Phone for directions or park in Ambleside (beachfront West Van) and take a cab.

I believe it's just dinners right now but that's changing so stay current! Closed Mondays.

604.925.7595

Do You Know Gary?

2008-05-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

If you read about wine on the internets, you probably have come across his work.

Plus he's been on TV!

Besides his own net TV.

It's Gary Vaynerchuk, the most passionate wine show around.

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2008/05/01/wine-kegs-episode-456/

Twitter is your Wine World Connection

2008-05-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you waste, er . . . are making the most of the internets along comes an application that really changes your views.

The best way I can describe TWITTER is to suggest it's a mini-blog system with instant updates. You're only allowed 140 characters a message. So it's a great way to reference lengthier pieces. You can use it on your desktop, laptop or phone.

Certain segments of the wine world have embraced Twitter and our community of winos make for some interesting buzz. If you think you'd like to follow my comments as a way of keeping up on my wine world, follow me at https://twitter.com/Bradinator

Progress and Discovery/ Pruning and Coza!

2008-04-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Despite some labour shortage issues the Township 7 Vineyards in Langley, BC are beginning to to show well and I think we've just about caught up to where we want to be.

A lot of the older vines (seven years plus in very vigorous soils) need some significant pruning to shed some old wood that was beginning to be more of a problems than a benefit. So the vineyard is a little more streamlined now and as a result, I think we're going to have a healthier environment for this year's crop. There may be a little less but, if we can keep the mold and mildew at bay, it should be easier to get ripe.

Check out the video posting to enjoy some of the wacky weather the are is enjoying this weekend. It's been a very slow start to the growing season in Langley and in the Okanagan valley.

While I was in Langley I had the opportunity to enjoy a meal at Coza! Tuscan Grill. (They like to add an exclamation point. That will be the last time for me.) The interior is warm and inviting with subdued lighting and jazzy canned music. I was immediately greeted by smiling hostess (Caitlin?) and shown to my seat. Being solo, I sat at the bar and enjoyed the Calgary/Sharks game on a big screen while sipping a well-deserved ale in a frosty sleeve.

I started with the carpaccio. It was one of the best I'd had in some time. The house drizzle across the paper thin beef was a perfect combination. I liked the added garnish which was almost a mini-salad with fresh tomato and a caper berry.

Hard-working men who work long days in the field are entitled to substantial and flavourful food so I rewarded myself with the sirloin treated with gorgonzola butter. The mains come with a choice of pasta or potato so I opted for the Tuscan mashed potatoes. My cut was cooked perfectly to order and everything on the plate was beautifully accomplished. With my bistecca, I ordered a three wine sampler. I had about 50 ml. each of three reds. After some deliberation I decided the Rosemount Grenache-Shiraz blend had enough acidity to provide the kind of counterpoint I think the rich meat dish required.

I'd recommend Coza! if your're looking to break out of the chain store rut and would like some great food, attentive service and an overall welcoming environment. Now that I've scouted it out by myself, I'm ready to return with a group.

Wine Payola Is Alive and Well.

2008-04-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

While talking to people about the wines I make and the wines coming out of the Okanagan Valley and BC the conversation inevitably turns to availability. People want to know where they can get our wine so they can enjoy it at home with their friends and family.

Township 7 has pretty good distribution around the Lower Mainland and we're working at spreading the love to Vancouver Island and other areas in the province. Some of the other wineries I'm familiar with are in most areas of B.C.

But it's getting tougher for new wineries and new labels to get onto the store shelves. Why is that?

I was out and about last week in Vancouver and realized that an old practice was becoming more and more prevalent. Individuals and businesses are being paid to stock certain brands. On the flipside, some restaurants and shops are demanding a certain fee to carry a line.

I'm not naive; this isn't news. It's always been the case. There has always been somebody who was willing to add a few bottles to an order or make some other little gesture to secure a spot on the shelf or a choice restaurant listing.

It was always there in the shadows. But now it's not so backroom. It's unofficial policy for some.
The result is that big producers are dominating stock lists like never before. A few multi-label houses are calling the shots; allowing smaller independents to take a few slots here and there.

Established small wineries should be able to maintain their foothold. But I wouldn't want to be a new brand going into this market. There are some big sharks on the prowl and blood in the water.

But that's business. Nobody said it would be easy to establish a brand. So who loses out besides the small, new winery? Probably only the consumer. If a big house decides that saucy import Green Appendage must be on every wine list then that is what the consumer will see. And they've got the muscle to make it happen. So everyone drinks Green Appendage and misses out on one of the small guys.

The upshot is: look for lists that are less diverse that carry fewer small, independent producers. These are the houses dominated by the big players. Solution: know who owns the brands and avoid "owned" establishments. Support restaurants and shops that demonstrate balance and fairness.
Or don't because you just don't care.

Township 7 at Hamilton Street Grill

2008-03-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Once again Neil and the gang are having one of their great wine nights and they're featuring Township 7 wines.

http://www.localwineevents.com/Greater-Vancouver--BC-Wine/event-174014.html

OpenWine Consortium - worth investigating

2008-03-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

I've had the opportunity to join a fledgling group of wine people who are congregating at OpenWine Consortium. It's a group of wine types dedicated to spreading the good word through the world of rapidly developing technology.

If it sounds a little dry, fogedaboutit! It's a vibrant, global community still in it's infancy and is still being shaped by new membership.

So far it seems like an ideal environment where wine makers, winery owners, web developers, marketers, retailers and others connected to wine can meet to brainstorm and discuss various aspects of the business and discover how technology can serve the cause.

Along the way you'll meet some interesting people with a common interest and, in some cases, a common destination.

I urge everyone in the wine business to at least give it a look, especially those of you in the BC industry. It will help alleviate that "outpost on the edge of the world" feeling you may sometime experience in this industry. If you do register, please join the Pacific Northwest group to further define your origins.