Black Cloud making news.

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.

Wine From A Fisherman

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.

Does Gewurztraminer start with the letter 'S'?

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.

Vinifico! is Magnifico!

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.

Crush 2007: A Brief Look at the Harvest

The rain is falling and the temperatures are cool.
All the mountain passes are experiencing some snow.
Except for some Late Harvest and Ice Wine crops, all the grapes have been in for a week now for most Okanagan producers.

We started picking grapes for Township 7 in mid-September. Mostly white varieties at that time but a few Merlot growers started to sneak in right at the beginning of October. Then the weather started to crash.

Wine makers, growers and owners tried to make the weather better using various mental powers but to no avail. As the vines shut down, it became a waiting game for breaks in the weather that would allow harvesting to occur.

Indicators numbers like Brix, pH and TA (total acid) went into suspended animation. The benefits of hangtime, like more intense flavours and such, didn't really materialize, in my opinion. I think the intermittent rains (rain, two days dry, rain. one day dry etc.) negated any hang premium.

What to look for: Okanagan whites will probably be great. The earlier varietals definetly will shine. The reds will be a toss-up. T7 growers are smart growers with good cultural practices so we believe our red vintage will be excellent. Growers who over-cropped or took other short cuts through the season found themselves with unripe fruit this year; when these reds of 07 start appearing late next year (at the earliest) taste before you buy! There will be some vintage variations in your favourite brands.

Online Wine Course is Concise And All-encompassing

I recently discovered an online wine course that really impressed me.

I am a bit of a skeptic. I figured there's no replacement for just flinging yourself at gobs of wine and trying to muddle through as best as possible. Perhaps emerging from sensory battle with a slightly lop-sided palate. Perhaps with the help of a slightly biased friend.

Taste of the Vine Free Courses is the perfect tool for anyone at any level of wine knowledge who wants to improve and measure their ability to enjoy wine.

The course is engaging and well-designed. There are great graphics and clearly composed content. A lot of thought and energy has gone in to the production.

Some of the features I liked (and I'm still in the process of discovery):

• you can check your progress with a visit to the wine cellar to see how many bottles (points) you've amassed.


• you don't have to take it all in one shot. As a registered user, you can sign in when you want and pick up where you left off.


• The colour diagrams (as example of the tongue and the taste defined areas), are medical text accurate.


• I like the idea of a wine tasting course in my home. Takes the issue of transportation and safety right out of the picture.

There's actually two courses. One is called the Instant and the other is the Complete. It's up to you decide what suits you best.

From the perspective of someone who tastes and works with wine everyday, I think the Taste of the Vine Complete Wine Course is a winner. Many of the details are part of my daily routine but there were points where I learned something new on practically every second page.

Soon I'll be referencing parts of my tongue with the appropriate latin terms. If nothing else, my geek stock will soar.

BC Wine Trends - Consumer Perspective

Christina Burridge, writing in Vancouver Magazine, takes a look at the trends in BC wine consumption. It's mostly good news from my standpoint.