Good Wine Gal's Good Wine Dreams

Wine dreams from the wild one! If you love wine then read on. Tastings from Vancouver Island and Portugal are below. It's a lot of info. Any questions - message me. Don't forget to leave a comment or share with your network. Life is short. Drink good wine. MUAH!

Thoughts on Wines Tasted Recently

May is here and who would believe it by the temperature. It a late start with pink fluffy cherry blossom snow on the ground - something that is reserved for early April, no? Not only is this a bit disorienting, but so is the winter down filled coat still hanging at the door, just in case. The feel of springtime can't be missed, however. Rainy and warm. It's also wine season. Covid be damned the masks are off and wine events are here! Just like that - vino gatherings are taking place - two here in the city yesterday - with rooms full of familiar faces, hugging like long lost wine friends and sipping up hundreds of white, red, rose and sparkling samples. Is the wine as good as I remember? Here are some highlights from recent tastings.

Portuguese Wine - Something for Everyone!

Wines of Portugal hosted 30 producers in Vancouver yesterday, showcasing almost all regional styles that capturing the essence of it's unique and somewhat misunderstood wine region. Portugal is not "cheap wine" at least not anymore. From the Vinho Verde to the Douro, the Dao to Lisbon, the Setubal Peninsula to the Alentejo - wines were expressive, exciting and memorable. Traditional and modern was certainly a theme. While not all styles discovered are available in our market, keep an eye out for producers  like Julia Kemper, A&D Wines, Jose Maria de Fonseca (Perquita), Esperao Wines and many more. Some key takeaways are: there are over 250 indigenous grape varieties, as many micro climates and ancient soils. The king of the grape varieties is Touriga Nacional. The wines of Vinho Verde are not all spritzed or white. For more on Wines of Portugal visit their website. 

Locals Only - Support Small BC Producers

Thanks to Rich Massey of Massey Wines, everyone came together to celebrate our local wine, beer and spirits industry. Having not seen each other in person for almost 2 years there was a lot of hugging going on. It's been a tough and challenging go for many wineries as last year we had record heat with the heat dome at the end of June and then depending on where you lived torrential rainfall when we needed the sun to keep shining. We also experienced the worst fire season on record here in BC and the experience was so close to home that is shocked us all including the grapes. At the locals only tasting we had the perfect opportunity to look outside the Okanagan Valley and due West with Island Wine playing a lead role. Here are some of the wines I tasted. I'm a big fan of Whispering Horse in Yarrow whose sparling L'Acadie is brilliant as well as Sea Star and their hybrid varieties falling under labels like Stella Maris and Salish Sea. The key for me is acidity and balance of fruit, dryness and alcohol. The island can bring lots of freshness which is a gift if you love food and wine pairings. Alderlea Pinot Gris was a beautiful light pink in the glass all floral and citrusy, yet dry, rich and well balanced. Very versatile for our summer patio season. Blue Grouse is up to something great with their rose bubbles. Delish. If you are a natural wine buff then Kutatas is a place to spend some time. To learn more visit 

From Yarrow, BC meet Whispering Horse & Melissa Giesbrecht with a bottle of L'Acadie traditional method. Brilliant.

From Cowichan Valley this is Vintage 2017 Unsworth Bubbles in Big Boy Bottle - delicious "Cuvee de l'Ile". Merci beaucoup!

Meet Zachery from Alderlea where Pinot Gris is a lovely shade of pink with aromas and flavours of white flowers, fresh citrus, stone fruit. The fresh acidity makes for versatile food pairings - a real pleaser.

Salt Spring Island wine from organic farming, natural ferment, limited intervention wine making and a warm micro climate. Check these out!

Cowichan Valley's growing Blue Grouse and winemaker Bailey have been busy making bubbles. And much more. This is an island classic.

The story of Island Wine is filled with Blattner hybrid varieties. Don't miss Ortega, Stella Maris or Salish Sea. The legacy continues from Pender Island.

Thank You!

Thank you! You keep reading and sharing my content for which I am so grateful. Finding good wine is a job and I can't think of anyone more suited to doing it than me. So thank you for your continued support. Keep tasting and learning. If you want to learn more about wine, join our free zoom sessions as we explore the World Wine Days Calendar published by WSET Global and curated by Alison Kent of the Home Kitchen and me.