Category Archives: Spain

Trust Your Gut

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If there’s one thing I learned about wine tasting tonight in this year’s installment of the Art Institute of Vancouver’s Wine Professional Challenge (part of the annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival), it’s to trust my instincts.

I signed up after seeing the link next to my WSET Diploma registration information, and thought it’d be a great way to test myself and kick off the next level of my wine education. Was it ever!

After a fun but challenging Round 1 of blind tasting four wines, we were asked to identify the country from which all the bottles originated. Having already deduced a steely, limey Clare or Eden Valley Riesling and powerfully ripe, spicy Syrah or Zinfandel-like red out of two of them, I was convinced that the wines must be from Australia.

The more I read into the possible sum of all parts as well as other people’s reactions during our intermission, however, led me to guess Spain – after all, a chalky Rias Baixas Albariño and juicy, berry-filled Tempranillo certainly couldn’t be too far off the map, plus it’s this year’s theme region at Playhouse!

Alas, when the winner was announced (the most deserving Jay Whiteley, sommelier for Hawksworth Restaurant), it was revealed that it was Australia after all.

Moral of the story: Don’t second guess!

In any case, it was great fun to take part in this challenge, my first-ever blind tasting as well as professional wine competition, and I look forward to the day when I can be 110% sure about my palate-based choices!

The judges were, naturally, a heavy-hitting “Fab Five” of industry veterans in British Columbia, including organizer and WSET instructor, Mark Shipway; sommelier extraordinaire Neil Ingram; wine educator Michaela Morris; Barbara Philip, Master of Wine; and John Puddifoot, owner of fine retailer Puddifoot, for which the wine challenge’s Puddifoot Award is named after.

As for the wines? The Aussies were a delicious quartet of Hunter Valley Semillon, Barossa Shiraz, Clare Valley Riesling and Tasmania Pinot Noir.

I celebrated my hard work the good ol’ Canadian way… With an ice-cold beer.

Lessons learned in Round 2: Wine labels, customer service, food pairing and wine accessories

  • Read the entire label before talking! I was waxing poetic to Michaela about a Gran Reserva wine, when I noticed – a mere 45 seconds before my time was up – that it was actually not from Rioja at all but halfway down the country in Valdepeñas. Oops.
  • The customer is always right. White wine with steak? Why not? My pick was sparkling wine (i.e., Champagne or Cava), the rationale being that it would be a nice refreshing palate cleanser in between big, beefy bites. It worked!
  • Be adventurous! Play with enhancing or contrasting flavours when food pairing and you can easily come up with one or two very different suggestions for each course that can cater to varying tastes. This was a fun topic and I feel I held my ground quite well. I guess having a food and wine blog helps!
  • When in doubt, joke! I could have probably earned a few extra points had I actually said to John what I thought about the Wine Shield, “It’s like a diaphragm for wine bottles that keeps oxygen from impregnating the liquid – complete with a handy plastic applicator!”

After all, wine doesn’t always have to be dead serious, right?

Wines to Get You In the Mood

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… for this year’s Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, that is!

The 2011 theme region is Spain, which, if you’re like me and you enjoy high quality wines made in time-honoured, land-respecting methods at attractive prices, you’ll be over the moon for! (There, that was my elevator pitch for wines from Spain. Olé!)

One thing I really enjoy about winemaking in the land of the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa Maria (from the little that I know about Spanish winemaking) is its progressive stance.

Just as much as its great wines, such as Rioja and Sherry, are steeped in tradition, the new and emerging quality winemaking regions of note within this colourful country are embracing of forward-thinking industrial practices (i.e., irrigation, which many EU wine appellations do not allow) and the use of grapes not native to the region.

Here is a tasty pair of Spanish wines I tried recently – I hope they whet your palate for the bevy of bottles that will be showcased on the International Festival Tasting floor, March 30 – April 1!

Tickets for VPIWF are available online or via the phone box office (number is at the link above).

For the first time ever, I’ll be on the exhibitor’s side of the table this year… See you there!

Bodegas Ochoa Rosado de Lágrima Finca El Bosque Navarra DO 2009

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Garnacha. The region of Navarra is well known for producing rosé wines as well as wines labelled in the modern varietal manner. This wine from Bodegas Ochoa is a single vineyard creation from the winery’s Finca El Bosque plot. It’s named “Rose of Tears” after the saignée method of production, in which the crushed juice is left in contact with the skins for about 12 hours, during which time the colour bleeds out from the grape skins into the liquid that is to be fermented.

Dark salmon in colour verging on pale red, this coral stunner woos the nose with fresh rhubarb, spicy cherry, red currant and pomegranate aromas along with a hint of white pepper and dust. The palate is deliciously dry with some obvious tannins from the Cabernet, ample body and alcohol from the Garnacha – and oodles more red fruit and spice. It’s deceivingly lightweight in the mouth when well chilled – be careful how quick you imbibe! It didn’t take me long to finish my bottle. Get some now while you can; this is an $18 wine that’s currently $12. A fabulous recommendation from a fellow wine geek galpal! I paired this wine with vegan fajitas which worked quite well.

This animal-friendly dinner was brought to you by Tofu Chili, Soy Cheese, Julienned Beets, Bean Sprouts, Pinto Beans & Rice with Roasted Poblano Peppers, this awesome guac / Pico de Gallo mix that I got from IGA, homemade Aji Criollo and steamed authentic 100% Corn Tortillas.

Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Reserva DOC 2004

I haven’t had the fortune to try a lot of Riojas yet, so I was more than happy to take home the 2 – 3 glasses or so that remained of this bottle that was used in an ISG (International Sommelier Guild) training session in my work building!

On Rioja bottles, “Reserva” indicates that the wine has been aged for at least one year in oak and two in bottle prior to release, which by most commercial wine standards is quite a long time. Many say that because of these long aging standards that in Rioja, the producers have taken care of the wine’s maturation / cellaring for you. Personally, I find some Riojas overwhelmingly oaky upon or soon after release; most bottles could stand to benefit from further aging or certainly some time in the decanter.

85% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha Tinta & Graciano. This deep, almost opaque crimson wine has a bloody (and bloody good) viscosity and mouthfeel. The aromas remind you of sweet forest and hearth smells – pinecones, vanilla, coconut, cinnamon and mulled wine come to mind, along with some ripe red fruits like currants, cherries and dried prunes. A rich mouthfeel envelops the palate with lingering spiciness, oak, Persian pomegranate molasses and fine grained tannins that form a fairly long finish. Solid deal at $30. As for a good food pairing, spicy lamb tagine comes to mind, as well as five spice beef. It would also do well with a Chinese braised pork belly recipe called Muy Choy Faa Laam [Ed.: Sorry, I don't know what this is called in English!] or Shanghainese braised pork hock – both dishes evoke a sweet, nutty piquant spice that would taste great with this wine, the tannins in which would also be a fantastic compliment to these fatty cuts of pork.

Bodegas Real Nazares Macabeo 2008

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What is Macabeo, really? Wikipedia tells me that it is synonymous with Viura, a white varietal commonly found in white Rioja wines. But it also says that it can also be called Ugni Blanc (of Cognac and Armagnac fame), which is also known as Trebbiano. Can these all really be the same grape?

Anyway, whatever the name, sources such as Jancis Robinson say that the grape is a hardy varietal resistant to oxidation, able to produce abundant fruit and can carry lots of acid and drive substantial mineral characteristics in wine.

Given the following example, I’d have to agree with the above flavour description. For less than $12, it’s well worth experimenting with, be it in your glass, pitcher or cooking.

Tasting Notes

Light sandy yellow in colour. The fresh aromas of juicy, tart pear and marzipan are accentuated by a licoricey / anise-like scent of tarragon and a pronounced mineral note. Lots of refreshing acidity, light body and further pear, citrus and mineral flavours form a balanced palate that went great with tonight’s salmon fish tacos with guacamole. I imagine that ahi tuna Niçoise salad, ceviche or sashimi (easy on the soy!) would be terrific pairings as well. A veritable steal at $11 (in a private store to boot!).