Summer wines with the Cotters
It has been a great summer for quaffing the wines of BC, capped off by a visit 2 weeks ago by our fellow Canwiners Bob & Judy Cotter.
I count only 6 bottles of wine having been consumed by the four of us during those two days. I must not have counted the non-Can-con. ;-)
We started out with a tolerable 2006 Laughing Stock Pinot Gris. It was one of those whites that make me want to say, "white wine is okay, but so's water." (But see below.)
We had eaten at the Naramata (Okanagan) Heritage Inn earlier in July and were very impressed by a 2003 Laughing Stock "Portfolio" - clearly these people are stockbrokers - which is a meritage-style blend. The jolly people at LS like to decorate their bottles with stock-ticker quotes. Seeing that Pfizer once sold for $US33/share brought a tear to my eye, but the excellent food and wine revived my spirits.
I'm digressing: the other dinner we had in Naramata - at Hillside Winery, the only other place to eat dinner in Naramata - was less than fabulous. And the white wines we paired with our food selections (a Muscat Ottonel and a Reserve Pinot Gris) were weak and wishy, reminding me of why we don't normally stop at Hillside Estates. That said, the glasses of red (Merlot & Shiraz, IIRC) were okay, and it was not that long ago that we raved over Hillsides 2003 Merlot and Mosaic (another red blend) bottlings.
Back to the Cotters' visit. Pentâge, a little-known and largely inaccessible establishment south of Penticton on the Eastside Road, makes some great stuff. At the same dinner, we opened their 2005 Chard. Wonderful woodiness, improving as it warmed from fridge temp.
We still have the Cabernet 2002 from the now-defunct Calliope Vineyards. A beautiful, meaty red. 5 out of 5. The other "5" from this visit was a La Frenz Chard, 2006. Movely wine, nice mellow wood.
Sadly, I made notes only on the bottles that came from our own cellars, and not the foursome that our friends brought. I recall one of those was a surprisingly (only because I don't know the label) good See Ya Later Merlot.
The following night, we pulled out a pair of 2002's: Kettle Valley Shiraz and Burrowing Owl Syrah - to do battle with the Aussie Shiraz brought by a thrid couple. None of them disappointed. I would have said that the BC pair were more jammy than the Oz.
Not a bad bottle bit the dust those two days. Ah, summer!
How'm I doing, Linda?
I count only 6 bottles of wine having been consumed by the four of us during those two days. I must not have counted the non-Can-con. ;-)
We started out with a tolerable 2006 Laughing Stock Pinot Gris. It was one of those whites that make me want to say, "white wine is okay, but so's water." (But see below.)
We had eaten at the Naramata (Okanagan) Heritage Inn earlier in July and were very impressed by a 2003 Laughing Stock "Portfolio" - clearly these people are stockbrokers - which is a meritage-style blend. The jolly people at LS like to decorate their bottles with stock-ticker quotes. Seeing that Pfizer once sold for $US33/share brought a tear to my eye, but the excellent food and wine revived my spirits.
I'm digressing: the other dinner we had in Naramata - at Hillside Winery, the only other place to eat dinner in Naramata - was less than fabulous. And the white wines we paired with our food selections (a Muscat Ottonel and a Reserve Pinot Gris) were weak and wishy, reminding me of why we don't normally stop at Hillside Estates. That said, the glasses of red (Merlot & Shiraz, IIRC) were okay, and it was not that long ago that we raved over Hillsides 2003 Merlot and Mosaic (another red blend) bottlings.
Back to the Cotters' visit. Pentâge, a little-known and largely inaccessible establishment south of Penticton on the Eastside Road, makes some great stuff. At the same dinner, we opened their 2005 Chard. Wonderful woodiness, improving as it warmed from fridge temp.
We still have the Cabernet 2002 from the now-defunct Calliope Vineyards. A beautiful, meaty red. 5 out of 5. The other "5" from this visit was a La Frenz Chard, 2006. Movely wine, nice mellow wood.
Sadly, I made notes only on the bottles that came from our own cellars, and not the foursome that our friends brought. I recall one of those was a surprisingly (only because I don't know the label) good See Ya Later Merlot.
The following night, we pulled out a pair of 2002's: Kettle Valley Shiraz and Burrowing Owl Syrah - to do battle with the Aussie Shiraz brought by a thrid couple. None of them disappointed. I would have said that the BC pair were more jammy than the Oz.
Not a bad bottle bit the dust those two days. Ah, summer!
How'm I doing, Linda?
posted by Lorne | 10:50 a.m.
1 Comments:
Of course I meant to type that the wine was "lovely". Not "movely".
And that "See Ya Later Ranch" is Hawthorn Mountain's new label for their higher-end wines.
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