Time for another Wine Blogging Wednesday. This one (the 45th edition) features Old World Riesling.

Nice! I now have a good excuse to spend some money on my favourite white wine grape. And I ‘have’ to stay within Northern Europe, a part of the wine world I’ve come to love. This will be fun!

After much deliberation (OK, not really), I chose the 2006 vintage of the H. Lun Riesling, from the Südtirol region of Italy’s Alto Adige. It’s available at DeLuca’s for around $24. The winery is the oldest in the Südtirol, and is now owned by a cooperative (although it’s operated as an independant winery). For more information, the H. Lun website is here (fair warning though, it’s an annoying Flash site).

Not untypically for the region, H. Lun works with many “international” varieties, and has a strong German influence, growing popular grapes like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, along with unusual local varietals like Schiava Grigia and Lagrein.

Enough winery talk. What about the wine?

Well, in the glass, it was pale gold with a hint of green, just like most Rieslings I’ve tried. The nose was underwhelming and not nearly as aromatic as I’d expect from a Riesling, but it did have hints of fruit (of indeterminate variety) and some musk.

But there was no petrol, no green apples and no minerals. In other words, nothing I’d associate with Riesling. I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into!

But once the glass hit my lips, I was much happier. Crisp Riesling goodness poured across my tastebuds, which always makes life better. Oddly enough, the first thing I noticed was an interesting musky flavour, almost earthy in a way. It sounds weird but it worked really well. 

This was balanced against some typical minerally Riesling flavours, with a hint of peaches right at the beginning. It was dry with just a faint touch of sweetness, but this was well-balanced with lots of acidity and a nice long finish. It paired really nicely with Szechuan take-out from the new place just down the street.

I wouldn’t call this a typical Riesling, but it was very good - and well worth trying again. I haven’t tried any Italian Rieslings before, but if the H. Lun is any indication, there are some good wines out there.

Another year, another Winnipeg Wine Festival. The annual event is organized to raise money for the Special Olympics, and also to give people a chance to taste many many different wines. For $40, it’s essentially all you can drink (in 1 oz. pours) for three hours, and it’s a great chance to try wines that you may never see again, many of which aren’t widely available (if at all) in Winnipeg. All for a good cause too.

There are a number of events over the week, but the highlight is the public tasting held in the Winnipeg Convention Centre. And once again, I was fortunate enough to see the Festival from the other side of the table. Here are my observations from Friday evening’s public tasting.

I didn’t leave the booth, so I don’t have a sense of how the rest of the event was. But from our perspective (right at the entrance to the private wine store area), the crowds seemed a bit thinner than last year. And we didn’t get the rush of thirsty patrons trying to maximize their $40 investment until the last fifteen minutes. But I heard that Saturday was sold out well in advance, and that’s traditionally the “big” night (which is why I prefer to work Friday’s tasting).

Based on the number of [yellowtail] bags I saw being carried around, I’m guessing their booth was pretty popular. No surprise there. The entry-level wines are crowd-pleasers and their new Reserve line (@ selected MLCC Fine Wine Boutiques) is very good.

Our signature wine this year was the Rochioli Pinot Noir. It was a huge hit, even with people who claimed they didn’t like Pinot Noir. Funny how quickly they changed their minds, but consider how good the wine is, it’s no surprise. We only opened one bottle of it, and it went very quickly. Someone actually said that it made him teary, because he couldn’t afford to drink it every night. Join the club. I feel the same way.

The Tait ‘BallBuster’ Shiraz proved once again to be a winner (and inspired some interesting and occasionally racy comments from the crowd), as did the Lost Valley ‘Hazy Mountain’ Merlot, proving that big Australian reds always work well.

Biggest surprise? There were two of the. The first surprises was the Chehalam Dry Riesling, which blew me away and proved to be very popular with everyone who tried it. It’s very much in the Alsatian style, but the crisp, green-apple flavours were a hit. This one is worth trying again (and again).

The second big surprise was the Cape Jaffa ‘Jaffa Juice’ Botrytis Semillon. Dessert wines are always tricky at a large event like this, but many people came to the booth specifically to try this one. Even those who swore they didn’t like sweet wine didn’t seem to mind this one.

Those who were curious enough to try the Laurentz V. “Friendly” Grüner Veltliner were also very happy with it. And the Argyle Brut was also a hit, as was the Lost Valley Sauvignon Blanc and the Mark West Chardonnay.

Sadly, as much as I tried to push it, the Tour de L’Isle Cotes du Luberon (affectionately known as ‘Juicy Lube’) wasn’t a big hit. Those who tried it really enjoyed it. But getting people to even try it was a challenge. I lost track of the number of people who turned up their nose when I said “French wine”. That’s a real shame, because they missed out on a delicious, juicy Rhone Valley blend.

I had the same problem with the Straccali Chianti, although I have to say that some people actually came to our booth looking for it. And when we ran out, I was able to convince some Chianti fans to try the Tour de L’Isle instead, winning new converts to the Cotes du Luberon.

Surprisingly, the Bodegas Bleda ‘Castillo de Jumilla Crianza’ was much more popular that either of the other two European reds we sampled. I shouldn’t be surprised. For $13.99, it packs a lot of oak-driven goodness into the bottle and everyone loved it.

My own personal fave was the Argyle Nuthouse Chardonnay (2005 vintage). It really is as good as I had heard and showed off a perfect balance between California ripeness and French austerity. Dee-licious. I’m going to have to pick up some for myself. We paired it up with the Mer et Soleil ‘Silver’ in our Chardonnay Showdown.

And my biggest letdown was the Rockford ‘Moppa Springs’ GSM. I expected big things from this wine, but didn’t get them. In all fairness, it’s a bit older (2001 vintage) and with some air, it did improve. Next time, I’d consider decanting this one and letting it mellow for a bit before serving it. Unfortunately, the Wine Festival isn’t really set up for long aeration, but if you try this one at home - take my advice!

My biggest test came when near the end of the night, when I found myself pouring two glasses at the same time while talking to a third person about their wine. Nobody ended up wearing any wine, but let’s just say that those two people got a lot more than one ounce in each glass.

There you have it. Once again, it was a fun night. Everyone who stopped by the booth enjoyed themselves (with the exception of one very cranky Merlot fan) and we poured lots of good wine for many very happy people.

In the lead-up to the Winnipeg Wine Festival, I thought I’d share some recent favourites. I hope to actually start posting again in the next few weeks, but this will have to do for now.  First up is a gem of an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon from the Michel Torino winery.

The Don David Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve will set you back a whopping $12.08. For that, you get one of the best Cabernet deals I’ve ever come across. The wine (from Argentina’s Cafayate Valley) shows a deep ruby colour in the glass, with lots of berries and chocolate on the nose. These continue in your mouth, where they are joined by toasty oak flavours, some good tannins and a tiny bit of mint on the long finish. It’s got a hint of the rustic flavour I usually associate with Argentinian wines, which keeps it far ahead of the other wines in the $12ish Cabernet range.

It’s worth the price and is widely available through the MLCC, where you’ll also find the Don David Malbec and the new Don David Tannat (neither of which I have tried yet). I’d pair it up with a big steak fresh off the BBQ. And once you’re finished, be sure to head to a private wine store for the even tastier Don David Syrah!

In the last few years, newspapers have caught on to the concept of blogging. It doesn’t always work, but one of the fringe benefits of newspaper-based blogs has been an increase in wine writing. So to recognize their excellent contributions, here are a few of my favourites.

First up is the very local (and very good) Uncorked, written by Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson. I’m not generally a fan of the Winnipeg Free Press, but I look forward to Saturday’s edition for his column. And now that he’s got his own blog (the Grape Nut), I can enjoy his writing more often.

Uncorked (Winnipeg Free Press)

The Grape Nut (Ben’s wine blog)

Next up is the New York Times “The Pour”, Eric Asimov’s wine blog. As the chief wine columnist for the New York Times, it’s hard to top this one. Always worth a read.

The Pour (New York Times)

I’ll close off the hat-trick with a second Canadian columnist; the Globe and Mail’s Beppi Crosarial. His column (which appears on Wednesday or Saturday - or both in a good week) is another highlight for me.

He doesn’t have his own wine blog yet, but I’m hoping it’s just a matter of time.

Globe and Mail: Food & Wine

Scanning the shelves at the MLCC recently, I noticed some interesting new Spanish wines including some blends I haven’t seen before. I’ve always loved Tempranillo and have recently re-discovered my appreciation of good European Merlot. And this is probably the only post I’ll ever do which covers both Merlot and Tempranillo in the same wine!

René Barbier Tempranillo-Merlot (2006)

From the Penedès region of Spain comes this new blend from René Barbier. The lighter of the two wines, it showed off some good flavours on the nose and in the mouth. Nothing spectacular, just some nice red fruit flavours with a hint of vanilla. None of the earthiness that you often find in a good Tempranillo.

Oddly enough, this wine doesn’t yet appear on the Rene Barbier website. Nor does the bottle list the proportion of Tempranillo vs. Merlot. But this wine is newly available at your local MLCC for $10.04. It’s far better than most other wines in that price range, so I’d say it’s worth picking up a bottle.

The 2004 vintage of this was entered into the International Wine Value Awards, held by Canada’s Wine Access magazine. It scored a respectable 87 points in the “Best Red All Other” category.

Osborne “Solaz” Merlot-Tempranillo (2005)

This is a much more interesting wine than the Barbier is. Coming from Castilla (near Toledo), the wine sees four months in American oak, giving it just enough of that lovely vanilla character to keep it interesting. It’s more Merlot (65%) than Tempranillo (35%), which surprised me.

Not surprisingly, it featured lots of dark cherries and a few plums (not too jammy though) on both the mouth and nose. This was balanced well with the hint of vanilla oak. But I also found some unexpected earth and spice flavours in the finish. As for the finish, it was shorter than I would have liked, but I’d still say this is a good match for food.

Again, there doesn’t seem to be anything about this wine on the Osborne website, although this blend was announced back in 2006. For $12.46 at your local MLCC, this is a good deal. Osborne also produces a Cabernet-Tempranillo blend (which I’ve never liked) and a Shiraz-Tempranillo blend (which I haven’t tried).

Of the two wines, I’d say the Solaz is a much better wine. It’s got loads more character and I think it could even stand a little time in the cellar. The Barbier isn’t as inspired, but it is perfectly fine if you’re just looking for a cheap red to pair with pizza.

But if you really want to see how good a Merlot blend can be, for $12.99 (at the private wine stores), the Da Luca Primitivo Merlot is a far better choice than either of these wines.

Here’s something fun. Today’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday challenges wine bloggers across the world to write about an Italian red using just seven words.

That’s right. Seven words. And we’re supposed to cover off aroma, taste, length, food pairing, etc. At least to the length that we possibly can.

Now I do love Italian reds, and I’m always up for a good challenge, but my regular readers know that I can be a bit wordy at times. So this is a real challenge for me.

For this WBW, I chose one of my favourites, Cantina Valpantena’s ‘Falasco’ Corvina (2005 vintage). It’s a steal of a single-varietal wine from the Veneto region and is available at various private wine stores in Winnipeg ($10-11ish when it’s in stock). And here’s my seven-word description;

Tart cherry goodness - fire up the grill!

That was kind of fun.

Corvina is one of the main components of Valpolicella, and can be very tasty on its own. I’d serve this with grilled tuna steaks (preferably marinated in a little balsamic and olive oil beforehand). Grilled beef would also be very good (although not a big fatty steak - try a leaner cut, again marinated in balsamic and olive oil).

Sadly, the hard part for local readers will be actually finding it. If you can’t find this particular wine, DeLuca’s stocks the full Ripasso version for $16.

I’m still on the lookout for budget wines to beat the winter chill, and with that in mind, I picked a bottle of the Yali Reserva Shiraz (2006 vintage) the other night. As you’ll see, I’m now a big fan of this wine.

For the last few years, I’ve been impressed by the Chilean Shirazes (and Syrahs for that matter) that I’ve tried. They are generally well-priced and full of flavour. The only complaint I’ve had is that some of them don’t last too long. This wine is an exception and for $10.51 (@ your local MLCC), this is an amazing deal.

In the glass (and on my counter - whoops!) it showed off deep rich colours and the nose was packed full of spices and vanilla (the American oak was showing). In the mouth, I found lots of rich fruit flavours (wild blueberries and some almost over-ripe but very tasty plums), some earth, spices and well-balanced oak and tannins. The finish was a bit short, but it tasted so good that I didn’t care.

By the next day, the wine had softened a bit, but the fruit flavours really showed well, and some soft vanilla flavours came through. It was almost a different - but equally good - wine.

The Yali Shiraz (which shows up as Syrah on the company website) is from Vina Ventisquero. They aren’t too well-known in this part of the world, but I’ve now tried the Yali Reserva Shiraz, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc (available at the MLCC) and the slightly higher-end Ventisquero Reserve Pinot Noir, Carménère and Sauvignon Blanc (available at private wine stores). With the exception of the Carménère (I’m not a fan), they were all excellent and really well-priced.

The MLCC has a habit of removing wines from the shelves if they aren’t selling enough and I hear they’re getting ready to update their selection. The Yali Merlot has already disappeared from my local store, which doesn’t seem to go through the Yali wines very quickly. So I’m going to do my part to bring those sales numbers up and I would encourage all of my local readers to do the same!

January is a tough month. It’s cold (-45 C with the windchill yesterday morning), dark and everyone I know is broke after the holidays (including me). So it’s the best time of year to source out some well-priced comfort wines. So in the interests of pleasing both my palate and my wallet, I braved the cold to find some good, well-priced Merlot.

Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot ($12.99 @ MLCC)

I started my Merlot adventure with the Bin 40 Merlot. Lindemans “Bin” line usually delivers decent wines and good prices. I’m not crazy about all of them, but the Merlot is one of the best in the range (along with the Bin 35 Rose, which is a steal).

In the glass, it showed off rich and deep colours, with some jammy fruit on the nose. The flavours were excellent, with lots of spice and fruit (raspberries and plums) and it had a great finish. Not a lot of tannins, but the nice finish would make this a good food pairing.  And aside from being a little jammy, this was easily the best of the lot. It has the longest shelf life too, and was still very drinkable by Day 3.

I’ll stick to this one the next time I need a comfort wine on a cold winter’s day. For $12.99, it’s a great deal.

Penfolds “Rawson’s Retreat” Merlot ($13.99 @ MLCC)

My experience with Penfolds has been that they deliver good wines at a decent price. Their wines (and their prices) are usually a step up from Lindemans, although not in this case. And the Rawson’s Retreat line is their entry point into this market, making this a good wine to compare with the Bin 40.

The Rawson’s Retreat Merlot was rich and very tasty. The darkest wine of the three, it had a very alcoholic nose (which did fade with a bit of time). In the mouth, I picked up some earth, lots of plums (classic Merlot) and more tannins than I expected. A nice long finish made it a good combination with the home-made pizza I had.

My only complaints were the alcoholic nose and the fact that it had no staying power. By Day 2, it was markedly different and not nearly as good. And not to sound cheap, but I’m not sure it’s really worth a dollar more than the Bin 40.

Still though, it was very tasty and I’d happily drink it again; as long as I can find it on sale.

Wild Horse Canyon Merlot ($12.94 @ MLCC)

This wine had the most interesting concept (being a blend of BC, Washington and California wines). But in the end it was the biggest disappointment. It showed a nice deep colour in the glass with some cherries and earth on the nose. So far so good. But it was extremely light in the mouth (much lighter than I wanted). I picked up some nice cherry fruit in the mouth, but not enough to keep my attention. The finish was long enough to make me think it would pair well with some lighter dishes.

I have no proof of this, but the light taste makes me think it is mostly sourced from the Central Valley in California. For this price, I’d sooner pick up the J. Lohr Cypress Merlot, which has a lot more flavour. It’s too bad, because I’ve heard good things about the other wines in the Wild Horse Canyon line (especially their Chardonnay) and was really looking forward to this one.

Maybe I’ll give it a second chance when the weather is warmer. It seems like the kind of wine better suited to a warm day.

I’ve never been very good at keeping New Year’s resolutions. But when it comes to wine, I think the resolutions are a lot easier to make and keep. So in honour of the New Year, I’ve made four simple resolutions for 2008.

1) Give Portugal the credit it deserves

I have been really impressed with the Portuguese wines I tried in the last year. From the basic $10ish wines, up to some higher-end Douro Valley reds, I have loved them all. It’s time to feed that love.

2) Enjoy more Italian wines

Keeping the Mediterranean theme going, I plan on enjoying more of Italy’s finest in 2008. For years I was a bit of a snob about Italian wine, probably because I didn’t have the confidence to navigate the different regions and grape varieties. Not any more and I’m making up for lost time!

3) Drink more dry rosé

It’s easy to make this promise in January, when it’s -30something with the wind chill. Rosés are the ultimate hot-weather wines for me, so I think my resolution might be more about wanting warm weather than anything else. But I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with this one. When the first warm day arrives here (mid-April), I’ll be on my sunporch with a bottle of dry rosé.

4) Keep enjoying wine

I worry sometimes that I’m taking wine too seriously and am forgetting what’s really important. In the end, wine is all about personal taste and enjoyment. I’m sharing my opininons of wines I happen to enjoy. I don’t want to over-analyze them, or get caught up in numerical scores. To me, it’s all about having fun and I don’t ever want to lose sight of that.

On this note, I rang in the New Year with a bottle of the Peller Estates Signature Series Ice Cuvee ‘Classic’. It was good, although the Icewine flavours were much stronger than I expected. In the glass, it showed a nice bead, with a strong hint of honey on the nose (that pesky icewine again). The mouth was softer than I expected, with icewine flavours dominating and a nice long acidic finish redeemed it.

I got this as a Christmas present, so I don’t want to know how much it cost, but it’s available here at the MLCC.

The wine didn’t go so well with the appetizers at dinner (shaved fennel salad with smoked salmon and Oka cheese), but the remnants of the bottle were a perfect match for the chickpea and kale curry I hauled out of the freezer on New Year’s Day!

It’s been awhile, but I’m going to slide in a few brief recommendations for the holidays. Time permitting, I’ll post a few more this weekend. And if not, enjoy your holidays and I hope to be back a little more frequently in the New Year.

Most of these wines will show up at my house during the holiday season. Some are wines that I’ve enjoyed before, but haven’t had a chance to review yet. And for my own Christmas table, I’ve got a bottle of the Mission Hill SLC Chardonnay (2004 vintage) and a great California Pinot Noir (Inman Family’s Olivet Grange Vineyard 2004) as well. I will be sure to post my thoughts after I enjoy these.

 On to the wines:

Conde de Caralt Cava ($13.97 @ Kenaston Wine Market)

In my ever-so-humble opinion, Spanish Cava gives you the most sparkle for your buck when it comes to the under $20 range. And this is the best new Cava I’ve come across all year. Highly recommended (with or without orange juice).

DaLuca Primitivo-Merlot ($13ish at private wine stores)

If I was planning to have pizza for Christmas dinner, this is the wine I’d serve. It’s the ultimate pizza wine. Loads of fruit flavours with just enough acidity to go well with food. The price is right too.

Botalcura ‘Il Delerio’ Chardonnay-Viognier ($12.95 @ MLCC)

Holiday meals demand big rich whites and this one works perfectly. 81% Chardonnay, 19% Viognier and packing a 14.0% ABV punch, this has the guts to stand up to the creamiest mashed potatoes. Lots of gorgeous Viognier flavours (peaches mostly) with a base of creamy Chilean Chardonnay. Dee-licious! The Syrah-Malbec blend is also very good.

Flor de Crasto 2004 ($12.99 @ DeLuca’s)

I’ve always thought Spanish wines went well with the typical holiday fare. And for a slight change of pace, I’m happy to recommend this Portuguese red blend. It shows off similar flavours to Spanish wines (not surprisingly, since they share some common grape varieties). But there’s a richness here that is hard to find in Spanish wines at this price point. It’s earthy and rich, with lots of red-berry flavours in the finish.

Adobe ‘Clayhouse’ Red ($23.95 @ Kenaston Wine Market)

Zinfandel is another classic holiday wine, and this blend (Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon) is richer than most. Lots of jammy Zinfandel fruit show up, balanced with some tannins from the rest of the blend. Very tasty.

Nobilio ‘Southern Rivers’ Sauvignon Blanc ($13.99 @ Kenaston Wine Market)

Even though richer whites might work better when the temperature drops, there’s always room for a crisp Sauvignon Blanc in my fridge. Not only is this one well-priced, but it’s also delicious. It’s a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, with lots of crisp herbal and fruit flavours with a long finish.

Penfolds ‘Club’ Tawny Port ($13ish @ MLCC)

Don’t laugh, this is a great Australian port for the price. It’s full of raisins, candied fruit and brown sugar. Sure, it’s not “real” port. But it’s pretty good - especially for the price. I’d say it’s my favourite tawny ‘port’ for under $20.