Whenever I meet someone that is new to the wine industry, at some point we ask each other if we have a wine cellar and what there is in it. Sometimes the answers are modest while others claim to hold 1000 or more bottles. Some of the finer restaurants in Vancouver have extensive cellars such as the excellent Cin Cin or the Vancouver Club, which boasts a $2 million inventory. However, there is one restaurant which the offers its guests the largest wine list of any restaurant in the world and that is Bern’s Steak House in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Offering its customers a selection of about 500,000 bottles to choose from, a vinous nightmare for the indecisive, it was founded by Bern Laxer in 1956 and not only has the biggest wine cellar but they also have the biggest charcoal grill, 20 feet long which holds up to 200 steaks at once. As well, the steak menu is four pages long, devoted to the sourcing and preparation. Truly a wine lover and carnivores delight. 

Are we a nation of wino’s or suds drinkers? 

Canada has long been known (and a little proud of) as a nation of beer consumers. However, a recent study has shown that wine consumption in Canada is growing at six times the world average. Conducted by British research firm ISWR for Vinexpo, the biennial international wine and spirits trade show, researchers examined worldwide wine consumption trends from 2005 through to 2014 and found that between 2005 and 2009, Canadians increased their wine consumption to a total of 40.4 million cases, an increase of more than 22.5 per cent. If this trend continues, ISWR predicts that from 2010 to 2014, Canada’s consumption will increase to 49.7 million cases, an increase of 19 per cent. By contrast, the world average consumption from 2010 to 2014 is predicted to rise to 2.73 billion cases, an increase of only 3.18 per cent. 

Wine names: 

Over the past 10-15 years, wineries have been engaging in brand marketing by attaching quirky and sometimes screwball names to their wines. The following are some bizarre names found on wine labels: 

• Elephant on a Tight Rope
• Mad Housewife 
• Cleavage Creek (a winery in Napa Valley which actually donates 10% of its gross sales to fund breast cancer research and support) 
• Frog’s Piss 
• Le Vin de Merde (look it up, I can’t translate it for you here) 
• Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush (who would want to try a wine that smells like kiwi and ammonia) 

Expensive wines: 

The last time you went out for dinner and shared a bottle of wine with your date, what was the price of the wine? Typically they are marked up 100%, which is just part of the cost of operating a restaurant. Most of us will pay $50-$60 for a bottle of wine in a restaurant. But what about that rarefied category, estimated at around 2-3% of the population, who will part with the price of a small mortgage for a bottle of wine. 

Here is a list of some very pricey bottles of wine. 

Heidsieck Champagne Vintage 1906 $275,000 per bottle. In 1916, about 3000 bottles of this wine were sent to the officers of the imperial army of Tsar Nicholas II, when the ship carrying the precious cargo was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Finland. Discovered in 1997, it is only sold at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow. 

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1869 $233,692.  Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild 1869 is currently the world’s most expensive red wine.  Sold by Sotheby’s wine auctions in Hong Kong,  Lafite is one of the top five of the first official quality-based classification of Medoc wines in 1855.  The chateau was bought by Baron James de Rothschild in 1868, and have been labeled Lafite-Rothschild since.

1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild Jeroboam (3L), $114,614. The wine crowd claim this vintage to be one of the finest of the 20thC. The 1945 Jeroboam bears a rare label by Baron Phillipe de Rothschild of a V mark for victory to indicate the end of World War II. In 2006, an unknown buyer bought a magnum case of 6 bottles for $310,000 at an auction by Christie’s. 

Previously, the 1784 Chateau d’Yquem at $56,588 was the most expensive dessert wine.  That has been trumped by the 1811 Yquem which just recently sold at auction for $117,000.  The 1811 vintage is renowned as the most famous of the ‘Comet vintages’ – years in which an astronomical event has happened before harvest, in this case the Great Comet of 1811.   The same 1811 vintage has received accolades in modern times:  The U.S. wine critic Robert Parker tasted the wine in 1996 and gave it a 100-point rating, saying it tasted like “liquefied crème brûlée.”  A Premium Cru wine from Sauternes in southern Bordeaux, it has been given many excellent reviews and in the wine classifications of 1855, Chateau d’Yquem was the only Sauternes to receive the prestigious ratings given other top wines, explaining its superiority and high price.

In Vino Veritas 

Weekend Wine Picks: 

The past three years has been tough on the imported wine sector with a lot of importers having to slash prices to move their stock.  We are the beneficiaries of these reductions. Here are a few wines for us to enjoy. 

The 2004 Bodegas Barahonda Heredad Candela Petit Verdot ($29.90…reduced by $20) from Spain is a deep, dark black cherry/purple coloured wine with huge rich, ripe blackberry and blueberry aromas followed by ripe black olive, sweet tobacco leaf, creamy milk chocolate/vanilla, licorice and a touch of Asian and black pepper spice. Full bodied with lots of ripe fruit on the palate, the texture is silky smooth, long and flavourful on the finish. Tastes like a $50 bottle of wine for $30. Great concentration and complexity at this price! 

The Viña Tres Palacios Family Vintage Carménère 2007 ($19.90…reduced from $27.90) is actually the Palacios family’s name for their Gran Reserva wine, the top tier that they produce.  A deep, intensely purple/violet colour, this delicious Chilean bargain displays the aromas and flavours of rich blackberry, black cherry, cocoa, vanilla, clove and cinnamon mixed with cedar, tobacco, black tea and tobacco.  The palate is loaded with fresh, jammy black fruit, spice and chocolate with a hint of menthol, cigar box and great complexity.  Soft, lush acidity and firm tannins round out this spectacular wine.  Fantastic with grilled steak, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms”.