firstpressings

Summertime means being outdoors, and barbequing is the quintessential summertime outdoor activity.  The wafting scent of beef, chicken or fish grilling is unlike any other cooking aroma and when you have a great bottle of wine open and ready to accompany the meal, it is a sensation that can transcend all others.  However, having the perfect food ready to eat does not mean picking any wine to serve.  Some of the same guidelines that steer us throughout the year still apply to BBQ.

Sparkling wines are seemingly always associated with a celebration of some sort whether it is a wedding or New Year’s Eve.  Actually, they are well suited for summertime enjoyment, seemingly able to quench the thirst and give more pleasure particularly ones produced by the Charmat method.  Their effervescence, crisp acidity and lighter weight make them wonderful dinner companions.  The sparkle gives an added element that counterbalances the spiciness in hot peppers and its crisp acidity cuts cleanly through dishes that are rich or a little oily.

Summer white wines fall into the same criteria as sparkling wines…they should be crisp, clean wines with vibrant, racy acidity that borders on a mouth-watering, thirst-quenching texture.  Leave behind those heavy, oak-dominated Chardonnays and try a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from BC or New Zealand.  A Riesling from BC or a Pinot Grigio from Italy or goes well with almost any grilled meat such as chicken, veal, pork, pheasant, turkey or quail.

Not so long ago, many wine-geeks looked down their noses at rosé or blush wines, describing them as “simple” and “lacking complexity”.  While this may be somewhat true in that they are not full-bodied red or lush white wines, the better rosés do have a complexity not found in other wines.

Rosés should fruity, with snappy acidity and have the freshness of a white wine with some of the tannins and depth of a red.  Crisp, dry rosés are becoming the trend and they are fantastic with typical summer fare, barbecues and picnics.  They are easy and light, perfect for a casual atmosphere, with a mild flavour and good acidity levels, allowing for pairing with a wide variety of foods.  They are best enjoyed chilled and therefore are refreshing on a warm/hot afternoon.  Try with mushroom caps stuffed with cream cheese, diced ham and chives.

Red wines are still the favourite for the backyard B-B-Q but instead of the heavy reds of winter opt for some of the lighter style reds that are available.  Zinfandels are the perfect summer red with most being soft and fruit-driven wines.  For grilled chicken or salmon fillets, go with a Pinot Noir.  Or try a Gamay if you having burgers, pasta or grilled Panini sandwiches.  It even goes with fish.

When choosing the wines, try not to make the mistake of picking wines that are too heavily oaked, or those with a combination of oak, smoke and spice.  These wines have a tendency to overwhelm the taste buds.  What you are aiming for is wines with ripe, juicy fruit flavours.

Wine Tip:

The main problem with summertime barbecues is keeping white wine and other drinks cool.  A couple of large buckets filled with ice, cold water and a ½ cup of salt should do the trick.  What the salt does is causes the ice to melt at a lower temperature so it stays colder longer.  Also, no wine tastes great if you leave it out in the sun so keep all your bottles, even reds, in the ice bucket.

Wine Picks:

The non-vintage Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noir ($33) is a fantastic blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Revealing beautiful scents of sweet rhubarb, raspberry and cherry on nose with fresh, clean strawberry and cherry flavours and a consistent bead, this is an excellent match for fried appetizers such as calamari or light desserts such as crème brulée. Excellent on its own or with fresh fruit, the finish is clean and crisp and begs for another sip.

One of my fav Sauv Blancs is the 2011 Viña Chocalán Sauvignon Blanc ($16). It is loaded with aromas and flavours of very fresh, crisp pineapple, grapefruit, kiwi, passion fruit, peach and lime with racy acidity on the finish.  It’s a perfect match for goat cheese or a shellfish medley of oysters, clams, scallops, mussels, crab and shrimp.

One of the best white bargains around, the 2011 Cantina Tollo Pinot Grigio ($13/L) is the perfect Pinot Grigio for summer. A brilliant, straw yellow colour with a fresh floral bouquet combined with crisp red apple, citrus, mineral, white peach, creamy pear and toasted almonds. This is a light-styled Pinot Grigio, fresh and well balanced with good depth, fine acidity and balance with a long, attractive finish. Serve with shellfish, Paella, pasta or chicken salads.

The 2010 Orofino Riesling ($25) is sourced from the winery’s own 21-year-old vines and two neighbouring 3-4 year old Riesling vineyards.  A great tasting Riesling, look for buckets of fresh green apple, lime, white peach, pear, nectarine with hints of honey, clover, orange and mango.  The palate and texture is lush and juicy with intense orchard and tropical fruit and an almost creamy mouth feel due to some lees contact.  The finish is tart and crisp making this a perfect wine to pair with spicy Asian dishes or Indian curries.

The 2010 Calliope Rose ($17) is a delicious blend of Syrah with just a splash of Viognier.  Boasting fresh aromas of ripe Bing cherry, cranberry, red plum, with hints of orange blossoms, watermelon, and pomegranate, the palate has just a hint of sweetness but balanced by crisp acidity allowing the fresh citrus and red fruits to shine through.

The 2009 Jackson Triggs Rose ($13…reduced by $4) is a beautiful dark salmon colour with aromas of vibrant red cherry, plum, ripe strawberry aromas and hints of sweet red licorice, grapefruit, violets and orange blossoms.  The texture is soft, lush and juicy with the delicate fruit flavour of the better quality roses that can be found on the market.  Excellent as an aperitif or with simple barbeque or picnic fare.

A better than average barbecue red at a fair price, the 2010 Ironstone Old Vine Zinfandel ($22) displays aromas of clove, white pepper, blueberry, and blackberry jam that leads into a mouthful of fruity blackberry, licorice, cedar, and sweet spice.  With the addition of little Petite Syrah, which gives it the characteristic supple tannins and concentrated fruit flavours, the wine displays more heft while maintaining an appealing, easy-drinking quality.

There has been a long standing relationship between wine and oak.  And while it is not entirely clear how barrels actually originated as a vessel for wine, we do know that certain varieties are enhanced by the use of oak.  It provides an added dimension of aroma and flavour to the wine along with secondary nuances that stainless steel cannot.

Many of us know that the majority of wine is aged in oak barrels.  But why?  What are the advantages?  Are there any disadvantages?  Are there different kinds of oak?  Why are they different?  What flavours are added to the wine?

Around the world, winemakers use American, French or Eastern European (Hungarian and Slovenian) oak with each geographic region contributing something a little different.  French oak comes from five forests that were planting around the time of Napoleon for use in building ships.  Now that ships are no longer built from wood, the forests are used for wine barrel production.  Each of these forests, Allier, Limousin, Nevers, Trancais and Vosges produces wood with distinctive characteristics.  One such characteristic is the tightness of the wood grain, which tends to impart characteristics of vanilla, spice and butter flavours much more slowly than wood with a looser grain such as American.

Very early experiments with American oak were not very successful since the amount of influence that the barrel had on the taste of the wine was too great.  The difficulties were caused by the way the wood was prepared and the way the barrel was constructed.  As more traditional French barrel making techniques were used on ‘foreign’ oak, the results improved dramatically.

Two very significant differences between American and French barrel making techniques was the seasoning of the wood and the way the stave’s were prepared.  French barrel stave’s are air-dried for at least 24 months while American oak, which was traditionally used for whiskey barrels, was kiln-dried.  The American oak stave’s were also sawn rather than split along the grain.

French barrels are low in cellulose called tyloses, which gives the water retaining properties to barrels.  It is for this reason that French oak cannot be sawn into stave’s but need to be split along the grain of the wood.

American oak has much more tyloses and can be sawn across the grain while still retaining its watertight properties.  This is one of the main drivers of price.  Splitting is slow and requires expensive expertise, while cutting is cheaper and simpler this makes American oak barrels cheaper to produce.

Oak’s primary influence is to accentuate aromas that center on the spice rack, with clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and “allspice” being common aromas derived from the time in oak.  You are often able to taste and smell these characteristics with vanilla being the easiest to discern.

On the palate, oak’s influence turns towards the rich flavours of caramel, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, smoke, tea, mocha, toffee and butter.  These flavours enter the wine as it ages in the barrels, with the newer barrels passing more flavour than older 2-3 year old barrels.  As significant as barrel flavour is, the exposure of the wine to small amounts of air that seeps through the pores of the wood is also important as the oxygen softens the wine and changes it greatly.  If oxygen can seep in to the barrel, wine can also evaporate out. For this reason, barrels must be kept topped up or risk oxidation and spoilage.

Constructing a barrel is as complex as growing grapes and making the wine.  But before construction can begin, the cut/split oak stave’s must dry out and season. This allows some important chemical modifications to occur.  Tannins are reduced, as are some of the bitter tasting compounds.  At the same time there is an increase in some aromatic compounds. Drying stave’s in ovens is quicker and cheaper however the chemical changes do not occur. The consequence is that the oak has fewer aromatic properties and more bitter components ready to leach into the wine.  Poorly seasoned oak can lead to off odours.

Toasting involves heating the barrels over a fire, so that they can be bent and shaped.  A charring of the wood occurs on the inside and the level of toasting will determine how much of a toasty flavour will be imparted in the wine.  When used appropriately, these can have a significant beneficial effect on the wine’s flavour.

To save time and money, various techniques have been developed to extend the use of a barrel or to gain the benefits of oak aging without actually going to the time or expense of the traditional methods.

One method involves shaving the inside of used barrels and inserting new thin inner stave’s that have been toasted. Another procedure is to use oak shavings in a large ‘tea bag’ that is placed inside stainless steel tanks of wine.

However, none of these cost saving techniques has been able to achieve the results of traditional barrel production and the aging of wine.

Sourced from low cropped vines at the Summa Quies Vineyard on the Naramata Bench, the 2008 Howling Bluff Sin Cera  is a Meritage blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  This outstanding BC red offers a full bodied structure with buckets of juicy ripe black plum, cassis, black cherry, licorice, vanilla, black olive, tobacco and roasted coffee aromas and flavours with a hint of toasty vanilla oak on the intense finish.  A thick, concentrated yet velvety texture with soft acidity and full, firm tannins, it is the perfect partner with a grilled steak or mixed grill.  In fact, it needs food.  Ready to drink now and over the next 5-8 years.

An outstanding bargain in a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2009 Domaine Barville Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a huge wine for the price.  Loaded with fragrant aromas of sweet raspberry, kirsch, strawberries, spice box, leather and smoke, the palate is well structured with its rich flavours of black and red fruits, spice, garrigue, soft acidity and firm tannins.  Fantastic to enjoy now for the sheer power of it but will reward with 8-10 years of further cellaring.

Today is the official start to summer and there is just over a week left until all the kids are out of school and that plaintive cry…”I have nothing to do” begins.  But for us adults, it the official start to summer holidays, where friends and relatives come to visit or we visit them. So, with company calling for reservations at Le Vôtre Maison, now is as good a time as any to take a look at a selection of wines and beers to enjoy over the summer season.

Typically we will be entertaining around the BBQ, enjoying the company of friends and family so pricing is crucial.  This is not the time to bring out the very special wines you have been cellaring.  This is the time of year where value and flavour counts utmost in our buying patterns.

When considering pairing wine and beer with summer grilling, you should think about the style of the beverage, i.e. is it light-bodied or a heavier style.  Both styles will determine the type of food to pair it with.

Beer can be as complex as wine and in some cases, even more so.  Traditional comprised of four ingredients, water, malt, hops and yeast, the malt which is most always barley can be roasted to a certain degree, much like coffee beans, to produce a desired flavour.  The addition of hops is a very key ingredient as there are many types of hops available with varying degrees of alpha acids, which is essential to the taste and finish of the beer.

With summer wines, we seem to fall back to the standard of reds and whites but what about rosés.  If you are in any of the great wine regions of the world on a blistering hot day, what people are drinking are rosés.  These are the perfect patio wines to serve; fresh, fruit-driven wines with crisp, lively acidity.

Sparkling wines seem to be always associated with a celebration of some sort whether it’s a wedding or New Year’s Eve.  In fact, they are well suited to the summertime, seemingly able to quench the thirst and give more pleasure particularly ones produced by the Charmat method.  These sparkling wines with their effervescence, crisp acidity and lighter weight make them wonderful dinner companions.  The sparkle gives an added element that is superb with deep-fried foods like shrimp tempura or baked pastry.  Sparkling wine also counterbalances the spiciness in hot peppers and its crisp acidity cuts cleanly through dishes that are rich or a little oily like salmon or caviar along with many soft cheeses.

Summer white wines fall into the same criteria as sparkling wines…they should be crisp, clean wines with vibrant, racy acidity that borders on a mouth-watering, thirst-quenching texture.  Leave behind those heavy, oak-dominated Chardonnays and try a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from BC or New Zealand.  A Riesling from BC or a Pinot Grigio from Italy or goes well with almost any light meat such as chicken, veal, pork, pheasant, turkey or quail.

Red wines are still the favourite for the backyard B-B-Q but instead of the heavy reds of winter opt for some of the lighter, fruit-driven styles that are available.  Zinfandels are the perfect summer red with most being soft and fruit-driven wines.  For grilled chicken or salmon fillets, go with a Pinot Noir.  Or try a Gamay if you having burgers, pasta or grilled Panini sandwiches.  It even goes with fish.  If an inch thick rib-eye is on the menu, check out a Carménère from Chile or a Malbec from Argentina.

Wine Picks:

A multi varietal blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc,  Viognier, Semillon, and Muscat, the 2010 Tinhorn Creek 2 Bench White ($25.90) is full of stunning aromas and flavours of Fuji apple, grapefruit, papaya, peach, nectarine with a hint of sweet orange and honey.  Fresh acidity, great aromas and flavours of white peach, citrus and honey with rich concentration on the finish and a just a hint of sweetness.  This has summer written all over it.

The 2011 Wild Goose Autumn Gold ($21.30) is a Riesling-based blend offering a delicious combination of tropical and orchard fruit.  The palate is all flavour and texture with lush mango, pineapple, kiwi, grapefruit, peach and crisp apple with a finish of lemon-lime zest.

Finding a decent Pinot Noir is sometimes a frustrating venture, such are the problems in producing wine from the grape but to find one that really stands out is a Pinophiles dream come true.  The 2006 Brancott “Central Otago” Pinot Noir ($24.90…reduced from $33.90) is an excellent example of what this variety is capable of when grown properly and handled with kid gloves during production.  The aromas coming out of the glass are pure decadent pleasure with its rich cherry, raspberry, smoke leather, forest floor characteristics and subtle spicy oak.  The texture is pure Burgundian, soft, velvety and rich with a stunningly long, long finish.  Superb with rich meat/game dishes with mushroom-based sauces.

The Boundary Bay IPA ($6.50/650ml) from Bellingham is a pleasantly hopped IPA boasting a coppery brown colour with a tinge of orange, distinctively citrus aroma of pungent grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple and orange rind. The flavour is slightly sweet because of the maltiness but it is the palate that grabs you.  Bracing citrus and tropical flavours of grapefruit, mango, tangerine, pineapple, honeydew coupled with sweet caramel malt assault the senses with refreshing hoppy, citrus acidity on the finish.  Wickedly good beer.

One of my favourite Brown Ales, the Howe Sound Brewery Nut Brown Ale ($8.90/1L) is a rich, brilliant mahogany colour with beige two finger head, retreating to heavy lacing of foam that lasts for the whole glass.  Intoxicating aroma of roasted nuts, dried dark fruits (raisins, dates and figs), roasted malts, butterscotch, caramel, chocolate and toffee.  Lots of flavour here; nutty, dark and milk chocolate, coffee, vanilla, liquorice, very subtle dark