Featured
Event - California Wine Fair 2008
 The
California Wine Fair visited Vancouver on April 2. There
was a wide range of wines from cheap and cheerful, up
to collectable wines for special occasions to sample.
There were at least 120 different wineries, each with
several wines to sample. Just not enough time to visit
them all!
A few personal observations. I noticed many good quality
bottles of pinot grigio this year. I attended last year,
but did not notice that I tried as many as I did this
year. The Fetzer Vineyards, Valley Oaks Pinot
Grigio, 2006 had peachy and perfumy aromas. The
Cycles Gladiator, Central Coast Pinot Grigio,
2007 also showed peach aromas as well as pear aromas and
flavour. This wine was listed at $15.99. A great summer
sipper.
On the red wine side, I enjoyed many light bodied, strawberry
and raspberry scented pinot noirs, and
full bodied syrah. The Marimar
Estate, Don Miguel Vineyard, Russian River Valley Pinot
Noir, 2005 (Owned by Torres family of Spain)
was a point in case, with beautiful strawberry and cherry
aromas and flavours. On the syrah side, there was the
Terlato Family Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley Syrah,
2004 with burnt match aroma. Black cherry and dark fruit
flavours, and nice acidity for $44.99. Enjoy with a grilled
steak this summer.
Also, not to be forgotten is petite syrah
(or petite sirah, or other variations on the spelling
that I had seen). If you enjoy big, extracted wines, try
petite syrah. The EOS Estate, Paso Robles, Petit
Syrah Reserve, 2004/05 was very deeply coloured,
and had great dark fruit flavours ($32.99).
Some wineries that had a wide range of great wines to
buy and try:
- EOS Estate
- Duckhorn Wine Company
- Treana Winery
There were many other wineries with wonderful wines. I
hope these few notes will start you on your way to enjoy
some California wines. |
