The leaves are starting to change colour. Greens are turning to oranges, reds, and yellows, and we all know that this means the cooler breezes and chilly nights are on the way. And if we are going to be honest with each other, snow has already fallen on the mountain passes between the bustling city …
It took a lot of courage not to dive into tasting the Grand Cru Alsatian wines that sat before me during the most recent Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi, California. Representing Wines of Alsace, wine educator May Matta-Aliah, DWS, stood before a packed room ready to share not only her love of these wines, but all …
The Vancouver International Wine Festival presents: BACCHANALIA GALA DINNER + AUCTION In summary, the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction initiates the 38th VanWineFest on the 20th of February at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. This prestigious event will include one of the most thrilling collections of vintage wines ever to be auctioned in the province of …
I headed to the Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux Tasting in Vancouver on Thursday, January 28, 2016 with a friend of mine who was in the same WSET certification courses I attended. At this tasting, there were 45 producers from the Bordeaux region of France pouring one or two of their wines, one of which was the 2013 vintage.
The Château Suduiraut Sauternes was most memorable. I’m still side-smacked with its wonder. It was an absolute treat.
My notes – in point form – from this tasting include:
For demystification purposes, Sauternes is a sweet wine, often served as dessert or as a libation complementing particular rich foods like foie gras. This sweet wine comes from the area of Graves in France. Typically, Sauternes is made from three different grapes in varying blended percentages. The three varieties are: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle. These grapes go through a ‘rotting’ process whereby the grapes lose water concentration by way of Botrytis cinerea, which is also known as noble rot. The noble rot concentrates the sugars in the grapes, which then concentrates the flavours for the finalized product. I know that doesn’t sound very noble, but once you smell the smells of Sauternes or taste the tastes of Sauternes, it won’t matter! Half bottles of Sauternes can cost hundreds of dollars. Now that is some serious wine.
Cheers!
VinExpo 2015 has come and gone, and I really have no other way of explaining what the experience was like other than by using the word “gongshow” with a positive connotation. One can spend the entire five days (9am-5pm) of the expo trying wine, doing business, attending seminars, etc., and no one would never fit …
The Demystified Vine 