Wine Experts: Future of B.C. Wine Lies with Syrah

At the Judgement in Osoyoos tasting event this afternoon at the Osoyoos Celebrity Wine Festival, the judges declared that B.C. wine has a strong future with syrah.

The tasting event pitted four B.C. syrahs — Nk'Mip Cellars 2005, Jackson Triggs 2006 Grand Reserve, Desert Hills 2007 Select and Le Vieux Pin 2008 Equinoxe — against two Australian syrahs, one French and one Californian syrah.

The Australian syrahs were the Torbeck 2006 The Descendant Syrah and the Penfolds 2007 St. Henri Syrah. The Pax 2005 Cuvee Christine Syrah was from California and the YvesGangloff 2007 La Barbarine Syrah was from France.

The top four wines, as chosen by the judges and consumer participants, were: 

1. Torbeck 2006 The Descendant Shiraz (Barossa Valley, Australia)
2. Pax 2005 Cuvee Christine Syrah (Sonoma County, California, United States)
3. Penfolds 2007 St Henri Shiraz (South Australia)
4. Le Vieux Pin 2008 Equinoxe Syrah (Golden Mile, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada)

The tasting was hosted by Jay Drysdale, a sommelier, chef and wine educator. Drysdale said the point of the tasting was "to put B.C. in a different perspective...[to find out] where it sits on the global market."

Drysdale noted that the rising cost of B.C. wine means that producers should "shoot for the moon." There simply isn't the land in B.C. to mass produce $15 wines, so wineries should take advantage of the unique B.C. climate to produce the best possible wine.

Jay Drysdale said that syrah presented an opportunity for B.C. to make high quality wines at the higher point that the land availability dictates. The judging panel agreed.

The judging panel was composed of four wine experts: Michelle Bouffard of House Wine, Treve Ring of EAT Magazine, Harry Hertscheg of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival and David Walker of 100 Wines by David Walker.