The Canadian Wine Awards and Other Adventures

I've spent the past 2 weeks out west in Washington, Oregon and BC, where I was honoured to once again judge at the 10th Annual Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards, held this year in Penticton, BC, the heart of wine country.

Too much happened to cover in detail and some of it involved great local beer, but here are the wine highlights:

Lunch at the Space Needle

The Space Needle restaurant in Seattle has an award winning Washington wine list, I particularly enjoyed the minerally, brisk 2007 Poet's Leap Columbia Valley Riesling.

Domaine Drouhin

It was my first visit in the Dundee Hills AVA in Oregon, where I enjoyed tasting very elegant wines on the deck at Domaine Drouhin overlooking the appellation. The highlight was a chance to sample various vintages of their Willamette Valley Pinot, 2007 (herbal, earthy, lean and bone dry), the 2004 (ripe, lots of cherry, complex and mineral) and 2002 (still tight in terms of aromatics, but lots of fruit on the palate, with balance and length.)

My First Evening at the Inn at Red Hills

The Inn at Red Hills was our accommodation in the Dundee Hills, where I enjoyed flights of local pinot noir from various vintages (2006 St. Albin-Chehalem Montains AVA, 2007 Merriman-Yamhill-Carlton District AVA, 2008 Bergström-Willamette Valley AVA) and had an excellent meal on the deck, shaded from the sweltering heat. Is this really a cool climate? Farm to Fork is their "gourmet café and market" and Press is their wine bar.

Touring and Tasting at Sokol Blosser

I toured and tasted with Winemaker Russ Rosner at the beautiful, pioneering Sokol Blosser Winery. They are known mainly for their blends, but I loved the organic Pinots, including their 2007 Dundee Hills (black cherry, mineral) and 2007 Estate Cuvée (reserved, earthy, lots of fruit and oak.)

A Great Pinic Lunch

I enjoyed a picnic lunch under a large oak tree at Erratic Oak Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, south of the Dundee Hills AVA, with Howard Rossbach and Firesteed Winemaker Bryan Croft.

Firesteed is Oregon's largest pinot producer and my favourite wines were a brisk 2008 Oregon Riesling, a barrel sample of 2009 Erratic Oaks Pinot (spicy, earthy, meaty notes, currant, blackberry and structured) and their 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (light, cherry and earth scented, balanced, food friendly.)

Tour of Columbia Crest Winery

A crazy drive along the Columbia River brought me to Columbia Crest Winery in Eastern Washington. Winemaker Juan Muñoz-Oca guided me through their large facility, forged in this very dry, hot region via irrigation. They make some of the best value red wines I've ever had, my favourite was the 2008 Horse Heaven Hills AVA Merlot (rich, structured, loads of black fruit and grippier tannins than the Cabernet from the same appellation).

Welcome Party for the Canadian Wine Awards

I had a great time at the first judges’ dinner at Road 13 Winery in Oliver, BC, where I got to see all my wine buddies, play fetch with one of the winery wiener dogs and enjoy a fantastic meal outside overlooking the valley, with excellent wines.

I was fortunate to sit across from proprietor Mick Luckhurst, and I learned a lot from him over the course of the meal. And he was very tolerant of this East Coaster! My favourite wine was their 2008 Road 13 Pinot Noir, which displayed more elegance than their more premium Jackpot Pinot. Also enjoyed their Stemwinder white blend.

Judging at the Canadian Wine Awards

Judging the early rounds with my friends and fellow judges Tom Firth of Calgary and Bill Zacharkiw, Caveman and wine writer at the Montreal Gazette and a later round with Steve Thurlow of Toronto, recent Master of Wine Rhys Pender from BC and Stuart Tobe of BC. We had no major fights and I feel strongly that we picked the right wines.

It was a pleasure and honour to help determine the medal winning wines for the 10th annual Canadian Wine Awards. Judging with these folks is hard work, for sure, but it is a labour of love.

Dinner at Mission Hill

I enjoyed an educational and delicious vineyard tour and dinner at the red barn in Mission Hill's vineyard in Oliver as part of the Canadian Wine Awards. It was super hot and dry, but we toughed it out. The wine fed beef was a highlight, as was the yummy viognier and fresh riesling and the opportunity to try multiple vintages of their stellar, premium Quatrain red blend.

Dinner with the Similkameen Wineries Association

On Tuesday night at the Canadian Wine Awards, we enjoyed a fun German dinner and meet and greet with the Similkameen winery folks at Crowsnest Winery and Restaurant in Cawston. What a great turnout of local wineries and the roast pork was scrumptious. We could see the smoke from the BC forest fires rising over the hills as we enjoyed our local wine and food.

Dinner at Greata Ranch

The following night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the Greata Ranch beach with a whole bunch of BC wine folks. It was a stunning location and meal. I chatted over dinner with Church & State winery owner Kim Pullen while sampling their excellent wines. There were too many wines to taste them all, but Sommelier mode kicked in and we blind tasted the evening away, pouring each other glasses and challenging the other to guess what it was. It's what I love to do!

Canadian Wine Awards Farewell Dinner

We concluded the Canadian Wine Awards with a wrap up dinner at Painted Rock winery, one of the most promising new properties, especially with Bordeaux-style blends. It's a spectacular site overlooking Lake Skaha, right next to God's Mountain, the wonderful resort where I spent my honeymoon just before the judging. 

A special mention goes out to the cold, tasty beer after each day of judging, thanks to the event organizers and wineries that provided them. It takes a lot of great beer to make (and judge) great wine.

Cheers!