WINE OF THE YEAR: plus Lisa Ahier (Sobo) Ned Bell (Seafood Fest) Graham Pierce (Ruby Blues)
THE SHOW
I was honored to be one of the judges for the 2023 Lt. Governor Wine Awards.
500 wines and 3 days later we compared quick comments of what surprised us.
Several times a judge said “that the winning wine was a Syrah from Naramata Bench and that a majority of Syrah awarded medals came from North of McIntyre Bluffs”
Traditionally the Syrah of the south Okanagan always swept the awards so the shift came as a surprise.
Was it a single growing year, climate change effects, a rebalancing of terroir or our own changing expectations?
We’ll talk Syrah, awards and portfolio with Garron Elmes The President and Winemaker at Lake Breeze. Creator of the Wine of the Year. 2020 Lake Breeze Syrah
Garron will also take us through Lake Breeze Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, 2019 Meritage.
www.lakebreeze.ca
… and we’ll have that same Syrah discussion with Graham Pierce, winemaker at Ruby Blues also on the Naramata Bench.
Graham knows very well the Syrah of the Okanagan, having been the winemaker at Summerhill, Mt Boucherie, TIME, Kitsch, Ruby Blues and for 10 years Black Hills Estate Winery. The man knows his Syrah. Graham will also bring tales of his Ruby Blues Reserve Syrah, Commune Gew, Pinot Gris, Forever Young Riesling.
www.rubyblueswinery.ca
We’ll finish this weeks Tasting Room Radio with two interviews we did for podcast and our YouTube Channel.
Chef Ned Bell (Naramata Inn) who’s leading the charge up Mt Washington near Courtney/Comox Vancouver Island. Its the annual BC Seafood Festival and it’s on right now and ..finishes end of day Sunday. The mountain is awash with chefs, farmers (land and sea), and seafood of every description.
Ned has all the details.. www.bcseafoodfestival.com
Our wonderful last guest is Lisa Ahier… who created the food destination in Tofino called SoBo. She brings with her, a second cookbook Together at SoBo.
Its just a fantastic read. It paints a picture of the kitchen, Sobo, Tofino, Ucluelet, the very talents friends in her life and local self sustaining food sources.
www.sobo.ca
You can still catch the video versions of Ned and Lisa on our terrydavidmulligan YouTube Channel and Podcast
STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON
Bartier Bros
Fort Berens
Cowichan Wine Festival
Meyer/Mayhem Releases
The Neighbourhood Special
Featuring our sponsors:
Mt Boucherie
OK Wine Festivals
Unsworth
Hillside
Moon Curser