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A master class in Portugal’s gift to the Wine World – Vino Verde

With Iain Phillip (Barbariain Wine)  and Mike Bernardo (Vij’s)

Charles Smith – The Dark Prince of Walla Walla and one of America’s most successful and original Vintners.

He asked that we meet at a foot massage palace call Footopia

Tony Stewart – leads the joining of Quails Gate, Benziger and Envolve wineries

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THE SHOW

The attraction was twofold.

A small master Class in Portugal’s “green” wine Vino Verde. Conducted by wine expert and educator Iain Phillip from Barbarian Wine paired with foods arranged  by Vij’s Sommelier Mike Bernardo.

Iain Philip is the Senior Wine Instructor at the Art Institute in Vancouver where he teaches levels 2, 3 and 4 of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) programs. In the course of a year, Iain teaches over 200 students
that range from consumers to importers and retail buyers.

In addition to formal training, Iain also does seminars and tastings for private and corporate clients outside the wine industry.

Vine Verde – pours on the day

Mike Bernardo is currently Director of Operations and Wine Director for the Vij’s Companies. He has led the Vij’s wine program to win several awards, including the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator and Gold Prize for best wine list from Vancouver Magazine. In 2014, Mike won The Vancouver International Wine Festival and the Vancouver Magazine’s Sommelier of the Year awards. Mike was inducted into the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame, Industry Front of House. This makes him tied for the youngest Inductee into the Hall of Fame. (Scout Magazine)

Mike Bernardo

Vinho Verde is pronounced veeng-yo vaird.

Vinho Verde does not mean ‘green’ wine. ‘Verde’ refers to it being a young wine; the wines are released 3-6 months after harvest.

The wines of Vinho Verde have long been known for their vibrant fruit, low alcohol and refreshing qualities — a combination that makes them one of the most versatile partners with food. Vinho Verde is an ideal wine pairing for salads, seafood and Asian cuisine, and can be served alone or as an aperitif.

Vinho Verde wines are made from the combination of carefully selected varietals. Recommended white varietals include Alvarinho, Avesso, Azal, Arinto, Loureiro, and Trajadura.

Wines that were poured –

 Via Latina Loureiro 2015

100% Loureiro. Crisp and refreshing with, green apple with floral notes.

Quinta da Aveleda 2014

A blend of Loureiro and Alvarinho.  Beautifully crisp and summer refreshing.

Qunita de Azevedo 2014

95% Loureiro and 5% Pederna.

Pluma Alvarinho 2015

100% Alvarinho.   Fabulous and very friendly. You’ll like this one.

Do Marques Arinto 2015

100% Arinto.   Great nose with  citrus and tropical fruit  notes.

http://winesofvinhoverde.com/

http://www.barbarianwine.com/

www.vijs.ca

Charles Smith

Growing up just outside of Sacramento, California, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Charles Smith began craving worldly travel at a young age due to his Welsh mother and French father. As soon as he had the chance, Charles decided to move to Denmark (for a lady friend he met in the states). While in Scandinavia, Charles spent the next nine years managing rock bands and concert tours throughout Europe, including the famed Danish duo, The Ravonettes. Wining and dining while on the road became a catalyst for his passion of wine, which ultimately triggered the career he has today.

In 1999, he moved back to the United States, specifically to the Pacific Northwest, opening a wine shop on Bainbridge Island, just across the Puget Sound from downtown Seattle. On a road trip in late 1999, he passed through the small town of Walla Walla and met a young Frenchman and winemaker. The two men discovered their common passion for great Syrah and Charles was eventually convinced to move to Walla Walla and make his own juice. In 2001, Charles released 330 cases of his first wine, the 1999 K Syrah. The Walla Walla Valley was now his home.

After a devastating freeze in 2004, Charles brought to life a label he had once in a dream: House Wine. Low and behold, the label concept had never been created or trademarked, so Charles launched the legendary brand before selling it to Precept Brands in 2006. That same year, Charles started a second brand, Charles Smith Wines. The brand was themed as “The Modernist Project,” which focuses on the way people generally consume wine today: immediately. The intent was (and still is) to create wines to be enjoyed now, but with true typicity of both the varietal and the vineyard.

A self-taught winemaker, Charles is a true artisan and a pioneer in the wine world. In 2008, K Vintners was recognized by Wine & Spirits magazine as one of the “Best New Wineries of the Last Ten Years,” and as “Winery of the Year” in their annual buying guide. In 2009 Food & Wine magazine awarded Charles “Winemaker of the Year” and in 2010 Seattle Magazine recognized Charles as their “Winemaker of the Year.”

www.charlessmithwines.com

Tony Stewart – Quails Gate

Stewart Family – Quails Gate

 Tony Stewart – Owner/Founder of Quails Gate

Tony Stewart

The Stewart Family  are a third-generation BC winemaking family with more than sixty years of outstanding wines under their belt. The family owns Quails’ Gate winery in the  Okanagan Valley.

Quailsgate Winery

They have just announced the acquisition of California’s prestigious Envolve Winery  from sibling proprietors Mike, Kate and Chris Benziger and Ben Flajnik.

The two veteran multi-generation wine growing families became acquainted when the Stewart family joined the Sonoma community in 2012 with the acquisition of Glen Ellen’s Madrone Estate Winery, Valley of the Moon wines, and Lake Sonoma Winery.

Tony is Chief Executive Officer of the Stewart Family–owned winery business. His vision and guidance have been instrumental in the growth of Quails’ Gate and Old Vines Restaurant to what it is today: internationally respected as one of the leading wine producers and culinary experiences in BC.

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STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Next Week – The Garagiste Small Guys wine tour – 2016

The best “under-the-radar” wineries in BC.

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Rose is on a World Wide Roll and leading the charge is Provence.

We talk to the President and Marketing director of Wines of Provence.

Then we pair their Rose with the food of Chef Dino Renaerts.

Meet Scotsman  Norrel Robertson the only Master of wine in Spain and the
wines he creates.

The Crown Prince of Sonoma Randy Ullom from Kendall-Jackson

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THE SHOW

Provence Rose

Provence has been a leading wine region in France for generations and is
known for its specialty in making Rosé wines. The popularity of Provence
Rosés has grown to represent 5.6% of worldwide Rosé production and an
average of 141 million bottles of AOC Rosé produced each year.

Perfect for patio sipping or pairing with any cuisine, Provence Rosés are
versatile, fresh, pale in colour, dry and affordable.

Provence is the oldest French wine region and Rosé is the oldest known wine.
The region has a rich rosé tradition (over 2600 years long), and winemakers
today are the beneficiaries of the region’s collective knowledge and
time-honored techniques.

Since rosé is a delicate wine and one of the most difficult to produce with
success, these long-established traditions remain entirely relevant. The
area’s deep-rooted rosé culture goes a long way toward explaining why the
world’s best rosés still come from Provence.

A Rosé wine can be made from red or white grape varietals, but most commonly
red. Traditionally, the skins of a red grape are allowed brief contact (2-20
hours) with the grape juice but not enough to impart the colour or tannins
that would qualify it as a red wine.

Guests:

The President of Provence Alain Baccino.

Valerie LeLong – Marketing and Communications Wines of Provence

Based in Côtes de Provence, Mr. Baccino is a wine producer, with his family,
at the Domaine des Peirecedes in Pierrefeu.).

Valie LeLong – has the best job in Wine.  Period.

Wines tasted –

LES SOLEILLADES 2015  $18.99

SABLES D’AZUR GASSIER 2015  $16.99

TERRES DE SAINT LOUIS 2015   $18.99

Twitter: @VinsProvenceCA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VinsWinesProvenceCA/

Web: http://ww.vinsdeprovence.com/

Dino Renaerts, Partner and Executive Chef  (Bon Vivant Group)

Dino Renaerts has firmly established himself as one of the west coast’s
culinary leaders. Born, raised, educated and trained in Vancouver, Renaerts
has built a prolific career spanning over two decades that has seen him cook
in a clutch of the city’s finest restaurants. Today, Renaerts applies his
talent, passion and vision to his role as partner in The Bon Vivant Group,
serving discerning clientele across the Lower Mainland.

A love of wine inspires Renaerts’s cuisine. In 1999, he was the first Red
Seal chef in Canada to become a Certified Sommelier through the
International Sommelier Guild, where he finished top in his class.
Renaerts’s expertise in oenology earned him the runner-up Sommelier of the
Year award at the Vancouver International Playhouse Wine Festival in 2006
and 2010.

We found Dino cooking like crazy at 39th and Cambie..matching his food with
the Wines of Provence.

http://www.bonvivantgroup.ca/

Norrel Robertson   Master of Wine/El Escoces Volate (The Flying Scotsman)

Norrel Robertson

The Scottish Volante’, the name of oenological company founded by Master of
Wine Norrel Robertson in DO Calatayud, refers not only to its traveling
status as consultant to numerous Spanish wineries, but summarizes the long
journey of this British enologist. From the commercial sector wine, Norrel
Robertson has traveled the most important wine regions of the world learning
development processes to finish settling in Calatayud, where he decided to
make the most of the excellent potential offered by the grape variety
Garnacha in this area Aragon center.

You only have to see the landscape and these old bush vines to be swept away
by the romanticism of a Scotsman making cutting-edge wines in the central
region of Aragón. This is the heart of Garnacha country where Norrel, who is
a self-confessed Garnachista, realized the tremendous potential of this
varietal in this region.

His wines are very singular and fully express the terroir from which they
hail.

Norrel came through Vancouver and at Bodega on Main he proudly poured his
Anciano wines..I believe the last three are available under $20.00.  Think
about it.  Great wines.. Aged..affordable

·         Anciano Tempranillo 2013

·         Anciano Garnacha 2014

·         Anciano 2009 Reserva, 5 Years

·         Anciano 2006 Gran Reserva, 7 Years

·         Anciano 2004 Gran Reserva, 10 Years

And watch for his own personal wines..

The Cup & Rings owes its English name the Scottish winemaker NORREL
Robertson, who under the name El Escoces Volante (The Flying Scotsman)
produces wines from several regions of Spain. The label shows the symbols
that are found in petroglyphs in, among other Galicia.  His Albarino,  after
two years in gærresterne,  the wine become very rounded, almost oiled, in
the mouth feel so that the acid does not feel intrusive in any way, rather
slightly understated.

Like a Riesling – only better.

http://www.escocesvolante.es/about.html

Kendall-Jackson/Winemaker Randy Ullom

“I look at all of the vineyards we own, and all of the individual lots of
wines that we make, and the thousands of barrels we have sitting in our
cellar and sometimes I think, you gotta be kidding me! After I’ve
sufficiently recovered from my daily panic attack, I take off my coat, dig
in my heels and take it one barrel at a time. It’s a rewarding job that I
love.”

Randy Ullom

Randy Ullom

Hired by Jess Jackson in 1992 as Winemaker for some of our smaller and
international vineyards, Randy was handed his most prestigious assignment in
1997 – Winemaster for Kendall-Jackson Winery.

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy became interested in wine during a
three-year stay in Chile, while on sabbatical from college in the early
1970s. His stay inspired a cross-country trek through Chile’s vast
wine-growing regions. On his return to the United States, he entered Ohio
State University to study crop production with a specialty in Viticulture
and Enology and received his degree in 1975.

After six years as a vineyard manager and Winemaker in Ohio and upstate New
York, Randy moved to California to become associate Winemaker at De Loach
Vineyards in Sonoma County. He was promoted to Winemaker and Vice President
in 1991. The wines produced during his tenure were consistent gold medal
winners at wine competitions.

Dude looks like a Sherriff from Dodge City..Oversees the growing and
creating of 5 Million cases of wine from 35 labels. (check their website
below)

His job includes  working with wines grown in Sonoma, Chile, Bordeaux,
Australia and Italy.

This is a fun interview..with lots of information on their wines.  We love
these wines..and why not?  They take such great care in their craft!!

www.kj.com <http://www.kj.com/>

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STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Bruce Cockburn – music and wine

Master class on Portugal’s Vino Verde

Charles Smith – an afternoon at Footopia