BC Pinot Noir Festival

April 29th, 2023 – Our yearly Pinot Noir Geek Out!

April 29, 2023 Audio FIle, Tasting Room Radio 01:06:19

hello

Our yearly Pinot Noir Geek Out – with  15 top experts and a  Pinot  Blind Tasting!

THE SHOW

 Bordeaux is made by man, Pinot Noir by God.

Pinot Noir may not be the most planted grape in the World but no other varietal even comes close to the dialogue that takes place between winemakers and wine fans about the place of Pinot in today’s wine world.

Whether they love Pinot Noir or not, wine people all have an opinion on this grape. Described as “the diva of the wine world”, it takes a really focused winemaker and farmer to grow, harvest, and cellar this beauty.

The payoff is spectacular.

Notes and flavors of Clove, Cherry, Mushroom, Floral, Soil, Tea, Vanilla, blackberry, and plum. Lush and lengthy.

High acidity and lower tannin make Pinot Noir perfectly paired with pork, mushrooms, duck, and chicken.

I’ve been doing Pinot Noir interviews for 15 years and I’m still learning from the many stories being told.

I’ve gone back into the Tasting Room Radio files to share some of the stories and people who’ve stayed with me over the years.

Check this out:

Nigel Greening – Owner Felton Road Winery (Central Otago NZ)

Nigel Greening Felton Road NZ

Grant Stanley – Spearhead (South East Kelowna)

Grant Stanley

Mike Rathjen – Rathjen Cellars (Saanich)

Daniel Dragert – Kutatas (Salt Spring Island)

Layne Craig – 40 Knots (Comox)

Barb and Ian Phillip – wine educators  (Vancouver)

Christina Coletta –  Okanagan Crush Pad/Haywire (Summerland)

Chris Turyk – Unsworth (Cowichan Valley)

JAK Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards (OK Falls/Skaha)

David Patterson  – Tantalus Vineyards (South East Kelowna)

Kurtis Kolt – Wine Educator – Judge – Sommelier (Vancouver)

Vikram Vij –  Chef – Author  (Vancouver)

This pinot noir  special concludes with a Blind Tasting of 2018 Pinots

It was organized by John Glavina – the owner of Giant Head Winery in Summerland. John wanted to include several of his pinots to discover how they stood up to the competition. (He didn’t tell anyone that his wines were in the mix)

Tasting on the day were two of the very best wine minds.  Great guys.

John Schreiner – The Dean of Canadian wine writers (15 books in total) Master Blogger.

TDM. John Schreiner. Brent Gushowaty

Brent Gushowaty – A Pinot specialist. Founder of  bcpinotnoir.com

I was delighted to be judging in such fine company.

The discussion went on for several hours and I’ve done my best to edit the prime points down into a segment of the show.

I couldn’t get all the comments on the blind wines when revealed but we did talk about the top two and several others not in the room.

The Pinot Noir poured on the day were…

2018 Giant Head Estate Winery Flagship Pinot Noir

2018 Fox and Archer – Brent G. choice

2019  Canyonview Wines Brand – CVW – Pinot Noir

2018 Spearhead- Saddle Block Vineyard

2018 Lake Breeze Aura

2018 giant head Pinot Noir Reserve

The segment is memorable just to hear the conversation between John Schreiner and Brent Gushowaty.

I thank John Glavina for the invitation for myself and the microphone plus John & Brent for the Pinot Masterclass. I also thank Harbour Air for the beautiful trip over and back.

 

 

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Next Week

Hillside

The Hatch/Jason Parkes Customs

Moon Curser

Unsworth

 

Clos du Soleil

Aug 4 Cowichan Pour

Sperling Vineyards

Scorched Earth

Robert Belcham /Cooks Camp

Bill Jones – Shrooms

 

 

June 25th, 2022 – Our yearly Pinot Noir Geek Out!

June 24, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 01:08:04

hello

Our yearly Pinot Noir Geek Out – with  15 top experts and a  Pinot  Blind Tasting!

Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

THE SHOW

 Bordeaux is made by man, Pinot Noir by God.

Pinot Noir may not be the most planted grape in the World but no other varietal even comes close to the dialogue that takes place between winemakers and wine fans about the place of Pinot in today’s wine world.

Whether they love Pinot Noir or not, wine people all have an opinion on this grape. Described as “the diva of the wine world”, it takes a really focused winemaker and farmer to grow, harvest, and cellar this beauty.

The payoff is spectacular.

Notes and flavors of Clove, Cherry, Mushroom, Floral, Soil, Tea, Vanilla, blackberry, and plum. Lush and lengthy.

High acidity and lower tannin make Pinot Noir perfectly paired with pork, mushrooms, duck, and chicken.

I’ve been doing Pinot Noir interviews for 15 years and I’m still learning from the many stories being told.

I’ve gone back into the Tasting Room Radio files to share some of the stories and people who’ve stayed with me over the years.

Check this out:

Nigel Greening – Owner Felton Road Winery (Central Otago NZ)

Nigel Greening Felton Road NZ

Grant Stanley – Spearhead (South East Kelowna)

Grant Stanley

Mike Rathjen – Rathjen Cellars (Saanich)

Daniel Dragert – Kutatas (Salt Spring Island)

Layne Craig – 40 Knots (Comox)

Barb and Ian Phillip – wine educators  (Vancouver)

Christina Coletta –  Okanagan Crush Pad/Haywire (Summerland)

Chris Turyk – Unsworth (Cowichan Valley)

JAK Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards (OK Falls/Skaha)

David Patterson  – Tantalus Vineyards (South East Kelowna)

Kurtis Kolt – Wine Educator – Judge – Sommelier (Vancouver)

Vikram Vij –  Chef – Author  (Vancouver)

This pinot noir  special concludes with a Blind Tasting of 2018 Pinots

It was organized by John Glavina – the owner of Giant Head Winery in Summerland. John wanted to include several of his pinots to discover how they stood up to the competition. (He didn’t tell anyone that his wines were in the mix)

Tasting on the day were two of the very best wine minds.  Great guys.

John Schreiner – The Dean of Canadian wine writers (15 books in total) Master Blogger.

TDM. John Schreiner. Brent Gushowaty

Brent Gushowaty – A Pinot specialist. Founder of  bcpinotnoir.com

I was delighted to be judging in such fine company.

The discussion went on for several hours and I’ve done my best to edit the prime points down into a segment of the show.

I couldn’t get all the comments on the blind wines when revealed but we did talk about the top two and several others not in the room.

The Pinot Noir poured on the day were…

2018 Giant Head Estate Winery Flagship Pinot Noir

2018 Fox and Archer – Brent G. choice

2019  Canyonview Wines Brand – CVW – Pinot Noir

2018 Spearhead- Saddle Block Vineyard

2018 Lake Breeze Aura

2018 giant head Pinot Noir Reserve

The segment is memorable just to hear the conversation between John Schreiner and Brent Gushowaty.

I thank John Glavina for the invitation for myself and the microphone plus John & Brent for the Pinot Masterclass. I also thank Harbour Air for the beautiful trip over and back.

 

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Next Week

Hillside

The Hatch/Jason Parkes Customs

Moon Curser

Unsworth

 

Clos du Soleil

Aug 4 Cowichan Pour

Sperling Vineyards

Scorched Earth

Robert Belcham /Cooks Camp

Bill Jones – Shrooms

 

 

January 18th, 2019 – The 5th Pinot Noir Celebration in Kelowna

January 17, 2020 Tasting Room Radio 00:59:46

hello

The 5th Pinot Noir Celebration in Kelowna

 

 THE SHOW

The 2019 BC Pinot Noir Celebration brings together BC’s top 35 Pinot Noir producers for an unforgettable festival-style tasting experience. The event kicked off with a reception and keynote address by Madeline Puckette, certified sommelier and author of New York Times Bestseller, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine.

Kurtis Kolt

To put this gathering in proper perspective, here’s an overview from writer/judge Kurtis Kolt:

My big take-away is how local Pinot Noir reflects its terroir of origin, rather than its producers trying to emulate other iconic Pinot regions around the world, from Burgundy in France to the Russian River Valley in California.

No matter which B.C. region it hailed from, each one had a freshness and purity of fruit, along with juicy acidity—a common trait in B.C. wine. I was quite impressed that compared to other reds—from Bordeaux-inspired blends to Syrah—the B.C. Pinot Noirs were all tasty and approachable, whether we were looking at current, more fruit-forward releases, or bottlings as far back as a 2006 from Averill Creek on Vancouver Island. It had started to exhibit those more savoury, tertiary notes like sarsaparilla and sun-dried tomato, but still had great structure and was buoyant on the palate.

 Kurtis, who guests on this special,  makes the comment that Pinot Noir is the one wine that can be grown from coast-to-coast in Canada.

All 35 wineries pouring at the event were accepted through a high profile sommelier tasting panel.  They were determined to be the best of the best.

Our owner/winemaker guests are:

 Jak Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards/Organizer

Grant Biggs – Kitsch/ Organizer

David Paterson – Tantalus/ Organizer

Jason Parkes – The Hatch

Madeline Puckette – Keynote speech and Wine Folly Author

Grant Stanley – Spearhead

Ben Bryant – Mission Hill

Jenn and Kent Molgat – The View

Chris Carson – Meyer Family and Carson

Dan Wright – Unsworth

Paul Pender – Tawse and Hidden Bench

Rhys Pender – Master of Wine and Panelist

Kurtis Kolt – Wine Educator and Panelist

Paul M Bruner – owner of Blue Grouse

Andy Johnson – Owner of Averill Creek

Tyler Knight – Co-owner of Lightning Rock

http://www.bcpinotnoir.ca

https://winebc.com/

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

The 2019 Garagiste  at Sperling Vineyards

The 2020 Victoria Whisky Festival

Food, Wine &  A Mescal Master in Oaxaca

Field Blends – Are we in or out

 

 

 

 

 

September 21st, 2019 – The 5th Pinot Noir Celebration in Kelowna

September 20, 2019 Tasting Room Radio 00:59:10

hello

The 5th Pinot Noir Celebration in Kelowna

 

 THE SHOW

The 2019 BC Pinot Noir Celebration brings together BC’s top 35 Pinot Noir producers for an unforgettable festival-style tasting experience. The event kicked off with a reception and keynote address by Madeline Puckette, certified sommelier and author of New York Times Bestseller, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine.

Kurtis Kolt

To put this gathering in proper perspective, here’s an overview from writer/judge Kurtis Kolt:

My big take-away is how local Pinot Noir reflects its terroir of origin, rather than its producers trying to emulate other iconic Pinot regions around the world, from Burgundy in France to the Russian River Valley in California.

No matter which B.C. region it hailed from, each one had a freshness and purity of fruit, along with juicy acidity—a common trait in B.C. wine. I was quite impressed that compared to other reds—from Bordeaux-inspired blends to Syrah—the B.C. Pinot Noirs were all tasty and approachable, whether we were looking at current, more fruit-forward releases, or bottlings as far back as a 2006 from Averill Creek on Vancouver Island. It had started to exhibit those more savoury, tertiary notes like sarsaparilla and sun-dried tomato, but still had great structure and was buoyant on the palate.

 Kurtis, who guests on this special,  makes the comment that Pinot Noir is the one wine that can be grown from coast-to-coast in Canada.

All 35 wineries pouring at the event were accepted through a high profile sommelier tasting panel.  They were determined to be the best of the best.

Our owner/winemaker guests are:

 Jak Meyer – Meyer Family Vineyards/Organizer

Grant Biggs – Kitsch/ Organizer

David Paterson – Tantalus/ Organizer

Jason Parkes – The Hatch

Madeline Puckette – Keynote speech and Wine Folly Author

Grant Stanley – Spearhead

Ben Bryant – Mission Hill

Jenn and Kent Molgat – The View

Chris Carson – Meyer Family and Carson

Dan Wright – Unsworth

Paul Pender – Tawse and Hidden Bench

Rhys Pender – Master of Wine and Panelist

Kurtis Kolt – Wine Educator and Panelist

Paul M Bruner – owner of Blue Grouse

Andy Johnson – Owner of Averill Creek

Tyler Knight – Co-owner of Lightning Rock

http://www.bcpinotnoir.ca

https://winebc.com/

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

 

Garagiste North – Next Week

Fort Berens

Passion Pit Vineyard at Orofino

Cowichan Valley Winemakers

Fishing, Food, Wine and Fishing  Year 7