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The 41st VanWineFest Part One – The Californians!

By the Numbers..

• Over 25,000 wine fans
• 16 countries
• 160 wineries; including 53 from featured region California
• 50 participating restaurants, hotels, caterers
• 1,450 wines.
• 42,000 bottles poured and/or purchased (2018 stats)
• 82,000 wine glasses used (2018 stats)

Our Numbers …

32 interviews..
25 winemakers
7 CEO’s or General Managers.
Sleepless nights – 2
Hours budgeted for all interviews – 3
Minutes to missing last Harbour Air flight – 1

THE SHOW

41 years ago the Vancouver International Wine Festival opened their doors to the World’s wineries.
Only one showed up. Robert Mondavi brought his California wines to pour that day.
Some say California saved the show.

And so, here we are 41 years later and California is the feature region at the 41st VanWineFest.
What a line up. We couldn’t talk to them all but we did do pretty well.
Seventeen Californians and one certain Washington Red Mountain newbie.
Have a favourite California wine? Check the list below. See if it’s there or see if it’s there but go looking for a new California pal.
FYI – Next Week Gina Gallo. Jean Charles Boisset and 15 Canadian winemakers

Jon Bonne – Keynote Speaker. Author of The New Wine Rules

Here’s why I immediately liked Jon Bonne.
“ Not all pink wine need be Summer water But Whispering Angel should be cast into some Miltonian iteration of Hell”
Jon Bonné is one of the most influential American voices on wine. He is the senior contributing editor for PUNCH, and the author of The New California Wine and The New Wine Rules.
www.punchdrink.com

Jon Bonne

Bob Blue – Founding Winemaker at Bonterra, 1000 Stories and Elysian Collection.

In 2016 the Wine Enthusiast awarded Bonterra as its American Winery of the Year because of its commitment to organic farming and it’s quality of affordable wines. Bonterra is the most popular organic wine in the USA.
Fetzer’s bourbon-barrel-aged Zinfandel 1000 Stories debuted in 2014. In the five years since, production has exploded from 5,000 cases to more than 140,000 annually!
www.bonterra.com
www.fetzer.com

Craig McAllister – Winemaker at La Crema

A New Zealand native, McAllister earned a bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology from Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand. His deep passion for winemaking has taken him all over the world, from New Zealand to Australia, Chile and Cyprus. Since moving to California, in addition to his work with La Crema, McAllister has also made wine for Wild Ridge, crafting elegant Pinot Noir from vineyards on the rugged Sonoma Coast.
www.lacrema.com

Randy Lange – Owner Lange Twins

Lange Twins

Randy Lange is a fifth-generation winegrower.
During the 1870’s his Great-Grandparents, Johann and Maria Lange, settled in Lodi. By 1916 they had the family’s first grape-ranch. It was on this ranch where their dad, Harold, was born in 1920.
In 1974 they decided to farm on our own. They finally built Lange Twins winery in 2006.
FYI – Lange Lodi vineyard produces spicy old-vine Zinfandel, concentrated Bordeaux-style wines and lively Rhone-style reds and whites—many from organically or sustainably farmed vineyards.
www.langetwins.com

Ondine Chattan –

Chief Winemaker Share a Slash/Cannonball/Cowboys and Angels
High Dive and Astrolabe
Ondine is a passionate Sonoma County winemaker with experience ranging from cult boutique producers to notable household name brands. Her love of the diversity of Sonoma and California at large fuels her enthusiasm for making a range of varietals from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet. Started her career at Cline, Beam and Geyser Peak.
www.shareasplash.com

Emma Swain – CEO St Supery

Emma Swain, CSW and CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery has worked in the wine industry for more than 20 years. Emma started in finance, before joining Niebaum-Coppola Winery and later worked at Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery for thirteen years as Chief Operating Officer
“Our primary focus is on Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, “We’re a 100 percent Estate Winery, which means that we grow and produce everything that we make, without a drop of anything else coming into the process. Of the more than 530 wineries in the area, there are only a handful in the Napa Valley that are 100 percent Estate.”
www.stsupery.com

Paul Wagner – Napa Valley College

Paul Wagner was honored by the American Wine Society as the winner of its annual Award of Merit for 2018. Other recipients of the award include Robert Mondavi, Gina Gallo, Warren Winiarski, etc
“Paul has influenced the way the public drinks wine and thinks about wine”
Paul Wagner has been an instructor for Napa Valley College’s Viticulture and Enology department for the past 23 years. In addition, he teaches at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, is a guest lecturer at many universities and has spoken at more than 80 conferences throughout the world on wine, wine education, wine tourism, public affairs, and wine marketing.
www.rickandpaulwine.com

David Gates Jr – Ridge Vineyards VP Vineyard Operations

After an obligatory stint in Napa Valley he made his way to Ridge in 1989. David’s duties include managing the historic Monte Bello vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Whitton Ranch at Geyserville, and the Lytton Estate vineyards at Healdsburg, as well as monitoring and helping all Ridge growers in Sonoma, Napa, Santa Clara, and San Luis Obispo Counties.
Ridge’s fame started when it was placed fifth in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. At the 30th anniversary tasting in 2006 it went several steps further, with its 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet winning first place in the original vintage category and the 2000 ranking top for new vintages.
www.ridgewine.com

Russ Weis – President Silverado Vineyards

In 2005, Silverado Vineyards pioneering winemaker Jack Stuart stepped down as general manager, and Russ Weis took the reins. Russ, a senior vice president with Robert Mondavi (launched Opus One), brought more than twenty years winemaking to Silverado. He is extremely passionate about the winery: “We enjoy an amazing array of meticulously cared for estate fruit. Even in the most challenging years, our vineyards guarantee us a level of quality which we can be proud to call Silverado.”
Silverado makes around 85,000 cases each year, of which 22,000 are Chardonnay and the rest Bordeaux-style wines. The vineyards are in cool climate Napa regions, Carneros and Stag’s Leap.
www.silveradovineyards.com

Harvest Duhig – Atlas Peak Winemaker/Grower Relations Wagner Family of Wines
Caymus.Conundrum.MerSoleil.Emmolo.Red Schooner

Born and Raised in Napa. In September of 2002 she tried selling grapes to Chuck Wagner. He declined the fruit but hired her to work with him.17 years later she’s Mountain Cabernet Winemaker for Caymus Vineyards. Harvest also has her own family winery Duhig, in Coombsville.
www.wagnerfamilyofwine.com

Kristen Barnhisel – Winemaker (White Wines) J Lohr

Also born and raised in Napa, Kristen brings two decades of viticulture and winemaking on three continents to making the whites at J Lohr.
Along the way she worked with mentors Zelma Long at Long Vineyard and Milla Handley at Handley Cellars.
www.jlohr.com

Ray Signorello – Owner/Winemaker Signorello Estates

Ray lost his winery to the Napa fires. The house his Father built and the buildings attached.
Surprisingly his wines mostly survived. Signorello was designed like a Bordeaux Chateau. Everything farmed in-house for the past 40 years. His surviving vines included 38 year old Chardonnay vines with the Cab vines not that far behind.

Ray Signorello

Ray was pouring his fabulous Signorello Estates Cab but also his new wines Fuse, Edge and Trim.
Signorello is Located in the heart of the Silverado Trail. Just North is Stags Leap and just West is Oak Knoll. There’s a new winery being built this year.
Ray on Social Media and Millennials
“They’re different from Gen X and Baby Boomers. They seem to be more interested in trying wines they haven’t heard of before – off-beat stuff – not necessarily the blue chip Napa Valley. So the challenge is how do we in Napa Valley make sure we’re engaging them”
www.signorelloestate.com

Randy Ullom Chief Winemaker at Kendall-Jackson

Randy Ullom

I cannot think of another winemaker who has stayed with the same winery for 28 years.
Randy oversees 12,800 acres of estate vineyards in cooler coastal California winegrowing regions. One third each in North Coast, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.
www.kj.com

Randy Meyer Senior Winemaker Geyser Peak

A native of Santa Rosa Randy grew up tending the small family Muscat vineyard on their property.
He and his family promptly build a small cellar into a hill on their property and started production. As one does in wine country. Randy has interned at Piper Sonoma and Far Niente before spending 23 years with Korbel and Draxton Wine.
Geyser Peak was named Sonoma Winery of the Year in 2018 by The New York International Wine Competition. Farming in Sonoma plus The Russian River and Alexander Valleys.
www.geyserpeakwinery.com

Karl Wente – Wente Vineyards

Fifth generation winemaker and winegrower Karl Wente grew up working at Wente Vineyards and expanded his experience at the Peter Michael Winery in Sonoma and Brown Brothers winery in Australia. In 2013, Karl was named one of Wine Enthusiast’s “40 Under 40.
www.wentevineyards.com

Thank You to :
James Murray – Tech and production
Kristine Wilkinson (ThinkMilk.ca)
Bailey Jelinski (Milk)
Anna Stuber (Milk)

NEXT WEEK :

Part 2 : Vancouver International Wine Festival

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THREE OUTSTANDING BC WINE PROJECTS  and DEATH CAP SEASON.

THE SHOW:

Cedar Creek Vineyards

Graham Nordin GM/Taylor Whelan Winemaker

The Okanagan is trending.

The region has always attracted Social Media blasts but  this trending is different.

Our three Okanagan stories this week are about Cedar Creek, one of the first wineries in the valley but one that’s going through a transition to organic and new winery buildings are taking shape. It also has new leadership.

In February 2014, the Fitzpatrick family announced the transfer of ownership of CedarCreek to the Von Mandl family.  With this, two of the region’s pioneering winemaking families came together over a shared vision for the future of the Okanagan Valley.

On our way to The Judgement of BC a while back..we stopped at Cedar Creek and received a brisk tour through the cellars, the new tasting room  and Home Block,  their sublime  restaurant that was nominated  to EnRoute Magazines list of best restaurants in Canada.

General Manager Graham Nordin runs a tight ship and Taylor Whelan continues his role as Winemaker.  Both join us on TRR.

Are they on the right track?  Well, Cedar Creek has been named InterVin Winery of the Year for 2019.  They know exactly what they’re doing.

(FYI – Taylor Whelan will join us on next week’s special The Science of Wine)

www.cedarcreek.bc.ca

@cedarcreekwine

Phantom Creek Estates

Santiago Cilley  CEO

One of the biggest stories in all of Canadian wine circles is the purchase of prime vineyards and the rise of a stunning new winery.   Phantom Creek Estates in the South Okanagan will cost around $100 Million when it’s finally complete. Does that speak to you about the future of BC wine?

Phanton Creek Cellar

It began in 2016 with the purchase of the legendary vineyards of the late Harry McWatters and vineyard whisperer Richard Cleave.

Driven by a love of Bordeaux-style wine, Richter Bai purchased the  Becker and Phantom Creek Vineyards.

The stated object of all this commitment is not to just be another winery on the Okanagan but rather…

“setting the benchmark in Canadian viticulture and winemaking.  Phantom Creek’s estate vineyards are now in transition to organic and biodynamic farming practices. We’ve got a foot firmly rooted in the past with our vision to the future.”

Phantom Creek Estates on the Black Sage Bench announced the appointment of Santiago Cilley as chief executive officer, and Francis Hutt as winemaker.

Santiago Cilley CEO

Phantom Creek Estates will specialize in single vineyard Bordeaux reds, Alsatian whites and the Okanagan’s benchmark varieties of Syrah and Viognier.

Santiago  started his wine career working for Jackson Family Wines in California.  After 9 years Cilley relocated to Chile to lead the renaissance of certified sustainable Via Wines.

Cilley launched the exclusive Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate in St. Helena, Napa and oversaw Zinfandel pioneer Renwood Winery in the Sierra Nevada Foothills along with Bounty Hunter Rare Wines & Spirits.

Santiago Cilley is our guest  and has the latest on Phantom Creek. They open their doors to the public  in 2020.

www.phantomcreekestates.com

District Wine Village

Matt Kenyon

Matt Kenyon – GM Greyback Construction

Mike Daley – Director of Operations

Mike Daley

The first true wine village in Canada. Located in the heart of the South Okanagan, the Village will be surrounded by vineyards and home to 16 artisan producers. Will also include a 600 person performance area.  Perfect!!

The first village of its kind in Canada, District Wine Village will bring small-batch wine, beer, cider and spirit producers together alongside unique music and culinary experiences, all in one exceptional South Okanagan location.

They’re building as fast as they can.

 Like a dream come true.

 Matt Kenyon is the fourth generation, general manager of Greyback Construction, a family-run construction firm based in Penticton, BC.

Dedicated to supporting local communities, businesses and initiatives.

Mike Daley grew up in Kelowna   Mike’s wife  and  father in-law started Okanagan Vineyards Winery in the late 80’s (back when there was only 11 wineries in our province).  They were acquired by Vincor in 1996 and Mike became the Director of Operations for Western Canada.

He  successfully created BC Cider’s  business plan, built the Cidery  and created the brand Broken Ladder. This past spring Matt & Greyback construction approached Mike  with the idea of building  a wine village in the Okanagan and in 6 short months their  plan is coming to fruition.

www.districtwinevillage.com

Chef Bill Jones – Author of 12 books, many on foraging & mushrooms.

Chef Bill Jones

We return again to Deerholme Farm in The Cowichan Valley.

I set my seasonal clock by Bill Jones.

During walks in the forests on the  west coast, this year I’m seeing a tonne of mushrooms..of every stripe and shape.  My inner me says “it’s time to talk to Bill”

Bill Jones is the owner / chef at Deerholme Farm.   Bill has  an amazing array of experiences behind him. Bill has cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and England.

He is also a renowned author and expert on the foods of the Pacific Northwest. Bill’s unique specialty is wild foods from the forest, fields and oceans. Many people have visited the farm and Bill’s  goal is to leave them with knowledge, good nourishment and a little happiness.

• Local Seasonal Food Dinners (mushrooms, French country cooking, etc)
• Hands-on Cooking Classes
• Wild Food Forages in the spring and fall

Bill will walk us through the mushrooms  for foraging  during December and how to serve them. He’ll also  give you a heads up on the Death Cap Mushroom..which has had a banner year out there and has already claimed one life and several pets.

death cap

(There’s a photo on this site..check it out)

Bill also tells us about  gearing up for his amazing local truffle dinners.

Truffle Dinner I – December 14th ($125)

Truffle Dinner II – December 21st ($125)

Bill’s latest book is the Deerholme Vegetable Cookbook (Touchwood Editions, 2015) following up the successful Deerholme Foraging Book  and the Deerholme Mushroom Book (Touchwood Editions, 2014, 2013).

He’s a local legend. If one of his famous themed farm-to-table dinners is on, drop everything and go—it’s likely to be the best meal in the province that night. Local food with foraged wild fare and global technique make for revelatory plates like Chanterelle and prawn toast with hazelnut sate sauce.” Vancouver Magazine

www.deerholme.com

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

The Science of Wine

-Mission Hill

-Cedar Creek

-Martin’s  Lane

-Road 13

-Checkmate

Wine gifts.

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A Tasting of Wines from Italy  –   Year 16 !  

 The Show

Depending on who you tallk to, Canada is either the 5th or 4th largest importer of Italian wine in the World.

We flat out love Italian wines.

Doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s :

WHITES

• Arneis
• Pecorino
• Pinot  Bianco
• Pinot Grigio
• Trebbiano-Abruzzese
• Verdicchio
• Vermentino

Or REDS

• Barbera
• Corvina
• Dolcetto
• Negro Amaro
• Primitivo
• Nebbiolo
• Nero d’Avola
• Sangiovese
• Aglianico

 They come from every part of this fabulous country:

• Puglia
• Sicily
• Tuscany
• Veneto
• Piedmont
• Asti
• Barolo
• Barbaresco
• Alba
• La Morra
• Sienna
• Chianti

And  then there’s the hottest star of the show – Prosecco.

 Italians don’t just sip wines.  Every Italian wine has to pair with Italian food.  Plain and Simple.

That fact and the work of time has made their wines into liquid art.

Even though they don’t push the organic branding as much as other countries, many Italian farmers, growers and owners have always grown organically.

My co-host for this Italian Special is Michaela Morris.

tdm and Michaela

Michaela  is an international wine writer, educator, judge and speaker based in Vancouver  with frequent engagements in Italy. Besides writing for several Canadian publications including Taste and Quench, Michaela contributes to Meininger’s Wine Business International and Decanter online and print magazines.

Michaela devotes much of her time traveling to wine regions around the globe and speaks English, French and Italian.

She saved me time and time again – with pronunciations, translations and introductions.

She knew most of the wine people pouring on the day.  I got to ride shotgun and this show was better for it.

Thank you Michaela. Impressive work.

The annual 16th A Tasting of Wines from Italy event is organized by the Italian Trade Commission and co-hosted  by the Consulate General of Italy.   The event was  also held in Calgary (16th edition) and in Toronto and Montréal (24th edition).

Alessandro Guagliardi Export Manager TRAVAGLINI GIANCARLO – Piedmont www.travaglinigattinara.it

Giovanni Silvestri CASALE DEL GIGLIO – Lazio

Ida Savoia Export Manager IL POGGIO VINI – Campania www.ilpoggiovini.it

Patricia Mejia Export Manager FIRRIATO – Sicily www.firriato.it

Federica Pecorari Owner LIS NERIS – Friuli  www.lisneris.it

Matthew Fleming, North American Brand Manager MALVIRA’ – Piedmont  www.malvira.com

Nicola Guidi (Guidi Owner) – Tuscany www.guidi1929.com

Carmen David D’Onofrio  (managing partner) Stile Brands  www.stilebrands.com

Matthew Landry – Stable House Bistro.  Sommelier of the Year  http://thestablehouse.ca/

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Bill Jones – Foraging Mushrooms

Touring Cedar Creek

A primer on Phantom Creek

The Science of Wine

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TOP DROP 2019 / FIRST TIME IN VICTORIA

The press release came in loud and clear.

For the very first time Top Drop was coming to Victoria.

Frankly, that’s all I needed to know.

I’ve been happily covering this small wildly successful wine gathering for
Six Years but Top Drop in Victoria is a whole other event. Why? Because
Victoria is a great wine town.

TOP DROP is Vancouver based so they needed a Victoria Host. Turns out the
Vessel crew have been watching this independent, craft wine festival seed
and grow in Vancouver, and spread to Calgary in 2018. This was their year to
launch it in Victoria for ONE DAY .

Victoria International Marina

Top Drop is an opportunity to celebrate authenticity in farming, terroir
and wine, with winery principals from around the globe.

Mirroring Top Drop Vancouver and Calgary’s flagship experience, the public
event is a walk around, grazing-style tasting where attendees enjoy sips
and stories from the principals of international and local wineries. There
has never before been a wine tasting of this scope and caliber in Victoria.

For me and TRR, the voice and face of Top Drop has always been Kurtis Kolt.
Wine educator and Wine writer for the Georgia Straight.

Kurtis and TD

Because of the foul weather, Kurtis and his partners were delayed in
Vancouver and could not attend while I was there.

Once again Kurtis Kolt and his partner Jeff Curry and a sensational team
have convinced some of the very best winemakers to pour at Top Drop.

What they have in common is craft and care!

In Kurtis’ column in the Georgia Straight he said this:

“Each year, our process begins the same. Our team casts out a wide net to
British Columbia-based importers and wineries, asking for winery
applications to participate in the event. First and foremost, Top Drop
wineries must fit with our general philosophy: that wines, indeed, express
terroir or offer a sense of place.

Whether we’re talking vines grown in mineral-rich soils or under
cool-climate growing conditions bringing bright acidity or in sun-drenched
regions offering generous, opulent fruit and so on, we want those elements
to be notable in the glass and for them to have arrived there authentically,
rather than via heavy-handed additions in the winery.

Sustainable farming is also key. There is a high priority on those who
employ these methods while farming their own fruit or who work with growers
who fit the mold.”

Winemaking Guests in Victoria:

(Check them out – Winners All!!)

Ross Borland Managing Partner/Vessel Liquor Victoria www.vesselliquor.com

Mitch Renaud Asst manager Vessel Liquor Victoria www.vesselliquor.com

Rhys Pender (MW) Little Farm/Similkameen Valley
http://www.littlefarmwinery.ca/

Angus Thomson Urlar/ Gladstone NZ http://www.urlar.co.nz/

Kelsey Rufiange – Echo Bay/OK Falls www.echobayvineyard.ca

Grant Biggs – Kitsch wines/Kelowna www.kitschwines.ca

Tyler Knight = Lightening Rock/Summerland www.lightningrockwinery.com

Larry Gerelus – Stags Hollow/OK Falls www.stagshollowwinery.com

Michael Shindler – A Sunday in August/Similkameen Valley
www.asundayinaugust.com

Dan Wright – Unsworth/Cowichan Valley www.unsworthvineyards.com

https://topdrop.ca/

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Bill Jones  (Deerholme Farm) – Foraging.  How, where and when.

Italian Winemakers  pour in Vancouver (co-host Michaela Morris)

The new Cedar Creek

Phantom Creek Rises.

UnCorked! A Celebration of the Science of Wine featuring

Mission Hill. Cedar Creek. CheckMate. Martin’s Lane. Road 13