Glenn’s Wine Spam
By CeriB. Filed in Uncategorized |
May 2009
Hi everyone; lot’s of new products landing at both stores, a new place to eat in Oak Bay and a couple events are detailed in this notice.
Cadboro Bay Road; the restaurant next door has been leased and we are looking forward to the opening of Bistro 28 in June. Sam Chalmers is the Chef / Owner, formerly at Bon Rouge and the Superior with his formal training at the Dubrulle Institute in Vancouver. The booths have been ripped out and the bar will be expanded to 8 seats. He’s been buying a lot of wine from us to try and the small plates menu I saw looked tasty, so a comfortable little hangout with many wines by the glass is what to expect.
Released over the last month;
- Black Hills 2007 Nota Bene
- Cedar Creek 2008 Ehrenfelser, Dry Riesling & Gewürztraminer
- Dirty Laundry 2007 Cabernet Merlot
- Gehringer Brothers Dry Rock 2008 Sauvignon Blanc
- Herder 2008 Pinot Gris
- Lake Breeze 2008 Pinot Blanc
- Monster Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer, Manmade White
- Nk Mip 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon & Pinot Noir
- Poplar Grove 2005 Legacy & 2007 Chardonnay
- Quails’ Gate 2008 Gewurzt, Chasselas & Rose, Family Reserve 07 Chard & 06 Pinot Noir
- Road 13 2008 Old Vine Chenin Blanc
- See Ya Later Ranch 2008 Rose & 2007 Semillon
- Township 7 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Glenn’s VQA pick of month; consistently the black label Jackson Triggs Sauvignon Blanc is one of the top selling wines out of the store and yet the Grand Reserve (copper label) gets little attention. It is still unoaked, the best lots of fruit and perennial medal winner at the Okanagan festival. The current vintage is 2006 displaying candied lemon aromas with a hint of cut grass that is super lush on the palate and long on the finish, all for $19.
Cook Street Village Liquor; it continues to be awkward getting into our wonderful “paid parking lot” during the day with an active construction site just meters away but by the end of summer our little nightmare should be a dream location. We are trying to sort out a handful of things with the landlord so bear with us on this issue and bring a quarter for the meter, tear off the bottom and get your two bits back. Though bells and whistles like the Ode to Lorraine continue to roll in my focus at the wine festival was value under $30 and I was pleasantly surprised by many, please see the list below.
Released over the last month;
Beer;
- Phillips Double Barrel Scotch Ale is going fast, Wheat King this week
- Driftwood just released the Crooked Coast Amber Ale, Blackstone Porter is gone
- Lighthouse released Riptide Pale Ale
- Hebrew Genesis Pale Ale & Messiah Bold Brown (yes they are Kosher!)
- Coopers Premium Lager & Best Extra Stout (a taste of Oz)
- Tin Whistle Killer Bee Dark Honey
- Saison Dupont is back in stock
- Pike IPA, Kilt Lifter & Naughty Nellie
Wine wise;
- Alasia Sorlaria Roero Arneis (super plush white from Piedmont)
- Apollonio Squinzano (braise me some meat)
- Azul Portugal Ribatejo Tinto (a big plush mouthful for under $20)
- Castilla Aruspide Trio (another value red from Spain)
- Cono Sur Organic Pinot Noir (what can I say except these guys make great wine)
- Elderton Ode to Lorraine CSM (95 pts wine spectator, Liberty exclusive)
- Elephant Island Cherry & Pink Elephant (BC’s top fruit wine producer)
- Espelt, 2 whites & 3 reds (all killer values from Spain)
- Good Hope Old Vine Chenin (it’s smack you in the face good)
- Gres Saint Paul Libertine Dry Muscat (fragrant, juicy & crisp)
- Kettle Valley 2005 Reserve Adra Station Chardonnay (toasty & rich)
- Mad Housewife Cabernet Sauvignon (good wine & great packaging)
- Paul Mas Grenache (session wine)
- Poplar Grove 2005 Merlot & 2007 Monster Merlot (my top BC picks)
- Sokol Blosser Meditrina (juicy big red from Oregon)
- Spy Valley Riesling (not just great Sauv Blanc)
- Taittinger Prelude Grand Cru (it’s the bomb)
- The Velvet Devil Merlot (Washington power)
- Trivento Reserve Syrah (big Argentinean for under $15)
- Vitoria ECCO Organic (Rioja value)
- Oh and we have some Nota Bene as well…
Arriving soon;
- Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
- Innocent Bystander Moscato
- Chakana Sauvignon Blanc
- Alasia Dolcetto
- Some Young Punks “Drink & Stick” Mataro Shiraz
The next Victoria Wine Society tasting, Australian Shiraz & blends is less than 2 weeks away on May 25th and there are still some seats left. I will pop out the event notice complete with line up very shortly.
Don’t miss “Defending Our Back Yard” on Sunday May 31st at Fort Rod Hill. It’s a Feast of Fields style of event produced by the Island Chef’s Collaborative with tickets available at both of our stores, $45 adult, $25 youth (9 to 15) and $99 for a family (2 adults & 2 youth), under 8 is free. Checkout http://www.iccbc.ca/public/events/newpage.html for more information.