Podcast 98 – Soaring Eagle’s Return

Happy New Year!

We’re starting off the year by welcoming back an old friend. Soaring Eagle returned last fall with a small lineup of wines and Nick and I tasted one of them recently. Here’s what happened…

Podcast 97 – Interview with Stephen Wyse

I like talking about wine. I can and do talk about it all day long sometimes. Most of the time, I’m lucky enough to get payed to do that.

Stephen Wyse from the boutique winery Young & Wyse in Osoyoos, BC, likes to talk about wine too. When I got to talk to him in his wine shop recently, the time went by quickly and the result is this podcast which pushes 45 minutes. It’s a great conversation with a guy who knows wine. He also has some great advice for anyone who is feeling a little burned out with their job.

We’ve featured Young & Wyse before – exactly 2 years ago in fact – when Amber, AJ, and I tasted their Shiraz from their first vintage in 2008. Their winery has been on our radar ever since with unique blended wines like the “Amber” (our Amber bought one, of course) and the Black Label aka the “33,30,24,13″. Now with new vintagea of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and a cozy wine shop just outside of town, this is one winery that should be on your must-visit list.

Podcast #51 – Wine Magazines in BC – Savour

Ok, I have to admit that in the Okanagan’s home-grown magazine on wine and food, I find it difficult to read the articles. I am distracted too often by the photos, the beautiful photos of the tastiest culinary treats from the Okanagan’s elite chefs and food producers. On one page there will be the most amazing chocolates and then an article on cigars or espresso. There are also restaurant reviews, the latest cook books, recipes, and more about all things tasty in the Okanagan.

And of course, there is wine. While Savour is not a dedicated wine magazine, it is a major part of Okanagan culinary life and is a major presence in the pages of each issue. It isn’t all just sweetness and light. Industry professionals like Rhys Pender MW, Julianna Hayes, and Dr. David Bond, who wrote an article about the “Cellared in Canada” issue that made headlines in 2009, are all frequent contributors.

Savour is about to launch a full featured online presence with a brand new website (to be unveiled soon) to go along with their activity on Twitter and the fabulous local wine community on BC Wineries.net.  

So grab something tasty and listen to our interview with Savour publisher Chytra Brown and managing editor Joyce Wegner. And just a warning if you pick up an issue of any Savour magazine: be prepared to get hungry.

Old Vines Foch 2007 from Quail’s Gate Estate Winery

Alright, I have to admit that I have a been a member of the ‘Foch Club’ for a while. I first tried Quail’s old vines foch a while ago with the 2000 or 2001 vintages and they were great – they were big and tasty without the drying tannic feel that usually accompanies big red wines. The local wine store manager told me that the foches from Quail’s had a loyal following and that the few cases that they were given were usually snapped up quite quickly.

So I was a little more than excited when I first saw the new vintage of the foch arrive from Quail’s Gate recently. It has a complex nose – sage, tar, black liquorice and red cherries – quite complex and a refreshing change from some of the simpler wines that we had been tasting earlier that week. It wasn’t as complex on the palate but had a good combination of dark fruit, plums, tar and leather to make it interesting.

Medium acid and low tannins, which is par for the course when it comes to foch, means that this variety doesn’t really age all that well. I learned that one the hard way when my 2001 foch from Quail’s Gate sat for 5 years in my less-than-ideal condo cellar. When we opened it, the fruit had left the building and taken most of the furniture with it. It tasted like dirt, although good quality dirt. This foch-not-really-good-at-aging thing was confirmed that same year when, visiting some family in Toronto, they opened a bottle of a ’98 foch from the Niagara with similar results. I like earthy, rustic, old-world style wines as much as anyone, but I do like to have at least a hint of fruit to remind me that the liquid in the glass did come from a grape.

Anyways, back to the ’07 Quail’s Gate Old Vines Foch – it is still hands down the best in the Okanagan and the ones to which all other foches aspire. It should be widely available throughout BC in specialty and VQA stores. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Are you the newest member of the foch club?