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 #31 – Interview with John Skinner of Painted Rock Estate Winery

Painted Rock Syrah 2007

Painted Rock started selling their first wine late last summer. The buzz has been building ever since. This is serious wine with no compromises. Their vineyard gets sunlight until 9:25pm in the summer. Rocks surrounding the vineyard collect and radiate heat. The air drains evenly through the vineyard over the cliffs into Skaha Lake. Not a detail has been overlooked with how this vineyard has been set up.

So how does the wine taste? Well, let’s just say their modest line of 5 wines – Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot, Cab Sauv (now sold out) and Red Icon (meritage blend) – easily stand out. I first tasted their wines at a trade tasting at last fall’s wine festival. Aaron and I were tasting whites in the ballroom of the Ramada when we found that there were other wineries in the smaller room opposite the ballroom. Upon entering said room, we were greeted by a lady who came right up to us and said something like, “Here, try this chardonnay” to which we replied, “Um, thanks. Who are you?”

She told us a bit about Painted Rock and their products and in truth, I remember nothing of what she said. I was so taken by this chardonnay – its complex aromas and depth – that everything else was kind of tuned out for a minute or so. That’s when I looked up to see that Aaron was paying as much attention to the wine as I was.

Suffice it to say that when we came back to try the reds (again after having tasted much of the reds in the bigger ballroom) we were again knocked out by the same complexity as the chardonnay. I had to know more about this winery.

The result is this podcast. I recently sat down for an interview with Painted Rock owner John Skinner about the new winery and the marketing that has helped create buzz about the winery that won “Best New Winery” at the 2009 Fall Wine Festival.

As mentioned in the podcast, Painted Rock will be opening their temporary wineshop in the last week of April 2010. They plan to be open all summer until the fall festival. Check out their website for more info.

BC Wine Information Centre launches new website

I’m still putting the finishing touches on it, but I figured that as loyal readers and listeners of Wine Country BC, you deserve to be in the know as soon as possible. So here goes…

The BC Wine Information Centre VQA store in Penticton has launched a new website. Full of information, links, wine tips, and services, this is a new and current site that will be updated frequently with info on their special events and tastings that occur throughout the year. You can also follow them on Twitter to find out what they are pouring at the tasting bar at any moment! (This feature might take a little time to get going, but we’ll be working on it soon.)

Anyways, bookmark the new site and check it often – there will be lots going on this summer and if you’re coming to visit the Okanagan or Similkameen valleys, check in with us here at Wine Country BC and then head over to the Wine Information Centre’s new website to help you with your plans.

Don’t forget to say hi when you come for a visit!

Podcast #1 – Introductions and Odyssey Brut

Here it is, fresh off the digital workstation – our very first podcast!! 

In this first episode, we talk about our philosophy of wine and we taste the Odyssey Brut 2006 from Gray Monk Estate Winery.

Gray Monk's Odyssey Brut 2006

Tempranillo 2006 by D’Angelo Estate Winery

 

Tempranillo 2006 by D'Angelo

Tempranillo 2006

(VQA Okanagan Valley) by D’Angelo Estate Winery

We mostly hear about wines being over-priced. Sticker shock when browsing the shelves, especially for BC wines, is very common. This wine will still shock you, but in a much better way – it is only $15.00 and it delivers.

The color of this wine is relatively light, more akin to a pinot noir. It’s nose suggests ripe cherries, bricks and earth. The palate has lots of red fruit, leather, earth, and vanilla, but nothing dominates – it is pleasantly balanced and smooth. Drink it on its own or as a perfect match with pork (pork tenderloin on the grill perhaps) or chicken.

Tempranillo, the grape, is more often associated with Spain and hasn’t really been seen very much in BC. Inniskilin Okanagan on the Golden Mile, south of Oliver, and Twisted Tree in Osoyoos are the only other wineries that I know of currently that grow it. Inniskillin makes an icewine with theirs while Twisted Tree has a dry red, which I’m itching to try. Their offerening (at $28) is almost double the price of D’Angelo’s, which makes this dry wine a pretty sweet deal. Cheers!