April 2006
2
years old and already a face-lift.
The internet can be a dangerous thing.
Specifically when a certain Wine Diva starts tooling around in cyberspace.
Slowly, insidiously…inadequacies start to creep in like a (thick
pinkish
pea-soup) fog and W.D. gets website envy.
Every site seems prettier, refreshed and refined.
Competition is fierce and Wine Diva feels like she needs a shot of vitamin D, a
wheatgrass shooter, maybe even a new wardrobe.
But is it ever enough? What is the website version of a glycolic peel, of micro-dermabrasion,
of Botox? Is there a quick pill? A cure-it-all?
Probably not….but how about a facelift?
Sure that’ll do…for now!
This Month:
Patio Wines
Wine Reviews
Wine Reviews
From the Cellar
Victoria Festival of Wine
wine islands
when in victoria
Juiced wine group
Taste-Bites
-How Cheesy
-Ocean club
Icons
 Patio Wine |
 Wine
List Sure Bet |
 Good
With Food |
 Girls'
Night Out |
 Unique |
 Crowd
Pleaser |
 Good
for Romance |
 Cellar
Keeper |
Eat Here |
The patio wines are starting to arrived…
Summer releases are geared toward fresh!
Here are a few:
St. Hubertus Pinot Blanc, Okanagan BC, 2005- Delicate orchard fruit and
citrus rind, green apples mineral and lovely, sweet orange blossom aromas. Fresh
and crisp on the entry but then it turns up the volume into rich and creamy
(aided by a very small amount of oak contact). This is an exceptional showing of
BC Pinot Blanc-kudos!
$12.99
Wine Diva tasted-April 2006
St. Hubertus Gamay Noir Rosé, Okanagan BC, 2005- Another great vintage of
the Gamay Rosé from St. Hubertus. Sometimes you want a bone dry rosé to
go with a lunch and sometimes you’re jonesin’ for a rosé with a hint of
sweetness, just to sip in the summer heat. St. Hubertus falls
brilliantly into the latter category. Gorgeous pure ruby hue swimming with sweet
ground berries and finishing with a slice of rhubarb pie sprinkled with spice.
Kind of like sangria a glass.
$12.99
Wine Diva tasted-April 2006
La Petite Frog Blanc, Vin de Pays d’Oc France- This well-priced blend of
sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and grenache blanc gives great bang for the buck.
Okay it is another ‘critter wine’ but somehow saying it in French seems to save
it from being too irritating. Slightly herbaceous and toasty/yeasty with sweet
tropical fruit and fresh white grapefruit. At $12.99 Wine Diva says oui-oui!
$12.99 Private wine stores
Wine Diva tasted-March 2006
St. Hubertus dry Riesling, Okanagan BC, 2005- Green
apple and peach cobbler with a whipped, creamy topping. Slightly oily on the
entry becoming creamy rich. Surprisingly little acidity on this vintage instead,
a good long dose of sweet five-spice on the finish.
$13.50
Wine Diva tasted-April 2006
Oyster Bay Chardonnay, Marlborough New Zealand, 2004-
Brilliant clarity, straw yellow with hint of green. Astounding qualities similar
to the Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh asparagus, gooseberry, mineral and cat pee aromas
but richer tropical fruit on the nose like kiwi and pineapple. Lush, sweet, ripe
fruit followed by undulating layers creaminess, no-acidity, no-creaminess,
no-acidity! A long bright finish, rounds off a chardonnay even a Wine Diva can
love!
$18.99
Wine Diva tasted-March 2006
Shenandoah Vineyards Zinfandel, Amador County
California, 2004-Organic.
Ooh she’s a pretty, pretty girl, all flowers and sweet black fruit. Ripe
black cherries, fresh blueberries, plums and dried fruits lounging in milk
chocolate. A kiss from the lips of your first crush, tasting of port-tipped
cigarillos, warm, bright and spicy.
Coming Soon
$19.90 Private wine stores
Wine Diva tasted-March 2006
Fairview Viognier, Paarl South Africa, 2003- Wowza! Old world austere
Condrieu meets new world super-ripe viognier. White blossoms, apricots,
minerals, anise and five-spice, rubber and straw aromas. Concentrated flavours,
lush and oily with a long spiced finish. Your tongue knows that this is no
wimpy-simpering wine.
$19.99
Wine Diva tasted- March 2006
Paul Jaboulet Muscat Beaumes de Venise, Rhone France, 2003 (375ml)- Sweet
(but not cloying) like a Wine Diva. Honey, orange blossom flowers, ripe and
dried apricots, lemon and a hint of minerals. Long oily finish not too sweet but
a hint of acidity (fruit) would be a good pairing and brighten up this dessert
wine even more!
$22.95
Wine Diva tasted- March 2006
Sandhill Small Lots Viognier, Osprey Ridge Vineyard, Okanagan BC, 2005
(300 cases)-
’Lemon Meringue Pie’-Winemaker Howard Soon.
Admittedly Wine Diva is not a lemon meringue
pie fan, but I was getting a
lot of ‘creamy fruit’ aromas. But after hearing Howard’s take on this new
vintage (NYR) Viognier, I was jumping on his pie bandwagon. Although the ’05
Viognier was still an unfiltered barrel sample all the elements were there…in
spades!
Stunning aromatics of honeysuckle, juicy ripe peaches, lemon rind and wild
honey. Bright flavours, full creamy mouth-feel, lush spiced fruit and a long
smooth finish.
Not for the faint-of-heart Wine Diva’s. This particular diva is
harnessing an alcohol content of 15.2%!
$22.99 BC only (release set for June 2006)
Wine Diva tasted-March 2005
Poderi Alasia Brut DOC Piedmont Italy, 1996- Vino Spumante style blend of
50/50 pinot noir/chardonnay. Don’t let the word ‘Spumante’ in their freak you
out. This is not cotton candy, the term means sparkling in Italian.
Persistent golden bubbles dance up the glass aromas of ripe tree fruit yeast and
minerals. Clean, fresh and crisp in the mouth, medium bodied with a long
minerally finish.
$26.99 Private wine stores
Wine Diva tasted-March 2006
Sandhill Small Lots Petit Verdot,
Phantom Creek, Okanagan BC, 2003 (132 cases)-Wine
Diva loves the lush character of Petit Verdot. Inky purplish-black with ripe
black berries, plum, dark flowers, cocoa and sweet, dried red berry fruit.
Richly flavoured with sweet ripe fruit and coffee beans, chewy leather and a
long spiced finish with persistent fine tannins.
$26.99 BC only
Sandhill Small Lots ‘One’, Phantom
Creek, Okanagan BC, 2003 (215 cases)-
Wine Diva
isn’t quite sure what they are feeding those grapes up in the Phantom
Creek Vineyard, but whatever it is, keep doing it! This vineyard is a perfect
example of terroir and science. Add in great vineyard management, skillful
winemaking (and a good vintage) and this is what you get…What, you thought
winemaking was easy?
Not only does the lovely, lush, lady Petit Verdot come from here. So does
the champion, Canada’s Best Syrah, Sandhill Small Lots Syrah, and the
emperor himself, known simply as ‘One’.
‘One’ (if you have been hiding under a rock and don’t drink BC wine) has
the power to make even the snobbiest of snobby, snob wine-snob’s take notice. A
luscious blend of (Bordeaux varietals) Cabernet Sauvignon (80%), Petit Verdot
(15%) and Malbec (5%).
Chock-a-block full of black fruit-blackberries and plums, dark flowers,
bitter-sweet chocolate, leather and the smallest hint of bell peppers. Velouté
(a fancy French word meaning velvety smooth) in the mouth, fine grained tannins
and a long finish sprinkled with subtle, sweet spices.
Santé
$33.00
Wine Diva tasted-March 2006
* Wine Diva tip- ‘One’ is what we, in the biz, call a
proprietary name. In the case of Sandhill it was named as such being
the first (or number one) blend.
Similarly Mission Hill has Oculus, Sumac Ridge has
Pinnacle and Mondavi- Rothschild have…Opus One. All of these
are a blend of grapes classic to Bordeaux.
From the Cellar
Kurt Angerer ‘Donatus’ Riesling, Kamptal Austria, 2003-
Colour, aroma and flavours, the group I tasted this with swore it was oak aged.
Wrong, 100% stainless steel, classic and clean as Kurt Angerer believes. This
wine is not available in BC. It was brought with a friend who imports it from
Ontario. I wrote about the Angerer Riesling and Grüner Veltliner in November
2004 when I tried them both at Lee in Toronto during a visit. When my friend
announced he was coming to play with us at the Playhouse Wine Festival he asked
what he could bring from T.O.?
My answer was immediate, without second thought…Kurt Angerer. Angerer has recently gained iconic status and the demand in Europe is
so great that even the U.S fights to get their own small allocation.
Rich golden colour with aromas of white grapefruit, mineral and classic petrol
fit the Riesling mould; it’s the other aromas and flavours that make this wine
out of the ordinary. Super-ripe, melon and vanilla and spices. Heavy, oily
texture (14% alc), creamy and lush with a long, hot ‘green-ish’ finish.
Wine Diva tasted-March 2005
Victoria Festival of Wine
BC Favorites
Joie "A Noble Blend" 2005-Muscat-y, apricots in honey, pear, melon,
lemongrass, 5 spice $20.45
Joie Pinot Noir Rosé 2005- Pure sweet aromas of fresh ground berries,
spice.$18.45
Kettle Valley Pinot Gris- Less Wine Diva ‘pink’ than last vintage.
Bright orchard fruit, floral, still slightly reserved (a couple more months in
the bottle should do it). $22.00
Kettle Valley Chardonnay 2003- Buttered popcorn ripe melon and pear,
citrus rind and butterscotch. $18.00
Cedar Creek Estate Merlot 2003- Sweet black fruit, and chocolate
$26.99
Cedar Creek Estate Pinot Gris 2004-Ripe orchard fruit, sweet ginger, lush
mouth-feel.
$19.99
Wine Islands- For those of
us who live in Vancouver we rarely get to try wines from Vancouver Island (and
some of the more obscure Gulf Island wines). Wine Diva did a little tour of the
tasting room during the recent Victoria Festival of Wine and these are some of
my favorites.
Cowichan Valley:
Vigneti Zanatta Damasco-crisp light and white, a perfect patio
sipper. $13.95
Vigneti Zanatta Fatima ’96 Brut-100% Pinot Grigio
smooth and creamy. $25.95
Blue Grouse Pinot Noir 2003- Classic pinot aromas with solid cherry
fruit. $19.90
Salt Spring Island
Salt Spring Vineyards Blanc de Noirs 2004-Bright, fun ruby rosé, full on
fresh berry. $18.49
Pender Island
Morning Bay Winery Riesling 2004- Good Riesling character, mineral
orchard fruit, citrus. The fruit for this vintage is from the Okanagan.
$18.00
When in Victoria…
Sleep-
Magnolia Hotel and Spa 623 Courtney Street- Gorgeous heritage building
spitting distance to the Inner Harbour (Not that I would expect you to spit)
with Aveda Spa packages to make you swoon. A pleasure to behold. 250-381-0999
www.magnoliahotel.com
Shop-
She She Bags 616 View Street-OMG Wine Diva could have spent hours in this
adorable shop. A luscious selection of bags, wallets, flip flops and purses.
A true girly-girl essentials store!
Owner Shelagh Macartney is a doll (she’s usually there) and would be thrilled to
assist you in making your selection(s).
then…
Head out the back door to Shelagh’s other store All in Bloom (616 Trounce
Alley) that is positively brimming with charming trinkets, cards, candles and
delight!
By this time, (after all that shopping) you’ll need some nourishment, so head
next door to…
Nosh-
The Tapa Bar (620 Trounce Alley) for a glass of wine or a cerveza and
some tempting small plates. W.D loved the Grilled Carrots in sweet mustard sauce
($5) Chile Relleno ($8), Chile Con Queso Fondue ($6) and Grilled Portabellos
with Champagne Vinaigrette ($8)There are about six each-red and white wines
by-the-glass or indulge in a Classic Lime Margarita or Mojito ($6 ea)
250-383-0013
www.tapabar.ca
Head back to the Hotel, indulge in an Aveda treatment (or two) in
preparation for a visit to the swanky…
Night-
Temple (525 Fort Street) Start with the Edamame (lovingly tossed with
mint & lime) then order up one of their ‘organic sides’ to pair up with your
main. Don’t forget the wine Wine Diva’s! Pinot Gris, Viognier, Riesling or
Tempranillo, Sangiovese or Nebbiolo…they have it all. An extensive and
entertaining list, guaranteed to take some perusal time.
250-383-2313
www.thetemple.ca
Not ready to give in yet?
Wander down the street to the Irish Times Pub (1200 Government Street).
Beer list…extensive. Wine list…surprisingly impressive. Cocktails…slow down
sailor!
250-383-7775
www.irishtimespub.ca
Brunch the next Morning-
Rebar Modern Food 50 Bastion Square-Not new but always a favorite for
nourishing comfort food, healthy treats and fresh squeezed juices. I love this
place. When I lived in Victoria 1993ish I worked in Bastion Square and everyday
went for a fresh squeezed juice and lunch on the weekends. Healthy, simple and
fresh!
250-361-9223
www.rebarmodernfood.com
‘Not Your
Typical Wine Tasting Group”
Juiced Wine Group
Juiced Wine Group hosted their first tasting on Monday April 3rd,
2006 at Savory Coast Cucina Mediterranea. (Congrats to Savory Coast for
the ‘Critics Choice-Best New Restaurant 2006’ in the Georgia Straight’s Golden
Plate Awards).
The theme: ‘Syrah-To Blend or Not to Blend’.
The wines tasted:
Le Camassot, ‘Les Amandiers’ Syrah, Vin de Pays de Vaucluse, France 2004-
Le Camassot is located in Sablet in the Southern Rhone Valley. Winemaker
Cecile Chassagne fo llows her family’s tradition of producing traditional,
elegant handcrafted wines. The ‘Les Amandiers’ is quite a delicate syrah with
juicy berry fruits and hints of smoked meats, savoury herbs and earth. Soft
tannins and a long finish reminiscent of dried fruit. A wine made for food
pairing, I suggest slightly chilled on the patio.
$13.99 Private wine stores
Cecile Chassagne, Gigondas, France 2001- Like ‘Les Amandiers’ the
Gigondas is made by Cecile Chassagne in her family’s traditional style. A
classic blend of 70%Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre. It shows ripe cherries
and blackberries, firm, complex, elegant and approachable with fine-grained
peppery tannins.
$28.99 Private wine stores
Les Beaumelles, Côtes du Luberon Rouge, France 2002-From the modern
domaine of Château Val Joanis on the edge of the southern Côtes-du-Rhone. Grown
on the cooler mountainous slopes the Côtes-du-Luberon rouge has earned a
brilliant reputation of delicious, elegant and well priced wines. Fresh black
fruit, dried fruit, chalk, mocha, earth and dark flowers followed by soft
tannins. Approachable and affordable. Syrah & Grenache blend.
$13.99 Private wine stores
Bodegas Luan, Equis, Spain 2003
-90pt Robert Parker…40% Bobal, 20% Merlot, 13% Syrah, Tempranillo and
Cabernet.
Full bodied, inky, concentrated, black fruit flavours with sweetness and purity.
A big, stylish red made on the border of Yecla and La Mancha, fabulous value
wine drinking well now. Intense, rich fruit, earthy and mint-chocolatey with
good acidity and a surprisingly delicate finish. Simply lovely…especially at
this price point!
$12.99 Private wine stores
Anakena, ‘Ona’ Syrah, Chile 2004- Big, serious French Rhone style
Syrah. The ‘Ona’ label is the premium level of wines produced from Anakena’s
vineyards in Alto Cachapoal, Rapel Valley. Adhering to tradition the ‘Ona’ is
aged entirely in 100% French oak barrels. Meaty and concentrated with sweet
blackberry, raspberry, earth and minerals finished with sweet spices.
Understandable that this was in fact the favorite wine of the evening.
$24.95 Private wine stores
Cusumano ‘Benuara’, Sicily Italy, 2004
A family owned winery, Cusumano pride themselves on continuous research and
study of viniculture/viticulture in their vineyards. ‘Spearheading a renaissance
of wine making that has introduced the world to fine wines Sicily’. The Benuara
is a blend of Syrah(30%) and Sicily’s own lovely grape Nero d’Avola (70%).
Earth, sweaty leather and barnyard aromas topped with cocoa and spiced
blackberries. Rustic, complex and very Italian.
$27.99 Private wine stores
Juiced Wine Group
next tasting…
Monday, May 1st
’Flowers in Your Wine’
Have you ever heard (or read) wine people say they smell the aroma of flowers
while sniffing their glass of wine?
"Hints of rose petals...reminiscent of citrus blossoms...dark flowers, violets I
think."
It doesn't mean that there are actually flowers added to the wine but that these
floral aromas are intrinsic to certain grape varietals, wherever they
hail from.
Join Juiced Wine Group on Monday May 1st to explore this months theme, "Flowers
in Your Wine"...
and pick some flowers.
The Wines:
Craneford 'Frontignac', Adelaide Hills Australia
Les Piliers Viognier, Rhone Valley France
J Bookwalter Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley Washington
Zefina Winery 'Serience White', Columbia Valley Washington
Marchesi di Gresi, Monte Aribaldo Dolcetto D'Alba, Italy
Mazzei Tenuta Di Belguardo, Serrata, Tuscany Italy
For details go to
www.juicedwine.com
Tomme de Muscadet- Cows milk cheese, France.
Wine Diva loves Tomme (great with Burgundy) and Wine Diva loves
wine…Muscadet. By brushing cheese with wine you have combined W.D’s two major
food groups!
The Tomme de Muscadet has a lovely (slightly sticky) edible,
orange rind that is the result of brushing the Muscadet wine onto the outside of
tomme disks. It imparts not only the gorgeous colour but a grapey/Muscat-y
flavour into the cheese. The cheese is earthy, herbascous and sweetly
grapey-fruity with a fresh, nutty finish and creamy mouth-feel. Could be a new
W.D favorite!
Excellent with slightly sweet white wines with good acidity. $4.95/100gr
Stink Factor-Medium
Saenkanter-Holland (cow’s milk)
Bold, nutty, salty this firm extra aged Gouda style cheese
is chewy on the entry then creamy as it dissolves in your mouth. then the salty
crystallization kicks in. Brilliant and potent with a long burnt caramel finish.
Black wax rind-please don’t eat, peel back and enjoy!
Stink Factor- Medium low
Queijo de Nisa-Portugal-Sheeps Milk
Smelly yes, earthy, sheepish, barnyard-y and wild tasting with a long
herbasceous grassy finish. Soft washed rind amber/orange rind-edible.
$6.95/100g
Stink factor- Medium High
Cracker With Your Cheese?
Venus Organic 8-Grain Crackers in Seed Celebration flavour
purchased recently at Capers.
Wine Diva is addicted to these flatbread crackers that are chock full of sweet-ish
fennel, poppy and anise seeds. Venus also makes the ‘Haute Cuisine Crackers’
that Capers (and others around town) sell.
The new '8-Grainers' have only been available for eight months.
The two other flavours are Hearty Original and Mediterranean Delight. All are on special now at Capers for $2.99 for a 5oz box.
Every time a new restaurant opens there is a flurry of
press by local critics and writers.
Guess what, no change here!
So what if anything makes the O.C different?
Pssst, come closer….everybody seems to love
it!
Room-What’s not to like? Super sexy room, wood and
(finally someone who gets the lounge sofa design right) low-backed banquette/sofas to
lounge upon without your view of the room being impeded. And man who is the
brains behind this…there is more lounge than restaurant. More bars and bar
stools and banquette sofas than dining tables. Makes sense when you want a place
for people to come and hang!
I don’t know about you, but when casual Wine Diva goes into a restaurant,
I look for the lounge first. Why? I feel like I can sit back and relax, enjoy a
glass of wine and a bite without feeling like I am sitting at a desk.
But back to the sexy O.C. It is both warm and trendy with creamy-white seats,
medium wood and soft lighting that we ladies love. W.D loves the black and white
photos along the east wall and barely noticed the flat screen’s positioned above
eye level around the restaurant.
That’s good design.
The girls have their banquettes and sexy lighting, the boys have their sports.
Food- We started off with an Amuse Bouche of Asparagus Soup topped with
cream foam and sweet preserved lemon…heavenly! We loved the Cinnamon Yam
fries ($6)and the twist orange anise oil on the boring old
Edamame ($7). We also loved the Baby Spinach Salad with
hazelnut crusted goat cheese ($10) although W.D thinks it should be called
‘Goat Cheese with Baby Spinach Salad’ (due to the immense portion of Salt Spring
Island Goat Cheese). Interesting that Managing Partner André Thomas said he’s
had complaints about the size of the salad. I think it’s the amount of spinach
they refer to because if these people knew the quality and cost of the Salt
Spring Goat cheese they surely wouldn’t be complaining.
The cheese selection looks great too. Wine Diva has noticed the thoughtful
cheese plate at savvy joints around town. Rather than pick 5 and plop them on a
platter, each cheese you choose is accompanied by a harmonious side, like;
Applewood Smoked Cheddar with cranberry compote or Triple Cream Brie with
balsamic strawberries. Yum.
Liquids- Wine Diva always analyzes the wine list first.
It’s very good and approachable starting at $6.50 per glass.
Eleven whites btg (by-the-glass) include-Yalumba ‘Y’ Viognier, Dr.
Pauly-Bergweiler Riesling and Caymus Conundrum.
Eleven reds btg include- Penfolds ‘Thomas Hyland’ Cabernet, Pirramimma Petit
Verdot and Masi Valpolicella.
The btb (by-the-bottle) is even more impressive for wine lovers.
If the Wine Diva was able to hold the hard stuff she would recommend a visit to
the cocktail catalogue. Muddled Mixtures, Martini’s, Champagne Cocktails, Single
Malt’s or Tequila, whatever your poison, you’ll find it here!
Service- I think we may have hit the jackpot (we just beat the Friday night
crowds) but we thought the service was spot on. This is not a white tablecloth
joint but the servers were very patient, polite and well trained. Spot on
actually, congenial and efficient, what more could a Wine Diva
want?
www.theoceanclub.ca
Suite 105-100 Park Royal
West Vancouver
604-926-2326