by Amorita Bastaja | A bottle or two of note, something overheard and many words read…

TASTED: My first tasting back from holidays has me in good company – Peter Gago the chief winemaker from Penfolds Winery is in town for their luxury wine release, including such treats at RWT, St. Henri, Magill Estate and the famed Grange. Beginning with the whites, the Yattarna Chardonnay stood out, exhibiting delicious lemony and ginger notes. A good dose of new French oak provides sweet spice on the palate; ginger and cinnamon abound. It’s hard to pick a favourite among the reds with so many stars, but the Magill Estate Shiraz just feels right with its connection to the original Penfolds Magill winery. Sourced from a single vineyard, this little gem is still crushed, fermented and aged on-site. Just a baby, this wine provided only a peep show of what is to come.  Rich blueberry and mocha are intertwined with a lush pluminess and a touch of mint. A proper toastiness with ample oak aging, this wine has miles still to go.

OVERHEARD: I recently shared a meal with David Paterson, winemaker for the drool-worthy Tantalus wines. Topics of conversation included their upcoming dinner with Joy Road Catering on August 25th at God’s Mountain (If you’ve never experienced the transcendence that is Dana and Cam’s food, please drop everything to purchase tickets to this event), the challenge of planting varietals suited to the weather and region as opposed to what is commercially popular, and the structure of their Pinot Noir, which David described as “tighter than a nun’s…”

READ: Hope has renewed for a 500 year old vine located just outside of Vienna that was vandalized in February. Locales have said that the vine, a possible ancestor to the great Austrian grape varietal Gruner Veltiner has begun sprouting new shoots this week…Anthony Gismondi offers up some of his favourite sippers for the last days of summer…Latest reports from the British Columbia Wine Institute indicate that grape growth in various BC wine growing regions is approximately two weeks behind but are confident that a warm September would save the 2011 vintage…In a similar report, crop numbers for British Columbia in 2010 were much lower than previous years due to a late harvest and poor weather…A controversial study comparing the British Columbia wine industry to other heavy hitter regions was recently released, highlighting some of the weaknesses BC faces in becoming a world class wine growing region…Small wineries in Oregon are dismayed by new laws that restrict tasting rooms and on site events depending on the number of acres owned…Wines of Argentina has commissioned a study to find out what the UK really thinks about their signature white grape, Torrontes. Can you imagine where Merlot would be if they did the same thing after Sideways?

———————————————————————————-

Amorita Bastaja is a manager at Legacy Liquor Store, the largest liquor store in British Columbia (located in the Athlete’s Village), and the Wine Editor of Scout. Her love of imbibing steered her through courses from the International Sommelier Guild and the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and has taken her to many wine regions, including Washington State, Napa and Sonoma, Piemonte, Veneto, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Provence and all over the Okanagan Valley.