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

TASTED: In Aussie class last week I sampled some of my favourite wine: aged Semillon. In its infancy, Semillon (usually coming from the Hunter Valley, but very good examples are found in the Barossa as well) is light bodied and fairly one dimensional. It exhibits lots of acidity and lemon but is something of a sleeping giant. Given a good rest, it blossoms into more than one could ever expect. Two standouts included the Tyrrell’s Vat 1 2003 and 1999 (private wine stores, around $70). The wines were balanced showing great acidity in their mature age. They tasted of caramel, butterscotch, almonds, creamy cheese and coconut. They also had a slight briny quality that I found very intriguing. Another standout, though not tasted in class, was the 2003 Rockford Semillon from the Barossa. This wine is a steal at around $40, and I spend many minutes extolling its virtues on unsuspecting customers in the store. Pair with Dungeness crab and clarified butter.

OVERHEARD: I was treated to a delicious line up of Burgundy last week from Maison Louis Jadot. Both the whites and reds were stunning (smoky and flinty for the whites, earthy and spicy for the reds) but it was the great sense of humour from the export director that stole the show. My favourite comment from his visit: “In Burgundy you are always close to somewhere famous. In fact, we are only 100 miles away from Petrus”.

READ: Beppi Crosariol debates the positives and negatives of screwcaps and corks in his latest
column for the Globe & Mail…James Halliday talks Australian market share in a recent interview…the November issue of Decanter Magazine delves into Australia’s diverse wine styles, calling it the most “under appreciated wine producing country”…China and Hong Kong now account for 60% of total export sales of Bordeaux…Sid Cross dissects the newly released 2008 Bordeaux wines available in the BC market…Mark Hicken reports that next week a Bill will be introduced that will potentially allow wine to be shipped across borders…5,500 pounds of grapes disappear under the cover of darkness in a German vineyard…and lastly, the date for the very popular Napa Valley Vintner’s tour have been announced (November 1st). Stay tuned for more details!

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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.