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. Her weekly column – Corkage – covers a bottle of note, something overheard and many words read…

TASTED: Michelle Bouffard of House Wine cracked a few (or 12) bottles of Pinot Noir last week while I mooched around. A couple of favourites were the Cave de Lugny, Crémant de Lugny Brut Rosé (NV, private wine stores, approx $30) –  excellent value for bubble of this caliber. A soft salmon colour, it exhibited fresh strawberry alongside delicate citrus fruit on the nose and palate. The bubbles were fine and creamy. So delicious with soft cheese! The other standout was the 2007 Louis Jadot Pommard 1er Cru Grands Epenots (private wine stores, $70). Perhaps it’s infanticide to open it so soon, but it was still very enjoyable. Light in colour and style, everything about this wine was subtle and elegant. A racy minerality creates structure, while top notes of flowers and forest intermingle. Again, delicious.

OVERHEARD: As I write this, I’m enjoying a glass of 2006 Carlton Cellars Roads End Pinot Noir at the Tofino Food & Wine Festival. Soon it’s off to The Schooner Restaurant for The Cocktail Show courtesy of Jacob Sweetapple, Jess Nichol and Paul Hinchey. The botanical gardens then beckon for Grazing in the Garden. It’s a little grey out, damp and chilly, but the surf is all I need to hear tonight.

READ: First reports of the 2011 vintage in the Southern Hemisphere – where juice is feverishly fermenting away – have come out. Australia and New Zealand suffered through wet weather, making rot a potential issue. Lower yields have been reported with lower sugar levels, potentially resulting in lower alcohol wines…Chile and Argentina fared slightly better, but are reporting lower yields due to frost and chilly weather…Rubicon Estate owner Francis Ford Coppola has lured away winemaker Phillippe Bascaules (previously with Chateau Margaux) and purchased the name brand name “Inglenook” in hopes of returning the estate name to its former glory…the Seghesio family who are best known for their Zinfandels have sold their winery, vineyards, brand name and current inventory to the Crimson Wine Group…Lucky Manitoba, home to both a new (old) hockey team and now the potential ability to purchase wine and beer in grocery stores…the Liquor Control Board of Ontario has just released their fiscal 2010 results, with revenue pushing $4.55 billion and profit at $1.56 billion…Very much enjoyed Jake Skakun’s comments on Cherries and Clay regarding VQA labelling laws, join the discussion…Starting summer 2012, if your wine has been fined with natural agents like fish bladders or egg whites, the label may be subject to stickers announcing so – less is more, drink unfined unfiltered!