This past week I featured a series of California Rhone wines in conjunction with my recently published article for Edible Communities entitled Where we Rhone. This article explores the history of Rhone varietals in California and features both iconic and up-and-coming local Rhone-centric winemakers. I’ve also included a brief Rhone wine 101 sidebar, explaining the French origin and breaking down the most common varietals. Have a read, brush up on your Rhone wine 101, and then check out a few individual California Rhone wine reviews featured here on my site.
It makes sense that Zinfandel has gained a reputation as California’s “heritage grape.” For many years, Zinfandel’s exact origins remained a mystery, or, as Jancis Robinson calls it, “a romantic thriller.” The red grape seemed to have made the trek and set fresh roots in the Golden State in conjunction with the forty-niners seeking their fortune in gold. Here, when the search for treasure proved fruitless, settlers turned to farming — and the Zinfandel grape thrived more than the Gold Rush ever could. Fields of vines flourished throughout the Sierra Foothills, and wine — namely jug wine — became a household staple and a new California industry.
With no known parentage and no knowledge of how the red wine grape arrived in the States in the first place — Zinfandel became California’s “wine child.”
Made famous by the movie Sideways, Pinot Noir has become the favored wine in popular culture. But Miles wasn’t kidding when he said it’s a difficult grape to grow. It’s thin-skinned, susceptible to disease, and can’t bare too much sun-exposure. And because of this fragile quality, Pinot Noir has become known as the “headache” grape amongst vintners. But if those vintners practice patience, and pay attention to those tight clusters and petite buds, it will produce a red wine that speaks eloquently of soft tannins and subtle fruits. Indeed, it is the great grape of Burgundy, used in such famous wines as Pommapd, Nuits-St-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin, and is one of the primary grapes used in traditional Champagne. Now a staple single-varietal in the New World winemaking culture, our New World has its own Pinot Noir voice expressed differently from region to region.
It may have taken awhile, but Canadian wine is on the rise. Yet many wine consumers — including those inside Canada — are unfamiliar with what’s being produced. Undoubtedly, when one thinks of Canadian wine, one can’t help but think of the sweet icewines the country is known for. But I’m here to tell you that modern Canada is much more than icewines. Indeed, just within the past fifteen to twenty years, the production of dry still wines has increased, and today many of these wines can stand up amongst the best New World producers.
Courtesy of NatalieMaclean.com
The history of Canadian wine starts out as many of North America’s wine regions do — with missionaries planting grapes to create sacramental wine. But there were many economical, social, and political barriers that prevented the success of any kind of wine industry. So it wasn’t until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the country saw a modern wine movement. And it wasn’t until about 2003 to 2013 that the country saw an increase in grapes planted and wineries established, creating a real name for Canadian wine.
And so it is that Canada is probably the newest of the New World of wine — and still quite small. According to Karen MacNeil’s The Wine Bible, as of 2012 there were only 29,000 acres of vines planted in the entirety of the Canadian country — that’s less than a third of what’s planted in California’s Napa Valley alone. Part of the reason may be the unique — undeniably cold — climate known to Canada’s main wine regions.
To reference Karen MacNeil again, she describes Canadian wine regions as “refrigerated sunlight:” cool, sunny, and mostly dry. This makes it a thriving environment for white wines: Gewurtraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Viognier, and even Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. When it comes to red wines, Pinot Noir is the reigning king — although I would make the argument for Gamay as prince to that throne — with scattered plantings of Bordeaux varieties, and the lone Rhone, Syrah.
Courtesy of winesofcanada.ca
Grape growing in Canada is most common in British Columbia, southern Ontario, and Nova Scotia. But the three largest wine regions are inside British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Okanagan boasts about 82% of the province’s total wine production and is Canada’s second largest wine-producing region. For that reason, I’m going to focus on this area for the time being.
East of Vancouver, Okanagan stretches from about 100 miles north of the Canadiana–American border from Washington state. A point of pride for the up-and-coming wine region is that its exact location is between the 49th and 50th parallel north — meaning it’s within the same latitude as such major wine region players as Champagne and Rheingau. (See the above map.)
Courtesy of theguardian.com; There are seven Okanagan viticultural regions: Lake Country/North Okanagan, Kelowna-Central Okanagan, West Kelowna-Mount Boucherie, Summerland-Peachland, Penticton-Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Oliver/Golden Mile and Black Sage/Osoyoos.
Here the climate is mostly continental, but temperatures are kept low due to the Okanagan Lake and its connected bodies of water. Additionally, the Cascade and Coast Mountains shield the area from excessive rain. So, as Karen MacNeil said: it’s dry, sunny, but considerably (and to the benefit of the grapes consistently) cool.
Of course, like with any other valley, Okanagan vineyards will experience diverse microclimates depending where along the valley floor or valley walls they grow. Thus, the region is home to over 60 grape varieties. And styles span the whole spectrum: sweet, sparkling, still, fortified, dessert and — yes — icewines.
For this Canadian experiment I’m sticking to varieties that I am most familiar with from a winemaker from BC’s Okanagan Valley.(Links will become live as the reviews are published.)
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Courtesy of the International Wine and Food Society
Prosecco – it’s not just for breakfast anymore. I’m here to smash the (predominately American) stereotype that the bubbly drink is too light-bodied or sweet to drink on its own and tell you, much like drinking Champagne from the eponymous wine region, drinking a “serious” Prosecco will change the pre-conceived notions that one must make a rosé-ecco, bellini, or sbagliato to enjoy this wine. Indeed, a Prosecco from a well-established Italian winery is a Prosecco not only worthy of drinking on its own — it’s a Prosecco that must be enjoyed on its own.
