Tomorrow, from 7-9:30 p.m., Campbell River Day Break Rotary presents their sixth annual Wine & Blues Fest by the Sea at the Maritime Heritage Centre.
“We have over 11 winery representatives with wine from regions all over the world,” said Theresa Marson, one of the coordinators of the event. Included are Mark Anthony Brands, Peller Estates, Peacock & Martin, Constellation Brands, Peter Mielzynski Agencies Ltd., Blue Moon Winery, Forbidden Fruit Winery, Authentic Wine & Spirits, and Phillipe Dandurand Wines.
Thrifty Foods will provide a special selection of cheeses, cold cuts, breads, fruit dishes, spreads etc. Other tasty treats from Super Mario’s Bar & Lounge, Rocky Mountain Chocolates, Natural Pastures Cheese, and Grieg Seafood will enhance the wine tasting.
In addition, the $55 ticket price also may include attendance at wine pairing seminars, samplings of specialty wines, door prizes and a silent auction and – of course! – free taxi service home within the Campbell River area after the event.
Your WineWise guy will be staging two different wine tasting seminars. Rosé wines will be explored in the first seminar; Cabernet Sauvignon will be featured in the second seminar. Attendance at each of the educational seminars will be limited. Sign up when you arrive!
Rosé wines are routinely ignored by most white wine lovers. Somehow…is it just being pink in colour? …they are assumed to be sweet. This seminar will compare two lean and famously food-friendly Vancouver Island Rosés with a lush aperitif-styled sipper from the Okanagan Valley’s Naramata Bench.
Under new ownership since last year, with a new winemaker, 40 Knots Vineyard and Estate Winery is Comox’s contribution to ‘The Island’ wine scene. 40 Knots Rosé (345801) $19 is a blend of 65 per cent Pinot Noir and 35 per cent Gamay Noir. It opens up with aromas of wild strawberries and raspberries, leading into a sprinkling of white pepper and twist of new leather in the finish.
Unsworth Vineyards is situated halfway between Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake, south of Duncan. Unsworth Rosé 2014 (84447) $19 recently won Double Gold as best Rosé at Canadian Wine Trail’s 35th Annual All Canadian Wine Championships. From its rosy salmon pink colour to the subtle red fruit notes of strawberries and cranberries with light savoury notes in the finish, this is a very Mediterranean style of Rosé!
A rich blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir Therapy Pink Freud (442657) $18 is the most deeply coloured of the three. Overflowing with plummy berry and candied cranberry and cherry aromas and flavours, it finishes with a sprinkling of dusty sage over subtle wisps of fines herbes. Sip this solo to really savour the deep fruit flavours.
Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely The King of red wine grapes. Capable of producing fine red wines almost anywhere it is planted, regional styles and planting selections of different clones account for many of the differences and similarities from country to country.
Wine detectives, analyzing DNA evidence, have concluded that this fine red wine grape is a direct descendent of the minor red Cabernet Franc and the currently hugely trendy white Sauvignon Blanc.
Tucked away in the flat farm country of Langley, B.C., Backyard Vineyards uses their own estate-grown grapes with fruit from the Fraser Valley and South Okanagan. Fresh from winning a ‘Double Gold’ at Wine Align’s ‘All Canadian Wine Championships’ Backyard Vineyards’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium bodied red that struts the classic cassis, mint, eucalyptus and cedar characteristics we have come to expect from The King.
Definitely not Barossa and not quite Coonawarra, Australia’s New South Wales can grow luscious, silky red wines. Nugan Estate Riverina ‘Stomper’s Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon oozes intense black cherry, blackcurrant, blackberry and vanilla over a jumbled medley of bright red berry and plum aromas and flavours with a wisp of eucalyptus in the finish.
While it was Merlot that put Chile on the world wine map, initially, it is the quality and intensity of their Cabernet Sauvignon that fascinated wine lovers everywhere. Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon (275594) $19.95 clearly shows why. Intense aromas and flavours of black currants, blueberries, and blackberries with dried figs, cigar box, and spice notes mingle with leather, mint and savoury spices over vanilla and toast.
If you make it to the Wine & Blues Fest by the Sea be sure to bring your questions to the seminars. See you there!
Reach WineWise by emailing douglas_sloan@yahoo.com