BC wines, how do they compare?
 

I'm used to CA and WA Chardonnay or Australian and CA cabs and merlot.

Red wines are definitely on the light side here. There's simply not enough warmth days/long growing season to fully ripen grapes in milder climes. The better reds come from the southern Okanagan (Penticton, Osoyoos, Oliver, maybe even Naramata) where it's warmer in summer than in the northern Okanagan (Kelowna) or Vancouver island. Most common reds are cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, some merlot, a very small bit of shiraz/syrah. There's quite a bit of a hybrid called marechal foch.

White wines can be good. Sauvignon blanc, riesling, chardonnay, gewurztraminers, Pinot blanc, Pinot Gris, Ehrenfelser, Pinot Auxerrois and others (hybrids such as Optima).

That said, the rieslings and gewurztraminers here do not have the bouquet or sweetness of their Alsacienne counterparts (maybe German ones).

you'll find that the good stuff is often very limited in quantity and not readly available in stores (private or government). The best places to shop for B.C. wines in the lower mainland is (Edgemont) Village Wines which has location in the Edgemont Village area of North Vancouver and W 41st Ave. @ Dunbar in Vancouver.

Watch for the labels. "VQA" (Vintner quality assurance" means the wine is made from 100% B.C.-grown grapes. "Made in Canada" means the grapes can come from anywhere.

When you find your first winery or wine shop, look for the B.C. Wine Trails paper.

Some useful links:
http://www.winebc.com/

terenz,

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of BC reds! http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

The southern Okanagan (and especially Golden Mile region) is not a mild climate, it is technically a desert with extremely hot summers. The days are long also and so the number of sunlight hours available is increased. Fewer hot days, perhaps, but longer days and very hot.

I think the red wines coming out of this area are full-bodied and intense and compete well with reds from many parts of the world. Especially good are Burrowing Owl, Tinhorn Creek, Fairview Cellars, Black Hills Estate Winery and Mission Hill. The '98 vintages were especially good, in many cases.

Even CA or Australia?

The reds I've had from Washington have not done it for me. (such wine jargon!)

Aha, I sense a blind taste testing required here!!!

Maybe we could set something up for you?

I agree with you, I have not enjoyed the few Washington reds I have sampled, but I tend to focus on BC, Australia and California for reds (only so much time in the day!!).

To be honest, I think most Aussie wines are simple but yummy (and there is nothing wrong with that!), but if you want a little more complexity, I go to BC or California. It's not that Aussie wines don't offer that, it is cost and availability and knowledge of the higher end. But yes, I think there are several BC reds that compare very well. And '98 really was an exceptional year.

Yes, but realize that Oz exports mostly their lower end wines.

Sommeliers in Oz used to laugh when I told them what Australian wines I was enjoying in the states. EACH one and each wine person in the wineshops there stated," we ship you our crap (or some version thereof)."

I've tried B.C. reds from the southern Okanagan and all I can say is that they don't remotely compare in weight and flavour (leaving complexity aside - Aussie reds have plenty of it) to other new world reds. Even cheap Argentinean reds usually have more weight. As for the quality of Australian wines, there are some minimal standards. Not too many of the good stuff gets here and they're expensive if they do (Wynns John Riddoch CS, Wynns Michael shiraz, Rosemount Balmoral shiraz). I've found the larger bulk offerings from Southcorp (Wynns and Penfold's parent) can differ drastically from batch to batch even for bottles sourced in Australia.

A decent drop to use to compare what is representative of a good solid South Australian red is any from d'Arenberg. They seem to have a high minimally acceptable quality.

And we haven't even started on Western Australian ones yet.

I'm going to be hitting Vancouver for a weekend in September and I'd like any suggestions on where to buy some nice BC wines. I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to hit the wineries, but I was wondering if there was a good wine shop downtown.

Also, does the Costco in Vancouver sell wine? I'm not familiar with Canada's liquor laws; I remember in Toronto, it was a major PITA to get to the LBCO store.

Thanks in advance!

There isn't much of the better B.C. wines available in the lower mainland especially in downtown Vancouver. The LCB on Robson Street (near Denman) may be a possibility (never been in there). There is a boutique outlet on Robson just west of Thurlow but selection is very limited. I'd encourage a visit to Village VQA Wines on West 41st. They have tastings on Saturday afternoons (3-5). You can get the No. 7 bus there from Granville Street. $2 will get you there and back with a transfer.

Most definitely not.

Bringing this topic back to the top to see if anyone knows why so few Canadian wines are imported to the US. In particular, I had a wonderful chenin blanc from Quails Gate Vineyards (BC) when dining at the Canary Restaurant a few months ago. Upon visting the Quails Gate website, they mention that they do not ship to the US because of various "customs" regulations that prohibit them from doing so. In visting my local wine shop here in Denver I find almost no wines from Canada on the shelves. Any reasons?

B.C.'s production is very small production for the most part and almost all of it is sold within the province or in neighbouring ones so no need to export (or rather, the additional revenue isn't worth the expense). Some of the wineries sell all of some production (generally better wines) to restaurants so very few private customers if any ever get their hands on a bottle.

Export sales to the U.S. may be possible but most likely the bureaucratic hassle isn't worth it for the small quantities.

Some of the bigger corporate vintners (Vincor, Jackson-Trigg (might be part of Vincor) and Mission Hill, etc.) with more production may be more adventurous.

On the small production note, Jackson-Trigg, the aforementioned "large" winery, released a syrah/shiraz that's supposed to be outstanding. Total production: 320 or so cases.

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 10-16-2002).]