Anthony Gismondi: B.C. wine for the week of May 19, a bottle to cellar and calendar items

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Supply chain issues continue, and one of the biggest aggravations concerning American retailers is the length of time their orders are sitting around in a warehouse once they get off the boat, truck or container.

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Some orders are languishing for six months in a warehouse as liquor shipments remain outside any real-time tracking technology that could take the industry to a much-needed higher level of basic infrastructure.

On the other hand, six months seems like a dream delivery date for getting any imported wine on the shelf from the day it was ordered.

Eliza, a Naramata Wine Bar, has opened appropriately at the revitalized Naramata Inn in the Okanagan Valley.

The name honours Eliza Robinson, wife, mother and matriarch to the J.M. Robinson family that founded the village of Naramata and the original Naramata Inn in 1908.

The wine list is an eclectic mix of labels sure to delight the curious put together by wine director Emily Walker. The menu is a tightly curated selection of Ned Bell’s “French Naramatian” cuisine. Eliza is open Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. beginning May 16. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis with no reservations required.

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B.C. wine of the week

Seven Directions Tractor and Vines Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosé 2021, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

$24.99 I 91/100

UPC: 696852073639

Tractor & Vines 2021 is grown at lake level on a 1.1 acre, dry-farmed, Summerland site. The 14-year-old vines orient east-west and sit on silty clay loam and fluvioglacial deposits rich in organic matter. The ethereal pink is made from clone 667 and has escaped any smoke damage. The grapes were crushed, cold-soaked for two hours, gently pressed and fermented in 75/25 stainless steel tanks and neutral French oak. Lower yields in 2021 have intensified the flavours and deepened the colour a bit without altering the balance of this Provencal-style rosé. The attack is fresh and creamy and melts in your mouth. Look for dry melon notes, citrus, wet stone and wild strawberries but in a very subtle package — one of the best in the country.

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Wine for the cellar

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States 

$24.99 I 88/100

UPC: 657891700207

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon has long been a Paso Roble standard. Still, winemaker Austin Hope says they have worked hard to reign in the alcohol and, more importantly, build texture and weight with denser, softer tannins shearing the rustic moniker from the wine with less bitterness and more smoothness in the back end of this flavourful Cabernet. Modern tannin management includes using shade cloth, orientating the berries away from the sun, leaf pulling to let speckled light through, and in some cases, a return to the California Sprawl to protect the berries from harsh sunlight. Unfortunately, there is only ten per cent new oak in the wine, grown by more than 50 growers in the Paso AVA and aged 15 months in oak. As a result, look for a full-bodied cabernet with savoury vanilla undertones and rich black, and red fruits that finish lush and round. Drink now with grilled beef dishes or cellar through 2025.