B.C. wine for the week of Jan. 18, a bottle to cellar and calendar items

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The 2023 Vancouver International Wine Festival Gala will take place on April 22, at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

The Black Tie evening will kick off with a Champagne reception at 6 p.m. Dinner will feature nine additional high-end wines paired with a five-course menu prepared by the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver executive chef David Baarschers and team.

Live and silent auctions throughout the evening will feature rare wines, epicurean getaways and unique culinary experiences featuring chefs and sommeliers from the West Coast’s top restaurants. The evening is topped off with music and dancing — all proceeds from the Bacchanalia Gala support Bard on the Beach. Individual tickets are on sale online at vanwinefest.ca.

Birch Block Vineyard is launching its first Birch Merch collection inspired by the Okanagan Valley wine region.

The first two items are a Ponderosa pine-scented candle ($60) that use wild-foraged Ponderosa pine needles distilled into essential oil and infused into a 100 per cent soy-based candle and a Big Sagebrush Rosé Bath Soak ($30) that uses both wild-foraged sagebrush and essential oil with Canadian Prairie pink salt.

Both are made in collaboration with Victoria’s Forest Etiquette.

Together with the release of the Birch Merch collection, Birch Block Vineyard will release its first, single-vineyard 2020 Pinot Noir from estate-grown grapes ($40). The wellness products are also available in limited edition gift packs with a bottle of Pinot Noir ($130).

B.C. wine of the week

Black Hills Rosé 2021, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 

$30 I 90/100

UPC: 058976503025

The 2021 Rosé is another label winemaker Ross Wise has tweaked for the better, from the colour to the grapes to the flavours, and it’s all the better for it. Wise takes his inspiration from the south of France, hence a 70/16/14 mix of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre crafted in a very fresh, charming style that begs for food and good company. The alcohol at 13.2 is in check, and the pale, juicy strawberry and raspberry flavours call for one appetizer after another. The choice is yours.

Wine for the cellar 

Mission Hill Family Estate Oculus 2019, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 

$185 I 94/100

UPC: 776545981691

Oculus is evolving, and the latest version is one of the best. The model is Bordeaux but makes no mistake, chief winemaker Corrie Krehbil is making an Okanagan red with a nod to Bordeaux. Organically grown, the fruit ripens earlier, and the alcohol is lower, a big plus in years that end dramatically, like 2019 with a heavy frost. Kriebel ups the quantity of Merlot in cooler years, hence the 52 per cent, and adds a surprising 30 per cent Cabernet Franc which speaks to the maturity of the many Mission Hill sites and the evolution of this variety as it asserts its quality and structure. Words like fragrant and vibrant describe the pure fruit that marks the latest bottling. The fruit is red/black, again emphasizing the freshness and lightness of what can be a big muscular red. Currants and blackberries with a hint of blue fruits mix effortlessly with a savoury desert scrub undercurrent, adding the all-important dash of umami to the mix. Stylish enough to drink now, but it is designed to go the distance for a decade or two in the bottle. Only 99 barrels were made. The 2019 Oculus offered a one-time pre-release for club members during Oculus weekend last October. The official release will be available to the public in June 2023.

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Source: vancouversun.com

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