Hi there wine lovers and happy wine Wednesday!

I have a bit of a treat for you today.  At the Wine Blogging Conference held at the Penticton Lakeside Resort – I got to try my hand at ‘speed blogging’ for the first time EVER! OMG – I am hooked.  I had no idea what to expect.  Speed blogging? Yes – I was nervous and excited and a little twirly in anticipation…

With laptops open, me and my fellow bloggers were approached by 10 wineries. They were to introduce and pitch one wine for us to taste, sample and write about.  The winery spokesperson was given 5 minutes to tell their story.  Fun!  (Who came up with this idea?  You are awesome!)  As stated – we had 5 minutes to taste, experience, learn and write about each wine.

Here are the results of Day 1: B.C. White Wine category.  I found a quite a few gems!  Side note – I have kept my speed blogging content to exactly what I wrote during my 5 minutes with each wine.  Here goes:

Sumac Ridge’s Stellar’s Jay Brut 2007: Hand riddled, traditional method, chardonnay-pinot noir-pinot blanc all about 33% per variety, blue line on the bottom of the bottle shows us that it is hand riddled. ( Fun fact I did not know!) $26 for a bottle.  Pair it with Truffle Oil Popcorn? OK! Produce 3 types of sparkling? Must investigate.  A lovely example of what B.C. can do!  A GGG Hell Yes!  I heart this sparkle…

Inniskillin Pinot Grigio 2012 – grown at local Okanagan McIntyre vineyard.  Left on the skin for 4 hours to add complexity. Almost 13% abv. A lot of stone fruit on the palate and on the nose.  A bit off dry.  Very NICE!  A pretty wine…

Sumac Ridge – Gewürztraminer  First operating estate winery in B.C.  Top five VQA brands in B.C. $14.99 Not my favourite.  Trying to reposition it to a younger demographic. Off-dry – cheap and cheerful.

Perseus, Naramata Viognier $20  Gateway winery  – they grow grapes all over the place for consistency – very small vineyards up and down the valley.  This Viognier was grown in the Similkameen sandy soil. Fantastic growing area. Like a nice N. Rhone.  Can buy at Liberty and VQA.  I like it. Freshness and stainless steel.  GGG Hell Yes!

Haywire OK Crush Pad.  Rosé.  Gamay Noir ABV 13.7% Dry style 2010. Italian winemaker comes 4 x a year to consult.  Like it. $16.95 VQA  First pressing of the wine. Cold Press.  More of a French style. Yum – I would like another glass, please? GGG Hell Yes!

Barier Bros. Gewürztraminer 1st vintage. Don is one of the bothers (did presentation). 150 cases of this wine. This is the baby! 89% Gew 11% Semillion to grow it up and make it more ‘adult’. I would call it off-dry – not my favouirte…

Tantalus Riesling 2012 75 acre estate in Kelowna.  5 different plots, great aromatics, high acidity.  They use a different mask for each one of their wine labels. $22.90  Very hot growing season. more broad rendition more stone fruit.  High acidy.  This is my NEW ‘house’ riesling…Holy moly – Really liked this expression.  A GGG Hell Yes in a big way!

Tinhorn Creek – Pinot Gris  Primary action off of rock.  They are in the southern Okanagan in Oliver. Sandra Oldfield, winemaker, is one of my wine heroes. 130 acres of vines. Korol made this wine. Fruit forward in a big way.  No oak. Time on the lees.  Stainless steel barrel.  Carbon Neutral. Ferment all food waste at their restaurant. Biggest resource is the people.  This was nice and crisp and easy to drink – just the way I like my Pinot Gris! $18.99  A solid GGG Hell Yes…

Hester Creek Trebbiano Biggest producer. 1968 some of the oldest vinifera vines in the valley. Sell 80% of product at the winery.  Usually sells out in 3 months. Does one time buys in the Spring. $22.99 – a bit too sweet for me.  Not my favourite.

Therapy Vineyards Fizzio Therapy Chardonnay 90% 10% Orange Muscat. 1992 vines planted. Orange Muscat comes from Oliver. Nice tangerine flavour. Fermented seperatly and then blended together. Hand bottled and hand label. Steven Latchford – wine maker. Started as a 19 year old in the wine making business.  This is good fizz!  $22.99 GO and buy!  GGG Hell Yes!

There you have it – my first ever speed blogging results!  I cannot tell you how much fun I had at this and it was, by far, one of the highlights of the weekend.  Kudos to all presenters for keeping their calm amidst the noise level in the room and trying to give all bloggers some individual attention – not an easy task!

As always – thank you for stopping by and reading.  I hope you can go out and find yourself a bottle of a few of these GGG recommendations to enjoy!

XO
C