Hello wine lovers and happy wine Wednesday!

I trust your holidays have been fantastic and filled with good friends, great family and some exciting wines.

We headed over to Vancouver Island to visit family in Campbell River.  It was a delightful time full of little ones playing and having fun, and the adults learning new dice games, having great chats and sharing some delicious wine.

I recalled that one of my new favourite wineries, SOAHC from Fruitvale, B.C., had listed a Campbell River liquor store as one of the few places in B.C. to purchase their wine.  As it was about a 15 minute drive away, we decided to check it out.

The Oyster River Liquor Store, open everyday except December 25th from 9 AM to 9 PM, is such a delightful find! Stocked with a great selection of small producer, excellent B.C. wines.  I was in heaven.  We got both the SOAHC Riesling and the Chardonnay as well as Synchromesh Pinot Noir and Marichel Vineyard’s Viognier.  As I have reviewed the SOAHC wines, here are some tasting notes of the two I hadn’t had the pleasure of tasting…

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Synchromesh‘s ‘Palo Solara Vineyard’ Pinot Noir Kelowna, B.C. 2012 rings in with 13.1% abv. Loaded with ripe red cherry and Bing cherry notes, this wine was intriguing to smell.  There were the cherry fruits as well as a whiff of vanilla and some barnyard, strawberry and mineral earthy notes.  It offers some great acidity and nice structure with the flavours mirroring the nose with an addition of liquorice on the finish.

This bottle was $26 at the Oyster River liquor store and it looks like the winery is sold out on their site.  Pick up a bottle if you see one – this is a sustainable winery and one that I would like to learn more about.

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Marichel Vineyard‘s Syrah + Viognier Naramata Bench, B.C. VQA 2012 This wine is dark purple in colour and has 14.5% abv. On the nose, there is sweet tobacco and vanilla notes along side a velvety mocha aroma mixed alongside blackberries, blueberry and black currant.  This Syrah/Viognier blend is medium in tannin and acidity and is quite lush and fruity. On the finish, it is soft with lingering vanilla, chocolate and caramel flavours.  This was a hit with the group and coming in under $20 a bottle – it is a great find indeed!

That is it for me this week, and, this year!  Happy New Year to you and I hope that 2016 brings you health and happiness and more great wine!

XO
C