Monthly Archives: September 2008

On the Road with Reg

I must admit that before writing this blog I had drunk B.C. Wines only on occasion. Maggie was born in Argentine and lived a long time in Chile and so generally we opted for wines from one of those countries. We also drink a lot of Portuguese and Spanish wines as we spend time there every winter. In fact we are in Portugal as I write this.

Wines from all four countries are widely available in B.C. and are generally good and reasonably priced. But since I have started sampling B.C. wines I must admit to having become an enthusiastic convert. I wrote last week that a Pinot Blanc 2006 by Red Rooster was one of the best whites I’ve ever enjoyed, and I meant it.

My enthusiasm for B.C. wines only increased when, while waiting for a flight transfer at London’s Gatwick Airport, I picked up a copy of the Daily Mail. There was an article titled Why top-selling wines don’t deserve any bouquets by Sean Poulter, the newspaper’s consumer affairs editor.

The article made some astonishing claims about trendy European wines. Citing Malcolm Gluck, author of The Great Wine Swindle, the article stated: Many, many wines are no better than a sort of alcoholic sodapops. You get artificial yeasts, enzymes, sugar, extracts, tannins, all sorts of things added.

I was surprised to learn that the European wine industry has an exemption from food and drink labeling rules, which means wineries do not have to list the additives used.

Fans of Italian wine will be shocked to learn that earlier this year 70 million litres of so-called “Frankenstein wine” was seized in Italy. Analysis showed that only 20 per cent of the product was wine, while the rest was water sugar and harmful ingredients such as hydrochloric acid and fertilizers, which are added to boost the alcohol content and get a higher price.
Compare that information with the standards set by the BC VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance).
The VQA seal ensures that the bottle of BC wine you are enjoying is 100 % B.C. grown and produced to optimum standards.

The VQA:

  • Perform audits at wineries and on individual bottles.
  • Collects laboratory samples from the wineries
  • Confirms that claims on labels are accurate
  • Tastes and evaluates wines to identify defects and to ensure quality of character.
  • Sets standards for packaging and bottle closures.

So next time you want to impress friends over dinner forget those old, tired French and Italians with fancy names and reach for a bright, young British Columbian.

Wine of the Week

This week I flew to Portugal via Air Canada. The flight was Vancouver to London Heathrow and then London Gatwick to Faro Airport in the southern province of the Algarve.

The flight to London was an evening flight and we were served dinner not long after taking off. There was a choice between a beef or chicken, I chose the beef and asked for the red wine to accompany it.

I wasn’t surprised that the wine was a product of France but then I thought to myself, We’re flying on a Canadian plane why aren’t we drinking Canadian wine?

Can you imagine a French airline serving wine from any other country but France?

The wine served wasn’t especially good or especially bad (I don’t remember the name) but I am certain that there are plenty of economical Canadian wines every bit as good or better. I would recommend to Air Canada and all other Canadian airlines that they start serving Canadian wines and would even go so far as to suggest that they should serve the wine from the region that the flight originates. For example, a flight out of Vancouver should serve B.C. wines while a flight out of Toronto should serve Ontario wines.

This would be a great way to introduce Canadian wines to people from all over the world.

Brew of the Week

I am currently on holiday in Portugal and have been unable to locate any B.C. brews (or even Canadian) to sample and so I have selected as Brew of the Week a beer that is popular in Portugal and available in British Columbia.

San Miguel is can be found on tap and in bottles in a high percentage of Portugal’s bars but I believe only in bottles in B.C. San Miguel came to Portugal about twenty years ago and at the time most local drinkers believed it was a Spanish beer. But in actuality San Miguel is a product of the Phillipines and is distributed worldwide.

Next month San Miguel is set to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records by building the longest bar in the world as part of San Miguel Oktoberfest 120. The bar will be 600 metres long, easily breaking the 240-metre record held by Taiwan.

The 2008 San Miguel Oktoberfest will last an incredible 120 days, making it the longest-ever celebration of the famous German festival.

I enjoyed a pint of San Miguel at World Famous Taffy’s Bar in Praia da Rocha, resort town overlooking Portugal’s most fabulous beach. Welshman Taffy is a long-time resident of the Algarve and is a marathoner and triathlete.

On a warm September evening the San Miguel went down very well. It is a light, crisp beer reminiscent of the best Canadian lagers. Well worth a try.

Wine of the Week

Last week I wrote about how wineries in Manitoba and Ontario had complained to the Liquor Control Board about B.C. wineries selling their wines to private individuals in those provinces. Apparently this is illegal under the antiquated 1928 Liquor Act.
B.C. wineries can ship their wines to individuals in the U.S. of A and around the world but not to fellow Canadians. To illustrate how antiquated the 1928 Act is I can tell you that it was in this same act that women were banned from entering a beer parlor on their own. By law there were two sides two each beer parlor, one for men on their own and another for women and their escorts. On some of the older establishments you can still see the signs.
Anyway in support of Red Rooster I decided to sample one of their award winning wines. I selected the 2006 Pinot Blanc (marked down at Government liquor store from $18.99 to $16.99) which won a Bronze Medal at the Canadian Wine Awards.
I had been invited over to friends for dinner and took the wine with me. The hostess was most impressed and said Red Rooster was her favourite wine maker.
It was the first time I had tried Red Rooster and I can say that the Pinot Blanc was excellent, one of the best whites I’ve ever tasted.

It kind of reminded me of a Portuguese Vinho Verde (green wine, so called because it is made from young grapes and not because it is green in colour).  I can highly recommend Red Rooster’s Pinot Blanc 2006. It’s crisp, clean and very refreshing.

Red Rooster describes it thus:
“Shows lovely aromas of pear, green apple and citrus with flavours of melon and spice.”
The Rooster recommends it with seafood and chicken. We had it with ‘Baron of Beef’ and it worked just fine.
On checking the Red Rooster website I noticed that their price was $16.99 so it doesn’t look like the Government liquor store was doing me any favours.

On The Town with Reg

Victoria is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Too bad it is run by a City Council that can’t seem to keep it clean and safe.
Instead of addressing the problem of beggars on every downtown corner the council decides to tackle business people engaged in legal trade. 
Victoria wants to shut down street venders and smaller food establishments (under 300 square feet) by one o’clock at night. The reason the Councilors give is that after leaving bars at closing time people are behaving badly – littering, urinating and fighting. But obviously it’s not all of the people its only boorish drunks. So why punish those citizens who behave themselves but would like a bite of something before going home and those other people trying to make a living.
It seems there will always be ignorant drunks who cause trouble for others but don’t blame that on the honest business person.
I have a better solution Mayor and Councilors, how about a couple of beat cops on every corner in those areas concerned.

APPETIZER – Manager Billy Almeida is leaving Pescatore’s to take over Sanuk (formerly Hugo’s Steakhouse). He will be partnered by Phil Lesur, who is the corporate council at Bear Mountain.

Brew of the Week

When I was a kid I was a Saskatchewan Roughrider fan and my hero was Quarterback Ronnie Lancaster.
Twenty years later I was working as a stringer and covering the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for United Press Canada. As a result I got an invitation to the CFL playoff dinner and there I was lucky enough to sit at a table with Lancaster. The first time I saw him he had a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

On Sept 18, Lancaster, nicknamed the Little General because he was only 5’9”, died of lung cancer aged 69. So this week in his honour I decided to toast his great career – 4 Grey Cup championships 2 as a player and 2 as a coach – by sampling wheat beer for the first time.

Why wheat beer? Well Lancaster led Saskatchewan to their first ever Grey Cup in 1966 and what is the symbol on the Saskatchewan flag but a sheaf of wheat.
The nearest pub in my domain is Christie’s Carriage House and they have on tap West Coast Wheat a product of Vancouver Island Brewery.
I found the taste medium strong with a ‘grainy’ flavour. I have quite a few friends that are big fans of the wheat beers but for me I think it would be an acquired taste. It’s probably better out of the bottle on a hot, dry day.
The West Coast Wheat had a nice gold colour and thick head. Vancouver Island Brewery imports its yeast from Germany for authentic European flavour.