Limited Edition 2011

Look at those beauties!

Here it is! All the info on the new Limited Edition wines with tasting notes. Where do you get 'em? At you local Authorised Winexpert Retailer, of course. Remember, they're limited, so order early to make sure you get yours.

January - Washington Meritage
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The Region: The Red Mountain AVA is Washington’s smallest, at approximately 3,600 acres. Grape growing conditions are almost textbook perfect: slope, exposure, weather conditions, good air drainage, large day/night temperature swings, gravelly soil with high calcium carbonate content and high pH and the nearby Yakima River to moderate temperature extremes—there could hardly be more positive flavour influences to grapes grown here.
The Wine: A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, this wine features great extract, deep colour and intense aromatics of dark berry fruit, cassis, peppery spice, cedar and smoke. The seductive nose of this wine foreshadows magnificent texture and flavour, including dark berries, liquorice, vanilla and warm brown spices that glide across the palate. The texture and mouthfeel of the wine offers up silky tannins and a velvety smooth structure.
The Food: Marinated & Grilled Flank Steak with Blue Café De Paris Butter.
Ageing: The complexity and structure of this wine will require three to six months to unwind, and it will continue improving for several years. Due to Due to the ripe tannins it will also benefit from decanting before serving.
Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)


January - South African Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon
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The Region: Known as ‘Valley of Wine and Roses’, South Africa’s Robertson Valley has a very hot climate with minimal rainfall—less than a foot per year. Luckily the calcareous red clay loam and clay Karoo soils have excellent water holding capacity, and the gentle slopes and varied microclimates allow for precision planting to maximise grape quality.
The Wine: Sauvignon Blanc has wild, herbaceous flavours and tart, grapefruit-like character, which shows strongly in the young wine, while Sémillon has flavours of honeydew melon and sweet honey that take a bit longer to come out. Together the two grapes make a lush, balanced wine with great up-front fruit and a satisfying, rich finish.
The Food: Pan Roasted Digby Bay Scallop, Jewel Yam Purée, White Truffle Oil & Salsa Verdé.
Ageing: The citrus notes of the Sauvignon Blanc make this wine tempting to drink right away and after three months the Sémillon will rise up to give a mellower white wine. It will improve for at least a year, giving deeper flavours of melon and honey as it goes.
Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)


February - California Petite Sirah/Zinfandel(Limited Edition 2005)
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The Region: Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Amador County is sometimes called ‘California’s Piedmont’. With vineyards running from 250 to 2900 feet in elevation, and summer temperatures ranging from 80 to over 100 degrees F, the excellent growing conditions have encouraged diversified plantings.
The Wine: Grippingly tannic, bold and deeply coloured Petite Sirah complements the jamminess of Zinfandel, taming the abundant blueberries and blackberries with a hint of dark cherry and vanilla. Full-bodied with a lingering palate and peppery spice, this is a wine of unprecedented power and length.
The Food: Apple Cider Brined Thick-Cut BBQ Pork Chops.
Ageing: This is a wine that shows best with ageing. After one year the blackberries will come out, and at two years will tame the tannin’s grip, showing the black pepper and rich dark fruits.
Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)


March - German Traminer Spätlese
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The Region: Germany’s most famous growing region, the Mosel Valley, with its mineral-laden soils, produces some of the world’s finest off-dry wines. The sheer mountains and rugged steep slopes make the most of the northern sunshine, but they also mean that vineyard work must be done by hand, and yields are very low. This results in carefully crafted, very intensely flavoured wines.
The Wine: Traminer is the parent of the more familiar Gewürztraminer and Spätlese is a German wine term meaning ‘late harvest’, indicating a wine made from fully mature grapes that are picked at least 7 days after normal harvest, so they are riper and have higher sugar levels. This is a gently golden-coloured wine, unmistakable in its heady, aromatic intensity, with a pungent fragrance of lychee, tropical fruit and rose petals. Its flavours are ample, lusciously fruity and spicy.
The Food: Vanilla Bean Glazed Peach Cobbler
Ageing: The intense fruit character will be apparent immediately in this rich wine making it a tempting sipper right away, but the deeper floral characters of rose petal and lychee will become much more apparent after six months to a year.
Sweetness Code: 1 (off-dry)


April - Spanish Matador Trio Red
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The Region: From the green damp north to the arid south, Spain is the country with the most land under vine in the world. Mancha is Europe’s largest denominated wine region and its hot, dry growing conditions yield intensely flavoured red grapes.
The Wine: Tempranillo are deep blue-black berries, high in colour and extract, with delicate aromas. Cabernet Sauvignon’s small berries yield high tannins and intense structure, while Monastrell adds grip, earthiness and ripe red fruit. Lush, tannic and complex, with intense black fruit flavours of black cherry, raspberry, black currant and notes of plums and tobacco, the wine takes gracefully to oak, adding layers of vanilla, cedar and rich coffee nuances.
The Food: Mediterranean White Bean Salad, Marinated with Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano& Fine Herbs.
Ageing: With soft acidity and lush tannins, this wine is enjoyed after only three to six months, but the black fruits, cherry and plum notes will take six months to show well, and the vanilla/coffee nuances will show best afterone year.
Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

Here's me doing the introduction to this year's Limited Edition videos--if you'd like to see the rest of the presentation, have a look at our video website.

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It's Here!

 

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A Grand Opening

Not many blog entries recently, despite the fact that I've got a lot of material stacked up to blog about--it's Limited Edition season and I've not only been putting that together, but also I've been very busy doing a lot of travelling, the customer appreciation barbecue for our retail store and, oh yes, my day job. But I had a lot of fun last weekend: I was invited to the Grand Opening Freeman's Winexpert in Kingston Ontario.

A swingin' set for a swingin' joint

Bill and Janet Freeman have had a great Wine On Premise operation in Kingston for years, and they've been a very valued retailer for us. As part of our plans to extend our brand value (oh my, that sounds corporate-y!) we're partnering with some of our best retailers to set up model stores. These will have carefully planned and designed looks in terms of fixtures, decor, posters, layout and equipment, and we'll be working to make sure the experience our customers receive is the best in class at every branded store.

Happy people, the best decoration a store could have

The place wasn't quite finished--the best laid plans of mice, men and trades subcontractors must give way to broken-down delivery trucks, but it's going to be spectacular--completely integrated design, beautiful layout and great decor. I can hardly wait to see the finished version.

A big part of the success of our new model store is the retail partners we've got.

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GCBF Ho!

Evil Gnomes not exactly as shown

It's that time of year again! Your intrepid correspondent is off to Victoria (and typing this on a Ferry across the Strait of Georgia--how about that technology!) to cover the goings-on of BC's finest brewers along with a few invited attendees worthy of the exalted status of 'good brewers'.

You may have read previous blogs about the GCBF and my attempts at Gonzo photojournalism, and this year should be no different. If you want to follow the exploits of a motley, quasi-journalist on the road to beervana, look at my twitterfeed (@WinexpertTim) or my Facebook page (are you my friend yet? Why not? I love you!) or check this blog whenever I regain consciousness and get pictures (evidence!) posted.

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Sale-ing Away In September

Pretty good for a 28 year-old

I may have mentioned this before, but for those who don't know, I'm in charge of the Winexpert Retail store. I confess, that really means just I get the title, but it's actually my right-hand woman, Linda who runs things with the able assistance of Joanne and Shirley. I'm a lucky boss to have competent, hardworking folks like these out there making me look good.

The retail store is where all of Winexpert got started. Back in December of 1983, Doug and Ross Tocher opened up a wee homebrew shop called Brew King, a little ways up the valley from where we're now located. They worked hard and prospered and eventually decided to go into the manufacturing end of the business, producing and selling packaged juices and concentrates to other consumer winemaking shops in BC, and eventually spreading to the rest of Canada, the USA and now the world. From small acorns, mighty trees grow!

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