November 2 – 4, 2007

Reported by Rutha Astravas

As every year, the Ottawa Wine and Food Show proved to one of the premier social events in the city. This year’s theme was France. Hundreds queued to get in, tutored tastings sold out, and everything ran smoothly with the help of many Guild members. Thank you first and foremost to Halina Player of Player Expositions International and James Bertrand, outgoing President of the Guild, who together made the wine-side of the weekend another great success.

Thank you to the speakers who made the tutored tastings an amazing educational and entertaining experience. They shared with us many excellent picks, including a number of medal winners from the Cellars of the World Competition. Thanks goes to the volunteer judges who rated entries in advance of the Show. And a very big thank you goes to all the volunteers, especially those setting up the rooms, confirming the speakers, and to Mike Cowan for keeping everything running on time for yet another year! While the Show focuses on high-end food and drink, it also helped generate benefits for Ottawa’s less fortunate: the Guild partnered with the Ottawa Food Bank to collect bottles after the show, resulting in a donation of $850. 

You be the Judge – Medal Winners Served Here

This year’s Cellars of the World Competition was organized by Debbie Trenholm (President and Accredited Sommelier of the Savvy Grapes) who led this tasting, selecting winners from among the over 400 wines judged by wine writers, wine industry professionals, and Sommeliers. Eight top medals and the “best of show” winners were presented. They included Lammershoek Chenin Blanc 2006 and Pinotage 2005, Jaffelin Pouilly Fuisse, Mountain Road Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2004, Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir 2006, EARL Cyril Gillet Vieux Chateau Landon 2003, Stoney Ridge Meritage FSC 2004, finishing on a sweet note with the La Face de la Pomme Cachee Frimas 2005. The complete listing of medal winners can be found at http://www.playerexpo.com/WineShow/Visitors/Competition.htm.


New Zealand Awesome Aromatics

Forget grassy Sauvignon Blanc for a moment. This was an eye-opening tasting featuring Robert Ketchin from New Zealand Winegrowers, a highly respected wine authority who showcased beautiful, delicate, and still relatively rare offerings from New Zealand. Production of aromatic varietals is growing, but still very small: Riesling (3.7% of total production), Pinot Gris (2%), and Gewürztraminer (0.8%). The wines introduced a variety of styles, regions, and producers from Gisborne (Artisan, Vinoptima), Nelson (Seifried Estate), Marlborough (Allan Scott, Forrest Estate, Mount Riley, Spy Valley), Waipara – formerly known as Canterbury (Pegasus Bay), and Otago (Carrick). N.B. Matua Riesling won gold and New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs swept the whole over-$15 category at the show.


Best-Value Wines in the LCBO

This tasting told the tale of two Guild Governors vs. the General list. Rod Phillips and Vic Harradine hunkered down to sample and rate their way through the LCBO’s General List products and lived to publish the findings. Congratulations on the new book: The 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO, released just in time for the holidays! The tasting introduced eight of the highest-rated wines. Some were pleasant surprises and all were excellent value: Fazi Battaglia Verdicchio, Yvon Mau Colombard/ Chardonnay, Wolf Blass “Bilyara Reserve” Chardonnay, Antonin Rodet Cotes du Rhone, Twin Fin Shiraz, Wyndham Estate Bin 999 Merlot, Montalto Nero d’Avola/Cabernet Sauvignon, Mont Gras Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, and Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine.

A Vinous Tour of Spain

Always a major draw at the show, Roger Randolph, the Ambassador for Wines from Spain, spoke about seven of Spain’s most sought after DO’s, the particular growing conditions, and traditions of each region. He served high scoring wines from Cava (Cordoniu Pinot noir sparkling), Jerez (Tio Pepe Palomino Fino), Rías Baixas (Martin Codax Burgans Albarino 2006), a very popular Jumilla (Luzon Altos de Luzon 2004), Navarra (Chivite Gran Feudo Viejas Vinas 2001), Toro (Finca Sobreno Crianza 2003), and a beautiful Rioja (Muga Reserva seleccion Especial 2003). It was noted that the 2003 vintage produced very good wines in Spain, whose vines and producers can handle exceptionally hot years.


California Style Meets Balderson Cheese

Wine Educator Mark Donaldson from Churchill Cellars matched a selection of wines from Robert Mondavi Private Selection with Balderson’s best cheese. Some noted that some of the wines lacked typicity perhaps due to California’s laws allowing the addition of up to 25% of other varietals. This was especially true for the Pinot Noir, (a medal winner together with the Cabernet Sauvignon). Mark encouraged tasters to first taste the wine, try some cheese by pressing and melting it against the roof of one’s mouth, adding air to release the flavours, then tasting or “schmecking” more wine to test the match. He explained that aging changes cheddar’s texture: it becomes crumbly, the acidity falls and eventually crystals form. One must match weight, intensity, and texture (WIT) otherwise the wine gets cancelled out. In general cheddar is best with big, bold, fruity wines e.g., Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, but it can cancel earthy and smoky notes. While creamy young cheddar stands up to acid and cancels tannins, the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir weren’t great matches (too lightbodied, tasting more herbaceous or tannic than they are).


Chile: Hot Wines From Cool Places

Stoked following a tour of Chile, Maestro Sommelier John Szabo excitedly led a tour through the long history of wine, noting that French varietals were favoured over grapes from Colonial Spain. There is change in vitiand viniculture: huge investment, high tech wineries, wider use of irrigation, and organic and biodynamic methods. Geographically Chile has great conditions for grapes which are nestled between an ocean and mountain range, protected from many pests, and grow in a large variety of soils. John’s selections spanned several large producers in the $15-20 range although Vina Hacienda Araucano 2003 Carmenere ($50) is available at Vintages. Many Chilean wines were medal winners at the show.


Alsace: Land of Diversity

During this seminar, Guild Governor and Canada’s Best Sommelier, Véronique Rivest, provided an overview of her favourite region. Tasters sampled Muscat, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer representing dry through sweet styles. The selections from this underrated, terroir and varietal-driven region were all beautiful, decadent, and would make excellent food matches. There were many smiling faces and cheerful comments throughout the presentation, especially when the prices stayed in the low/mid-$30 range! Favourite wines included the Pierre Sparr Grand Cru Mambourg 2002 Pinot Gris and Paul Blanck’s Grand Cru Schlossberg 2003 Riesling.


A Safari to Savour

Guild Governor, wine writer, and lecturer Rod Phillips discussed the Cape’s famous wines. Rod discussed how quality is steadily increasing, as is the production of international varietals and blends. Good news to skeptics: Pinotage is becoming more fruit-forward, balanced, and less smoky/rubbery. Chenin Blanc and Pinotage continue to be signature grapes and overall South Africa’s wines provide excellent value and are food-friendly. Many of them made it into Rod and Vic’s Top 500 book (see above). To note: Lammershoek’s Chenin Blanc, Roulette Blanc, Roulette Rouge, and Pinotage (very popular) were medal winners together with Graham Beck Rhona Muscadel, Robertson Shiraz, and KWV Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon 2003.


Affordable Burgundy

David Lawrason from Ottawa Magazine led a very expert and insightful tasting of Burgundies. This is a challenging region to get to know; detailed knowledge of geography, topography, and vintage is required to understand the factors affecting quality, price, and wines’ characteristics. Burgundy is often less accessible since most of the wines tend to be very expensive. However, David recommended looking for lesser-known appellations, e.g., Monthelie, Auxey- Duresses, and St-Romain, all still in the Cote d’Or. Another trick is to find well-situated but small producers in smaller valleys but with good exposure. Both 2005 and 2006 vintages have been fabulous, making it a good to year to collect almost any wines from the region, including ones from Bourgogne designation (flat lands), village designations (from flatter regions between villages and hills), or to splurge on premier crus (mid-way up the hills) or grand crus situated high up steep hills. Many of the 2005s will be released over the next months at Vintages. Winemakers are paying more attention to producing ‘cleaner’ wines which will have fewer ‘sauvage’ flavours.


Uncork the Secret to New York Wines!

Robert Ketchin and Susan Spence from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation organized the final tasting focusing on wines from the Finger Lakes and Long Island. Like Ontario, NY producers face challenges with ripening and frost. The Finger Lakes produce many sparkling and ice wines, Riesling, Pinot Noir, plus native and hybrid varieties. Famous producers include Hermann J Wiemer, Dr. Konstantine Frank, Lamoreaux Landing, Sheldrake Point, and Fox Run Vineyards. Long Island is focusing on Cabernets, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Gewürztraminer and has a longer growing season but less heat. Wines were sampled from Raphael (impressive Sauvignon Blanc!), Wolffer Estate, Castello di Borghese, Osprey Dominion, and Macari (interesting Bergen Road 2002, a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Cabernet Franc blend).