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BC vs. France: A Tasting

September 12, 2009 By Shea 2 Comments

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France’s caché in the wine world always makes it the favourite comparison point for new and upcoming regions that wish to make their mark on the world. BC, a mere toddler by international standards, has seen vast improvements in the last 30 years and is showing its potential to grow into a young adult so long as its potential is not stunted by government restrictions and bloated pricing. Many wineries have pushed their prices up to levels that compete with some of the best wines in the world, despite the fact that many of them have just left their diapers behind. Even knowing the influence of high land prices on wine prices, which I wrote about recently, there is no reason for consumers to pay more than $30 for most of what BC is producing: even good vineyard practices does not mean good wine. Cropping still needs to be reduced drastically and wine making style will have to change to meet the demands of more sophisticated palates.

For this particular tasting, however, Jay Drysdale chose mostly wines in the sub $30 category and those that he felt were showing the potential of where BC can go. John Clerides of Marquis Wine Cellars represented France with similar restrictions. Two wines were paired with each course at dinner and tasted blind. Participants were asked to guess which wine was from BC and which from France and to rate their favourite with and without food.  The dinner was hosted by Cibo Tratorria. All of the following notes I took blind.

Bubbles

BC - See Ya Later Ranch Brut NV: A stark lemon nose with some tart apple. The palate continued the apple, and added minerals and a dry finish. Somewhat austere, this is also somewhat simpler than the 2nd. Very Good. $25

France - Cremant d’Alsace Domaine Barnes Buecher Brut 2007: Cream of mushroom on the nose, which was rounder and fruitier than the first wine. The palate is again creamier and fruitier than the first wine with lots of pear and touches of mushroom. This wine brought out the richer elements of the peppers Piedmontese paired with the bubbles course. Very Good+. $29

Riesling

BC - Joie Farm Riesling 2008: A nose with pear and sweet round stone fruit. The palate is sweet up front, with pear and lime flavours dominating. The sweet fruit overwhelms the more challenging elements of riesling which are ultimately what makes it so special. And, in the end I found this palate fatiguing, which for a riesling is the death-knell. Good+. ~$35

France - Albert Mann Riesling vin d’Alsace 2007: I got more petrol notes on the nose of this wine, along with grapefruit and simple minerals. The palate was extremely stone-driven and dry with an impressively layered finish. Clearly a more basic riesling, but done well. Very Good. ~$30.

Chardonnay

BC - Black Hills Chardonnay 2007: As Gary Veynerchuck says, OAK MONSTER. the nose was buttery with tons of coconut and tropical notes – almost like sun-tan lotion. The palate was a popcorn chard with butter and cream. The oak treatment on this wine killed all the fruit, and made the wine very artificial tasting. In the end, there was no grape left. Good+. $32

France - Domaine Patrick Javillier Cuvée Oligocene 2005: The nose here had lemon, citrus and a touch of mineral and stone. Much more driven by fruit and minerals, this wine was showing beautiful flavours of stone, lemon, and apple. The acidity in the complex mid-palate held the wine together well with food. I called Borgogne or Chablis on this based on the nose, it was that distinct. Aged in old oak barrels. Very Good+. $33

Pinot Noir

BC - Blue Mountain Pinot Noir Reserve 2006: A rich strawberry and cherry fruit driven nose. The palate had plenty of tobacco, asian five spice, cloves and other spice tastiness. I found this a fairly tasty pinot even though made in a new world style that can often sacrifice minerality for fruit forward boldness. Luckily the fruit was not pushed totally into the candy-zone thus making the wine sippable over an entire evening. Very Good. ~$38

France - Domaine Tollot-Beaut Bourgogne 2006: A stemmy, leafy and earthy nose suggesting burgundy almost immediately. The palate had sage, earth, and raspberry and felt leaner, but also did not lose all its fruit. An earth-driven wine and very tasty. Very Good to Very Good+. $38

Bordeaux-style Red Blend

BC – Laughing Stock Portfolio 2006: A green nose – stems, green bell pepper. Was this cropped too high? Did it not fully ripen? However, the palate was highly fruited and gave caramel intensity to its dominant blackberry pie flavour. Very Good. $?

France - Chateau Soudars Haut-medoc 2005: A nose of graphite, cedar and cassis: all classic cab aromas. The palate again had graphite, cedar and tended towards blackberry more than cassis. A serious wine that is very slatey – will certainly satisfy any Bordeaux lover (and, after the reveal, I thought this was great value). Very Good+. $45.

Dessert

BC - Inniskillin Riesling Icewine 2007: Very sweet and thick with grapefruit and anjou pear on the nose. The palate had apple and pear but its residual sugar was overwhelming the fruit a bit. I did think this would get better with a bit of age. Very Good. $?

France - Chateau Raymond-lafon Sauternes 2003: A candied citrus nose, this was lighter on the palate than the other wine. Lots of candied grapefruit again on the palate, with a long and tasty finish. Simple, but balanced with a nice acidity and not too sweet for many lighter desserts. Very Good+. $?

For me, France clearly dominated the BC wines in this tasting and in fact I was able to pick out all of the French wines other than the bubbles (with which I have almost no experience). Nonetheless, I did think the bubbles and the pinot were showing very well for BC and if looked after meticulously and driven further and further towards higher quality could really be something special. The Laughing Stock Bordeaux blend was unbalanced, but showed surprising fruit for BC. I think with lower cropping and a deft hand this wine could get very good.

Interestingly, the talley of results from all the participants was quite different from my notes, with BC taking the pinot noir and the Bordeaux blend over France, but losing the riesling, the dessert wine and drawing on the bubbles and the chardonnay. My guess is that with the reds people preferred the bigger fruit of the BC wines, with the slate and earth flavours from France being more challenging and making the wines seem a bit leaner and taste a lot more savory than the BC wines. With the chardonnay, the French wine succeeded with food, but BC took the victory without food. With its higher acidity the French wine was certainly better suited for the excellent gnocchi course. Again, I suppose people preferred the sweetness and rich flavours of the BC chard over the more mineral driven French chardonnay. I do think the riesling was too sweet and since riesling is the sort of wine that is meant to be light, playful and refreshing, perhaps people chose France as the more refreshing option? Of course this is all conjecture, and it was quite an enjoyable experience tasting through blind flights of BC and French wines. My final opinion is that, again, BC has potential but is not quite in the league of French wines, which not only provide better value but are a lot easier to acquire. However, events like this will only help to promote BC wine and push it to constantly improve itself. Maybe one day we’ll have a ‘Paris Tasting’ of our own.

Filed Under: BC Wine, Canadian Wine

The Costs of Youth, The Price of Quality: Building BC’s Wine Industry

September 4, 2009 By Shea 12 Comments

In a recent piece I wrote on La Stella winery I lamented the price of British Columbia wines and put out a general request for information as to why the prices of BC produced wine seem so high. A few enthusiastic responses from various industry types prompted me to do some real research and get to the bottom of the pricing enigma. After some digging I found not only some very enlightening answers, but also real insight into the BC wine industry and its struggle for identity, quality, and market share.

To understand where BC is now we have to understand a little about where it came from. Before the ratification of the NAFTA and GATT trade agreements, British Columbia only had a handful of wineries making very low-quality wine from strange varieties of grapes. The recent international exposure of the “Cellared In Canada” controversy by Jancis Robinson actually harkens back to this pre “free trade” era in wine where it was common practice for local wine makers to blend internationally sourced fruit with Canadian fruit and a ‘dash’ of water and sell the resulting wine as a British Columbia or Ontario product.

With the advent of the Vinters Quality Alliance (VQA), which guarantees the origin of Canadian wines, BC wine producers started to focus more on quality and less on quantity and a quick buck. What the free trade agreements did was bring competition into the province and prompt the government to fund the uprooting of the old vines and the planting of the Vitis Vinifera varieties from Europe (Merlot, Chardonnay, etc.). Within the last 20 years or so the number of wineries in BC has exploded into the hundreds because of the modernization forced by the trade agreements. In fact, it is likely that we owe the breadth of our wine industry to the competition brought into the province from other countries. This competition forced old wineries to focus more on quality and gave a good reason for new wineries to fill the niche of quality 100% BC grown wines.

But this is only the beginning of the journey. Over the last two decades wineries have had to experiment, mostly on their own dime, in discovering how best to express the local ‘terroir’, or soil and climate conditions. What grapes grow best where? What are the best single vineyard sites and which plots have better potential for growing blending grapes? What are vineyard ‘best practices’ and what sort of winemaking techniques work for what sort of wines? And, the ultimate question, what is the best way for BC to find its vinous identity?

BC has yet to find its parallel to Oregonian Pinot Noir or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. As a young wine region it is still experimenting with varieties and styles. And, this experimentation is expensive. While there are some government programs to aid in the creation of biodynamic farming and some research, the costs of figuring out the best grapes, the best plots, and the best clones are largely shouldered by the wineries. Unlike a region such as Bordeaux, BC wineries do not have hundreds of years of tradition to rely on and capital costs have not been borne by their ancestors.

Beyond the research issue there are three distinct reasons for the higher prices of BC wines: land prices, climate, and labour costs.

Land Prices

Land in the Oakanagan is expensive, very expensive. According to Rasoul Salehi, executive director of the Enotecca group of wineries, “a decent vineyard in Oliver, osoyoos and naramata goes for 150-180K per acre”. Bradley Cooper, winemaker for Township 7 and producer of his own Black Cloud wine, says “prices start in the 90K/acre [range] and go up from there. Recently, some vineyards were being offered for close to 120K/acre.” Comparatively, vineyards in South America or Australia cost as low as $5000 an acre, and even the best sites can be purchased for $50k an acre. Sonoma County vineyards, with their beautifully sunny climate, old vines and established reputation, can be purchased for between $70k to $90k per acre. Even next door in Washington state it is possible to buy vineyard land for $10k to $20k per acre. And, lest we forget, many of the wineries in Europe have been passed on from generation to generation within the same family, meaning the land was bought and paid for a long time ago.

What are the reasons for this high cost? Pressure from the retirement community, who see the Okanagan as a choice retirement destination, drives land prices up. Furthermore, there just isn’t as much land available in BC for vine growing due to natural conditions. Thus, despite my earlier skepticism about land prices, clearly they do play an important role influencing the prices that BC wineries have to charge in order to turn a profit.

Climate

Ask anyone in the world about Canada and their first response is usually some unclever remark about the cold weather. However, as Canadians we do understand the truth of this reputation for, even with its moderate climate by Canadian standards, lower British Columbia still has short growing seasons and the interior sees frost and snow earlier than any other wine region in the world. As Mr. Salehi explains, “harsh winters kill many vines that require replanting and it’s not [so] simple that you take old vines out and you put new ones in. There is much more to it than that.”

Labour Costs

Unlike South America where labour costs are extremely low, or even California where many wineries use illegal Mexican immigrants to reduce labour costs, the cost of labour in BC is very high. Casual labour in BC costs about $13-$15 an hour compared to perhaps $5 an hour for an illegal immigrant labourer. At La Stella, Mr. Salehi explains that “in our particular case we hand pick in 30 lb picking bins and then double sort the fruit as opposed to dump the 1 ton macro bin into crusher and then tank. As a result we employ 14-16 people paid 13-15 dollars and we process 1 ton of fruit in 1.5 to 2 hours as opposed to process it like a typical winery that takes 10 minutes to process 1 ton, with 1 person not 14-16.” What does this mean? Making better wine is more labour intensive and requires more attention to detail. The result? Higher costs and, accordingly, higher prices.

Other Considerations

I’ve written about the legal framework that governs BC’s antiquated liquor distribution and licensing system, but I have not stated clearly enough how this impacts BC wineries. You might wonder why you can only get the best BC wines in private stores, VQA stores or directly from the winery but not at your local BCLDB. This sad situation exists because if BC wineries want to distribute their wines through the BCLDB stores, their customers will have to pay the extraordinary markup of 117% that BCLDB forces on all other wines they sell. By avoiding the stores, wineries can offer better prices to their customers. But at the cost of what? At the cost of distribution and exposure to the huge number of people who either don’t go to private stores or don’t even have the option to. Is this fair or reasonable? Isn’t the BC government supposed to support its wineries and not make it difficult and absurd to sell them at the government run liquor stores?

[NB CORRECTION: The BCLDB forces BC wineries to deeply discount sales to the BCLDB in order for them to acquire that 117% markup. Thus, wineries make more money selling to private stores, and if they want to sell through the BCLDB they have to either absorb the loss or increase the price of their wines. See Paul Rickett's comment at the end of article for more details.]

Furthermore, because of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act it is illegal for BC wineries to ship their wines across provincial borders and sell to consumers in other provinces. Al Hudec of the BC law firm Farris explains the legalities of this in his article “Reforming Canada’s Wine laws” where he states:

“Canada’s liquor laws are an 80 year hangover from the end of prohibition. They rigidly regulate every aspect of wine production, bottling, packaging, labeling, pricing, advertising and shipping. Canada’s federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, enacted in 1928, gives provincial liquor control boards monopolistic power and control over the importation, inter-provincial shipment, distribution and retailing of wine in Canada. Under this law, a friend from Calgary can share a glass of pinot gris on the patio overlooking Burrowing Owl’s vineyards in the south Okanagan Valley, but if she takes a bottle of Burrowing Owls’ highly acclaimed merlot back home across the British Columbia- Alberta border, she commits a federal offense. Similarly, a colleague in Toronto breaches federal law by purchasing a case of Quail’s Gate proprietor’s reserve pinot noir or Heidi Noble’s Joie Noble Blend on the internet for shipment to Ontario.”

This ludicrous situation exists because of an outdated bureaucracy that is more interested in protecting itself and its myopic views of how to build revenue than growing a local industry, creating an efficient modern distribution and licensing network, and probably in the end increasing the revenue poured back into government coffers. Why wouldn’t we want to reform this system? I hope for the sake of BC wineries that change is on the horizon.

Conclusion

Given the industry’s youth, the lack of old vines, time-tested methods and agricultural practices, and its massive start-up costs I can fairly say that I now understand why BC wines are so expensive. For me, even if competition from around the world is making better wine for better prices, understanding the challenges faced by the BC wine industry adds a level of depth and complexity that would otherwise be missing. And, even if pursuit of quality is expensive, I still believe that the industry cannot rest on its laurels or simply on local pride. Instead, it should aspire for more and always push to make the best wine possible for the best prices. With time, practices and techniques will improve, capital costs will be recovered and, hopefully, prices will drop. However, to achieve this goal, BC wineries really need a modernization of the liquor distribution system in the province, and the opportunity to sell and market their wine to Canadians who do not live in British Columbia. Doing so will help create a reputation for the industry and will further push quality improvements and price reductions. The more consumers are aware of the challenges and speak vocally about modernizing BC’s antiquated distribution and licensing system, the better chance there is that BC’s wine industry will not only continue to prosper, but will grow into an internationally respected brand.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” ~Albert Einstein

Filed Under: BC Wine, Building BC's Wine Industry, Canadian Wine

Wine Law in British Columbia: Some Egregious Realities

August 19, 2009 By Shea 6 Comments

The laws and regulations governining wine sales, distribution and importation in British Columbia are byzantine at best. Understanding them requires expert knowledge and a bit of suspension of disbelief. To understand wine law here in British Columbia you need to understand a few basics about the Canadian legal system. First, Canada is a federal system, which means that the Federal Government of Canada has jurisdiction over certain matters and the Provincial Governments have jurisdiction over others. Without getting into too many details, the provinces have jurisdiction over property and civil rights and the Federal Government has jurisdiction over interprovincial and international trade. When it comes to heavily imported consumer products such as wine, the two levels of government have overlapping jurisdiction. Hence, regulation of liquor in British Columbia is subject to two sets of laws: one provincial and one federal.

The Federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act dates back to the Prohibition. That’s right, the prohibition. Despite the fact that we as Canadians have long progressed beyond the moral and economic myopia of the prohibition era, we are still governed by a statute created during that period. The fundamental problem with this act is really boiled down by section 3 (1), which reads:

“3. (1) Notwithstanding any other Act or law, no person shall import, send, take or transport, or cause to be imported, sent, taken or transported, into any province from or out of any place within or outside Canada any intoxicating liquor, except such as has been purchased by or on behalf of, and that is consigned to Her Majesty or the executive government of, the province into which it is being imported, sent, taken or transported, or any board, commission, officer or other governmental agency that, by the law of the province, is vested with the right of selling intoxicating liquor.”

To translate the legalese: it is illegal to import liquor into any province unless it has been purchased on behalf of the government of Canada or the government of the province into which it is being imported. In British Columbia, the government has delegated this task to the governmental agency known as the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) and the BC Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, the bane of most BC wine drinker’s existence. The BCLDB is granted its authority and prerogative by the Liquor Distribution Act of British Columbia, which gives the branch the “sole right to purchase, both in and out of British Columbia, liquor for resale and reuse in British Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (Canada)” (s. 2(2)).

To control liquor in the province, the Liquor Distribution Act has banned consumers from owning any liquor unless it has been obtained from an authorized source. Again, that’s right, it is illegal to own liquor in BC unless you have obtained it from a source authorized by the statute. These sources include: persons or entites authorized under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act (private stores, restaurants, and a few other exceptions), liquor held as “acquired liquor” by the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s agent (hence the proliferation of agents in BC), liquor cleared and charged by customs for personal use, liquor manufactured in BC but not packaged for sale and still within the possession of the manufacturer (what I like to call the home brewer provision), and several other little exceptions we won’t worry about here.

So, let’s unpack all this bureaucratic nonsense.

1. Private Stores and Restaurants

The Liquor Control and Licensing Act authorizes the general manager of the BCLDB to grant licenses and permits to purchase liquor from the branch for resale and reuse. This is why most restaurant wine lists are boring – they all have to buy from the liquor stores and they cannot import wine on their own initiative. What serious sommelier wants to work in such a stilted environment for acquisition of liquor and building an amazing wine list? Not many, and it certainly doesn’t make their job very easy. Also, the private liquor stores HAVE to buy from the BCLDB, which in turn buys from manufacturer’s agents. Of course large established agents have a vested interest in keeping the system as it is and discouraging newcomers. They make more money if the selection is limited. Thus private stores buy from the same old same old agents and have the same crappy stock. That is, except for the few who have grandfathered importation licenses held by entites other than the store (it is illegal to import and retail at the same time) such as Marquis, Liberty and Kits Wine Cellars. Of course, with tax as it is, even these stores don’t have many great bottles under $20 forcing, as John Clerides of Marquis asserted to me, the vast majority of BC wine drinkers to drink swill since the base price of most wines that end up being under $20 in the province is under $10 elsewhere. This makes it near impossible to support small producers, biodynamic producers, etc. within the mass-market, leaving them for the wealthy and the wine geeks only.

2. Manufacturer’s and Their Agents

As I mentioned above, manufacturer’s agents dominate the wine landscape in British Columbia. Many in the industry know this. However, what most people don’t know is the crazy provision of the Liquor Distribution Act that governs these agents: section 6. Section 6 provides that the BC Government “holds title to” (i.e. owns) all liquor in the province as soon as it enters the province. This includes liquor imported by agents. Yes, another moment of astonishment. The BC government owns everything brought into the province even if they didn’t pay for it. Not only that, but section 7 of the same act states that they are not liable for any loss, damage, theft, etc. of these products. So, the government regulates who can bring wine in, is declared legal owner of it, sets out where and how to distribute it, but will not take responsibility for it. Furthermore, subsection (3) states that the BC government acquires title to (owns) all liquor in the province that is bottled in commercial packaging. Thus, as soon as a brewer or winery bottles their product for resale, the government owns it. I will ignore the exemptions under the federal act for the purposes of this post.

So, how do the manufacturer’s and their agents get paid? Well, luckily the government doesn’t just steal the liquor outright. Instead, it pays the agents after it has sold the liquor at its stores or through its distribution channels. Furthermore, under sections 8 and 10 of the Liquor Distribution Act the government can require an agent or manufacturer to repurchase any liquor it wants them to. So, anyone importing liquor into BC has to be willing to assume the risk that they will be forced to repurchase the liquor from the branch. This is obviously a huge bar to any manufacturer, especially a small one, who wants to take a risk in a new market. The British Columbia market is run like a cartel that has not only monopoly power over an industry, but also the means to change the rules and enforce them with civil and criminal charges (i.e., in my opinion, brute force).

3. Customs

We’ve all been seriously annoyed at the 2 bottle personal exemption when bringing wine back into Canada. But few of us know the legal regime that supports this practice, for which we have to turn to section 19 of our best friend the Liquor Distribution Act. Under this section, a “casual importer” (you and me) must surrender all liquor to customs upon entering BC. Of course, remembering trusty section 6 we will remember that the BC government now owns the liquor we just brought into the province, and lest we forget, section 4 makes sure that it is illegal for us to own it unless we follow the procedures of section 19 and repurchase the liquor from the customs officer. That’s right – if you bring in liquor into BC, you forfeit title to it and have to rebuy it from the government. Given our outrageous tax rates, this means bringing liquor into BC, even for the most avid personal collector who still spends tons of money on wine in the province, is an expensive pain in the ass that to my mind violates some pretty important property and economic rights.

The Constitution

Speaking of rights, let us consider how these three harsh situations play out under the Canadian Constitution. First of all, s. 121 of the Constitution Act states: “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.” In other words, Canada is a free trade zone within itself. If a product is manufactured within a Canadian province no other province can charge duties against that product. This is all well and good in theory, but as the United States has taught us with their full faith and credit clause, it can take a lot of money and a lot of lawsuits to eliminate shipping bans between states for alcohol. Even after a string of constitutional cases that declared it illegal to discriminate against importing another state’s wine, there are still many US states that ban the practice. So, what hope does Canada have? Well if one of the provincial governments charges a winery or individual for shipping wine across provincial borders and tries to fine or imprison them, a legally ambitious winery or individual might challenge the law on constitutional grounds and succeed. If that happened maybe the Federal government would reform its prohibition era statute and let Canada be the free-trade zone it should be.

The Charter

But what about bringing in liquor internationally? That’s a more difficult situation and the federal government does ultimately have jurisdiction over international trade that courts will likely defer to more readily. However, what if someone were charged criminally for bringing in 3 bottles of wine for personal use without declaring them or paying tax? Section 7 of the Charter of Rights of Freedoms states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.” This is obviously a very complex provision, but is it reasonable for an individual to be criminally charged because they wanted to enjoy a bottle of wine without paying extraordinary taxes on it? Is this an offense really worth a major fine or even imprisonment (for which the importation of intoxicating liquor act provides)? I can’t answer this question, but to my mind, and perhaps I’ve been influenced by my stint studying Constitutional Law in the United States, to deprive someone of their liberty because they didn’t pay tax on a few bottles of wine they are going to drink themselves is certainly not in accord with the principles of fundamental justice and is not, as section 1 of the Charter states, “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”. While provincial governments continue to benefit from their extortionate tax rates on alcohol, particularly in BC, consumers, afficionados and wine geeks continue to pay a disproportinate amount of tax that goes straight into the general revenues of the province. Hence, you wine geeks out there are disproportionally funding the construction of roads, sewers, and even olympic structures. Does this make any sense in a society that is supposedly liberal and free? It certainly doesn’t to me.

Some Wine

I cannot finish this post without quickly writing down my thoughts on the glass of wine that I consumed while writing this diatribe, a 2004 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz from the Clare Valley in Australia. This was a pretty inspiring wine and kept me writing with its amazing nose of spice, blueberry, sweet rich dark black fruits, vanilla, chocolate, nutmeg, and eggnog. Incredibly layered and expressive there is definitely french oak use here, but in a very refined way. The palate is simply stunning with amazing fruit concentration and flavours like blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, red delicious apple, dry baking spices, walnuts, chocolate, plums and plum skins. The finish is extremely long and complex while the wine has a surprisingly elegant texture for shiraz and superb balance. The fruit is very expressive, but not too pushy and the oak is a delicate (rather than brutish) backbone for the wine. One of the most complex shiraz’s I’ve tasted. I only wish this wine could predict brighter futures for the BC wine consumer.

Excellent to Excellent+
$80 at BCLDB

Disclaimer: Any errors or omissions are my own. This article does not constitute legal advice.

Filed Under: BC Wine, Wine Law in British Columbia

La Stella Winery

August 14, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

I don’t get the opportunity to taste too many British Columbia wines, despite living in the province. I have been curious, however, about BC’s potential as a wine growing region and I know this topic raises great debate and often ire between wine geeks, your everyday BC wine drinker, and the wineries themselves. Personally, I always hope a small region can make a name for itself, but I also believe that a name must be made on quality and not hype.

It is always difficult when drinking wines from one’s own backyard to be completely objective – one usually wishes to support the local industry and foster future development. This is a good thing in many ways. However, such an attitude goes beyond its positive influence if it supports sub-standard quality, corporate marketing techniques, and parochial dogmatism. True pride comes when you can hold up a product from your home and objectively declare its quality. This is very different from just running a business, and I know wineries are out there to make money.

It is easy, from a business perspective, to forcefully promote the greatness of your products whether they are actually great or not, and I certainly believe this attitude is not solely found in BC. Many sub-standard California wineries promote their wines in this way, and that is fine as a business model if it works for them. Luckily for me I am not interested so much in making money from wine, but in providing objective insight, information, and balanced opinion to the wine drinker. When thinking about wine from this perspective, one must as a duty look past the marketing, past the tendency to support one’s local and home industries, and to the grapes and ultimately the wines themselves. That is the essence of thinking about just grapes.

Notwithstanding our ludicrous shipping laws, if BC is to grow as a wine industry, especially if it wishes to grow internationally and gain the respect of wine lovers from around the world, it needs to focus on the right side of things. Wine will always be dominated by business models and marketing – but the heart of wine lies in the authenticity of its appreciation, the stories it creates, and, ultimately, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s utter ability to stop you in your tracks.

All that said, I do think there ARE wineries in BC pursuing the quality-based model and I also believe that BC is incredibly young as a wine region and has yet to develop great vineyard sites and attract truly great winemakers. I do think both a legal and a culture shift is necessary to precipitate these things, but I also believe they are possible. Now, if that’s enough pontificating on the state of BC’s wine industry for you, it’s time for some tasting notes!

La Stella Winery

La Stella is located in the Oakanagan Valley of British Columbia, on its south side near Oliver, BC. Most of the vineyard sites are either near a lake or at relatively high elevations, which protects the grapes from the severity of the Okanagan’s massive heat spikes. This allows the grapes to ripen and not shut down in extreme temperatures. Furthermore, La Stella uses certain practices to promote ‘sustainable farming’, such as not using herbicides, pesticides, and keeping irrigation to a minimum (its top wine Maestaso only generally receives around 36 hours of irrigation a season). La Stella focuses on Italian style wines similar to those from the Friuli and the coastal region of Tuscany where some of the best super tuscans are made. La Stella is also the sister winery to Le Vieux Pin, which focuses on French style wines.


Leggiero Chardonnay 2008

The nose on this chard had peach, nectarine, lime, guava and banana. Cold fermented completely in steel, this wine is fairly acidic and has a palate that is very up front with lime, pineapple and guava. While the acidity is certainly firm, the wine is also crisp and finishes clean with some slight mineral lacing. A bracing chardonnay without tons of depth or uniqueness, but which will also certainly drink well on a hot day.

Very Good
$25

Vivace Pinot Grigio 2008

The nose on this grigio was interesting with loam, stone fruits and pear. The palate, however, was surprisingly more like a sauvignon blanc than a pinot grigio and had tons of grapefruit, some basic citrus notes, fresh grass and some pear on the finish. The acidity here was a bit overdone on the mid-palate, and while still sippable, there is nothing particularly interesting going on here.

Good+
$25

La Stellina Rosé 2008

Made with 100% merlot, the nose on this had a little caramel and light red berries. The palate on this rosé was very caramelly and honestly tasted a lot like a Jolly Rancher with candied cherry and strawberry notes. The wine, while simple, was also balanced and while some would certainly dislike the sweetness in this Rosé, I found it well wraught, even if the wine was a bit too candy-like for me. A solid but innocuous rosé. At this price go for a nice dry Tavel or Lirac rosé from France.

Good+
$25


Allegretto Merlot 2006

A full-on 100% merlot, this wine avoids the negative stereotypes people associate with the grape. Instead, the nose here had red berries, mint, chocolate, and a bit of cherry candy. The palate was very woody, perhaps too much so, but also had nice notes of chocolate, plums, blackberry and some savory dried herbs with serious earthy notes. While perhaps somewhat a bit distorted with heavy wood-notes, I enjoyed this wine and think it shows surprising potential for a grape that one would think might not grow too well in the Okanagan climate. My biggest gripe, however, is the price. For $38 one could also get a top Gigondas from Les Pallieres, a solid bottle of merlot-based Bordeaux, A Ribera Del Duero from the excellent Tinto Pesquera, and even a solid Washington syrah, like Kestrel’s. The list could go on.

Very Good
$38

Fortissimo Red Blend 2007

Made predominantly from merlot, but also with a sizeable amount of cabernet sauvignon and a dabble of cabernet franc, this red blend had a nose of blue and black fruits, with chocolate and a little cedar. The palate again had a lot of oak spice on it, wood, graphite, and some secondary fruits such as blackberry. This is tasty, but it is lacking layers and complexity on the mid-palate which I expect more of from a wine at this price point. The wine finishes with decent length but also with simplicity. The tannins weren’t oppressive, but at the same time they seemed a little out of place – I would suspect this might improve with a little bottle age. Overall, a pretty tasty wine.

Very Good
$38

Maestaso Merlot 2006

This is the top wine from La Stella and it shows. Cropped at half the quantity of the Allegretto, the Maestaso is a very well made wine. The nose was still a little subdued, probably because the wine is still quite young, and offered notes of red fruits and baking spices. The palate was fairly impressive with lots of black fruits, caramel, subtle vanilla, and baking spices, especially up front. As you drink this wine you notice its smoothness and integration, which stand out dramatically from all of the other wines offered by La Stella. The tannins are also smooth and well integrated. This is definitely a well made wine, but once again I question its price point.

Very Good+
$85

La Stella certainly shows great potential for BC, although I do think it has a ways to go before it can justify its prices. When I ask the ultimate question – would I buy any of these wines? – unfortunately the answer is no. This leads me to ask: why are BC wine prices so disproportionately high given the quality? I am not completely up on this issue, but it seems to me that BC wineries don’t have to pay import duties, and have way lower shipping costs than out of province wineries, and yet still charge tremendous prices for their wines. If the wines I tasted were 30-50% cheaper, then things would make a lot more sense to me. As it stands, I am not sure why I would buy an $85 bottle of very solid merlot when I can spend $85 and get a mind-blowing Barolo from Italy, a wicked high end sauvignon blanc from the Loire, etc. If someone can answer this, please let me know. And, I can’t buy ‘land prices’ as a justification considering how much land costs in places like Napa where even though wines are very pricey by US standards, they still have a better QPR than what I’ve tasted from BC so far. Nonetheless, I am still very open minded about BC wines and I will continue to taste as many as I can get my hands on.

Filed Under: BC Wine, Canadian Wine

Golden Mile Pinot Noir 2006

July 13, 2008 By Shea 2 Comments

Another rare venture into wine territory I rarely explore. This time coming from my own backyard in the Okanagan valley, a few hundred km inland from Vancouver. I am treipiditious about Canadian wine, but was pleasantly surprised with this good value offering. So much so that I plan to venture a little more frequently into my own backyard.

This had boysenberry and funky fruit on the nose. The palate was all raspberry and strawberry and had a character not unlike a well made entry level Oregon Pinot. I’d even say this is equivalent to a $30+ of Oregon pinot. A good buy and an enticement to try Golden Mile’s reserve pinot.

Very Good+
$23 at VQA stores
Filed Under: $20-$30, BC Wine, Canadian Wine, Pinot Noir, Very Good

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2004

December 4, 2007 By Shea 2 Comments

Canadian provincial wine laws have always been a pet peave of mine. In the case of Canadian made wine, bad wine laws have contributed to their general poor quality and lack of international reputation. For example, Ontario allows wine makers to import plonky leftover juice from around the world and yet label their wines Canadian. However, the state of wine production is improving somewhat, although for legal and economic reasons (lack of viable and large enough markets, lack of wide distribution) most Canadian wine is still sub-standard for the price (At least in my opinion). There are many proud supporters of Canadian wine, but I only follow my taste buds. That said, this bottle is not only an exception to what I’ve written above, but one that I would not be ashamed to see in other national markets.

I tried to hold on to this bottle a bit longer, but gave in to the urge to try it after only a few months of cellaring. The nose opened with a bit of cassis and cherry and these flavours continued to develop upon my first sip. The wine is pretty well integrated, but is a bit tight and overly tannic, especially in the finish. This really probably needs more time in the cellar to open up completely. However, this is definitely a very enjoyable wine.

$40 at BCLDB and Private Stores
Very Good (although probably Very Good + to Excellent with some bottle age)

Filed Under: $40-$60, BC Wine, Bordeaux Blends, Canadian Wine, Very Good
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