Wine Bloggers Conference 2009 - Day 1: It All Begins

I am sitting now in the enclave dedicated to my desktop computer and feeling terribly old fashioned. The last three days at #WBC09 have been a tumult of wine and technology that puts this old clunky desktop to shame with iphones and blackberries momentarily about as ubiquitous as glasses of wine in Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Having unfortunately been stuck in Vancouver for the first half of Friday writing my final bar exam (let's hope I passed), I didn't roll in to the Flamingo Hotel until about 8pm. While my cold subway sandwich consumed on the airporter was somewhat on the malaise side, the Russian River Tasting later that night managed to properly whet my appetite for the next few days, which were so magnanimous in their generosity that it will take me quite a few extended posts to go through all of my experiences.

That said, in brief introduction I found the conference a fascinating experience as wineries from across the Valleys treated us extremely well and appeared to take wine bloggers very seriously, recognizing the shift in information production, the increase in expressive capacity, and the surprising power of niche markets. If bloggers tend to individually attract niche audiences, collectively at an event like this with over 200 bloggers in attendance you begin to realize the sheer size and impact of the movement. That, and the impressive lack of pretense, which tended to be replaced by genuine passion for, as I like to say, the confluence of extreme sensory expression and intellectual stimulation that comprises the world of wine.

Fortunately I met up with Sean (@vinifico) and Graham (@vino_g) of fellow Vancouver wine blog http://www.vinifico.com/ and had an absoultely brilliant weekend drinking wine, talking wine, debating wine, talking technology, social media and the influence of the biodynamic and organic movements on the wine world. At points we were also joined by Karen (@winebard) of www.winebard.ca, Jeff (@vinaroon) of Farmstead Wines, and Brad (@Bradinator) of Township 7 winery in the Okanagan.

During our lively discussion on the first evening we drank a Sean Thackrey Plaeides XVII, which true to form was a chameleon of a wine with its inspired open vat fermentation under Eucalyptus trees expressing itself in the floral minty nose that is so distinctive to that species. A blend of 13 grapes you wouldn't think belong together, this wine defies description and deserves a rating of excellent. I also wrote up the XVI a while ago. We also had a stunning Austrian riesling brought to the tasting by Jeff of Farmstead, which was oaked in Austrian oak and had a clean and mineral driven palate. However, there was an intensity of flavour that pushed the riesling slightly out of delicacy (its traditional territory) and into a new, brighter, burst of flavour. Frankly, I thought this was a beautiful wine highly deserving of an excellent rating. If only I wrote down its name - hopefully someone can remind me of this!

At the Russian River tasting I found many of the pinots to be pleasant but somewhat overwraught. However, there certainly were some standouts, notably Merry Edwards, Joseph Swann and C. Donatiello. I was particularly impressed with the clean lines and pure fruit of the Edwards and the austere almost Burgundian approach of C. Donatiello. Given that I had just written a bar exam and spent 8 hours on taxis, planes, and busses these are the extent of my notes for that tasting - rest assured much more is to come in future posts. Cheers!

Lastly, a HUGE thanks - my attendance at this conference was made possible by generous donations made through the Wine Blogger's Scholarship, and I thank all the sponsors for making this possible. #WBC09 was a superb event and certainly served to increase my understanding of the role of social media in not just wine, but in marketing and society more generally.

NB: Just got some stats on the conference of 1,124 Tweets, a total of 1,539,239 Followers were reached from Thursday (7/23) to Sunday (7/26).

Movia Ribolla 2005

Unheard of grape varieties often find their way into wine geek nerd speak as those of us who drink and taste large amounts of wine often end up with somewhat jaded palates. Strange varieties can often challenge those palates in a new way. However, I also find that sometimes wine geeks can over-hype varieties that really aren't that interesting and underplay the classics. Luckily, however, this 'Ribolla' based wine from Movia is a pristine example of how indigenous varieties can produce absolutely stellar and singular wine when made well.

I was pointed to Movia by Sean of Vinifico who noted in his post that Movia has been family owned since 1820 and straddles the Italian and Slovenian border near the Friuli region of Italy. Furthermore, this winery has been biodynamic for the last 20 years.

The colour on this was quite interesting: golden yellow with hints of orange. The nose shows this wine's singularity with an impressive bevy of melon (honey dew and cantaloupe I would guess), quince, lemon rind and floral honey. The palate is extremely dry and shows stone, mineral, wood, earth, bitter citrus rind, bark and cardamom. I don't usually go for such a huge list of discriptors, but I wanted to try and impart how unique this wine really is - it does not fit into any standard flavour profile that you would expect from an Italian white. All these interesting flavours are layered on a more traditional backbone of vanilla and lavender. Amazingly, this paired tremendously well with Indian cuisine. Any wine geek who feels jaded with their recent tastings really owes it to themselves to seek out this Ribolla from Movia - it will wake up any tired palate.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$37 at Kits Wine Cellar

Pelican Pub and Brewery MacPelican's Scotch Style Ale

With our arcane alcohol importing laws in BC it is an exciting event to see a new brewery on the shelves. Oregon's Pelican Brewery has recently arrived in Vancouver with 3-4 offerings. I had heard good things when I was living in California but never had the chance to try anything from Pelican, until now.

The colour on this scotch ale is a golden brown, which is metaphorically suggestive of the malty nose with its great notes of honey and walnuts. On the palate this has great balance for a scotch ale (many of which can be too sweet), and has a nice creamy texture for smooth drinking. When sipping I noticed flavours that remind me of lager yeasts along with nuts and honey. Easy drinking and food friendly, but also simple. Enjoyable but not mind blowing.

Very Good
$8 / 22oz Bomber at Brewery Creek

John Glaetzer 'John's Blend' Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

You don't see too many wines from the Langhorne Creek region of Southern Australia over here in Canada, but I find myself often impressed with the lesser known regions. That said, Langhorne Creek fruit apparently forms the basis for most Wolf Blass wines and is known for its soft and mellow character. In fact, John Glaetzer is the winemaker that put Wolf Blass on the map internationally, and has now set up this project making some pretty fantastic stuff.

The nose on this has tremendous eucalyptus and cedar notes with layers of chocolate and cassis. Indeed, it is a classic aromatic profile for Aussie cabs - but so pure and expressive. The palate is, temptingly, very chocolate-forward in a fondue-like way with cassis, licorice, cedar, and eucalyptus rounding out this full, clean and texturally soft wine. With good balance of flavour and a big, full, delineated structure, this cab is well worth its price. Simply, an extremely enjoyable wine.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$40 at Taphouse Liquor Store

Domaine Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir 2004

The famed Domaine Drouhin of Burgundy also has a now well-known project in Oregon doing up some fine Pinot Noir. The Laurene Pinot is the premier bottling and I picked up this bottle a year and a half ago at the 2008 Vancouver International Wine Fest. I was planning on aging this a little longer, but didn't have the patience, alas.

The nose on this had a tiny amount of funk, but predominantly had amazingly pure fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb, and fresh cherries. While there were some 'cola' elements to the nose, they were subtle and did not overwhelm the pure expression of fruit that makes this so wonderful. The palate still has some tannic bite to it (ah, if I only I had patience), but was full of fresh strawberry and cherry fruit with pleasant savory herbal notes and a structured earthiness. Expressive and full flavoured, this could use another 3-4 years in the bottle. 14.1% ABV.

I experimented with my Eisch pinot glass here (compared to a Riedel Vinum Extreme pinot glass) and found the Eisch actually dulled the aromas and flavour considerably. While the wine tasted a lot smoother in the Eisch, I would not give up the bouquet and intensity found in the Riedel. Score another one for the big R.

This is certainly a bottle of wine that shows the tremendous promise of Oregon pinot and, despite my predilections against the general QPR of Oregon pinot, makes me excited about the state's future.

Excellent
$70 at BCLDB Festival Store and available around town at Private Stores

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Having tried and very much enjoyed the super version of this beer (Raison D'Extra) I was looking forward to seeing how the regular version faired. Happily I can say it did quite well in both drinkability and pairability, two essential categories for a great beer.

This poured a cloudy raisin brown with a fairly small head. While the aromas were subdued I did get soft malts and sweet sugar on the nose. Made with beet sugar and raisins, this beer is really quite unique flavour wise with cigar, tobacco, malts, and touches of raisin and beet on the finish. This was a smooth and full ale with some interesting components that actually came together quite well. Further, this was a great treat with cod, and complimented the fish's richness well. A true food ale.

Very Good+
$5/333ml at Brewery Creek (and other private stores)

Au Bon Climat Mt. Carmel Vineyard Chardonnay 2001

I picked this up about a year or so ago from Marquis on sale. You don't often run into California chard with this much age on it in BC, and certainly not at the price I paid. Further, Au Bon Climat is one of the best producers in the Santa Barbara region - all in all hard to pass up. That said, I was somewhat disappointed with this otherwise tasty wine.

The wine poured a dark golden yellow, like gold foil. It was also starting to brown at the edges - a sign of age. Nevertheless, the nose was big and full not suggesting tiredness: pineapple, vanilla marshmallow, kiwi, and creme brulée. The palate had awesome fullness and vitality, especially for 8 years on the bottle. I got plenty of creme brulée and banana cream pie. Although the flavours were rich and full, I found this wine a bit hot and thus imbalanced with respect to alcohol. And, even with the new world creamy goodness, this was not showing the kind of complexity I would expect for great chards after 8 years in the bottle.

Very Good+
~$30 on sale at Marquis