Today, the Wine Bloggers Conference was more focused on the terroir of Walla Walla: the geology, the producers, the varieties, the soils, the climate, the combination of things that are giving shape to this wine region. The well-organized winery visits, with three distinct stops for each group of bloggers, were very successful and allowed a good, quick overview of what Walla Walla is all about. Between discussion of the particulars of deficit irrigation to the alluvial soils of Buty’s Rockgarden vineyard, and the humorous talks with the winemaker at Dunham Cellars, along with a fair bit of wine tasting, it was a well-filled half-day.
There is much interesting stuff to write about this – and I will write about it very soon – but for now, we’re back to our speed dating session, with five minutes per wine to taste, ask questions, spit and write.
Jordan 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
This is not a pyrazine-forward (read: vegetal) cabernet. Jordan has been making Read More
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Tasting Note: 2009 Chasselas-pinot blanc-pinot gris, Quail’s Gate, Okanagan VQA
As vacation time finally hits, I hope I’ll be able to catch up on my posts from all the trips I took this spring in various wine countries. There is much to be told about the Finger Lakes, Cahors, Oregon, Washington and the Okanagan.
Just before leaving for the Pacific Northwest, I saw a picture posted through Twitter by Quail’s Gate. It showed two bottles of chasselas, one from 1989 and the other from 2009. It was the first I’d heard about chasselas being produced in Canada. Seemed appropriate to find it in the Okanagan, however, since the best expression of chasselas is Fendant, the classic white wine made in the Swiss Canton of Valais, right in the middle of the Alps.
Mountain grape in other mountains? Should be good, right? Or at the very least, an interesting comparison.
Fendant is a fresh, crisp wine made from 100% chasselas, often with a touch of CO2 that makes it an easy sipper – and also the perfect drink with cheese fondue or raclette, as the acidity cuts nicely through the fat of the melted cheese.
With the very first sip, at Quail’s Gate’s tasting bar, very nicely perched above Lake Okanagan, in West Kelowna, I recognized the grape’s character, with lemon and white fruit and a light, fresh texture. Only there was something else in there, too.
Indeed, after having long been a varietal bottling, the chasselas is now combined with pinot blanc and pinot gris to give it a little more depth and intensity. Brian, the extremely nice guy who conducted our tasting at Quail’s Gate, indicated that local preferences were for more powerful wines, and that the wine did better this way. So 50% chasselas and 25% of each pinot is now the working blend.
And it works fine, too. The pinots give an extra layer of pear williams and some spicy notes, as well as a rounder texture to the wine, without sacrificing the basic, refreshing character that makes chasselas so pleasant to me. The bottle I brought back home was just as much fun as what I’d tasted at the winery, and went down well during a recent heat wave. So here’s a toast to chasselas from the mountains, wherever those mountains may be.