Wines to have on hand for the holidays
Credit: Whispering Horse
The topic of what wines to have on hand for specific occasions often comes up. With the holidays looming - what should you stock for various scenarios from late night dance parties to awkward new meetings?
Read on for many of the wines I plan to have on hand over the Christmas break.
For the snobby friend who thinks Canadian wine sucks
Duncan, BC
2020 Pinot Gris
Credit: Averill Creek
I don't think I've encountered more haters of Canadian wine than...Canadians. Common phrases I hear religiously:
"I don't like wine from the Okanagan."
"What options can you show me for big reds?"
"I hate Pinot Gris."
Should you have anyone in your life who writes Canadian wine off as subpar, this is the bottle to convince them with. Pinot Gris may not seem like the variety to reach for considering the stigma it carries, known mostly for unmemorable, watered down porch plonk favoured by the likes of the RHONY.
Purchase here.
For meeting your best friend's new paramour
Okanagan Falls, BC
2019 "Orienteering in the Underworld" Syrah
Credit: Rigour and Whimsy
I met Costa Gavaris, winemaker and co-owner of Rigour and Whimsy with wife Jody Gavaris, in the spring of 2018. Costa and Jody had just embarked on their foray into winemaking, making a tiny amount of skin contact Pinot Blanc barreling them into immediate popularity among natural wine enthusiasts.
The inspiration behind this wine is acclaimed psychoanalyst Carl Jung: "Orienteering in the Underworld is about finding the courage to accept our Shadows. Here is us trying our best at making wine from Syrah. It means a lot to us. It was sometimes scary, but we are very happy we managed to find the courage to try."
I use analogies often in describing wine, relating the many similarities to humans - some wines are complex, others simple, with most falling somewhere in between. Delicate situations like the meeting of a loved one's new partner can be intimidating and vulnerable - shouldn't the wine poured mimic those emotions?
Purchase the wine here.
For the party with old high school friends aplenty with dirty martinis and edibles
Naramata Bench, BC
2019 "Goldie"
Credit: Creek and Gully
Dated skepticism plagues the category of cider - large in part due to hazy memories circa 2001, replete with faux snake skin pants, purple eye shadow and 2 liter bottles of Grower's, resulting in a hangover for the ages, rendering most off the stuff indefinitely.
Sisters-in-law Kaleigh Jorgensen and Annelise Simonsen are redefining the category, treating their cidery similarly to a natural winery - hands off, organically farmed, nothing added and nothing taken away.
Purchase here.
For performing conversion therapy on red wine haters
Beamsville, Ontario
2019 Night Moves Gamay
Credit: Rosewood
A phrase I hear regularly when conducting tastings is, "I hate red wine". In most cases, the aforementioned party tasted one red wine they didn't like, and then naturally, cast off all red wine thereafter.
If your goal is to keep your world small, binary, and relatively boring, by all means, continue to engage in generalizations. It gives the illusion of safety, under the guise of knowledge.
The beauty of what I do is that I don't give my guests a choice - when you hire me to do a tasting, you're going to be drinking what I give you. You're essentially forced into tasting what I tell you to - and majority of the time, the naysayers depart loving what they arrived thinking they hated.
Such is the case for the juice bomb that is this Gamay.
Order 4 bottles via their website to receive 10% off and free shipping (Ontario only)
For arguing with your in laws about politics....again
Jordan, Ontario
2019 Black Label Pinot Noir
Credit: The Farm
A Classically made Pinot, fermented using native yeasts and aged in a mix of 1-4 year old French oak. It’s a blend of fruit from across Niagara that proprietors, the Neudorf family, dub “fruit from friends”. Expect notes of dark cherry, clove and a dance of lightness and richness - incredible value at $25.
It's a great mid-week wine when you want a splurge worthy bottle without the price tag. Or, when you’re in a heated family debate. (It seems to work for the Neudorf's)
Sign up to their mailing list to receive the invite to their annual cellar door opening - a once a year opportunity to purchase direct from the family.
Click here to find out where to purchase locally in Ontario.
For tobogganing adventures that turn into 2am kitchen dance parties
Oliver, BC
Malbec Rosé 2020
Credit: plot
A project dreamed up by graphic designer Adam Kereliuk (who has also designed past labels for Echo Bay) and winemaker Kevin Rossion, have been pushing the envelope with their "nomadic" winemaking approach, sourcing fruit from all over the Okanagan Valley.
Taking on a low intervention ethos has produced wines lower in alcohol, with higher acid, and supple texture. These are the types of wines that pair effortlessly with friends, ski days, and bonfires - days that end at sunrise, everyone packed into the kitchen, as you sip Fernet, the only booze left after an impromptu rager.
Purchase here.
For showing the magic of food and wine pairing
Fraser Valley, BC
2021 La Crescent
Credit: Whispering Horse
When I hear grand, sweeping generalizations like, "there's only one thing we should be doing with hybrids, and that's ripping them all up", I innately fall into a process of deduction, pondering as to why a belief of such astounding ignorance would be held.
It's common that the bros of Wine Berserkers (and other elitist circles in the wine industry) share this mentality. In all fairness - why would they want to drink someone else's experiment when the bulk of these people have access to some of the best wines in the world?
While hybrids have a long way to go, they're carving out an entirely new category not only in Canada, but in various regions the world over, producing some magical results.
Delight wine neophytes and professionals alike with this effervescent, playful and intoxicatingly aromatic expression of La Crescent from Whispering Horse in the Fraser Valley.
Plus, who doesn't want to drink a wine that pairs effortlessly with mortadella?
Available here.
