Life is short. The wine list is long! Fortunately, we live in a region where there are plenty of exciting opportunities to learn more about wine. Here are a few suggestions for 2014.
Try some inexpensive wine. Faced with all those Christmas bills, consider wines that are cheap and cheerful.
I've enjoyed Fonseca Periquita ($9.99), a red blend from Portugal for decades. Made from three native varieties, it's medium bodied and smooth with a black cherry character. It's available in government stores.
B.C.'s Sumac Ridge Ridge Red ($10.99) has cherries and raspberries with a chocolate and berry finish. Although it is not sweet, neither is it completely dry. Many wine drinkers find a touch of sweetness makes the wine smoother and more approachable.
Diabolica ($15.99) is another local fruit-forward red to try. It's advertised as "devilishly good wine" and has seductive flavours of pomegranate, loganberry, cherry, and raspberry. Again, there is a hint of sweetness to attract consumers who say they like dry wines but actually want it off-dry. Both BC wines are VQA and are available at Sip Wines.
Put these wines in the fridge for half an hour before serving. Lighter reds taste better when they are at cellar temperature, not room temperature.
Attend the Vancouver International Wine Festival vanwinefest.ca.
This year the theme country is France and Champagne will be in the spotlight.
France is well recognized as a leader in the industry and has produced wine for two and a half millennia. The country is known for grape-growing regions synonymous with wine, including Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Rhône and the South of France.
Explore the enchanting world of wine in the Festival Tasting Room with almost 200 international and domestic wineries pouring their delicious wines. You can also educate your mind and your palate at wine seminars, lunches and dinners.
The festival runs Feb. 24 to March 2 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, Jan. 7at 9:30 a.m.. Join a Wine Club. Whether you are interested in Australian, American, German, Southern Hemisphere, or BC wines, there's a club for you. Go to planitbc.com for all the juicy details.
The BC Wine Appreciation Society (bcwas.com) is having a Moon Curser Winery Tasting on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m..
This Osoyoos-based winery has been getting accolades from all over the country. Discover why wines like Afraid of the Dark, Border Vines, Contraband, and Nothing to Declare are worth exploring. Members: $44; Guests: $59.
Take a wine course. I am teaching a wine seminar at Kwantlens' Richmond campus on Saturday March 22. The two-hour Introduction to Wine will teach you the basics of how to appreciate what makes a wine really fine.
This presentation is part of Kwantlen's TALK series. Visit kpu.ca or email [email protected], I am also teaching a series of classes at Burnaby's
Community & Continuing Education (burnabycce.ca). The three Thursday evening courses (Introduction to Wine Appreciation, Red Wine, and European Wine & Cheese) offer an excellent selection of wines to sample and begin Feb. 6. Capilano University (ce.capilanou.ca) offers three Saturday afternoon classes beginning Feb. 1: an Introduction, Wines from the Southern Hemisphere and Wines of Italy.
All of my classes are informal with plenty of wines to taste and are suitable for the novice and the seasoned wine enthusiast.
