The 38th annual Vancouver Wine Festival wraps up this weekend. Italy is the featured country, although there were 1,470 wines from other countries to sample. If you didn’t attend any of the 54 tastings, seminars, lunches or dinners, check out my wine recommendations below and have a mini-festival at your home.
My first pick is an Italian white, the Ruffino 2014 Orvieto Classico ($11.29). Like some Italian wines, the Orvieto is named after a geographical location.
The wine grapes are grown near the striking hill town of Orvieto in Umbria. Less than 90 minutes from Rome, Orvieto sits high above the valley floor atop a big chunk of tufo limestone, overlooking the cypress dotted Umbrian plains.
The Ruffino estate which produces the white has been in business since 1877 and now produces wine in seven Italian regions. Four indigenous grapes go into the aromatic blend: grechetto, procanico, verdello and canaiolo bianco.
I enjoyed the floral and fruit aromas and the distinctive flavour of pears and apples along with a tasty lemon-lime tang. Like many dry European whites, the Orvieto has a mineral component resulting from grapes being grown on limestone soil.
Very tasty with the albacore tuna tartare with meyer lemon and citrus-infused olive oil that I enjoyed at the Ruffino Festival Dinner earlier this week at Cin-Cin.
Next, we head west to Tuscany, home of Italy’s best known red wine, Chianti. I uncorked the Rocca delle Macie 2013 Chianti Classico ($17.49). Remember the 1960s when the best thing about Chianti was its straw bottle that you stuck a candle in and not the thin wine?
The good news is that the Tuscan Chianti producers have drastically improved the formula. Instead of having two types of red grapes being watered down by two types of white grapes, they now have only red grapes in the blend: sangiovese and merlot.
The Rocca delle Macie has a lovely bouquet of cherry and violets, with flavours of the Italian countryside with earth, spice, smoke, and cherry. It is medium bodied, savoury and smooth. Enjoy the Chianti Classico with veal, venison or rib-eye.
Just be sure to decant it for a few hours to let the bouquet and flavours evolve.
My final recommendation is something new: the Villa Maria 2015 Lightly Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
It is normally $16.99 but it’s now on sale for $15.49 until Feb. 27. Bursting with aromas and flavours of gooseberries and guava, it is made in a light frizzante style with gentle bubbles and a creamy texture.
Great as an apéritif with tapas and perfect for turning an ordinary occasion into one of delight and celebration.
Eric Hanson is a retired Richmond teacher and local wine expert. He can be reached at [email protected]
