There's a World of Great Wine: Thoughts about Lifford's 2011 Grand Tasting

The world of wine is a big one and it's only getting bigger as more unconventional wine countries like China, India and Thailand develop further and increase production. To complicate matters if you look at the terroir, people, winemaking and the grapes each region has something unique and special about it. Which if your a wine lover makes the whole journey of finding that special bottle that much more exciting and rewarding. But even for the dedicated oenophile staying on top of a region let alone a world of wine is a bit of a daunting task. That's why having the opportunity to taste a wide range of wine carefully selected from around the world is the perfect opportunity to get some insight into what's happening in the world of wine. One such event is the Lifford Grand Tasting. This year's tasting featured 51 wineries from Lifford's award winning portfolio of international wineries. The proceeds also go to Delisle Youth Services which works with youth and their families so that that they can learn grow and thrive.

One of the standouts from the tasting was from right here in Canada: Painted Rock. Located on shores overlooking the stunning Skaha Lake this winery is on the former property of the largest apricot orchard in the British Commonwealth. As far as tender fruits go apricots tend to be the most finicky so clearly this is a great piece of land. Despite only purchasing the land in 2004 and planting a year later, the winery has quickly made a name for itself as a top quality producer. The focus is on the five Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petite Verdot. The flagship 2008 Red Icon is a meritage blend of 20% Merlot, a quarter each Malbec and Cabernet Franc with the remainder being Petite Verdot. That's right none of that other Cabernet grape. This wine had beautiful aromas and flavours of cassis, black plums and blackberries. Joining the fruit were flavours of cocoa, vanilla and oak spice. Underlying that was a savoury cigar box element that balanced nicely and gave it a dimension beyond the ripe fruit. It possessed the strong acidity and tannic structure to suggest it will develop and drink well over the next few years. The wine that really intrigued me was the 2008 Syrah. The Skinner family, which owns the winery, fell in love with wine touring the south of France where Syrah is behind some of the region's best wines. The wine is full of lush black cherry, bramble, white pepper, vanilla and oak spice. But what really drew me me in were the seductive leather and gamey notes. It was lush and juicy without being over the top and had the tannins and acid structure that made me want to revisit it in a few years.

Another outstanding producer was Kiwi producer Craggy Range. If you've ever tried a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and thought 'I like it but I would love it' if it didn't try so hard for attention the this is the one for you. Over the past forty years the Kiwi take on Sauvignon Blanc with vibrant grassy and tropical flavours has become a world benchmark. Sometimes that style can lack a bit of finesse but not with the 2010 Te Muna Road Vineyard from Craggy Range. It has aromas and flavours of gooseberry, passionfruit, citrus and herbal grassiness that cannot be mistaken for anything but New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. But it manages to do so with an elegance and subtlety that you don't often come across in the Kiwi take on this grape. The majority of fruit is de-stemmed rather than whole bunch pressed and fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak barriques and stainless steel. The result is a wine that retains balanced acidity with a slightly rounder and fuller mouthfeel than the average Sauvignon Blanc. Another favourite was the 2009 Gimblett Gravels (Block 14) Syrah. This was more food-friendly cool climate Syrah than inky jammy warmer climate Shiraz. Blueberries, black current, black plum are rounded out with rose petals before the perfumed kick of Tellicherry black peppercorns on the finish. It's a well balanced wine with a medium mouthfeel, acidity and just enough grippy tannins to pair well with heartier meat dishes.

The last outstanding wine was the 2006 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato. If you've never had a top quality of Barolo this was a wonderful chance. Barolo is the enigma of the wine world and the grape of romance. Barolo is 100% Nebbiolo, the notoriously fickle grape, that's carefully tended to by small family run estates in the fog covered hills of Piedmont, Italy. It has the power and finesse of a thoroughbred horse and only really begins to reveal it's mysteries and true potential after years of careful finishing. It looks relatively innocuous and light with a bricking garnet red colour but make no mistake this is a serious wine. There were aromas and flavours of dried black cherries, berries, tar, earthy truffles and oak spice and they concentrated without being heavy. To open this wine now is a bit of shame because it's simply nowhere close to its peak. Yes, acidity is strong and food friendly and food would help to tame some of the strong tannins that slowly build and take over as you taste. But for those with patience, years of cellaring will help tame those tannins and allow the wine to reveal its secrets and nuisances.

NZ isn't all SB: Thoughts from Toronto's 2011 New Zealand Fair

Over the past four decades New Zealand has quickly built a reputation as a premium wine region capable of producing consistently great wines that stand-up amongst the world's best. They've largely done so on the back of a fresh, distinctively grassy and tropical style of Sauvignon Blanc. It makes plenty of sense. The country has the potential to grow the grape well year-after-year, the style is distinct and much more highly aromatic than the known benchmark of Sancerre from the Loire Valley, it doesn't require long aging time at the winery or in the cellar to be its best and the country focused its export efforts on the key taste-making market of the U.K. to build a premium reputation. But that's not a complete strategy. New Zealand is a country with grape growing regions that span over 1600 km through latitudes from 34˚ to 47˚. Simply put that means not every region is suited not does it want to focus on Sauvignon Blanc. Plus as a relatively young wine producing nation without the benefit of a long and storied reputation it helps to have a bit of diversity should a key variety fall out of favour with your market. The question is aside from Sauvignon Blanc what should New Zealand's variety or varieties be? A red would probably be nice to cater to those that for whatever reason don't drink whites.

In the Southern most region Central Otago with its hotter dryer continental climate and higher elevation vineyards the focus has been on Pinot Noir. Burgundy's favourite grape is a bit of a prodigy. Temperamental to grow and vinify you never really know if it will delivery on all its promise and brilliance. When it does winemakers and wine geeks rejoice at its complexity and the elusive balance it has between power and finesse that very few wines manage to achieve. But when it doesn't it's a bust that scorns like no other. Although I didn't get the chance to taste from all of the producers at Toronto's 2011 New Zealand Wine Fair the I found that Pinot Noir from Central Otago had a common flavour profile that leaned towards ripe concentrated berry and black fruit with surprisingly heavier weight, tannins and less acidity than you come to expect from Pinot Noir. Although delicious on their own I'm not sure this bigger style works as well with some lighter dishes that Pinot pairs well with like salmon, squab, rabbit and roast chicken. If you're a lover of cooler climate Pinot Noir with its sour cherry, rose petals, minerality, high acidity, earthy funk and the versatility that it brings to food pairing then Central Otago Pinot is almost unrecognisable. But that makes sense with hot dry summers, mica and schist soils and a need for irrigation on the steeply sloped vineyards it has much less in common with Pinot's classic cool climate home in Burgundy than you might have assumed. One of the surprise Pinots was the 2009 Konrad Pinot Noir, from the cooler Marlborough region. A medium ruby colour this wine was full of fragrant red cherry, red berry and floral notes. On the palate there was strawberries, red cherries and a bit spice from the 10 months spent in Burgundian made oak barrels. The Tannins were silky and medium minus level and it had medium mouthfeel and medium acidity.

There was also a push to exhibit Syrah as the next big thing. Producers poured plenty of young, deeply concentrated and brambly Syrah that was tight with high tannins. The best had meaty and gamey notes which added an extra dimension on top of the fruit. Without much experience tasting older examples it's hard to know whether those tannins will dissipate and integrate nicely over time. My favourite was the Elephant Hill from the Hawke's Bay region. The wine was full of black cherry, raspberry and the characteristic pepper kick you get in a cooler climate Syrah. Tannins and body were nicely balanced at medium level and the acidity was at the medium plus level which should make it a nice compliment to a richer meal like a juicy steak.

But my favourite wine was neither from the newer stars Pinot Noir and Syrah nor from the country's flagship grape Sauvignon Blanc. It was a Chardonnay from Staete Landt. The vineyards are on a former apple and cherry orchard in one of the oldest grape growing areas of Marlborough. The Chardonnay comes from two clones planted in clay over stoney soils —it was a former river bed. The 2009 vintage is a rich Chardonnay that was barrel-fermented in new French oak. The nose and palate are reminiscent of ripe peach, golden apples with a nutty spiciness. The most intrigue aspect is the savoury peach-pit kernel note that emerges towards the finish. Even with the rich full flavour and medium plus mouthfeel the Chardonnay retained great minerality and medium acidity which balances. I was also lucky enough to taste the 2004 vintage at the Lifford Grand Tasting and it was aging beautifully, gaining complexity with toasted hazelnuts and tertiary honey notes.

What did i come away with? There's more to New Zealand than Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. It's a really diverse wine producer with dramatically different climates that are capable of producing a range of wine styles even growing the same grape. I'm not convinced there should be a focus on particular grapes quite yet. Yes, the push for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was critical to developing the country's reputation aboard. But there's plenty of regions outside Marlborough that are just as capable of producing great wine. Over time I can see a focus emerging in each of the regions from Northland to Central Otago. But in the mean time I'm happy to taste the results as growers, wineries and consumers all figure out what each area believes it does best.