Whether we inspire a sans-skins uprising or not, there is a myriad of delicious gems on BC Liquor Stores shelves that regrettably get overlooked. The happy-go-lucky punter is wont to grab the tried-and-true, to drink what’s comfortable, to vote monochrome with their dollars and their palates. To take on those unpronounceable whites shelved in the corners and on the bottom racks of the store is to get off this vinous merry-go-round and to start tasting in Technicolor.
After a tough workout in the tasting room the other day, we were in need of some good music. Sipping a little Moschofilero and scrolling through our CD collection, we realized the overwhelming choices: hip hop (urban or underground), jazz (inside or outside), classical (Baroque or 20th century) and rock (Beatles or indie). There we sat with genres galore, sub-genres of the genres, to say nothing of the sub-sub genres.
Wine is kind of like that. There’s a slew of purple genres out there and we’d be missing out if we didn’t sip from them all. Sure, knowing what you like to drink 90 percent of the time is important. You know you can scan the shelves for a Shiraz, you can skip “Chile” and go straight to “Italy” (or vice versa), or you can head straight for the bubble because you know Champagne is your desert island wine.
But then there are those times – and we swear that they’re getting more frequent – when we find ourselves scrolling past the Alt Rock in favour of a little Hammond B3 organ mastery by Jimmy Smith, or maybe the latest hard-hitting, streetwise rhymes à la Aesop Rock.
Must we have more citrus aromas? More oak-induced vanilla flavouring? More guitar riffs? When the playlist seems stale and the Sauvignon Blancs lack lustre, the Chardonnays become a blur, and your five-disc changer has done a full rotation and you haven’t even noticed that ringing sound is not Nickelback. It’s the alarm bell telling you to press “eject.” Reach for that bottle in the corner – the quirky white that can re-fire your taste buds. It’s about aural diversity.
Vintage in and vintage out, we love the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie from Château de Chasseloir. It’s raging freshness, catching you off-guard with its vibrancy and lip-smacking tang; made from the zippy Melon de Bourgogne grape and left on its lees to pick up some weight and bread-y character. This may just be the ultimate spring fling.
Also from the country that brought you the baguette, the Citroën and romance (not necessarily in that order), comes the Jaffelin Bourgogne Aligoté. It seems every grape wants to lay claim to being the “poor man’s Chardonnay” – the dubious honour is currently shared by Pinot Blanc and Chenin Blanc – but in our opinion, Aligoté wins hands down. It’s from Burgundy, and it’s what we drink when we can’t find a white Burgundy for less than $25 (which is nine times out of ten). Look for nut, apple and peach pit aromas punctuated by an unmistakable leesy note (i.e. like bread yeast). OK, it’s not Montrachet, but it’s great with fish and chips. Another bottle we can’t keep in stock is the Gazela Vinho Verde. Whether it’s lunch, brunch, or an afternoon tipple, we’re constantly cracking into this citrus explosion that’s punctuated by an inviting fizz. Vinho Verde literally means “green wine,” though the reference is to its youthful energy, not its flavour or the colour of the eggs you should be serving alongside. Pairing with anything from omelette to hors d’oeuvres, chill the Gazela well and try not to polish off the whole bottle.
In keeping with the Portuguese theme, we have recently discovered Sogrape’s Vinha do Monte Branco from the Alentejano region. So-what? Alenteja-who? While we were looking for a translator, we popped the cork on this Portuguese gem, inhaling whiffs of lemon, guava and melon. There’s a distinct perfume on the nose, followed by a brief but nicely textured, finish. We’re thinking cucumber canapés on a Sunday.
Sticking to the always-epicurian Continent, we opened a bottle of San Marco’s “Solo Frascati,” complete with a mouthwateringly minimalist label. No tacky animals here – this Frascati is as fashionable as it gets. Made of Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes and hailing from a region near Rome, we in BC, don’t generally get treated to the crisp, floral nuances of this Italian appellation. Add wild flowers and strawberries to the olfactory mix and it’s hard not to love Frascati.
Continuing east, we would be remiss if we left out a Greek wine, quite possibly the pinnacle of quirkiness. And we mean that in the most complimentary way. Straight up, we’re crazy about wines from Greece, no matter how dwarfed this category is compared to, say, Oz. Greek reds are rich, balanced, and food-friendly. The whites, like this Moschofilero from Boutari, are about as idiosyncratic as they get. The Moscho is massively perfumed, easy to sip; and before we knew it, the 750 millilitres had disappeared. Possibly the best experience of this tasting.
Regrettably, there’s not a lot of white wine on the shelf from Argentina. We’re too focused on the red Malbec grape and not enough on Torrontes. Surely this is what the gauchos swig while they ride into the sunset, what’s poured at all the raucous Buenos Aires parties, or what’s served with a large Argentine steak? Well, if we were in Argentina right now, Torrontes is what we’d be sipping. This grab-you-by-the-nostrils white exudes aromatics until the cows some home. “Quaffable” only begins to describe the Lo Tengo Torrontes.
Our own backyard is not without its fair share of quirky white wines. In fact, before all the Cab and Syrah got planted in the Okanagan, the valley was home to a plethora of fair-skinned oddities. To some extent it still is, what with grapes the likes of Kerner, Siegerrebe and Ehrenfelser. Quails’ Gate winery is not one to turn its nose up at vinous curios, here matching Pinot Blanc to the rare Chasselas, a grape commonly grown in Switzerland, that yields a pleasant, fruity wine. Savour the fresh aromas of green apple, apricot and bar soap of the Quails’ Gate Pinot Blanc Chasselas. It’s squeaky clean sipping and we can’t think of anything quite as appetizing this spring.