An Early Harvest for BC Wineries

Summer unofficially comes to a screeching halt this weekend, not because the calendar says so but because for most of us, our work calendars and our back-to-school calendars, say so. Labour Day tends to focus our personal time clocks too as we begin to note the beginning of significantly shorter days and much cooler evenings. The good news is we can still expect another six to eight weeks of decent weather, work or play, before the rain sets in.

Dry sunny weather is what everyone in British Columbia wine country is hoping for, not to mention the rest of the northern hemisphere. Despite the constant battering the wine industry gets, to simplify its story there thankfully remains a great deal of mystery surrounding the harvest and/or vintage. From my point of view there is no need to dumb down the process but rather it should be explored with interest and anticipation.

Seriously, if you feel the need to simplify a subject you may want to consider the television, PVR, Xbox and Blu-ray remote control business. Can anybody tell me why we require three or four remote controls in every household plus the remote control that controls all the remote controls? But I digress.

The 2013 harvest will be one of the earliest in years in British Columbia and, according to some sources, maybe one of the best too. I'm told that there are blocks Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris that could be picked the first week in September which is unusually early for British Columbia.

There is great deal of superstition regarding the harvest. It ranges from winemakers who will not wash their cars until the last grapes are picked to owners who will not comment on the quality of the vintage until everything has been fermented. The thinking is that if anyone says anything about a great year the skies will open up and with rain comes disaster.

What we do know is that winemakers and viticulturalists will be walking the vineyards for the next month or so tasting grapes and literally assessing the levels of fruit, acidity and tannin in each mouthful. The grapes are analyzed in a laboratory too, but that is usually only used to confirm what the winemakers are tasting on their palates. There is no substitution for tasting grapes and I can only imagine how terrifying it is for a young or inexperienced winemaker searching for perfection among the rows on a warm fall day. It takes years to translate those flavours into meaningful pick decisions.

Once the decision to pick has been made (orally), winemakers have many devices to help them communicate which grapes get picked, including machines programmed to pick only certain designated sectors or blocks of the vineyard. Using GPS co-ordinates that correlate to the winemaker's final walk through the vineyard, rows, or even one side of a row, can be tagged electronically with a mobile device. The information is sent back to the winery and is loaded by Bluetooth into a computerized map of the vineyard site before the machines or pickers are sent out into the vineyard. Sophisticated, you bet.

You can play along too if you find yourself in a vineyard over the next month. That's right, park the car safely off the road and walk into a vineyard and be a grape. Stand with your face to the sun and then your back. Feel the wind, touch the soil, and finally select some berries to chew. Don't forget to pick the berries from the sunny side and the shady side of the row. After you taste the sugar and the acidity and chew the skins. Inspect the pips to see how ripe or brown they are. Finally make your decision to pick. Is it yes or no? There's no pressure, just an entire year's work and the winery's reputation in a year or two when the wines are released. I know, you would rather operate three or four remote controls.

Torres Vina Esmeralda Moscatel -- Gewürztraminer 2012, Catalunya, Spain

Price: $15 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 08410113001139

This Upper Penedès white is an 85/15 mix of Moscatel/Gewürztraminer with bright floral aromas. The fruity flavours match the nose offering hints of green apple, lemon lime and lychee fruit. Fresh delicate, juicy, ripe and all under screwcap. Food friendly, this is a versatile sushi wine.

Borsão Garnacha Selección 2011, Campo de Borja, Aragon, Spain

Price: $15 | Score 88/100

UPC: 8412423120036

Black raspberry, earthy, licorice, meaty, cassis aromas mark this blend of mostly Garnacha, with Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon from the north of Spain. The attack is round and smooth with fresh acidity, light tannins and smoky, meaty, black raspberry jam and spicy flavours. A solid fruity, juicy style with good intensity. A good value barbecue red.

Sola Fred Montsant 2010, Catalunya, Spain

Price: $19 Marquis Wine Cellar | Score: 89/100

UPC: 00875359001684

One of Spain's top-co-operatives makes this smoky, spicy, black fruited red with a hint of minerality. The attack is medium rich with plenty of acidity and fine-grained tannins for structure and more dark fruits and floral, fresh cherry notes underneath. A stylish, fun red that works with any grilled meats and or chicken dish. Just complicated enough to entertain the severest critic. The blend is mostly carignan with about 10 garnacha, all vines are 20 to 40 years old and grown near the southern extent of Monsant near to Priorat.

Gérard Bertrand St Chinian Syrah Mourvèdre 2011, Coteaux du Languedoc, France

Price: $21.50 | Score 90/100

UPC: 003514120105233

The 2010 was impressive and the 2011 maybe even better. They have been making wine since the Middle Ages in St. Chinian and Bertrand is dialled in with his Syrah planted over calcareous soil and the mourvèdre over schist. This is a big juicy rich red, almost North American in style. Smoky, savoury red fruits and black licorice notes and similar flavours flecked with smoked meat. A blockbuster style but still with a fresh almost mineral streak in the finish. Try this with full-flavoured menu items.

Il Bruciato 2010, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy

Price: $40 | Score: 90/100

UPC: 8001935002079

This Bolgheri red is 50/30/20 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah with a dash of other grapes. Look for floral notes mixed with red cherries and savoury mint. The attack is full but supple with smoky, spicy, earthy peppery cherry and garrigue flavours. This would benefit from another two three years in bottle or serve now with a classic Bolognese pasta dish.

The Holy Trinity Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2010, Barossa Valley, Australia

Price: $40

UPC: 009315705004606

Score: 91/100

Remarks The Holy Trinity is shaped by the French GSM model of Grenache, shiraz and mourvèdre. The fruit is 100 per cent Barossa hand-picked from 50-120 year old, dry-farmed vines. The nose offers raspberries/black cherries and cedar scents with flecks of licorice while the palate is equally robust with blueberries, plums and spice wrapped in a round, dense soft package. A perfect wine for grilled or roasted lamb or game birds.