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There's isn't much left to say about the Stanley Cup riots, but from someone who has written about wine for almost three decades, there's little doubt Vancouver's thriving wine community has been tarred with the same brush as everyone else when it comes to that shameful evening.
I have no way of knowing whether the rioters or onlookers were drinking wine, beer or spirits because it's not the point and it doesn't matter.
What matters is how we handle alcohol in a public setting. British Columbia has more liquor laws than most cities have bylaws.
We also have the toughest drunk-driving laws in the country, and yet given the chance to drink in public, an unruly portion of the population continue to disgrace themselves and the city, leaving authorities to think no alcohol is the only way to go.
Whenever I hear the city -in conjunction with the province -is thinking about closing liquor stores early, as they did during the Stanley Cup Final and the Olympics, I feel as if we have all failed in our duty to respect alcohol and use it responsibly. We need to take a fresh look at how we portray alcohol and when and how we can consume it.
In my search for answers, I have come to think we need to consider what, if any, benefit is derived from the current law that bans drinking until you are 19 years of age. Clearly, the no drink/drink switch that is turned on at 19 does not work.
As a wine-growing province of note, we should all be better-informed drinkers, and if that means blowing up the current laws and starting over, we should at least consider it. The way it stands now, it simply isn't working.
I've chosen Riesling, a lower alcohol wine, to consider this weekend. Savour a bottle with friends and food and discuss life.
It's the only way we can move forward. Under new winemaker Darryl Brooker there has been a small but significant upgrade on the CedarCreek Estate Winery Riesling 2010. Citrus is the theme on the nose and palate with a more taut mid-palate and a touch less obvious alcohol. The style is fresh with a little less upfront sweetness and more mid-palate citrus and limy notes with a touch of sweetness in the finish. Juicy and fun to sip, this works well with any amount of West Coast seafood dishes. Great value in a simple, straightforward, affordable Riesling.
Still in the Okanagan, Intrigue Riesling 2010 makes a Lake Country statement. We love its lemon oil, petrol, green apple skin nose flecked with floral, slate, ginger and bubble gum aromas. The attack is fresh and crisp with a juicy, off-dry palate awash in orange peel, ginger, green apple, nectarine skin, lemon and slate flavours. A bit austere on the finish, but with fine intensity. A good start for the winery.
The Tesch Unplugged Riesling 2009 from Nahe is a much-welcomed wine style to the market. The antithesis of Germany's complicated grading and labelling system, all of the Tesch wines are finished dry or trocken led by the ingenious 'Unplugged' label. Could there be a better moniker for a Riesling that sees no new wood and is finished completely dry? Honey, slate, floral, spicy, apricot, chalky aromas rule as does its fresh, full, dry palate with ginger, honey, floral, green apple, quince and lemon flavours. Good intensity and length. Made for food and most Vancouver restaurant wine lists.
Perfectly priced and sculpted, the Schloss Reinhartshausen Riesling Dry Rheingau 2009 delivers a glass full of honey, guava, apple, peach aromas and flavours. So fresh and juicy, its off-dry palate allows you to pour this on the patio with abandon, and so does the price. Perfect for most vegetarian dishes. Solid value.
The Kruger-Rumpf Riesling Shiefer 2009 edition is a Feinherb or off-dry Riesling with an inviting lime, guava nose. The attack is crisp, juicy and elegant with some sweetness and crisp acidity followed by petrol, lime, green apple, nectarine and honey flavours. It's a slightly fuller, off-dry palate with good fruit. Try with pork, salmon or sole dishes.
The original vineyard site of the Tesch Karthäuser Trocken 2009 belonged to the Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, monks at Laubenheim, Nahe, Germany, where its ancient sandstone soils face southeast. Look for light petrol, lemon rind, honey, clover, spicy, green apple notes of oyster shell and slate aromas. So fresh and delicate, its juicy, creamy palate is awash in pear, lemon, grapefruit, floral, honey and petrol flavours all with very fine intensity. Clean, correct, dry and delicious. For serious Riesling aficionados.
OUR PICKS
CedarCreek Estate Winery Riesling 2010, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price: $18
UPC: 778913020025
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Great value in a simple, straightforward, affordable Riesling.
Intrigue Riesling 2010, Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price: $20
UPC: 627843005728
Score: 87/100
Remarks: Off dry palate with orange peel, ginger, green apple, nectarine, lemon flavours.
Tesch Unplugged Riesling 2009, Nahe, Germany
Price: $20
UPC: 4015276102309
Score: 89/100
Remarks: Could there be a better moniker for an unwooded, dry Riesling?
Schloss Reinhartshausen Riesling Dry Rheingau 2009, Rheingau, Germany
Price: $20
UPC: 4005055007819
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Good body and finesse in a drier style Riesling. Solid value.
Kruger-Rumpf Riesling Shiefer 2009, Nahe, Germany
Price: $25
UPC: 4024831729103
Score: 88/100
Remarks: A fuller off dry palate with good fruit. Try with pork, salmon or sole.
Tesch Karthäuser Trocken 2009, Nahe, Germany
Price: $27.99
UPC: 4015276102217
Score: 90/100
Remarks: Clean, correct dry and delicious Riesling. For serious aficionados.
