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Anthony Gismondi on Wine

It's time to get serious about the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival if you are planning on attending any of this year's events.

Get Ready: The Aussies Are Coming

The 29th edition celebrates Australia as its theme and it will also focus on the riesling grape, both inside the tasting room, and out.

Sales have been strong and, if last year's crush for tickets is any guide to go by this, festival will be sold out long before its March 26 to April 1 running dates. In fact, as I write this, nearly one-third of all planned events are sold out.

After a quick tour around the festival website at www.playhousewinefest.com, I'm applying a bit of personal expertise and knowledge to help you work your way through some of the best remaining dinner options currently advertised without menus or wine selections.

If it's pure fun you are seeking and you prefer a youthful environment, you may want to consider attending Get UnCorked! The Monday, March 26 post- work, pre-dinner mixer, at Earls Paramount downtown, is a walkabout food and wine event featuring the collaborative menu efforts of celebrity Australian chef Jason Roberts and Earl's executive chef Michael Noble, against the backdrop of Yellow Tail wine and its winemaker Phillip Casella.

Barossa: The Bold & the Beautiful should be a 'bonzer' dinner at Burnaby's Hart House Restaurant on Tuesday, March 27 and will feature the shiraz wines of Barossa producers Burge Family Winemakers, Penfolds, St Hallett, Turkey Flat, and Yalumba.

When you blend Senova restaurant, owner Manny Ferreira, and an event called Spain: Pairing with Passion you have the spot to be Saturday, March 31 for lunch. The plan is to mix Spain's exciting grapes, albarino, monastrell, tempranillo, garnacha and more with what else, Spanish tapas.

For a complete list of available events, log onto www.playhousefest.com. In the meantime, enjoy today's selection of syrah/shiraz chosen for quality, price and to help prepare you for the huge selection expected to be poured at this year's festival.

New from the reliable and always favourably priced Argentine producer Los Primos is the Finca Los Primos Syrah 2005. The nose is an appealing mix, of smoky, peppery, compost, black cherry aromas with a meaty, minty savoury streak. On the palate, it is dry and round with supple, slightly chunky flavours of pepper, menthol, leather, cedar, game and black cherries. Solid, rustic, mid-week red that will not break the bank.

South Africa is home to the Oracle Shiraz 2005. At $13, this smoky, gamey, licorice-scented red with hints of leather is a bargain. Again the supple soft round entry is inviting to most palates. The flavours mix smoky, resin and mineral flecks with cherry, plum and chocolate. A simple, straight up syrah that will serve you well around the backyard barbecue.

Chile's syrah quotient is going up as producers become more confident in seeking out new terroir to grow grapes. The Cremaschi Furlotti Syrah Reserve 2004, from Maule, is all you could ask for in a $17 syrah. It comes with all the smoky, roasted pepper and spice you can handle. Add vanilla, blackcurrant fruit and some berry jam flavours and you have the latest Furlotti edition that finishes with more smoky, leather, gamy highlights. You can drink it now with the likes of roast lamb or lay it down for two to three years and let it completely blossom in bottle.

Acclaimed Australian winemaker Ben Glaetzer is the man behind Heartland Shiraz 2005 from the Langhorne Creek - Limestone Coast south of Adelaide. It's slightly lean and tart on entry with blueberry, tobacco, roasted pepper, black cherry flavours with a meaty mint finish. Be sure to serve this with lamb shanks or some other big meat dish to best quell its acidity and youthful tannins.

Bird in Hand Two in the Bush Shiraz 2005 is a boutique effort from Adelaide Hills, a South Australian appellation that is quickly growing in stature. From a great vintage comes a meaty, spicy, eucalyptus, boysenberry, peppery, floral nose. The entry is round and rich with black cherry, blueberry, peppery, meaty, roasted pepper and smoky mineral flavours. Great aroma and flavour intensity with supple tannins, but like most modern Oz shiraz it could use less acidity poking through the backend. Best with grilled meats.

We head to France for our final pick, the Chateau de Nages Cuvee Joseph Torres Rouge 2001 from the Costieres de Nimes region of the Southern Rhone Valley. On the palate, it is ripe, round and full bodied with fine balance and acidity and plenty of ripe, grainy tannins. Vanilla, pepper, smoke, chocolate and blackberry flavours invite you into the glass, while minty licorice notes complete the finish. This is a super value French red that is worth laying away.


FINCA LOS PRIMOS SYRAH 2005, SAN RAFAEL, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
Price: $9.95
UPC: 07790703168000
Score: 85/100
Remarks: Supple, rustic barbecue red.

ORACLE SHIRAZ 2005, SOUTH AFRICA
Price: $12.99
UPC: 06001108003089
Score: 86/100
Remarks: Smoky, mineral, cherry, plum, chocolate flavours for easy sipping.

CREMASCHI FURLOTTI SYRAH RESERVE 2004, VALLE DEL MAULE, REGION DE VALLE CENTRAL, CHILE
Price: $16.95
UPC: 00644414002351
Score: 87/100
Remarks: Chilean syrah with smoky, roasted pepper and berry-jam flavours.

HEARTLAND SHIRAZ 2005, LANGHORNE CREEK - LIMESTONE COAST, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Price: $21.99
UPC: 00833152000020
Score: 88/100
Remarks: White pepper, meaty, blackberry and rootsy aromas.

BIRD IN HAND TWO IN THE BUSH SHIRAZ 2005, ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Price: $19.95
UPC: 858239000168
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Fresh, rich, blueberry, peppery, meaty, roasted pepper flavours.

CHATEAU DE NAGES CUVEE JOSEPH TORRES ROUGE 2001, COSTIERES DE NIMES, FRANCE
Price: $25.95
UPC: 00690604000041
Score: 91/100
Remarks: Vanilla, peppery, smoky, chocolate, black berry, licorice, minty flavours.

Written By: ag
Anthony Gismondi
Anthony Gismondi

Anthony Gismondi is a Canadian wine journalist and one of North America's most influential voices in wine. For over 30 years, he has been the wine columnist for The Vancouver Sun. The twice-weekly column is distributed across Canada through the Postmedia Network to millions of readers. In addition, Anthony hosts the BC Food & Wine Radio Show, broadcast in 25 markets across B.C. and available as a podcast on major platforms. He launched Gismondionwine.com in 1997, attracting one million monthly users from 114 countries. It continues to be a valuable resource full of tasting notes, intelligent wine stories and videos for the trade and consumers. Conversations with wine personalities are available on his  YouTube Channel.