Green Is The New Colour of Wine

You can't switch grapes in the vineyard overnight and even if you change key personnel, it often takes a year or two for any change to show up in the bottle.

Yet, it's fun to look ahead at how wine is trending and what the continuing evolution of this remarkable product is likely to spawn in 2008.

The biggest story of 2008 will be the environment. Under the guise of green, wine will be pushed and pulled by every significant interest group on the planet and few, if any, wineries are ready for the onslaught. From bio-dynamic and organic to carbon credits, mono-culture and pesticides, producers will be challenged to explain their impact on the environment. Wine drinkers will be similarly interrogated about what they are drinking and how its weight, packaging and production methods are impacting the environment.

It's hard to believe car dealers and manufacturers (not to mention most of the retail sector) are acting more responsibly and decisively to the surging dollar than the wine industry, but it's true.

Will California wineries and their distributors continue to stiff Canadian wine drinkers in 2008 by virtually ignoring the strength of the Canadian dollar? We are fast approaching the 90-day window distributors insisted they required to adjust prices and shelf stock in B.C. due to the rising loonie versus the U.S. dollar. The current head-in-the-sand strategy being practised by most California wineries and their Canadian distributors and retailers is not going unnoticed by consumers.

Could 2008 be a year of reality for Okanagan wine producers? Exponential growth and a virtual love-in with consumers has handed them a decade of goodwill and dreamy profits. In return we have been handed a decade of price increases that somehow in the last two or three years has not been matched by a new level of quality.

If the dollar remains strong and import prices finally begin to fall, local wineries pitching labels north of $20 could be in for a rude awakening.

Here in Vancouver, to be more specific, look for Australia's vise-like grip on the import market to slip in 2008. After leading the category for some time, drought, a shortage of wine, rising prices and a noticeable downgrade in the flavour and quality of its everyday shiraz offerings will challenge the wizards of Oz. The spectre of adding foreign juice to its global brands (due to shortages) can only further diminish its star.

California is in a similar predicament. With almost no interesting white wine under screwcap and so many labels boasting the generic "California" appellation, as well as the aforementioned price controversy, California will be challenged to grow its share of buyers in Vancouver.

Expect Argentina and Chile to feast on the situation, with a little help from southern Europe, by offering value and an array of different grapes and blends from attractive appellations and origins.

It should be an interesting year.

To get the year under way, we offer some stellar bargains designed to mend the pocketbook after all the holiday spending madness.

From Argentina look to Finca Los Primos Chardonnay 2006. Much like the previous version this is straightforward, fresh chardonnay with mineral green apple caramel notes. Smooth, round and a touch sweet on the palate, it has a touch of butter in the finish. Super value.

A great new find for inquisitive white wine sippers is Domaine de Sancet 2006, from the unheralded Gascony region of France. The unusual blend of colombard, gros manseng, sauvignon blanc and ugni blanc offers up mineral, gooseberry, grassy aromas and a ripe, full-bodied white with good acidity and gooseberry, grapefruit, lemon, grassy flavours. A great shellfish wine for the money.

Back to Argentina for the original Los Primos hit the Finca Los Primos Malbec 2006. This is simple, straight-up $10 malbec with primary black cherry, savoury aromas, a warm slippery palate and smoky black fruit with bits of liquorice and tobacco. A cheap, party red that delivers.

Further south is the Diego Murillo Malbec 2006 from the Alto Valle del Río Negro in the Southern part of Mendoza. Look for a youthful purple colour, spicy, meaty, savoury aromas and a warm spicy meaty cherry chocolate flavour. Inexpensive, rustic red destined for barbecue ribs.

Still in Argentina, the Trapiche Astica Merlot Malbec 2006 is a $9 deal. It's soft, round and supple with a good amount of cherry, tobacco, plum, spicy game flavours. It's slightly tart on the finish but with a fine fruit core, it is perfect for grilled meats.

Our last pick is from Spain: Marques de Rojas Garnacha 2006. Again, it's more of the floral meaty, spicy theme, this time with a splash of barnyard. The flavours mix black raspberry jam and plum with peppery, mineral notes. Decant this wine for 15 to 30 minutes for even better results.