Sonoma County Votes for Conjunctive Labelling

They are pulling together as a group to reinforce their Sonoma wine brand. There is no travel involved. There are no meetings. They do not have to praise each other's wines nor do they have to take part in any group advertising campaigns. They do not even have to like each other.

What they must do by 2014, if the state governor signs bill AB1798, is begin using conjunctive labelling as outlined in unanimously approved legislation authored by state assembly member Noreen Evans.

Sponsored by the Sonoma County Vintners and the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, AB 1798 requires that any wine labelled with an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located entirely within Sonoma County -- such as Russian River Valley or Dry Creek Valley -- must also include the word "Sonoma County" on the label, starting in 2014.

It's really a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. Over the years smaller, competing sub-AVAs have become so self-absorbed they have completely refrained from using the words Sonoma County on their label, as if it were some sort of negative. As a result, the Sonoma County region misses out on a lot of passive advertising on wine labels. I would bet many consumers drinking Dry Creek zinfandel may not know Dry Creek Valley is part of Sonoma County.

It is a sort of strength in numbers idea because it brings the 13 competing AVAs in Sonoma County back under a Sonoma byline, giving consumers an easier way to connect the dots between county wines made from fruit blended across two or more sub-regions. Ultimately the 13 designated AVAs such as Dry Creek, Green Valley, Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley and Sonoma Valley will be reconnected to their Sonoma County roots on the label.

We think this is so important, that we have been giving you appellation and sub-appellation information about every wine we have written about in The Vancouver Sun for more than 20 years, even if it is not legislated. You can't understand a wine until you know where the fruit is grown.

Evans gets it all right when she says "by improving consumer education on each bottle, conjunctive labelling will unleash the full potential of our delicious wines to represent Sonoma around the world."

Okanagan producers would do well to adopt conjunctive labelling as soon as possible to better delineate the 150 miles of vineyard benches that stretch from Osoyoos to Vernon. Black Sage, Golden Mile, Skaha Naramata, Westbank, Kelowna Mission and many others all await their day in the sun, and connecting them now to Okanagan Valley, set the stage for the world to discover our region and our wines.

Today we look at a number of wines that do their appellation proud and that you can enjoy throughout the Labour Day long weekend.

Is there a better wine in British Columbia for $13 than Francois Lurton Les Fumées Blanches 2008? The nose alone, a smoky mineral citrus affair, is better than most wines at twice the price. So too is the palate. Enjoy the fresh bits of green melon/gooseberry and grapefruit all with a dash of grass. Clean, balanced and crazy value and all under screw cap which means you can expect every bottle to be as good as the first.

Every white needs a red, so look for the Trivento Cabernet Malbec Reserve 2008 from Mendoza, Argentina. It is another $13 wine that over delivers, beginning with its white pepper nose and fresh blackberry jam aromas. Soft, fat, savoury fruit with bits of mocha, licorice and black cherry jam and a dry peppery finish. Bring on the ribs and the hamburgers.

It's hard to find inexpensive New Zealand wine, so it is a delight to sip Sileni Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2009 at $15. Expect a mix of tropical notes and gooseberry fruit flavours, all in a fresh package. Lemon herbal but with no asparagus notes makes this a winner. Drink it with mussels and clams for a home run.

Kudos to winemaker Peter Gago and crew for resurrecting the Koonunga Hill brand over the years. Gago's intensity and love for wine suggests he should be running Treasury Wine Estates (nee Fosters, nee Southcorp) and making the beer too. We love the pure fruit in the Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008 and its spicy licorice, black cherry, cassis notes. Expect a solid red blend that will perform well with myriad food possibilities.

The Quinta do Crasto Douro Vinho Tinto 2008 is the Roquette family's calling card and what an announcement. A classic mix of old Douro vines all co-fermented, it attacks with peppery, black plum fruit, bits of cocoa powder and figgy Christmas pudding. Fine intensity yet only 13.5 per cent alcohol. You can drink it now with a big steak or cellar it for a decade. Value with a capital V.

The M. Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes du Rhone 2007 comes off vineyards spread across four separate Rhone departments in Drome, Vaucluse, Gard and Ardèche. The '07 is big and rich with plenty of warm, peppery, raspberry/ cherry fruit with spicy, licorice notes and soft, silky tannins. It should further improve in the bottle over the next three years. The blend, an 80/20 mix of Grenache and Syrah, is one of the best we've tasted from Chapoutier in some time. Well done.

Francois Lurton Les Fumées Blanches 2008, Vins de Pays du Comte Tolosan, Southwest France

Price: $13

UPC: 00635335961957

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Clean, balanced and crazy value and all under screw cap.

Trivento Cabernet Malbec Reserve 2008, Mendoza, Argentina

Price: $13

UPC: 7798039590137

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Soft, fat, savoury fruit with bits of mocha, licorice and black cherry jam.

Sileni Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Price: $15

UPC: 009421003813205

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Drink it with mussels and clams for a home run.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008, Southeastern Australia

Price: $17

UPC: 012354071445

Score: 88/100

Remarks: A solid red blend that will perform well with myriad food possibilities.

Quinta do Crasto Douro Vinho Tinto 2008, Douro Valley, Portugal

Price: $20

UPC: 0560412300814

Score: 90/100

Remarks: Value with a capital V.

M. Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes du Rhone 2007, Rhone Valley, France

Price: $18.59

UPC: 03391181110631

Score: 89/100

Remarks: One of the best we've tasted from Chapoutier in some time. Well done.