Château Des Charmes Aligote 2006

Welcome to bottle2glass a blog about what I enjoy,  WINE!

Today I am going to let you know about a bottle of white wine that I purchased and drank the other evening. The winery is a special place for both me and my lovely wife. This is the place we met. SO whenever I see a bottle of wine produced from the winery I will buy it. The winery is  Chateau Des Charmes (click on name to visit winery website)

Chateau Des Charmes is located in Ontario's "wine Country" Niagara-on-the-Lake. I first discovered this winery back when I was in college. We went there as a group to understand what is involved in a winery. We followed the process of wine making from picking grapes to the end product; the wine.  The time that I spent picking grapes is where I met my wife; you can say "I met her through the grapevine"

Before I get into my tasting note;  I must tell you I purchased this wine as I was passing through the Calgary Airport and noticed the bottle. YES I bought it on a whim and the memories of days gone past. I thought I was getting a great deal on this wine at the "Calgary Airport" only to find that it was a few dollars less back home.  Lesson I learnt; do not buy wine on a whim at an airport unless you know the street price! 

Aligote (ah lee go tay) is a white grape from the Burgundy region in France. Chateau Des Charmes as stated on the back of label "are the only producers of this wine in Canada". 
The wine I purchased Chateau Des Charmes Aligote 2006 was Golden to Straw Yellow; Nose - Green Apple and Citrus (Grapefruit, Lemon); Palate - Grapefruit Pith, silkly mouthfeel, and green apple. The cork was very dry and hard to get out of the bottle. It may of been a bad cork as I had the wine in my wine fridge on its side for a week before I decided to open it. I was not a fan of this 2006. It was a 2006 which I believe has seen better days and past its prime.

I like Aligote but this wine did not do it for me. Price of this bottle was between $15 - $20. I will give the 2010 Aligote from this winery a try in the future, but I will not buy it at an airport location!

Ciao!

Chateau des Charmes 2006 Aligote

Touring Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley, BC

Welcome to bottle2glass,

This summer we went to the Cowichan Valley and I want to let you in on a little secret. 

The Cowichan Valley is what I believe to be a hidden gem on the Island. If you travel on Vancouver Island for pleasure or business you may have traveled past without realizing that it exists.

Now you are probably asking yourself where is this hidden gem? Well, It is located west of Duncan BC (Click on map)

Cowichan Valley Map (click on Link to see Map)

Now that I have let the secret out; this hidden gem is waiting for you to discover.

Let me tell you about the places we visited.

Fairburn Farmstay and Guest House  (Click on link to visit website)

Fairburn Farmstay and Guest House is a working dairy farm where they have water buffalo. YES water buffalo. The Farm produces the milk which goes into Fairburn Buffalo Mozzarella. 

This was our chance to get up close and personal to a Water Buffalo or should I say Water Buffalo's! BUT be careful approaching these majestic beasts.

The rooms were very comfortable, the breakfast fresh and filling; the host and hostess were very accommodating, they could answer alot of our questions on places to visit and let us know about the awesome biking trails to discover. 

Click on "Fairburn Farmstay and Guest House above to discover more on this B&B!

Water Buffalo on the way to milking

Wineries 

There are a few Wineries in the Cowichan Valley. I will talk about the ones we visited on our visit to the area. The Cowichan Valley has over 15+ wineries and we only visited a few of what is avaiable in the area.  So in no particular order here are the wineries we visited. You can also click on the winery name to get to their web site:

Averil Creek Winery (Click on link to visit website)

The wine from Averil Creek is Estate Grown from their 40 acres. This winery produces 
small-lot plantings of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and a few others.

The wines we tasted:

Pinot Gris - Medium bodied; Nose - Pear, Vanilla, and Honey; Palate - Citrus, and  Lemon Peel 

Pinot Grigio - Nose - Citrus; Palate -  melon, crisp, citrus fruit with a nice clean finish

We enjoyed these two wines on the patio over looking the winery and the ocean!

Cherry Point Winery(Click on link to visit site)

Cherry Point Winery is another Cowichan Valley winery that produces Estate Wine from there 24 acres. They produce "ten main varieties and eight limited varieties" - noted from their website. Cherry Point Winery is south from Averil Creek Winery in the Cobble Hill Area. Cherry Point has a choice of Red, White, Sparkling, and dessert wines.

The wines we tasted:

Cherry Point Pinot Noir -  Light body, Nose - Raspberry, Red fruit; Palate - Sour Cherry, and Raspberry 

Bete Noire (Pinot Noir, Agria, and Castell) - Dark Red; Nose - Earthly, Dark Cherry; Palate - Oak, high tannins, Black Currant, and Cherries with a long finish. I am going to lay this one down for a couple of years! Hoping it will mellow the tannins

Unsworth Winery (Click on link to visit site)

This is a new Winery to the Cowichan Valley in the sense that it has new planting. They source their grapes from the Cowichan Valley and make the wine at their winery. Not only is the wine impressive the restaurant that is located on the Estate is just as impressive. Amuse on the Vineyard was an excellent place to enjoy some excellent local food and wine. Visit there web site at  Amuse on the Vineyard.

The Wines we tasted:

Unsworth Pinot Gris - Pale Lemon; Nose - Peaches, Lemon; Palate - Citrus Lemon/Lime. We enjoyed this one on a hot summer day back home.

Unsworth Allegro - A blend of Grapes with aromatics of flowers; Palate - Citrus
One worth getting again on my next visit to the winery or use there website to get the wine delivered to my house.

Ovation - This port style wine; almost garnet in color; Nose - Dried Fruit, Prunes, Chocolate; Palate - Black and Red fruits, cocoa. This would be great made into a reduction and poured over ice-cream DELICIOUS! or on its own for an after dinner drink.

Merridale Cider Works(Click on link to visit site)

The last place we visited was a cidery that is located up the road from Unsworth Winery.  This was a change from wine to Apple Cider. I am talking true apple cider, not that commerically sweet cider. On our visit we were told that it is "hand crafted, all natural and made from 100% undilited juice from Cowichan Valley Apples" they also state this on their website. If you have the chance stop by and sample their Ciders, Fortified Wine, and Spirits. I must say the Winter Apple was awesome; the first time I smelled this I thought it was Apple Pie in a glass!  If you do not have a chance to make it over to the island visit their website which I have attached for your enjoyment. (click on name above)

Hope you enjoyed my little tour of the Cowichan Valley, I have only touched on places we visited and some of the wines we enjoyed. This area is ready to be discovered and enjoyed by all! I know we will be planning a trip back in the future!

Ciao!
.

Chickens from Fairburn Farms

How I became Interested in Wine

Welcome to Bottle2glass a blog about what I enjoy,  WINE!

I became interested in wine at a very young age; brought up in an Italian family where wine making took place every year. To this day I can still smell the grapes that arrived on the train from somewhere in Canada; I believe the grapes came from the Niagara area. I can still remember the freight train stopping in our small town. My father would go with his brother-in- law,  family, and friends to pick up 50 plus cases of grapes each family ordered. These grapes were all red of course. 

Once the grapes were brought to the house it was a family event, where the grapes would be removed from the crates and crushed.  The 'must' would then be put into a homemade vat to ferment; the skins, seeds, and stems were all blended together. The 'must' was left to get colour and tannins.  I can recall the 'must' staying this way for a long time; being of a young age time was of no concern.  I will always remember the smell of fermenting grapes. The crusher would then be moved to each family members house, and the crushing would start again. This would take place until the last of the grapes were crushed.

Once the fermentation finished, the pressing would then take place; we had the old wood and iron press (see photo).  Again a family event, it would start out with one family member starting the press, by the end there would be four on each pole turning the press to squeeze as much juice as possible.  Nothing went to waste!  The grape 'must' was then thrown into the garden to fertilize the soil. Recycling back then, who would of thought?

Once pressed the juice was put into the uma-john ("demijohn" is the correct name); yes I still call it the uma-john today.  remember my father checking the secondary fermentation on a very regular bases. Once he thought the wine was ready it was then racked into jugs; this is the part we became assistant "wine bottler's" (family event again!). My father would direct us to make sure the hose did not touch the bottom of the uma-john. He did not want any sediment in his wine! Once it was racked into the large jugs my father let it rest. Again, once he determined it was ready he would siphon the wine into bottles leaving the sediment on the bottom. This was his final step where he let it age for a few months. He always had a supply of last years wine on hand so he could wait for his new vintage.

These memories have fueled my passion and love for wine. I even met my beautiful wife while picking grapes in a vineyard. Over time I have furthered my knowledge of wine, first in College and then completing WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Advanced Certificate. Click on WSET to find out more of this program.

In this blog I will review wines, (not homemade wines!) that I have had the chance to try and enjoy. SO check in often and see my reviews and links.

Ciao!