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Food and drink: Eight weeks of home schooling

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

There will always be that New Year's Eve thing on Dec. 31, but with summer holidays on the wane and the kids getting ready to go back to school, September, at least in the northern hemisphere has to be considered the unofficial start to the New Year. Even for those of us long since graduated the September back-to-school theme lingers on, often inspiring us to think about learning something new.

Certainly that sense of renewal abounds in the wine world. With the birth of a new vintage underway at nearby Okanagan Valley or across the water on Vancouver Island and the impending onslaught of festivals, tastings and dinners dotting the fall calendar, acquiring some basic wine skills this fall could come in useful. Notice that's skills not skill.

British Columbia is a mature wine market now with both private and public stores featuring wines from across the globe. That means knowing how to sniff, swirl and spit are handy skills to master but there is much more to wine than simply handling a glass. Whether it is history or geography, geology or geography, marketing, sales, design or the aforementioned art of tasting there is much to be learned and stored away for future use. Imagine being the confident wine person whom everyone passes the wine list to for advice.

The fall is the perfect time to make a commitment to learning a bit more about wine whether its joining a local club or simply starting a tasting club with your own friends. There is so much information available online, you can easily arrange weekly or bi-weekly tastings and get right at it.

Experience - particularly shared experience - builds immediate knowledge, and as your confidence grows so too will your ability to appreciate wine in a way you may never have thought possible. Most clubs charge a one-time fee to join and if you stick around there is usually a yearly renewal fee. After that, it is usually a pay-as-you-play system for tastings and dinners.

The best method of coming to terms with wine is by tasting it, and if you can supplement that with some reading about where the bottle comes from, who makes it, which grapes are involved you can really accelerate the experience.

This month I challenge you to embark on your own two-month study session by selecting a certain grape variety or blend to study in each of the next eight weeks. You will be amazed at what you can learn in such a short period, especially if you can access a variety of examples.

In no particular order here are eight wines to get you started but feel free to acquire other examples to help complete the picture. Homework is mandatory and should be completed each evening with dinner.

 

Week 1

Chardonnay - Burgundy is the benchmark but many cool-climate regions such as Adelaide Hills, Australia; Casablanca, Chile or Monterey/Sonoma California and selected British Columbia labels should be tasted. Build your first tasting around the Mission Hill Perpetua Chardonnay Osoyoos Vineyard Estate 2008 ($35) and the Rodney Strong Chardonnay Chalk Hill 2008 ($27) both are terrific examples of modern chardonnay.

Week 2

Merlot - The original "soft" textured wine has taken a beating since the movie Sideways but a well-made Washington State, Chile or British Columbia example perhaps versus one from Bordeaux's Right Bank or Tuscany would be instructional. Our picks include the Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2007 ($20) from Chile and the Nk'Mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Merlot 2007 ($26) from the south Okanagan.

Week 3

Sauvignon Blanc - Sancerre is the original home of sauvignon but many newcomers from New Zealand, Chile and even Canada are joining the mix. For absolute killer value begin with Caliterra Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2008 ($12.45) against New Zealand's Staete Landt Sauvignon Blanc Estate Grown 2009 ($27) from Marlborough.

Week 4

Pinot Noir - Interest in pinot noir has grown exponentially the last three years and so have your choices. Burgundy, California, Oregon, Chile, Canada, Tasmania and more can be tasted but our two juicy pinot picks are: CedarCreek Estate Pinot Noir 2007 ($27) from East Kelowna, B.C. and the amazing Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008 ($23).

Week 5

Riesling - What an education and its only week five. Germany is hard to beat for riesling but you can dabble in the Clare (Valley), Australia or perhaps the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, again locally or nearby in Washington State. A great new edition to British Columbia is 8th Generation Vineyard Riesling Classic 2009 ($20) and you can match that against St. Urbans-Hof Riesling Qualitätswein 2008 ($20) from Germany's acclaimed Mosel-Saar-Ruwer valley.

Week 6

Cabernet Sauvignon - The king of red wines is hard to beat especially with some age. Bordeaux, France; Napa Valley, California; Bolgheri, Italy; Spain; Chile; Argentina; Australia... have fun this week, in many price ranges. But savour the Cobos Bramare Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($43) from Mendoza, Argentina or the equally beguiling Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label 2006 listed at $26.

Week 7

Bordeaux Blends - The sum is always better than the parts in Bordeaux and folks in the Okanagan Valley, California, Chile and Tuscany agree. Tasting blends is a useful way to discover the concept of complexity. Locally we now compare favourably with the world so try Herder Meritage 2008 ($27) from the Similkameen Valley against a well-built Escudo Rojo 2008 ($18) a blend of cabernet sauvignon, carmenère and cabernet franc.

Week 8

Syrah - The hottest red varietal is syrah or shiraz and that takes you to the Rhone Valley in France, Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale in Australia, Washington State, Paso Robles, California, Mendoza, Argentina and Leyda, Chile. Make sure this busy week of tasting includes the Three Winds Syrah 2008 $14 a classic syrah form the south of France. And compare it with Pascual Toso Syrah 2008 $13.60 from Mendoza.

Now you know why we say... it's the most wonderful time of the year.

 

Anthony Gismondi is a globetrotting wine writer who makes his home in West Vancouver, British Columbia. For more of his thoughts on wine log onto www.gismondionwine.com .