Cellar Worthy BC Gems...
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
As our BC wine industry, our vineyards, and BC’s bottled wine stock matures, those of us who like to keep or to build a cellar full of age-able wine find ourselves in a position where we are no longer limited to a few precious sku’s to honour our cellar's shelves.
"Many of our Traditional Method Sparkling Wines are very cellarable"
I mean, it is always fun to keep a couple of bottles of light and cheery bubble, maybe a rose and a couple light whites tucked into the fridge door for those every day lunch and dinner time occasions... but when we now have access to such a wide array of serious BC wine in the province, why not spend a little time and build yourself a selection of wines that you can enjoy over time and have the pleasure of engaging with them during the various stages of their life. A big bold and structurally sound Cabernet Sauvignon, say grown just on the edge of the Canadian USA border, will show nowhere near the same in its youth, (and most BC wine is bottled and sitting on the shelf within a few months of bottling) as it will be in 5 years time when it is just beginning to show some maturity, and quite a leap indeed from the seductive, velvety appeal it may develop in its elder years.
One of the fantastic elements that contribute to the overall structure we have the privilege to enjoy in our BC wines, is the bright acidity that our cool nights bring to the table. In many wine growing regions of the world it can be a struggle to maintain the bright acidity levels in their wines as the grapes mature over their warm evenings, and steady hot temperatures. In the Okanagan we are blessed with the benefits of semi-desert diurnal fluctuations, and because of it, our wines are most always fresh and bright on the palate. This acidity is also one of the key elements in creating an age worthy wine, along with a well developed tannin level, (both components that lift the impression of minerality in a wine), and concentrated fruit. If you find a wine with these 3 basic components existing in balance, you have found a wine that will more than likely age and develop well in your cellar. Note that wines made/grown in a very hot year will vary in nature from one grown in a cooler year... more rain, less... altitude, it’s all reflected in the juice!
"Don’t forget to take into consideration the environment you're storing your wines in! No light, a cool, steady temperature of 10-15°C, 60-85% humidity, with no vibration. Do this, and you are golden : ) "
One of the best ways to begin what we ‘wine geeks’, Sommelier types, and just plain old folks who enjoy a good bottle of wine often do, is to purchase 3 bottles of any given vintage of a wine at the same time. This will give you the opportunity to open a bottle at varying stages throughout the wine’s life. You can follow its development. It is both enjoyable and educational as you journey through the ways in which particular grape varieties age, the nature of the grapes that hail from varying sub-regions, and the nuances of wines made in different styles. We do our best to provide lot’s of great opportunities to taste and choose the bottles you want... we constantly host tastings at the BC Wine Info. Centre for just those purposes. So helpful, along with the knowledgeable staff here, in hearing about what’s new, well worth cellaring, plus, we keep a library of older wines in the back! Just ask. Joining our wine club can give you a boost in getting started with your cellar as well. We always include a good selection of ‘drink now’ and cellar friendly wines in the Cellar Masters’ Wine Club. Often they are wines you won’t find elsewhere, as we scour the wineries for unique bottles.
Aside from the plethora of well structured reds that grace our shelves in BC, many of our more serious whites age well too - Riesling, barrel aged Chardonnay, we’ve got a few outstanding, age-able Semillon/Sauvignon Blancs... and no cellar is complete without a decent selection of traditional method sparkling wine. It’s a category we shine in these days. Our BC Pinot Noir’s just keep getting better, it does so well here, and we drink so much of it young. Just imagine it with a few years in the bottle! Then of course, not sure anyone does Riesling Ice Wine as well as we do in BC, a wine can seemingly age for ever.
By Wendy Vallaster