California Wine Fair 2013 Canadian Tour – Ottawa, Ontario

I attended the trade portion of this show in the afternoon of April 5, 2013 here in Ottawa. A sure sign that spring has finally arrived, is the annual California Wine Fair travelling throughout Canada and bringing with it their sun drenched, ripe and fruity wines. Into its 33^rd year, this travelling wine show will be visiting six Canadian cities, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Halifax from April 2 to May 2.  This year they will be skipping Vancouver, as California was featured at this year’s Vancouver International Wines Festival (VIWF), held February 25 to March 3, 2013.

 

At the VIWF, I had the opportunity to enjoy about 2 hours tasting some of California wines, my objectives at this wine fair was to visit wineries which I hadn’t visited in Vancouver. After studying the list of wineries and wines being poured at this Fair I tried to follow my list as close as possible starting with white wines, mostly Chardonnay’s with a few Sauvignon Blanc. As for the reds, everything from Bordeaux blends to Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir.

 

White Wines;

Chardonnay; Chardonnay was the featured grape varietal at this year VIWF, after tasting a number of them at that show including many from California, this fair here in Ottawa gave me the opportunity to taste 10 more California Chardonnay. In general I enjoyed most of the Chardonnays’ I tasted, most of them from the cooler regions of Sonoma County and Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley and Carneros. My two favourites were the very elegant and smooth Benovia Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley and the fuller bodied and creamier Davis Byrum River West Chardonnay 2011 from Russian River Valley.

 

Sauvignon Blanc; I tasted 5 of them and I didn’t enjoy any of them. My preferred style of SB is refreshing with crisp acidity and un-oaked. Almost all of them except one were partly barrel aged, with one of them tasting like an oaky Chardonnay.

 

Red Wines; 

Cabernet Sauvignon; Tasted 14 of them from a variety of ultra premium to a more entry level, $20 to $30 dollars range. I always enjoy the opportunity to taste ultra premium wines, priced out of my affordability range. I find that most of them are serious cellar candidates, big wines, deep color, very concentrated and tannic.

• My favorite of these ultra premium Cabernets was Heitz Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Rutherford, Napa Valley.
  
• I also quite enjoyed Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Rutherford, Napa Valley, rich, well structured and beautifully balanced.
  
• And finally for $35, Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Napa Valley, which represents a solid value for such a delicious and well made Cabernet.

 

Merlot; I thoroughly enjoy California Merlots, but few of them were poured at this fair, I tasted two of them. A merlot that did make it into my top 15 wines from this fair, Buccella Merlot 2010 from Napa Valley. This wine is a great example of the type of Merlot I enjoy, rich fruit, savoury herbs, well managed oak maturation with a soft and smooth texture. At $130 a bottle, it is a bit out of my price range but a real treat, small production of only 310 cases.

 

Zinfandel; I tasted seven of them including all four from Seghesio Family Vineyards, which was definitely one of the highlights of the Fair for me, with my favourite of those four being Seghesio Old Vines Zinfandel 2009.  My favourite Zinfandel and my first experience with this winery, was Elyse Morisoli Vineyard Zinfandel 2008. It was an absolute beauty, ripe fruit but not jammy, savoury, incredibly smooth and very elegant, great winemaking skills here.

Pinot Noir; I also tasted seven of them. What I am looking for in a Pinot Noir is descriptors like medium bodied, slightly spicy, earthy notes, wild berry fruit, floral, smooth, light tannins, pretty and feminine. But descriptions like deep color, high alcohol, jammy, oaky and tannic should never be associated with Pinot Noir in my view. These kinds of Pinot Noir are like a wine with a split personality, Bordeaux’s want to be. The only one I enjoyed was Benovia Pinot Noir 2010 from Russian River Valley.

 

Syrah; I only tasted one,  but what a surprise. I would be interested to include Dierberg Vineyard Syrah 2009 from Santa Ynez Valley as a pirate wine in a Rhône Valley Syrah blind tasting. It’s everything you expect in a great Syrah, black fruit, peppery, meaty and savoury notes, and a wine with real sophistication. A great example of a Syrah that could be the next big thing in California.

 

 

 

In conclusion, I did manage on that afternoon to gain better knowledge of California and its wines, by talking with some of the wineries reps and I want to highlight my favourite wineries visited;

- Benovia Winery

- Dieberg Vineyard

- Duckhorn Vineyards

- Flowers Vineyards

- Heitz Cellars

- Schug Carneros Estate

- Seghesio Family Vineyards  

 

 

Here is. in no particular order, my list of top wines from this Fair. You will notice that a majority of them are from the cooler regions of California.

Here are my top 15 wines tasted at this Fair;

1-Benovia Pinot Noir 2010 from Russian River Valley

2-Benovia Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley

3-Buccella Merlot 2010 from Napa Valley

4-Davis Byrum River West Chardonnay 2011 from Russian River Valley

5-Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry 2009 from Napa Valley

6-Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Rutherford, Napa Valley

7-Dierberg Vineyard Syrah 2009 from Santa Ynez Valley

8-Elyse Morisoli Vineyard Zinfandel 2008 from Rutherford, Napa Valley

9-Flowers Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 from Sonoma Coast

10-Heitz Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Rutherford, Napa Valley

11-Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley

12-Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Napa Valley

13-Schug Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Sonoma County

14-Seghesio Home Ranch Zinfandel 2010 from Sonoma County

15-Seghesio Old Vines Zinfandel 2009 Sonoma County