Kip Powick Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 A scientist from Texas A&M University has invented a bra thatkeeps women's breasts from jiggling and prevents the nipples from pushing through the fabric when cold weather sets in. At a news conference in Calgary announcing the invention, the scientist was taken outside by a large group of WestJet pilots and had the crap kicked out of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azure Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Stop giving my husband images! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr1 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 I needed that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Dude, Welcome back. I'm not just sayin' it this time, really AM getting in shape for ski season. Crop is just about in, (humma humma, ripper vintage...) bikin' every other day. Get yer legs on. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innuendo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Neo, a question on your crop. Obviously you are not yet pressing and fermenting. Do you sell your harvest to an established winery and if so do you appear on the label or do you become part of a blend? Spent some time traipsing around some of the wineries this summer and was very impressed at the extent and quality of the Okanagan industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innuendo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Neo, a question on your crop. Obviously you are not yet pressing and fermenting. Do you sell your harvest to an established winery and if so do you appear on the label or do you become part of a blend? Spent some time traipsing around some of the wineries this summer and was very impressed at the extent and quality of the Okanagan industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Our first crop was 2001 and was very small, so it was blended into Kettle Valley Winery's own 2001 Shiraz. In 2002 we had enough for the winery to do separate bottlings from our grapes. Our white, the KVW 2002 Viognier is now available, but will be sold out soon. The 2002 Shiraz will get another six months in oak before release. I'm _really_ looking forward to it; we harvested at >26 Brix. The winery identifies our wine on the back label: Marichel Vineyard, the picking date, brix and so forth. Your assurance of quality! The Okanagan Valley wine industry in general is absolutely on fire right now. (Hmmm, poor choice of words?) But contrary to some rumours, I can no longer accept applications of interest to invest in our vineyard and winery expansion. It's over-subscribed. What? Oh, all right. Send me a cheque and I'll see what I can do. Shameless self-promotion aside, even though the extent of the Okanagan wine industry is still small by foreign standards, it's big for Canada and the quality is something to behold. You'll be hearing more about it, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Hi innuendo, Our first crop was 2001 and was very small, so it was blended into Kettle Valley Winery's own 2001 Shiraz. In 2002 we had enough for the winery to do separate bottlings from our grapes. Our white, the KVW 2002 Viognier is now available, but will be sold out soon. The 2002 Shiraz will get another six months in oak before release. I'm _really_ looking forward to it; we harvested at >26 Brix. The winery identifies our wine on the back label: Marichel Vineyard, the picking date, brix and so forth. Your assurance of quality! The Okanagan Valley wine industry in general is absolutely on fire right now. (Hmmm, poor choice of words?) But contrary to some rumours, I can no longer accept applications of interest to invest in our vineyard and winery expansion. It's over-subscribed. What? Oh, all right. Send me a cheque and I'll see what I can do. Shameless self-promotion aside, even though the extent of the Okanagan wine industry is still small by foreign standards, it's big for Canada and the quality is something to behold. You'll be hearing more about it, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr1 Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Hey, Don't you worry about me, I'll be ready for you. I'm out the door to play hockey as we speak. Congrats on the crop. (y) DR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Yes, you lucky man, you live right in the middle of the industry. I've developed a taste for some of our better Canadian wines, but it's tough here in Ontario to get anything but a handful of BC wines. (There's even a nice little winery in Nova Scotia that produces some award-winning wines that I've sampled..., but I digress). Jackson Triggs had a great year in the Okanagan, winning some national awards, but when I went to the Jackson Triggs winery in Niagara on the Lake last Saturday - a huge operation with public facilities that look like your average Mercedes-Benz showroom - they looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked about how to get their Okanagan wines. Their wines! Basically, I'm only going to get a Jackson-Triggs Okanagan wine by going to BC. How many cases am I allowed as carry-on? I agree that Canada deserves to be heard on the world wine stage - there are a number of fantastic little wineries here in Niagara along with the bigs, some too small to even belong to the Wine Council but which make award winning wines. But we're just not on the radar in the US. We have a better chance in Europe, strangely enough, because there is more openness among Oenophiles to experiment with new wine sources. Majorcan wines are a new cult fave in Germany. An Ontario wine just scored a 90 in a tasting of late harvest select wines from around the world conducted by Germany's largest wine magazine. But ask Americans about Canadian wine and you might as well be talking about the merits of gay marriage to George Bush... the eyes just glaze over... Good luck. I'm going to get out to the Okanagan next year for some winery visits and will look for your vineyard. Maybe we can even sample a glass of yours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snapper Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Thanks for the laugh Kip. The Westjet Gang needed it this week. There are a few things that science should not mess with. Cuban cigars, Scotch wiskey and a "pair of diamonds". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Dagger Two words for you if you frequent the Niagara area... Thirty Bench Not even carried in most liquor stores. Enjoy Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 You're quite right, they have some nice wines, and the lesson for wine lovers in Ontario - those who like local wines - is screw the LCBO. Many of the best wines in the province are only sold at the wineries. I'll go you one better: Thirteenth Street Wine Company in Jordan. Their wines are ONLY sold in good restaurants or at the winery, one day a week. And they keep winning national prizes. Their now-sold-out Sandstone 2000 Gamay Noir Reserve - which was included in LCBO's latest Classics catalogue - is one of the world's best gamays. I'm personally keen on their 2001 Gunther Funk Merlot. It needs cellering but in its prime will be as good as a $60 Bourdeaux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 We should grab the bull by the horns and initiate the AEF Wine Tour. Eastern and Western versions with an open invitation to all for either. Of course it would have to be a Masquerade tour not only to give it a better level of class, but to protect the identities of those who... You know! Rgds... Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Hi dagger, Why is it that the wines you most want to try are always the ones you can't get? Hard to believe J/T doesn't carry their own B.C. wines in Ontario, but then we can't get J/T's Ontario wines here, either. Go figure. I've grown a little jaded about wine awards, as there's so many and they tend to be promotional rather than objective. But just the same you're unlikely to be disappointed by a wine that's placed well, assuming the price is right. I agree with you 100%; it's the small wineries that hold the greatest promise for wine afficionados. Those small wineries can tend their vines and make their wines with the kind of attention to detail that sets that bottle you eventually buy apart from the mass produced wines of the big producers. With few exceptions, the most expensive, sought-after wines in the world were, or are, from modest-sized wineries with limited production. It's that small production which provides you with a wine of character, but at the same time means they're so hard to get. One way to ensure that you have a chance at them is to get on a mailing list from the winery, or to get in early when the winery is still growing. When you're told that a wine has been released, buy quickly because the production might be numbered in only hundreds of cases, and they do not last. Here's the names of a few small Okanagan wineries that may be of interest to you. (Other than Kettle Valley Winery, we're not affiliated with any of them.) If you like Bordeaux wine, consider Fairview Cellars in Oliver. Bill Eggert is the owner and operator of his own vineyard. He makes Bordeaux varietals and blends, and cares about his craft. For burgundy style, especially Pinot Noir, have a look at Blue Mountain Vineyard in Okanagan Falls. Ian Mavity is the winemaker/owner, and he has a cult following. For a wide range of wines and styles, everything from Gewertztraminer to Shiraz to Bordeaux blends, consider Kettle Valley Winery on the Naramata Bench. Bob Ferguson and Tim Watts, owner/operators. You have to buy quickly, because restaurants snap up just about everything they make. Also on the Bench, have a look at La Frenz Winery. Jeff Martin is an expat winemaker from Australia, and he's doing a ripper job with his own vines and wines. Please let us know when you're coming our way, and you'd be most welcome to visit. Maybe we can even pull something out of the cellar that you won't see anywhere else. And did you say "lucky"? That, and incredibly grateful. Best, neo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Great idea, deicer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 A wonderful list, it gives me a starting point for my 2004 visit. I'm quite serious. I take a wine trip each year - this year was Burgundy, the year before a couple of smaller wine regions in Germany (the Ahr River and Franconia). I've been to BC several times but never to explore the wine, so it's very much time. I still think the industry in this country has to get its act together and promote itself together. As a country we are a hidden gem in the wine world. Too well hidden. I have partnered with a company here in Toronto to engage in promotion of Canadian wine in Germany. We already have a contract to represent Germany's largest wine mag in North America. We're getting a decent reception in Niagara from the wineries that have a bit of an export sense, but it's appalling how many still focus on US export sales, despite their tiny success. I don't know what it's like in the border states of the Northwest, but east of the Mississippi, Americans are stone deaf and blind to Canadian wines. I was checking the websites of leading winestores in Manhattan today. Take Astor Wines, one of the best and biggest in NYC. They have wines from 22 countries - but not Canada. I have nothing against Lebanese or Syrian wine, some of the Lebanese are quite good, but really, our industry has some super wines now. That's why I pretty much disdain the US market. And with the dollar's appreciation against the US Buck, it's not going to get any better. But the euro remains strong, and that makes our wine good value over there, and the Ontario government, for one, is spending a bit of coin on promotion in Europe, so I think we will make a name there, and in Japan. By the way, If you get to Nova Scotia for some touring, check out Jost Winery on the Northumberland Straits. Located a million miles from the rest of Canada's wine industry, this one lonely winery not far from Amherst makes some fine, well-priced wines that you cannot get in the other nine provinces except by mail. Pity. But that's what I love about Canada's wine industry. There are so many little nooks and crannies to discover, and some of them have very nice wines by any standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 9, 2003 Share Posted October 9, 2003 Great observations. Wineries in western Canada have made few forays in the U.S. Western U.S. wine production is enormous; California obviously, but Oregon and particularly Washington now are starting to produce in volume. Washington's industry is much like B.C.'s, and I know some B.C. wines are starting to make inroads, but it will take some time. I think one obstacle has been a lack of focus on just what it is we're trying to do. If Canadian producers try to compete on cost or volume, we will be buried. There's single vineyards in California and elsewhere that are larger than the entire planted area in the Okanagan. The obvious message there is that we must compete on quality, but that's an unfamiliar and frankly frightening angle to many producers here. They've bought into the foreign wine myth just like everybody else, and think that our products can't match what can be grown and fermented elsewhere. Most growers and wineries here have their business model built around... how to put it?... modesty. They don't think that we can produce a wine as good as a top-notch Burgundy or Bordeaux or Napa Valley Cab or Aussie Shiraz; and producers elsewhere keep driving that fiction home because it protects their own market. But I believe that's going to change, and we're planning to be a part of that shift. From the first shovel that went into the ground, our focus has been to produce not just a good Rhone varietal, but the best Rhone varietal you can get, anywhere. Wine is so much about perception, and if the consumer perceives that you believe your wine is a modest product, they will only have modest interest. The Australians are good in this area. They are intensely proud of their wine industry. You can't make money selling foreign wine in Oz, because they won't buy it. They support their own industry with a passion. Since getting going in this endeavor I've made a point of tasting wines from all parts of the world, particularly the varieties we grow. I haven't been shy about getting examples which were considered top flight wines. But with very few exceptions, beyond a certain point I've found that cost does not reflect what I taste. That cost instead is more a reflection of consumer demand. Is a Romani-Conti (at say U.S.$4000/bottle) a hundred times better than a Blue Mountain Reserve at $40? No effing way, but the mystique aroung the product affects the market. It's status and glamour and rarity that combine to make the product worth so much... not what's in the bottle. So Canadian producers have to, I think, create a little mystique of their own about what we do. There's no shortage of angles that can be worked that way, it just takes a little moxie and a belief in ourselves. neo P.S. And I'm serious too. Look us up if you're out this way. We'd be happy to introduce you around to the local winemakers, if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innuendo Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 "I think one obstacle has been a lack of focus on just what it is we're trying to do." Do you think the VQA organisation is a good place to generate some focus and create standards that the buyer can have confidence in? "Wine is so much about perception." That is so true, I'd say that BC wines are still suffering from the reputation that some of the screw top plonks of not so long ago generated. I'd mention one name as an example, except that from what I read they now make some very good wine so let's not tar them with that brush. "The Australians are good in this area. They are intensely proud of their wine industry. You can't make money selling foreign wine in Oz, because they won't buy it. They support their own industry with a passion." We could learn something here. The quality of our product, especialy whites, is not the problem. "So Canadian producers have to, I think, create a little mystique of their own about what we do." Very true although I'd say some are getting there, Burrowing Owl is one that comes to mind. They seem to have managed to establish the story that their interest is in the best quality rather than quantity, (and it was the Tinhorn Creek people who told us that, of course some of their property is alongside burrowing Owl )Great marketing if you can do it. I'm no Robert Parker but I think they are good. Their 2001 Merlot is sold out, as I found out when I tried to get some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 A lot of change is happening here in Ontario. I don't know about BC, but here the LCBO has really thrown its weight behind Ontario wines. A great deal of promotion has gone into the marketing of Ontario wines, and not only at the lower end of the price range. They are including more and more Ontario wines - especially from the smaller wineries - in the Vintages (upscale, pricey, premium) section of the LCBO stores. So I think the process of raising people's appreciation of Ontario wines in Ontario is under way. And yes, I believe that the wines produced in Ontario 20 years ago (Bright's, Baby Duck, anyone?) have had a lingering negative effect on anyone over 45. Here's an example of the image the LCBO is projecting for Ontario wines. http://www.lcbo.com/LCBOWinesofOntario/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fax Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Neo, after reading your well thought out recomendations I ventured into a local VQA shop that had just opened in our village. From your list the only wines that were available were a Meritage and Merlot/Cabernet by Fairview Cellars.....both blends. The owner had just dropped off a case of each. Knowing your distaste for blends, I was a little reluctant.......but having just downed a glass or two of the Meritage.....it's a gem & bargain @ 19.95 a bottle. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Salut! What luck that Bill had just brought his wine into town. The other wineries that I mentioned are not VQA, so that's probably why you couldn't find them in that store. A fair number of the smaller wineries are reluctant to go VQA, as it adds a couple of layers of bureaucracy, along with increased overhead and tighter margins. But it has no bearing on the quality of their offerings. They're all top notch. I'm not sure where you are, but Dundarave Wines, Village Wines in North Van, and Kitsilano Wines carry most of them. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I don't like blends; it may have been a tongue in cheek comment. I tend to drink single varietal wines 'cause I like to explore the typicity, among other reasons. But how can you argue against a good Bordeaux (seven possible wines in the blend, I think) or a Chateauneuf du Pape (with 12 possible varietals)? Like music, there's something to enjoy in almost every kind. Was that a 2001 Meritage that you got? Best, neo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neo Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 "Do you think the VQA organisation is a good place to generate some focus and create standards that the buyer can have confidence in?" I think the VQA has been an asset for wines in Canada. They worked to set a good standard for our products, they promote our industry... these have to be good things. I don't think the VQA is the be-all and end-all. They're large winery oriented, for one thing. But you don't have to seek their imprimature if you don't want. Good wines will find a market, whatever letters get stamped on the side. "Burrowing Owl is one that comes to mind. They seem to have managed to establish the story that their interest is in the best quality rather than quantity..." Burrowing Owl Winery did some things right from the start. The built a buzz, they got a good winemaker from out of the valley (Bill Wyse from California), they've opened a super restaurant: in my opinion, one of the best places for a meal in the valley. And you are so right, their 2000 Merlot was one of the finest examples of the wine I've ever enjoyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fax Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 2001? Yes....excellent stuff. Thanks for the info, we'll give those shops a visit when we're in the vicinity. Still looking for the Burrowing Owl you mentioned a while ago....we're on one or two waitlists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 "Jackson Triggs had a great year in the Okanagan" By co-incidence I happen to be in the Okanagen this weekend. We were at the "Wine and Roses" event last night and had a taste of the Jackson Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon. It was excellent and voted best of the evening by our group of four. I was speaking with the rep from the winery and learned that the grapes are grown near Oliver in the OK but then the juice is shipped to the Niagra region to be made into wine and bottled. So it has a BC/Ont provenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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