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eDiTOriAL cALeNDAr – 2018 PubLishiNg scheDuLeIssue Booking MaterialDue Distributed:

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For the past 20 years, we have documented the people, places and bottles that shape a world of enjoyment for canadian readers. Our expert perspective continues to be honed and enhanced to keep pace with the communities we cover. insightful content offers a uniquely canadian viewpoint and is designed to introduce wine lovers to the forces responsible for products they enjoy.

VINES enjoys national circulation via its paid subscriber base and single copy distribution through participating wineries, specialty boutiques and hotels. each issue receives enhanced circulation to subscribers of select Postmedia Network newspapers targeting higher income readership. We have also partnered with various wine clubs who deliver issues to their membership and remain a proud sponsor of canada’s largest trade show, the gourmet Food & Wine expo, where magazines are also widely circulated.

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vines is a national consumer magazine aimed at canadians who buy, drink and enjoy wine on a regular basis. our readers range from enthusiastic beginners who want to learn more about the world of wine and the styles of wine that they enjoy to knowledgeable connoisseurs who look to us for insider tips and expert wine-buying advice.

For the past 19 years, VINES has proudly supported the canadian food and wine scene by sponsoring noteworthy events across the country, including the interVin international Wine Awards, Niagara Wine Festival and gourmet Food & Wine expo.

Events sponsored by VINES

vines magazine provides industry-leading, exclusive and trusted

perspective on canadian and international wines. editorial

departments include personality profiles of the biggest names

in wine, regional spotlights, travel, food and reviews of current

wine releases available to canadians. each issue features expert

commentary and reports from award-winning contributors such as

Daenna van mulligen, Rod Phillips and Jancis Robinson.

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Joel gott WineS 2014 Merlot

MarCheSi de’ freSCobaldi 2012 nipozzano veCChie viti Chianti

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taWSe Winery 2012 Chardonnay eState vineyard

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Featured Wines:

grape escapesThe New rules of wiNe TouriNg

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hIddEN BENCh vINEyaRdS & WINERy 2012 TERRoIR CaChé

kIM CRaWfoRd 2013 SMall paRCElS MERloT CaBERNET

MoëT & ChaNdoN 2006 gRaNd vINTagE BRuT RoSé ChaMpagNE

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Bring the

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42 Vines | vinesmag.com Spring 2017 43

By Daenna Van Mulligen

CaVa proDuCers look to shine

he thirst for sparkling wine has been growing stead-ily for years and shows no signs of dissipating. Wine producers, formerly known only for their still wines, have been jumping on the bubbly bandwagon faster than you can say méthode champenoise. And why not? As far as trends go, it appeals to a much larger

audience than the ambiguous natural wine movement. Meanwhile, established sparkling wine regions are trying to

hold their market share by reminding us of their legacy. You’ll find the Denominación de Origen Cava at the front of that line. Spanish winemakers are desperate to shake their cheap fizz reputation and carve out a niche as producers of top-flight, pre-mium sparkling wine.

Unlike Champagne, which is named for the geographical zone in which it comes from, Cava is a designation. Wines labelled as Cava can come from several designated regions within Spain. The vast majority of it comes from Penedès, near Barcelona, in the region of Catalonia, but there are 159 munici-palities in total, scattered across numerous provinces that can officially use the term for its sparkling wine.

Catalonia has a long tradition of producing sparkling wine. Josep Raventòs made the first Spanish bubbly in 1872 after he brought the Champagne method home to Penedès. Production has persevered through farming and political crises over the years, and has been rising steadily since the 1950s.

In 1986, Spanish legislation declared the appellation of ori-gin for Cava was indeed reserved for quality sparkling wines produced in the traditional method (with secondary fermenta-tion taking place in bottle) in approved and established regions.

The method of production might be the same as Cham-pagne’s; however, Cava is traditionally made with indigenous grape varieties. The fruity and floral Macebeo, the structured

and racy Xarel-lo and the aromatic Paralleda are not only unique to, but also extremely well suited to, Penedès climate. Traditional Champagne varieties, Pinot Noir and Chardon-nay, are growing in popularity, but aren’t as well adapted. They require careful handling and earlier harvesting than the native grapes, but can contribute incredible finesse to the fin-ished wine.

Today there are 241 producers and more than 6,000 grow-ers associated with the making and marketing of Cava. The irksome predicament is that all Cava is labelled Cava. There is little way to discern quality or provenance simply by looking at the label. Unless you know the producer or have a good under-standing of what Cava is all about, it can be difficult to differ-entiate when they are all lumped together. Neither winemaker nor consumer benefits from this frothy kerfuffle.

Enter the Cava de Paraje Calificado. Loosely translated, it means Cava from a qualified place. Paraje itself is a rough translation of single vineyard or single site. Adding to the mud-dle, the pronunciation is different in Catalan (para-cha) than in Spanish (paray-chja).

Ten producers have put forward 24 wines, hoping to gain approval from the board’s panel to market under the new Sin-gle Estate Cava designation by the Consejo Regulador Cava (the regulatory board that oversees Cava production).

Alta Alela, Codorníu, Casa Sala (Freixenet), Castellroig, El Cep, Gramona, Juvé & Camps, Torelló Llopart and Sumarroca hope to be among the first to be awarded the new premium classification.

Pedro Bonet Ferrer, who is director of communications and family member of Groupo Freixenet, has served as president of the Cava Regulatory Board since 2013. He has worked dili-gently behind the scenes to establish the new classification and

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Buttery and delicious Mouton Rouge

Why We Love Swartland +GARNACHA BEYOND MOvE

A Daring

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14 Vines|vinesmag.com Summer2017 15

were always viewed as prime time for rosé sales. How about Arbor Day or Thanksgiving?

The LCBO intends to introduce more pink-hued selections into the market year-round to meet the growing demand.

Ontario isn’t alone. Rosé sales are blooming across the country. It has become such an upscale item that Manitoba liquor board even stocks a three-litre bottle of Whispering Angel rosé, considered one of the world’s finest expressions, with a retail cost of more than $150. Party planners take note.

Canadians are following in the wake of American, British and French wine lovers who are increasingly looking at rosé colours in their wine glasses. In France, consumption of rosé has overtaken white selections. The global trend is driven by younger, female consumers, but is showing a spike in interest across the board.

The rapid growth in worldwide popularity has even spurred the Riedel family to introduce a new stem to its expansive collection of variety-specific wine glasses. The Austrian glass company worked with leading producers in Provence to develop the best shape to maximize the enjoyment of the wine.

The popularity of rosé is certainly one of the trends of the year, but hopefully pink wine will moves from fashion to matter-of-fact. Winter, spring, summer or fall, any day is a good day for rosé. While the approval rating for pink wine seems to be at an all-time high, the last hurdle for pink wines seems to be enjoying equal footing with red and white selections as wines for all seasons.

News about a FreNch rosé comiNg to market iN large format bottle typically used for malt liquor was all over social media feeds recently. Reaction varied. Not surprisingly, wine snobs sniffed that the lowbrow package was trashy. Bargain hunters remarked the 1.2-litre bottles were more economical, compared to a conventional 750 ml format.

A blend of organically grown Gamay, Merlot and Cabernet France, the rosé comes from Loire Valley winemaker Julian Braud, who also produces a white for the Forty Ounce Wines brand. Consumers in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California and Colorado, will no doubt drink up the 1,200 cases made from the 2016 vintage long before Labour Day.

The thing that stood out in the stories posted by the likes of Bon Appétit, Time and Food & Wine was how they underscored the summery aspect of rosé. While pink wine has escaped the cliché notions that they are all sugary sweet, it seems to be forever linked with warm weather sipping.

Case in point, a Delish.com post trumpeted: “Rosé season is right around the corner.”

Last summer, rosé wine-infused gummy bears were the gimmick du jour and hashtags such as Rosé All Day or 50 Shades of Rosé were the talk of the Web.

Rosé is truly enjoying its moment in the sun — even when it’s not particularly sunny outside. The LCBO in Ontario is promoting premium pink wines in its February release as ideal Valentine’s Day selections. The Hallmark holiday and summer

Fresh Press /SummerDrINKS Fresh Press /SummerDrINKS

GatherINGroSéSforallSeaSoNS

EndlessSummer

Malivoire Wine Co. 2016 Ladybug Rosé Niagara Peninsula $16.95 (559088)theNo.1sellingroséinontariomovesfromstrengthtostrength,evenasShirazmottiarandhisteamstruggletokeepupwithourcollectivethirst.

Bacalhôa 2016 J.P. Azeitão Syrah Rosé Península de Setúbal, Portugal $8.55 (404566) theadditionofmuscatintotheblendampsthefragranceandcharmofthisgreatbargainbottlefromoneofPortugal’slargestwineries.

Malivoire Wine Co. 2016 Vivant Rosé Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula $19.95 (498535)modelledafterthepinkwinesfromtheSouthoffrance,thesecondvin-tageofVivantroséboastsimpres-sivefruitandrefreshingcharacter.

Château Caves d’Esclans 2016 Whispering Angel Provence, France $26.95 (325076)thissplurge-wor-thyroséshowstheyin-yangappealofwell-madepinkwinesthathavemouthfilling,texturewithrefreshingcitrusyflavours.

Joie Farm 2016 Re-Think Pink Rosé Okanagan Valley $21 Joiefarmwasmakingrosé,whenroséwasn’tcool.thisPinot/Gamayblendisaripe,flavourfulroséthatcon-tinuestobeoneofCanada’smostenjoyable.

Domaine Chandon Rosé Sparkling California $35.95 (405555) Chandonhasbeenaleadingpro-ducerofsparklingwineinCaliforniasince1973.Itsroséoffersconcen-tratedfruitflavours,finebubblesandrefreshingcharacter.

Two Sisters Winery 2016 RoséNiagara River, Niagara Peninsula $29earlyharvestofestategrownmerlot,CabernetfrancandCabernetSauvignonfromNiagara-on-the-lakecombinedtoproducetwoSistersstunningdebutrosé.

Gérard Bertrand 2016 Côte des Roses Grenache Cinsault SyrahLanguedoc, South of France $17.95 (373985)Bertrand’sstylishCôtesdesrosesrosédeliverstheexpectedfreshandfruityprofilethathasquicklymadeitastarinCanada.

flaG-WaVINGfaVourIteS

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56 Vines | vinesmag.com SPRING 2017 57

GReat wINeS | wine Buyers Guide

three stellar selections that offer a taste of excellence

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KIM CRAWFORD 2016 SpItFIRe

SAUVIGNON BLANC

$25 P.55

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CLAReNCe DILLON

WINeS 2012 CLAReNDeLLe

ROUGe $24 P.54

HHHHH

RAVeNSWOOD 2013

DICKeNSON ZINFANDeL

$40 P.59

HHHHI

Cousino-Macul 2013 Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley $18 (298075) expect rich black raspberries and blackcurrant aromas accented by pen-cil shavings, cocoa nibs and smoked spice notes. the palate doles out generous sweet fruit, chocolate, fine spice and espresso flavours. It’s muscular and elegant in turns, with potent character and a long finish. truly a bold and unapologetic red that offers great bang for your buck. (DVM)

HHHHI

Viña errazuriz 2014 Aconcagua Alto Cabernet Sauvignon Aconcagua Valley $19.95 (203364) errazuriz’s aconcagua alto label is helping to define the new style of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, which embraces elegance over power and refine-ment over ripeness. It’s a giant leap in the right direction for diligent producers working in the higher elevation sites in the foothills of the andes. a blend of 90 per-cent Cabernet Sauvignon, seven percent Cabernet Franc and three percent Petit Verdot, the 2014 vintage conveys fresh red fruit, bright acidity, ripe tannins and long, persistent finish. a telling stat on the data sheet suggests this was aged 12 months in French oak barrels, 35 percent of which were new — less time and less new wood compared to what was fashionable five years ago. the result is a poised red wine that’s drinking beautifully right now and for the next two to four years. (Cw)

HHHHI

Viña Santa Carolina 2014 Reserva de Familia Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley $19.95 (408658) this is a robust Cabernet that manages to achieve some finesse at the same time. the flavours are rich and concentrated, with impressive layering and depth, and the texture is generous, mouth-filling, and smooth. the acid is well mea-sured — it cuts through the fruit and fresh-ens the texture — and the tannins are fine and integrated. It’s drinking well, and I sug-gest drinking in the next two or three years to enjoy the primary fruit flavours. (RP)

HHHHI

Viña Concha y toro 2015 Casillero del Diablo Reserva privada Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley $17.95 winemaker Marcelo Papa is moving to earlier picking within the harvest window as Concha y toro moves away from the very ripe flavours that have dominated until recently, and towards wines that show “more precise” fruit char-acter, are less sweet and have lower alcohol.

this Cabernet, from Chile’s best region for the variety, is juicy and lively, but retains the depth and complexity of fruit you expect of the grape variety. It has much less of the mint/eucalyptus character often found in Maipo Cabernet — something Papa also attributes to earlier harvesting. this is a young cabernet that needs a little longer to integrate. Drink it from 2018-21. (RP)

FRaNCeHHHHH

Clarence Dillon Wines 2012 Clarendelle Rouge Bordeaux $23.95 (028837) this is an attractive blend of Merlot (57 percent), Cabernet Sauvignon (30 percent), and Cabernet Franc (13 percent). aged in used and new French oak, it delivers lovely lay-ered flavours and some intensity in the fruit, all supported by the clean, fresh acidity that helped me deal with a dish of cassoulet. the tannins have just a little nip — you couldn’t call it grip, but there was something — and the texture is smooth and mouthfilling. It’s a really lovely Bordeaux red that shows its Merlot dominance, and it’s ready to drink now through to 2020, while the fruit is fresh. (RP)

HHHHI

Cave de Rasteau 2015 La DomeliereRasteau, Rhône Valley $22 (645655) this Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre blend comes from the new Rasteau appellation, which is located just north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône Valley. It’s a wonderfully succulent wine, doling out roasted cherries and blueberries, sarsapa-rilla, mocha and toffee, then wrapped up with a bouquet of lilac and freesia blossoms. equally supple and substantive on the pal-ate, it offers plump purple fruits, mocha, spice, floral and bacon fat flavours that lead to a lengthy espresso finish. (DVM)

HHHH

Bouchard pere & Fils 2014 Bourgogne pinot Noir Burgundy $27 (493544) a classic style of red Burgundy, the Bouchard relinquishes tangy red currants and cherry aromas layered with cocoa, smoked spices and leather. the palate follows suit; fine-boned and exceedingly fresh flavours of red fruit, forest floor, spice and tea leaf flavours. Overall, expect a solid regional style, and a perfect partner to creamy cheeses, salmon, duck or mushroom ravioli. (DVM)

HHHH

Brotte pere Anselme 2015 La Fiole Cotes du Rhône Rhône Valley $17.50 (194498) this contorted bottle is unique to Brotte’s

Pere anselme line of wines. It’s an approach-able red Rhône blend delivering an ambro-sial cocktail of succulent purple berries, warm chocolate, leather and wild herbs. It has a dusty fruited palate with distinct earthy notes followed by spice. Overall, this is a simple yet effective wine, perfect for dinners involving rustic braised meat, stews, bean casseroles or ratatouille. (DVM)

HHHH

Gérard Bertrand 2013 Grand terroir Les Aspres Côtes du Roussillon Roussillon, South of France $18.95 (413245) a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Grenache, this delivers solid fruit right through the palate. It’s characterized by complexity and struc-ture, and is supported by a seam of well-calibrated acidity. the tannins are drying and well integrated, and you can drink it now though to 2020. (RP)

HHHI

Gérard Bertrand 2013 Grand terroir tautavel Grenache – Syrah – Carignan Roussillon $18.95 (272575) Located between the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains and the Mediterranean, tautavel is an ancient village in Roussillon where some of the oldest human remains have been unearthed. It’s a special place, not least for the style of wine coming from the region’s weathered Grenache, Syrah and Carignan vines. the hot climate coaxes intensely fruity and fragrant aromas and flavours from the grapes, suggesting ripe fruit and complex spice and floral notes. approachable and engaging, this is a great winter red to enjoy with roast lamb or beef dishes. (Cw)

ItaLyHHHHI

Bolla 2014 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2014 Veneto $19.95 (475574) this is a drinkable wine that’s juicy-textured, full of fresh fruit, and animated by lively acidity. a blend of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella grapes, it shows the fruit concen-tration that comes from the ripasso process and here the fruit is not only concentrated but complex, well structured and well bal-anced by the acidity. the tannins are fine and drying, and well enough integrated that you can drink this now. Or hold it to the end of the decade, before it starts to lose its freshness. (RP)

HHHHI

Donnafugata 2014 Sedara Sicily $20 (560300) From an iconic Sicilian producer, this Nero d’avola is blended with small

18 Vines|vinesmag.com Summer2017 19

Fresh Press /DeSTINATION

ONTARIO

Fresh Press /DeSTINATION

BRITIsh cOlumBIA

Since releasing its first wines in 1987, Cedar-Creek Estate Winery has helped transform the Okanagan Valley into a first class food and wine destination. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Kelowna-based win-ery is mapping its future by maximizing the potential of its vineyards.

The most exciting part of celebrating our 30th anniversary is having 25-year-old blocks of Pinot Noir, Riesling and Gewürz-traminer that we can push forward, says winemaker Taylor Whelan.

“It’s a celebration of the last 30 years, but the emphasis is on moving forward,” he ex-plains. “It’s an interesting place that we’re in. We have these awesome blocks to work with and we have the backing to push the envelope however we want. The future is open to us. We’re not beholden to anything in the past.”

Part of the von Mandl Estates family since February 2014, CedarCreek has embarked on extensive renovations on its production and hospitality buildings.

“There’s been a total facelift on the whole building, so it’s almost a rebirth,” Whelan says. “We’ve got a new restaurant, new wine shop, new wine club and hospitality area…” There’s also a new cellar taking the place of one of the original production areas that’s been decommissioned.

The new cellar features smaller tanks than the old production space, which will

Age-Appropriateencourage more small batch production. As part of its vineyard-specific philosophy, CedarCreek has taken delivery of its sixth concrete egg tank, which adds to the diverse array of smaller fermentation vessels in-cluding three foudres.

These offer ways to build texture and in-terest into the aromatic whites different from the bright, fresh flavours of stainless steel fermented wines, Whelan adds.

Not surprisingly, Whelan has his sights set on adding new wines to the top-of-the-line Platinum tier, including a Block 3 Ge-würztraminer and single block Syrah from the Haynes Creek vineyard in Osoyoos.

CedarCreek’s annual production con-sistently hovers around the 40,000-case mark, with roughly even focus on white and red varieties as well as cool and warm cli-mate grapes.

Whelan says he’s excited to get the 2016 Platinum Block 3 Riesling bottled and re-leased soon. The flagship Riesling continues to evolve and he's anxious to hear feedback from consumers.

“There’s been a shifting style since 2014, with a little longer on lees and a little bit of barrel (aging) as well,” he says. “This is a continuation of that. It was an early pick so we’re trying to work in texture and balance from lees rather than just using residual sugar.” cedarcreek.bc.ca

The future is open to us. We’re not beholden to anything in the past.

Napa-basedwineeducatorandauthorofthebestsellingThe Wine Bible,KarenmacNeilwilldeliverthekeynoteaddressattheseventhannualInter-nationalCoolClimateChardonnayCel-ebrationthisJuly.runningJuly21-23atvariouslocationsinNiagara,theannualgatheringofgrapenutskicksoffJuly21withaday-longseminar,TheSchoolofCoolatWhiteOaksConferenceresortinNiagara-on-the-LakebeforethepartymovesovertoNiagaraDistrictAirportfortheFlightsofChardonnaytasting.CanadianparticipantswillbejoinedthisyearbywineriesfromAustralia,Austria,Chile,France,Spain,NewZea-land,uruguayandunitedStates.Some59producerswillpourmorethan150selectChardonnaysaswellasCabernetFrancs,GamayNoirsandPinotNoirsthorughouttheweekend.TheannualInternationalCoolClimateChardonnayCelebration(dubbedi4cforshort)wascreatedbysomeofOntario’sbestwine-makerswhowantedtobringattentiontothequalityoftheChardonnayscom-ingoutoftheprovince.TheywantedtohosttalentedwinemakersworkingincoolclimateregionsaroundtheworldandrecognizedinternationaljournalistsinNiagaratoshowcasetheirefforts.coolchardonnay.org

Spring's Eternal

Niagara Riesling specialists Cave Spring Cellars recently staged a 16-vintage retro-spective tasting of its flagship CSV (short for Cave Spring Vineyard) Riesling at Langdon Hall Hotel & Spa in Cambridge. Founding partner and winemaker Angelo Pavan used the opportunity to outline the evolution in grape growing and winemaking that has transpired at the Beamsville Bench estate since the debut CSV vintage in 1999.

Pavan told the assembled sommeliers that this sort of vertical tasting could only be possible with Riesling. “We couldn’t do this sort of extensive look at wines from such a span of time with any other variety,” he said. “Wherever we go to pour our wines, we always lead with Riesling.”

The top-of-the-line CSV label comes from two blocks planted in 1974 and 1978 at Cave Spring Vineyard, located at a

rare northwest facing spot on the Niagara Escarpment that extends exposure to the afternoon sun. As good as the range of wines were, including stellar bottles from 2000, 2003 and 2009, the new 2015 vintage ($29.95, cavespring.ca) stood out as an in-stant classic thanks to its incredible balance and purity of expression.

Pavan credited the wine’s steely character and rich texture to skin contact (50 percent of the batch spent 12 hours soaking on its skins) and judicious blending of batches fer-mented with indigenous yeast and selected yeast strains.

The youthful nose offered a beguiling mix of fruit, herbal and floral notes, while the palate was richly concentrated and bal-anced by mouthwatering acidity that carries through to the refreshing and persistent finish. cavespring.ca

COOL CHArACTer

28 Vines | vinesmag.com SUMMER 2017 29

For those oF us responsible For

The World Atlas of Wine, Chile is a nightmare. Every time a new edition is needed, the extent of viticulture in this, the longest and thinnest country on earth, has grown. For the first six editions we could — just — squeeze the Chilean wine map onto one page with our usual north to south orientation. In the seventh edition, vine growing had spread so far north and south that we had to turn the map through 90 degrees and run it across the bottom of a double page spread.

For the next edition, I really don’t know what we’ll do because viticulture now extends from 18°49’ degrees in the Atacama Desert to 46°33’ south in Patagonia, with some cartographically inconvenient breaks in between wine regions.

Earlier this year I was invited to visit what was billed as Chile’s southernmost vineyard in commercial production, six-year-old Pinot Noir vines clinging perilously to a hectare of basalt on the river Puelo at 41 degrees south, very close to the Argentine border. Road links between Chile and Argentina are few and far between at this juncture. My original plan to reach this area via Argentine Patagonia foundered when I realized I would probably need a horse to manage it.

Instead we flew from Santiago to Puerto Montt, gateway to Patagonia, and

ChilEan vintnERS aRE going to ExtREMES

Far Flungwere thoroughly shaken for a good three hours on substantially unpaved roads before boarding a speedboat that took us for 20 spectacular minutes across a lake formed by the river Puelo. Our initial destination was a lodge owned by wine producers Villaseñor who have vineyard holdings in Colchagua and Curico for their Kenos brand and have plans for a further 40 hectare vineyard in Patago-nia. Villaseñor’s commercial director has to drive 12 hours each way several times a month to oversee the company’s Patagonian operations.

Even if the vineyard had turned out to be non-existent, or the wine undrink-able, I would not have regretted making this journey. Mitico Puelo lodge, origi-nally constructed out of local wood by an American in the 1990s, was Chile’s first dedicated fly fishing lodge but it exerted a powerful charm even on this angling agnostic. Approached on foot from the small jetty, across a wooden bridge that swayed with each footstep over the fast-flowing mountain stream that provides all the electricity needed by the 40 guests it can accommodate, the lodge sits on a meadow overlooked by soaring mountains and a dramatic waterfall. The air is so pure that my lungs felt as though they had been spring cleaned.

I was accompanied by my co-author of Wine Grapes, Swiss geneticist José Vouillamoz who was charged with exam-ining the wild vine that gave rise to the

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Pinot Noir vineyard. An extensive, fully mature vine had been found thriving, indeed almost strangling the tree that has long supported it, near the water-fall and inspired the owners to look for somewhere nearby that would accom-modate a proper vineyard. José has taken samples of the leaves so that he can analyze the wild vine’s DNA back in Switzerland. It is currently thought that this original vine — possibly Bonarda — must have arrived over the Andes from Argentina.

The morning after our arrival we travelled in a small boat a further 15 minutes upstream and then walked half an hour through woods and then across an open valley with a couple of farms in which whole skins of sheep and cows were drying in the barns. There was no particular path and certainly no road. But we eventually got to several small vine plantings, most of them experimen-tal, where a wide range of varieties have been trialled. We were told that the most successful are apparently, and rather surprisingly, Marsanne, Mourvèdre, and the Pinot Noir that has been planted on the highest patch of flat land exposed to the most daylight. This is not the most obvious place for a vineyard — annual rainfall is usually about 2,000mm — but the soils here drain pretty well.

After being picked by a crew shipped in from Villaseñor Wines, the grapes travel 900km north to the winery in

Talca via a track that runs conveniently close to the vineyard and the regular ferry across Puelo lake. The debut vintage of Puelo Patagonia Pinot Noir (rather a good name, I think) is 2014. It has been rather smartly packaged with an incredible amount of technical information on the back label and actu-ally tastes convincingly of light, fresh, unoaked Pinot with a little warm min-eral undertow.

In fact it tastes so good that Villase-ñor’s Chinese importer wanted to snap up the lot. He has made do with half of the 1,300 bottles produced and is appar-ently charging the equivalent of $150 USD a bottle in China.

I wonder, however, how long Villase-ñor can hang on to its status as Chile’s southernmost commercial vineyard. As supplies of water diminish, all manner of Chilean wine producers are sniff-ing about down south. There is also a research station, operated jointly by Undurraga’s winemaker and a govern-ment research agency, at Chile Chico at 46°33’ in Aysén region in a particular-ly favoured corner of Chilean Patagonia where they are trialling different grape varieties. The nearby General Carrera lake moderates what would otherwise be

a climate too cool for vines, and cherry trees can be grown very successfully there, although winds can be inconven-iently strong.

On my return from Chile’s far south I received an email from Miguel Torres the younger (who has long championed southern Chile in general) telling me that he and his father have recently acquired 800 hectares close to Coyhaique at 45°34’ in Aysén, close to the Argentine border. For the next few years they will be experi-menting with different vine varieties, rec-ognizing that this is a decidedly long-term project undertaken as a bet on accelerated climate change.

I should add that Argentina’s south-ernmost vineyard is Alejandro Bulghero-ni’s planting at Sarmiento in the Chibut region at 45°60’, between the new Torres property and the Chilean government research station in terms of latitude. This is bad news for New Zealand actor Sam Neill who was hoping that his Last Chance vineyard for the Two Paddocks wine operation was world’s most south-erly. A recent latitude reading put it at 45°15’. So just the southernmost in New Zealand then.

Read more at JancisRobinson.com.

There was no particular path and certainly no

road. But we eventually got to several small vine plantings, most of them

experimental…

44 Vines | vinesmag.com Spring 2017 45

is determined to see it come to fruition prior to the end of his term this year.

“I wanted to work to improve Cava’s image, promoting pre-mium Cava, particularly on trade. I also wanted to improve the relationship among the producers,” he explains. “Last, but not least, I wanted to emphasize the importance of the vineyard and the relationship between the grape growers and the enolo-gists, in order to improve Cava’s quality.”

The new category gives the best producers a chance to illus-trate the attributes of their best bottles, which will add a halo effect to the overall Cava category.

“As in all the best appellations,” Bonet Ferrer says, “in DO Cava, there are different segments of quality. Cava has impor-tant volume (224 million bottles per year), it has wonderful quality (represented at every price level), and very good distri-bution. However, we also have bad distribution, so our image all over the world isn’t the true one, because the big majority of Cava’s price level corresponds to a sparkling wine of medium or low segment.”

The overarching view on Cava boils down to inexpensive fizz. Wine lovers are willing to spending several dollars more on a non-vintage, tank-fermented Prosecco compared to a bottle of Cava. Few markets grasp the quality for price that many entry-level Cavas offer. Simultaneously, at the high end, oft-times inflated Champagne trumps Cava regardless of comparable quality levels.

While this competitive war between sparkling wine regions is a relatively new phenomenon, it’s a battle the producers and the Cava regulatory board are looking to face head on as they see competition growing internationally and sales fluctuating — especially in their domestic market.

Bonet Ferrer notes that 15 percent of Cava falls under the blanket of reserva (aged for a minimum of 15 months) and gran reserva (aged a minimum of 30 months). Beyond that, there’s a selection of singular top-of-the-line products that command prices on par with the best Champagnes. In theory and in prac-tice, these wines are already Cava de Paraje Calificado quality — only consumers have no simple way of knowing it.

The goal of the regulatory board is to elevate these already superior wines to be recognized as some of the finest in the world, synchronously motivating other producers to improve Cava’s quality – from small producers and large.

Under the guidelines for the new designation, these wines must be traceable from vineyard all the way to market. They must originate from a singular distinctive site. The grapes must be hand-harvested from estate-owned vines with a minimum age of 10 years, and with maximum yields of 8,000 kilograms per hectare. Furthermore, the wine must be produced on the estate, with a minimum of 36 months of bottle aging on lees.

Such rules favour grower/producers rather than companies who primarily buy grapes. The wine must be a single vintage Cava and made as a brut (dry, meaning 12 grams per litre of residual sugar or less), extra brut (six grams per litre residual sugar or less) or brut nature (zero dosage, and three grams per litre of residual sugar or less).

Finally, a qualifying panel must taste the wines and ensure labels conform to established standards.

A special logo, a gold medallion with the letter P (its half circle actually a backward C, and its spine suitably, the num-

ber one) encircled by the words Calificado Cava de Paraje, will adorn each approved bottle.

After much deliberation and months of delay (seemingly inevitable when government is involved), Bonet Ferrer antici-pates the first designated wines will be announced this spring.

Once released onto the market, the Cava Regulatory Board has a mandate to promote the new tier with a series of tast-ings in key markets, organized press trips and master classes to engage trade and consumers alike. Education and synergy are fundamental pillars to ensure the success of this new clas-sification. How effectively this rolls out remains to be seen, but expectations are high, at home and abroad. Hopefully, with Canada’s consumption of Cava ranking eleventh in the world (and fourth outside of the European Union) we can only stand to benefit.

I wanted to emphasize the importance of the vine-

yard and the relationship between the grape growers and the enologists in order to improve Cava’s quality.

Pedro Bonet Ferrer

All Cava is labelled Cava. Unless you know the producer or have a good

understanding of what it’s all about, it can be difficult to differentiate when

they are all lumped together.

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