Winefest 2014

I attended two events at the Shaw Conference Center this past month but am slow with posting. Life of a hobby blogger... it always comes last :)  But here's a recap.

I dragged my brother along to our first Winefest.  I have attended Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival before at the Shaw Conference Center but Winefest is strictly wine with light catering of food provided by the Shaw versus restaurant samplings to purchase.


When I say I dragged my brother along, I mean that he isn't really a wine drinker. He certainly isn't into reds but would be willing to sample whites.  I already knew this but we came up with a good plan. There are so many tables of wines to sample, that one could not go through them all.  Actually, you could choose just reds to drink and you still would not be able to get through them all (unless you are sampling and spitting but what fun is that?)  So, we decided to stick to the whites and try to get a good understanding of what we liked and didn't like.

Just sticking to whites?  That is what a lot of the table vendors would say. Apparently it's sacrilege as red is king but I just read online somewhere (I'd like to link but I can't find the page, sorry) that a white grape won a competition. Maybe me and my brother are just starting the trend or maybe not, nonetheless, it really helped to compare and learn about different white grapes.


Something I have known from before and re-confirmed at Winefest is that I'm not a fan of blends.  I'm apparently a single grape wine purist.  Also, I am a fan of whites that are crisper and bend slightly toward the sweet side.

Some of our favorites:

| Dirty Laundry, Canada - Gewurtraminer - Woo Woo Vines 2012 - I first came to know of Gewurtraminer wines after sampling many in my European travels.  This Canadian brand stood out for me.

| Vinimark, South Africa - Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - What I really liked about this wine was that it had a herbaceous flavor, subtle but not overpowering, which made it a great new experience.

| Villa Maria, New Zealand - Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - Great all around drinking Savignon Blanc.

| Dominio Del Plata - Argentina - Late Harvest Torrentes 2010 - This is the first time I have heard of a Torrentes wine grape. This is slightly on the sweeter side as it's a late harvest. Hailing from Argentina, if you like Moscato and Gewurtraminer, this will be a hit too.

| Jacob's Creek - Australia - Moscato 2013 - Moscato wines seemed to really trend a couple years back and I have definitely enjoyed it ever since.

| Casa Bianchi - Argentina - Biachi New Age n/v - 90% Torrontes and 10% Savignon Blanc - I stated that I did not like blends but this is the exception. I'm imagining myself having a beautiful picnic and sipping away enjoying the view.  Maybe a slightly warmer view than the one below.