What's In Your Cellar, Leslie?

Photo courtesy Artesana Winery

Leslie Fellows
Artesana Winery, Uruguay
Proprietor and Director
www.artesanawinery.com

I met the charming and well-spoken Leslie Fellows at the recent Wine Bloggers' Conference in Penticton and was intrigued by her story: the California businesswoman who became an owner of a winery 1000's of miles away in Uruguay thanks to an adventurous father and a willingness to take a leap of faith that lead to a drastic career change.

As owner and director of Artesana Winery, a small estate winery in Canelones, Fellows splits her time at the winery and back home in California where she's busy evangelizing the merits of the signature varietal of Uruguay; Tannat. Tannat is an under appreciated grape that is perhaps best described, to the uninitiated, as Malbec with twice the tannin. The star-factor of Tannat is its range. Some producers create easy-going, juice'n'fruit explosions while others produce serious, age-worthy, cellar-dwellers. Fellows' mission is to champion all styles of Tannat and to help develop a place for it in the North American market.

What are your favourite wines to cellar/collect?

As an owner of a winery in Uruguay (Artesana), my favorite wine to collect/cellar (and drink!) is Tannat, the signature varietal of Uruguay. Tannat produces rich, full-bodied wines with dark fruit and spice aromas and flavors. Tannat is from the Madiran region of southwestern France and was brought to Uruguay in the 1870s. It is named for its high tannin content and has been found to be the healthiest of red wines with 3-4 times more antioxidants and an average resveratrol concentration of 4.2. Tannat is the only grape with 5 seeds vs. 3, so it lends itself well to cellaring.

What are your favourite wine regions to cellar/collect?

Canelones is Uruguay's most acclaimed wine region and though Tannat is the main variety grown, other reds include Merlot, Cab Franc and Tempranillo and whites include Albarino, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?

We keep a library of all the wines we produce at Artesana and taste through them at least once a year to see how the wine is evolving in the bottle. In addition to Tannat and Tannat-Merlot, we produce Zinfandel, the first and only Zinfandel to be planted and produced in Uruguay. The wines exhibit a classic Zinfandel profile, but expressed in very interesting ways in Uruguay’s distinctive terroir. In 2011 we made a Zinfandel Reserve (18 months in French oak) and a Tannat-Zinfandel-Merlot Reserve (24 months in French oak). 2011 was an historic harvest in Uruguay and the grapes achieved a greater level of ripeness than normal. The Tannat wines and the 2 Reserve wines are delicious now, but are structured to age 10 years or more and will cellar very well.

Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?

One of the best wineries in Uruguay is Bodega Carrau and I have a bottle of their 1998 Amat Tannat that was a gift to me from the winemaker. Bodegas Carrau has been making wine for 10 generations and they have some amazing wines in their library.

What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?

I’ve had a few life-changing experiences tasting some older vintages of Grand Crus and was completely amazed at how complex these wines can become with bottle aging. Well-structured Tannats and Cabs are really the only wines I lay down. The fascinating thing about cellaring is to see if and how the wines become more interesting with time.

What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?

Very special occasions that I want to remember by the wine I drank. In Uruguay when we open a vintage bottle of Tannat for a celebration, it usually includes a parrillada, a Uruguayan BBQ which is an open-flamed grill with every kind of meat you can imagine. Uruguayan beef is all organic by government decree and it pairs beautifully with Tannat.

What advice would you share with anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?

Try a Uruguayan Tannat if you see one. Buy two and cellar one, you’ll find it's one of the most age-worthy red wines. And come to Uruguay for a visit, it’s only 2 hours by ferry from Buenos Aires. You will love the wines and the people, not to mention the gorgeous beaches…it’s an extraordinary country.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2013 IconWines.ca

What's in Your Cellar, Michael?

Photo Courtesy JoieFarm

Michael Dinn
JoieFarm
Proprietor
joiefarm.com

Michael began his career in wine in the front of house operations at some of Vancouver's top eateries like Cin Cin and C Restaurant. He officially became a sommelier in 1999, graduating top of his class from the Canadian Sommelier Guild. Meeting (and later marrying) chef and fellow sommelier Heidi Noble started a chain of events that lead them to become owners of one of BC's most respected and sought-after boutique wineries.

Michael cellars wine for both the pure enjoyment of consuming a beautifully aged bottle of wine in the company of similarly minded friends and for its inherent educational benefits. There's a lot to learn about wine by allowing it to evolve and mature naturally, but, as Michael notes, you must protect your investment if you ever want to reap its reward.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?

I was fortunate about 13 years ago that I was introduced to a group of local wine trade gentlemen, all members of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, who used to take a couple of us “youngsters” out to lunch once a month and share wines that they had purchased for a pittance in the 70s and 80s. I tasted some amazing wines and learned that there are things that happen in the bottle over time that can never be created simply in the winery.

Q - Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection?

Some wines that really stood out for me from the aforementioned lunches include 1978 Vieux Télégraphe, 1978 Chateau Fonsalette, 1982 Malartic-Lagraviere 1985 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon.

Q - What are your favourite wines to collect?
Robert Chevillon, Bruno Clair, Meo-Camuzet, Selbach-Oster, Ridge, Cameron, Dr Pauly Bergweiler, Bonneau du Martray, COS, Dunn Vineyards, Marcel Deiss, S.A. Huet, Tissot.> >

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to collect?

Burgundy (red & white), Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, Sicily (in general), Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

  

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?

No one wine in particular but a few that I am looking forward to drinking when the next meal or occasion presents itself include 1988 Monsanto “Il Poggio” Chianti Classico, 1991 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne, 1988 Chateau Latour, 2001 Dr Pauly Bergweiler Bernkastler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Spatlese.

Q - How do you store your collection?

In a converted closet, now a proper, insulated, temperature controlled cellar, below ground with a cooling unit and a constantly refilled bowl of water.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?

Friends who can appreciate a great bottle coming by for a visit and dinner; Heidi making something amazing or just simply having gone too long between great bottles.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?

1. That wine needs to be stored properly or there is no point in collecting it.
2. That wines without proper natural acidity do not stand to the medium or the long haul.
3. That buying at least 3 bottles of actual collectibles is necessary to be able to enjoy a wine at its peak. The first bottle consumed should give some idea as to how much longer the others need to sleep and even if you drink bottle 2 too early, you have a third chance waiting in the cellar, as long as it isn’t corked.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
Absolutely. I like wines with finesse and great natural acidity, regardless of the region. My preference for Old World wines has as much to do with geography as it does with tradition and quality. Most New World regions are warm to hot climates and I prefer cooler (due to elevation or latitude) and more maritime influenced regions where it is more likely that the winegrower will be able to maintain balance in the grapes, hence balance in the wines.

Q - Any general comments about building a collection?
A sufficient and diverse stock of ready-to-drink-now wines is crucial to keeping your hands off of the good stuff while you wait for them to mature.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Collect producers rather than simply regions. Great producers will always produce excellent wines even in challenging vintages because they make the necessary adjustments. Above all, have a proper place to store the wines or the investment will be all for not.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's in Your Cellar, Dwight?

Photo courtesy Stag's Hollow Winery

Dwight Sick
Stag's Hollow Winery
Winemaker
stagshollowwinery.com

Dwight's passion for France's Rhone Valley is demonstrated by the selection of wines he's chosen to cellar over the years and by sampling the wines he's expanded Stag's Hollow's portfolio with. Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne and Grenache have all made appearances as blends or as single varietal releases in the Okanagan Falls winery's wine shop in recent years, with more to come.

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to cellar/collect?
Northern Rhone (Syrah, Marsanne), Priorat (Grenache), Bandol (Mourvedrre both rose and red wines)

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?
Quite simply it is to share. The act of sharing unique wines from the cellar with my friends and being able to exchange thoughts about this experience usually exceeds the actual act of drinking the wine.

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
A bottle of 1966 Taylor Vintage Port which was my birth year. Not sure when to drink it yet.

Q - How do you store your collection?
I live in an old heritage orchard home in Penticton. The house has a half basement in concrete with the remaining half being a dirt crawl space. The crawl space occupies the entire north side of the side basement and has been transformed into a make shift wine cellar that can house roughly 300 bottles. The humidity and temperature remain surprising constant in this environment.

Q - Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection?
Australia and a bottle of 1986 Grange. It was the year that my first daughter was born. Prior to winemaking, I worked for 19 years as a flight attendant. One of my key routes to work was the South Pacific and it allowed me to spend a substantial amount of time exploring Australia wines.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
Most of the special bottles that I have drunk have been totally unplanned and usually involved good friends that randomly dropped in. There is nothing better than a Tuesday night special bottle.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
We are a small fish in a big ocean. Explore wine. The wines of the world offer endless expressions of varietal character and of site terroir.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
I'm not sure if it is my cellar but is there a wine out there that is perhaps a little bit rough around the edges, is driven and focused, and is always looking to improve vintage after vintage?

Q - Any general comments about building a collection?
March to your own drummer and follow your own palette. Regardless of what others may think about a wine, it is important to believe in your own personal preferences.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
The most important thing to remember about wine is to not take it too seriously, after all it is just booze. Enjoy the moment as much as the wine.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's in Your Cellar, Glenn?

Photo courtesy of Black Hills Estate Winery

Glenn Fawcett
Black Hills Estate Winery
President
blackhillswinery.com

When Glenn Fawcett became the president of Black Hills Estate Winery in 2006 he began a program to upgrade the equipment and slowly expand the portfolio of wines which now includes a second label called Cellar Hand. He believes in the quality of the wines of British Columbia and this is reflected in his cellar selections which includes 11 vintages of the winery's flagship wine Nota Bene and other local blends and Syrah. His general advice on building a collection is to "Save what you love!" Good advice to follow considering you will likely end-up drinking it all as private wine sales between collectors is still illegal in BC.

Q - What are your favourite wines to cellar/collect?
Typically Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Bordeaux Style blends

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to cellar/collect?
Black Sage Road, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Russian River, Santa Lucia Highlands, Rioja, Bordeaux and Tuscany.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?
If we go on a wine tour or wine buying trip, we often buy bottles that we want to save for a special occasion to share with friends. Having a cellar allows you to save those wines for those special moments

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
Tensley Syrah. (From Santa Barbara California)

Q - Any particular duds or disappointments of note?
As a general rule I have found that Merlot has not aged that well for us

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
The passionate recommendation of a Winemaker, who told me it would only get better with age

Q - Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection?
Sandhill Phantom Creek Syrah.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
The realization that we have a group of friends together that have not been together for a long time

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
How much we love wine!

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
How incredibly passionate we are about Canadian Wine from a variety of producers.
Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Do as much research as possible to determine the age ability of the wine.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, Jordan?

Photo Credit: Surrey Now

Jordan Carrier
Everything Wine @ Morgan Crossing
Vintage Room Consultant
everythingwine.ca

As the Vintage Room Consultant for Everything Wine @ Morgan Crossing and with a modest collection of his own, Jordan oversees two cellars of wine. Pouring and sourcing famous first growths and the icon wines of the world for clients, satiates any desire to splurge on trophy wines. At home he tends to focus on value wines that will evolve and change over time as not all cellar-worthy wines need be to expensive.

Q - What are your favourite wines to cellar/collect?
Red ones and dessert wines, no further specificity is available, I really have no criteria other than I want it and I want to keep it.

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to cellar/collect?
I’m trending Old World with my recent purchases, but the majority of my collection is older, New World buys. Time goes by, we change…

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?
Practical, I like to see how a wine evolves, however upon opening I find myself entertained and personally gratified.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
Tasting an aged bottle of wine, wanting to recreate that experience.

Q - Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection?
It was a Merlot from Robert Mondavi, I don’t even think it was a Reserve, but I kept it for a few years and was so totally transformed by the experience of drinking it that I knew I had to do that more.

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
No trophy wines, I don’t believe in keeping anything I would feel unworthy of someday drinking. It’s a respectable collection of wines, but there are definitely some clubs it couldn’t get into.

Q - Any particular duds or disappointments of note?
Osoyoos Larose 2004, I kept that thing forever and when I opened it, it was simultaneously too tannic and falling apart. Very disappointing.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
Sometimes occasion commands an offering, sometimes I just deserve it, sometimes the wine is likely peaked so it’s a “use it or lose it” scenario.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
It’s amazing how much money I don’t spend on wine. I think, being in the wine industry, I’ve learned much more by being an active taster and pursuing every opportunity to scavange knowledge.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
I think a far more insightful discovery about someone of my income level is what I want in my cellar but don’t yet have. What’s there now reflects mostly the opportunities I’ve been afforded.

Q - Any general comments about building a cellar/collection?
Always keep buffer bottles on hand that would age well but don’t necessarily need to. They will protect the truly age-worthy bottles from your raging thirst.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Be prepared for a Long Game, this is an investment, not a sport.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, Michèle?

Photo by Paul A. Bosc

Michèle Bosc
Château des Charmes
Director of Marketing

chateaudescharmes.com

Prior to marrying into the Bosc family, for whom a tradition of winemaking extends seven generations, Michèle had already decided on a career in wine and considered the Sommelier field prior to joining the family business where a background in both Science and Marketing has served her well.

Her basement-housed cellar favours red Burgundy and both Left and Right Bank Bordeaux which make special appearances alongside selections of Château des Charmes wines at family gatherings.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
Curiosity of how wine evolves over time…each bottle being a unique individual. So there is the emotional connection side of it but my background is science so cellaring is a bit of a live experiment that you have to wait to see the results. Did you wait long enough—or too long? That’s part of the fun.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?
Family celebrations. When we have an extended family meal or special friends visiting we bring up a bottle from the cellar. Once it is finished we sign and date the bottle (family) or have our guests sign and date the bottle. Wine is best enjoyed when sharing the experience with friends and family. This tradition helps to bring back the memories of a special meal.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
Mood, family celebration or a very special cut of meat.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
Wine is alive. It lives and breathes every day. No bottle will be the same as in the moment when you open it. There is much romantic about that. And, that you can wait too long. And, if the wine was out of balance in the beginning cellaring won’t change that.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
Maybe. Remember, cellars are both collections of things you have purchased as well as things you have been given.

Q - Any general comments about building a cellar/collection?
Buy what you love. Be patient. Sometimes the best reason to go to the cellar to pick “a bottle” is simply because. Most importantly, not all wine is meant to be aged.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Wine doesn’t necessarily get “better” with age. It simply changes, evolves, matures. Not everyone likes an aged Chardonnay or Icewine. But if you are curious about wine, cellaring is an amazing way of learning about well-made vs. not well-made wines. If you are serious about wine make sure you take notes. They can be published in a shared tool like Cellar Tracker or WineBizerkers. Or you can simply set up your own Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what you have an when you think you should open a bottle. Buy at least 3 bottles so you can open them at different times. This is where the notes come in….check what you thought last time…how has the wine evolved? Do you like it better now or then? Etc. You may find you like some producers and varieties aged longer than others. Please…if you are using a community tool and you don’t like a wine there is no need to publicly slag the bottle. It may be very well made and you may not like it. That's OK. But the general rule of thumb is if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Remember, wines are like our children.

 -  Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, Sandra?

Sandra Oldfield
Tinhorn Creek
Winemaker, CEO
tinhorn.com

Winemaker and bon vivant Sandra Oldfield wears many hats and holds various titles at Tinhorn Creek, where the US Davis graduate has been making wine since her first crush in 1995. In addition to President and CEO of Tinhorn's business holdings, the role most dear to her heart could appropriately be called Chief Evangelist for Sustainability, or CES, if such a thing existed. Ask Sandra about the winery's environmental activities, the most aggressive and sustainable in the valley, and she'll answer with the same pride as asking any winemaker about his or her favourite wine in their portfolio.

For Sandra, cellaring wine is about seeing how the wines evolve over time while also serving a practical purpose to have great bottles of wine at the ready should any socializing or entertaining opportunities arise.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine collection?
My cellar is for personal use. The winery keeps a library for evaluation and comparison purposes so this is just for personal parties and nightly drinking. I throw a lot of parties by the way.

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
1845 Madeira that my husband and I taste from every year on our anniversary. Imagine, years before Lincoln was ever President of the US!! I just about cry every time we taste it.

Q - Any particular duds or disappointments of note?
Sometimes homewinemakers ask me to evaluate their wines and if I don't open them pretty quickly they tend not to do well when they finally get opened.

Q - How do you store your collection?
Most the collection is upright in cases because most is from BC and I love buying Screw top closed wines.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
I have all the wine I made at UC Davis for my thesis on Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mondavi To-Kalon vineyard. I have never wanted to open them although I am sure they are not good anymore.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
If I have people over who I know appreciate wine and if I open it as the 1st or 2nd bottle of the night, then I have no problem opening up that last, really-expensive, bottle of wine.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
I think you would learn that I have to have more parties - I can hardly move inside the room it is being stored in right now.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Don't worry if your wine is at optimal temperature. Try to ensure that it stays relatively the same temperature throughout the year. Also, buy at least 3 bottles of something you like or you will find you never open up any wine as you'll be afraid of "the last bottle" syndrome.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, Rasoul?

Rasoul Salehi
Lastella, Le Vieux Pin
Executive Director @ Enotecca
lastella.ca, levieuxpin.ca

As the public face of not one, but two Okanagan wineries, Rasoul spends a lot of his time evangelising the merits of the premium wines produced in the Okanagan Valley. Both the wineries and his own collection draw inspiration from the classic wine regions of France and Italy.

Q - What are your favourite wines to cellar/collect?
Like an investment portfolio I like to keep it balanced and not so to speak put all my eggs in one basket. Having said that vast majority of wines I cellar are:

Sparkling: pretty much solely growers Champagne aka farmer fizz. No other sparkler (except a rare Cava or a rare Cremant) has so much depth, complexity and ability to evolve and get more interesting with age. Not to mention how well they pair with so many variety of dishes.

Whites: very Chablis focused. Love the typicity here. Chablis in hands of good growers makes honest wines. Wines that speak truly of their vintage (growing conditions), age, method of winemaking and of course the rare kimmeridgian soil they are planted on. Often imitated, never duplicated. Love the tension on the finish: the richness combined with laser like focus and acidity.

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to cellar/collect?
Chablis/blanc de blanc grower Champagne, Piedmont Nebbiolo based wines, Northern Rhone reds, traditionally made Brunello and red Burgundy

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
When early on when I got hit by the wine bug I was able to have a young Bordeaux on release and a day after were able to have the same wine with 20 years of age on it. The change was huge. The complexities and nuances gained by time was utterly mind blowing.

Q - Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection?
A bottle of NV Krug champagne with half dozen year of bottle age post disgorgement.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar/collection?
To share with friends and to watch the evolution of each wine as I often buy each label in half case volume or more.

Q - Any particular duds or disappointments of note?
Prematurely oxidized quarts de chaumes, and many prematurely oxidized white burgundies from early 2000s. Also few random cases of 03 Burgundy, 03 Chateaneuf du Pape and red Bordeaux. Find them all to be one dimensional, prune-y and do not eloquently tell the story of where they come from.

Q - How do you store your collection?
We turned a room in our condo into a cellar with a temp/humidity control unit designated to this room. Temp kept at 58-60.

 Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
Simple. When like minded people are gathered together that’s a good enough occasion.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
I think so. I go for difficult wines. Wines that demand your attention and can be very stubborn. Wines that are nuanced rather than hitting you over the head with their fruit and other loud notes. Wines that give more or equally high amounts of intellectual pleasure as opposed to just hedonistic pleasures.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Don’t buy heavy in any and I mean any category. Your taste will definitely change. Also don’t go buy in big breadth either. I mean have some sort of a focus either region or grape variety, just not to define in the beginning. If you spread too thin it takes a hell of a lot longer to learn what you like and what you don’t like. Finally join a tasting group or two or three or four or create one. Best way of learning is doing group tastings with various themes. Some themes can be super narrow like Cabernet from a sub appellation within Napa of the same vintage or as broad as Cabernet of the world within all price range.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, John?

John Skinner
Painted Rock Estate Winery
Proprietor
http://www.paintedrock.ca/

Prior to starting a winery, John was a stockbroker for 25 years where he would have been very familiar with the concept of buying and holding. As a wine enthusiast first, his passions were routed with blue chip Bordeaux wines and as such it should be no surprise that the family's excellent estate wines take their inspiration from the long lasting wines of Aquitaine and are making proud editions to many collector's New World section of their cellar.

Q - What are your favourite wine regions to cellar?
To break my cellar down I think it is 70/30 Old World to New World. I began collecting wine years ago and bought reasonable quantities of names that I enjoyed. The majority are Bordeaux because I knew them and had confidence in their ability to cellar. I also have wines from other regions in France and a fair amount from Italy. In recent years I have expanded my largely Napa New World section to include some great Chilean producers, some smaller Australian producers and a number from Washington and Oregon. Happily my BC section is growing as the quality of our regions wines improve and I have greater confidence in the wines ability to cellar.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar?
I actually bought a small but very high quality cellar from a very good collector some years ago because he had gems from virtually every good region in the world. This I called “due diligence” for my building a winery. My cellar was somewhat one dimensional and this cellar added opportunities for me to do broad regional comparisons which I have found very helpful.

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
I own some very good Bordeaux 1st Growths that I take great pleasure sharing with my adult children but my favourite cellaring experience to date was buying a case of 1984 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard in 1988 and starting in 1998 opening a bottle a year with my buddies. For our Christmas lunch we would each bring a favourite and I decided to take them on a 12 year experiment. That wine was almost routinely the favourite each year until the last when it sadly disappointed. We were never quite sure if the wine was past its prime or it was a bad bottle. It wasn’t corked but was tired. Great memories.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, Daenna?




Photo by Barry Komar

Daenna Van Mulligen, aka The Wine Diva
Writer, Publisher
http://www.winescores.ca/, http://www.winediva.ca/

Busy writing for national publications like Vines magazine, recording radio segments and maintaining two popular wine websites, it's no wonder that Daenna has had little time to actively manage her cellar of late. Stocked for personal gratification only, you're more likely to find in her cellar wines sourced while on her many trips to the world's wine regions with emotional attachment being valued much higher than investment potential.

Q - What are your favourite wines to cellar?
There is no one particular region or variety we collect. When we (my husband and myself) began “seriously” collecting wine, we had just fallen in love (quelle surprise) with Burgundy. So, if you were to catalogue our cellars, you’d find more red Burgundy (with a smattering of white) bottles than any other.

Saying that, we wished we’d diversified earlier in our collecting years. It’s great to have a deep selection of vintage Burgundy to choose from, but like anything, it’s best not to put all of your eggs in one basket. We learned after several years to expand, but I wish it we’d done it sooner.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
Not sure actually – forgetfulness…?
Was there a particular bottle or region of wine that was the impetus of starting your collection? We started with BC wines in 1996. The only one we had left was a 1994 Okanagan Vineyards Cabernet (made by Sandor Meyer, now the winemaker of Inniskillin Okanagan), which we dragged back and forth across the country when we moved to Toronto in 1999 and back to Vancouver in 2003. We finally opened it (thinking it must surely be vinegar) with my friend Terry David Mulligan about two years ago, just as a curiosity. It was fantastic!

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
Not one single one, at least not that I can think of. I personally find the bottles I’ve brought back from trips I have taken to be the most special to me. The owner or the winemaker has given these bottles to me - some are even signed. When I drink them (although I have not had much opportunity lately) it takes me right back to my visit, to that winery, that region and even the food I may have eaten at that time.

Q - How do you store your collection?
Good question *smile*. We have two freestanding temperature-controlled cellars in our home; there are some cases in a downstairs closet, which is rarely used. We have some off site (for really long term wines like Port, Bordeaux and some Burgundy) cellaring and an out of province cellar at my mother in law’s home, back in the prairies. That cellar is in her root cellar and I have not been back in about eight years. I look forward to seeing some gems (including old Riesling and Sauternes) we’ve nearly forgotten about, this summer.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
Several times a year, we get together with some other geeky (but not annoyingly affected) wine folks and delve in. I think it’s most important to share great wine. So we all bring some bottles from our cellars and crack them open with simple foods. My husband and I have a load of ‘97s from around the world, which we save for our anniversary each year – or other “special” occasions.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
OMG – everything and nothing I’m sure. I was in a completely different career when I began collecting, so I’d like to think I’ve learned enough to fill a few books…but I’m still learning – that NEVER stops.

Q - Any general comments about building a cellar/collection?
1. If you invest in a cellar – like a condominium sized refrigerated cellar, always go bigger than you think. Always. For instance, if you think a 50-bottle cellar is big enough buy a 100-bottle cellar. Odds are, even that will eventually become to small.
2. Research the bottles you are buying to cellar - the region, the variety and especially the producer. Look for providence, are these wines expected to age well based on those criteria.

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of wine?
Diversify, diversify and diversify. If you love Burgundy I understand, but purchase wines from Rioja, from Piedmont and Chianti, from Barossa and Bordeaux. Please don’t forget Rhone, Alsace and Mosel, Loire, Portugal, Central Otago and California and even South America and South Africa. There are ultra-premium wines from South America and South Africa, which are half the price (or less) than those from the Old World (Europe) and also completely age-worthy.

 -  Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar?

Whatever the budget and for whatever purpose, the cellar is both the physical embodiment of one's love of wine and a personal history of one's relationship with it. It may be bursting at the seems or a sparse collection of favourites or perhaps it remains a dream unfulfilled. Whatever the case, building and maintaining a collection of wine is the ultimate act of love that rewards loyalty, patience and devotion.

There's a story or memory behind every bottle added and every bottle extracted. They may be enjoyed alone or with friends and family or on display for personal gratification. The wine in your cellar may give insight into your personality and it may pose more questions than answers; it's guaranteed to be of intrigue to any other wine lover and second only to the subject of children it is a surefire conversation starter with anyone equally afflicted.

If you've ever wondered what wine industry folks put in their own cellar or if you're simply looking for advice and inspiration about improving or beginning your own collection, throughout the Summer we'll be posting interviews with Canadian winemakers, proprietors and wine media personalities that will hopefully enlighten and engage. The story behind one's cellar can be just as interesting as the wine held within so stay tuned as we ask, "What's In Your Cellar?"

JAK Meyer - Meyer Family Vineyards

Daenna Van Mulligen - The Wine Diva

John Skinner - Painted Rock Estate Winery

Rasoul Salehi - Lastella, Le Vieux Pin

Sandra Oldfield - Tinhorn Creek

Michèle Bosc - Château des Charmes
Jordan Carrier - Everything Wine
Glenn Fawcett - Black Hills Estate Winery
Dwight Sick - Stag's Hollow Winery
Michael Dinn - JoieFarm
Leslie Fellows - Artesana Winery

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

What's In Your Cellar, JAK?

JAK Meyer
Meyer Family Vineyards
Proprietor
http://www.mfvwines.com/

As the proprietor of an Okanagan Falls winery devoted to producing top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it's no surpire that JAK lists Burgundy as a favoured region to cellar. He looks for wines built to age and evolve over a long time which also draws him to the red blends of Bordeaux and the intense Cabernets of Napa Valley. It is with Napa Cabs that his cellar began, but as his tastes have evolved, so has the make-up of his cellar.

Q - What are your favourite wines to cellar?
My preferences have changed through the years but the ones I keep coming back to are the Bordeaux’s.

Q - What is the purpose of your wine cellar?
This has also changed dramatically as I have learned now I only cellar wines that will evolve and last, purely for enjoyment and sharing.

Q - What inspired you to hold onto that first bottle or case beyond when it was ready to drink?
My first case purchase was a case of 2000 Leonetti Sangiovese from Washington. I was told this was a great wine and should get some on release. I tried a bottle right away and thought it was terrible and very disappointed. They sat for years and one day I1 tried another and it was unbelievable! I loved that wine and now 10 years later I am down to my last couple of bottles and wished I had more!

Q - Is there a jewel of note or a favourite wine in your collection?
2005 Chateau Leoville Las Cases, St-Julien and 2005 Chateau Pavie, St-Emilion. I have not tried them yet but bought these upon release. They are both 100 point wines that I am patiently waiting to try.

Q - Any particular duds or disappointments of note?
Tons. I have about 600 bottles in my cellar and in my early years I bought lots of wine that was ready to drink but had no cellar potential or ageability. I was cellaring faster than drinking and the young wines with no ability to age have turned bad.

Q - What causes you to actually pull the trigger on a special bottle from your cellar?
I say any wine, at any time can be drunk. I would prefer that it is ready but wine is made to be drunk and I will open anything in my cellar.

Q - What have you learned about wine from starting your collection?
The changes in wine are fascinating! I never would have guessed wines could evolve as much as they do.

Q - Would perusing your wine cellar offer any insight into you as a person?
That I am extremely disorganized and messy. My wine cellar looks like a storage room with half the bottles in cases on the floor but I do know where everything is! It looks like my desk.

Q - Any general comments about building a collection?
Decide on the region or varietals you like. Look for bargains such as same area as highly scored wines but relatively unknown. Follow the wine critics and reviewers to find the hidden gems. You will be so happy the day you bought a wine at $40 dollars and then find the later vintages selling for $100 or more. It's like finding hidden treasure!

Q - What advice would you share to anyone wanting to start a collection of their own?
Buy wines for their cellaring capabilities only. Buy wines that will last 10 years or more. Anything else just drink or mark clearly to be drunk in 2 to 3 years.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca