Tag: Lombardy

Tasting

Valtellina, this is a lip sync for your life we need to see your lips

Posted on by Josh

As a west coast Canadian native, it slightly hurt to miss the GuildSomm seminar on Ontario wines after having snagged a ticket to slightly make up for missing last year’s Canada-themed Vancouver International Wine Festival. I also missed the first half of the Lombardia and Emilia-Romagna seminar for this week’s Italian Wine Scholar class because of things. I’m missing some marks, y’all. I didn’t get to cry my tears of Canadian Riesling, but I did get to cry tears of Lambrusco. I’m also not afraid of disrupting the middle of class to pour myself a glass of Franciacorta. Bitch, I paid for this course. Give me that fuckin’ yeast.

The week also involved a day of packing and moving to a new apartment.… read more

Tasting

Verdicchi-oh no she betta don’t

Posted on by Josh

Two of my goals for this week were to type up the following tasting notes on the Lugana DOC tasting from the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference and to also prepare for the first portion of the Italian Wine Scholar course next week. It’s dawned on me that the first month of 2018 hasn’t even ended yet and I’ve become that cliché of a bright-eyed person entering the New Year, biting off more than he could chew. Bitch, or not: I’ve got a bottle of wine and an empty Sunday. Let’s do this.

I’m still going solidly on my book-reading goals for this year though, and for some reason I decided book #3 was literally going to be a fucking textbook on whisky.… read more

Tasting

Swiping left and right on flavour profiles, 2017 edition

Posted on by Josh

Fourth year at the Wine Bloggers Conference and I still haven’t tapped out of the speed blogging portion, you guys! The chaos was unbeknownst to me during my first year in 2014 and I was confused why people chose to skip the session and eat fries at the neighbouring restaurant instead.

The rules to this WBC mainstay are simple: the wine representative has five minutes to pour you wine and talk about it. At the same time – and if you’re playing the game to its fullest – one takes notes, snaps photos, and maybe thinks of something witty about the wine to tweet in that moment. There are ten rounds in total. Speed dating! If this is Tinder for wines, is there a Grindr for wines?… read more

Tasting

Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri 2017: Franciacorta, the other other other sparkling wine

Posted on by Josh

I’ve always been a bubbly enthusiast – bar the brief phase as a neophyte, vehemently denouncing the region of Champagne out of myopic unfamiliarity (“why would you pay hundreds of dollars for sparkling bread water?!”) – but for some reason the ember has recently been amplified for at least a modicum of time. It struck me as a bit odd, since the grandes marques of the wine world are the opposite of the dark horses I like to champion, but I’ve popped open a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck’s non-vintaged brut (it was on sale, obviously), as I pound away at a daunting spreadsheet covering what I’ve deemed are the 70-or-so most important Champagne houses, everything down to oak regimes, house styles, or whether or not they were fucked over during an acquisition.… read more

Quaffing

Hipster Champagne: NV Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvée Brut

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, ripe green apple, citrus, lemon, yeast, hint brioche, mineral, caramel, salted nuts, lees
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med- body, med+ acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, mineral, green apple, citrus, yeast, hints of brioche, roasted nuts, nutty and oxidized finish, hint butter, med+ length
All in all: Very good quality: impressive here is the drawn-out nutty length that I more commonly see in aged vintage traditionally-made sparklings. There is balance and a moderate amount of complexity, but there is a hint of bitterness on the finish as well. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

NV Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvée BrutI feel dumb opening this on a Thursday night. But I convinced myself that I’ve earned it for doing a lot of work today.… read more

WSET Diploma

Erin O’Connor: 2007 Bellavista Franciacorta Gran Cuvée

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale gold, bubbles
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, mineral, rubber, apple, smoke, pear, hint of stone fruit, peach pith, lees
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med body, med+ acid, med+ flavour intensity, citrus, lemon, green fruit, green apple, med+ length, med alcohol, savoury, lees
All in all: Very good quality: expressive savoury flavours find themselves on the palate, leaving a long length. The nose isn’t as complex, but there are still some earthy components there. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced Non-Vintage Cava from Spain.
Is really: Premium Vintage (2007) Franciacorta from Italy.

2007 Bellavista Franciacorta Gran Cuvée[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 5]

Franciacorta! I only remember having one in the past – Ca’ del Bosco (Cuvée Prestige), which is, I believe, the most well-known Franciacorta producer along with Bellavista.… read more