Tag Archives: Merlot

 Όχι

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Of course I’ve been cellared long enough – lots of people like to keep me in the dark.

Heading East out of Keromeos, up the hill, first right, past the Police Station. (Check how many vehicles in the parking lot), and then down the hill onto the flats of Cawston to the vines of the grapes in this lovely Merlot.  

The meat started its way to tenderness hours before we opened the bottle to breathe.  All the aromas filling kitchen didn’t lead to restraint when it came to dinner time.

You might want to head for the winery in West Kelowna and sample some of their other vintages.

And just so you understand the furrin words.  Όχι means NO and αρνίσια κοτσάνια means lamb shanks.

Mt Boucherie Merlot 

The Colour of Summer

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The South Okanagan a couple of years ago was full of a cool, wet May and June that slowed the grape growth but things really  blossomed when summer got underway.  Healthy canopies gave the vines a chance to respond to the great growing weather.

It’s a beautiful blend of  65% Gamay Noir, 35% Merlot 

Don’t bother grilling veggies. But, Start making the potato salad when you crack the bottle, the salmon will only take 12 minutes at 400 F.

It would go great with kalameri too.

Sandhill Rose 2021

$20.99

12% Alcohol

UPC: 00058976501212

You’ll pay attention to this one

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If you like ‘em big and bold … this is the valley for you. It’s sandwiched between the Andes and the Coastal Mountain Range, with an arid climate which is too much for the delicate skin of white grapes – but is perfect to slowly ripen red grapes, intensifying the flavours.


This is an earthy, bold, well structured modern red. Intense, but subtle.


Our version of a burger night – Mediterranean kefta (meatballs), raw veggies, and thin pita with tzatziki 


MERLOT – OLD MERELO COLCHAGUA 2019

$16.99 regularly $21.99

13.5% Alcohol

UPC 07804426008090

Cause for a pause in the proceedings

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In North America, Verdejo is hard to come by, but this Spanish grape is well suited for the Mediterranean climate in the Dunnigan Hills (East of Napa and left of Centre).


The grapes were handpicked in the early morning. A portion of the grapes were whole cluster pressed, then the wine was fermented in neutral oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks. Barrel fermented lots were aged 5 months in neutral oak to increase complexity and mouth feel, resulting in a wine that is crisp and refreshing.  

A blend of 89% Verdejo and 11% Chardonnay.


Perfect as an aperitif, this white pairs well with creamy cheeses, spicy shrimp or a salmon salad.  Our vein was similar – Cornish game he with a maple syrup orange glaze. You’ll stop in the middle of something (a mouthful of food or a sip) or mid sentence in a conversation) and realize how engaging this glass of wine is.


The finish is crisp and refreshing with a little pop of minerality. 


Well priced.  and enjoyed well.  I’m going to look for some of their other 19 different varietals. 


VERDEJO – MATCHBOOK TINTO REY DUNNIGAN HILLS 2018

$15.97 regularly $16.97

13% alcohol

UPC: 00859551001444

Easy on the Palate

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We never tire of a nice Chianti filling a glass.

Made with 90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot and 5% Colorino, this juicy wine opens with aromas of flowers and berries.


This is one that will be enjoy over the next few years with it’s soft tannins and medium body. This wine will pair excellently with mature cheeses.


The grapes underwent soft- press and fermentation with selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks. After malolactic fermentation the wine goes through 3 months maturation until the optimal balance of fruitiness and freshness is achieved.


CHIANTI CLASSICO – GABBIANO CAVALIERE D’ORO 2019

$17.99 regularly $19.99

14% Alcoho

lUPC: 00089819502417

The other guy’s

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Lunch at F F Farms (2 or 1) is always a delight and a treat.  Not only because nonsense is understood, discussed and respected, but because it’s an opportunity to plot future shenanigans.


Himself had to exercise extreme patience  (and ingenuity) extracting a very reluctant dry cork from a bottle of 1997 Burrowing Owl Merlot.  A most enjoyable imbibe.  Old style, classic offering.  If it were a blind taste test, I would have said it came from the Land of Oz or South Africa, not the BC Interior. If I hadn’t have had to be chauffeur, I would have shown true appreciation for the wine by helped him drain the entire bottle.  Vastly different to the current very fruit forward variety from the Vineyard on the Hill.


Food – it was the best home made Tomato soup we’ve ever had!  Followed by salada and a wonderful seafood crepe and then … and then … an assortment of cheesecakes.  And then, .. plotting future escapades in front of the fire in the sitting room.


To celebrate their 54 years of being His Lord and and Her Ladyship – we brought chocolates.  Not His. Not Mine.  The other Guys (Purdy’s).

View from the top of Burrowing Owl Winery in 2006

A great combination

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Bandits Renegades and Ruffians

Renegade (F) brought Bandits (3 Finger Jack) to a Ruffian (me).

So, we stirred the pot (80 year old Cominco tangine) with baby back ribs and Mediterranean spices.  3 was the magic number of hours in the tangine. Smack yo fingers for trying to taste when basting.


Odd shaped bottle (wouldn’t fit in the wine rack so had to get it off the counter). Squat is the shape.  Almost vertically challenged like someone we know.


Bold (just like Jack). Bursts onto the scene (just like F).  


76% Cab, 9% Petite Sirah, 8% Malbec, 6% Merlot, and 1% an unspecified other. (Your ruffian has been called the unspecified “other”)


Its a lot more complex than you initially think.  Most enjoyable. A very well done cab.


Still trying to figure out where those two fingers went.

The scent of rain on dry earth

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A perfect BC word.  Petrichor  describes the stone-like earthy smell associated with rain. 

The estate vineyard that produces Petrichor wines is nestled in the Southern Okanagan Valley.  Just like the scent released into the air when raindrops meet the ground, Petricor’s Cabernet Merlot will delight your senses.

The Cabernet Merlot is structured and has strong tasting notes of black and red fruits. It pair well with anything carnivores love: beef, lamb, and cheeses. 

PETRICHOR – CABERNET MERLOT

$16.99 regularly $18.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 00776545600912

Think Berries and Cream

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A light, aromatic crémant made in the traditional method from Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Crunchy berry flavours, fine bubbles, balanced acidity and a rounded finish. Great as an aperitif.

Calvet, one of the oldest French wine brands in the world, was founded in 1818 by Jean-Marie Calvet. He was born in 1789 in Anse, a small village north of Lyon. From his mother, whose family owned vineyards in Tain-l’Hermitage in the Rhône Valley, he inherited a passion for wine, founding Calvet in 1818 to commercialise the family’s wines. As Bordeaux was one of their biggest markets, Jean-Marie and his son Octave built warehouses in Bordeaux, opened an office in 1849, and expanded to Burgundy in 1870, to become the largest wine company in France in the 19th and most of the 20th century. 


All grapes are harvested manually, secondary fermentations (Prise de mousse) occurs in the bottle and there’s a minimum of 12 months of aging on the lees before it’s bottled. The vintage is declared every year, which emphasizes the quality and the typicity of the vintage.

Calvet Brut Rose Cremant

$15.49

12.5% alcohol

Long Harvest with an excellent yield

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The 2017 harvest, lasting 66 days, was one of extremes. The harvest started later than anticipated, with a cool, wet spring. However, a record-breaking dry spell followed in July and August, with temperatures well above seasonal norms. This warm, dry summer resulted in a crop of small, concentrated berries that should produce wines of exceptional depth and intensity. The harvest concluded on October 30, yielding a crop reminiscent of the incredible 2009 vintage.


All that effort from the Osoyoos (54%) and Oliver (46%) vineyards came a lovely medium Merlot that is quite fruit forward.  15 months in oak certainly contributes to the fullness.


Thick, local lamb chops, with lots of rosemary, made an ideal pairing.


MISSION HILL – RESERVE MERLOT 2018

$24.99  regularly $26.99

13.5% alcohol

UPC: 00776545995117