WINE OF THE YEAR: plus  Lisa Ahier (Sobo) Ned Bell (Seafood Fest) Graham Pierce (Ruby Blues)

THE SHOW

I was honored to be one of the judges for the 2023 Lt. Governor Wine Awards.

500 wines and 3 days later we compared quick comments of what surprised us.

Several times a judge said “that the winning wine was a Syrah from Naramata Bench and that a majority of Syrah awarded medals came from North of McIntyre Bluffs”

Traditionally the Syrah of the south Okanagan always swept the awards so the shift came as a surprise.

Was it  a single growing year, climate change effects,  a rebalancing of terroir or our own changing expectations?

We’ll talk Syrah, awards and portfolio  with Garron Elmes The President and Winemaker at Lake Breeze. Creator  of the Wine of the Year.  2020 Lake Breeze Syrah

Garron will also take us through Lake Breeze Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, 2019 Meritage. 

Garron Elmes

www.lakebreeze.ca

… and we’ll have that same Syrah discussion with Graham Pierce, winemaker at Ruby Blues also on the Naramata Bench.

Graham Pierce

Graham knows very well the Syrah of the Okanagan, having been the winemaker at Summerhill, Mt Boucherie, TIME,  Kitsch, Ruby Blues and for 10 years Black Hills Estate Winery.  The man knows his Syrah. Graham will also bring tales of his  Ruby Blues Reserve Syrah, Commune Gew, Pinot Gris, Forever Young Riesling.

www.rubyblueswinery.ca

We’ll finish this weeks Tasting Room Radio with two interviews we did for podcast and our YouTube Channel.

Chef Ned Bell  (Naramata Inn) who’s leading the charge up Mt Washington near  Courtney/Comox  Vancouver Island.  Its the annual BC Seafood Festival and it’s on right now  and ..finishes end of day Sunday.  The mountain is awash with chefs, farmers (land and sea), and seafood of every description.

Ned has all the details..  www.bcseafoodfestival.com

Ned Bell

Our wonderful last guest is Lisa Ahier… who created the food destination in Tofino called SoBo.  She brings with her, a second cookbook Together at SoBo.

Its just a fantastic read. It paints a picture of the kitchen, Sobo, Tofino, Ucluelet, the very talents friends in her life and local self sustaining food sources.

www.sobo.ca

Lisa Ahier/SoBo

You can still catch the video versions of Ned and Lisa on our terrydavidmulligan YouTube Channel and Podcast

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Bartier Bros

Fort Berens

Cowichan Wine Festival

Meyer/Mayhem Releases

The Neighbourhood Special

Featuring our sponsors:

Mt Boucherie

OK Wine Festivals

Unsworth

Hillside

Moon Curser