Wine Appreciation Group

Three wine groups met for tastings with one group meeting twice.
 
The first group presented “Wines from Alberta”.  The mystery wines we discovered were really BC wines given that Alberta had placed a ban on them.  Hence, the connection to Alberta.  The winners for the evening were Gray Monk's Pinot Auxerrois  and Sandhill's Merlot .
 
Our second wine group hosted a very informative evening which took us on a trip around the 3 wine regions of Italy: Northern, Central, Southern and Islands. We learned about the different grapes in each region some of which were - single varietals: Sangiovese; Pinot Grigio; Prosecco and blends: Valpolicella and Chianti. 
The favoured wine of the evening was Valpolicella Ripasso from Veneto.
 
The third group chose Italian wines for tasting. The evening started with tasting an organic Prosecco followed by 2 Pinot Grigio’s and 2 Valpolicella’s from different regions.  It was most interesting to learn how the same varietal of grape tasted so different when grown in a different region. The “winning wine” of the evening was Valpolicella Classico 2016, Bolla Vineyard.
 
And last but not least this group hosted an evening with French wine and a variety of tantalizing food.  
The hosts spent 21 days in France so were well acquainted with long leisurely dinners, and house wines that were only a few euros (unfortunately that price becomes greatly inflated across the water).  The favourite of everyone was Cotes du Rhone 2016 Les Halos de Jupiter, a wine that was new to me, but will soon be in my cellar available at BCLCB.