Welcome back to Bar Tab, our editor’s weekly selection of what to drink in the Northwest now. This week, we are introducing the latest production to our Sip Publishing family — Sip’s Wine Guide: British Columbia. Our inaugural venture into wine tourism magazines, the publication has a heightened focused on all that is grape-made and fermented in Canada’s most western province. With 391 wineries (and counting) that call BC home, the annual magazine is on a mission to uncover the dynamic region via our established PNW platform. In honor of the pub’s launch in March, here are four BC bevvies worth discovering.
2015 Chardonnay | Tinhorn Creek
Outspoken champions of the province’s first sub-region, Tinhorn Creek helped to not only get the Golden Mile Bench on the physical wine map in BC, but it also aided in building the bridge for U.S. consumers to get BC wine at home in a partnership with Whole Foods. This estate Chardonnay is comprised of fruit from four different vineyard blocks, a mix of hand-harvested, whole cluster-pressed fruit fermented in stainless steel tanks and the other machine-harvested half fermented in oak with native yeast and undergoing malolactic fermentation. The two worlds collide and coalesce with playful and fresh aromatics of spice, pineapple, honeysuckle and limestone. The palate deepens with a riper, richer take on the same notes, with graham cracker and lemon zest streaking through the midpalate, finishing full and lively.
Los Muertos Cerveza Negra | Bad Tattoo Brewing
Drawn to Mexican culture and the traditional Catrina (sugar skull) face painting, this Penticton, BC, brewery embraces the rich culture from its northern position with a number of specialty beers. The kid sister to the limited release, barrel-aged La Resurección ales, Los Muertos dons the sugar skull label artwork most familiar to non-Mexicans in correlation with Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and inspiration year-round. This time, family-run Bad Tattoo produces a black lager that touts a malt bill of Pilsner, Crystal and Munich malts and ferments with a lager yeast. The result is a crisp, clean and sturdy dark lager, producing a German bock-style beer with Mexico on the mind.
Revolution | Howling Moon Craft Cider
Howling Moon first started with 100 potted heirloom apple trees and no land to plant them. Fortunately, land become available in the Okanagan Valley and, in 2012, those trees found a home among the vines, rolling hills and lake country that makes the region one of desire for wine. With a drive to lead the shakedown of traditional cider in the area, the Revolution is made from mostly heritage cider apples and fermented to near-dryness. The complex varieties that build the drink allow the ideal cider characteristics to shine: acid, soft tannin and sugar, revealing a lighter body and a touch of smoke. Listen to the cidery when they recommend pairing this with wild-caught BC salmon.
The Empire Gin | Arbutus Distillery
The stunning waterfront village of Nanaimo brings out the best in this West Coast-style gin. To receive a craft distillery designation from the Provincial Government, a distillery must use 100-percent BC agricultural products to produce the alcohol and fermentation must be completed onsite. This regulation has forced and encouraged producers to go completely local, like this Vancouver Island-based distillery did in its Empiric gin. A smattering of local herbs and botanicals make up the infusion, with classics like juniper and coriander adding essential gin-y aromatics alongside New World regional revisions like lemon verbena, rosemary, lavender and hops. A voracious nose of flowers, citrus and white pepper boost the basic juniper and baking spice profile to a next level gin for a variety of cocktails.
