News

The Globe & Mail - 7 sweet-scented wines that betray the tongue

by: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, July 27, 2013

When it comes to wine, the nose trumps the tongue almost every time. It’s one of the first lessons taught in wine schools. That protrusion below our eyes is capable of detecting thousands of scents, yet the tongue interprets just five basic sensations: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and the vaguely meaty essence called umami. The sensory organs work in tandem, of course. We taste with both organs as we sip, taking in aromatic air as well as wine. But in rough scientific terms, when we “taste” such things as thyme, citrus or pepper, it’s mainly the nose talking to the mouth. Here’s the proof: If your nostrils are stuffed up from a cold, you don’t taste an awful lot, which is why kids sometimes plug their noses while eating broccoli... / Read More

The Globe and Mail - Moon Curser Pinot Noir 2011, British Columbia

By: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, July 25, 2013

It’s medium-bodied and very dry, with pleasantly dusty texture carrying dark-berry notes and nuances of beetroot, herbs and spice. Available from the winery... / Read More

The Globe and Mail - Push your palate: Six reasons to sip wines from the wild side

By: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, July 25, 2013

The road less travelled has rewards. Sport-utility vehicle makers tap the allure with fantasy clifftop money shots that say: “freedom four-wheel-drive.” Wine enjoyment can be a little like that – exciting when you dare to venture off the steamrolled asphalt. Yet in vino as in vehicles, most people rarely stray from the smooth and familiar. Cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir and, at most, one or two dozen other popular grapes account for the vast majority of North American consumption. The wines are easy to pronounce, easy to find and easy to understand. No big surprises. / Read More

The Globe and Mail - Moon Curser Syrah 2010 - 91 pts

By: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, Sept 6, 2012

This full-bodied Okanagan red has one foot in the Rhône Valley, showing French syrah’s hallmark peppercorn spice against a rich backdrop of berries, cinnamon and chocolate. It’s richly fruity but with good acid balance. A year or two in the cellar would bring it into even better balance. Try it now with saucy short ribs... / Read More

The Globe and Mail - Moon Curser Petit Verdot 2010

By: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2012

An intense, full-bodied red from a fine Okanagan estate, this offers up flavours of currant, cherry and prune along with chocolate and spice. The sticky, astringent tannins, characteristic of the petit verdot grape, come on strong, but they frame the ripe fruit beautifully. Decant it if you can and try it with duck breast or rare steak, or cellar it for one to five years if you can wait... / Read More

The Georgia Straight - Red wines for summer days

By: Jurgen Gothe, The Georgia Straight, July 16, 2013

Not everyone likes to drink whites or pinks in the summer sipping season; reds come into play on many a patio. There are the obvious light choices, like Pinot Noir, which will happily handle a half-hour in the fridge before serving, or even an ice cube in the glass, and there are many big, bold reds that delight with their robustness, ice cube or no. Here’s a roundup of recently received reds that have pleasured the palate of late... / Read More

John Schreiner on Wine - Moon Curser: contentious labels for interesting wine

By: John Schreiner blog, June 12, 2012

Formerly known as Twisted Tree Vineyards, the winery relaunched itself last year as Moon Curser Vineyards.
The bottles now bear some of the spookiest and contentious labels in the Okanagan. Some of their peers thought that Beata and Chris Tolley had taken leave of their senses; but others are coming round to the view that the winery is successfully tapping a new demographic of wine consumers... / Read More
 

The Georgia Straight - A stampede of celebratory wines

By: Jurgen Gothe, The Georgia Straight, June 5, 2012

Many new wines have been arriving of late, quite a few of them all Noah’s ark–like: two by two. Here’s a random survey of some recent highlights. Has it really been 100 years since the Calgary Stampede started in that dusty little cow town? I’m sure I remember being at the very first one. (We grew up faster on the Prairies then!) I imagine millions of gallons of beer (and equal measures of rye) have gone down since that day—but wine? Might be a bit of a new one... / Read More

The Globe and Mail - Moon Curser Merlot 2009

By: Beppi Crosariol, The Globe and Mail, September 8, 2011

This top-notch, single-vineyard red from the warm South Okanagan is full-bodied and smooth yet has a dry finish and excellent structure. Cherry and plum flavours mingle with coffee and mocha characters, juicy acidity and polished tannins... / Read More

Vancouver Sun - Merlot makes a sexy comeback

By: Anthony Gismondi, Vancouver Sun August 19, 2011

It was not all that long ago, 2004 to be exact, when merlot had become the whipping boy of the wine industry. Overproduced and underflavoured, it was infamously damned in the movie Sideways during a pre-dinner scene when would-be novelist and pinot noir snob, Miles, informs his pal Jack, “If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f— ing merlot.”

In the months that followed, merlot’s image took a battering, as did sales. Fortunately for merlot producers, what goes around comes around, and just when it seemed the grape was doomed, its modern-day competitor, shiraz, began losing its lustre... / Read More