{"id":16984,"date":"2019-03-05T16:52:27","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T00:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=16984"},"modified":"2020-01-14T17:20:46","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T01:20:46","slug":"california-crush-served-as-a-fun-preview-for-the-californian-themed-vancouver-international-wine-festival-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/california-crush-served-as-a-fun-preview-for-the-californian-themed-vancouver-international-wine-festival-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"California Crush: stylish wine tasting and a peek of the California themed Vancouver International Wine Festival 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

California always has a special place in my heart, as I spent 3 years as a teenager in the North Bay Area, not too far from the world famous Napa Valley wine country.\u00a0 So this year, I was all excited about the theme, “Dream Big: California Style”<\/strong><\/em>, and the focus on California at the 41st annual Vancouver International Wine Festival<\/a> (VIWF<\/strong>).\u00a0 There are 53 participating wineries from the state of California among the 160 wineries featured at the festival. I was fortunate to have a preview on some of the Californian\u00a0wines at the stylish\u00a0“California Crush”<\/strong><\/em> social event.<\/p>\n

The event is hosted at the Waterview special event space, with panoramic views of False Creek, Granville Island, and surrounding cityscapes with a mountain backdrop. 18 Californian wineries showcased their\u00a0signature red or white or both.<\/p>\n

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Gourmet food bites were provided, along with a\u00a0live\u00a0DJ and eye-catching entertainment from performing artists.<\/p>\n

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Here are the wines I tasted:<\/p>\n

Bonterra Organic Vineyards<\/a><\/h3>\n

Bonterra Organic Chardonnay 2017
\nBonterra Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/p>\n

\"Bonterra<\/a>
Bonterra Organic Chardonnay 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bonterra<\/a>
Bonterra Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smoking Loon<\/a><\/h3>\n

Smoking Loon Viognier 2017
\nSmoking Loon Syrah 2016<\/p>\n

\"Smoking<\/a>
Smoking Loon Viognier 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Smoking<\/a>
Smoking Loon Syrah 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Benziger Family Winery<\/a><\/h3>\n

AVA Grace Sauvignon Blanc 2017
\nStave & Steel Cabernet Sauvignon<\/p>\n

\"AVA<\/a>
AVA Grace Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stave<\/a>
Stave & Steel Cabernet Sauvignon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

La Crema<\/a><\/h3>\n

La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2017
\nLa Crema Coast Pinot Noir 2016<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>
La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"La<\/a>
La Crema Coast Pinot Noir 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hess Collection<\/a><\/h3>\n

Hess Select Chardonnay 2017
\nHess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/p>\n

\"Hess<\/a>
Hess Select Chardonnay 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hess<\/a>
Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wente Vineyards<\/a><\/h3>\n

Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
\nRiva Ranch Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Riva<\/a>
Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Riva<\/a>
Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wagner Family of Wine<\/a><\/p>\n

Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc 2016
\nMer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Emmolo<\/a>
Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beringer Vineyards<\/a><\/h3>\n

Beringer Brothers Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Blend 2016
\nBeringer Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Beringer<\/a>
Beringer Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Beringer<\/a>
Beringer Brothers Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Blend 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joel Gott Wines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
\nJoel Gott Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/p>\n

\"Joel<\/a>
Joel Gott Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Joel<\/a>
Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Geyser Peak Winery<\/a><\/h3>\n

Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
\nGeyser Peak River Ranches Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/p>\n

\"Geyser<\/a>
Geyser Peak River Ranches Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Geyser<\/a>
Geyser Peak River Ranches Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oak Ridge Winery<\/a><\/h3>\n

Old Soul Chardonnay 2017
\nOZV Old Vine Zinfandel 2017<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/a>
Old Soul Chardonnay 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"OZV<\/a>
OZV Old Vine Zinfandel 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outlot Wines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Outlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
\nOutlot Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Outlot<\/a>
Outlot Chardonnay 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Outlot<\/a>
Outlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rutherford Wine Company<\/a><\/h3>\n

Morgan Bay California Chardonnay 2017
\nRutherford Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/p>\n

\"Morgan<\/a>
Morgan Bay California Chardonnay 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taub Family Vineyards<\/a><\/h3>\n

Au Contraire Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2016
\nAngry Bunch Zinfandel 2016<\/p>\n

\"Au<\/a>
Au Contraire Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2016<\/p>\n
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Angry<\/a>
Angry Bunch Zinfandel 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars<\/a><\/h3>\n

Artemis Nappa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
\nKaria Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Artemis<\/a>
Artemis Nappa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meiomi Coastal California Wines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Meiomi Pinot Noir 2017
\nMeiomi Rose 2017<\/p>\n

\"Meiomi<\/a>
Meiomi Pinot Noir 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Meiomi<\/a>
Meiomi Rose 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hope Family Wines<\/a><\/h3>\n

Troublemaker Red
\nLiberty School Chardonnay 2016<\/p>\n

\"Troublemaker<\/a>
Troublemaker Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The thoughts<\/h2>\n

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Cabernet seem to be\u00a0predominant among the entire collection, there are definitely some strong ones.\u00a0 The occasional appearances and tasting of Sauvignon Blanc or Rose sometimes took advantage of being unique when the guests are tasting so many different wines.\u00a0 I would love to see more of Zinfandel as it’s mostly grown in California, as well as more of Bordeaux style red blend.\u00a0 Finally, the bourdon barrel oaked red wine seems a little too smoky and too powerful for me.<\/p>\n

Top 5 picks<\/h2>\n

#5<\/p>\n

Bonterra Organic Cabernet Sauvignon\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Surprisingly pleasant – a flavourful wine for a long night conversation.<\/p>\n

#4<\/p>\n

Trouble Maker Red<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Full-bodied and smooth, a terrific example of a great red blend.<\/p>\n

#3<\/p>\n

AVA Grace Sauvignon Blanc 2017<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Crisp and refreshing, excellent summer wine.<\/p>\n

#2<\/p>\n

Old School Chardonnay 2017<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The perfect example of old school buttery and vanilla scented taste from the oak.<\/p>\n

#1<\/h3>\n

Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Perfectly balanced and it almost tasted like a blend that has gone through calibration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So graceful for VIWF to assign me to this event. What a great opportunity take a peek at the principle winemakers from California before everyone else.<\/dd>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California always has a special place in my heart, as I spent 3 years as a teenager in the North Bay Area, not too far from the world famous Napa Valley wine country.\u00a0 So this year, I was all excited about the theme, “Dream Big: California Style”, and the focus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[177,250,97,273],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/B8343F50-090B-4AE6-BB6A-3161FDDD2995.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16984"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17084,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984\/revisions\/17084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}