Buyer’s Guide to Vintages October 19th Release

Holiday Wines, Teaching Moments and Fact-Checking the BC situation
by David Lawrason with notes from Sara d’Amato, John Szabo and Michael Godel (and wishing Megha Jandhyala success on her WSET Diploma exam this week)

Thanksgiving leftovers should be just about done, but Home Depot is already selling fake Christmas trees amid the Hallowe’en displays. Darth Vader v. Santa Claus in Aisle 3.

But we wine fans really know the holidays are upon us when Vintages starts to dole out those pre- packaged holiday gift items, and heavy hitter collectors’ wines — often the same ones they have done for 20 years. We rarely have access to taste and review them, but I can confidently predict they will be excellent quality and overpriced.

Below we recommend more reasonably priced wines and better buys in the very large October 19 release. There are gems from good old, reliable and always intriguing Italy, which is featured in the Vintages catalogue this month. Is there anyone who doesn’t gravitate to Italian wine?

But as we taste through these selections other unexpected themes and teaching points emerge. For instance, you can purchase two Italian volcanic whites to really get a handle on the flinty/smoky ambiance these soils impart — Inama 2022 Soave and Tornatore 2022 Etna Rosso. Likewise, there is a random alignment that introduces the energy of emerging, cooler clime Atlantic coast wines of South America— Wapisa 2023 Malbec from Rio Negro in Patagonia, and Bodegas Garzon 2022 Tannat from Maldonado in Uruguay. And from Spain a chance to truly grasp the appeal of uber-classic Rioja via three wines from Vina Tondonia.

The Okanagan Situation: Facts and Opinions

Feel free to jump right to our picks below, but I want to report on the non-existent 2024 harvest in B.C., and all the ramifications unleashed by a polar vortex cold snap on January 20 that reduced the harvest to a drop in the bucket, and caused widespread, but not universal, site-specific replanting of vineyards.

I spent four days in the Okanagan and Similkameen over Thanksgiving, visiting 10 wineries and tasting many other B.C. wines at Kitchen Party events. I got all kinds of firsthand facts and opinions on the situation.

Fact number one is that, ironically, 2024 woulda’ coulda’ shoulda’ been a great vintage in the Okanagan. The season had limited excessive summer heat, no wildfire smoke and wonderful warm, dry conditions through September and into Thanksgiving weekend. Only thing missing is grapes. None of the wineries I visited are making 2024 wines from B.C. grapes.

Fact: Some wineries that are financially weaker are up for sale or out of business. Those that are in for the longer haul are wasting no time going to Washington for Bordeaux varieties and Oregon for Burgundian pinot and chardonnay. There is steady stream of trucks driving overnight into Washington to pick up early morn harvested fruit, then returning home to process same day. They report fairly easy paperwork passage at the Osoyoos-Oroville border crossing. This process is so far along that some U.S. sourced wines are already on shelf.

Fact and opinion: This practice has been authorized by the B.C. government, for a period of three years, which may or may not be long enough to see replanted B.C. wineries get back into production. But the powers that be have not yet come down with the approved verbiage on the label to designate that the fruit/wine is imported under this three-year window. Obviously, the wines will not be VQA, nor are they allowed to use American Viticultural Appellations. But how exactly they will be identified for consumers is not yet set in stone. Meanwhile the horse is bolting from the barn, creating an unfortunate window of wild interpretation. Most wineries it seems are at least creating graphically distinctive labels, but an exact statement is required.

Fact and Opinion: The price of Washington grapes is 40% lower, on average, than B.C. grapes. So, you can imagine the economic joy and imperative of going to Washington. And if you combine this advantage with the opinion (by one winemaker I talked to) that the fruit is of equal or better quality than that from B.C., one can wonder how temporary this whole exercise will be.

Fact & Opinion: So, some in the industry and media are concerned that this three-year window of importation spells the end of B.C. VQA and an industry built on local terroir. One winemaker characterized this opinion as people “running around with their hair on fire.” My answer is to get this stuff properly labeled now, then let a duly informed marketplace decide.

Opinion: I have faith that those, like me, who care about the identity of B.C. wine — especially given all the recent work to create unique sub-appellations — will ensure that idea keeps going, in whatever direction Mother Nature dictates. She is the boss!

FYI: We were pleased to be highlighted in the September 21, 2024 Vintages New Releases magazine as a review source that the LCBO trusts. WineAlign is listed among the most respected wine publications in the world. When it comes to wine contests we also run the National Wine Awards of Canada where all wines are tasted blind by our panel of judges.

Source: Vintages Magazine September 21, 2024

Here are our picks from the October 19 release, arranged in ascending price order.

Buyer’s Guide October 19: Sparkling and White Wines

Alois Lageder Terra Alpina Pinot Grigio 2022, Alto Adige, Italy
$19.95, Mark Anthony Group
Michael Godel – No matter what you think you know or feel about point grigio, the grape is elevated from Vigneti delle Dolomiti vines and this from top producer Alois Lageder is a prime example of the ennoblement. Separates this varietal wine from the sea of northern Italian ubiquity.

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There are 20 other Vintages Release recommendations this week that are currently only available to our premium members. This complete article will be free and visible to all members 30 days after publication. We invite you to subscribe today to unlock our top picks and other Premium benefits

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And that’s a wrap for this edition. We return two weeks hence with our picks and thoughts on the November 2 release. – David

Use these quick links for access to all of our October 19th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-Premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.
Lawrason’s Take – October 19th
Michael’s Mix – October 19th
Sara’s Selections – October 19th
Szabo’s Smart Buys – October 19th

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