Wine Geeks Beware

Ok. So I've finally gotten off my butt and started a blog. There have been a few of you that have been on my case for a while now so......you can shut it.

Here's what got me off my butt. Tonight I had a fantastic dinner with the winemaker from Burrowing Owl and his lovely wife. We had a fabulous dinner at Cin Cin in Vancouver. Good food, good wine and good company. All the elements of a great night.

On my way home, I decided to stop into Uva. A winebar on Smythe and Seymour. Now, being as this is Winesnob's blog, expect lots of wine related items. So, we will start off with a bang.

Uva is run by a Sommelier I met last November when he was working at Lumiere. His name is Sebastian. He's really cool. He couldn't wait to introduce me to some fellow winesnobs. They were in town doing some Master of Wine classes. Now, just to bring you all up to speed, a Master of Wine is a really big deal. Way above my lowly sommelier status.

So, I sat at the table with these guys listening and learning. Until........

I realized they hadn't a clue. So, I was quiet at first. Demure even. And for those of you that really know me, you know this was a challenge. All was well until we got into the topic of Pinot Noir. Now, just to give you a bit of background, Pinot Noir is a grape that does well in cool climates. It thrives in the Champagne region of France (northern France), Oregon, and the Russian River Valley of California. All cool climate areas. The Okanagan Valley, really isn't ideal. Most of you know how hot it gets there in the summer. So, does that seem like a cool climate? See, you're already smarter than these bozos. Did I say bozos? Outer voice, must learn to control that.

As you can imagine, I've already offended them. Ooops. Now here's the kicker. While we were sitting there, we were served a Malbec from Argentina. I was still sipping on my earlier wine so I didn't get to it right away. They tasted it whole-heartedly. By the time I got to it, they were leaving. This was after the big Pinot Noir discussion. Which, they both dismissed me on.

As I brought the glass to my nose......Ewwww. The wine was tainted. What does that mean? It stunk. It wasn't corked, it was that plus a little extra smell. As they were leaving I said, Did you guys have the Malbec? Yes they said. Didn't you notice it's tainted?

Of course, they had both drank it down. I gave them my glass to smell and had to listen to some very clever back-peddling.

As they left, tails between their legs, I let the owner/sommelier smell it and he totally agreed with me. These guys are charging $300 to participate in their classes. They will let me know the next time they hold them in town. How many of you want to be there when I attend and shame them?

I don't claim to know everything. I'm always willing to listen and learn. But just because I'm a woman, don't dismiss me.

16 years in lumber taught me to hold my own.

Wine boys beware.........There's a new chick in town.