Weekend Wines III

Well, its Friday again (woot!)! And to top it all off, for most of us, its going to be a long weekend (double woot!). So with that in mind, here are a few great wine suggestions for your LONG weekend during which you will likely be getting together with friends and family.

I have a lovely white wine and a delicious red wine to tell you about today. Both of them are local Okanagan wines, so for those of you who love to buy local, these are definitely great wines to try out.

First up is a 2008 Chardonnay from Cedar Creek Estate Winery in Kelowna. It is a beautiful vineyard with a fantastic view of the lake. Check out a few photos on their website and you'll believe me about the amazing view. They also have a cute bistro there, called Terrace Bistro. The menu looks great and can be found on their website as well. The wine shop was a little snooty compared to other vineyards my cousin and I visited that day, but the wine was delicious, so I can't really complain too much. ;)

The chardonnay was very dry, so for those of you who prefer a dry wine, this would be a fantastic wine to try. The tasting notes from the wine maker are as follows:

Aromas of vanilla, almonds and lemon citrus. Flavours of spiced baked apple,
banana, toffee and butterscotch blend nicely with subtle hints of vanilla and
toasty French oak on the palate. The creamy, complexity of this wine is due to
partial malolactic fermentation with minimum oak aging.

They also had some culinary notes regarding food pairings that I thought would also be helpful for you:

A great reception wine paired with smoked salmon, oysters and a variety of
soft to medium cheeses. Try with linguini and roasted red peppers in a cream
sauce or baked salmon.

Next up is a 2007 Syrah from the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. This is a very full-bodied red. The complexity of the flavours and the nice fruit and spice notes will draw in most any wine drinker.

The wine maker's tasting notes are as follows:

This wine shows a dark plum core with a black cherry rim. It contains aromas
of ripe black berries, along with plum and black pepper notes and a slight hint
of vanilla and spice. The palate continues to show the plum and blackberry
flavours along with smooth, elegant tannins and lively acidity. The wine has
great length and balance and decanting would only increase your enjoyment. Drink
now through 2015.

Hope this gives you some ideas for wine selections this weekend! Enjoy your long weekend and remember to take time to relax and enjoy the last bit of summer. Next week fall starts and many people are headed back to school or back to work after vacation... back to real life. So here's to enjoying a fantastic long weekend with friends and family! Cheers!