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+--- Thread: In my search for lesser known wine regions...Victoria on Vancouver Island (/thread-15163.html)
- TheEngineer - 09-05-2007
This year has been one where I've tried to go to as many winery areas as I can with my travels. Some are very far off the beaten path and have been enjoyable for me for the travel if not for the wines. So far this year, the areas include
(1) Napa
(2) Sonoma
(3) Santa Barbera and area
(4) Niagara
(5) New York Finger Lakes
(6) Greece (Santorini Island)
(7) Hawaii Island
and the 8th region this year is Vancouver Island, north of Victoria (actually within sight of the airport and just around the corner from Bouchard Garden). I went to the Church and State Winery and tried 5 wines (actually I went to a few more but they were closed and it was getting close to the last flight off the island...having missed the four previous flights). The winery is located in the middle of a small vineyard and has a massive log structure with a beautiful log interior. Lots of money was certainly spent on the building...now onto the wines. Notes are below.
2006 Church and State Viognier, pretty simple and sweet nose, very pale, hint of floral but overcome by ethanol. Tasted very strong of alcohol. No charm at all.
2005 Church Mouse (lower priced line) Pinot Noir, pale brick/reddish in colour. Very strong wood nose with little fruit coming through. Strawberry on taste, off dry, simple but not balanced, again, very little to go back to.
2005 Church and State Syrah Saddle Ridge. Nose was a bit muted, dark fruit fighting strong perfumey, cedary wood, though there is a very nice texture to the wines, smooth and round, juicy and dry. Acceptable but not at price around $30.
2005 Church and State Syrah Lot 285. Solid Syrah, nice dark deep purple garnet, good texture and mouthfeel, integrated wood with taste of dark fruits, fading into a prune at the end. Again decent but moving up in price again, around $35. I think I would perhaps prefer a Concannon Petite Syrah instead at 1/3 the price.
2002 Pinot Noir Ice Wine
Pretty salmon in colour, nice mid-level sweetness for a dessert wines, more like an Oakanagan Late Harvest Riesling level., High tone, high acidity, hints of strawberry but mostly just sweet.
It was only after the tasting that I found out that the winery was located on Vancouver Island, surrounded by immature vines and .... all the grapes were shipped in from the Oakanagan........ D@mn..... I thought I was tasting Vancouver Island wine and as such, I thought that I would give them some slack in the way the wines were. Especially since they spent all that money on the building, I would have through that they would have saved some for making the wine...oh well...next time.