Ah, the wines of my youth.

I know, I keep going back to such incredibly sweet wines that helped me learn to drink. Wines like Hochtaler (they had a killer good commercial with a Marlene Dietrich type character) and Schloss Laderheim.

One of my dad's other celebratory favourites was Baby Duck which, like Fuddle Duck, I was allowed to have on special occasions when I was a teenage but mixed with ginger ale.

These were all from the beginnings of the Okanagan wine industry when it was just fledgling. Now, things have improved mightily (even though some or all of the wines listed are still available).

One of the wines that is still available that has a bit of a bad name is Zinfandel - specifically White Zinfandel. As Dr. Vinny from Wine Spectator notes "White Zinfandel is maligned by some wine lovers because it has a reputation as the wine people drink when they don’t actually like wine."

This leads me to part 2 of WSET class number 2.

After the break, the main topic was how wine is made. Not too worried about that part as I made enough plonk in the basement to have a pretty good knowledge of how to make it - or, at least, how not to make it.

Then it was time for the first post break tasting. The two wines were poured and we were told that they were the same grape. One was a rosé and one was a red.

The first was the rosé and it was a Beringer Main and Vine (California) White Zinfandel - 10% alcohol ($8!).

It was pink, medium intensity, and actually had a few flavours in it including raspberry, strawberry and cotton candy. It had medium acidity, medium body and a short finish (I was a bit off on those last three). It was rated a Good wine.

The second was a Zinfandel that was a red wine. This $55 bottle was from Sonoma Country Ridge Vinyeards (California) and was a staggering 14.9%! It was medium ruby in colour. On the nose were black fruits as well as stewed fruits and had medium + intensity. The palate included both red and black fruit with medium tannins, oak tastes such as vanilla, and a medium + finish. This was rated as Very Good.

One of our group absolutely nailed the grape as Zinfandel! I was thinking Cabernet Franc....

A note on the tasting notes. I am still really new at this so I am, for the most part, putting down either what I thought if it agreed with Dave or what Dave thought if I was way off the mark. The Acceptable, Good, Very Good, or Outstanding ratings are basically what Dave has come up with after explaining the reasons why.

Basically, he uses the BLICE method - which stands for balance, length, intensity, complexity and expressiveness. If a wine has one of these characteristics, it is Acceptable, if it has two it is Good, if it has three or four it is Very Good and if it has all five characteristics - a rare occurrence - it is Outstanding.

The last two wines of the evening were reds. They were from the same region and were the same basic grape. And they really varied!

Both were from the Veneto region of Italy. Both were predominantly Corvina grapes. But both were not the same wine! By the way, our little group struggled trying to figure out what varietal the wines were - there were some good guesses - and I didn't have a clue - but nobody hit the mark on this one.

The first was a basic 2015 Valpolicella from Folinari which priced out at $17 (12.5%). It was clear and pale ruby in colour. It had red fruit on the nose and on the palate but seemed rather simple in taste - not a complex wine. There were light tannins and a light body with a short or medium finish. This was not a great wine and was rated Acceptable.

In contrast, the second wine was actually an Amarone from Valpolicella - and a Classico at that! The producer was Zeni and the cost was $65. It was a ruby wine, deep in colour. The nose was definitely pronounced with complex fruits such as black currant, black cherry, cedar and charred wood. On the palate, I tasted the same black fruit as well as tobacco, toffee, and even farmyard! It had high acidity and medium tannins and a definite long finish.

Amarone is a unique wine. The grapes are picked as late as possible and the put in drying racks so the grapes begin to dry and become desiccate. This 'raisin' phase takes about 3 to 4 months and the method is know as 'passito".

This wine would be rated between Very Good and Outstanding! A great wine to finish off the night!