Fresh off the heady results of my WSET 2 Exam, I thought it was time to start blogging about wine again. I've got to keep those tasting skills up, after all.
I had selected a nice rib eye steak to barbecue for last night's dinner. I turned on the barbecue, and took a look at what we had to drink. Luckily there were a couple of happy choices waiting for us, both from the Okanagan.
In the fridge was the last bit of a great white wine we had opened the previous night so I poured a couple of small glasses of Tinhorn Creek's 2015 2Bench White.
I bought this wine as part of their Canada 150 special - 3 bottles of 2Bench Red and 3 Bottles o 2Bench White for around $150 which was a great deal.
The 2Bench White was still delicious even after being opened the night before. There were aromas and tastes of peach, pear and an amazing apple taste with this wine. The flavours were all quite strong and were balanced with a hint of sweetness that was like honey. The wine was very crisp and refreshing. At $30 a bottle, it's not a cheap wine but definitely a pleasing wine.
We slowly nursed our small drink until the steak was ready. While it sat on the counter, resting, I opened a bottle of The Hatch's Hobo Series 2015 Cabernet Franc.
This was another amazing choice - there were strong flavours of black currant, dark plums, cranberries and medium minus tannins as well as definite tastes of tobacco, leather and a bit of smoke. But the real magic happened when I had the steak with the wine. These two were made for each other! This Cab Franc was definitely up to the challenge of the a big, bold steak.
I am so impressed with Cabernet Franc - something that the Okanagan does extremely well - as it can be a great wine to drink on its own and a wonderful wine to pair with BBQ meats like steak, lamb and game.
If only I had a glass of port to finish off!