So, I've finally done it - after 33 years, I have concluded my teaching career.

It feels good.

And it gives me time to focus on wine!

I have a few posts up my sleeve but I'm going to focus on one aspect in this blog entry. My retirement wines.

A little background - I have spent a fair bit of time talking about wines with my colleagues at school over the past year. We have had discussions about wines, how the BC wine industry is progressing, and I have even made several recommendations of wine for a special gift or to pair with a certain meal. Apparently, people were listening because I was given, among other things, four spectacular bottles of wine.  I haven't yet had any of them but I would like to share the different wines and make some comments on them.


The first one is from a local winery in Aldergrove. I've taken a new part-time job working for a wine tour company out of Vancouver (more on that another time) and the Blackwood Lane Winery is one of my favourite stops. The winemaker, Carlos, is of Korean extraction but was born and raised in Peru. He has a wonderful personality and is fascinating to listen to. His philosophy in making wine is to age the wine before it is released, similar to a Spanish Rioja. The wine that was given to me was no exception.

The wine is a 2009 Blackwood Alliance ($69) and is Blackwood Lane's signature Bordeaux style blend. It is a blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Cab Franc. I have had a taste of it twice at the winery and it is a rich and complex wine. According to the web site, there are aromas of cherries, raspberries, cassis, violets, oak, stone and cocoa while on the palate are flavours of cherry, raspberry, graphite and cassis.

This is a wonderful wine and I am looking forward to drinking it someday. I will probably put it down for a couple more years as it could handle some extra aging.


The next wine is a Spanish Rioja - another wonderful wine from a part of the world that is becoming recognized as a producer of quality wines.

This is a 2011 Muga Selection Especial Reserva ($43)  and is made from Tempranillo (70%), Garnacha (%20), and the rest Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano. Like the Blackwood Lane wine, this wine is aged a considerable amount of time before being released. There needs to be at least three years of aging, one in oak and two in the bottle to receive the reserva designation, but I suspect this one has been aged for two or three years longer. Hopefully, there will be some wonderful black fruit with white pepper and a touch of coffee when I open it up in a year or two.


The third one is a classic Okanagan wine the is always in demand, a Black Hills Nota Bene.

This one is a 2015 Black Hills Nota Bene ($86 according to Vivino - not sure where you could even find it!). It is another Meritage or Bordeaux blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Cab Franc. The 2015 growing season started early in the Okanagan and this wine should have really rich and complex flavours when I finally open it in 2022 or so as this wine can age for 10 years.

The last Nota Bene we had was opened when Cait, Dan, Jude, Catherine and I got together to celebrate Cait and Dan's wedding. This is a real special occasion wine.


Finally, a 2005 Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux - and I'm in heaven!

Imagine, this is already 13 years old!

This is a 2005 Chateau Verdignan Cru Bourgeois from Haut Medoc ($53). A  Cru Bourgeois, as I've said before, has to compete each year to attain that classification and can be as good as some of the 'cru' wines at a much lower price. Haut Medoc is basically 'Upper' Medoc and also contains some of the most famous regions of Bordeaux including Paulliac and Sainte-Estephe.

I think this one will be ready to drink fairly soon....

So there they are - my retirement wines - and I am excited to both taste and age these. How can I do both? Stay tuned....