Phew! It’s been a long hiatus, with a little volcation thrown into the midst – but I am now back in Vancouver and getting settled back into life. In honour of my recent trip to Spain today’s wine is a rare white from the region of Bierzo, better known for producing wines from the red grape Mencia. This white wine is made with an obscure grape called Godello and it has an absolute ton of character.
The vines on which the grapes were grown for this wine are a ripe 60 years old, which means that less grapes develop and consequently each grape has more flavor concentrated in it. This particular wine – the Luna Beberide Godello 2007 – has a little bit of richness to it, but it is also very expressive when you smell it. I personally love wines that combine the taste of fruit and rocks and this wine does it very well. It is also very fresh, which means it will go with seafood (Spot Prawns anyone?!) or simply be great for sipping on a nice (hopefully warm) evening. Now that summer is on its way there’s nothing better to get you in the mood than a very well made crisp, easy to drink but yet complex white wine.
$30 at Kitsilano Wine Cellar
*Shea Coulson is the author of Justgrapeswine.com, a Vancouver based wine blog focusing on wine and beer reviews, education, and wine industry trends and developments.
Last modified: May 7, 2010
As much as I enjoyed this article, could you also review some more affordable wines? We like to enjoy some every day, and our budget does not extend to $30 per bottle. This is also true of many of our friends and relatives, so perhaps you could find some tasty treats under $20? I am in a bit of a test phase with a friend in which I contend we can find decent wines at that price and she is waiting for one:) However, she also can not and will not pay $30 per bottle.
Thanks! looking forward to some good news.
Yes! I am very glad you posted this comment. I agree with you that $30 is a lot. I will endeavor to find even better values, but hear me out on one big issue.
The BC governemnt taxes wine at 117%. All the wines I write up at $30 here are routinely $15 in the United States. I realized this doesn’t help you find a good affordable bottle here in town, but I want to point out that BC has the highest wine taxes in North American, and some of the highest in the world. Basically the BC government is forcing you to drink swill.
And, I know there are those out there that say the tax revenue is worth it. However, the proof is that the taxes do not need to be as high as they are if the government were to make things more efficient. If the government got out of the retail game they would save $300 million per year and thus be able to offer lower taxes and prices on alcohol, and give private retailers the opportunity to grow their businesses.
I say this because it is absolutely crucial to know that the reason it is so expensive to get truly good wine in B.C. is because of our antiquated taxation and distribution system (the basis for which extends back to Prohibition era with an act that was passed over 70 years ago).
Anyhow, check out http://www.winelaw.ca for more info or get in touch with me personally and I will tell you whatever you wish to know.
In the end, I will keep looking for the best value for money. I also do not want to recommend a bottle I don’t believe in – so please undertand my dilemma!
P.S. excuse the typos I wrote this very quickly.
welcome back! great suggestion. i’ve been enjoying Spanish whites for quite awhile. i will try this one out.
i completely understand your/our dilemma. the laws need an update.
Max, I hope you enjoy it!