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Monday, January 5, 2009

TRADE TASTING: Launch of Southbrook Vineyard's Poetica wines, Nov. 19, 2008

The Time and Date: Wednesday November 19, 2008  3 PM – 4:30 PM
The Event: the press launch of Southbrook Vineyards' POETICA series of
fine wines.
The Venue: The Richmond
The Target Audience: wine press
The Availability/Catalogue: Winemaker Anne Sperling spoke to the wines,
although both Bill and Marilyn Redelmeier did also.
The Quote: "The wines' labels display the art of words with lines of
poetry by 11 of Canada's celebrated poets from all time periods.
Bottles will be limited editions and numbered." Instead of critters or
fantasy names, Southbrook opted for support for Canadian poetry. Each
label has the lines of poetry in a graphic re-design on the label.
Poets included Gwendolyn MacEwan, Wendy Morton, bpNichol, Charles G.D.
Roberts, P.K. Page, Christopher Dewdney, and Lesley Choyce. There will
be new poets each year, one for each new vintage and varietal.
The Wines: most of these wines were in the former Triomphus series, the
high end wines of Southbrook. Wines are available at the winery, but
are in limited supply.
 
**** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Poetica Cabernet Merlot "P.K. Page" 1998, magnum, $168
-Poetica Cabernet Merlot "Gwendolyn MacEwan" 2002, $72 750 mL
-Poetica Chardonnay "Sarah Slean" 2005, $53 (also in magnum at $106)
-Poetica Chardonnay "Martin Tielli" 2004, $56
-Poetica Chardonnay "bpNichol" 2003, $59 – my fave
-Poetica Chardonnay "Steve Venright" 2000, $136 magnum – also a fave
-Poetica Chardonnay "Charles G.D. Roberts" 1998, $148 magnum
 
***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Poetica Cabernet Merlot "Wendy Morton" 2006, $60
-Poetica Chardonnay "Lesley Choyce" 2006, $50
 
The Food: an artisanal cheese platter from PQ and Ontario for each of
us, with pear and apple and breads.
The Downside: I had to run by 4 PM. Some writers were late, which
postponed the tasting. As it was, I left at 4:12. I felt I did not have
enough time to do justice to the reds.
The Upside: a great occasion to listen to a poetry reading.
The Contact Person: jburkhard@sympatico.ca
The Marketing Effectiveness (numerical grade): 90.
 
 

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