The Vancouver Province's WINEGUY flirts with Farmer's Daughter

James Nevison on aromatic wines

BY JAMES NEVISON, THE PROVINCE MARCH 18, 2010

Cracking open a bottle of aromatic white is like spring cleaning with wine. The whiff of generous aromas will make your palate do a double-take, reinvigorating the senses and chasing away the grey sky blues. What is an aromatic wine? It's one that jumps out of the glass with nary a feint swirl of the wrist to arouse the smelling faculties and put a smile across the lips -- before the first sip. In short, they're fun wines to both smell and drink, and as we await the first long weekend of 2010, now is the time to get a nose full.

Rustico Farm & Cellars 2008 "Farmer's Daughter" Dry Gewurztraminer, B.C. (about $22 at select private wine stores)

Gewurztraminer is like Riesling in technicolor, dialing up the aromatics to tropical and floral extremes. For this alone, Gewurztraminer is a great wine for budding aficionados to cut their palates on; it's one of the most expressive, identifiable grapes out there that is simply enjoyable to swirl and sip.

One of B.C.'s newest wineries (albeit one using older vineyards) Golden Mile Bench's Rustico Farms and Cellars has recently released their first vintage of Gewurz. A dry rendition dubbed "Farmer's Daughter," it's a super floral, lush textured quencher that bursts out of the glass with lychee, rose petals, and canned fruit cocktail aromas before ending with equal parts spice and bitter heat. Bottom Line B+ "Bring on the curry."

Farmer's Daughter (the real one) Joins Rustico

On Vancouver Island? If you're a restaurant owner or welcoming customers to your wine store on the island it'll be your pleasure to meet the "real" Farmer's Daughter who can tell you all about our Rustico Farm & Cellars' Farmer's Daughter DRY Gewurztraminer. And of course she can take you through the rest of our portfolio too.

Jacqueline Kellam grew up on her parents' vineyard right next door to our Rustico property on 123rd St., (off Road 16 & Hwy 97) At her father's knee she learned all about the grape-growing business from ideal site selection, clearing and prepping the raw land, selection of appropriate healthy vine stock, planting, growing, irrigation, plant care, pruning, picking at harvest: the works! And all this across the lane we share with her parents today. When you visit us at Rustico you'll drive right by her house.

While attending university she worked in the wine industry, organizing special wine-tasting showings and events; calling on customers and in support roles with the sales force. She then managed that famous wine store in the Granville Island Market, greeting hundreds of locals and out-of-town guests, recommending selections that might pair well with the goodies of the marketplace...

As a talented Blogger, Jacqueline will take her visitors through her experiences as she ventures forth on Vancouver Island, introducing Rustico to everyone she meets.

Meet her and enjoy following at:

http://aglassofwinewithjacqueline.blogspot.com/