Wine Central

Australian Shiraz/Viognier originates in the Riverland region.  The grapes have a highly concentrated flavour, aroma and body.  Blending 90% red and 10% white grapes brings lush balance to this lively, deep ruby wine.  The wine has great structure but the overall impression is soft and velvety.  The long, gentle finish is ripe and appealing with surprising complexity.

Sweetness: 0 (dry)  Alcohol: 12.5-13%  Oak: 120g French  Body: Full

Pacifica White contains Semillon from Australia, Chardonnay from Black Sage Bench in the Okanagan Valley, and Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier from California’s north coast.  It showcases bright fruit, excellent structure and a long layered finish.  Delicious and ready to drink almost immediately this wine has the ability to change with time, evolving notes from one grape to the next.

Sweetness: 1 (off-dry – perfectly balanced and luscious)  Alcohol: 11.5-12%  Oak: none  Body: Medium-Full

Wine Central has a fantastic new promotion on for the month of August. This month-long event features the selected wines of Australia  at 10% savings on the kit. These are premium wine kits—ready in 6 weeks.

Find out more about it here.

It’s the best time of year in the Okanagan, and we have lots of exciting things to tell you about.

We’re celebrating an International Summer at Wine Central. During the month of June, save 10% on the kit price for these fine Selection International Wines from France:

• French Cabernet Sauvignon
• French Merlot
• French Chardonnay

In July we’ll celebrate the wines of Italy – and you’ll enjoy 10% savings on the kits of these wines:

• Italian Amarone
• Italian Montepulciano
• Italian Sangiovese
• Italian Pinot Grigio

August will find us touring Australia – save 10% on these kits:

• Australian Shiraz
• Australian Cabernet Sauvignon
• Australian Cabernet/Shiraz
• Australian Chardonnay
• Australian Murray River Reserve
• Australian Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre

Best of all…when you make any of these wines (or all!) during their celebration month, you’ll receive an entry into our Grand Fall Draw. You may be the lucky winner of the Selection International wine kit of your choice, 2 custom wine crates, 30 new bottles, custom labels and shrink wraps, and a set of crystal wineglasses – a $300 value! Each of the featured wines made gives you one entry to the contest.

We’re often asked about the best wines to stock in your cellar, so we’ve spent some time coming up with a list of wines that will get you through most situations, and provide an assortment so you’ll be able to pull out the right wine for the right time. With some help from Tim Vandergrift at Winexpert, here are our recommendations:

WHITE WINES

• Blush or Rose (off dry to medium),
• Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Chardonnay
• Riesling or Gewurztraminer

RED WINES

• Pinot Noir
• Valpolicella
• Barolo or Zinfandel
• Cabernet or Merlot
• Zinfandel or Shiraz

The multiple choices are for your personal taste – Riesling and Gewurztraminer or Zinfandel and Shiraz are distinctly different, but they carry about the same weight and intensity levels overall, so choose your favourites. Just having 5 of the reds and 5 of the whites listed above will give you a cellar to cover all you bases, and to be proud of. Cheers!

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Winexpert Limited Edition program, and to celebrate we are bringing back the best of the best wines…

January: South African Shiraz from the Stellenbosch region. The wine has a dense, chewy blackberry, earthiness and robust character. This medium/full bodied wine almost begs for early drinking, with spice and rich fruit, but the bold tannins and rich jamminess will allow it to improve with age for a fruther 2 years. We won a silver award in international competition for this wine.

January: California Lake County Trio Blanca (Dry) A unique blend of three grapes Trio Blanca is an outstanding white wine that showcases bright fruit flabours, excellent structure, and a long finish. Pinot Blanc contributes the delicate floral character and full body while Chenin Blanc gives a wonderful melon-honey aromas with hints of apple. Sauvignon Blanc contributes zesty acidity and aromas of gooseberry and herbs. After six months ageing, the Sauvignon Blanc will dominate with zest and crispiness. After a year, the Chein Balnce’s honey and melon will come out. At 18 months to 2 years the Pinot Blanc will show a perfumed floweriness and lingering structure.

February: Australian Petit Verdot from South East Australia. Best described as a ’super Cabernet’ it makes dark, rich wines, with wonderfully concentrated flavours of spice, blackberry and blackcurrant. With smooth, gripping tannins and an elegant structure leading to a magnificent boldly oaked finish, this is a wine for long term ageing and special occasions.

March: Pacific Quartet (Off-Dry) This wine showcases bright fruit, excellent structure and a long finish. Vidal from British Columbia gives spiciness and stone fruit. Chenin Blanc from California gives a wonderful melon-honey aroma with hints of apple. Gewurztraminer from Washington contributes lychee, rose petals and floral notes, and Muscat from Australia’a Murry Darling Valley gives wonderful grapey notes with dried fruit and hints of orange peel.

April: Italian Brunello This is a large-berried variety of the Sangiovese grape, most famous in Brunello di Montalcino. The flavour profile of Sangiovese is fruity, with strong natural acidity, a firm and elegant assertiveness and a robust finish that can extend surprisingly long. The aroma is generally subtle, with cherry, strawberry, blueberry and violet notes. Medium-bodied but boldly tannis and intense, this gripping wine will begin to open up after six months, but the richer flavours will take at least 18 months to show, with cherry and spice dominating the long, fruity finish. We won a Bronze award in International Competition for this wine.

If you’d like to taste the commercial equivalents to these wines, join us at our annual wine tasting! Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are only $15.00 and are available at Wine Central. Seating is limited, so pick up your tickets as soon as possible. Cheers!