Tasting wines from British Columbia

Production of wine is spreading to all over the world: you can find new wine regions which weren't known for wine until recently.
China is becoming a big wine country, not only as a consumer but also as a producer. Jean Charles Boisset is collaborating with Indian winery. Chile is expanding its wine production to the southern limit, which is the area thought to be too cold for wine production.
Stories of these new movements are found often in wine news.

Meanwhile, there are regions which has been producing wines but don't get enough attention to match its quality. There are also people who support these areas and promote them to get recognition which they deserve.

Kascadia is a wine merchants with a focus on British Columbia. It is a young company and held a tasting event (probably their SF debut?) the other day.

British Columbia is a wine producing region in western Canada. The history of wine making in British Columbia is said to start when missionaries arrived in Okanagan area in 1859.
Being at the higher latitude, I expected that the majority of wines would be white (in fact Canada is known for Icewine made with Riesling or Vidal), but I discovered great red wines from this region at this tasting.
Many of the wineries in British Columbia are located in Okanagan Valley DVA (Designated Viticultural Areas). Okanagan Valley is in the rain shadow of Cascade and Columbia mountain ranges, and the climate is desert-like. Bordeaux varieties grow well here under the long day length.

Painted Rock Estate Winery was founded by John and Trish Skinner in Okanagan Valley.
They saw the potential of this area and planted the first vines in 2005.

Cabernet Franc 2015
Red fruit, potpourri, vegetal. Gentle tannin.
One of the best sommelier in Bordeaux called this "exciting wine."

Syrah 2015
Full-bodied with powdery tannin and soft acid.
Fruitiness, spiciness and savoriness. Great wine.
By itself, this wine was my favorite out of three.

Red Icon 2015
This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Red and black fruit, flower, spice and herb. Tannin is soft.
Good food wine. This big wine shows its elegant side with spicy food.

Mr. John Skinner was at this tasting. He had a great personality and the great stories to tell.

Another wine which was memorable was Perseus Merlot 2016.
Plum, mint, spice and ripe pyrazine. Silky tannin.
Their Pinot Gris was very good, too.

Vista D'oro 2008
This is a unique fortified wine. Fresh walnuts are soaked in the port-like wine for long time.
Nutty, sweet wine.

There were other wines from Meyer Family, 50th Parallel Estate and The Hatch. It was dark and I couldn't take pictures but they were all good wines.

It's always fun to explore something new, but rediscovering something being taken for granted and almost forgotten is just as exciting!