Barb Wild’s Weekly Pick Is Moraine Winery Cliffhanger Red
Happy #winewednesday from Good Wine Gal! Here I am behind the wall of self-isolation. Life seems surreal. Yes? On the bright side, this weather creates opportunities for afternoon gatherings in the garden in full sun and we’ve been sipping Moraine Winery Cliffhanger Red. Yes! Here, happy hour starts early these days. While respecting social distance, the afternoon garden or patio gathering seems to be the perfect remedy to the chaos and confusion of the past few weeks. We are all in this together so we may as well enjoy fresh air and company. #elbowbump #gardenparty
Moraine Winery Cliffhanger Red
This week’s mid-week wine is Moraine Winery’s 2018 Cliffhanger Red. It offers big flavour, great value and a screwtop, perfect for resealing in case you have any leftover wine. (Who has left over wine?) This is a Merlot based blend with a small amount of Malbec as back up. The aromas are inviting with warm berry and cherry flavours with hints of spice and smoky oak on the nose that continue on the palate. The balance of flavours that continue to the finish where tannins are soft and the wine flavours linger in the best way. Another sip? Yes please.
Moraine Winery
Located just 10 minutes from Penticton, Moraine Winery is on the west facing slopes of the Naramata Bench. This area is known for its summer warm and sunny afternoons that encourage grape ripening and picture perfect beauty that inspires visitors to return. It’s this scenery that first attracted Oleg and Svetlana Aristarkhov to relocate from Alberta and pursue their dream of a wine life! After 15 years, these wines just keep getting better earning a reputation for pinot noir and red blends. For more information on Moraine Winery & Wines follow the link. (https://morainewinery.com/)
Awards
- Silver Medal, International Fingers Lake Wine Competition NY USA, 2016
- Silver Medal, WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, 2016
What it goes with
Turn on the outdoor grill and extend happy hour into a “dinner on the deck” party. Grilled ribs, marinated steak, grilled veggies and roasted potatoes round out the offering. I’d argue a cheese plate for dessert, with some stronger options like creamy blue vein Cambozola and Norwegian Jarlsberg and continued enjoyment of the wine and its flavours.
Price and Availability
Cliffhanger Red is available at private wine shops like Swirl Wine Shop, Legacy Legacy Liquor Store, Save-on Foods, Vessel Liquor, BC VQA shops and of course directly from the winery. Winery price is $19. With the Save-on Foods deal (last week’s post), we paid $17.05 before tax. That’s a great price for quality BC VQA wine.
As a blind taster I still can be fooled by Barefoot’s $10 Moscato and the $150 bottles of Bordeaux that I call “acceptable”. This is to say I’m not perfect and I don’t want anyone to think that I have the palate of Parker or the judgement of Jancis (Robinson). I can recognize a balanced wine that delivers when I taste it. I’m quite certain you can too. If in doubt, message me. Otherwise, just keep tasting and learning.
I wish you all a spectacular #winewednesday. Cheers!
