I just read a worthwhile article from the LA Times called “White wines to warm up your fall meals” which touches on some great points and offers a few fantastic regions to explore. I hadn’t really thought about it much yet this year until today, with the temperatures across BC becoming frighteningly cold. I love to drink volumes of white wine all year round (possibly more than red) however, unless it’s serving the purpose of a specific food pairing, I’m no longer in the mood for a light, fruity, crisp sipper.

I love the suggestions about moving away from Pinot Grigio and towards Pinot Gris (especially Alsatian), dry Hungarian Tokaji (although we don’t have a lot in our market), Rhone whites (always! Although expect to pay for them), and great whites from Campania. To this list I’d also like to suggest seeking out the rich, complex and yeasty styled wines from the French region of Jura.

Here are some wines from the categories above that are available in BC/Vancouver, all of which I’ve enjoyed and would recommend:

Alsace:

Leon Manbach ’07 Pinot Blanc $18-20 One of the best Alsatian values in BC. I’ve seen it at Everything Wine, Marquis, Brewery Creek

Pfaffenheim ’07 Pinot Gris $20 widely available at the BCLDB

Marc Tempé ‘04 Pinot Gris Zellenberg $35 available at places like Firefly and Kits Wine Cellars

Pfaffenheim ‘04 Tokay Pinot Gris – Grand Cru Steinert $34 available at the BCLDB and Firefly

Tokaji:

Château Megyer ’07 Tokaji Furmint >$30 I can’t remember the exact price. An interesting example of a Tokaji table wine. Available at Kits Wine Cellars

Rhône:

Vieux Télégraphe ‘07 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc – I’d love to suggest everyone drink this wine over the fall, but at $65 that’s not much of a reality. Along with the Vieux Télégraphe, Marquis Wine Cellars stocks a great Rhône selection and has cheaper options from Châteauneuf-du-Pape as well as fun stuff like St. Joseph Blanc – definitely worth a browse.

Campania:

Feudi di San Gregorio All the whites from Feudi di San Gregorio are all rich, minerally, and herbaceous. The BCLDB stocks the Fiano di Avellino and the Falanghina ($28/$30) Everything Wine stocks Greco di Tufo as well for $31.

Mastroberardino ‘07 Greco di Tufo $30 at the BCLDB

Jura:

The only place in BC that I’ve seen any wine from the SE French region of Jura is Kitsilano Wine Cellars. They have a couple of bottles, but they’ll cost you between $45-$60. We definitely need to see more of this in Vancouver. Here’s an article from Eric Asimov from the NY Times if you aren’t familiar.