Special Correspondent Report

Since I am currently unable to imbibe due to an uncooperative stomach, and thus will not be making any contributions myself in the near future, and because I am impressed by this commitment from a loyal reader (one of only two or three that I have) I will promote Anna's comment to a posting. By the way, I have heard of this Occulus and think you should find me a bottle.


OK, I think I should get some sort of contributing field editor billing, because here I am, in the trenches, working for the Wines O Whitehorse Blog.

It's been tough...luxury hotel with wine tasting bar downstairs, jetlag causing a letdown of my natural defenses against overspending...oh, wait, those were never so good anyway...thus the luxury hotel...

But, out of my extravagance has come good information, and like Guantanamo, I say that even info under duress should be considered reliable.

#1 discovery: Bogle Vineyards "Phantom" - this is a California wine they say is a Zinfandel - I'm a believer. Smooth and heavy - none of the sometimes too strong Zinfandelness - yummy and smooth - I'll go so far as to say it's spicy, but no specific fruits - just damn good. I'd ordered another Zin - maybe a Nagus, or Regis, or something - not bad, but Wine Chick thought I should try this one. Then she brought me an extra splash because my steak was taking a while. The menu claimed 3oz. was $15. She gave me lots for $10.

#2 Mysterious BC wine, code name: Occulus. I couldn't help but think it was rather James Bond-esque, and I only knew it was red, spendy, and Wine-chick (who by this time I was pretty willing to rely on said it was "pretty special". I agree wholeheartedly.

#3 Duetorri 2003 Amarone: I went for dinner to a dandy restaurant called Rushton near St. Clair W. I'm not going to pretend this wine was in my normal price point, but it was really beautiful wine - exactly the wine you want to drink while eating on a patio in summer dusk. More please...oh, wait, I'll be back in Whitehorse in a week. Probably not.

Well, that's all for now - I'm sure tomorrow's wine fest will bring a further report. Till then, your faithful correspondent,

AP