Prepare your palates for the up-coming special treats at Road 13. The Summer Dinner Series occurs on the 13th of every month through to October and Bubbles for Breakfast will be held on Father’s Day (June 17), July 14/15, August 11/12, September 15/16 and 29/30 and October 6/7. Dinners will be catered by Joy Road Catering. Weather permitting, a reception will be held on the patio, followed by a tour of the Sparkling Wine Cave. Then the sumptuous meal, along with Road 13’s premium wines, will be served in the beautiful new Tasting Lounge. (A $10 shuttle service will be available to ensure guests get home safely.)
The Bubbles for Breakfast events start in the Cave with the Sparkling Chenin Blanc, then proceeds upstairs to enjoy a buffet of starters. The main course will be prepared by Chef Manny Ferreira of nearby Miradoro Restaurant, paired with two wines.
Wines from the well-received 2010 vintage are still available. The Okanagan Fall 2011 Wine Festival Awards Gold Medal winner Honest John’s White ($16.99) is a blend that exhibits melon and citrus on the nose, showing concentrated fruit sweetness, balanced with clean acidity and a long finish. (The 2011 version will be released in July 2012 – watch for it!) The 2010 Stemwinder (sale priced at $19.99) is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc which shows complex flinty, fruit, herbal notes on the nose followed through with apple and pineapple on the palate, buoyed by clean, fresh acidity in its lingering finish. If you’re a fan of red blends, you should try the 2010 Honest John’s Red ($19.99) which shows its Cabernet heritage on the nose and palate, with integrated tannins and a long finish – very easy-drinking now. The 2010 Rockpile ($24.99) is primarily Syrah, blended with several other varieties, yielding a complex, soft fruity nose with flavours of blackberry, chocolate and plum in a well-structured wine with lots of character.
The 2011 vintage releases include: Chardonnay ($24) showing soft vanilla on the nose and palate, round and very drinkable; Pinot Gris ($24) from a single vineyard, showing citrus and stone fruit elements with bracing clean acidity; and Rosé with strawberry and cherry notes and a clean finish. Also keep an eye out for Road 13’s first-ever release of a Chenin Blanc dessert wine. Their 2011 Jackpot white blend and 2009 The Fifth Element red blend were Finalists in the 2012 Spring Best of Varietal Wine Awards.
~ Allison Fader