The Sipster's Guide: a refreshing look at wine tasting

The best $20 you will ever spend on wine will be to buy Luke Whittall’s The Sipsters Pocket Guide to 50 Must-Try BC Wines, just being released by Touchwood Editions. This is one of the year’s most original wine books. Fifty wines are reviewed – and every review is fresh and lively, often amusing and always enlightening. At the end of the book, I wanted another 50 of Luke’s wine reviews. And since this is volume one, it seems that Luke and Touchwood are anticipating future volumes.

Before I continue to discuss the book, I must note that Luke and I are colleagues and friends. Touchwood also acknowledges this in the brief biographical note on its web site: “Luke Whittall has worked in cellars, vineyards, and wine shops since 2005 and is currently a wine instructor at Okanagan College. His first book, Valleys of Wine: A Taste of British Columbia’s Wine History was published in 2019 and he co-authored The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide with John Schreiner in 2020. He lives in Okanagan Falls, BC.” Sipster is a slim 140-page volume with a bland, uninspired cover, which is at odds with the very attractive and well-organized interior, featuring a full-colour photograph of each wine. There are reviews of six sparkling wines, 17 white wines, five rosés, 17 reds and five dessert wines. The products are from wineries located in most of the British Columbia wine regions. And there is a good index.

“Rather than focus on the flavours, aromas and amazing production techniques of a wine, I will focus on the experiences the wines inspire,” Luke writes. There are no point scores; each wine is instead given an attitude. For example, The One, a sparkling wine from Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery, has a “joyful” attitude. The Poplar Grove Winery Rosé has an “endearing” attitude. And so on. Luke asserts that his book “presents a new way of thinking about wine to help you accurately decide which wines to seek out on your next trip to the store or your next visit to wine country.”

You will get the idea if I quote some of the gems that I found in the book. Luke describes Integrity Frizzante, a Prosecco-style sparkler from 8th Generation Vineyards, as a Swiss Army knife because it “can go anywhere and fit any mood or occasion with ease.” The wine’s attitude is Go-Getter and the pairing suggestions include Miss Vickie’s potato chips.

The personality of Fitz Brut from Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards is said to be operatic. Luke spins musical themes through the entire review, starting with the “tinny” sounds of peeling the foil and the “downbeat” when the cork is removed. There is as “crescendo” of bubbles which refuse to “decrescendo” in the glass. “Even after sipping,” Luke writes, “you can still hear the music as the bubbles pop in your mouth.” That review reminded me of another biographical detail about Luke: he is also an accomplished musician.

The rosé from French Door Estate Winery, a new producer on Black Sage Road, is assigned the “romantic” attitude. “… This wine,” Luke writes, “feels like a quiet, intriguing conversation with someone you’ve never met before but feel instantly connected with.” Contrast that to my more conventional review of the same wine: French Door Rosé 2020 ($30). This is a blend of Mourvèdre and Grenache. This is a striking dry rosé with aromas and flavours of pine needles and orange peel. It is somewhat reminiscent of a fine single malt scotch without the bite of the alcohol. A superb rosé with food. 92.

Among the white wines is one of my favourites, the Albariño from Stag’s Hollow Winery. When I reviewed the 2020 vintage, I wrote: “Lovely floral aromas mingle with melons and apples. On the palate, there are flavours of stone fruit, lime and lemon. The finish is refreshing, with a lift of bright acidity. 92.” Luke’s review of the same wine is as refreshing as the wine. “I would swear that there is an herb garden in my glass when I sip this wine,” Luke writes. “There is tarragon and cilantro, parsley and rosemary, sage and basil, among many others. As the wine warms, more herbs come out to play. This is a doggy’s nose view of walking through a garden with all of these amazing herbs in full aromatic bloom.” What follows is a brief discussion of the sensory ability of dogs.

I was struck by Luke’s erudite reference to the great American photographer Ansell Adams in his review of Menhir, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend from Corcelettes Estate Winery in the Similkameen. “Adams captured every part of the scene with a sharpness and detail that became his trademark,” Luke writes. “If a wine could be a photograph, this one would be a beautiful landscape of the Similkameen Valley – if Adams had photographed the Similkameen Valley. “There are so many gradations of colour, texture, taste and aroma in this wine, and no detail has been blurred.”

The attitude of Lakeside Cellars Syrah is “Texas Gunslinger.” Luke describes it as “Meat and wood in a glass. Smoked brisket or pork shoulder and dried hickory, to be more precise.” I expect a swaggering red when I get my hands on a bottle. Luke even includes a fruit wine: Cherry Baby from Nostalgia Wines near Oliver. The attitude is “flirty” – if only because of the sexy cupcake on the label. “… There are some people who just leave you breathless. Speechless even. If you ever found yourself breathless in the presence of someone like that, then you already know what this wine is like. … This is about as playful as they get.” This a delightful book. And it will make you rethink how you taste and appreciate wines.