Blasted Church discounts Cabernet Franc - briefly

Photo: Blasted Church winemaker Evan Saunders

In a recent email, Blasted Church Vineyards offered a short-term discount on one of its popular reds for a strange reason: the staff like it! “As wine industry people, we are often asked, ‘Which wine is your favourite?’,” the email reads. “This never returns a completely unbiased answer since everyone has their favourites. However, when all of us at Blasted Church are gathered together to raise a glass, the most consistently opened bottle is our Cabernet Franc.” The winery’s 2021 Cabernet Franc sells regularly for $384 a case, or $32 a bottle. That price was dropped to $324 a case (even less for wine club members) for a week in the middle of March.

In the 2021 vintage, the winery produced 451 cases of Cabernet Franc. That is hardly a huge quantity of wine. I am more surprised that it is not sold out than I am to see it being discounted moderately. The winery often has end-of-vintage discounts although this seems not to be the case here. Cabernet Franc is a varietal that had been gaining in popularity among Okanagan wines before the 2024 freeze. Once conditions for grape-growing are back to normal and the vines are again productive, the varietal should resume its rising popularity.

Cabernet Franc was among the vinifera varietals planted in the Okanagan when the vineyards began the big switch from hybrids to vinifera in the 199os. Most producers incorporated it in blends with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the rare early proponents of Cabernet Franc as a standalone varietal was Tinhorn Creek Estate Winery. The winery had planted an extensive acreage in preference to later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. Subsequently, Tinhorn Creek add Cabernet Sauvignon to its vineyard. However, Cabernet Franc was practically the winery’s flagship red.

While Cabernet Sauvignon gained ground in the first two decades of this century, Cabernet Franc steady rise in popularity continued. By 2023, Cabernet Franc tonnage in the Okanagan and Similkameen vineyards was in third place at 20% (behind Merlot and Pinot Noir) while Cabernet Sauvignon was fourth (16%). It is hard to say what the numbers will look like as vineyards are replanted or rejuvenated after the devastation of the 2024 vintage. I think Cabernet Franc will still be ahead of Cabernet Sauvignon, both because it ripens a week or so earlier and because the flavours are so appealing, as the Blasted Church crew have found.

As it happens, Blasted Church recently sent me a sample of the Cabernet Franc, along with the 2021 Small Blessings. The latter is winemaker Evan Solomon’s exceptional blend of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache. The winery made 300 cases of this. None of those varietals did well in the 2024 freeze and I would not expect them to be widely replanted. Fans of red Rhône wines would be advised to pick up this wine if they can still find a few bottles. Here are my notes on the two wines.

Blasted Church Cabernet Franc 2021 ($32 for 451 cases). The grapes came from two Osoyoos vineyards. Whole berries went into the fermentation tanks where there was a total of 21 days of skin contact. The wine spent 18 months in French oak (35% new). In the glass, this is a bold and satisfying wine, with aromas and flavours of cherry and blackberry mingled with a hint of cranberry and a savoury finish. 91.

Blasted Church Small Blessings MSG 2021 ($40 for 300 cases). The blend is 35% Mourvèdre, 33% Syrah and 32% Grenache. The fruit came from Osoyoos and Oliver vineyards and was co-fermented and aged 16 months in barrel and puncheon (seasoned and neutral). Dark in colour, the wine begins with aromas of plum, dark cherry and white pepper. The palate is rich, with flavours of plum, fig, black cherry and pepper. 93.

Brazil’s Miolo winery shows well at Vancouver International Wine Festival

Photo: Miolo export manager Lucio Motta

For at least the second year, Brazil’s Miolo Wine Group was among the wineries at the recent Vancouver International Wine Festival. Consumers are more likely to look for Argentina and Chile when searching for wines from South America since producers from those countries have been marketing their wines in this region for the best part of 30 years. I have no idea why Brazil, a large producer of wine and spirits, has not been banging the doors down as well in this market. But I am glad to see Miolo getting a foothold in the market because the wines solid and reasonably priced. Miolo has its excellent Alvarinho in Everything Wine and likely has other wines in private wine stores. So far, it has not landed a listing in the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (which lists only a gin and two fortified products from Brazil).

Miolo is Brazil’s largest wine group. The business was established in 1897 in southern Brazil by Guiseppe Miolo, an immigrant from Italy. A family member is still involved with making the wines. The original property has grown to 100 hectares of vines. Today, Miolo Group has 1,000 hectares of vineyard across four regions of Brazil. The group also recently acquired a vineyard and winery in Mendoza, the major Argentinian winegrowing region. While four of Miolo’s wineries are in conventional South American winegrowing latitudes, a fifth is in tropical northern Brazil where the climate and irrigation enable two harvests each year. Half the wine made here is sparkling wine and grape juice while the other half is distilled. This is not unusual in Brazil, which has wine production all over this large country. Miolo’s other Brazil wineries are in the southern part of the country, near Uruguay (where good wines are also produced). One of the Miolo wineries, Almadén, was started in 1973 by a winery of that name from California. Subsequently, it was acquired by Miolo.

At the Wine Festival, Miolo’s export manager, Lucio Motta, showed wines just from the group’s southern wineries. Consumers who find these wines in private stores will be pleased with the quality. Here are my notes. Prices are from the festival’s price guide.

Miolo Seivel Winery Brut NV ($20). This sparkling wine is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is crisp and fresh, with aromas and flavours of apple mingled with a note of minerality. 88.

Miolo Seival Winery Chardonnay 2022 ($14.99). This is a lean, fruit-driven Chardonnay with aromas and flavours of citrus and apple. 88.

Miolo Single Vineyard Alvarinho 2022 ($26.98 in Everything Wine). This white varietal is more often seen from wineries in Portugal. This is a crisp wine but one where six months in oak has fleshed out the texture and framed the flavours of citrus and stone fruit. 90.

Miolo Single Vineyard Touriga Nacional 2022 ($22.99). This is another Portuguese varietal often grown for Port. This wine, which was aged in oak for 12 months, is a bold and dark red, with aromas of dark fruits and flavours of plum and black licorice. 91.

Miolo Lote 43 2022 ($33.99). This wine was named for the original plot where the founder established his first vineyard. The wine is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 12 months in oak. This is a full-bodied red with aromas and flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, cloves and plum. 91.