Of course, such rethinking is hard work. It often requires us to throw away ideas that we have personally invested in for a very long time. It often means writing off considerable time spent pursuing a mistaken path. This is why ideas (or wines) that challenge will never be the big sellers – it’s just too much work to get to know why they matter. Nonetheless, they remain the critically important catalysts for change.

Teutons in Oregon

Teutonic Wine Company was founded by Barnaby and Olga Tuttle on the principle that cool climate wines have greater nuance and complexity. Inspired by Alsace and Germany (in particular, the wines in the catalogue of US Importer Ewald Moseler), Barnaby and Olga have sought to emulate these regions by choosing to work with similar varieties and seeking fruit from sites that share climactic similarities and allow for longer hang times with lower ultimate brix. Grown in the Chehalem Mountains (their Alsea vineyard is west of the coastal range and only 22 miles from Oregon’s Pacific coast), all of their wines range from 9-12% alcohol and are made in a fresh acid-driven style to pair with food. Teutonic has even spent considerable time working with producers from the Mosel to learn effective techniques for producing wines with similar character and vivacity. If you remain unconvinced, Teutonic even imports a few very small family wineries from Germany and sells them through their website.

These guys are also ‘biodynamic’, use indigenous yeasts, etc. etc. You know, they put a lot of effort into respecting natural ecosystems and treating their vines as part of a greater whole.

An Oregon Pinot with Ideas

There is little point comparing this Pinot Noir on some sort of unified rating scale to other wines being made in the region. It is also not inherently superior to the other style of Pinot Noir being made in Oregon. However, it is fundamentally unlike any other Pinot Noir I’ve tasted from the United States.

Grass, minerals, ripe wild bush berries and a fundamental wireyness characterize the fruit, much like German Spatburgunder. This is not, however, lean wine. Nor is it acidic or washed out. It is easy to drink lip smacking wine that is the antithesis of the confected Pinot Noirs that have dominated consumer buying since Sideways. In fact, the Teutonic is so focused on cool-climate freshness and brightness that it managed to make the other ‘restrained’ Oregon Pinot Noirs (from the likes of Brick House and White Rose) we tasted with it seem overly rich.

There are ideas in this wine. The idea that not all wines need be alike and not all palates seek sledgehammer flavours. The idea that idiosyncratic wines can be made in a sea of mediocrity. The idea that $20 can buy far more profundity and character than $80. These are not new ideas, particularly in Europe. But these are ideas that I very rarely encounter in Oregon or anywhere in the New World. It is also a sign that a few have started to rethink. These are made in very small quantities but are worth seeking out.

Very Good+ to Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$20 at Soul Wine in Seattle

I didn’t think new world Grenache could taste like this (technically this wine is 75% Grenache, 14% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 1% Roussanne). Underbrush, molten licorice, smoke, leather, pepper and crushed rocks – oh and beautiful raspberry and strawberry fruit. Impeccable balance. This is another example of real California wine. And the real reason I wrote this brief note: Pax Mahl really is a genius – follow him now at Wind Gap Wines, which are currently available in B.C. at Kits Wine and perhaps other shops.

Excellent to Excellent+
$45 in California (purchased 3 years ago) (I’ve seen some Pax in the B.C. market from time to time for $180+)

California Chardonnay, once all the fashion, is now much maligned. Most of us know the story and now the majority of casual drinkers are ABC and averse to ‘oak’. Of course those old style crowd pleasing chards fundamentally misunderstood the nature of Chardonnay, just as oak-phobes miss out on some of the greatest white wines in the world.

I’m not here to tell you that all California Chardonnay should be reconsidered. But the state does have a few choice sites that produce wines to rival the great whites of Burgundy. Ridge’s Monte Bello Chardonnay is such a wine. This is massal selected old clone material grown at high altitude in one of the greatest vineyards in the United States – a combination you don’t find often in California.

At eight years of age, this wine is now peaking as it pours a golden sunset yellow and offers a nose of such opulent complexity that you would not be wrong to think aged Meursault. Hazlenuts, minerals, white flowers and a textural completeness perfect this wine – which sings with a fully harmonious 14.7% ABV. I have no doubt this is amongst the very best examples in the state, and a subsequent discussion with John Clerides from Marquis confirmed that Monte Bello sits amongst the very best along with Mayacamas, Tor, Kongsgaard, and Montelena.

In conclusion, this wine has convinced me to make a few carefully selected additions of California Chardonnay to my cellar.

Excellent+
$75 at BCLDB (purchased 4 years ago)

The Coessen family owns the entire Largillier vineyard, located in the Cotes des Bar (the largely maligned and forgotten region in south eastern Champagne), and dedicate their production entirely to Pinot Noir. The 35 year old vines are planted in clay-calcerous soils and with southern slope exposure. This wine is whole cluster pressed and fermented in tank. It sees extended lees aging and very low dosage.

This is miniscule grower stuff. It is crazy wine. It has the purity of fruit like Cedric Bouchard and a hell of a lot of extract and weight with no obvious oak influence. It is one of the most delicious Champagnes I tasted last year and proof that we are only drinking the tip of the grower Champagne iceberg here in North America. Find it, buy it, drink it.

Excellent to Excellent+
35 Euro in Lyon

The sad reality is that these wines are hard to sell, probably due mostly to lack of knowledge. For those in the know, however, you can get world class wine that pairs very well with B.C.’s pacific northwest cuisine for the price of mediocre wine from California, Australia, and, yes, British Columbia.

Fresh but Serious

Claus Preisinger is a young guy, born only in 1980, and yet he is making some brilliant wines farmed biodynamically. This wine is predominantly Pinot Blanc, harvested from vines planted in 1964 in flint soils and blended with some Chardonnay.

This is a delicious wine and well balanced. The Pinot Blanc characteristics show strongly – pear and pear skins, spice – and the wine also carries a touch of apple and minerality from the Chardonnay. This is fruitier than straight Chardonnay up front, but with considerable minerality on the back end and a touch of savory spice that brings the wine into a more serious territory than a simple sipper. 13% ABV.

Excellent
$33 at Kits Wine Cellar

Doing Washington Right

Enter Memaloose. These guys get Washington right – quirky yet delicious wines that merge new world and warmer climate fruit with freshness and great respect for old world traditions and flavours. Memaloose is not concerned with maximum extraction and extreme fruitiness. At the same time, they clearly do not shy away from the greater ripeness of the grapes in Washington compared to France (their inspiration).

Owner Rob McCormick has a history as an executive and consultant in the food industry. Winemaker Brian McCormick trained in Enology at UC Davis and spent time at Zind Humbrecht and in the Dry Creek Valley. However, this is clearly no stereotypical UC Davis project – rather, these guys are serious about making lighter styled wines that pair very well with food. Their achievement with this wine is all the more impressive considering that they only produced their first vintage in 2006.

Gorge Terroir

Columbia Gorge is situated just on the Washington and Oregon border. Extreme weather variations, including very high winds, make this a challenging but unique place to grow grapes. It is challenging insofar as one has to carefully match the right microclimate to the right grape – but unique insofar as almost anything can find a place in one of the many diverse climatic sub-zones. The Idiot’s Grace vineyard, where the grapes for this wine are grown, is at 300 feet elevation and sits on clay/loam soils.

Loire Meets Washington

Cool climate varietally expressive Cabernet Franc. Like Bernard Baudry meets Washington fruit lushness and all at 13% ABV. The wine is beautifully expressive both aromatically and on the long palate. There is almost nothing like this wine being made anywhere in the New World – in fact, it speaks of varietal and place so well that I think it is a new world benchmark for immediately delicious, perfumed, seductive Cabernet Franc – you know, the kind of Cabernet Franc that great producers in the Loire have been making unnoticed for generations. However, here you have a wine that is even more accessible and even more guzzle-inducing given the sheer lushness of the fruit and textures.

I have to place this as one of the most delicious wines I’ve had in months. It is too bad the production is limited to a mere 165 cases.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$25 at Soul Wine Seattle

A wave of discussion about British Columbia’s liquor laws has recently swamped both social media and the traditional media. Much of this discussion has been prompted by a number of high profile issues surrounding the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch’s (the “LCLB”) refusal to grant a special occasion license to a Whistler pride event and a condition the LCLB placed on the Rio Theatre’s license that it cannot show movies at any time while holding the liquor license. Vancouver’s Mayor, Gregor Robertson, has picked up this issue and has signalled that the city supports the Rio and would like the LCLB to reform the rules. Additional pieces by reform stalwarts Mark Hicken (a lawyer in Vancouver) and Kurtis Kolt (a highly respected independent wine consultant) have further catalyzed the debate.

Amongst all the chatter I have noted a continued misstatement or misapprehension of the legal structures that create and give jurisdiction to both the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (the “LDB”) and the LCLB. Calls to reform “liquor laws” are imprecise and regularly inaccurate, which is a problem when asking for change to big powerful bureaucracies. As a lawyer I feel that it is my duty to clarify how the system works so that proponents of change can understand what it is exactly they are asking to be changed. This article is thus meant as a primer for those who are interested in the legal structure of these issues and I hope it will contribute to the dialogue by making discussion more accurate and more precise.

The Legal Structure of the Liquor Bureaucracy in British Columbia

Liquor in British Columbia is governed by two entities, the LDB and the LCLB. Each of these entities was created by an act of the legislature of British Columbia. The LDB was created by the Liquor Distribution Act (the “LDA”) and the LCLB was created by the Liquor Control and Licensing Act (the “LCA”). Both the LDB and LCLB operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

The LDB is responsible for the sale and distribution of alcohol in the Province and the LCLB is responsible for alcohol licensing and enforcement of offences under the LCA along with license conditions.

These acts give the Lieutenant Governor in Council (i.e. the executive branch of government) the authority to pass regulations. The most important regulation is passed pursuant to the LCA and is called the Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation.

And even further down the chain, the LDB and the LCLB have the legal authority to create certain “policies”. Most policies are not publically published, though they must be made publically available on request. However, this is the meat of where most decisions that impact the industry are made.

Policies are subordinate to the regulations and the legislation. This means that LDB and LCLB policies must be consistent with the acts that grant these entities the authority to create such policies. Additionally, there are a number of legal principles that restrict the creation of policies and the manner in which policies are implemented by the LDB and LCLB. This area of law, known as administrative law, is extremely complex but also fundamentally important to understanding what the LDB and LCLB can and cannot do.

The Acts

The Acts are the source of authority for the LDB and the LCLB. These establish the structure of the organizations and grant them the discretion to make decisions with respect to a very wide array of matters pertaining to liquor.

For example, the LCA prohibits any person from selling liquor without a license and requires licensees to purchase all liquor from the Liquor Distribution Branch.

As a further example, the LDA grants government control of all liquor distribution and retailing in the Province. In particular, it requires all liquor sold in the province to go through the LDB, it requires that title to all liquor be surrendered to the government upon entering the Province, and it places all liability for losses, damages or costs upon importers, retailers and other private entities.

The LDA also grants the general manager of the LDB the authority to create specific restrictions on the storage and movement of liquor, including the physical structure, operations and security measures of all facilities storing liquor prior to retailing (i.e. the ability to govern warehousing in the Province).

The Regulations

The most important regulation is the Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation, which was promulgated pursuant to the LCA. It sets out the various restrictions on license types such as liquor primaries, food primaries, agents, retailers and wineries (both commercial and land based).

For example, these restrictions include (at s. 8(2)) barring granting or transfer of a Liquor Primary License to entities that are predominantly by or directed to minors, motion picture theatres, restaurants and video arcades.

The regulations (s. 14(1)) also grant the LCLB the authority to control the sale of food and the consumption of liquor on premises licensed as Liquor Retail Stores.

The Policies

As I mentioned earlier, the policies are the real meat for the majority of issues in the industry. Examples of policies include the restriction on LRS’s not to sell food or coffee, the LDB “mark up” of 123% for wine, use of inefficient forms and methods to sell and order wine, and the ban on corkage.

Policies must be consistent with the legislation that governs the given agency. In other words, there must both be legislative authority to implement a policy and that policy cannot conflict with other parts of the relevant statutes and regulations.

The Legal Basis for Challenge

The various legal bases for challenging decisions of the LDB and LCLB, including challenging policies, are quite vast. I will only outline the basic parameters of the most important administrative law principles and remedies.

The most important concept to understand in the liquor context is “discretion”. The LDA and the LCA grant the LDB and LCLB quite a broad discretion to make decisions. This includes, for example, the LCLB’s discretion to grant licenses and the LDB’s discretion to set prices, grant a direct shipping exemption to B.C. wineries, or appoint agency stores.

However, there are rules that restrict the exercise of this discretion. It is an abuse of discretion, for example, if the LCLB takes into account irrelevant considerations or fails to take into account relevant considerations, if it makes a decision for an ulterior purpose or in bad faith, or if it fetters its discretion.

This idea of “fettering” discretion is especially important with respect to the LDB and LCLB because most of the issues arise from policies that they create. It is a fettering of discretion to rely on an inflexible policy without considering the individual merits of a particular matter. Many of the complaints I have been reading about in the media arise out of these sorts of inflexible policies. If such policies are too inflexible, and decisions are made in reliance on these inflexible policies, then such decisions are susceptible to a “judicial review”, which is a petition to the court to review the decision made by an agency (in this case the LDB and LCLB).

If this petition is successful the court can “quash” the LDB or LCLB decision and return it to the relevant board for reconsideration. Reconsideration must be made in accordance with the reasons provided by the judge. As such, judges can create parameters that restrict the LDB and LCLB decisions in the future. However, judges cannot, in most cases, tell the LDB and LCLB what to decide. Rather, they can only restrict the manner in which the decision must be made. Courts will also sometimes provide comment on what they view to be reasonable. All of this can lead to the LDB or LCLB reversing its decision.

There are other principles such as bias and procedural fairness that restrict the manner in which the LDB and LCLB can make decisions.

The second fundamental way in which to legally challenge an LDB or LCLB decision is by way of a jurisdictional argument. The LDB and LCLB can only make decisions if they are made in accordance with the authority granted to them under the LDA and LCA, respectively.

In the case of the LDB, there is little, if any, direct legislative authority for most of their policies. Rather, the LDB is operating mostly on a discretionary basis. Since policies are essentially the nuts and bolts of how the LDB is run, these nuts and bolts are subject to the general principles discussed above. That is, the discretion to implement these policies must be exercised reasonably. It is unreasonable, for example, to consider something that is entirely irrelevant to the decision being made. Determining whether or not something is relevant can be complex and requires analysis of the wording and the purpose of the legislation, regulations, and policies at issue.

In conclusion, there are quite a few legal avenues by which the actions and decisions of the LDB and LCLB can be challenged. The arguments can be complex and require lawyers, but this is a proven and effective method to challenge certain decisions. However, one cannot change the acts (the LDA or LCA) or the regulations by legal challenge unless they violate the constitution. That said, courts will provide interpretation of statutory provisions that can be beneficial to those who wish to challenge LDB and LCLB decisions.

The Political Basis for Challenge

While all policies must be reasonable and within jurisdiction, any policy that meets the administrative law requirements will be upheld by the court. The only way to challenge these policies is for the LDB or LCLB to change them internally.

Additionally, if change is to be made to the act then these changes must be made by the provincial legislature. Any change to regulations must be made by the executive (i.e. the Ministry).

The incongruity I have been seeing is that many call for the “law” to be reformed without considering whether they are asking the government to change the act, the regulations or LDB and LCLB policies. Each of these requires a completely different mechanism and involves very different stakeholders. It is also important to consider that any changes to the act are likely to still grant the LDB and LCLB considerable discretion. Thus, the question becomes: what changes are most likely to ensure the consistent results I want in the future?

The LDB and LCLB have always slightly modified their policies over time to ensure that no major challenge is made to their overall structure. Those interested in reform must therefore question whether all they want is a change in a policy or whether they want a change to the structure of the organizations. If structural change is desired, then reformers must ask what is the effective mechanism to both achieve this change and to ensure that changes to the governing act and regulations translate into policies that ‘reformers’ want to see and prevent policies that ‘reformers’ want to avoid.

I would also note that most of the complaints about the LCLB pertain to the regulation and policies, while most of the complaints about the LDB pertain both to policies and to the fundamental restrictions on the industry created by the LDA.

I think it is fundamentally important for those discussing reform to aim their hammers at the correct nail and make sure their efforts land squarely on the appropriate entities. Otherwise, such discussions risk diffusion and present opportunities for political misdirection.

*The author practices law in Vancouver. His profile and contact information can be found by clicking here

Trust Your Importer

Kermit Lynch is the great prophet of the Rhone valley in the United States, basically making a market where none existed before for wines like Auguste Clape and Vieux Telegraph.

Philippe Faury is a Lynchian wine-maker. That is, he has incredible attention to detail, respect for the soil and the environment but also pragmatism and a simple, measured clarity of methodology in both the vineyard and the cellar. Hand-picked, pipeage by foot, very gentle pumping over, all come together to make a seamless, consistent wine with great purity and expression. Aging is done in large 600l demi-muids and smaller 220l barrels.

Old Vines, Pure Fruit, and a Little Rant

The vines for this old vine St. Joseph were planted between 1937 and 1976 on a tiny .9ha plot. That means this wine is pretty hard to find, but it also means it is complex and deep even while the 2008 vintage gives it lightness and clarity. This is fresh syrah, made in an extremely classic style by one of St. Joseph’s best proponents, especially since its resurgence via Coursodon and Chave.

Pure aromas of pepper, stone, and crushed blackberries picked seconds ago from the bush. The ferral quality is tamed, but just present enough to make this wine breath the varietal purity of Syrah from the Northern Rhone, as only it can produce.

Of course, such delicacy and purity is only possible with proper shipping and storage conditions. Kermit Lynch guarantees both up until he sells it – something that you cannot be sure of with almost every single importer in B.C.

I am also skeptical that our wines need cost what they do, even with the absurd B.C. 123% tax rate as preliminary research and information has suggested to me that many importers add quite high markups to their wines (but at this point this is unsubstantiated and needs more research).

So, a beautiful Syrah drinking perfectly now or able to sit a few years. I see no reason to hold on to this, though and would love to do a vertical of these if at all possible. If you are down in Seattle or SF I highly recommend picking this up.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$36 at Esquin in Seattle

Of Conterno

The Conterno family was the first ever to bottle Barolo rather than selling it as jug wine. This focus became an ultimate adherence to tradition, to the point where the two sons of tradition had disagreement even within their traditionalism. Giacommo’s two sons – Aldo and Giovanni – while agreeing that short maceration and barrique aging is wrong for Nebbiolo, still yet disagreed on other methodologies. Giovanni, the stark traditionalist, only wanted to use very long macerations and aging in huge very old oak casks. Aldo, on the other hand, likes to let his fruit hang a little longer and gain more ripeness. He also tends to ferment in steel as well as old oak, to add youth and freshness to the wine.

This led to Aldo leaving the Conterno family winery and starting his own winery, which is now also considered one of the very best in Piedmont. These days, the original Conterno winery is run by Giovanni’s son Roberto, who maintains his father’s and grandfather’s extreme traditionalism.

Old and New

The Giacommo Conterno Estate now comprises a single site in Monforte d’Alba from which they make both a ‘normale’ and ‘riserva’ Barolo that are not labelled as such but rather as the Cascina Francia and Monfortino bottlings, respectively.

This Nebbiolo is actually a sign of the changes happening to Giacomo Conterno after Roberto’s take over. The wine is made from new holdings in the Ceretta vineyard in Seralunga d’Alba that were purchased in 2008. In fact, this wine is the very first to be made from that vineyard, one which gives rise to such great wines as Bruno Giacosa’s Barolo.

I found this new wine surprisingly forward and accessible for this extreme traditionalist estate. But it keeps the style of Conterno while giving those who can’t pony up the serious cash for the Barolos a glimpse of the house’s greatness.

Inimitable Elegance

Many people make the mistake that “traditional” Nebbiolo-based wines are somehow inaccessible or require a ‘refined’ palate. The opposite is often true, particularly amongst the best ‘traditionalists’. This Nebbiolo is a perfect example: it puts Barolos at the same price to shame with its seamless elegance, easy accessibility, purity and immediate deliciousness.

However, the wine also possesses tremendous complexity and depth, and even the heft to age for a number of years. The underlying fruit quality is extremely pure and this may be amongst the most elegant Nebbiolo’s I’ve ever tasted. The nose is all rose petals, herbs, light red cherries, and endless savory, forest floor complexity. A wine with a structure that is as one and with nothing heavy, overly austere, or off-puttingly rich. In fact, it may be the best Nebbiolo out there for the price.

Excellent+
$65 at Esquin Wine in Seattle

Spotlight Conclusions

It is impossible to capture all of the nuances of terroir in Piedmont in a simple spotlight series on Nebbiolo. Rather, I attempted to show the grape’s breadth, despite its geographic restrictions, and highlight the fact that these are some of the greatest wines in the world while also costing a mere fraction of most of the world’s other “great” wines.

Nebbiolo is a paradox: a heavy, highly tannic grape that seems impenetrable at first, it becomes the source of the most haunting aromas in the world of wine. Power and finesses play easily together with great examples of Nebbiolo and they possess a level of singularity only found with Riesling and Burgundy Pinot Noir. However, Piedmont’s last 12 years have been almost uniformly superb, meaning that the sheer consistency amongst these wines is astounding – something to take advantage of while it lasts.

I am not quite sure what my next focus will be, but whatever I choose will have a hard time following behind some of the great wines I’ve tasted in this spotlight.

On the Ripasso Method

In drinking wines like these you have to remember that the Ripasso method is unlike much of anything else when it comes to making dry wines. The juice of the grapes sits on their raisinated skins for a period of time in order to provide additional extract and intensity. This technique means that these wines are generally much bigger and more alcoholic than other dry reds.

In my opinion most Valpol Ripassos and Amarones are usually uninteresting wines for the price. They are generally over-extracted and aggressive. The best can age forever and it is true that very old wines from producers like Bertani and Quintarelli are completely different from the norm, offering far more elegance. These wines nonetheless often bear resemblance to port in their pruney fruit and leather stewed compote flavours. But here we have something different.

Dal Forno Loves Oak

The Dal Forno does not shy away from extreme extraction and high alcohol. In fact, the alcohol is so high that it is reasonably astringent at this point in its development. The oak is also quite overt making this an extremely aggressive wine.

However, the fruit here is very much unlike most Ripasso method wines I’ve tasted, being much fresher and peppier than I would have expected. I suppose this is needed given the extremities of oak in this wine, but in any case if you enjoy extract and oak but do not generally like the stewed fruit flavours, this is a wine to check out. I would be curious to see if this calmed down with 5 more years in the cellar, though I’m not sure the Oak will ever be shy or subtle here. I also worry about the high alcohol drying out the fruit with too much age – but I do not have enough experience with this wine to say for sure.

In summary, this is a good wine, but not necessarily my style. I also can’t fathom the usual price.

Very Good
$45 at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant (~$250 CDN at Kits Wine)