To help with your holiday shopping, Hillside Liquor Store is holding a Little Straw wine tasting today from 3-7.
Little Straw is a winery in Kelowna owned by the three Slamka brothers. The vines were originally planted in 1969, and the grapes were sold to other wineries. In 1996, the winery opened under the name Slamka Cellars. By 2006, the winery had long changed its name to Little Straw (Slamka is Slovakian for Little Straw), and had opened a new building, complete with conference facilities, small bistro and tasting bar. Little Straw winery produces a variety of red and white wines, and is known for their Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and proprietary white blend, Tapestry.
Today's tasting will be the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Tapestry, and 2005 Marechal Foch. halfway through the tasting, the Tapestry will be switched with the 2008 Riesling, which won People's Choice at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival.
The Sauvignon Blanc is slightly off dry, with incredible flavours and aromas of passion fruit, papaya, gooseberry, and citrus with a slight savoury olive finish. This wine is very food friendly, pairing well with oysters, goat cheese, white fish and turkey, but will also be exceptional for sipping solo.
The Tapestry is a blend of Traminer, Riesling, Auxerrois, Schonburger and Siegerrebbe. It has a floral nose and an off-dry palate with flavours of lychee, passion fruit and rose, with a nice acidity and a little spice. This wine is perfect for pairing with spicy foods, medium bodied cheese, sausages, turkey, wild game and smoked salmon.
The Riesling was left on the vine until the first week of November, giving the grapes an incredible depth of flavour and slight sweetness. This first sip of this wine shows freshly picked fall apples, which gives way to the more complex flavours of pear, lime and citrus. The nice acidity balances the sweetness that is present in the first sip. This wine is fantastic by itself, but also pairs well with sausages, turkey, roast chicken, a variety of cheeses and other appetizers.
The Marechal Foch is a silky-smooth, medium bodied wine showing aromas and flavours of black cherry, spice, black berry and cassis with a slight earthiness. This wine is an exceptional match for roast turkey, wild game, smoked cheeses, curries and cured meats.
