Sparkling Wines:

• NV Doc Terre Gaie Prosecco (11.5% ABV, Off Dry, medium bodied)     $41

Terre Gaie is a high quality and lively Prosecco made from estate grown fruit from the best hillside area of the Veneto Prosecco zone. It is zesty and has a proper brut-style dryness while being fruit. Straw-yellow color with greenish tints. Fresh and delicate bouquet with fruity aromas and hints of apple. Palate is very fine and persistent while quite elegant and lively.

• Tawse Sparke Methode Traditionnelle      $42
  

This Traditional Method Sparkling is made from a base of Quarry Road Chardonnay, with Laundry Vineyard Pinot Noir and Hillside Vineyard Pinot Gris. Having spent 12 months on the lees, this spark has delicious notes of pie crust, crisp green apple and citrus on the nose. These aromas are complimented by flavours of Granny Smith apple, grapefruit and just a hint of pastry on the palate.

• Benjamin Brut        $65
  

In the glass, a pale golden colour with a straw hue. On the nose, the wine displays suggestions of smoke and lemon rind with strong sea minerals undertones. The palate is luscious, but with good intensity and vibrancy. Hints of green apples and dried cranberries are magnified by the wine’s bright structure, unfolding in a lengthy mineral finish.

• NV Cremant de Jura Blanc de Blanc        $64
  

This is a very tasty, rich, golden hued, well aged chardonnay-based sparkler with an involved nose of cashew, baked apple, nougat and honey. It is almost creamy in texture with fine mousse and very good acidity providing counterpoint. There is pleasant nutty bitterness on the finish, length is excellent."

White Wines:

• Domaine Alzipratu Fiumeseccu  Corse Cavi 13.5% (Light gold, tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapple, roses, cream)          $69

Reminiscent of a Chardonnay but lighter and fresher. Medium finish, zesty medium acidity.  Similar style to Sauvignon Blanc, a glass of classic Sardinia Vermentino will offer up lively aromas of pear, white peach, lime and pink grapefruit with subtle notes of crushed rocks and citrus zest. On the palate, Vermentino is almost always dry and somewhat oily with flavors of grapefruit and citrus, with a crushed rocky minerality and saltiness. On the finish, it can be a bit snappy with bitterness similar to the taste of grapefruit pith or, if it’s on the riper side, fresh almond. A wonderful wine to match with medium-weight dishes that play with rich herbs and spices and fennel-spiced pork sausages.

• 2017 Rodney Strong Chardonnay          $40

Nice blend of light pear and fresh honeydew melon. Very refreshing and light, deep straw hue, nose of peach and chalk, opens with a creamy yellow apple and starfruit. Middle is mild, finish carries baking spices, honeydew melon and lime peel. Bright acidity boosts the rich elements of fruit and oak on the palate. Not as oaked as some other Chardonnays but definitely great for those oak lovers. Best with turkey dishes or chilled by itself.

• 2018 Rive Droite Rive Gauche Cotes du Rhone Blanc            $51

Very aromatic with overtones of white flowers, apricot, white peach. This full-bodied wine has low acidity, which makes it really easy to drink by its own. Flavours of peaches, quince, pear, melon and pineapple flavors tinged with cinnamon and brown sugar and some waxy lanolin that make the palate quite complex for the price.

Red Wines

• 2016/17 Benjamin Laroche La Manufacture Bourgogne Pinot Noir        $73

Ruby red coloured starting to evolve, full of freshness with violet hints. The mouth is supple and charming with raspberry and cherry flavours together with a touch of liquorice and mint. Light wine with tender flavours of red fruits and violet. A good companion for aperitif with gourmet home made appetizers.

• 2012 Domaine Berthoimieu Constance Madiran       $64

Tannins pick up on the finish but this is Madiran and to be expected. These tannins dissolve when the wine is matched with richly flavored meats like leg of lamb, duck, goose or game. Rich gamey foods typical fare of the region of GASCONY in SW France

• Maison Roche de Bellene Vielles Vignes 100% Pinot Noir (13% ABV)        $54
  

100% Delicious smashed cherry skins, crunchy acidity and fresh vibrant intensity. But beneath all the fresh red flowers and sweet talc on the nose there is a fine whiff of wet rocks and autumn. Tannins are chalky, soft and plump. This true Vieilles Vignes Burgundy has killer finesse and an insane quaffable quality that makes it a dangerous wine.

• 2018 Corse Calvi Fiumeseccu Red Domaine Alzipratu         $69

Made from typical regional varietals, this cuvee maximises its fresh factor with inviting    notes of kirsh, mild spices, licorice and flowers. This dry cherry-red coloured wine features medium spicy, fruity and vegetal scents and offers a broad texture as well as smooth tannins.

• 2018 Westcott Temperance  (12.5%)         $50
  

Temperance is a lovely blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay that is fresh and approachable yet surprisingly complex. It has notes of pure plum and black cherry and is lined with violet and herbal hints. It finishes with wonderful flavours of spice , blackberry and subtle tannin structure. It shows more like a light bodied Pinot Noir with layers of personality. Pair it with pork or roast poultry encrusted with lots of herbs.

• 2017 Sperling Amber Vineyards Pinot Gris            $60
  

This orange / peach hued wine reminds us that pinot gris is firmly footed in the pinot camp. From young vines off their biodynamically farmed home Kelowna vineyards, this natural wine in their Vision Series has "nothing added nor taken away", and is bottled unfiltered with its lees. This is truly all pinot gris, whole clusters, destemmed berries, native yeasts, and natural MLF. Hazy in the glass this strikes with tight apricot and orange oils, nimble and nervy on the taut frame. Astringent bergamot, peach fuzz, bitter lime leaf snaps along the palate to a zesty citrus finish. Firmly, unapologetically, and properly natural, and fully BC.

Speciality wines from our cellar to your table:

• 2013 Domaine Albert Boillot Les Chanlins Pommard 1re Cru        $214

Bright, wide, floral, also a pyrazine component, but one that fades to leave a floral impression. Bigger, silkier wine, good dimension of flavour, a little tannin in the middle, and then a long, lingering finish. A tasty wine indeed.

• 2013 Chateau Margaux Jacques Boyd (3rd Grand Cru Classé)       $138

This red wine offers a generous bouquet where the dominant vanilla combines with mocha and black fruits while showing roundness and fat. The palate reveals a beautiful structure with silky tannins. Bouquet of vanilla, mocha and black fruits Roundness and silky tannins

• 2013 Luigi Baudana Barolo Serralunga DOCG       $206
  

A deep red in the glass introduces aromas of pure cherries and plums accented with spice, graphite, eucalyptus and licorice. Warm and dry character with firm tannins balanced by a fresh and gentle acidity. A unique soil composition with blue clay translates in a wine with a powerful elegance.

Unique “Checkmate Series”  from the Okanagan Valley, B.C.:

• 2014 Knights Challenge Chardonnay         $200
  

This is more classic New World chardonnay with complex powerful fruit, buttery notes and well-integrated, stylish oak. Cutting through all that is a mineral, savoury Okanagan undercurrent. A bit old-style if you like, but with a much subtler touch. Only eight barrels made.

• Attack Chardonnay           $248
  

Winemaking and foudre combine to impart aromas of the seashore with wet stones, flint and Asian spices on the nose combined with a tropical lift.  The palate has a zesty entry, with a hint of richness and minerals followed by a lingering flavour of lychee, ginger, spice and saltwater.  This is a unique, modern Chardonnay that also pays homage to the old world.

• Queen Taken Chardonnay          $270
  

This wine has essences of citrus peel and white peach combined with tropical, floral notes, as well as wet stone.  The palate has generous fruit flavours, layered mid-palate richness and focused acidity providing a long-textured finish.

• Opening Gambit Merlot             $206
  

An elegant nose of blackcurrant and black fruits with creamy undertones and floral notes. The palate is charming, with dark, ripe fruits, supple tannins and well integrated oak.

• End Game Merlot                        $206
  

A complex, lifted nose, showcasing sassafras, spices, roasted meat aromas and aromatic oak. The palate is rich, with savoury notes, good weight, firm tannins and immense length.

• Checkmate Black Rook Merlot          $206
  

A lifted nose of roses, aniseed and bramble fruit. The palate is rich with dark fruits, cassis and savoury tannins coating the mouth.

• Checkmate Silent Bishop Merlot      $206
  

A nose of intense red and black fruits, floral notes, coffee, tobacco, and spice. The palate has well-balanced acidity, fruit and oak; producing a wine of harmony and length.