A Campus Connoisseuse

Perhaps I was just feeling unimaginative yesterday, but curiously enough, for the first time, ever, I wound up drinking a wine that I can only best describe as tasting like grapes. To be more precise: it tasted like tangy, green grapes. But grapes nonetheless.

I can’t say all that much more about the Blasted Church Sauvignon Blanc. There was faintly noticeable lime undertone. The aroma was unremarkable. Indeed, it was a totally inoffensive, boring, easy to drink wine. I can’t help but compare it to the shift in the art around Granville Island as the Olympics are undergoing: innocuous, unstimulating, and friendly to everybody.

And so, I would recommend it quite simply as perfect for that dinner party. You know, the kind where you need that safe pick. The wine that nobody will hate. It’ll do.

I tend to be on the fence about Okanagan wines. I like buying local, but so seldom do any of the British Columbian wines manage to impress me. So I would consider it even more remarkable that White Bear Sauvignon Blanc has.

I picked it up today at after discovering the BCL on campus is finally now open on Sundays. (Students rejoice!)

The wine is dry, piquant and smooth. It has a slightly flowery scent; and a lightly grassy, clear lemon flavour. Its light body and subtle taste is unusually refreshing for a wine, and embodies what I really like in a sauvignon blanc.

Not only is it a good student-affordable wine, but 15% of the profits go to supporting the conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest. Organic, fair trade, socially responsible wines have always disappointed me in the past — finally, one I can heartily recommend for its quality and its integrity.