Dress to Impress

The spring sample pack from Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery was a bit like opening a clothes closet to find a tuxedo, a Harry Rosen suit – and something casual from Lululemon.

The tuxedo is the winery’s Champagne-style sparkling wine, The One. Leslie and Jim D’Andrea, who opened this Okanagan Falls winery in 2005, have released several vintages of this wine. The quality has always competed well against Champagne but the price makes it more affordable.

The Harry Rosen suit is the fine King’s Ransom Meritage 2017. Noble Ridge made its first King’s Ransom Meritage in the 2006 vintage. The tradition is to release a King’s Ransom wine only when the vintage is exceptional. If my records are accurate, this is the fourth King’s Ransom Meritage. There have also been two Pinot Noirs and one Chardonnay under this designation. In my experience, the Meritage has always been a superb wine to lay down for some time. In my book, Icon – Flagship Wines from British Columbia’s Best Wineries, it was suggested that the 2006 should be consumed by 2020. Since just 100 cases were made, good luck finding one today.

The Fizzy One is the Lululemon wine in this collection. It is an easy drinking frizzante at a modest price. It can take its place in the same wardrobe as the other two wones because it over-delivers for the price. Here are notes on the wines.

June 3, 2021 | John Schreiner

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