Do you struggle to identify particular tastes and aromas in wine? Blueberry is one aroma and flavor that I have difficulty finding when I am tasting wines. In fact, I have been waiting a long time to find a wine with blueberry notes just so that I would have an excuse to bake my favorite blueberry, balsamic and star anise pie for the photo. So you can imagine how happy I was when I came across the delicious 2017 Narrative Malbec from Okanagan Crush Pad, which illustrates notes of blueberry on both the nose and the palate.
The 2017 Narrative Malbec was produced from a small plot of grapes grown in Osoyoos. The grapes were destemmed and placed in clay amphorae and a large oak barrel for fermentation using native yeasts. The barrels were rolled daily by hand with no oxygen exposure. The wine was left on the skins for eight months before being pressed off and blended in an egg-shaped concrete tank for settling.
2017 Narrative Malbec $34.90
The Narrative Malbec has aromas of black plum, violet, pepper and blueberry. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity and medium, silky tannins. The palate offers minerality, plum, raspberry and blueberries with a medium finish.
Another lovely wine from the Narrative portfolio is the 2016 Syrah. This wine was produced from organically grown grapes sourced from the South Okanagan. The wine itself was fermented and aged in concrete tanks; no oak was used.
2016 Narrative Syrah $27.90
The Narrative Syrah has aromas of white pepper, milk chocolate, bacon, cured meat, violet, red cherry and black plum. This is a dry wine that is medium+ in body with medium acidity and tannins. The palate offers cured meat, coffee, dark chocolate, black plums and prunes with a lingering finish.
The Narrative Malbec and Syrah are available for purchase from the Okangan Crush Pad either individually or as part of the Big Reds for Winter wine pack for $135. This wine pack includes four bottles of wine and access to a virtual tasting guided by Vancouver-based wine educator, DJ Kearney.
If you would like to make this delicious blueberry, balsamic and star anise pie, the recipe is from House & Home and can be found here. What makes this pie so wonderful (other than its deep, dark, intense flavour) is that it’s made using frozen wild or low-bush blueberries, which are easy to find all year round. The recipe uses minute tapioca to thicken the filling, however I recently discovered that there is currently a tapioca shortage. As I could not find minute tapioca anywhere, I substituted five tablespoons of cornstarch and it worked quite well. I sifted each tablespoon of cornstarch into the frozen blueberries, tossing well after each addition. Bon appétit!