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Calona Vineyards 2013 Artist Series Sovereign Opal, Okanagan Valley, $13

By on May 19, 2015

calona-vineyards-artist-series-sovereign-opal-nv-bottleBest Buy! The Canadian government developed this cross of Golden Muscat and Maréchal Foch in the 1970s as a winter-hardy and aromatic white grape, and only Howard Soon’s team at historic Calona Vineyards — headed by Sandy Leier — works with this variety. It’s remarkably exotic by exuding tropical aromas and flavors of lychee, rosewater and pineapple with baking spices. And yet, the presentation is virtually bone-dry with delicious acidity. Calona has been winning awards with Sovereign Open virtually every year since its debut in 1987, and this year is no exception. It earned a gold medal at the 2015 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition in Southern California. Suggested pairings include curries, samosas, Panang chicken or Creole-crusted Halibut.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 2,676 cases

Alcohol: 11.5%

Winery website

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

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