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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 authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

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