Mike L.
Master Wine Judge
Member since: September 2009
What is your most memorable wine or wine and food experience?
Many years ago I entered the Vancouver Amateur Winemakers Association (VAWA) annual competition. I won a gold medal and Best in Class for my Bordeaux-style wine which I had quickly pulled from a barrel. I left the next day for South America for several weeks for work. Once I returned home, sadly my Bordeaux-style wine never replicated that score …but I enjoyed drinking it all the same.
What wines have you always wanted to try but haven’t? What is your favorite vineyard? Region?
My favourite vineyard in BC is Three Sisters Winery on the Naramata Bench in Penticton; their Pinot Noir is one of my favourite wines. My favourite vineyard in Argentina is Lujan de Cuyo (in the Mendoza region) where we had a wine tasting with a 5-course lunch and 40% blue market discount.
What event or experience started your journey in wine?
In 1976 I was living near UBC renting a house with a buddy. Due to budget restrictions, we started making beer and wine. My winemaking partner, John Yorke, decided to join the Vintners of North Vancouver (Vinovan). I did not join because I only made wine for my own personal taste and enjoyment. He entered one of our Zinfandel wines in a competition and we won Best in Class. That gave me pause to consider ‘maybe I should get into this more’. For the next few years, anytime we would win a trophy for our wines I would pour a Kokanee beer into the trophy and drink it from that vessel.