What is Yin and Yang?
According to About.com “In Chinese culture, Yin and Yang represent the two opposite principles in nature. Yin characterizes the feminine or negative nature of things and yang stands for the masculine or positive side. Yin and yang are in pairs, such as the moon and the sun, female and male, dark and bright, cold and hot, passive and active, etc. But yin and yang are not static or just two separated things. The nature of yinyang lies in interchange and interplay of the two components.”
I thought about the Yin & Yang terms when I recently tasted two white wines, a Gewurztraminer and a Chardonnay, that I received from the Perseus Winery, located here in the Okanagan. When I tasted these two wines they seemed at opposite ends of the spectrum; with one a delicate wine while the other was very outgoing. But both can be enjoyed together, and appreciated.
The wine maker for the Gewurztraminer was Mr. Tom diBello and he was a joint wine maker on the Chardonnay with Okanagan Crush Pad. From my past meetings with Tom, I can see him making a really interesting Chardonnay. He has travelled and worked around the world producing wines. This Chardonnay reminds me of some top quality Chardonnay that I have tasted from Napa Valley.
My Tasting Notes
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Perseus Winery Gewurztraminer 2012 (BC $17.99) – Nice nose showing red delicious apples, lychee, citrus, and a hint of sweet cherries. Dry with medium acidity and ligher body. Soft mouth feel with some oily roundness to it. Stone fruit, in particular apricots, apple, citrus, some almond pit, and sweet cherries. With some air, lychee flavour became more apparent. Medium plus length with a mouth watering finish topped with spice and more red delicous apples. Also as the wine warmed up a bit, I also detected some lime and grapefruit flavours. This wine is very good, and should be enjoyed right after opening. I left the wine open for 24 hrs, as I did with the Chardonnay. Both still had their wonderful fruit flavours, but they were more subdued, so drink soon after opening the bottles. I would enjoy this Gewurztraminer with some satay skewers or Thai noodles.
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Perseus Winery Chardonnay Select Lots 2011 (BC $27.99) – The first thing that strikes you is the deep gold colour of this wine, followed by it’s very expressive nose. In this case it was a cross between baked pears and warm caramel kettle corn, with a touch of vanilla. This is a dry wine with medium plus body and intensity of flavours. The nice thing about this wine is that you can feel the acidity in the wine supporting it’s weight. On the palate I tasted more of the baked pears, along with strone fruit, some sweet spices and butter. Long finish with some mouth watering sensation at the back of your tongue along with some oak and butter. This is an outstanding wine and needs a full bodied dish to pair with it. Try some grilled pork chops or chicken in a cream sauce. As I mentioned once you open the wine drink it as soon as possible as the flavours did become toned down the next day that I tried it.
When you look at the two glasses of wine above, you may notice that I used a smaller, narrower glass for the Gewurztraminer so I could preserve the delicate aromas of this aromatic wine. The Chardonnay was tasted in a glass with a wider bowl so I could swirl it more and bring out more aromas from the wine.
You can read more about Perseus Winery and wine maker Tom diBello here:
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