I don’t think of France as a particularly tumultuous country in terms of wine. Its AOC system is well-defined and strict, meaning that when you buy a Chablis or a Beaujolais, you can be relatively certain about how that wine will taste. But in the south, in the Languedoc region in particular, things get a lot more wild and wooly. In the manner of Italy’s Super Tuscan vintners, many important Languedoc producers “ignore the AOC system completely and put most of their effort into making high-quality vins de pays,” according to The Oxford Companion to Wine.

Vins de pays, or country wines, were originally intended to be simple, tasty wines which have some basic hallmarks of the region from which they came. But according to The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, “This category of wine includes some of the most innovative and exciting wines being produced in the world today.” The lack of restrictions in this class of wines “encouraged the more creative winemakers to produce wines that best expressed their terroir without being hampered by an overregulated AOC system…” the Encyclopedia goes on to say.

The most successful of the vins de pays, according to the Encyclopedia, is the Vin de Pays d’Oc, which encompasses the entire southwest coast of France from Spain almost to Avignon. The refreshingly easy-to-pronounce name means, rather strangely, “wine of the yes country.” In the ancient local Occitan language, “oc” is used for “yes” instead of “oui,” so if you’re in oc country, you know you’re in the south (though you’ll be hard pressed to find an Occitan speaker nowadays, thanks to France’s policy of stamping out any language or dialect that wasn’t high French, which continues even now to a certain extent).

I’m very fond of this unruly region of France, and thus it was with pleasure that I received a complimentary sample of a Vin de Pays d’Oc, especially because it was made from a grape variety I’d never heard of: Marselan. Created in 1961 and authorized for Vin de Pays d’Oc use just 23 years ago, this crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir was created specifically for the Languedoc terroir, and it “can offer respectable levels of both color and flavor,” according to the Oxford Companion.

I therefore opened the 2011 Prix Fixe “Diable Rouge” Marselan with high hopes (“respectable” in Oxford Companion terms usually means “quite good” to the rest of us). This wine from the Pays Cathare region of Languedoc is imported by a Napa winery called Spelletich Family Wine Co., and Barb Spelletich explained in an e-mail to me how a California winery became involved with a Marselan from Languedoc:

We were looking for a wine to import from France and a friend of ours, a broker in France who works for Scodex, Nicholas Reble introduced us to this grape. I was intrigued with the facts about Marselan… This Marselan is grown and produced by Cantalric co-op servicing the region of Pays Cathare. This region is bordering the Mediterranean Sea up to the Alaric mountain… I love the combination of Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. The flavors are very intriguing.

Intriguing indeed. It has an aroma that’s both darkly fruity and earthy — one friend I tasted the wine with detected a note of barnyard in the nose, and another remarked, “It reminds me of Asian preserved plum, oh, but don’t write that down — no one will know what it means.” Maybe not, but it certainly sounds enticing to me.

On the palate, the wine has ample fruit tempered by earthy undertones. It tasted meaty, hearty and spicy, with an aromatic finish of cherry pie. Some in the group thought the wine’s earthy character dominated, but I found the earth and fruit to be very well-balanced. It packs a lot of flavor, this red devil, making it a fine example of what wild and wooly Languedoc can produce, and very fine value at $18 per bottle.

SUMMARY

2011 Prix Fixe “Diable Rouge” Marselan: Darkly fruity, earthy and fun, ideal for a summer barbeque. Be sure to chill in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes to bring it down to cellar temperature.

Price: $18, and a fine value at that.

Find It: You might not see this wine in your local shop, since only 416 cases were produced, but you can purchase it on the Spelletich website.

6. Wines of Greece Tasting: When I tell people that the Wines of Greece tasting was a real highlight of the Wine Bloggers Conference,  many people are taken aback, still traumatized by memories of Retsina. This tasting, however, left no doubt as to the potential of Greek wines today. Sunny whites from Santorini, rich reds made from barely pronounceable varieties like Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro, eye-poppingly vivacious dessert wines — taken together, they put to rest the notion that Greeks don’t make great wine. More specifics on this tasting to come.

7. Ghost Town Tasting: One evening, we headed to the site of Fairview, a gold-mining boom town which was subsequently abandoned. Little remains today, but the site made for a spectacular progressive wine tasting. We meandered along gently rolling paths from tent to tent, tasting an array of delicious wines, the cloud-capped peak of Old Baldy (above) watching over us in the distance. Some favorites:

• 2012 Gehringer Brothers Gewürztraminer-Schönburger: This 50/50 blend had a nose of caramel popcorn that made me positively shiver with anticipation. I was not disappointed. I wrote, “Dry, spicy, fruity, aromatic — yes. Yum.”
• 2012 Oliver Twist “Oliver’s Choice” Kerner: I’ve written positively about Kerner before, and this example also proved delightful. It smelled of honeysuckle, rubber and funk, and it tasted fruity, savory, spicy and exotic. Unusual and great fun.
• 2012 Tinhorn Creek 2Bench Rosé: This blend of 51% Cabernet Franc and 49% Syrah had a beautiful aroma which made me think of strawberry-topped crème brûlée. The flavor profile was exactly what I look for in a rosé: fruity, juicy, zesty and dry.
•  2010 Stoneboat Vineyards Pinotage: I never thought a wine made from this South African variety would make my list of favorite anything, but this British Columbian Pinotage had a richly creamy red fruit aroma, a velvety texture, ample red fruit on the palate, rustic acids and a non-overpowering vegetal note. The best Pinotages I’ve had in recent memory.
• 2005 Fairview Cellars “Two Hoots”: The winery currently sells the 2010 vintage of this Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend, and if that’s all you can find, buy it and lay it down for a couple more years. The 2005 sucked me right in with a very deep, jammy aroma, and despite the rich fruit, its structure managed to be tight and focused. Delicious, especially considering that this is a wine “priced for daily consumption.”

8. The Feet of God!: Jon makes a superlative Argentinean Malbec called “Hand of God,” which you should snap up immediately should you be fortunate enough to come across a bottle. It has a richly dark, plummy aroma, some zingy acids and powerful focus. But Jon’s bright-orange shoes stole the show, especially in the black light of the bus. “Those are the feet of God!” a gleefully stentorian Jon pronounced.

9. The Inniskillin Ice Wine Presentation: This presentation felt too salesy, but it proceeded smoothly enough until this PowerPoint slide hit the screen. Then there it was, in giant font, the biggest whopper I’d heard since Eric Holder denied being involved in the subpoena of news media phone records. One half a ton (please forgive the American spelling) of grapes in every bottle of ice wine. Zow.

Now I’m just guessing here, but I think that would mean the entire grape harvest of North America would have to be diverted to Inniskillin. A couple of alert audience members questioned the speaker, and I tweeted my incredulity about the numbers. Nk’Mip Cellars responded to my tweet, writing, “Our bad. Our winemaker Randy Picton advises its more like 500, 375ml bottles. Thanks for checking in.”

Two bottles, 500 bottles… it’s just a rounding error, really.

10. Lambrusco Tasting in the Riunite RV: There came a time on the last evening of the Wine Bloggers Conference when the pull of the Riunite RV finally became irresistible. I collected some of my favorite people at the conference, including noted Vancouver-based wine writer Kristof Gillese and Steve and Jane of the well-regarded 2 Hollywood Winos blog, pulled them out of a perfectly lovely Jordan Winery after party, and headed down to the hotel’s parking lot. The Riunite RV gleamed under the lot’s lights, and we climbed aboard.

Inside, we discovered two leather sofas and a distressingly red queen-size bed, along with plenty of swag such as red-and-white Riunite-emblazoned sunglasses. The Riunite rep encouraged me to try a Lambrusco and beef jerky pairing. And by God, if in that moment — in that wonderfully ridiculous RV, after days of carefully contemplating dozens and dozens of serious wines — that sweet/salty pairing wasn’t perfectly delicious, my name isn’t Odd Bacchus.

1. Waking up each morning to this view of Lake Okanagan.

2. Dinner with Tsillan Cellars‘ owners Mr. & Mrs. Bob Jankelson. The hillside setting of Tsillan presents panoramic views of Lake Chelan, and the well-crafted wines — available only in the tasting room or through the wine club — provide yet more incentive to visit. The Chardonnay tasted rich but balanced and focused; I enjoyed the tight and earthy Sinistra (a Sangiovese-based blend); and about the fruity and full-bodied Bellissima Rossa, I wrote “Yes.” The company was just as good as the wines. My favorite part of the evening came when Mrs. Jankelson asked, with disarming frankness, “So, can you tell me, what is wine blogging? And why is it important?”

3. Sparkling Wine Brunch at Karma Vineyards. This winery convinced me, along with quite a few of my fellow bloggers, that Lake Chelan’s specialty might well be sparkling wines. Each of the wines we tasted had impressively small, pointy bubbles and bright acids, ensuring that they pair well with a range of foods. My favorites were the 2010 Karma Brut, which had rich apple fruit and balanced lemony acids, and (despite the unfortunate name) the 2011 Hard Row to Hoe “Good in Bed” Blanc de Noir, with its beautiful texture, pronounced berry flavor and juicy, orangey acids.

4. Bus Tastings. We spent a lot of time on buses at the Wine Blogger Conference this year, for better or worse, and the conference organizers had no intention of wasting that time. Why just sit there when you can be drinking wine? The best bus tasting culminated with a 2011 Moon Curser Petit Verdot, a variety which appears in Bordeaux-style blends far more often than in a varietal wine. It had a gorgeous mocha aroma, dark fruit, rustic tannins, a zing of acids and an aromatic finish. Delicious. The winery takes its name from local gold smugglers, who would curse the full moon as they tried to sneak their booty across the border at night.

5. 2010 Hainle Vineyards Estate Winery Gewürztraminer Ice Wine. Kristof Gillese led a fascinating session about judging wine, selecting several delicious British Columbian wines for us to sample. I very much enjoyed the rich and lively 1996 Summerhill Pyramid Winery sparkling wine, the cheery and earthy 2008 Tinhorn Creek Old Field Series Pinot Noir, and the velvety and peppery 2009 Painted Rock Merlot.

But the Hainle Gewürztraminer Ice Wine was staggeringly delicious. It’s rare to see a Gewürztraminer ice wine, I learned, because the fruit usually falls off the vine before the first frost, or at the very least loses its acidity. Conditions have to be just right, and with this wine, Hainle hit a home run. It had a rich but fresh honeysuckle aroma, and such verve on the palate! It started lush and sweet, as you might expect, but then startlingly zesty acids kicked in, followed by a pop of white-pepper spice. On the finish, I got a touch of orange along with an aromatic tobacco note. It was sublime. If you can find a way to get to Hainle to taste this wine, for God’s sake, do it.

The first winery we visited as part of the Wine Blogger’s Conference pre-conference excursion to Lake Chelan was not, in fact, on the lake. Since Rio Vista stands on a hillside overlooking the Columbia River about 10 miles to the north, it technically belongs to the huge Columbia River AVA, not the four-year-old Lake Chelan AVA (American Viticultural Area). Even so, travelers to Lake Chelan should consider a short detour to Rio Vista, accessible by road, boat or float plane.

Because of Seattle’s reputation, one might imagine that a vineyard in Washington State receives vast quantities of rain, but eastern Washington lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, making it a veritable desert. Most wineries here need to irrigate their sun-soaked vineyards.

As tempted as I was to take advantage of that sun and bask on Rio Vista’s river-view terrace, I was here on business, and I headed straight to the bar to get tasting. Here are some of my favorite wines, most of which turned out to be blends:

2012 Wild Rose Rosé: A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Syrah, this pink charmer had a tight, spicy aroma, creamy fruit and a zippy prickle on the finish. $19.

2012 Sunset on the River: This very unusual combination of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay had a beautifully floral, aromatic nose. It starts sweet but tart acids take over, keeping things balanced. $20

2009 Loony Red: Another rather unorthodox blend, this wine mixes two Bordeaux varieties (Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) with a Rhône grape (Syrah). It works. I got sucked in right away by the enticing, darkly jammy aroma. The flavor didn’t disappoint, with a richly fruity start, some oak, some dusty tannins and a zing of spice. $28

2011 Malbec: This wine really divided the crowd. Some people loved the pronounced coffee aroma and the flavors of mocha and cherries, but others remarked that if they wanted a cup of coffee, they would go to Starbucks. $32

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon: We tasted this wine straight from the barrel, which always feels like a special experience, even if the wine is only half-baked. In this case, I wouldn’t have hesitated to drink a whole glass (or more). This creamy, fruity Cabernet had a carefully controlled spiciness and a delicious mocha finish. (Yet to be released — the 2009 costs $32.)

As tasty as these wines were, what really made the visit to Rio Vista unforgettable was the float plane ride. Groups of six of us headed down to the dock on the river and clambered aboard for 30-minute panoramic tours of the region. Quarters were close, but I happily snapped photos of the rugged hills and the lakeside vineyards (see my previous post about the landscape here).

I noticed that the fellow next to me wasn’t taking photos, and oddly enough, his eyes were closed. I didn’t think all that much of it until I saw beads of sweat forming on his brow, incongruous in the relatively cool airplane. It wasn’t until we were about 10 minutes from landing that the poor gentleman requested an air sickness bag.

Alas, this modestly sized receptacle proved inadequate for the task. My greenish-looking neighbor rapidly filled the sack with the colorful remains of the beautiful hors d’oeuvres he had been nibbling just minutes earlier. Thereafter, though he politely kept the bag close to his mouth as he wretched, with each heave, a fine (and occasionally not-so-fine) spray of vomit would burst into the air. Fireworks of bile glimmered for a split second in the sunlight before they landed on my window, my leg, my arm, my shirt, my camera, my glasses, and yes, my mouth.

Thankfully, just as we were reaching these new heights of ghastliness, the plane began its descent. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no,” my neighbor said, as we made a final turn before landing. We all exited the plane with no small amount of relief, but none so much as my motion-sick friend, overfull air sickness bag in hand. It was, without question, an unforgettable introduction to Lake Chelan.