Jackson Triggs white wine.
Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve White Meritage 2008
BC VQA Okanagan Valley
$20
Bottles of red Meritage abound; whites are rarer. The term denotes a Bordeaux-style blend, and it's now a trademark (its owners even want to govern pronunciation: Think "heritage").
Derek Kontkanen, a young gun in the "whites" division of Jackson-Triggs Okanagan, makes a memorable Meritage with grapes from the Whitetail vineyards in Oliver. The components are Bordeaux classics: sauvignon blanc (80 per cent) and semillon (20 per cent).
Kontkanen's version is sophisticated and complex: a combination of ripe fruit, rich fullness and food-friendly balance. It's a good match for briny oysters, seafood or vegetarian pastas, soft ripe cheeses and Southeast Asian-inspired dishes such as Vietnamese spring rolls and Indonesian satays.
Available at BC Liquor Stores.
Kasey Wilson is food editor of Wine Access magazine and editor of Best Places Vancouver.