I was pouring at my weekly Wine Tasting Tuesdays here in Vancouver just a couple weeks back, when one of the attendees introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Moirae from Tomato Wheels; it’s a Lambrusco I-”
“TOMATO WHEELS,” I exclaimed. While the brand has been around a few years now, I hadn’t had the opportunity to give it a whirl, yet it happened to organically come up in various conversations in recent weeks, and here was the proprietor and a friend enjoying a sunny tasting event I produced.
So, I already knew much of the story. Moirae Choquette is an Indigenous entrepreneur and public speaker who fell in love with Lambrusco over a decade ago during a trip to Italy, natch. Upon returning home to Western Canada, she was disappointed by how few and far between bottles of the red, dry and fizzy good stuff were to find in the market. Legend has it that years later she awoke in the middle of the night with a bit of a ‘Eureka!’ moment. She was destined to produce a Lambrusco, and she’s never looked back.
Consulting with Calgary-based sommelier Brad Royale, they began working with the Bertolani family of Emilia-Romagna, and fast-forward to today: we have a widely-available Lambrusco that’s fun and damn tasty. (Here in Vancouver it’s available at Brewery Creek, Marquis Wine Cellars, Everything Wine, and beyond.)
Perfumed cherries and black currants on the nose lead to hella-juicy plums, blackberries and raspberries on the palate, with a good smattering of white pepper on that oh-so-dry finish.
I’d say to start putting out the cheese and charcuterie, but I just happened to try it with BBQ kettle chips and, reader, it was a DELIGHT!