Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris 2007
December 30, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
People in Vancouver know all about Burrowing Owl — just mention it’s available and any wine-loving Vancouverite won’t hesitate to order it in a restaurant. If somehow you’ve missed all the hoots about Burrowing Owl, it’s about time you came out of your hole in the ground!
The Pinot Gris a dry, medium-bodied white that is delicious and crisp. It is very smooth on the palate and would make a great companion to seafood and fish dishes. But it’s use doesn’t end there. It’s a wine you could drink anytime because the elegant orchard fruit flavours are enticing.
It’s also great with a cheese plate and a variety of nibbles for a holiday afternoon. Burrowing Owl can be found in Vancouver at Liberty Wine Merchants, VQA stores and on many restaurant wine lists. It was $20 from the winery.
Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Meritage 2004
December 30, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
If you can possibly wait 20 to 30 minutes while this wine decants, you’ll be paid back with a very smooth swallow. Meritage (rhyming with heritage, as it’s a word created from merit + heritage) is the New World way of describing the traditional Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
This wine tastes of dark cherry and has a nice oak structure. The folks at Stag’s Hollow make their wines to be approachable young, so the wines drink well at release and the four years following. Which is very considerate of them, as their wines are so tasty it would be a shame to have to wait.
This wine is bold enough to stand up to hearty meats and strongly seasoned tomato-based dishes. It’s a great wine for winter meals that stick to your ribs. It’s also fruity and tasty enough to drink on its own.
There is still some of the 2005 Meritage around, but only 230 cases were produced. It’ll cost you around $35 from the winery and likely a few bucks more from Vancouver wine shops.
Stag’s Hollow Renaissance Merlot 2002
December 24, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
If you haven’t already discovered this BC winery, it’s about time you picked up a bottle. It’s hard to find a drinker who tries their wine without getting hooked.
The Merlot is really fruit-forward and sweet-smelling, it reminded me of berry bubble gum. The wine is dry and smooth with long legs — it’s 14.8% alcohol! The 2002 was aged for 20 months in oak, which gives the wine depth.
The winery produces fewer than 2,000 cases of wine per year and prides itself on the quality of its estate-grown and locally produced grapes. It’s located in Okanagan Falls, not too far from Blue Mountain winery (a regular feature on many Vancouver wine lists).
You probably won’t be lucky enough to get your hands on a bottle of 2002 (unless you know someone like my father with a seemingly endless cellar of Okanagan wine), but later vintages of Renaissance Merlot (or the tasty Meritage) are available from the winery for around $30. I’ve recently noticed it for sale at The Brewery Creek Liquor Store (3045 Main Street in Vancouver) and Firefly Fine Wines and Ales (2857 Cambie Street in Vancouver). Keep your eyes peeled for the label at your favourite wine shop.
Sumac Ridge Sparkling Shiraz 2006
December 24, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · 2 Comments
I am so happy the Sumac Ridge has brought bubbly red to Canada! This Sparkling Shiraz is Canada’s first and I am not ashamed to say I like it. I actually didn’t even realize it was “unhip” to enjoy this beverage until I read a post by Jordan Mackay (who admits to liking it too).
Australia has long been producing this bubble and my sister (who lives in Sydney) got our family hooked on it years ago. It is great with turkey, looks pretty on a Christmas table and it’s easy to drink on it’s own.
Sumac Ridge has already impressed lovers of quality bubble with its Stellar’s Jay Brut (a beautiful, peachy-hued sparkling wine that you should keep in mind for New Years Eve). Now it has bottled its take on Sparkling Shiraz. The result is fairly minerally on the nose, definitely some eggshell there, but you get a lot of dark cherry taste and that “Perrier action” of mineral fizz.
Since it’s light it is a great pair for a variety of foods. I could imagine it complimenting delicate beef carppacio, duck, or turkey. We had it with French onion soup and it was a terrific pair to the beef stock, sweet onions and cheese. It makes a great cocktail bubble and could take you all the way through to chocolate dessert.
But maybe you’re one of those people who turns up their nose at red bubbly. That’s fine with me — hopefully it means Sumac Ridge’s Sparkling Shiraz will be easy to find on the liquor store shelves! It’s about $3 dearer than the Stellar’s Jay Brut — you can pick it up for $30 at BC Liquor Stores.
Kettle Valley Merlot 2005
December 24, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
Kettle Valley Winery is a perennial favourite of mine. So in the holiday season I was happy to see a bottle of their 2005 Merlot out breathing on the counter.
It has a dark berry nose, blueberry actually comes out, and it’s a dry, medium-bodied wine. At 14.5% alcohol, it packs a punch, but after three years in the bottle it’s drinking smoothly this Christmas.
It’s an easy wine to like and can stand on its own without any food. A crowd-pleaser, it easily pairs with pork, poultry, or tomato-based pastas.
Kettle Valley still has 2006 Merlot for sale from the winery for $26 a bottle. Kitsilano Wine Cellar (at 2235 W 4th Avenue in Vancouver) seems to have a Kettle Valley fan on staff, so it’s a good bet for picking up a bottle when you’re in Vancouver.
Finding the Herb in Chalabre
December 14, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
It is not uncommon for vacationers, regardless of the destination, to find the change in diet does not agree with them. All the bread and meat began to wreak havoc on my Father’s digestive system.
At home, he has a herbal tea that he drinks to soothe his belly. With the help of our hostess we look up the translations of the herbs in his usual brew and get the address of a local herbologist in a nearby town.
We were soon off to Chalabre to find out if we can get a small town herbal hook-up. The drive from Calvayrac to Chalabre took us through some interesting scenery.
The vineyards and sunflowers of Languedoc have inspired many an artist, including Vincent Van Gogh. In August of 1888 he painted sunflowers when they were in bloom. As we drove past field upon field of dry, dead sunflower carcasses, the scene was more somber than Van Gogh’s bright depictions. However, the vineyards, with their plump black grapes just waiting for harvest, were a happy sight.
Upon our arrival in Chalabre, we found almost the entire town was closed. We’d arrived just after noon and our herbologist was closed until 1:30, as lunch is religion in France. This gave us a chance to wander around the charming little town and we found ourselves in a quaint restaurant for our own lunch.
Once lunch was finished, we returned to the Herboristerie and found it opened. The Herbologist had hair that could have inspired Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Apparently his natural remedies were working wonders on his dark glossy coiffe. In addition to being stunningly well-groomed, his store was immaculately organized. Each herb had its own bag, drawer or box and there were even more shelves in the back!
He was able to quickly throw together two weeks of herbs for my father’s “tummy tea” for a cost of about €6.50 (C$10-ish). It worked wonders and Chalabre was such a neat little place that we may never have visited if it hadn’t been for an upset stomach.
Afternoon Cocktails
December 14, 2008 by Sheila Whittaker · Leave a Comment
You can only do so much with those hours between lunch and dinner in France. Sure, there’s historic sites to visit and shops to meander through, but you sure work up a thirst being a tourist. Afternoon cocktails became more the norm than the exception while we were in France.
Muscat
Muscat is a grape known for it’s intensely floral and fruity aromas. It can be made into a dry table wine, but it is also fortified which makes it a great aperitif. It was served in a flute and chilled with two ice cubes. My mother likened the taste to white Dubonnet. The muscat was not syrupy at all. It was very smooth and refreshing. A sweet drink, it made a nice afternoon treat before leaving the town of Carcassonne.
The experience closer to home? Perhaps you can track down La Frenz NV Liqueur Muscat. La Frenz winery is on the Naramata bench and this wine scooped up a bunch of metals in various competitions. It’s fortified to 18.5% and a sweet treat. If you would prefer to try a drier, table version, Joie winery, also in Naramata, makes a slightly off-dry Muscat.
Pastis
Pastis, a is a cloudy, milky-looking, anise-flavoured aperitif. It’s one of France’s most popular beverages, with annual sales pouring out about 130 million litres of the stuff.
It was served in a skinny, tall glass with a couple cubes of ice and a small pitcher of water. It falls into the same category with Perinod, Sambuca, Ouzo and other licorice-tasting liquors. It reminded me of being in Greece, so was a suitable order for an afternoon in the Mediterranean. However, after too many late nights in Greece when shots of Ouzo would come out, I found it a bit too early to be drinking the familiar flavour.
My brother-in-law had the bright idea to mix it with his Fanta Orange pop, which made a surprisingly refreshing cocktail. Just don’t tell the French what we did to their favourite liquour.
Campari
If you’re more a lover of bitter than sweet, perhaps you’d enjoy a Campari. Although the exact recipe is a secret, it is known to be made from herbs, plants and fruit infused in water and alcohol. The Italian drink is a common aparatif, but a bit too medicinal for my tastes.
