Between the Vines: One woman's wine-soaked musings

A special appeal to the wine community: PADS needs puppy raisers and sitters

2013-04-09T13:30:32-07:00

The Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), headquartered in Burnaby, B.C., needs puppy raisers and sitters--30 of them--right away. Can you help? Do you know someone who can?

These loving puppies grow into assistance dogs that help people and change lives. Each litter is named within a theme. Below are (left to right) Pinot, Syrah, Merlot, Grigio, Bacchus, Verdot, Malbec, and Gamay.

And what does a puppy raiser do?

"Puppy raisers look after the first year (10 to 14 months) of a PADS puppy's training by housing and caring for the dog, and attending weekly training classes and then reinforcing the learning at home. It is a very social and rewarding role and many puppy raisers have been with PADS for years. Puppy raisers get the joy and fun of helping a puppy develop into a working dog that goes on to live in and assist the community where it is so needed."

PADS is appealing to us, the wine community in particular, because we are typically helpful and have a knack for "spreading the word."

More info:

Laura Watamanuk, Executive Director, PADS
604-813-1725
www.PADS.ca

Dog wash leads to new wine experience

2013-03-21T12:41:39-07:00

I explain in my column how we found Sumas Mountain Wines and tasted four Wild Goose wines during our trip to explore Bosley's dog-washing facilities. Oh, and I give a quick explanation of VQA. The column was published on page 31 of the February, 2012 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News.

We have a Standard Poodle puppy named Leilani and she led us to a new wine store in Abbotsford.

Well, not directly.

We headed for Sumas Mountain Village in Abbotsford to check out the Bosley’s Pet Food Plus dog-washing stations we'd heard about from the breeder and... read more.

À Votre Santé!

Okanagan Crush Pad shares good fun with the rosé smackdown

2013-03-20T20:06:15-07:00

Okanagan Crush Pad is running a fun contest where we are to choose our favourite rosé wine: Haywire or Bartier Scholefield, lovingly referred to as BS. Winemaker Michael Bartier and wine expert David Scholefield have their dukes up!

I will write full notes and share them with you at a later date. Right now I can tell you that both are lovely and juicy. Here is the little ditty I used as my contest entry:

Welcome to the main event
Pour your pink; enter the tent
Swirl, sniff, and sip, then tell the whole town
Haywire takes the rosé smack down.

À Votre Santé!

A select history of wine: From Georgia and Germany to B.C.'s Okanagan Valley

2013-03-13T15:09:48-07:00

By guest blogger, Pasquale Amantea

The Ancients – Georgia

Georgia boasts the world’s longest wine heritage. It’s home to a purported 520 grape varieties and is where the grape vine originates and wild vines were first domesticated.

Around 8,000 years ago, locals discovered that grape juice turned to wine when buried through the winter in a shallow pit. By 4000 BC Georgians were cultivating grapes and producing wine, which they would bury in clay vessels, called kvevri, for up to 50 years to ensure perfect temperature and flavour.

Kvevri have become synonymous with Georgian wine, and their importance has been depicted in pottery from the third and second millennia. In fact, wine became so engrained in Georgian culture that elaborate cups and pitchers featuring gold, silver, and gems have also been found from the second millennium BC.

Medieval Times - Germany

Although German viticulture dates back to Roman times, winemaking in Germany was practiced primarily on the western side of the Rhine before the middle ages. The spread of viticulture to eastern Germany mirrored the spread of Christianity, when monasteries and churches played a vital role in wine production. Indeed, many of Germany’s best known varieties have been traced to the 14^th or 15^th centuries, with Riesling documented from 1435 and Pinot Noir from 1318.

During the medieval era, it is estimated that German vineyards covered an area four times the area they cover today. The decline of viticulture can be attributed to several factors, including the increasing popularity of beer, the Thirty Years War, and the dissolution of the monasteries.

Present Day – British Columbia’s Okanagan

The Okanagan is a newcomer to international viticulture. Home to roughly one-third of Canada’s wineries, grapes first appeared in the region when Father Charles Pandosy planted vines in the late 1880s.

But it wasn’t until the 1920s that commercial grape growing began in the area. Leading the charge was proprietor J. W. Hughes, who planted 147 acres of grapes in 10 years. Various government policies have since encouraged industry growth, most notably the Premium Wine Policy Industry Strategy, which increased investment in new estate wineries and farm winery models. Expansion in grape acreage has subsequently averaged more than 10 per cent annually and currently stands at more than 7,000 acres.

Pasquale Amantea is an Italian-Canadian who lives in Trail, B.C. A home vintner for decades, he has a keen interest in all things wine and is responsible for importing grapes annually to Trail, where a large community of Italians and Portuguese make wine in their homes each year.

Publisher's note:

Post author Pasquale Amantea, descended from a long line of winemakers, has a series of wine-related articles he'd like to share with an audience outside his backyard. I am happy to have him do that here. Opinions are his alone and facts are received as already researched.

À Votre Santé!

Valentine's dinner 2013: Back at River's Edge in Harrison Mills

2013-02-11T13:13:30-08:00

So fast forward a year and we're back once again celebrating Valentine's Day as guests of River's Edge Restaurant at Pretty Estates Resort in Harrison Mills.

Rick and I shared the nearly week-long Valentine's feature, Surf & Turf, sans surf. The beef tenderloin was done to perfection and the dessert was large enough to satisfy four people.

With the main course, we each had a glass of the 2009 Firesteed Pinot Noir from Oregon, which stood up nicely to the steak and complemented the medley of mushrooms we had in place of the scallops and prawns.

I am told that River's Edge is working toward building more B.C. wines into its list. I look forward to that.

À Votre Santé!

A nod to love: Valentine's Day 2012 revisited

2013-02-10T17:25:45-08:00

Here is our 2012 Valentine's Day dinner experience at River's Edge Restaurant at Pretty Estates Resort in Harrison Mills, B.C.

A nod to love: Valentine's Day 2012

By Rick Rake

Between bites into a juicy six-ounce tenderloin, a succulent rack of lamb and sips from a bottle of Hester Creek Cab Merlot, Valentine’s Day for us this year was more than just a culinary experience, it was a historical treat.

Soon after we were seated in River’s Edge Restaurant neighbouring its Rowena’s Inn and the tall trees of the 18-hole Sandpiper Golf Resort, we noticed the smiling face of Betty-Anne Faulkner.

As the resort developed over the last two decades, Betty-Anne and her husband Doug have been important voices in the look and feel of the 160-acre property which is a regal, relaxing and welcome sight for visitors. She has often spoken to former media types like myself about the next amazing thing in store for Rowena’s which has compelling past.

Since Betty-Anne’s brother Ivan died, she secured the title of CEO and president for the beautiful resort nestled close to the waters in Harrison Mills where eagles and blue herons come to play.

It was dark this night, but we could see the sparkling lights of the white inn, named after Betty-Anne’s mother.

Doug is always comical in his dinner table commentary, but he became very serious when he talked about a very special person who once sat at a table that is now located in the former Rowena’s Inn dining room.

“It was the Queen Mum,” he said . . . and the conversation turned to the English Monarchy.

A delicious spinach salad on a bed of red beets and garnished with a tasty mix of flavours was inhaled during our discussion with the Faulkners who live in a specially-constructed extension to the inn with their dog, Putter, aptly named after a tool relevant to golf.

Putter appears most curious when weddings are setting up, and Betty-Anne is always sure to make sure the pup is out of the way.

While the couple was between courses, they left their seats to share Valentine’s cheer with other patrons, and our server Aimee Corno and the attending chef, Johnathon Gee engaged with us, telling us about their passion for the restaurant, their wines, seasonable vegetables and a desire to create their own herb garden on site.

When the Faulkners returned we witnessed the arrival of her strawberry-embellished Frangelico Mousse Parfait, and in the spirit of envy it was quickly ordered with a Sandpiper latte for our table to complete our Valentine’s dining delight.

When Betty-Anne was finished her dessert, she asked her husband if he would be her Valentine. All he had to do was nod.

It was one of those perfect nights.

À Votre Santé!

Festive wine options

2012-12-24T10:50:21-08:00

I'm willing to bet that much of what you've read about wine between September's back-to-school week and today, Dec. 24, was what to serve with your Christmas turkey-dinner spread.

But what if you’re not celebrating the season with a turkey dinner and its requisite trimmings?

Fear not. Here are wine options to accompany two other holiday menus.

Fondue
If you’re gathering people around the table for a fondue with pots of hot oil, then you’ll likely have all sorts of foods to pair with your wine: beef and poultry (some marinated, some not), vegetables, shellfish, and a variety of dipping sauces—spicy, salty, sweet.

You might think it would be a nightmare to pair that lot with a single wine, but it’s not.

Pick a sparkling wine that is either dry or off-dry. Prosecco, an Italian sparkler, is one of my favourites with food that has been cooked in oil. It is juicy enough to clear away the coating left by the oil in your mouth, preparing it for the next bite, and usually has enough residual sugar to complement sauces that have a bit of a sweet edge. Plus, you get bubbles.

Prosecco is available at most B.C. liquor stores and rings in at $14 and up, depending on the brand.

Prime rib
Pick a red wine with good tannic structure to go along with your rare roast beef. The protein in the meat will soften the tannins and smooth everything out, allowing you to enjoy the wine and food equally.

Prime rib is our Christmas Eve dinner and this year I will serve LaStella Maestoso 2006, from B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, as our premier bottle.

I first sipped this particular vintage in 2009. At that time, according to my notes, the wine was rich, tannic and earthy, with aromas and flavours of red and black fruit, sweet spice, herbs and dark chocolate. I can’t wait to taste it now.

My family and I wish you and yours a very warm and loving Christmas and all the peace and joy 2013 can bring.

À Votre Santé!

Mission Hill Pinot Noir with our beef stroganoff

2012-11-26T09:01:30-08:00

I poured half a bottle of the Okanagan Valley 2010 Mission Hill Five Vineyards Pinot Noir into my beef stroganoff last night; the other half of the bottle went into our glasses. It fully satisfied the first of my five no-fail tips for cooking with wine: Never cook with a wine you're not willing to drink on its own.

This wine, which I received as a sample, was juicy, fruity, and well balanced. I found aromas and flavours of raspberries, cherries, and sweet spice. Also on the palate were soft, soft tannins, earthy notes, and juicy acid that worked well with the rich mouthfeel and tangy flavour of our supper.

Ringing in at just under $20 at B.C. Liquor Stores, this VQA Pinot Noir, which is pleasant and uncomplicated, promises to please palates and wallets.

À Votre Santé!

Cooking with wine: Five no-fail tips to guide you

2012-11-16T14:32:28-08:00

Do you like to cook with wine? I'll bet you do.

Here is my column offering five no-fail cooking-with-wine tips, published in the November, 2012 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News.

“I love to cook with wine; sometimes I even put it in the food.” That’s what a magnet on my stove reads. And it’s true.

So, how do you pick a wine to use in your cooking? Here are five tips to guide you:

1. Never cook with a wine you’re not willing to drink on its own. If you don’t like the flavour of the wine while it’s in your glass, you’re not going to like it as it concentrates in your dish. Read more.

À Votre Santé!

In my opinion, there is never a good reason to not drink bubbles

2012-10-25T00:53:21-07:00

Below you'll find my Oct., 2012 wine column, published in My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News. This month I share my impression of Bella sparkling wines.

A little bubbly can fancy up the drabbest event, honour the most special occasion or simply make you smile. And with the Christmas party season approaching (don’t blink!), now is a good time to stock up on sparklers.

During my recent trip to the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, I was a guest for two nights at the lakeside Walnut Beach Resort, where I had the good fortune to sip on many B.C. wines. Read more.

Salut!