“And what are you up to tonight?” he asks me.

“I’m covering an event for a food blog,” I tell him. “This foundation called The School of Fish has built a dining room that is floating on 1700 rescued pop bottles in False Creek and C Restaurant is serving us up a six course dinner that focuses on sustainable seafood.”

“Blogs are getting pretty powerful these days,” he observes. “I bet you guys could shut a restaurant down if you were to write about it having rats or that the head chef had syphilis.”

“S’pose we could. Though I try to avoid such things.”

“I betcha a blog post about the cabbie situation would help get the word out. Wonder how I would go about doing that?”

“Dunno, man. Good luck with it though.”

I would love to help the guy out with his cause but I am too preoccupied with my last minute research to give it any further thought. All week long I have immersed myself in the tell tale signs of our oceans in peril: nightmarish photos of albatross chicks that have starved to death as a result of their mothers bringing back meals of plastic bottle caps, lighters, children’s toys, combs and toothbrushes; articles of how public interest in the Gulf oil spill has dramatically dropped in the last few weeks, replaced instead by Lindsay Lohan’s incarceration. I have googled “plastic addiction”. I have watched Captain Charles Moore speak of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a gyre of plastic and debris in the middle of the ocean that has grown to the size of British Columbia; I have read of factory trawlers that scrape the ocean floor with nets the size of football fields; as well as endless first hand accounts of lifetime fishermen who scratch their heads in confounded wonder and tell tales of a frightening lack of fish in our oceans today. In short, as I step out of the cab, I am determined to cover this assignment in a complete rage and with utter disdain for the human race.

Instead, I am greeted with a welcome cocktail, spontaneously named the Melville, made with local vodka, mint syrup and fresh strawberries, along with 11 utterly charming fellow dinner guests and the introduction to a story that over the course of the evening would step beyond the doom and gloom scenarios and engage us all on a level of human perseverance, passion and inspiration.

It is a rare opportunity to witness someone’s “crazy” idea become a reality. The Floating Dining Room is one of those moments. Seating 12 guests a night from now until the end of September with the goal of raising 100,000 dollars to fund a comprehensive course on sustainable seafood for culinary schools, it is the brainchild of Shannon Ronalds, co-founder of the School of Fish Foundation, who not only conceived of the idea but was also hands-on in all aspects of the construction, logistics, menu and wine selection as well as serving as sommelier and host for all 60 nights of the fundraiser. Amazingly, this whole thing came together in just 4 months. This included acquiring 14 permits, the last of which coming into fruition only 38 minutes before the City shut its doors for the weekend.

“Anyone who knew any better would have never tried to pull this off in less than a year” says Shannon with a grin.

The raft’s design resembles something out of Dwell magazine: modern, efficient and beautiful. A glass floor beneath the table reveals the bottles that keep it afloat. There is something in the fact that these are bottles that have been rescued from the sea and not simply acquired from a recycling depot, that really has an effect on me. The wood is also a castaway of our society in some regard seeing as it is all bug kill pine. In fact, everything that went into the building of the raft was either donated or sold to Shannon at cost. All of it seemingly has its own story of sustainable origins or of people doing things differently. It is these minute details that Shannon seems to have a flair for. Perhaps most notable of all the features, and the only component of the evening that could not boast of its sustainable theme is the chandelier over the table. Generously donated by The Cross, it sways hypnotically above us the entire evening, its motion relative to the size of ship that happens across our bow. But it would turn out that this too played a functional role, for as the night moved in upon False Creek, it served as a siren call to each curious passersby with its glittering effervescence.

The inspiration for this event came to Shannon when he was in Southern France and he observed waiters carrying plates of food out of the seaside restaurants and down the pier to private parties aboard the yachts out front. He thought it would be an amazing sight to have something similar occur in Vancouver and with no yacht of his own, he devised the idea of the raft. And indeed, as we sat around the 12 seat table sipping our first wine of the evening there appeared a line of waiters in whites making their way out of C, across the seawall, and onto the pier in our direction. This would continue throughout the evening with even a couple of appearances by Chef Robert Clark, co-founder of the School of Fish Foundation and students from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. The results of their efforts were as follows:

1st Course
BC Spot Prawn Sunomono Salad paired with the New Zealand Mud House Sauvignon Blanc.
Wonderfully minimalist presentation juxtaposed by the flair of the dressing being added at the table via a frosted shot glass.

2nd Course
Ultra rare scallop with dashi broth paired with the Summerhill Pinot Gris.
A truly elegant broth finished cooking these beautifully

3rd Course
Farmed Tilapia with a lobster saffron cream paired with the Twisted Tree Marsane Rousanne.
I could have happily gone home after this dish. Not only was the Tilapia perfectly cooked and the lobster saffron cream sauce exquisite but it was also the best cooked spinach I have ever had in my life.

4th Course
Northern BC Wild Coho Salmon with smashed peas, Israeli couscous and chorizo paired with the California 2008 Bensinger Chardonnay.
The reason I am glad I didn’t go home after the 3rd course.

5th Course
Tiger blue cheese from Poplar Grove, romala cheese from Naramata with blueberry and apricot compotes + honey paired with the Pacific Breeze “GSM” (or Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre)
Brilliant pairings of compotes and cheeses.

(It was around this time that the fireworks began. As much as we tried, Shannon would not take credit for this component of the evening)

6th Course
Berry Fool with chocolate shavings paired with the Tinhorn Creek Late Harvest Kerner 2008 dessert wine.
Baring the appearance of a mini-bamboo steamer, a suitably light and satisfying end to a perfect meal.

Throughout the courses, Shannon played the role of impeccable host, tending meticulously to the wine and the presentation of the dishes and all the while talking about why certain fish were chosen for the meal. It became clear immediately that this was not some simple lesson in buying local: the Bensinger Wine from California for example, was chosen because it is a bio-dynamic wine whereby the growers view the vineyard as a single organism and work to eliminate all artificial crutches from the growing process. The Tilapia was previously frozen and brought in from Florida but farm-raised in a sustainable manner. Each dish and drink that was served to us had some specific lesson about alternative practices purposefully diverse so as to keep open the potential of this event and its cause floating beyond Vancouver’s harbours.

“Our goal is to spread ourselves around the world,” Shannon told us. “And end up in France because I think that would be the boldest statement that we could make, that little Vancouver is teaching the people who taught us how to cook, how to evolve.”

After the experience that we have had over the course of the evening, I don’t think there is any doubt from anyone at the table that Shannon and The School of Fish Foundation will achieve this goal. And so, upon bidding goodnight to our hosts and fellow guests, with the echoes of fireworks still lingering on the breeze, gunpowder in the air, and the last of the crowds making their way home along the seawall, I stepped once again onto solid land, inspired and satiated, and headed up to the main street in search of a cab ride home.

This event is being held every night between July 21st until the end of September, 2010 (rain or shine).
For reservations, please call 778-997-6977 or email contact@schooloffishfoundation.org.

Cheers, Chin Chin, Santé, Salute or Kanpai. The sound of these generally means that drinks are about to be enjoyed with friends. Perhaps an Old Fashioned, Sazerac or a nice glass of Nebbiolo…but I digress.

A few years ago I was enjoying a nice dinner with my cousins in England and encountered a common scenario. The table of four ordered a bottle of wine, a cocktail and a beer. The wine and beer arrived and I was left waiting a few more minutes for my cocktail. My cousin, obviously unaware that I was without a drink, raise his in a cheers. Caught off guard, I grabbed my water glass and replied in kind. My cardinal sin, as I was about to find out, was to clink a drink different than mine. In my case, a glass of water and a glass of wine.

For a tradition rooted in wishing goodwill to friends, NOT clinking glasses initially struck me as odd. Until I thought more about the history of toasting and cheersing. (or of course, one popular version of it)

Clinking glasses started with Lords in old english halls with mugs full of beer. The purpose of clinking glasses, often rather vigorously, was spill a bit of beer into each others glass while looking them directly in the eye. The logic was that if someone had poisoned your glass, you would see the reaction in their eyes. Of course you couldn’t cheers and spill your drink into your “friends” if you weren’t drinking the same thing.

This backstory explains my incident at dinner in England. Whether this is the truth, or just a good bar story, it does explain many of the customs surrounding our current iteration of it.

Market

The next wine was an ’09 Sauvignon Blanc with bacon wrapped shrimp in a passion fruit mustard and cumin honey sauce. This is a pairing anticipating summer, with it’s grassy, fruity notes.  I wasn’t fond of this wine or the fruity, spicy seafood, but the next dish – homemade gnocchi with morels, black pepper and olive oil is more to my taste anyways. Sultry, earthy and rich with a little bit of heat from the pepper, the aforementioned ’08 barrel sample of syrah/viognier stood up to the challenge with a little bit of spice of its own. It’s meant to be “equal parts day and night…part syrah and part shiraz” and its dual nature is reflected in the give and take, the push and pull of pepper and lift. Paired with the morels, it was exquisite.

Next up was an ’07 ‘Epoque’ Merlot and an ’08 ‘Apogee’ Merlot. The dinner was created because of the Apogee Merlot…Jean-Georges was “blown away” when he tried the 2006 Merlot. The ’07 is tannic and mouthful with some spice. Compared with the Epoque merlot, it’s higher yield and comes from higher ground, resulting in a smoother finish.

For dessert there was a special treat – Lady Jane double cream cheese with fresh strawberries and 100 year old balsamic vinegar, ’09 Moscato d’Osoyoos from Le Vieux Pin’s sister winery LaStella and a musical accompaniment from a VSO violinist. LaStella believes that wine moves people in the same way that music does and so they have named their wines after musical movements.

An upcoming wine dinner at Yew Restaurant, this coming Wednesday (June 9th) will pair wine, food and music by the same violinist. Tickets are $90 and available by contacting the restaurant directly.

Hosted by the South Okanagan Wine Association each year, Banée was modeled after Burgundy’s famed Banée de Meursault, a wine industry celebration that marks the end of pruning and the beginning of a new season.

Originally a small gathering of South Okanagan winery owners and winemakers enjoying a wine-focused, no-frills forum to taste local and international wines, exchange ideas and share meals, the Banée has grown and word has spread but the concept remains the same.

As a member of the invited food media, the weekend started on Friday with a private dinner and tasting at Passa Tempo Restaurant at Spirit Ridge, followed by a Culinaria celebration at the host hotel Watermark Beach Resort with tastings, exhibitors, an Iron Chef competition and even an auction.

Saturday started with an interesting breakfast discussion about how social media could be used to benefit and grow the South Okanagan wine industry followed by a whirlwind media tour of some of the South Okanagan’s best vineyards. It was like having a backstage pass, giving us a rare glimpse behind the scenes at the wineries and allowing us to meet and get to know the personalities behind the South Okanagan’s success—many of whom are simply hard-working farmers.

After a terrific lunch at Walnut Beach Resort (ohhhh, the pepper bacon sandwich…) and wine discussion where we literally got to give feedback directly to the winemakers themselves, there was a dizzying “speed tasting” event. (Note to self: spit your wine out next time, no matter how good it tastes).

The Banée wrapped up with a gala dinner at Spirit Ridge featuring exquisite food and wine from all over the South Okanagan and was filled with joviality and a sense of community.

Thanks to my friend Sid Cross and the South Okanagan Wine Association for inviting me to participate in this rare event. Banée 2010 has left me with some great memories I will cherish forever. And more importantly, I know have a much better understanding of what makes the South Okanagan area so unique and its wine so good. The secret? The people. Well, that and their passion for quality wine and hard work they’re willing to dedicate to that pursuit.

Click here to view photos from Banée 2010.

[NOTE: This is a preliminary report and I will update, revise and add more details and images of interest in the next day or so. I promise the title of this post will make more sense then. Thanks for your interest.]

When in New York last fall, I felt a heavy sense of injustice when comparing their prices with ours of the same bottles. I laughed it off and carried on but the feeling of betrayal remained. It’s at least comforting to know that there is a collective group of passionate people in BC who are attempting to motivate change within the system. Our audacious prices certainly don’t mean that I’m brimming my basket with 2L bottles of barely BBQ worthy wine, but have instead altered my behavior by adjusting my budget creatively. My monetary goal is to hover beneath the $25 mark.

Last week, I craved a browbeater and so drove through the rural roads of South Point to visit Liberty, a wine shop on 152nd Street. I was drawn to an ‘05 Poppy Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, despite the associate describing it as drab by stating it as being solely balanced. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the contrary. I kid you not, I tasted peat. Although I commonly taste smoke in wine, never have I had something that was so reminiscent of scotch. It was full-bodied and also carried characteristics of chocolate, cassis and hay.

You know what? I loved it. At $24.99, it barely broke even, but it ignited my interest and left me to ponder it for some time thereafter.

Last night I was pleased to attend the first Salt Cellar Tasting Series of 2010, featuring Oyama Sausage Company and Vista D’Oro Farms & Winery. John van der Leick, owner of Vancouver’s favourite provider of local artisanal charcuterie and sausage, regaled the crowded room with stories about the passion and care that goes into each product made by Oyama. Vista D’Oro owner, Patrick Murphy, was also present to explain the background and craft that goes into each of their unique, hand-crafted wines and spirits.

Patrick introduced Vista D’Oro to the group by expressing his family’s dedication to old world fruit growing and wine making techniques. Likewise, John told a story about how his family has been making ham and sausage for five generations and Oyama was started by his uncle. Both men expressed their dedication to artisanal practices, explaining that for them it essentially meant avoiding shortcuts and using ancient ways to produce the best results possible—often by hand, at greater expense, and resulting in products with shorter shelf lives than modern methods. John and Patrick both understood that their businesses would not likely ever become large, hyper-profitable corporations as a result, but as John’s uncle once said, “It is better to be a small boss, than a big slave.” I liked the magic combination of passion and humility both these craftsmen exuded.

The tastings began with with ’08 Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir ’07 paired with Tuscan Wild Boar Salami and Bayonne Ham respectfully. The gewürz was light and fresh, which complimented the sweet, gamey boar, and the pinot, aged in old French oak for 11 months, was surprisingly robust. The third pairing was a cocky little Merlot ’08 made by “a passionate Italian in Oliver” matched with a Lonzo, which melted in your mouth.

As the next round of tastings got under way, John told another story, this time about the quality and health benefits of old-world meat preservation, sharing his favourite Italian proverb: “It is better to spend your money at a good butchers than at the doctor’s.” Amen to that. I got the impression that I could sit for hours listening to his stories about and opinions about food, such as his claim that since Rob Feenie’s disappearance from the scene, Vancouver has no real star chefs, leaving room for others to move in. He also claims that no one in Vancouver has really mastered the ceviche!

The second round of pairings included a brand new Syrah ’07, which had been siphoned off the barrels only six hours before we tasted it. He was quite literally sharing with us the experience of testing a wine before bottling, trying to determine whether it was ready yet. With notes of white pepper, citrus and a noticeable alcohol component, it matched nicely with the deep red sherry beef from Oyama. The next in this flight was completely different and shockingly original—something Vista D’Oro calls a Pinto Noix. Which is literally their pinot noir which has spent ten days on top of the green walnut husks used to make their D’Oro walnut wine. More like a sherry than a conventional wine, the Pinot Noix (noix is French for nuts) paired spectacularly with Oyama’s duck liver mousse. Oh my gosh, if you’ve never tried this duck liver mousse, you haven’t lived. Trust me. And finally, we all tried some of Patrick’s famous D’Oro fortified walnut wine, which drinks more like a port as it’s been aged in brandy casks for nine months and blended with frosch, merlot and cab franc. It was perfectly twinned by a sausage containing nuts. Delish.

A final surprise of the night came as Patrick poured a new product of his—a fortified plum wine called Cyprianna based on an old family recipe and made from the fruit trees planted along the driveway on their farm. In fact, as a young boy Patrick apparently learned to make this drink from his grandfather. Let me tell you friends, after a glorious night of wonderful complementary flavours, this drink stood alone. It’s combination of mildly strong alcohol matched with a wonderful plum flavour and the sexy burnt orange colour made it the perfect dessert drink. I longed for more and was pleased to learn it would soon be available in liquor stores.

To summarize the evening I would use the word ‘authenticity’ to describe the company, the room, the service, and especially these two men who came together to bring us wonderful meats and wines to sample. To be fair, there were a selection of cheeses and condiments too, but these weren’t really the evening’s main acts. The atmosphere was jovial, with people introducing themselves to strangers beside or across from them, and if the moans (literally) issuing forth as people first tasted something is any indication, everyone had a good time indeed. The room itself was a bit too crowded for my liking, my friend and I feeling rather claustrophobic in the dimly lit cellar, but meeting Patrick and John, hearing their stories and tasting their pairings easily made up for it. It was a wonderful experience in artisanal authenticity, and a wonderful reminder of the minor renaissance we’re experiencing in the BC food industry. I’m grateful for dedicated companies like Vista D’Oro and Oyama for doing what they do and hope they never stop.

So much of Spanish culture appeals to me. When I read of Spaniards ducking into late night tapas joints for some pulpo or sardines on toast before heading home from a night of drinking, it makes the Granville Street options of cardboard-and-oil pizza or Tsui Hang specials even more unpalatable than they already are. Thankfully there’s a new kid on the block doing something different. Cafe Barcelona has just opened at 1049 Granville serving tapas and pintxos (Basque bar snacks) until midnight every day.

I admit that there was some trepedation in entering the newly opened, sparsely decorated little shop, but one look at the chalk specials menu, covered over in boquerones (marinated anchovies) and stuffed mussels and it seemed we would not be led astray.

We had the patatas bravas, a fried potato and tomato sauce dish guaranted to soak up the excess alcohol in your system, spicy sausage, sardines on toast and the aforementioned boquerones. I was enjoying the flavour and quality of the food so much that I even did something uncharacteristic of me and ate some of the marinated octopus without flinching.

The wine list is equally authentic and I picked a crisp white to wash down my food while my dining companions all sampled sherry.

I don’t spend much time out on Granville Street these days, but I’m already thinking of a reason to be back in the neighbourhood soon.

Apron modelled by Foodists Editor, Degan Beley

This post was supposed to be a review of the recent Night With Theo Chocolate event at The Refinery in Vancouver, but the event’s organizer and host Eagranie—a fellow Foodist—beat me to it, posting a terrific recap on her personal blog The Well Tempered Chocolatier. Needless to say, the room was packed, the Theo Chocolate was delicious, and the Farmstead Wines were perfectly paired. So I won’t write up a long-winded review of that event.

Instead, I’m going to write about why I love being a member of Foodists.

As we approach the one year anniversary since the official launch of Foodists, it feels like I’ve been part of something special. It really doesn’t matter how this community began, it’s become much more than a blog or a club. There are many aspects of being a Foodist, such as the wonderful food we make and eat together, the culinary events we host or get invited to, the amazing wine we drink and stories and recipes we share with each other, but my favourite thing about the Foodists are the Foodists themselves.

Foodists.ca is made up of some of the highest calibre people I know and I’m proud to call every one of them friends.

I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but our little food blog morphed from a place to post articles about some dish we made, some restaurant we discovered, or an event we attended, into something much more than that. To me, Foodists  feels more like a collective of like-minded and loyal friends than merely taste bud-obsessed culinary junkies.

When I consider what it is that I like so much about these people, I am struck by a number of things. Beyond being intelligent and articulate, Foodists are creative people, open-minded and willing to take risks and try new things. These people know who they are and what they like, and each of them are keen to embrace life and relish sharing experiences with others. Foodists are willing to invest the effort, hard work and expense to experience something special, yet they are surprisingly generous.

Coming from different backgrounds, with varying interests and education, Foodists are passionate people spread across cities such as Toronto, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Victoria and of course Vancouver. Many have never even met in person, yet correspond as though they know each other well.

In fact, the word passion is a good way to describe what Foodists are about. Every member of this collective seems to squeeze as much out of life as they can, and I find that inspiring.

Although many of our contributors have their own businesses, some in the food industry, there is very little self-promotion on Foodists.ca, and no one is getting paid. We write together for the same reason we eat together—because we want to.

As one of the founders of this site, I am grateful for generous folks who shared our vision and helped get us to where we are today. There are so many stories and examples of the generosity and dedication shown, such as those who loaned us their strategic and technical web brilliance to make the site happen. Or those who continue to provide content and editorial leadership, ensuring the site achieves and maintains a high quality level. Nearly every Foodist has at some point helped organize, coordinate, photograph or even host an event over the past year. Finally, many members have generously provided food, wine, or even their cooking skills for special events. And all the while, each member contributes to the growing collection of stories, reviews, recipes and recommendations that makes Foodists.ca so popular. Did I mention no one is getting paid?

I could continue, but I think I’ve made my point. And this community continues to expand, with new members joining the collective recently, each bringing their own perspective and insights to the group.

A final thought about the members of Foodists that may be obvious to the reader by now—these people work as hard as they play. These are people who get things done and I respect that a lot.

One example of that hard work was the recent Night With Theo Chocolate event mentioned above, which Eagranie put together with the help of some friends and sponsors. But make no mistake, this event was hard work and she poured her heart and soul into it, and it showed. She is a fine example of what it is to be a Foodist and I’m proud to know her.

The Foodists collective is more than a group that unites lovers of food and wine, and its community is made up of more than just those who view food as more than merely nutrition. We adore food. We get off on food. Food is life, and these people understand that life takes work. Life is sometimes expensive. Life is fleeting and best enjoyed in the moment. Life is to be shared. And I love sharing food and life with my fellow Foodists.

I hope everyone reading this is lucky enough to have friends who enjoy food and life as much as we do as Foodists. Consider hosting a Foodists-inspired event of your own and tell us about it. Send photos and a description so we can share it with others.

Definitions of Crush:

1. To extract or obtain (juice) by pressing or squeezing (grapes).

2. a great crowd.

3. (slang) an object of one’s affection.

4. Cornucopia’s gala tasting event.

After a full day of sessions, everyone turns up in the Grand Tasting Hall at Cornucopia where 75 wineries were pouring on both Friday and Saturday nights. The room is packed with people wanting to taste, mingle, see and be seen and at times it wasn’t clear to me which of the above definitions was the most apt at any given moment.

We didn’t get to all of them, but here are a handful that stood out.

Notable Wines

• Black Hills Alibi 2008: a gorgeous fresh, white with grapefruit and nectarine notes.
• Road 13 Jackpot Chardonnay: fruity and light, hint of melon.
• Jacob’s Creek St Hugo  Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon: a complex, rich red redolent of blackberry leaves, spices.
• River’s Bend 2007 Viognier: amazing nose on this one with a crisp, clean finish. And it’s from Surrey!
• De Martino 2006 Single Vineyard Carmenere: beautiful deep red with chocolate and pepper notes.
• Hester Creek 2008 Pinot Gris: a sweet and crisp white redolent of apple, pear and ginger.
• Hester Creek 2008 Trebbiano: the only Trebbiano from the Okanagan. Fruity and light.

Cornucopia is billed as Whistler’s celebration of wine and food and while there was certainly some celebrating happening in the tradional style, at parties (more on that later this week), there was also some great sessions happening throughout the day. I tried to mix it up a little bit with a sake sampling, a rare wine tasting and a sherry and charcuterie pairing class.

Sake Meets Its Match

The first session of the day was “Sake Meets Its Match”, put on by Masa Shiroki of Osake Artisan Sake on Granville Island and David Scholefield. We tasted two local sakes from Osake, one from Nigita and three from Toshimori Sake Brewery Co., one of Japan’s premiere sake makers whose proprietors were in attendance at the session. All this was paired with charcuterie and cheese from Oyama Sausage, which made for some heady aromas first thing in the morning.

All sake is made from fermented rice, but it is specific sake rice that differs from table rice in that sake rice has more starch. Once it’s been milled and fermented, there are still several different sakes that can come out of it, through filtering and diluting.

We started with Osake Junmai Nama Nigeri, an unfiltered sake with a floral nose. Scholefield compared the nutty yeastiness of it to champagne. This was compared directly to the Osake Junmai Nama Genshu – filtered sake – which was clear and silvery in colour and had much more of a salty, umami feel to it.

The Masukagami Junmai Ginjo Premiumwas delicate and floral and grew in intensity after drinking it and the aged Sakehitosuji Sake Private Reserve was beautiful and buttery with a nutty aftertaste, but my favorite by far was the Sakehitosuji Jungin Black. This is an amazing sake, rich and complex with a gentle tangy finish.

The last one, Sakehitosuji Junbaishu Plum Sake, was not to my liking at all, having a strong umeboshi (pickled plum) taste to it and far too much sweetness on the palate although it was interesting to note that none of this was detectable on the nose.

Wines for a Blue Moon

The “Wines for a Blue Moon” session was about rare, hard to find, wines, small quantities,  and special wines that deserve recognition. After being handed a glass of Krug at the door we sat down to an impressive spread of wine (pictured top) and got started. Both the wines and the moderators were paired perfectly and while we went through the flight, David Scholefield, Anthony Gismondi and Sid Cross educated, elucidated and entertained. It was a great session and I was sad to see that it wasn’t more full.

From the classic Krug Grand Cuvée NV with its cashew and ginger notes, we went to a William Fevre Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre. This is a gorgeous pale gold chablis that tasted of apples and oysters and butter. These were the only whites of the tasting and the descent into red began with a Marcel La Pierre Morgan Cuvée MMVII 2007, a Beaujolais. Black cherry in colour, it tasted like raspberry jelly and there was some controversy in the room as to whether or not it was a good one, but I’ve marked it down as a favorite to try again.

The next two, Bouchard Pere Beaune Du Chateau 2005 and the Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 2003 were tasted in conjunction because although they are half a world apart (the Felton Road hails from New Zealand), they are both beautiful pinots. The Bouchard Pere is spicy and tart while Felton Road’s pinot noir had more cherry to it and was my preference.

The Italians were also tasted together. Piaggia “Il Sasso” Carmignano 2006 and Guado al Tasso Bolgheri 2006 are both from Tuscany but the similarity ends there. The Piaggia is smooth and floral, resplendent of violets, while the Bolgheri from Antinori comes out punching – big and full and juicy.

Next up was the Mission Hill Family Estate Quatrain, a beautifully complex wine with coffee and blackberry notes. I loved both this one and the Rhone Gang Hold-up 2007 which also echoed the blackberry flavour. While a lot of these rare wines can be put down for years, Scholefield noted that “well-made wine from B.C. will by definition be long-lived because acidity is the key to age.” Worth noting.

The session didn’t fade out on a weak note, squeezing in another couple of favorites while we were still running out of time. Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2006 smells of ash but comes through with lots of fruit on the palate, along with jam and honey. Beautiful. Finally, the South American Columella Eben Sadie Swartland 2005 was an almost universal favorite. One of the moderators described it as, “wine that stops you in your tracks” and the vibrancyof it is just amazing. It’s only available in small amounts in Canada, so if you see if, grab it all.

Sherry and Charcuterie

I’m already a sherry-lover and I’ve already heard Kurtis Kolt of Salt Tasting Room speak on sherry at last year’s VinoCamp, but I couldn’t resist sitting in on it again.

He’s got 22 sherries by the glass at Salt, more than anywhere in Vancouver, and we tasted five, paired with some cheese and charcuterie. But before we got into them, he had to explain that sherry is a fortified wine that must come from the sherry triangle in Spain (formed by the cities of Jerez, El Puerto and Sanlúcar). It’s also characterized by the use of the solera system, which takes some of the wine fromeach year and blends it with older wines to ensure consistency over time.This process is used whether the winemaker is making dry fino sherry or rich, sweet olorosos.

The first sherry we tasted was Tio Pepe Fino, a crisp dry sherry great for summer that tastes of apples, nuts and yeast. This is not normally what people think of when they think sherry, but once you get hooked on it, it’s hard to forget it. Next up, the Lustau Palo Cortado is darker in colour, but still close to the fino in richness.

Alvear’s Amontillado and Nutty Solera Oloroso are gorgeous, rich, caramel-coloured sherries that get closer to the sherry of people’s imaginings. For myself without much tolerance for sugar, these are about as sweet as I like them. TheAmontillado is reminiscent of burnt sugar while the Nutty Solera is all about baked apples. Delicious.

Finally, the Lustau East India Solera is dark brown and very sweet. It smells of raisins and spice and unsurprisingly reminds many people of Christmas, which makes it a perfect sherry to sample a couple more times in the coming weeks.

An event almost passed through my twitter feed without me noticing last week but luckily it didn’t completely pass me by. The evening was hosted by “Vancouver’s most passionate wine bloggers & sommeliers” and was seemingly aimed at educating people as to some of the subtleties of wine. This group was newly formed and featured a mission statement on the front of the evenings program.

YVR Wine Industry Tasting group was born out of a desire to share our passion for wine, to lean more about it, to connect with others. We endeavor to give back – by sharing this passion and knowledge outside of industry circles…and hope that you will come away from this evening with a mind that is more open to possibilities, and with a new appreciation for the inexhaustible beauty and pleasure of wine.

The event was hosted at Scott Landon Antiques store which provided a warm and intimate environment to sample some wine. 10 tasting stations were interspersed with old antique and each station had a theme with two wines selected to help demonstrate that particular theme.

1. What affect does climate have on wine?
2. Do you agree with the critics? (a points based comparison)
3. How many different grape varietals can you name?
4. Does Argentinian Malbec taste like Malbec?
5. When was the last time that you served a sherry?
6. Can you describe what a Riesling tastes like?
7. Will a glass Bubbly this festive season be your first this year?
8. Do you consider yourself a red wine drinker? (tasting whites)
9. Do you think artisan wines are worth the money?
10. Do you prefer Molson or Kokanee?

The room was pretty crammed with a lot of people and could have used with some more space, and 2-3 more tables to space everything out a bit. Talking around, everyone enjoyed different stations, but seemed to enjoy ones where the was opportunity to converse and ask questions without being surrounded by 8 other people looking for another pour.

The stations were well balanced with red, white, champagne, sherry and beer. The beer jumped out as the one station that was out of place. The beers that were poured (Orval Trappist Ale, and Dogfish Head 90 min IPA) were both good, but didn’t have an over all theme or lesson.

My favourite stations were the Riesling, Champagne and Malbec each for different reasons. The Malbec stations talked about the historical differences between French and Argentinean Malbec while the Riesling compared Germany and Austrian that illustrated some of the tastes differences between them. At the champagne station I ended up having a long and off topic chat about grape differences and wine production.

The wine of the night was tie between the Elkhorn Peak 2000 PInot Noir (Napa Valley, USA) and the Jakoby-Mathy Riesling Kabinett (1999 Mosel, Germany). All of the wines that were poured are currently available form Kitsilano Wine Cellar and I’ll be making a trip down there soon to pick a few up!

Looking forward to more events like this. No website for this group yet, but follow organizer Jeff Bashford (@vinaroon) to stay in touch.

Leah’s mother exaggerates most things by a factor of 1000. Filling up her car these days, for example, costs about 100,000 bucks. So, while listening to Dixie as she told a wonderful, romantic story of cooking a turkey underground one snowy December—about 29,000 years ago—with her sweetie, Hal (now Leah’s Father), we couldn’t help but wonder where to orient ourselves—taking the hyperbole factor into account. I was leaning toward a situation that looked more like a turkey being cooked in the wood burning oven with the cabin door open.

So, we called [what we assumed was] her bluff by repeating the experience.

On Easter weekend we travelled to Reid Island, a small water-taxi-only rock tucked between Galiano and Thetis Islands where Leah’s family has had a cabin for about 30,000 years. Sunday was “Ground Turkey” Day, and we set out to work.

Supplies: Shovel, Axe, 17lb turkey, roasting pan, olive oil, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, Hal’s complicated stuffing, clam pot, lemon, butter, LOTS of beer, LOTS of wine, LOTS of Fireball.

As it happens, the exhausting of our alcoholic supplies makes certain details of the experience difficult to recall. Fortunately, we seldom do remarkable things without the presence of 1000 HD video cameras. We’ll allow the resulting footage to tell the rest of the story.

—Jay and Leah

1. It’s not just about wine. This year there was a CheeseCamp track too. Yes, real, serious, delicious conversations about cheese.

2. You’d have understood that if you forget your wine country map that’s okay. Keynote speaker Dr. Donna Senese of UBC Okanagan shares some interesting insights into wine tourism and civilization including that getting lost is very important to wine tourism because it allows you to make “the find”. Oh, and in terms of wine country, the Okanagan has it all. Yes, if you’re an aging baby boomer with shitloads of passive income and lots of time on your hands, don’t walk, run there and buy a place.

3. Your eyes and pallet would be opened. In a brilliant move to kick off the CheeseCamp track, Anthony Nicalo of Inevitable Table and Farmstead Wines and Sebastien Le Goff of Cibo Trattatoria and Uva Wine Bar have us taste a $25 bottle of wine they refuse to name together with an industrially produced French cheese they did not try to mask (Baby Bon Bell). Their point? To establish a baseline of mediocrity related to processed and manipulated wine and cheese production before getting onto the real tasting that included some amazing pairings of artisenal, farm produced wines and cheeses including what is regarded as the oldest cheese known, Ossau Iraty. Note, the piece we tried was fresh.

4. You get to improve the way you experience cheese and wine. I’ve always figured red wine was best with cheese. Not so. Well, there’s much contradiction, but generally soft and stronger cheeses are better with white and harder cheeses such as Manchego are well matched to red. In fact, sweet and sparkling wines are the most versatile. As in most things food and wine, the balance between acidity of the wine and the cheese is important. Also, in much of Europe the wines and cheeses within each growing region are designed for one another, and are thus most often served together. This is starting to happen here in BC too. Try it.

5. Eat fine, fine cheeses. Young cool  people have taken over. Jonah Benton of Benton Brothers Fine Cheese (located in Kerrisdale) shows us what goes into cheese: Milk, salt and rennet and that’s it. Other than the milk type, it’s the bacteria, process and aging are differentiating factors giving us thousands of cheeses. Unpasteurized or raw milk cheeses have literally hundreds of bacterial strains, lending a complexity and depth of flavour unmatched by their pasturized brethren that have the bacteria added back in, but only about seven strains. We drank wine and sampled three French beauties: Brie de Meaux and Comté Marcel Petite and a Bleu d’Auvergne.

6. You’ll no longer feel sheepish about having a different shaped glass for every type of wine cluttering your cupboard. In an astonishingly revealing demonstration of how the shape and size of a glass can bring out the best in the wine it is designed for, David Sanders of Riedel, blew our minds. So, should you have a different glass for your chardonnay, pinot, merlot, reisling, etc.? The answer is an emphatic yes, unless you hate hand washing 16 crystal wine glasses after a dinner party for four. Those attendees into their wine experience and doing dishes drunk got a fabulous deal: four glass Riedel Vinum XL tasting sets for only $44. Unheard of pricing. Pinot will never be the same.

7. If you liked “Oh Sherry” when Steve Perry sang it, you’ll love it with cheese. Well, maybe put on some nice jazz or fado instead, but sherry has really leapfrogged over the image of the old Harvey’s Bristol Cream as a terrific accompaniment to cheese. Tio Pepe is a light young sherry we tasted with a Moonstruck Ash Camembert. The Nutty Solera Oloroso, my fave of the tastings and only $16 at the liquor store was paired with gorgeous Manchego picked up from Les Amis du Fromage. Finally, the darkest sherry we tried was the Lustau East India Solera together with a Valdeon Blue. Most interesting factoid we took away was that sherry is produced in what’s called a solera system in which sherry is transferred from cask to cask as it ages. Moving from the top barrels in the system through to the bottom where it is eventually poured off to bottles, it’s conceivable and altogether likely that the sherry you drink from such a system is, at least in part, as old as the system itself. Thus, you could be drinking 50 year old sherry. Yum. A system like this, though fragile in that it can be ruined in its entirety if substandard ingredients are introduced, will produce extremely consistent product throughout its life. Oh, and sherry doesn’t age in the bottle so don’t feel guilty about popping the top on that bottle you just bought. Enjoy.

8. You only think you know what you know. The Lightening Talk where we experienced the flavour explosion of a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly after chewing it for seven seconds with our noses plugged was rather jarring. Then we went on to do blindfolded explorations of common essences found in wine. Surprising how challenging some of these were to get. Black peppercorns, prune, smoke, rose water and others. Try it with a friend at home.

9. You won’t be shunned for taking photos of your food or looking like you aren’t paying attention to the speakers because you’re tweeting and blogging. VinoCamp and CheeseCamp are all about social media.

10. More young cool people. Kurtis Kolt of Salt Tasting Room spoke to us about sherry in Reason #7 above. There’s certainly something to be said about an event filled with lively, excited and passionate people. VinoCamp and CheeseCamp not only have this in spades, but it’s also organized by the same kind of people. Refreshing, fun and time just flew by, and not because I was drunk. So, thanks everyone. Can’t wait until next year.

For all the details of wines poured and cheeses served, here’s the complete list.
Need more convincing? Check out the photos.

My sister & I had bought this bottle in the first week on the evening of a balmy July, at the Kitsilano Wine Cellar near my apartment.

The intent of whatever wine we had chosen was to serve not only for taste, but as a dose of mind medicine, while we sat on a desolate side of the beach & dissected our distress. It was one of those nights: two synchronic slits to the heart & the natural feminine need to analyze the logic of act so to simplify its abiding emotions. It never works, but the drinking of the wine certainly plays a fine role of distraction while time lingers a long, promising a result of rejuvination..

So, the wine. It’s 5% Cabarnet Sauvignon, 60% fruit sourced from Barossa Valley & 40% from McLaren Vale. It was made by the R Winery in South Australia & imported here by Grateful Palate Imports. It was also aged for 12 months in seasoned French & American oak. At 15.5% & full-bodied, this wine was set ablaze with taste. The issue with its beefiness was that it was stylized, as if on steroids, & thus throwing it out of sorts.

The color was a heavy & dark blue-violet with a velveteen texture. Although I thought this wine had more brawn than brains, I loved its core of cedar, mocha, lavender & cassis. Its fatness also carried out a bit of black licorice & tar.

if you’re looking to get kicked in the stomach by a kangaroo carrying a pouch full of fruit, then this is most certainly the wine for you. I hold no regrets in purchasing this Shiraz, but don’t necessarily foresee it landing on my list of personal classics.

However, had I given it the chance to decant properly or cool down a slight degree, I may have had a contrastive opinion. Then again, what else should I have expected with the design of its label? Go big, or go home.

Drink now & through 2013.

$34 CDN