If you can’t wake up in France, the next best thing may be to start the day with a round of French champagne. Just the thing happened with France Ooh La La, a Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (VPIWF) event at the Rowing Club. France has long been synonymous with wine culture so this was a popular event and it didn’t disappoint.

While there were many notable reds in attendance, it was the rosés and summery whites that seemed to most capture my attention. Favorites included both the Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé and the Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Reserve Particulière that I had tried at the grand tasting and made a note of. The rosé in particular is perfect for summer with it’s delicate fizz and pale pink tinge and I’ll be picking up a couple of bottle for those languid brunches. At $59.99 and $69.99 respectively, however, they’ll not be brought out for just anyone, whereas the Château des Demoiselles Rosé does an excellent job of conjuring grassy summer meadows at a price point perhaps more suited to drop-in guests ($25.99).

The Cordon Blue Brut Select and Vin du Paradis Cuvée Dry both stood up well and rounded out my champagne picks. A couple of more interesting whites are the Dopff & Irion Riesling – redolent of green apple and one that could make for an interesting picnic; the Cremant de Bourgogne from Blason de Bourgogne, a lovely white blend and the Grand Ardèche Chardonnay that would be perfect in a park with some buttery foie gras.

“Wine is not a beverage, wine is pleasure,” Jose Alberto Zuccardi announced at some point in the evening. This encapsulated the feeling of the Tango for Your Tastebuds event that happened on the last day of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (VPIWF).

Tango is known as the dance of passion, distilling the fullness of life into a controlled environment – much like wine – and the combination of Argentine Familia Zuccardi wine with the latin fusion food of Cobre was passion for the soul and the palate.

Starting with a 2008 Santa Julia Organica Sparkling Chardonnay, guests mingled and got seated while Harry Hertscheg, Executive Director of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, and Jose Alberto Zuccardi, representing Familia Zuccardi, introduced the event and the wine. The whole family is involved in the business peripherally, with some members handling the olive oil and sparkling wine lines, and Jose at the head of the operation like a South American partido (godfather).

There are three varieties of olive oil currently in production: the Frantoio, made with olives from Tuscany; the Manzanilla, from Spanish olives; and the Arauco, a 100% Argentinian olive varietal. Each has different flavour characteristics evident against the  apple-y crispness of the sparkling wine.

The Zuccardi Serie A Chardonnay Viognier and the Santa Julia Organica Torrontes were paired with a pan roasted BC sablefish, melon and serrano ham and a prawn ceviche respectively, but it wasn’t until the Santa Julia Magna and the Zuccardi Q Malbec that the wines really started to hit their stride. The ‘Serie A’ label indicates wine from the best regions of Argentina, whereas ‘Zuccardi Q’ stands for quality and ‘Z’ or ‘Zeta’ is the top of the line.

The Santa Julia Magna is the best blend each year and in 2008 brought out notes of chocolate, black fruit and dirt whereas the Q Malbec was sweeter and redolent of cherry and plum. Both brought out the richness of the Yarrow Meadows duck breast and chicaron – the skin removed and re-fried. This turned out to be my favourite dish of the evening.

The next wines were even better – a 2006 Zuccardi Q Tempranillo and a 2006 Zuccardi Zeta – positioning black fruit and spice in the first against more cherry in the latter but the pork tenderloin didn’t stand up the the flavour as well as it could have. Fortunately, there was goat milk panna cotta and a Malamado Viognier. Literally translated as “bad lover”, it’s a play on words meant to invoke the tango and its sad, romantic stories and finishing the evening with bittersweetness.

“Why does the old world have terroir and we just have varietal wines?” Le Clos Jordanne‘s winemaker Thomas Bachelder asked at a recent Terminal City Club tasting.  “It’s not fair.”

Sampling five wines – all from 2006 but from various vineyards – he walked us through the different regions and vineyards and illustrated how much terroir comes into play even for Canadian regions. Le Clos Jordanne is situated on a 400km limestone bench stretching around the lake and into the USA.  It has a landscape perfectly suited to wine and the proprietors recognized this, starting the winery with a terroir experiment.

Le Clos Jordanne is a joint venture between Vincor and Domaine Boisset from Burgundy. The idea was to start a winery completely from scratch in the burgundy tradition and try to capture the characteristics of the Niagara Peninsula area around the village of Jordan.

There are four vineyards: Talon, La Petite, Claystone and Le Clos. Village Reserve comes from all four; La Petite is so small it can only be used for the reserve and the La Petite Pinot Noir. The Claystone and Le Clos grapes contribute to both pinot noir and chardonnay.

This is a careful, deliberate operation. The yields are so low that they have to net the vines or the birds would eat everything. Then the grapes are hand-picked and hand-sorted to eliminate rot. The exacting methods pay off, however. These are top-notch Niagara wines, and they’re now available in BC.

All of the wines we tasted are the same vintage (2006) and the same grapes (pinot noir and chardonnay) in order to better  find the characteristic expressions in the wine. Starting off with the Village Reserve Pinot Noir, we tasted blackberry and floral notes. This is almost a perfumey wine with the characteristics of all vineyards mingling happily. In contrast is the Claystone Pinot Noir which comes from the western, “best part” of Claystone. Thomas Bachelder has determined that the tough minerality of this area is most representative of Claystone.

Finally, the Grand Clos Pinot Noir takes the best grapes from all four vineyards and the result is both delicate and bold. Karen of WineBard.ca detects citrus and she’s right: in there with the red fruit is a bit of tangerine. Paired with the pinots were a Fraser Valley duck breast on potato cakes, five spice beef tempura on potato puree and bruschetta that brought out the richness of the wines.

The two whites we tasted, Claystone Chardonnay and Grand Clos Chardonnay, were sipped in conjunction with preserved lemon risotto, seared scallop with sunchoke tureen, and chardonnay-poached lobster with black truffle chip. Again, the differences between the single vineyard and the Grand Clos were evident. Claystone is hard and tight, yet elegant. It has a soft palate and the sweetness of the wine is enhanced by the food. The Grand Clos has a rich, lemony essence to it, slightly mineral and utterly mind-blowing.

I’m not normally a fan of chardonnays but both of these are gorgeous and rich – completely unlike any other American chards. I will be buying both again without a doubt.

Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program that identifies sustainable seafood choices for restaurants and suppliers and makes it easy for diners and consumers to make ethical choices. Just look for the Ocean Wise icon on menus. They’ve been at it for 5 years without any funding (the Vancouver Aquarium is footing the bill) and have gotten almost 300 partners onto the program in that time. This year they also achieved national reach accross Canada.

Our dinearound started at the aquarium where we raised a glass to all that they’ve accomplished before being whisked away to surprise dinner destinations dependent on the colour of pre-assigned ribbons.

Like a bus full of kids on a field trip we shouted out possibilities each time the bus turned a corner: “Nook! L’Altro Buca!” as we spun through the West End, then “Grouse Mountain!” as we headed over the Lion’s Gate bridge. When we stopped in front of the Edge Bistro (3135 Edgemont Blvd.) in Edgemont Village, we all discovered a delightful locale new to all of us.

The Edge

At the Edge we had plump BC mussels in a coconut curry broth followed by a decadent pecan-encrusted salmon stuffed with shrimp and Dungeness crab. Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant was dining with our group and explained that BC mussels have a much higher meat-to-shell ratio than PEI mussels – a helpful fact we lamented as we became more and more full over the course of the evening. We washed these dishes down with a Pacific Breeze chardonnay from New Westminister and their smoky, spicy Killer Cab then it was back on the bus to head to stop #2.

Hotel Vancouver

We were more familiar with this property but no less surprised when the bus pulled up in front of the Hotel Vancouver. Here we were seated at the back bar of Griffins and served gorgeously plated bites starting with the beet-cured salmon crêpe pictured above, paired with the fresh apple Nk’Mip Riesling. Next was a mini niçoise salad with quail egg, caviar, green bean, tuna sashimi and olive tapenade. Paired with the Quail’s Gate gewürztraminer, this dish was fresh and clever and perfectly executed.

As for hot dishes, there was a smoked sablefish with crisp pancetta and greens accompanied by a Hugues le Juste pinot noir and a seared Arctic char on apple beignet with Granville Island Lager foam and apple-sherry vinegar reduction.

A custom cocktail from the bar, “The Torch” (red pepper, grapefruit, and ruby vodka) finished it all off nicely.

C Restaurant

But no, we weren’t done yet: there was still the finale at C Restaurant. As Chef Robert Clark didn’t like the idea of being the first guests to the party, we nipped into Nu for a cocktail from the carousel bar.

At C, we had another taste of Ocean Wise seafood in the form of a huge Baynes Sound (Denman Island) scallop and Denman Island herring with various forms of pea shoots. The wine for this dish was a beautiful 1998 Selbach-Oster, Reisling, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr that was just the right acidity to balance the oil of the fish.

And then finally – finally! – it was time for dessert – Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese and Vanilla Mousse with stone fruit preserved and spiced liquid marshmallow. It was a not overly sweet dessert which allowed for a pairing of not one but two dessert wines; Forbidden Fruit’s “iced apple dessert wine” and Vista d’oro‘s delicious fortified port style wine with walnut brandy. It was a sweet end to an entirely sweet evening.

Finishing up there was time to thank our gracious hosts and congratulate them again on making Ocean Wise what it is today. We also had an opportunity to compare notes with the other buses and their dining experiences. In addition to the restaurants listed here, Aria, Burrard Bridge Marine Bar and Grill, the District, Fraiche, Revel Room, Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, Tapenade Bistro, and Zen participated. It was great to see the range of restaurants with sustainable Ocean Wise choices available, from high end hotels to casual neighbourhood spots. Check out the complete list of restaurants and partners and show your support.

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.

We started off with a blind media tasting that was surprisingly difficult, even given the clues that were provided, and only a few people managed to get through all of them before the time was up. Then it was on to the main room where wines from Barossa Valley Estate, Hardy’s, Inniskillin Wines, Jackson-Triggs, Kim Crawford, Nk’Mip, Osoyoos Larose, Ravenswood, Robert Mondavi Winery, See Ya Later Ranch and Sumac Ridge Estate Winery were represented.

Vincor is a wine giant so a lot were wines I had tasted before, but several stood out:

Kim Crawford 2008 SP Spitfire Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. One of my new favorites. It twists crazily between the nose and the palate, going from vegetale aromas to full-on tropical in the glass. Complex and balanced and surprising.

Ravenswood 2006 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel. I am a huge fan of Ravenswood Zinfandel and this one doesn’t back down either. Big and full-bodied with complex spices and a long finish.

Barossa Valley Estate 2004 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz. Wine Spectator magazine has rated the Black Pepper Shiraz over 90 points for 9 years in a row, so that gives you some idea of the quality there. It’s another bold wine full of black fruit with peppery and chocolate notes.

Robert Mondavi 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. A sophisticated standby. I haven’t had any Mondavi wine in quite a while and so I was happy to note this one for picking up later. Blackberry with some spice.

Thanks to all involved for putting on a great event!

Last week Chilean winemakers descended on Vancouver en masse for the Wines of Chile tasting at the Sutton Hotel.  The Wines of Chile event took place in three parts; the Trade Tasting in the afternoon, the Consumer Tasting Reception, and a stroke-of-genius winemakers’ dinner where guests were bussed to one of fourteen different restaurants to sit down with the winemakers to sample the wines paired with local food.

Trade Tasting

Winemakers and reps watched closely as people filled the huge room to swirl, sniff and sip some of the best wine that Chile has to offer. Faced with so much wine – there were 30 wineries represented! – I decided I needed a strategy. Notebook in hand, I checked in with some Twitter folk and started in on the Sauvignon Blancs, the primary white in Chile.

One of my favorite whites was the first one I sampled – Vina Ventisquero‘s Yali Sauvignon Blanc – a crisp and light wine with notes of grapefruit. And one I’ve had before and tried again anyways is the Morandé, a fruitier wine reminiscent of melon. I enjoyed everything I tried from this winery, but their House of Morandé Reserve (80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot) is particularly exquisite. Chocolatey and floral, it’s complex with a long finish.

I managed to make it through to the dark and decadent Nebbiolo and Syrah Nebbiolo from Botalcura (unfortunately not available in Canada) that I am still thinking of a week later. Ruby red, they both tasted similarly fruity, like fresh strawberries out of the garden with a bit of dirt still clinging to the leaves.  Delicious. The nebbiolo has an intensity and spiciness to it that the mellower blend lacks, but I’m still not sure which one I like better.

Consumer Reception

After the trade tasting wrapped up, Karen and I were joined by her husband and our friend Annika and we circled around again, stopping in at the wineries I’d missed as well as a couple of the favorites.

One I’d overlooked was Cono Sur, the “bicycle” wine. I hadn’t tasted it at the trade tasting because I’ve had it so many times before, but here we tasted the whole range, including all three pinot noirs.  I was enchanted by the explanation for the bicycles on the label; in Chile the workers at the vineyard come to work on bikes and the winemakers wanted to give them a tribute. Equally enchanting was the Vision Pinot Noir, a single vineyard wine with cherry and chocolate notes, which features a goose on the bottle, possibly also as a tribute.

Winemakers Dinner at Diva at the Met

Our dinner was at Diva at the Met, hosted by winemakers Emiliana and Cousino Macul. Introducing themselves, they joked that the old was paired with the young, Emiliana having been founded in the 80′s, whereas Cousino Macul has been in the wine business since 1856.  I was interested to see how these two would work together and excited because I had tasted these wines earlier in the day and enjoyed them. I was also excited because  it seems like a very long time since I’ve been to Diva or dined from a kitchen captained by Jeff van Geest. All makings of a fantastic evening.

We had spotted Executive Chef Dino Renaerts and Executive Sous Chef Jeff van Geest tasting some of Emiliana’s wines, but we already knew what was being paired with what:

Menu

• Stony Paradise Heirloom Tomato Salad, paired with Vinedos Emiliana S.A. Adobe Sauvignon Blanc 2009
• Halibut and Spot Prawn Ceviche, paired with Cousino Macul Sauvignon Gris 2008
• Spice Braised Chicken in Beer and Cilantro, paired with Vinedos Emiliana S.A. Coyam 2007 and Cousino Macul Antiguas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
• Dry Rubbed and Grilled Flank Steak, paired with Emiliana Novas Winemaker Series Syrah 2006 and Cousino Macul Finis Terrae Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2007
• Cinnamon Churros with fried pastry crème

First up, the heirloom tomato salad was resplendent in bright greens and oranges and the soft boiled egg perched on one of the tomatoes was a delectable touch. Broken, its creaminess balanced perfectly with the Adobe Sauvignon Blanc’s clean, clear citrus and apple notes.

Cousino Macul’s Sauvignon Gris had intrigued me at the trade tasting with its honeyed fullness. Tasting of tropical fruits and pineapple, the crispness cut through the oiliness of the halibut ceviche and was absorbed by the accompanying corn nuts and crackers.

Surprisingly, the braised chicken was probably my favorite dish of the evening. Surprising because I often don’t appreciate chicken and while I had liked Emiliana’s Coyam on its own, it hadn’t stood out as a favorite. Paired with spicy shredded meat, however, this gorgeous ruby wine shone. Black fruit and berries, followed by a hint of chocolate on the palate, it’s a blend of primarily syrah and carmenere and one I will keep an eye out for again. The chicken, sitting on top of a bed of polenta in a foamy beer sauce and topped with pale yucca chips, was simply fantastic and I wish I could get my hands on some more of it.

This dish had two wines paired with it, so we also sampled the Antiguas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon by Cousino Macul. This was a fuller-bodied wine with spicier notes than the Coyam and in reverse, I enjoyed it better on its own at the tasting.

The last course was also paired with a wine from each winery and so we sipped Syrah from Emiliana and the Finis Terrae blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Cousino Macul with bites of flank steak. The steak was thinly sliced with a salsa verde and veal reduction and the complex flavours balanced perfectly. I loved the Finis Terrae, rich in both colour and flavour. It tasted of plum, coffee and chocolate and matched the complexity of the meal bit for bit. The syrah was also delicious with more plum notes. It’s a cool-climate syrah, aged fifteen months in oak barrels and the body stood up well to the flavourful meat.  I savoured both longingly into dessert.

Diva at the Met
645 Howe Street | Downtown
(604) 602-7788

When Divino opened on the Drive, I was so excited. I went ito check it out immediately and then never went back. Not because there was anything at all wrong with it – I love their zebrawood tables, bright windows and delectable wine list – but I lived only a block away from it and while I’m sometimes lacking in groceries, I always have wine and cheese. So it’s been a while since I’ve been in. Now that Commercial Drive is a destination for me, I think I’ll be back a lot more.

I settled on a glass of the 2004 Muga Rioja Reserva, a peppery, almost chewy Spanish red that was perfect for an overcast afternoon. To eat, we had a bruscetta sampler plate – five different bruscettas all with different toppings, from caramelized onion and brie to carpaccio – and antipasto. The antipasto, pictured above, was a picnic-like plate of soppressatta, proscuitto, olives, gherkins, peppers, mustard and a litle  jar of salad. It was all very tasty and summery and while the wine would have paired better with red meat, I certainly had no complaints.

Divino Wine Bar
1590 Commercial Drive | Vancouver
(604) 258-0005
www.divinovancouver.com

Rumour has it they may make a whisky as well. Can’t wait.