White

2009 Prospect Winery, ‘Birch Canoe’ Pinot Blanc, BC

2010 Cono Sur, Viognier, Chile

Rosé

2010 Vieille Ferme, Rosé, Côte du Ventoux, France

Red

2010 Finca Los Primos, Syrah, Argentina

2009 Rilento, Nerello Mascalese, IGT Sicilia, Italy

Beer

R&B Brewing, Bohemian Lager

Prices:

wine – $7/glass, $35/bottle

beer – $7/glass

non-alcoholic beverages – $3 each

*Assortment of salad, pasta, sandwiches, skewers & daily grilled items available for purchase.

Wine Garden hours:

-Friday, July 29th: 4:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Saturday, July 30th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Sunday, July 31st: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Monday, August 1st: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Friday, August 5th: 4:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Saturday, August 6th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

-Sunday August 7th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Chefs team - Westin Bayshore Hotel

On April 21st, I attended a food and wine pairing tasting that featured a large selection of wineries from all over the Naramata Bench area as well as a selection of local and Naramata region restaurants.  The ballroom tasting along with a silent auction held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel paired one or two wineries with food bites.

These were my favourite bites from the event:

Spiced Lamb Kofta

Westin Bayshore Hotel with their unique Spiced Lamb Kofta with crisp parsnip and blackberry gel paired with the Marichel Vineyard 2008 Syrah.

Pacific Striped Bass Salad on Toast points

Kitsilano Daily Kitchen with their tasty Pacific Striped Bass Salad on toast points paired with the Township 7 vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

Garam Masala Beef Curry

Vij’s delicious and spicy Garam Masala Beef Curry with Coconut green beans paired with the Poplar Grove 2006 Legacy.

Township 7 Vineyards Barrel Tasting

Chef Kyle of Twisted Fork Bistro - Almond Tulie Cones with Lavender infused caramel mousse, fresh raspberries & maple syrup ice cream

For dessert, the best in the house was the Almond Tulie Cones with Lavender infused caramel mousse, fresh raspberries & maple syrup ice cream paired with the Kettle Valley 2009 Viognier.

If you are planning a visit to the Naramata Bench region and want to check out some of the wineries, you may want to visit them online at www.naramatabench.com

By: Richard Wolak

“Wine is for everyone”, says Kolt, who will host every event, “Most people want to learn about wine but traditional classes can be intimidating, costly or require a large time-commitment. The East Van Wine Academy is an affordable, inclusive and comfortable environment for people to expand their knowledge about wine while enjoying high quality food, music and art.”

Each East Van Wine Academy evening has two components:

The Wine Course

Hosted by Kurtis Kolt, the East Van Wine Academy is a series of courses with a different region or country featured each event including Italy, France, Germany, California, Portugal and British Columbia. Each one-hour course covers the history of the selected region, styles of grapes, tasting techniques, food pairing tips and more, all in a relaxed and intimate setting. Guests will receive course material in a uniquely crafted collectible wine zine and tastings during After-School, a party and wine tasting social immediately following the course. East Van Wine Academy courses can be attended as an ongoing series or as stand-alone events.

After School Parties

Extending the regional theme of the evening each After-School party will feature ten different wines offered in 3oz pours, encouraging guests to sample a wide variety of wines at accessible price-points. The night will immerse guests in the regional culture of that week with canapés, visuals and vinyl selected by resident DJs. After-School parties are the perfect environment for guests who attend the course to put their new knowledge to use are also a casual, fun atmosphere for those who want to skip school but are still interested in learning more about wine.

Check this out for info and tickets

Whether you are a casual wine enthusiast or a serious wine connoisseur, don’t miss this exciting opportunity to sample the finest wine from over 100 wineries from the Napa, Sonoma and Central Coast regions. Now in its 31st year of touring across Canada the 2011 CALIFORNIA WINE FAIR BALLROOM TASTING includes products currently available in the market, as well as new vintage and varietals that have yet to be released to the Canadian Market.

You will also enjoy our diverse & exciting silent auction featuring hard to find private cellar wines, dinner-theatre packages, travel getaways and more.

Captivate your palate and intensify your knowledge and love of wine. See the list of participating wineries this year.

Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, 999 Canada Place. 7PM

Tickets: $65 regular price, $55 each for groups of six or more (must be booked at one time).

For Ticket and Info, call box office at 604.687.1644 or buy online.

Family-owned and operated, Quails’ Gate Winery is known for producing premium wines that perfectly express the terroir of their origin. The winery itself has become a destination, and Quails’ Gate wines have attracted considerable attention on the international stage.

The following wines from Quails’ Gate Winery will be paired with courses at the exclusive dinner:

• 2009 Chenin Blanc
• 2009 Dry Riesling
• 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay
• 2009 Pinot Noir
• 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir
• 2008 Late Harvest Optima

Reserve your tickets now for this unforgettable evening of local food and wine.

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

6:30PM Reception   7:00PM Dinner

The Sutton Place Hotel, 845 Burrard Street, Vancouver

$120 Inclusive of taxes and gratuities

Quails’ Gate Winery is nestled in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia’s southern interior. Owned and operated by the Stewart Family, pioneering horticulturists for over 100 years, Quails’ Gate is internationally recognized as a top producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These wines along with many of the winery’s other products, have garnered many national and international awards and accolades. We invite you to visit us daily, year round in our Wine Shop and Old Vines Restaurant for a unique taste of the Okanagan.

Executive Chef Michael Deutsch was born in British Columbia and is a graduate of Vancouver’s prestigious Dubrulle French Culinary School. Michael has worked at a number of prominent Vancouver area restaurants as well as several Michelin star restaurants and hotels in the Champagne region of France. In his current role as Executive Chef at The Sutton Place Hotel, Michael oversees the culinary operations of the award-winning Fleuri Restaurant and Gerard Lounge, the full-service banquet facility and the other food & beverage outlets within the Hotel.

For more information, or to reserve tickets for this event, please call 604-682-5511

Tickets to the wildly popular Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival are presently on sale and tickets are selling briskly. Marking its 33rd year with Wines from Spain and a Global Focus on Fortified Wine, the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival runs from March 28th to April 3rd, 2011. Arguably one of the most important wine events in North America, this year’s event will bring 177 participating wineries from 15 countries, amounting to more than 1,650 different wines on pour. Expected to entertain some 25,000 oeno-enthusiasts, the Festival will offer seven days of tastings, seminars, and wine focused events hosted at the Vancouver Convention Centre and top Vancouver restaurants and hotels.

THEME REGION: WINES FROM SPAIN

Wines from Spain take centre stage as the Theme Region at the 2011 Playhouse Wine Festival. As the country with the world’s largest area of vine cultivation, Spain has emerged internationally as a producer of an extraordinary range of wines of quality and character. This is your opportunity to explore the regions and varietals and discover great value and exceptional wines.

A TASTE OF THIS YEAR’S SPANISH WINE EVENTS

SPAIN – Everything Under the Sun

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

Tuesday, April 29th, 8:00pm -10:00pm

$65/$55 each for groups of 8+until February 28

Wines from Spain are in the spotlight at this lively event at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s fully enclosed elegant Rooftop Pavilion. Overlook the bustle of downtown Vancouver as you sip on a varied selection of wines, nibble on Mediterranean-inspired tapas and meet the winemakers behind the bottles that make Spain a global leader.

Vega Sicilia Vertical Tasting

Vancouver Art Gallery

Heritage Courtroom 301

750 Hornby Street

Wednesday, March 30th, 3:30pm – 5:00pm

$325

One of the wine world’s rarest events is here: an opportunity to experience a vertical tasting of wines from Vega Sicilia, Spain’s legendary and world famous winery. Vega Sicilia proprietor Pablo Álvarez will conduct this stellar tasting, which will cover the past five decades and highlight the winery’s iconic Único label. Note: There is a limit of one ticket per order.

Spanish Legend

An Evening with Miguel Torres

Boneta

12 Water Street

Wednesday, March 30th, 7:00pm -10:00pm

$175

Miguel Torres is one of the most important names in Spanish winemaking. Both the man and the wine are synonymous with quality, innovation and lasting legacy. Chef Jeremie Bastien will prepare an exquisite dinner at the acclaimed Boneta Restaurant, paired with a remarkable selection of Torres wines. The true delight of the evening will be your host, the venerable icon himself, Mr. Miguel A. Torres.

Caballeros del Vino

VCC East, meeting room 11

999 Canada Place Way

Friday, April 1st, 5:00pm – 6:45pm

$60

Take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the proprietors, CEOs and Winemakers of 10 of Spain’s iconic wineries. Taste their magnificent wines while getting a glimpse into the driving forces behind the new Spanish wine industry. Participants will include Bodegas Alvear’s Fernando Alvear, Bodegas Hidalgo’s Javier Hidalgo, Iberwine’s Javier Delgado-Aurteneche, Bodegas Piqueras’ Juan Pablo Bonete, Cavas Parés Baltà’s Joan Cusine, Gonzáles Byass’ Felipe González-Gordon, Alvaro Palacios’ Alvaro Palacios, Telmo Rodriguez’ Telmo Rodriguez, Grupo Freixenet’s Pedro Ferrer, and Juan Gil’s Loren Gil. Moderated by Wines from Spain Ambassador Roger Randolph.

GLOBAL FOCUS: FORTIFIED WINE

With this year’s Global Focus on Fortified Wine, you can expect to find a variety of Sherry, Port and Madeira to sample. Guests will find 42 different Fortified Wines in the Tasting Room, produced in a wide variety of styles. For a comprehensive comparative tasting of Fortified Wine from around the world, head directly to the Fortified Wine Tasting Station in the IFT, where experts from the International Sommelier Guild will be your guides.

A TASTE OF THIS YEAR’S FORTIFIED WINE EVENTS

A Whammy of Umami

Pairing Artisanal Spanish

Cheeses with Spain’s

Famed Fortifieds

VCC East, meeting room 11

999 Canada Place Way

Thursday, March 31st, 5:00pm – 6:45pm

$50

Sherry and Montilla are the wines in the spotlight as participants embark on a guided journey to learn the art of pairing these established Fortified Wines with artisanal cheeses of Spain. From the delicate to the intense, taste Spain’s iconic fortifieds and judge for yourself how a perfect synergy of wine and food can enhance the natural, inherent umami of these unique wines and fine cheeses to a whole new mouth-watering level. Presented by Cesar Saldaña, Director General of The Regulating Council of Jerez, and Allison Spurrell, owner of Les Amis du Fromage.

The Fladgate Partnership

VCC East, meeting room 8

999 Canada Place Way

Friday, April 1st, 5:00pm – 6:45pm

$150

The Fladgate Partnership invites you to taste an unparalleled vertical selection of Taylor, Fonseca and Croft vintage ports spanning four decades of the partnership’s history, including the benchmark 1994 vintage. Join chief winemaker David Guimaraens, CEO Adrian Bridge and Anthony Gismondi as they extol the virtuous history of the Douro Valley and the partnership’s wines during this rare and extraordinary seminar.

Tickets to the Playhouse Wine Festival can be purchased online at http://playhousewinefest.com/ or by phoning the Playhouse Box office at 604-873-3311 or toll free at 1-877-321-3121. The full Festival brochure can be viewed online at http://playhousewinefest.com/page220.htm. Follow the Wine Festival on Twitter for up to the minute information on remaining tickets and sold out events: http://twitter.com/PlayhouseWine.

Mike Nierychlo of Wine Garage TV (L) James (M), Mike Rathjen (R)

On Wednesday May 26^th, I attended a fun event that mixed Wine with Social Media. Held at the CBC Audience Lounge in Vancouver and hosted by Tinhorn Creek Winemaker Sandra Oldfield. The MC explained how the evening’s almost like a Speed Dating session was going to work and then after the first bell which was a sound of a glass smashing which was a signal for the tasters to move on to the next station.

Sandra Oldfield - Winemaker - Tinhorn Creek

There were 8 stations and a reception station and each of the wines were brown paper bagged. All the guests were given cards to guess which was which, with a list of choices at the bottom with commentary for each. The crowd had a great time at this fun event. I was surprised to see that five people got all the answers correct. This was also a great event to learn about the wines produced by Tinhorn Creek.

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards has always been a leader in the BC Wine industry and embracing the age of social media has proven no different. The Tinhorn Creek team are avid tweeters, Facebook followers and are very LinkedIn.  All those who attended were encouraged to tweet while they sipped and took part in this unique game of guessing which wine they were tasting by writing on Twitter with the hashtag #socialtwist.

By: Richard Wolak

On April 24th I attended this wine and grazing lunch held at the magnificent Teahouse in Stanley Park. This sold out event featured wine producers from all over Chile showing off their wines for people to taste. The crowd ate a variety of cheeses, canapes and other passed around food.

Everyone had a great time mingling about and tasting the different wines from the many wine regions of Chile.

By: Richard Wolak

Argentina Station-Grilled Skirt Steak

From the Argentina station, my favourites were the Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Criolla and the Chicken Asado Ensalada.

New Zealand station

From the New Zealand station, my favourites were the Mozzarella Caprese with Avocado Oil, Asparagus and Morel Risotto and the Veal Cheek Agnolotti with Blue Cheese Cream.

NZ station cooking the Risotto

New Zealand foods and Wine pouring in the background

When it came time for dessert, some of the Argentinean favourites that sounded good such as the Hot Chocolate Demitasse with mini Churos were quite disappointing. It seemed as the Chefs at the Vancouver Convention Centre didn’t know how to prepare the desserts from Argentina or New Zealand.

The winners of this years awards are listed here

By: Richard Wolak

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen's Humbolt Squid

On April 12^th, I attended a wine tasting that featured a large selection of wineries from all over the Naramata Bench area.  This ballroom tasting along with a silent auction held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel paired two wineries with food bites from a selection of local and Naramata region restaurants.

Westin Bayshore Chefs

These were my favourite bites as I was eating more than I was drinking at this event.

Friukno Salami, Guiness Mustard on Croistini

Salt Tasting Room rocked it with their Friukno Salami, Guiness Mustard on Croistini which was best paired with the Van Western Vinyards 2006 Voluptious.

Scallop Ceviche Taco

Naramata Heritage Inn and their tasty Scallop Ceviche Taco with Quince and Blood Orange Marmalade which was best paired with the Township 7 Vineyards 2008 7 Blanc.

Pacific Angels Qualicum Scallops

The Westin Bayshore with their Tempura Seaweed topped Pacific Angels Qualicum Scallops which was best paired with the Howling Bluff Estate Winery 2007 Sin Cera.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

For dessert, the best one in the house was the Chocolate Truffle Cake from the Westin Bayshore which was best paired with the D’Angelo Estate Winery 2006 Pinot Noir.

If you are planning a visit to the Naramata Bench region and want to check out some of the wineries, you may want to visit them online at www.naramatabench.com

By: Richard Wolak