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

Three Winds Syrah: It's easy to serve this value-packed wine with your grilled steak

Here is my most recent wine column, Fine Fare & Wine to Pair, published May 19 in My City, a monthly lifestyle magazine in the Abbotsford News. 

* * * * *

The 2007 Sandhill Estate Vineyard Small Lot Sangiovese ($30/14.5% ABV) from B.C.’s Okanagan is a great pasta-supper friend. Sip it when you serve linguine with a red sauce full of diced tomatoes, capers, red bell peppers, garlic, some dried chillies, a whole bag of baby organic spinach, fresh oregano and basil, and a splash (or two or three) of the wine.

If it’s too warm in your kitchen for pasta, this wine will sing a lovely tune to grilled burgers basted with tangy barbecue sauce...read more.

Click here or on the image above to read my May, 2011 column.

Salut!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

West Coast Christmas Show at Tradex in Abbotsford features Food Network's Anthony Sedlak on stage

November 26-28 brings the third annual West Coast Christmas Show at Tradex Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford. 

The West Coast Christmas Show at Tradex Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford is Western Canada's leading holiday-season show and brings together under one roof holiday décor, gifts, food, personal services, and festive seminars.

Also presented for your enjoyment are holiday cooking demonstrations by Chef Anthony Sedlak, host of Food Network's The Main and author Troy Townsin, who will pair Christmas appetizers with B.C. wines. 

Here are some of the other people and activities you'll find on stage:

• Norman Strim, chef and founder of Nonna Pias Gourmet Sauces, demonstrates seasonal menu ideas for his line of gourmet sauces;
• Wayne Louie from Orchistra Floral Works shows you how to care for your fresh seasonal greenery and create stunning centerpieces for your festive holiday dinners; and
• 99 Nursery & Florist will once again be present, with an even larger display and selection than last year.

Don't miss the chance to view and judge fully decorated Christmas trees set up by local charities in the Festival of Trees Hall. Musician Doug Towle plays New World flamenco-style holiday music tunes.  
 
If you want to go home with something that is truly one-of-a-kind, then seek out the new Select Artisan logo in exhibit booths. This logo identifies local artisans with unique hand-made gift items.

Complimentary cheese seminars are presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada, just in time for you to learn how to host the perfect wine-and-cheese party. Cheers!

Show hours:

Friday, November 26        10 am - 9 pm
Saturday, November 27    10 am - 7 pm
Sunday, November 28      10 am - 4 pm

Tradex Exhibition Centre, Abbotsford, BC. Click here for maps and directions. 

 
 
 -30-

This blog post has absolutely nothing to do with wine

But it does have a little something to do with vodka, rum, gin, beer, tequila, and whisky. And a lot to do with clamato juice, Mott's Clamato Juice, to be precise.

I'm a huge fan of the Bloody Caesar. You know the drink. At least you do if you're Canadian. It's the beverage you can have for breakfast or as an appetizer. It's salty and substantial and almost always comes with a snack in the glass.

And no, a Bloody Mary will not take Caesar's place.
But thanks for asking.

I've been sipping on traditional Bloody Caesars (extra spicy, please!) for years now, always happy when the vodka, clamato juice, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper, a stalk of celery, and the glass rimmed with celery salt all come together to form this union of total yum. It's become a standard and is as Canadian as, well, a Caesar! 

Now the folks at Mott's Clamato want to honour us all this Canada Day (July 1) with seven new Caesar recipes. In particular, I'm looking forward to trying Sunny with a Chance of Clamato and The Gold Rush Caesar.

As it turns out, one of the new recipes even has a little wine included, so I guess the title of this post is not as accurate as I first thought.

Click here to read all the new Mott's Clamato Caesar recipes.

And cheers, eh!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Food educator and personal chef Travis Rea comes to our house tonight to teach us how to "Feed the Fire"

Travis Rea from Feed the Fire, a food education and personal chef service, is coming to our house tonight for a little teach 'n taste. He'll show us how to prepare gourmet nibbles using whole, natural, and as-local-as-possible ingredients. I'll pick the wine.

On the menu:

1. Ahi Tuna Tartare with lime yogurt and garden-fresh chives, served on onion-oat blini
2. Organic Turkey Sliders with avocado, organic watercress, and local tomatoes
3. Mushroom-Pecan Stuffed Zucchini
4. Grilled Pork Skewers with ginger-orange glaze
5. Mixed berry pudding
6. Chocolate Ricotta bites

I'll report on the wine selections and how they worked with the food later on...

In the meantime, click here to check out some of Rea's recipes.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

Hester Creek wines and eggs benny in the morning

What's better than tasting wine at 9:30 in the morning?

Not much, I'd venture. After all, palates and olfactories are well rested and untainted, yet awake enough to fully appreciate all the flavours and aromas a wine has to offer. 

We proved this to be true last week when we met with Hester Creek Estate Winery's Kathy Mercier (wine shop manager/events co-ordinator) and Lee Ann Openshaw (hospitality manager) at The Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver.

Kathy and Lee Ann, two lively women who obviously love their work, shared three of their 2008 white wines: Semillon Chardonnay ($16.09/13.8% ABV), Pinot Blanc ($16.09/13.8% ABV), and Trebbiano ($19.09/13.5% ABV).

We started by tasting before ordering food. And then, when our food came, we had a whole new set of experiences.

I enjoyed the Semillon Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc (which proved to be my favourite as it warmed up a little) on their own but felt the Trebbiano would be better with food, especially a nice pizza.

All three Hester Creek wines worked well with my bacon-and-tomato Eggs Benedict (which I've always called Eggs Blackstone), but I found the Semillon Chard to be the best of the lot to go with the mix of creamy, rich textures and tangy flavours of my breakfast. And, later that day, I confirmed my suspicion that the Trebbiano would be a yummy partner to a home-made pizza with Roma tomatoes, spicy capicolla, fresh basil, and a light sprinkling of Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. I'm pleased to say that Vancouver-based wine writer, blogger, and lover Kelly Robson (@Kellyoyo on Twitter) likes it with pizza, too.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. Semillon Chardonnay
   Fruit forward with green apple, citrus (esp. grapefruit), and tropical fruits on both nose and palate, while nice acid makes this wine very food friendly and a good one to try with Easter brunch or your turkey or ham dinner later on.
2. Pinot Blanc
   Pear, honey, and stone fruit on the nose, with citrus, apple, and peaches on the palate, this wine is alive and juicy with a finish that gets better as it warms up a little. Also very food-friendly, the Pinot Blanc is my favourite solo sipper of the three.
3. Trebbiano
   This wine presents just a little bit of floral and spice on the nose, but gives me a lot more on the palate: citrus, green apple, tropical fruits, a mineral undertone, with a floral component and spiciness that combine to remind me of (okay...I'm warning you that this may sound crazy) Goodies, those little candy-coated licorice bits. No, dear friend, the wine does not taste like candy. It's acidic and juicy and needs, in my humble opinion, food to bring out its best.

Curious about Hester Creek's logo? Click here to read its story.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.  

Here are the recipes for the Thai-inspired chicken wings and mango salad we ate for dinner tonight

I've been asked for my recipes for the chicken wings and mango salad I made tonight. So, here they are.

Please keep in mind that I rarely measure when I cook (baking is quite another story) so I am guess-timating. You will, of course, adjust quantities and ingredients to suit your taste.

Spicy Thai-style Chicken Wings

• 20 chicken wings—the full thing, not split apart
• some cracked black pepper (to taste)
• 2 teaspoons (or so) of ginger, freshly grated or finely chopped
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• splash of vegetable oil
• juice of one lime
• fresh cilantro to taste
• chili garlic paste, to taste (how much heat do you like?)
• slices of lime for garnish

1. rinse and dry the chicken
2. mix all other ingredients in glass bowl
3. add chicken for at least an hour
4. preheat oven to 450º F
5. place marinated chicken in single layer on baking sheet
6. cook in preheated oven for roughly 20 minutes
7. serve with slices of lime, sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce, and a Spanish Garnacha

Mango Salad

• 2 medium size ripe mangoes
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, to taste (I use about two tablespoons chopped)
• 2 teaspoons (or so) fresh ginger, finely chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• Romaine lettuce
• a sprinkling of sugar, if you like

1. squeeze lime into a glass bowl
2. peel the mango, dice it, and add it to the bowl
3. add garlic, cilantro, and ginger, then stir to combine
4. season to taste with sugar (sometimes I add a little salt)
5. chill well before serving
6. break up lettuce and spoon mango over top
7. serve with your spicy Thai-style chicken wings

Let me know if you try it.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved. 

Braised chicken with red wine and herbs

I served up some braised chicken tonight. It wasn't a true coq au vin, but it was truly delicious.

Here are the steps I took: 

• Started with the really good olive oil I had picked up last time I was at Well Seasoned in Langley. It imparts such a lovely flavour. Once it was well heated I browned just over a kg of skinless, boneless, sea-salted, and cracked-peppered chicken thighs in my cast iron roasting pan.
• Once browned, I removed the thighs from the pan and threw in a chopped-up onion, two cloves of garlic and stirred them around until the onions were just translucent.
• Then I poured in about one cup of 2008 Domaine Mondié, a Vin de Pays D'Oc Merlot/Syrah blend (from the area in France known as the Languedoc), and scraped all the good bits off the bottom of the pan.
• After scraping, I put the chicken back in the pan and added more salt and pepper, thyme, and a bay leaf. Then I poured in about two cups of chicken broth and another cup of red wine.  
• A cut parsnip, two bunches of carrots (cleaned but not scraped) and a layer of tiny potatoes were the next into the roaster. On top of those went more thyme and a freshly picked sprig of rosemary (I'm so glad my rosemary tree lives through the winter!).
• An hour and a half in the oven and our supper was ready!

Since I didn't use all the wine for the chicken, we were able to enjoy it in a glass, too.

This wine is one that I received in my Opimian Select order. It has black fruit and black pepper, plus a little minerality on the nose. On the palate, it's round but has some juiciness, with flavours of dark fruit and pepper that don't linger too long. Perfectly serviceable, it went well with the dinner and is okay to sip on its own. I sure wouldn't count on this one to lie down for any length of time; if I had a second bottle, I'd open it as soon as possible.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

A new wine for Tuesday-night leftovers

On New Year's Day, I made a meat pie for dinner from the left-over Christmas Eve prime rib, veg, and mashed potatoes, which had all been frozen for the week.

It was easy because I cheated and took a frozen pie shell, filled it with cut-up beef mixed with gravy and veg, and covered it with the left-over mashed potatoes I had mixed with a bit of flour and melted butter and then flattened to serve as a pseudo top crust. I picked a new (to me) cheap (at least, in this market it's cheap) red to try: 2006 Lujuria($9.99/13.5% ABV). 

Lujuria, a blend of Monastrell (also called Mourvèdre or Mataró) and Merlot, is produced by Bodegas y Vinedos del Mediterraneo and hails from Yecla, DO(Denominación de Origen), a smaller and lesser-known wine-growing region than its immediate neighbours, Jumilla, Almansa, and Alicante. 

This wine is considerably more complex on the nose than I had expected, with aromas of jammy dark red and black fruits, dill, licorice, coffee, and a dusty mineral component. Although a bit simpler on the palate, the red and black fruits, coffee, and herbaceous elements come through and tie in nicely with its acid and tannins.

Lujuria isn't, in my books, a wine I'd serve at a special occasion, but it's friendly and easy to get along with—and only $9.99. Certainly, it's a Tuesday-night-with-leftovers wine that I’d buy again.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Cornucopia 2009, a four-day food-and-wine extravaganza at Whistler—part three

It's Saturday morning and my first seminar is Bubble-icious, led by the Wine Diva, Daenna Van Mulligen and Mark Taylor of Vancouver's Cru, named by Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards as the 2009 winner in The Best Small Plates category.

 The seminar room is set up for tasting seven sparklers

We tasted seven sparklers—white, pink, and red. My favourites were the Lucien Albrecht Crémant RoséNV from Alsace, Luna Argenta Prosecco from Italy, and Laurent-PerrierCuvée RoséBrut Champagne NV from Champagne.  The letters NV, if you're wondering, stand for non-vintage, meaning wine from different vintages is blended together.

After a quick lunch, it was off to Pinot Noir from Around the World, hosted by Michelle Bouffard and Michaela Morris of House Wine. We got a quick lesson about many of the Pinot Noir-growing regions of the world and tasted eight samples representing the regions. Here is the list:

1. Sacchetto, Pinot Rosa delle Venezie IGT Frizzante, Italy
2. 2007 Faiveley, Paulée Bourgogne Rouge AOC, France
3. 2007 Blue Mountain Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, B.C.
4. 2007 Kim Crawford, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand,
5. 2007 Familia Schroeder, ‘Saurus’ Pinot Noir, Patagonia, Argentina
6. 2007 Cono Sur, ‘20 Barrels’ Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley, Chile
7. 2006 Yabby Lake Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Australia
8. 2005 Cristom, ‘Jessie Vineyard’ Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon

My favourites were the Burgundy, B.C., New Zealand, and Chilean Pinot Noirs, numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6. And yes, number 8 from Oregon was good, too.

After our around-the-world Pinot tasting, we had an hour's break before it was time to learn How to Build & Manage a Wine Cellar, presented by the House Wine gals. This wasn't a how-to in the sense of hammers and nails; rather, we learned about constant temperature and humidity, the importance of avoiding excessive vibration, which wines are typically worthy of cellaring, and which ones should simply be enjoyed right away.

Michaela Morris and Michelle Bouffard helped us taste our way through 11 wines:

1. Pol Roger, Brut, Champagne AOC, France
2. Peter Lehmann, Semillon, Barossa, Australia
3. William Fèvre, Chablis Premier Cru Montée de Tonnerre AOC, France
4. Stift Göttweig, ‘Messwein’ Grüner Veltliner, Austria
5. Markus Molitor, Riesling, Wehlener Sonnenhur Kabinett, Germany
6. Château Cambon la Pelouse, Haut-Médoc AOC, France
7. Emiliana, ‘Coyam’, Colchagua Valley, Chile
8. Altesino, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Italy
9. Penfolds, ‘St. Henri’ Shiraz, Australia
10. Penfolds, ‘St. Henri’ Shiraz, Australia
11. Château D’Armajan des Ormes, Sauternes

The Champagne, Chablis, and Brunello (numbers 1, 3, and 8) were my favourites.

Saturday night found us at Crush, the weekend's huge wine-tasting party and silent auction. We worked our way around the room, participated in a blind tasting (which, by the way, I aced by being able to identify which Pinot Noir was from B.C. and which was from Oregon) and talked to many of the people with whom I'd hoped to connect.

We passed on the after-parties and made our way back to our suite to rest up for our final day at Cornucopia that would start with Killer Value Wines, presented by Wine Access Magazineand panelled by D.J. Kearny, David Scholefield, Anthony Gismondi, and Mark Taylor. My favourite wines of the group that truly "over delivered" in flavour and value were the 2008 Boutari Moschofilero from Greece, the Pinot Noir from B.C. winery Thornhaven, and the Tempranillo Vina Albali Gran Reserva from Valdepeñas, Spain, all $20 or less. Interesting and worth trying again was The Wolftrap from South Africa.

Rick was taking in the Rodney Strong seminar and tasting, A Look at Luxury Cabernet from Sonoma, while I was sipping the value wines. When we were finished our respective seminars, he and I made our way to the Viking Stage where we learned how sushi is made and then tasted it paired with wine.

What a day.

What a weekend.

We said good-bye to our wine-soaked winter wonderland the world calls Whistler and hit the road.

Salut!

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Cornucopia supplement: guest blogger Rick Rake writes about the quick hands and sharp humour of sushi chef Nester

By Rick Rake, Guest Blogger

Some rice, seaweed, and tuna.

Add a touch of Sushi Village Chef Nester humour, his quick hands, some wide-screen televisions, an appreciative audience, and it’s time for the excitement of the Cornucopia Viking Stage Series where we paired morsels with a Pinot Grigio and traditional Sake from Select Wines.

Nester brings the marinated fish close to his face, inhaling for the appropriate aroma.  He slices and dices and is ready to plate his creation.

First lesson of the day, however, is the art of making sushi rice, then he talks about the handling and serving of raw fish.

He tempts the crowd with a delicious Tai wakame seaweed salad enhanced by a light vinegar dressing and when the wine pairings begin—amazing!

With a small blowtorch he sears a Hawaiian tuna bathed in a mouth-watering garlic sauce.

The taste experience reaches new heights with the wine, Sake, and sushi combinations.  Nestor finishes by showing the intricate work that goes into a traditional California roll featuring Dungeness crab wrapped with tobiko.

His sushi students go away satisfied.