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

Tia Butts talks to wine bloggers in the Marcus Whitman Hotel

Tia Butts from Benson Marketing Group gathers some parting words from participants at the 2010 Wine Bloggers' Conference (WBC10) in Walla Walla, WA.

Salut!

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.

I pay that much tax on my bottle of wine here in beautiful British Columbia? Really?

I just read a great article written by Mark Hicken at his website, www.WineLaw.ca, titled Provincial Per Capita Liquor Tax Amounts. Then, I signed up for his two newsletters (blogs):

1. Juice, featuring wine-marketing and -law news and discussions, where you can, if you dare, access BC liquor store wine markup calculators that will tell you how much tax our provincial government actually takes (pre- and post-HST) when you and I buy a bottle of wine.
2. Free the Wine!, where you can learn how to help fight our province's wine-tax insanity.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Sponsors list for Abbotsford's Crystal Gala keeps growing...and growing

We're thrilled to see so many people and organizations supporting Abbotsford's own 12th annual Crystal Gala. Did you know that every dollar you donate goes to the cause and stays in our community?

Please click here or on the poster below to get a full view.

Do you have your tickets yet?
Call 604-853-5463 or email [email protected] to reserve.

 

More than $300,000 raised at fourth annual Vancouver Aquarium gala event

Ocean Wise is just one initiative of the Vancouver Aquarium. But boy is it a good one; at least, it is from this food lover's point of view.

The 550 people who attended the fourth annual Night at the Aquarium gala fundraising event must agree because, together with sponsors, they raised more than $300,000. One hundred per cent of funds raised directly support the Aquarium’s many education, research, and direct-action conservation programs and initiatives, including Ocean Wise.

Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium

Kudos to the restaurateurs who support Ocean Wise.

Cheers to you all!

The Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of marine life through display and interpretation, conservation practices, education, research, and direct action. Visit www.vanaqua.org to learn more.

Follow the Vancouver Aquarium on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vancouveraqua

Hester Creek Estate Winery: an Italian evening with Umberto Menghi

Will you be one of the lucky ones?

On July 3, 2010, an intimate group will spend an evening with Umberto, up close and personal, as he creates a special Italian meal in Hester Creek's teaching kitchen.

Umberto Menghi likely needs no introduction, especially to Vancouver folks.

Umberto’s fresh, authoritative food started a revolution in 1973, where from a little yellow house on Hornby Street in Vancouver he took his training from Rome, London, and Paris, and combined it with his passion and home-grown Italian roots to fill Vancouver's authentic-Italian-cuisine void.

Today, he is known internationally for his many culinary ventures. He owns three popular restaurants, Il Giardino in Vancouver and Il Caminetto and Trattoria di Umberto in Whistler, and has written four best-selling cookbooks, including Umberto’s Kitchen. Toscano Mia is his fifth book and features more than 100 recipes from his homeland.

Umberto is also a TV personality.

His first cooking show, The Elegant Appetite, made Umberto a familiar face across Canada. And in his series A Taste of Life he explores the food, culture, and landscape of Tuscany from the home base of Villa Delia, the cooking school and hotel he established in the ancient village of Ripoli. Umberto can now add olive grower and vintner to his vocations, as Villa Delia produces its own estate wines and olive oil.

Hester Creek Estate Winery owner Curt Garland is proud to welcome such a renowned celebrity chef to the winery. Since Umberto last visited the South Okanagan Valley, Hester Creek has undergone a significant transformation with the construction of a spectacular new winery and guest centre in 2009. Many say its Mediterranean-inspired style evokes the spirit of Tuscany; Umberto should feel right at home.

“I have enjoyed many memorable meals in Umberto’s restaurants,” recalls Garland. “And now we are looking forward to the chance to share our winery with Umberto. We hope he finds the surroundings as serene and comfortable as at his Tuscan Villa.”

Adding to this, Hester Creek winemaker Rob Summers is looking forward to tasting Umberto’s menu paired with the Hester Creek wines. “This will be a truly memorable evening, where the richness of good food, wine, and life are savoured,” he notes. “We can’t be happier that Umberto will be here.”

Tickets are $250 per couple or $150 per person. Call the winery at 250-498-4435 to purchase. Space is limited. Reservations and pre-payment are required. Tickets are non-refundable, but transferrable.

The Villa at Hester Creek has limited availability. Call now to book your special weekend.

Click here to follow Hester Creek on Twitter.

-30-

Media contact for Hester Creek Estate Winery:
    Leeann Froese 604-904-9792 [email protected]
Media contact for Umberto Menghi:
    Taba Tabrizi 604-669-3732 [email protected] 

Two bottles of bubbly from Sumac Ridge Estate Winery

I recently received two bottles of wine as samples: NV Sparkling Gewürztraminer ($24.99/12.7 ABV) and NV Sparkling Rosé ($22.99/13% ABV) from Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, located just north of Summerland in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley.

Each is an off-dry wine, with the Rosé, technically, having a higher residual sugar content and higher sweetness code. My palate, however, didn't agree.

I chilled the Sparkling Rosé—a blend of 51% Pinot Noir, 30% Gamay Noir, and 19% Ehrenfelser—right away and started sipping on it a couple of hours later.

I liked it! It was fresh and sassy, with lots of citrus and berry flavours and a frothy mousse that shouted fun! Each sip left my palate clean and ready for more smoked salmon, cheeses, and crunchy fresh veggies with dip. While there certainly was a lot of fruitiness, I didn't get a sense of sweet with this wine. I would buy it and drink it again.

A few days later, I chilled the Sparkling Gewürztraminer and took it to a birthday celebration where I knew we'd be having spicy Indian- and Asian-influenced bites to eat. Also at this party were people who happened to really like off-dry still wine and sparklers.

When first poured, the wine shared aromas of citrus and tropical fruits, along with floral and honey notes and an exotic spiciness. The palate, however, didn't produce what my nose told me to expect. At all.

I got some floral, spice, and citrus on the palate, but the elements didn't come together. I found its sweetness cloying, not in harmony with its acidity and fruit, with an aftertaste (not to be confused with finish) I didn't like. And my friend, the one who routinely likes off-dry and sweet wines only, didn't want a second glass because she didn't think it was sweet enough.

Would I drink the Sumac Ridge Sparkling Gewürztraminer again? I think so. If someone poured it for me. Who knows what was up with my palate and the Universe that day.

Would I buy it to drink? Probably not.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

A wine-soaked Twitter testimonial

During the day, while I’m cleverly disguised as a business advisor for the Fraser Valley Self Employment Program (FVSEP), I spend a great deal of my time counselling clients to build relationships. I encourage them to do so for many reasons, including this one:

People buy stuff (products, services, expertise) from people they know, like, and trust or from people recommended by people they know, like, and trust.

That’s not to say one should be mercenary in his or her relationship building; in fact, that approach will eventually make people angry. No, what folks should do is simply engage.

And how does one engage? In my opinion, you engage people by first listening to them, and then giving them something they'll value.

What they'll value will depend on the individual. The person you're engaging might find value in your unsolicited nuggets of relevant, useful information. Another person might find value in your generous answers and possible solutions to his or her questions and problems. Someone else might really value your very bad jokes. Certainly some people will find value in tangible items only, but then I'd guess those folks and you weren't fully engaged.

These ideas aren’t new. They weren’t invented by Twitter or any other social media platform. Those of you reading this who are in business know that relationships are, and always have been, one of the golden keys to success.

What Twitter (and its ilk) has done, however, is give us another platform for engagement, which results in additional opportunities to build our networks with people we will grow to know, like, and trust.

So, what does any of this have to do with wine?

Well, a friend of mine IRL, Tina, known as @WorthEveryBite on Twitter, is an extraordinary baker and very well connected to all sorts of foodie types. She introduced me, in a manner of speaking, to Rebecca of Mizuna Culinary (@MizunaCulinary). Rebecca and I follow each other on Twitter and had some conversations regarding wine education.

A few weeks after our wine-ed conversations, Rebecca and Kristine Carrick (@KristineCarrick), a PR pro who was putting together a grand opening shindig for a new South Surrey business (Envision Denture Centre), were working together on the menu for this shindig when Kristine asked Rebecca if she knew of anyone who could come to the grand opening and do more than just pour wine. She wanted someone to recommend B.C. wine, talk about it, take folks through a tasting, and then pair it with the gourmet goodies Rebecca would be serving. She wanted this party to be different. Rebecca said she knew someone, and introduced us by email.

I got the gig. I love Twitter. And my new friends.

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.