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Meet my son Steven as we taste the Wild Horse Canyon 2009 Merlot...
With ripe red fruit and dark berries on the nose and palate, and an earthiness along side soft, barely noticeable tannins, this pleasant, fruit-forward wine (13.5 % ABV), which I received as a sample, is a simple sipper that rings in at just $11.99 in BC.
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
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It's so much more than simply drinking wine, you know...
The International Culinary School (ICS) at the Art Institute (AI) of Vancouver celebrated its second round of WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) diploma-program graduates last night at Culinaria Restaurant.
While the ICS has offered the diploma courses by correspondence for several years, it now offers the full program in a classroom setting. This is just the second bunch of folks who have completed the diploma while attending classes on-site.
This year's 10 graduates, who come from varying backgrounds and career streams, chose to pursue their diplomas for very different reasons, with one thing in common—the love of wine.
Congratulations to all the graduates for very hard work, very well done. See a full list of the graduates at the end of this blog post.
A special round of applause is due Neil Punshon, Plamen Velikov, Katherine McEachnie, and Megan Carson for achieving a Pass with Merit, which is no easy feat within the WSET diploma program.
WSET 2010 diploma graduates Neil Punshon, Plamen Velikov, Katherine McEachnie, and Megan Carson achieve a Pass with Merit designation
And, a further singling out is deserved by Velikov, who achieved the status of top Canadian student and has been awarded a study tour of Australian wine-growing regions, courtesy of Wine Australia.
Also attending the graduation celebration were several of the instructors:
Mark Shipway, AIWS, FWS
Wine Instructor and Department Head,
The International Culinary School
Barbara Philip, MW
Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School
Portfolio Manager, BCLDB
Co-owner, Barbariain Wine Consulting
Iain Philip, AIWS
Senior Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School
Co-owner, Barbariain Wine Consulting
Michaela Morris, AIWS
Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School
Co-owner, House Wine
2010 WSET Diploma Program Graduates:
Plamen Velikov / Saverio Schiralli Agency
Neil Punshon / Liquid Art Fine Wine
Megan Carson / Personal Interest
Katherine McEachnie / MW candidate
Sherry Adams / Andrew Peller Ltd
Karen Smith / Personal Interest
Courtanie Cooper / Boneta Restaurant
David Jonathan Munroe / Libations Liquor Store
Chris Giroux / Anarona Wines & Bacchus at The Wedgewood
Amy Farnsworth
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
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If you haven't yet been to Seasonal 56, it's time to start making plans.
Seasonal 56 is a restaurant cleverly tucked away from suspecting eyes in the middle of one of the Fraser Valley's busiest industrial parks, Gloucester Industrial Estates. Located right on 56th Avenue in the Township of Langley's community called Aldergrove, it is the perfect place for lunch or dinner for anyone who has to travel the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy. 1) to or from Vancouver, Coquitlam, Surrey, and Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, or Hope.
We were guests at a promotional dinner at Seasonal 56 a couple of weeks ago, served up by Chef Adrian Beaty and his wife Shannon, who pride themselves on sourcing and serving local organic meats and vegetables and either house-made or locally made fare.
Seasonal 56 Chef Adrian and wife Shannon are happy to share
their passion for fresh, locally sourced and prepared food
Throughout the evening, we experienced myriad taste explosions from goodies that included (but were not limited to) local organic greens and cheeses, pheasant pot pie, pork belly from Gelderman Farms, and Muscovy duck breast from Thiessen Farms. With everything, we sipped Lotusland Vineyard's Enigma, a wine made from a blend of Gamay and Pinot Meunier grapes.
What's telling to me is that the local game, fowl, meat farmers, as well as the organic vegetable and cheese producers, regularly come to Seasonal 56 to eat the expertly prepared foods they supply.
We enjoyed our experience so much that we went back there for lunch yesterday and ordered a turkey take-home dinner for Christmas Day. I can't imagine anything could be easier—or tastier.
I'll add the wine.
* * * * *
If you go to Seasonal 56:
Lunch: Tues.-Fri., 11:00am-2:30pm
Dinner: Tues.-Thurs., 5:00-8:30pm / Fri. & Sat., 5:00-9:00pm
Call ahead: 604.625.5601
Address: #201, 26730 56 Avenue, Langley, BC
Order turkey take-home dinners until: Dec. 19 for pick up Dec. 24
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
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Click here to read my wine column, Fine Fare & Wine to Pair, published Dec. 9 in My City, a monthly lifestyle magazine in the Abbotsford News.
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
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Tonight's wine?
Well, at first I was going to open the Nichol Vineyard Syrah, a wine with which I fell in love some months ago; instead, I decided on the 2005 Nichol Vineyard St. Laurent ($35/12.7% ABV).
This is the first time I've knowingly tasted a wine made from this grape—St. Laurent—and I'm enjoying it.
Lots of earthy, dark berry, and cherry aromas on the nose, with more dark cherries, plums, and notes of chocolate and espresso on the palate. The Nichol Vineyard St. Laurent is silky with a bright acidity and very pleasant finish that makes my mouth happy. And, while it goes great with the linguine and tomato-meat sauce I made for dinner, I'm certain I'd enjoy this wine as a solo sipper.
Salut!
Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
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