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

Township 7 Vineyards and Winery supports Starlight Children's Foundation at Valentine's Day celebration

Enjoy a decadent, entertaining and informative day and learn the traditional French style of crafting champagne with Township 7 winemaker Bradley Cooper and proprietor Mike Raffan, or how to make delectable truffles with Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, and what pairs best with oysters on the half shell with 1 Fish 2 Fish. Partial proceeds from the festivities will be donated to the BC Chapter of Starlight Children’s Foundation.

The delicate and mad art of crafting wine in the Méthode Traditionnelle

Discover how traditional handcrafted champagne is made in France and join Township 7’s proprietor and winemaker in the fun, sometimes messy, and challenging process of dégorgement, adding the dosage, and corking the sparkling wine.

Complimentary winemaker seminars at 1:00 and 3:00 pm

Taste the Stars Evening at Township 7

Indulge your senses with an early Valentine’s celebration of fine wine paired with raw oysters and seafood canapés.

Enjoy live music by the popular local band, We Play for Wine, while you taste your way through two rooms featuring seafood delicacies by 1 Fish 2 Fish. Enjoy winemaker Bradley Cooper’s discussion of wine-and-food pairings and complete your visit in our romantic chocolate room with Jacqueline Pearson of White Rock’s Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, rolling dark chocolate truffles.

7:00-10:00 pm (grazing, non-seated)
$30 per person
Contact 604-532-1766 or [email protected] for tickets

Click here or on the image below to read the full press release and get all the yummy details.

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The Villa at Hester Creek: Celebrate the Valentine in your life with a dine-and-stay weekend away

If you've never experienced The Villa at Hester Creek, then now's your chance. Spend a night to remember in one of the gorgeously appointed suites.

Add in a gourmet, multi-course dinner for two, expertly paired Hester Creek Wines, and the warm, moving tones of classical guitarist William Leggott and you've got the perfect mood for your darling Valentine.

Of course, breakfast is served the next day.

Date:
Saturday, February 12

Time: 
Dinner reception 6:30 p.m. / dinner served 7:00 p.m.

Cost:
$455.00 per couple includes one night in a deluxe “Villa” suite, dinner, live music, wine, & gratuities.

Maybe we'll see you there.

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Have you tried any new grapes lately?

Here is my most recent wine column, Fine Fare & Wine to Pair, published Jan. 20 in My City, a monthly lifestyle magazine in the Abbotsford News. Click here to read the column and my take on the Nichol Vineyard 2005 St. Laurent, a brand-new grape to me.

Salut!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake.
All rights reserved.

2008 Crossbarn Russian River Pinot Noir at the forest house in Honoka'a, Hawai'i

Hello, Darlings!

I haven't posted parts three or four of my forest house chronicles yet--I've just been too busy having fun. Forgive me?

I did manage to record a brief video, however, featuring an '08 Russian River Pinot Noir called Crossbarn, by Paul Hobbs. We don't get all that much Russian River Pinot Noir in BC so I was really happy to find this one in the "little liquor store that could" in Kamuela on the Big Island. If you make your way here, please be sure to visit this store and pop in to its wine vault...you'll wonder if you've gone to heaven.

This wine is jam-packed with cherries and black raspberries, earthy notes, great acidity and a finish that lasts a good long time. I served it tonight with a beef Strogonoff and roasted asparagus with capers. Super yum!

Aloha!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Forest house chronicles: tales from Honoka'a, Hawai'i, part two

Tales from Honoka'a, Hawai'i / Part two, January 7 & 8, 2011

January 7

I stayed at the forest house today while Rick, Karen, John, and Michael went to Spencer Beach and then on to pick up the pork and tiki torches for our big night next week when we'll be hosting four more friends from the Fraser Valley for a night of pulled pork, Hawaiian style. Yes, we'll be using banana leaves to wrap the pork. And, I will be heading to the Kamuela Liquor Store, where I know I'll find a great selection of wines we can't get at the grocery or big-box stores.In the evening, we prepared slowly grilled chicken and potato salad and ate it on the lanai while the tiki torches and some candles offered illumination.

To accompany our dinner, we opened a bottle of 2009 Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois, a blended red wine featuring Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine, which we bought at Costco in Kailua-Kona for just $7.99 a bottle, is full of jammy red and black fruits and, frankly, that's about it. Certainly, it's serviceable and quite amiable with all sorts of dinner fare, but it's not one I'd choose to sip solo.

January 8

Busy day!

We started with a trip up to the Waimea Homestead Farmers Market, where only local residents can set up booths and locally produced items can be sold...

Next, we travelled the Saddle Road (that's the road that runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa) up to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy at Mauna Kea (9,300 ft./2,800 metres), which happens to have the lowest snow in 10 years.

While we were visiting Mauna Kea, Michael made a snowman...

After the heights of Mauna Kea, we carried on to sea level and the Hilo Farmers Market...
 After the market and a quick tailgate lunch of left-over chicken, we drove to 'Akaka Falls State Park for a gorgeous walk...
But, hey, our day didn't end there. Over our dinner of left-over steak (that we turned into a stir-fry) and the fresh Ono Karen dipped in coconut milk, coated with panko, and quickly fried, we had a good discussion about which spa Karen and I would visit on Tuesday: the Fairmont Orchid or Hilton Mandarin Spa? Such weighty decisions. 

Until part three,

Aloha! 

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Forest house chronicles: tales from Honoka'a, Hawai'i, part one

Tales from Honoka'a, Hawai'i / Part one, January 3-6, 2011

I must tell you, in my humble opinion, there is nothing much better than sipping your morning Kona coffee while sitting on the lanai of a traditional plantation-style house in the middle of a tropical forest, overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean. Nothing much better, that is, unless you're sitting doing the same with good friends and fellow Click Media Works "Clicksters" John and Karen Laing and their son, Michael.And hey, if I have to sit at my computer and write from this same vantage point, then that's okay, too.

Today, I'm giving you a bit of background along with a quick catching-up, by way of mostly pictures, of our activities since we arrived in Seattle, WA on January 3 to stay the night before our early morning flight on Hawaiian Airlines January 4...

Our vacation home-base is in Honoka'a, a small town on the historic Hamakua Coast of the Big Island (named Hawai'i), roughly half way between the Kona and Hilo International Airports (map).

We keep returning here because, well, it simply calls us to do so.Here are some questions you might be asking:

1. Is the forest house (hale nahele), to which we return every year, fancy and full of state-of-the-art amenities? No.
2. Does it have two large bedrooms, with attached full bathrooms and central living, cooking, and eating areas, plus a wrap-around lanai in plantation-style tradition? Yep.
3. Does it have running water, refrigeration, washer and dryer, gas stove, and a caretaker? Yep again.
4. Is it like a retreat? Absolutely.
5. Is it calming with sounds, sights, and fragrances you won't find in the "touristy" parts of the Island? You bet.
6. Is it on the beach? No.
7. Is it close to beaches? Yes, but you must rent a car.

January 3

Waiting to secure our room at the no-tell motel just a few minutes away from Sea-Tac...
January 4

When we disembark from our Honolulu-to-Kona flight, this is what we see...January 4

Karen and John put away groceries after our quick stop at Foodland in Waimea...January 5

Rick snaps a pic of the famous and oft-photographed Waipiʻo Valley...January 5 

Michael and a young tree-climbing friend take in the surf and sand at 69 Beach...
January 5

69 Beach—a brief one-minute video interlude—too bad you can't smell or taste the air...

January 6

A street scene in Kailua-Kona... 
January 6

At Huggo's On The Rocks in Kailua-Kona...

Until part two,

Aloha!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.