Between the Vines: One woman's wine-soaked musings: June 2015

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June 2015

June 25, 2015

Evolve Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2014 with chicken, home-made pesto and Boursin cheese

Last night I opened a Sauvignon Blanc 2014* from Evolve Cellars, a new B.C. Okanagan winery found on Bottleneck Drive. Here are my notes:

White wine:
Sauvignon Blanc 2014
Producer:
Evolve Cellars
Region:
Okanagan Valley, BC VQA
Grape/Blend:
Sauvignon Blanc
Price/ABV:
$15/13.9% ABV
Eyes:
Clear, pale yellow, with a touch of green.
Nose:
Citrus, melon, tropical fruit, suggestion of smoke.
Palate:
Lime, stone fruit, hint o' sweet spice.
Overall:
Smooth, fruity, mouth-filling. The suggestion of smoke and hint of sweet spice are odd since this wine saw no oak. Maybe next time I won't find it there--who knows?
Buy it:
Private liquor stores, VQA stores, directly from the winery.
Pair it:
I served this dry white wine with grilled boneless/skinless chicken breasts I had cut up and tossed with linguine, home-made pesto, and about half a package of Boursin cheese. I'd like to try it with smoked-salmon eggs benny or a traditional goat cheese.

*This wine was provided as a sample.

À Votre Santé!

Kathleen Rake at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 09, 2015

Nichol Vineyards Pinot Gris and grilled salmon for dinner

We had dinner at our friends' home last night. It was, as always, delicious. I took the greens because, well, I just have #SoMuchSalad growing in my garden boxes.

They grilled the salmon and poured the Nichol Vineyards Pinto Gris.

Nichol Vineyards Pinot Gris 2014
100 % Naramata Village grown, cold soaked on the skin.
$22 at the winery/12% ABV

The eyes:
Clear, bright, pale hint-o-salmon colour.

On the nose:
stone fruit, sweet spice, herbal qualities, citrus peel, light hint of smoke.

On the palate:
stone fruit, green apples, lemon and grapefruit juices, and trace of ginger.

Overall:
Great backbone! Bright and alive. If you have friends or family who are white-wine-only drinkers, this one will serve them well alongside red meat.

Serve it with:
This Pinot Gris was great with the grilled salmon. I'd like to give it a second try with grilled bone-in pork chops and a tart chunky apple-ginger sauce.

#SoMuchSalad

À Votre Santé!

Kathleen Rake at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wines under $10?

I ran into a friend earlier today and he asked if I had ever reviewed any wines under the $10 mark.

Well, sure I have.

In fact, in 2013 I dedicated three of my Abbotsford News wine columns to just such wines. Here they are again. Keep in mind the vintages and pricing will have changed, but they are still wines with good QPR (quality-price ratio), in my opinion.

Click on an image below for the corresponding article ... and cheers!