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

Size and shape do matter: 7 basics to serving wine by Wine Folly (and me)

I came across a Wine Folly piece today titled, 7 Basics to Serving Wine and Glassware. I'll be covering all seven of these basics (and more) during my seminars at this year's Fraser Valley Food Show, Oct. 3 - 5 at Tradex in Abbotsford:

1. A proper glass will make any wine taste better 
   (While a jam jar is functional, shapes and sizes [in wine as in life] do matter.)
2. Wine tastes better served slightly cool 
   (Think about room temperature before the advent of central heating.)
3. Perfect the ritual of opening a bottle of wine 
   (There are some ways that are wrong ... just wrong.)
4. Nearly every red wine tastes better decanted
   (However, pouring wine into and out from a decanter isn't necessarily the same as decanting.)
5. How much wine to pour into the glass 
   (Bigger doesn't mean more. Really.)
6. Holding a wine glass 
   (But what if it's a stemless glass? Glad you asked.)
7. How long does leftover wine keep?
   (What on Earth is leftover wine?)

 

Want to swirl-sniff-sip with me? Choose from five wine-tasting seminars, or make your way to all of them:

1. Sniff, Swirl, Sip: Tasting Wine for Pleasure 
   A fruity, friendly Wine 101 seminar.
2. This Wine, That Cheese 
   Wine lovers taste and learn why some wines work better with some cheeses.
3. Travel the World with Wine 
   Flavours and styles: Wine is a window to the world.
4. The Case for Wine and Sausage 
   Sweet, salty, spicy: Wine loves them all.
5. Breakfast Wine 
   Benedict, bacon, and oatmeal? You bet!

If you like wine and wine stuff, visit Wine Folly for all sorts of information and fun infographics. 

À votre santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

It's in the cards: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley to be big winners at Rowena's Inn

Hold 'em? Fold 'em? Play 'em?

Whatever you decide on Friday, May 2 at Rowena's Inn on the River, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley benefits.

The evening includes all sorts of activities: Dinner, pre-dinner reception cocktails, midnight buffet, prizes, live entertainment, and so much more.

Of course, there is the poker game, with very limited seating.

And don't forget the wine tasting, featuring Mt. Lehman Winery. I'll be pouring and presenting.

If you want to stay the night at Rowena's, they are offering event-goers a discount. There are still a couple of rooms available--snap one up if you don't want to drive.

What:
Fundraiser for BBBS of the Fraser Valley featuring, poker, dinner, wine, and more

Where:
Rowena's Inn on the River, Harrison Mills, BC

Date:
Friday, May 2, 2014

Start time:
5:30 PM

Parking:
Free on-site

Want more info? Contact the organizers directly:

Maureen Berlin
604-852-3331
[email protected]

For those of you who don't know, my hubby Rick was a Big Brother for years. We know first-hand how valuable this organization is in our communities.

Visit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley on Facebook, follow them on Twitter.

Hope to see you Friday night!

www.MentoringWorks.ca 

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

New Year's Eve: Bringing in 2014 aboard Evita with friends Karen and John

We spent an impromptu New Year's Eve aboard Evita with friends John and Karen Laing and had fun ringing in 2014 under the Blaine Harbor marina lights.

On our way to the boat, we stopped at the local grocery store and picked up cheeses and salami for our appies. At about 8:00 PM, we made our way to Jack Niemann's Black Forest Steak House, where they had promised to fit us in for dinner at 8:30.

The menu at Black Forest sent me right back to the 1970s, but in a good way. The only things missing were the Caesar salad made tableside, Harvey Wallbangers, and flaming Spanish coffees. All kidding aside, the steaks were absolutely beautiful--juicy, flavourful, and cooked to exact specifications.

We stopped Karen from ordering the 16-ounce Hawaiian rib-eye steak because it is, well, 16 ounces, better known as one pound or .454 kilos in Canadian. She opted instead for the filet Oscar, which she shared with me. I returned the favour by sharing my lobster tail with her. I had a glass of a California Chardonnay and she a Malbec; unfortunately, I didn't record the names of the wines or take any notes so can only report that they each served their respective meals very well. Rick and John stuck with Scotch--Laphroaig, je pense--to sip along with their meals: John had a steak and Rick had the Bratwurst dinner.

After dinner, we made our way back to Evita and prepared to bring in the New Year. We had hats, poppers, and I sabred a bottle of Cava. (Many thanks to Leeann Froese for her instructive video.)

The next morning we walked in the seaside sunshine up to Tony's Just a Bite restaurant, where only U.S. cash is accepted, but that's in exchange for a great view of the harbour and substantial breakfast.

Overall, we had a quiet but smile-filled New Year's Eve making warm memories.

Rick put together a brief video of our quick adventure. Take a look:

All the best of 2014 to you and yours!

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Ka-Boom! TNT Chardonnay a big hit

Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, B.C. sponsors a program called Okanagan Wine Campus.

Created in 2011, Wine Campus is a mentorship program that provides the person named Vancouver's Sommelier of the Year a chance to make a small-lot wine using the grape variety and style he or she chooses. The proceeds from the sale of this wine benefit the B.C. Hospitality Foundation.

In 2012, Terry Threlfall was named Sommelier of the Year, so when harvest 2012 fell, he visited Okanagan Crush Pad and worked closely with chief winemaker Michael Bartier to create his wine.

We had great fun tasting Threlfall's TNT Chardonnay, paired expertly with goodies from Hawksworth. The Chardonnay was clean, fruity, fresh, and lively, with a minerality and brinyness (word?) that will make it a swell match for so many party foods.

This wine lives up to its explosive moniker, but can in no way be lumped in with the fruit-and-oak-bomb Chardonnays many have come to fear.  

Our afternoon of tasting TNT was rounded out with wines from Haywire and Bartier Scholefield ... Lovely!

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Fraser Valley Food Show: Wine, celebrity chefs and gluten-free specialty products just three highlights

Fraser Valley Food Show returns to Tradex next week, Oct. 4 – 6. This year’s three-day event promises exciting new products and stage activity, along with some good ol’ favourites, including local wines from Mt. Lehman Winery and Blackwood Lane:

The Great Canadian Sausage Making Competition, presented by BC Pork, returns, by popular demand.

The Gluten-free Living Show, a “show within a show” and newest feature at the Fraser Valley Food Show, offers great products and information for those trying to live gluten-free.

Celebrity chefs Rob Feenie and Corbin Tomaszeski appear on stage to dazzle audiences with their “amazing talent, wit, and humour.”

Kathleen Rake of Between the Vines leads participants through wine tasting and wine-and-food pairing on the Grapes and Hops Stage. Read the schedule here.

Rick Mohabir and Deb Mohabir of Just Here for the Beer educate and excite participants about beer on the Grapes and Hops Stage.

Wine, beer, and spirits (including Abbotsford’s own Kealy’s Moonshine) from BC and around the world available for tasting in the Wine, Beer and Spirits Pavilion.

Bite of the Valley ensures you won’t leave hungry.

Seventeen chefs from BC compete for the title of Master Chef in a hot, head-to-head competition.

Dairy Farmers of Canada present cheese tastings and seminars throughout the weekend.

We’re giving away two sets of two tickets to the show … just answer the following two-part question in the comments section of this blog for your chance to be entered into the draw to win.

I live by two wine-related mantras. Fill in the blanks:

There is never a good reason to not drink _______.

I seek the perfect glass of ____, but hope I never find it.

Entries received before midnight on Thurs., Oct. 3 are eligible for the draw. Winners will be announced here on Friday morning and can pick up their tickets anytime during the show at will-call.

You can find the answers here and here.

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Win two tickets to SIT STAY SIP at Stanley Park Pavilion June 13

I am thrilled to offer you the chance to win two tickets to come and enjoy SIT– STAY SIP June 13 at the Stanley Park Pavilion.

This is a value-packed, wine-soaked event that just happens to be a fundraiser benefiting PADS. You'll get to

• taste wines from Okanagan Crush Pad and its client wineries
• nibble on delicious goodies presented by the chefs at Stanley Park Pavilion
• bid on exciting silent-auction items
• get in on the chance to win a fully stocked wine fridge
• chat with winery people and emcee Terry David Mulligan
• watch PADS dogs demonstrations
• soak in the puppy cuteness during the puppy parade
• meet Caber, Canada's first trauma K9

If that's not enough, Rick and I will be there ;)

Here's how you enter to win two tickets to SIT STAY SIP:

Tell me here (on this blog in the comment section) which of the eight listed wines you've tasted already. It's just that easy to get your name thrown into the hat.

Haywire
Bartier Scholefield (a.k.a. B.S.)
Bella
Harper's Trail
Owen
Bartier Bros.
Perseus
Sage Hills 

Contest ends Sunday, June 9 at midnight. I'll announce the winner of the two tickets Monday morning, June 10, here on this blog. 

Please don't fret if you don't see your comment/entry right away; I moderate comments to eliminate obscenities and spam and sometimes I don't get to them until late in the evening.

#Wag

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

In my opinion, there is never a good reason to not drink bubbles

Below you'll find my Oct., 2012 wine column, published in My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News. This month I share my impression of Bella sparkling wines. 

A little bubbly can fancy up the drabbest event, honour the most special occasion or simply make you smile. And with the Christmas party season approaching (don’t blink!), now is a good time to stock up on sparklers.

During my recent trip to the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, I was a guest for two nights at the lakeside Walnut Beach Resort, where I had the good fortune to sip on many B.C. wines. Read more.

Salut!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Campbell's Gold Melomel and blue cheese work together to please the palate

Here is my wine column as it appeared in the September, 2012 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News one week before I took off for three wine-and-sun drenched days in the Thompson-Okanagan at the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival.

I had a number of great experiences during [the recent] Fraser Valley Food Show at Tradex, but especially memorable was when participants in my wine-tasting seminar turned into blue-cheese-with-sweet-wine believers.

Read more.

Salut!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Harjit, Shirley and Erin: Wine lovers and ticket winners

Many thanks to all of you who answered my six not-too-tough wine-related questions and were entered to win two tickets to this year's Fraser Valley Food Show at Tradex in Abbotsford, Sept. 14 – 16. It was interesting to read your selections and obvious that you put some thought (and research!) into your answers.

Congratulations Harjit, Shirley, and Erin! You each win two tickets. I'll have them waiting for you at the will-call booth.

If you have the time while at the show, I'd love to swirl and sip some wine with you at one of my seminars.

Salut!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

Wine and food lovers: Win tickets to the Fraser Valley Food Show in Abbotsford Sept. 14 - 16

This is the easiest contest you will ever win. Really. 

I'm thrilled to explore wine with you once again from the Grapes and Hops Stage at the newly named Fraser Valley Food Show Sept. 14-16 at Tradex in Abbotsford.

We’re doing things a little bit differently this year by tasting wines alongside some delicious cheese or sausage at many of my eight presentations.

Pairing food with wine in a seminar setting really helps people understand some of the wine-tasting concepts often referred to as rules. The more I learn, the more I'm able to share with my audiences. It never fails that when my audience learns something new, I end up learning more. Learning about wine just never ends.

And, as many of you know, I get excited when the conversation turns to anything remotely concerning wine and frequently suffer the raised-eyebrow stares of other guests around a dinner table when I swiftly and surely deliver myself to cork-dorkdom.

Such is my fate. <le sigh>

Popular local restaurants, wineries, food and beverage manufacturers, cookbook authors, retailers, artisans, and many others from the culinary world will be featured at this 2012 food extravaganza formerly known as Eat! Fraser Valley.

And this year's high-powered lineup of presenters include Real Housewives of Vancouver star Reiko MacKenzie, Spice Goddess Bal Arneson and executive chefs from Granville Island, Penticton, and Kamloops.

So, back to the contest.

All you have to do to be entered to win one of three pairs of tickets to this year's Fraser Valley Food Show is answer all six of these questions. There is no right or wrong answer.

1. What wine would you choose to pair with a pungent gorgonzola cheese?
2. What wine would you choose to pair with a spicy chorizo sausage?
3. What wine would you choose to pair with a bowl of freshly buttered popcorn?
4. What food would you choose to pair with a big California Zinfandel?
5. What food would you choose to pair with a crisp and light Pinot Grigio?
6. What food would you choose to pair with a Bordeaux-style red wine?

Submit your answers in a comment on this blog post by 6:00 PM Wed., Sept. 12. I'll draw the winners and then announce them by email and on this blog on Thursday. Please be sure you include your first and last name and email address when you enter. Then remember to check this blog on Thursday to see if you've won. I will leave the tickets for you at the Will Call window at the show.

Do you have questions? Contact me directly.

Salut!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.