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

More, please: McWatters Collection Chardonnay

I served the McWatters Collection Chardonnay 2013, which I received as a sample, with our dinner tonight. It was definitely a winner. In fact, it was lovely. I won't hesitate to buy more of this wine and serve it to all my friends--even those with fussy palates. Don't serve this Chardonnay too cold, not like you would a bubbly or Sauvignon Blanc, for example. You don't want to stifle any of this velvety wine.

White wine: 2013
Producer: Encore Vineyards
Country/Region: Okanagan, B.C., VQA
Grape/Blend: Chardonnay
Price: $25 at winery
ABV: 14.2%
On the nose: Tropical fruit, dried coconut, honey, lime
On the palate: Citrus and tropical fruit, with baked green apple, are followed by sweet spice and a buttery, toasty finish.
Overall: This substantial buttery B.C. Chardonnay fills your mouth. It is silky and lingers on the palate. This wine makes you say, “More, please.”
Buy it: Winery, private wine stores, and online.
Pair it: This New World wine paired beautifully with my oven-roasted chicken breast, pan-fried green beans with roasted red pepper strips, and store-bought butternut squash ravioli topped with melted butter and just a quick sprinkle of pink Hawaiian sea salt. I will buy more.

Cheers to you!

Copyright © 2016 Kathleen Rake.
All rights reserved.

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!

Copyright © 2015 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Christmas Eve at our house: Prime rib roast, family, friends and more red wine please

Red meat. Lots of it. Family and friends. Lots of them.

Oh, and the red wine. Let if flow, please.

That's Christmas Eve at our house.

Behold the 3.776 kg (roughly 8.325 lbs) Lepp Farm Market prime rib roast we'll serve tonight. Sides will include roasted asparagus, braised red cabbage, grilled Roma tomatoes topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, half-as-bad garlic smashed potatoes, and a rosemary-shallot red-wine sauce.

Wines will represent the old and new worlds: 2008 Twisted Tree Six Vines and 2009 Mission Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (B.C.), 2007 Château de Beaucastel (France), and 2010 Castillo de Monséran (Spain).

Merry Christmas!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere

Here is my most recent wine column, published November 17 in My City, a monthly lifestyle magazine in the Abbotsford News. 

* * * * *

Party season is upon us folks. Savoury, salty, spicy, sour and sweet: all sorts of foods will be served. So, with all these different flavours, what wine should you pour?

When all else fails, pick a sparkler. And, while Champagne is a sparkling wine...read more.

Cheers to you!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

More than 100 wines by the glass at Whistler's Sidecut in the Four Seasons

Congratulations to Sidecut (one of my favourite restaurants in Whistler) at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler as they celebrate their first anniversary.

I'm so sorry I have to miss the big party!

The bright side is I can feel like I'm having a party there anytime. The food, service, and wine list are great and food-and-wine boss, David Foran, makes it his business to ensure guests are happy.

Did you know that Sidecut's wine list offers more than 100 wines by the glass? I like that. A lot.

More than 100 wines by the glass means I can taste wines I might never otherwise try, and that makes me smile.

A votre bonne santé!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Last day to vote for WBC12 location: Choose Penticton!

Really. I think you should choose Penticton for the site of the 2012 Wine Bloggers' Conference (WBC12).

I want you to choose Penticton because it is in the middle of some truly beautiful country,
surrounded by lakes, mountains, deserts, orchards, and, of course, vineyards. And, if you fly in to Vancouver or Seattle and drive, you'll get a whole other set of beautiful views. There is a reason our province's tag line is "Super, Natural British Columbia."

I want you to choose Penticton because I want you to experience a truly exciting emerging wine region--the Okanagan. We have inspiring wines in a region that is, in the wine world anyway, so very young--it's an adolescent compared to established New World regions, and barely a newborn compared to the Old World. 

I want you to choose Penticton because the Okanagan is filled with wine-making characters who have come to us from all over the world, for good reason. I think you'd like to talk to them face-to-face, not just on Twitter or Facebook.

I want you to choose Penticton because I would love to show you around.

Check out our Facebook page or Twitter conversations.

I look forward to seeing many of you next week at WBC11 in Charlottesville, Virginia!

Cheers to you,

K.