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

Blue Grouse estate-grown Pinot Noir and pan-seared chicken from Chef's Plate

^{By Kathleen Rake}

Chef Ricky was back in action last night with Chef's Plate pan-seared Parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, and oven-roasted broccoli. I pulled a Blue Grouse Estate Winery Pinot Noir to go along with it, partly in honour of Blue Grouse's recent recognition by Times Colonist readers as Best Island Winery, and partly because, well, I L-O-V-E Pinot Noir.

The wine: 

🍷 Blue Grouse Estate Winery
🍷 2017 Estate Pinot Noir
🍷 12% ABV // $32 at winery
Fruity, silky, refreshing. A great wine to sip alongside a meal that presents with myriad flavours and textures.
🍷 www.BlueGrouse.ca

 

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2020 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

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.

Singletree Siegerrebe and ramen noodle salad

By Kathleen Rake

In the August 21 issue of the Abbotsford News (page A35), I paired the Singletree Winery Siegerrebe with Lepp Farm Market's Asian Ramen Noodle Salad recipe.

Click here or on the image below for the recipe and wine pairing. 

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2015 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Glazed pork tenderloin and Tinhorn Creek 2012 Gewürztraminer

In April's My City wine column in the Abbotsford News (page 31), I pair a glazed pork tenderloin recipe from Lepp Farm Market with the Tinhorn Creek 2012 Gewürztraminer. Read the piece here or click on the image to your right.

Over the next few months, I will pair a wine to whatever recipe the good folks at Lepp Farm Market decide to share. This promises to be delicious fun--for me and my friends and family--as I try a variety of wines from all over the world, including B.C.'s Okanagan and Fraser Valley wine regions, with the food and then pick the best of the bunch to share with you.

I've always said that any wine is better when shared and I love that Lepp Farm Market tags its The Farmer and the Foodie segment with the same sentiment.

Give the recipe a try, pour the wine, and tell me what you think.

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Dog wash leads to new wine experience

I explain in my column how we found Sumas Mountain Wines and tasted four Wild Goose wines during our trip to explore Bosley's dog-washing facilities. Oh, and I give a quick explanation of VQA. The column was published on page 31 of the February, 2012 issue of My City, a monthly magazine in the Abbotsford News.

We have a Standard Poodle puppy named Leilani and she led us to a new wine store in Abbotsford.

Well, not directly.

We headed for Sumas Mountain Village in Abbotsford to check out the Bosley’s Pet Food Plus dog-washing stations we'd heard about from the breeder and... read more.

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2012 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.

Alsace in Vancouver: Tasting Pfaffenheim wines at West

I had the chance to taste some delicious food and sip some lovely wines at a media lunch yesterday.

Hosted by Philippe Dandurand Wines at West in Vancouver, Patrick Doucet and Frédéric Raynaud of the Pfaffenheim wine co-op talked us through five of their wines from Alsace:

1. Pinot Gris 2011 ($18.99)
2. Pinot Gris Steinert Grand Cru 2008 ($34.95)
3. Gewürztraminer Steinert Grand Cru 2009 ($34.95)
4. Gentil ($19.99, but not yet avail.)
5. Black Tie ($19.99, but not yet avail.)

While there wasn't an offensive or dull wine in the lot, some were more lovely than others.

Alongside the AOC and Grand Cru Pfaffenheim wines, were two new wines—two wines not yet in our market: Gentil and Black Tie. Of the two, Black Tie, a blend of Riesling and Pinot Gris, was my favourite. Notes of citrus and tropical fruits met my nose. On the palate, this well-balanced wine was juicy, lively, and fruity. I really enjoyed it with my crab risotto topped with basil and grapefruit. I will buy this wine when it arrives in our liquor stores.

(The crab risotto was, by the way, out of this world. I remember the last time I was at West, when Jurgen Gothe told me the secret to good risotto: "Seventeen minutes.") 

More pictures of our afternoon are in Rick Rake's Facebook album.

Salut!

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Okanagan Wine Festivals: Best of Varietal Wine Awards, Spring 2012

Cheers and many thanks to each of you who goes to work daily so I may drink fabulous B.C. wine.

Congratulations to the award winners and finalists.

Okanagan Wine Festivals: Best of Varietal Wine Awards, Spring 2012

Please click here or on the image above for the winners and finalists.

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Lepp Farm Market and Mt. Lehman Winery: Pork and wine from Abbotsford producers tonight

We had Mt. Lehman Winery's 2009 Pinot Gris with dinner tonight.

The wine was cheery and refreshing, with green apples, pears, chalk, and just a hint of roses and tarragon on the nose and palate.

For dinner, we enjoyed the pork tenderloin I had picked up from Lepp Farm Market earlier in the day while in Abbotsford.

I made a rub from the herbs I had grown, dried, crushed, and stored earlier in the season (rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, garlic, plus added sea salt and black pepper), a little olive oil, and some grainy Dijon mustard, and then roasted the meat until it reached just a light pink in the middle.

I'm always shouting how pork and Pinot are made to go together...this time, though, it's Gris rather than Noir.

Cheers, all!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

Chardonnay: So much to love about it

Here is my most recent wine column, published September 15 in My City, a monthly lifestyle magazine in the Abbotsford News. 

* * * * *

I have to admit it. I used to be one of those ABCers—Anything But Chardonnay. But that was a long time ago, before my palate was introduced to some great Chardonnays from around the world. And yes, that includes several made in B.C. Read more.

Cheers to you!

Copyright © 2011 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.