Anthony Gismondi: The best of B.C. for your holiday table
Credit to Author: agismondi| Date: Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:00:57 +0000
Today we turn our attention to local wines for your entertaining holiday needs.
To begin, we look at what’s available from B.C. producers and where you can buy it.
Many wineries are offering free shipping and exclusive Christmas picks, but most offers involve six bottles, if not a dozen, should you order direct. Do not delay; holiday shipping deadlines are fast approaching.
The bigger private wine shops all offer home delivery, so that is another avenue if you don’t have the time to shop or you simply don’t want to lug bottles of wine around. Otherwise, on-the-ground, in-store visits are the way to go if you’re going to be proactive.
For local wine, you can also shop at select grocery stores, and the most extensive selection in the province is found at Save-On-Foods. Private wine shops tend to work with a specific handful of suppliers, and often they sell labels you won’t see anywhere else.
Finally, as the competition expands with more and more B.C. wineries vying for attention, the selection in B.C. Liquor stores is beginning to grow. As ridiculous as it sounds, the highly-taxed and marked-up offerings of the BCLDB may be among the cheapest in the market.
The following picks, based on a year of tastings and availability, are each suited to entertaining or gifting, as are all the weekend wine picks.
• C.C. Jentsch Syrah 2016, Okanagan Valley ($31.90) Earthy, savoury, Okanagan desert spicing is the perfect foil to its juicy, licorice/plum flavours. Beef anyone?
• Fitz Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine 2015, Peachland ($42.50) High strung and fresh, with flavours of warm brioche citrus with a chalky, mineral finish. A terrific bottle of bubbles and very food-friendly.
• Hillside Merlot Dickinson Vineyard 2012, Naramata Bench ($30) A fabulous mature expression of Naramata Bench Merlot that sells for a song. Balance and finesse. Stock up.
• Martin’s Lane Dehart Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015, East Kelowna ($100) A fine, “sweet” Pinot Noir that spills across the palate with precision and polish. Special.
• Meyer Okanagan Valley Pinot Noir 2018, Okanagan Valley ($26) A soft, fresh, red fruit affair that slips down effortlessly. A perfect party red.
• Mission Hill Reserve Pinot Noir 2017, Okanagan Valley ($27.99) Love the restraint here, allowing the red fruit and dried herbs to carry the day. Pork chops, mushrooms or soft cheeses work.
• Nk’Mip Cellars Mer’r’iym White Meritage 2017, Osoyoos ($27.99) One of the best B.C. wines of the year. Bright fresh and expertly balanced by a long, creamy, luxurious finish. Turkey anyone?
• Painted Rock Red Icon 2016, Skaha Bench, ($58.99) An aromatic, savoury, spicy, minty nose and blue/red Skaha-fruit palate before a smoke and sagebrush finale.
• Phantom Creek Estates Pinot Gris 2017, Okanagan Falls ($30) Floral and orange notes with pears and spice. A stunning start and very food-friendly.
• Quails’ Gate Chasselas-Pinot Blanc-Pinot Gris 2018, West Kelowna ($17.99) Fresh pear, gentle citrus, honeydew melon with zesty pithiness and bright acidity — aperitifs anyone?
• Van Westen Vineyards Vulture 2016, Naramata Bench ($40) The best of Cabernet Franc with black fruit, satiny textures with a twist of savoury, stony minerality. A friendly dinner wine.
50th Parallel Estate Pinot Gris 2018, Lake Country, Okanagan Valley
$19.90 | 89/100
UPC: 626990130246
The name 50th Parallel says it all: cool, refreshing, lively, and fun to drink. What more do you need? The fruit is all hand-harvested, and whole bunch pressed. It’s left to settle in an oxygen-free environment to up its primary aromatic ante. The ferment is an 80/20 split of stainless steel and three-year-old French oak barrels, which appears to provide the perfect mix of freshness and texture. I love the fresh orchard fruit mix of peach, nectarine and citrus, with a dash of figs in the back end. Grilled salmon, chicken samosas or grilled prawns shine with a glass of this Gris.
CedarCreek Chardonnay 2018, British Columbia
$16.99 | 88/100
UPC: 778913022043
CedarCreek has a new and much-welcomed package that includes a revamped label design and a switch to the elegant, sleek Stelvin Lux screw cap. The wine is equally fun, with a sense of freshness permeating a ripe, generous Chardonnay that is fermented and oak and aged in varying vessels from foudres to stainless steel. The northern effect kicks in, adding a mineral, stony undercurrent to the lemon, peach fruit, bringing brightness and lift to a well-made, inexpensive Chardonnay — a versatile food wine you can serve with salads, poultry, crab, and fish tacos.
Clos du Soleil Célestiale 2015, British Columbia
$23.50 | 88/100
UPC: 857088000527
Celestial is a nod to Bordeaux, blending four classic varieties: 54/32/7/7 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Malbec from Keremeos and Cawston in the Similkameen, and Osoyoos in the southern Okanagan. The superheated 2015s were barrel-aged for 15 months in French oak, and while good, it lacks the lift and energy of the 2013 or 2014s. Look for a jammy, smoky, cassis nose with resiny black fruit that finishes warm with some peppery highlights and light tannins. Drier than usual, but will be excellent with grilled meats.
Hester Creek Syrah Viognier 2017, Okanagan Valley
$25.99 | 91/100
UPC: 626990222064
A mix of sites from Black Sage and the Golden Mile Bench for the Syrah, while the Viognier comes off two vineyards in Osoyoos. In the traditional Rhone style, the two varieties were sorted, destemmed and co-fermented in an Italian-style Ganimede fermenter and left on the skins for 17 days. It was aged another 14 months in 60 per cent American and 40 per cent French oak — 30 per cent in new oak. The wine is a vivacious red with excellent acid and silky, refined tannins. The palate is ripe with floral, ripe cherries and blueberries and a lick of minerality to keep it all aligned. Impressive, and should age through 2021. I like the idea of lamb burgers. Fine value.
Mission Hill Reserve Merlot 2016, Okanagan Valley
$25.99 | 90/100
UPC: 776545995117
Like the entire reserve range, this wine continues to improve while offering superb value at the same time. The secret is some 10 per cent of delicious Cabernet Franc in the bottle. After 15 months in French and American oak, the textures are lush and fleshy, or Merlot-like. The palate is an intriguing mix of red and black fruits from plums to blackberry with a touch of savoury medicine chest throughout. This finish is dry with a hint of bitter almonds that, in some manner, invite you back to the glass. Think beef and black bean sauce, or spaghetti and meatballs as food pairings.
I have deliberately selected this recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, 20th Anniversary Edition on this day, because you still have time to order the book as a gift for Christmas. This is an encyclopedic 990-page volume with detailed instructions on cooking just about every beast, fowl, side dish, dessert and sauce common to the North American table. It occupies the same hallowed ground as The Joy of Cooking, but with more ethnic diversity.
A four-ingredient wonder, starting with eggs, followed by a fat, a flavouring and a garnish. Each recipe uses four hard-boiled eggs. This recipe has been edited for this format.
Conventional
Fat: 2 tbsp (30 mL) mayonnaise
Flavour: 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
Garnish: 1/4 tsp (1 mL) paprika
Curried
Fat: 2 tbsp (30 mL) yogurt
Flavour: 1 tsp (5 mL) curry powder
Garnish: 1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne
Miso
Fat: 2 tbsp (30 mL) mayonnaise
Flavour: 1 tsp (5 mL) miso paste
Garnish: Toasted sesame seeds
Smoky
Fat: 2 tbsp (30 mL) sour cream
Flavour: 1/4 cup (60 mL) crumbled cooked bacon or chorizo
Garnish: Chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan
Fat: Olive oil
Flavour: 1/4 cup (60 mL) finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
Garnish: Black pepper
Peel the eggs. Split them lengthwise and carefully remove the yolks to a bowl. Cream yolks with the fat and flavouring agent of your choice, adding more of the fat component as necessary to achieve a creamy filling. Spoon or pipe filling back into the egg whites. Top with garnish.
Devilled eggs are not a natural match for wine, but sparkling is up to the challenge as are light dry whites and even Gamay for red drinkers.
Unsworth Vineyards Charme De L’ile N/V, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, $25
Crisp, tight, green apple, lees flavours and food-friendly acidity to take on any rich bites.
Georges Duboeuf Chateau des Capitans Julienas 2015, Beaujolais, France, $24.99
A delicious red/black raspberry fruit flavour flecked with pepper and minerals with just enough heft to take on the eggs.
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com