Matt Dumayne, winemaker at the Okanagan Crush Pad, was in town recently for a winemaker’s dinner at Swirl Wine Store in White Rock. Matt has spent sixteen years as a winemaker and has twenty-eight vintages under his belt including several in his former home in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. Swirl owner Jeff Wong and manager Sirpa Puolitaipale hosted the event. Alison Scholefield of Okanagan Crush Pad was also in attendance. Guests were greeted with a glass of Haywire’s The Bub, a sparkling wine made of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, a classic Champagne blend. Aaron Silk, general manager of Beast and Brine, a local artisan of locally sourced meat products, made the rounds offering everyone a tasty appetizer of butter roasted squash tartlet with crispy Schinkenspeck (lean German bacon).
Soon, we sat down to a five course wine-paired dinner. With each course, Jennie Silk, of Uli’s restaurant, who catered the event, explained about the food and Matt told us about the chosen wine. The pairings (see below) worked like magic, but the two that really stood out for me were the Bartier Brothers Semillon with a curried bacon broth with clams and whitefish as well as the elk and onion ravioli served with Haywire Gamay Noir.
Check out the impressive tasting menu:
To Start Butter roasted squash tartlet with crispy Schinkenspeck
Haywire The Bub
First Course Curried Bacon Broth with Clams and Whitefish
Bartier Brothers Semillon
Second Course Smoked Chicken Crepes rainbow carrots & leeks
Haywire Switchback Pinot Gris
Third Course Croque Monsieur
Haywire Rosé
Fourth Course Elk and Onion Ravioli
Haywire Gamay Noir
Fifth Course Honey Ginger Poached Pear
Haywire Baby Bub
To Finish Flourless chocolate torte
Haywire Pinot Noir
Sherri McInnis, owner of White Rock Chocolate Company, was one of the guests in attendance and so we were treated to one of her specialties at the end of the dinner – organic salted lime dark Belgium chocolate. Yum!
Swirl Wine Store has two outlets, one at 1185 Mainland Street in Yaletown Vancouver and the other at 15222 North Bluff Road in White Rock. They offer an excellent selection of over 700 BC VQA wines and accessories including ice buckets, wine themed napkins, gift bags, decanters, aerators, charms and gift baskets. Alongside their chilled wines, you’ll find a selection of BC made cheese from Natural Pastures, Village Cheese and Upper Bench as well as some amazing chocolate from White Rock Chocolate Company. Swirl Wine Store also offers a wine school and several special events throughout the year. For further information, check out their web site.
