Vancouver Foodster Taco Challenge

The Vancouver Foodster Taco Challenge was a great success featuring unique creations at restaurants around Vancouver, New Westminster and Richmond.  Each restaurant featured their creation on their menu from May 12 – June 5, 2016. and their customers voted for their favourites daily throughout the challenge. Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and … Read more

The Patio at Aura Restaurant – the place to be this summer season

  Nita Lake Lodge unveils new lakeside patio with long table dinner on June 24 Perfectly framed by mountain vistas and flanked by picture-perfect Nita Lake, Aura Restaurant at Nita Lake Lodge debuts a new two-tier, 80 seat patio for the summer season, showcasing its enviable lakeside location, open for dinner this evening and throughout … Read more

 FRESH FEST FEATURES TOP CHEFS, B.C. SEAFOOD & ENGERGIZING MUSICAL TONES

  Fresh Fest, one of the signature events for the 10th annual BC Seafood & Shellfish Festival, showcases the talents of the province’s top chefs and features B.C.’s farm-raised seafood paired with B.C. VQA wines June 10, 2016, 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. Old House Hotel (1730 Riverside Ln, Courtenay, B.C.) Fresh Fest celebrates unique culinary seafood creations … Read more

#TasteofThursday Gnocchi recipe from Marzia Bellotti “Bella Cibo”

GNOCCHI   Gnocchi are one of my absolutely family favorite dishes and one of the most popular dishes in Italy. They are small potatoes dumplings made with boiled potatoes, eggs and flour served with a nice sauce. They are to die for and my kids adore gnocchi. I’m Italian so I grew up making gnocchi … Read more

GIVE DAD A SPECIAL FAMILY MEMORY AT TULALIP RESORT CASINO JUNE 19

  Looking For The Perfect Father’s Day Gift? The day to celebrate dads is almost here, and Tulalip Resort Casino has what you need to make it a memorable one. Forget socks, hats, and other men’s accessories — treat Dad to a day chock-full of memories at Tulalip Resort Casino’s Father’s Day Lunch Buffet Celebration … Read more

SUN-SEEKERS REJOICE — TRELLIS RESTAURANT’S  FRONT PORCH OPENING CELEBRATION JUNE 9-10

    Enjoy Open-Air Dining & Handcrafted Cocktails at Kirkland’s Heathman Hotel    In honor of the warm weather seasonal opening of Trellis Restaurant’s Front Porch (Kirkland’s largest Front Porch), the restaurant is encouraging guests to celebrate sun, family, and friends on Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10, 2016, from 5 to 8 p.m. … Read more

Wine Wednesday Wine Reviews

2013 Malbec – Golden Reserve Trivento Mendoza, Argentina $24.14 Garnet-black in colour with a purple rim and deep intensity. This wine is a teeth stainer. The nose is layered with aromas of red fruit, black berry, bramble, blueberry pie, earth and chocolate. Well balanced with smooth ripe tannins. The flavours echo the nose followed by … Read more

Patience Brings Reward of Ripe Fruit

  Black Hills Estate Winery announces release of 2014 Nota Bene Black Hills Estate Winery is pleased to announce that it will release its sought-after flagship wine, the 2014 Nota Bene, on June 7, 2016, exclusively to wine club members and long-term customers. This limited-release Bordeaux-style wine will then be available to the trade and public … Read more

Provence Marinaside

 

Summer’s here and the time is right for . . . . . . . a glass of wine at Provence Marinaside.

With the good weather here and more people getting out walking and biking, you really need to check out something new if you are anywhere near False Creek or Yaletown or anywhere in greater Vancouver for that matter. Everyone is familiar with Provence Marinaside’s reputation as a top-flight restaurant with its West Coast influenced Mediterranean and French food and now you have another reason to drop by. They offer one hundred and forty-five wines by the glass! Can you believe it?

In conjunction with Provence Marinaside owner Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia, Wine director Rachelle Goudreau has made some impressive changes since the restaurant was renovated a year ago. She has incorporated five wine serving / preserving technologies (for the geeks – TORR, Freshtap, Key Keg, Coravin, and By The Glass) in order to offer unparalleled selection for Vancouver wine lovers. This is also great news for tourists who can sample the best of BC without having to travel to the Okanagan. Why so many systems? Well, one reason is that some winemakers have preference for one system over the other. For other reasons and the technical descriptions of each system, just ask Rachelle who is happy to go into all the specific differences.

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Wines offerings have been selected with Chef Jean-Francis’s menu items in mind. Many wines are exclusive to the restaurant, a result of Rachelle working hands-on with several wineries including Fairview, Time, Upper Bench, and others to create special blends.

Provence sells almost twice as much wine by the glass as they do bottles. They offer wines from about 30 BC wineries. Glasses of wine range from $7.00 to over $50 for some very special wines. Their selection is designed to provide value at every price level.

Rachelle trained first as a chef, before moving on to study wine and often works closely with chef Jean-Francis to create new dishes. She often starts with a wine and then creates a dish to match.

When Chef Jean-Francis decided to open the wine bar in what was previously a private dining area, Rachelle decided to go with the Fresh Tap system so they could serve many wines by the glass. They began with 8 taps and now have 48.

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I was invited, along with other writers, to see their new set up and to sample some amazing wine and food pairings, which included:

Kettle Valley Pinot Gris 2014                                              $13/glass

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Steamed mussels, garlic, white wine, onion and cream

 

Latour-Giraud Meursault-Genevries 1er Cru 2012          $50/glass

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Crab and lobster, bamboo rice, beurre blanc, fresh tomato

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Mureda Garnacha Rosé 2014                                              $7/glass

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Sea Bream Carpaccio, citrus vinaigrette, picholine olives

 

Clos Cibonne Tibouren 2013                                              $19/glass

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Country pate, brandy, thyme, rosemary, Szechuan peppercorn

 

El Petit Bonhomme 2013                                                     $9/glass

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Duck confit, house smoked tomato, gnocchi

 

Fairview Cellars Collaboration 2013                                  $15/glass

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Grilled beef tenderloin, red wine thyme jus, roasted shallot

The Wine Bar features “Tappy Hour” everyday from 3-5, with specially selected white wines, red wines and food items for $5.00 each. In addition, Perfect Pairings take place every other Thursday in the Wine Bar. These events feature wine tastings with paired snacks and is a great way to learn more about wine styles that you may be unfamiliar with and how to pair them with foods so that they compliment one another. Perfect!

So drop in for a glass of your favourite or take the opportunity to try something new. If you are a wine geek, give yourself lots of time to drool over the amazing wine list.

I was very impressed when I tried a hitherto unknown varietal, Tibouren from Clos Cibonne in Provence. It tastes like a cross of pinot noir and syrah. Lighter body and lower tannins, spicy, earthy and black pepper. I LOVED this wine.

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What better way than to sit with a delicious glass of your favourite wine and enjoy the beauty of a sunny day on False Creek? Provence Marinaside and the adjoining The Wine Bar are perfect places to sit and enjoy the scenery of Vancouver while chatting over a glass of wine and with one hundred and forty-five choices, you are sure to find a favourite.

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www.provencemarinaside.ca

 The Extraordinary Italian Taste in Vancouver 

  Just because it looks Italian, doesn’t mean it is Italian!  Italian food heritage is unique in the world for its wide range, variety and quality excellence. The production processes and distinctive areas of origin which characterize the Italian food and wine products have become their essential and remarkable elements. Unfortunately, misleading names and marketing … Read more

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