Dames Wines

  Have you ever heard of Les Dames d’Escoffier? Probably not. Let me help. From Wikipedia, “Les Dames d’Escoffier was founded in New York City in 1976, in honour of Auguste Escoffier, whom Les Dames’ mission statement credits with having “single-handedly brought the culinary art into the modern era.” Escoffier “elevated the role of cooks … Read more

A Taste of Provence on Granville Island

  Provence. Just the mention of the word brings so many images to mind; warm Mediterranean weather, sun-drenched hills, olive trees and fields of lavender. Freshly prepared savoury foods and wine, rosé wine of course. Provence also makes red and white wines, but it is their rosés that they are most famous for. In the … Read more

Marquis Wines Supports Vancouver Youth Pride

  From July 1st to August 8th, partial proceeds from ten wines, featured as a part of Marquis Wine Cellars’ Summer Wine Series, will go to support Pride Youth Scholarships. The Vancouver Pride Association has teamed up with LOUD (a LGBTQ business association) to sponsor this venture, which offers scholarships of $2000 for post-secondary studies. … Read more

Italian Wine Paired Dinner at Glowbal

The food, the wine, oh my! It was only fitting. I wasn’t able to attend Italian Day on the Drive, but myself and 12 other wine media types were treated to something even better – a dinner at Glowbal restaurant with the Director of the Valpolicella Wine Consortium, Olga Bussinello. We were there to learn … Read more

Wine Reviews – #WineWednesday by @Sam_WineTeacher

  2013 Gewürztraminer Pfaff Alsace, France $20.11 Clear and brilliant. straw coloured with medium-light intensity. A varietal nose showing aromas of stone fruit and honey with a hint of sweet spice. Good balance with good mouthfeel. Ripe stone fruit flavours dominate the palate followed by a medium-plus finish.   2014 Pinot Gris (Reserve) Hillside Estate … Read more

Vinho Verde – Lunch and Learn at Vij’s

  Vinho Verde is one of the most popular white wines in Portugal. These wines from north-western corner of the country are not complicated wines; they are everyday affordable wines that are crisp, light and refreshing, often with a touch of spritz, that are perfect with just about anything you are going to serve on … Read more

The Great New Zealand Wine Tiki Tour

What is a ‘Tiki Tour’? It is the New Zealand version of a Magical Mystery Tour, a leisurely Sunday drive in the country with no particular destination; one of those journeys where you take the scenic route and stop and linger whenever the mood strikes. There are sure to be some unexpected delightful surprises along the way. And in New Zealand, there are so many fascinating wine regions to explore with names such as Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury and Central Otago among others.

This is a diverse land with great differences in climate and geography. It is a land of fjords and glaciers. New Zealand is 1600 km from north to south and yet nowhere is more than 130 km from the ocean. It lies in that geographical ‘sweet spot’ as far as grapes are concerned – 36° to 46° south latitude. Being a ‘cool climate’ region ensures that the wines have good structure and are never flabby or over-ripe.

New Zealand’s wine-making roots go back more than 200 years, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s when New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc began to attract critical acclaim that the world caught on to these wines from down under.

New Zealand winemakers have continued a fine balancing act of ensuring quality over quantity and yet providing wine drinkers with excellent value. Growers and winemakers are passionate about their land and 94% of the vineyards are sustainably operated.

A wine Tiki Tour was a great format for revisiting some favourite old friends and discovering some new ones. Several of the following names are familiar to those of us who love Kiwi wines.

Participating Wineries

Ara Wines
Babich Wines

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Clark Estate
Invivo Wines
Marisco Vineyards
Marlborough Wine
Matua Wines
Mud House Wines
Oyster Bay Wines

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Pernod Ricard Winemakers
Sacred Hill Vineyards
Saint Clair Family Estate

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Sileni Estates
Spy Valley Wines

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Staete Landt Wine Company

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Stoneleigh Vineyards

te Pa Family Vineyards

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Toi Toi Wines
Villa Maria Estate
Whitehaven Wine Company
Wither Hills

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At this year’s event, there was a long table devoted solely to Sauvignon Blanc. This is where I started and it was very educational to taste one after another and compare the differences. One expects New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to be very aromatic and flavourful. It tends to burst with gooseberry, passion fruit, tropical fruit, fresh cut grass and citrus.

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Global exports of New Zealand wines continue to grow and we are lucky to have many fine examples available here in BC. Here is what I tasted. All vintages are 2015 and from Marlborough unless noted otherwise.

Ara Pathway – fruit forward, classic NZ Sauvignon Blanc

Ara Single Estate – drier than most, very elegant

Babich – dry, mineral

Babich Black Label – dry and elegant

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Clark Estate – very dry, subdued fruit, more pronounced grassiness

Invivo – elegant, dry, with a medium finish

Marisco – “The Ned” – a good blend of styles

Marisco “The Kings Favour” – elegant, dry, medium-plus finish

Sileni Cellar Selection – dry, grassy, mineral, medium plus finish

Spy Valley, Wairau Valley – very good, blend of styles, good complexity

Spy Valley ENVOY Johnson Vineyard, Waihopai Valley, 2014 – the best of the day, packed with fruit, layered and complex.

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Staete Landt ‘Annabel’, Rapaura Valley, 2014 – very crisp with bright acidity, grassy

Stoneleigh – good body, touch of grassiness, long finish, good value

Stoneleigh Latitude – more elegant nose, clearly a second tier.

Toi Toi, 2014 – good balance, medium body, medium plus finish

Whitehaven – all around good NZ Sauvignon Blanc, good value

Whitehaven Greg, Awatere Valley – grass and mineral, second tier, grassy on the finish

Yes, New Zealand changed the way the world thinks of Sauvignon Blanc, but if that is all you think they make, then you are missing out on a great deal. They also make sparkling wines, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Rosé, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Syrah and Merlot.

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sam the wine teacher

 

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

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

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