Tag: food & wine pairings

Food + Drink

Feel-good Friday: perfect pairings

Food, Friends, Fun…..what would life be like without all that?  Not so merry.feelgoodfriday2

Last night I attended the 12th Annual Chef Meets BC Grape event with a good friend.  A fun fundraiser put on by the British Columbia Wine Institute and the Arts Club Theatre Company – a toast to the extraordinary chefs and winemakers who call BC home.  Along with food, British Columbia is growing into a world class destination for premium wine.  The proceeds from the event go towards funding local playwrights and emerging artists.

Here is a sampling of my favourite wine/food pairings of the evening:

Chicha restaurant presented a Tuna Causa – cilantro whipped and chilled potato topped with sesame and soy, BC local Haida Gwaii Albacore Tuna, a crisp fruit and ginger ponzu, and a Peruvian rocato chilli aioli.  Paired with Lake Breeze Spice Jar.chefmeetsgrape2

Hart House Restaurant presented a Pancetta wrapped pork terrain with sourdough crisp Hannah Brook Farm peach and apricot mostarda, Barnston Island micro arugula.  Paired with Moon Curser “Afraid of the Dark” red.

Moon Curser Wines. Love the label.
Love the label on Moon Curser Wines.
Daniel Chocolates to Finish
Daniel Chocolates to Finish

Lift Bar and Grill presented smoked sturgeon, dark soy & nori emulsion, putanesca jam and squid ink rice puff.  Paired with Desert Hills Gamay Noir.

chefmeetsgrape1

Miradoro (at Tinhorn Creek) presented chanterelle lobster mushroom and pancetta risotto with Okanagan peach, grilled corn & rosemary.  Paired with Tinhorn Creek Pinot Noir.

Provence Marinaside presented seared scallop, prosciutto crisp, Okanagan peach broth with lemon thyme salt.  Paired with Misconduct Suspect Series Chardonnay Viognier.

A nice BC Port - Fall is fast approaching
A nice BC Port – Fall is fast approaching.  Goes well with chocolate.

Honourable Mention:

The Observatory (at Grouse Mountain) presented mushroom boar belly, chanterelle mushrooms, brioche, frissee with Tantalus Vineyards Riesling.

The Westin Bayshore presented Albacore Tuna Poke, avocado, taro root with Bordertown Estate Winery white.

*Torafuku (modern Asian eatery) presented onion ash beef terrine wrapped with Portobello, local vegetables, **foie gras, potato pave, chimichurri and hunter sauce.  Paired with Gold Hill Cabernet Franc.

Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel presented Duo of duck-spiced rubbed duck breast, duck confit goat cheese croquette, habanero jam.  Paired with Quails’ Gate Gewurztraminer.

**On a personal note I object to the way foie gras is produced.   I wish that restaurants refrained from using Foie Gras on their menus.  At the same time, *Torafuku had the longest tasting lineup.

All in all this was a most enjoyable evening and a perfect start to the weekend.

Oh don’t you know….the weekend starts on Thursday!

Photos: d. king

 

FUN

Scene in the City – Raising the Tasting Bar

At Vancouver Urban Winery.  008The concept at this appealing new spot is to bring the consumer closer to the winemaking experience in a more meaningful way. Yes I get it.  I sampled a few wines last week at this place which is unlike any other tasting experience in British Columbia or the rest of Canada. It is a unique experience because you can sample wines from the different wine appellations across BC with 36 rotating wines-on-tap. You can choose from the 5 tasting menu options or customize your very own tasting. You can learn a bit about wine making too.

007My friends and I decided to go with the sommeliers recommended 5 tastings perfectly paired with the chosen local food selection. Pairing wines with distinctive local foods makes for an experience that your taste buds won’t forget.  You can always expect something different as new food selections and rotating wines-on-tap come in weekly.

The Vancouver Urban Winery tasting bar focuses on promoting local artisan foods with locally made jams, jellies, salts, antipastos, pasta sauces, banana breads, beef jerky and much more available in their local wine shop.  The winery manufactures, packages, imports and distributes wine for multiple brands including their own “Roaring Twenties Wine Co.” which you can also purchase.

013The Vancouver Urban Winery is also currently the home of FreshTAP, a company specializing in packaging fine wines in stainless steel kegs for the emerging wine-on-tap category.  We were fortunate that founder Steve Thorp was in the house and told us about the process.

The 7,700 square foot location with 24-foot ceilings and large exposed wood beams dating back to 1923 is just two blocks off Gastown’s historic Railtown district and also operates as a unique special events space.  Right now their tasting room is only open to the public on Thursday & Friday evenings from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Cheers!

They are located at 55 Dunlevy Ave.

http://vancouverurbanwinery.com/