Wines of South Africa Event in Vancouver

I received this note from the Wines of South Africa (WOSA) and I thought I'd pass it along to you. In celebration of the World Cup happening in South Africa, South African wines are going to be celebrated as well in June. Below is the note I received. I hope you get a chance to try some South African wines during the World Cup. South Africa is known as the Old World of the New World. Their wines have the "fruit" that you associate with other New World wines, like from California or Chile, but they also have some of the restraint, tannic structure, and earthiness of Old World wines, such as from France and Spain. There are some excellent producers in the list of wines below, such as Boekenhoutskloof, Graham Beck, and Glen Carlou. Enjoy the World Cup!

The Announcement from WOSA:
On Friday, June 11th 2010, a unique South African wine tasting will be held at the 39th & Cambie Signature Liquor Store. Open to the public, this event will sample high quality and value of South African wines paired with savoury bites and a complimentary mini spa. The food will be prepared by Hart House Restaurant’s Kris Kabush and the complimentary mini spa treatments are from Spa Utopia.

The event at 39th & Cambie will feature a dozen stellar wines:

Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon 111526 $ 12.99
Sebeka Cabernet/Pinotage 793067 $ 12.99
Spier Chenin Blanc 659037 $ 13.95
K.W.V. Roodeberg Red 7187 $ 14.99
Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap 138479 $ 14.99
Excelsior Shiraz 183995 $ 15.99
Bellingham Sauvignon Blanc / Chardonnay 848622 $ 14.99
Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Syrah 592873 $ 17.99
Saxenburg Guinea Fowl Red Blend 316992 $ 18.99
Graham Beck Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 40428 $ 19.99
Glen Carlou Grand Classique 153882 $ 19.99
Thelema Mountain Red Wine 487967 $ 24.95

These wines will be shown to their best advantage paired with tasty bites prepared by Hart House’s talented Executive Chef, Kris Kabush. In addition to indulging their tastebuds, guests can also enjoy an onsite spa experience from Vancouver ’s much-loved Spa Utopia. Spa Technicians will give each guest a relaxing five-minute mini treatment. The combination of good wine, savoury food, and a turn in a massage chair is sure to help iron the wrinkles out of your day!

In conjunction with the month-long promotion, Wines of South Africa is also offering a deluxe prize package featuring Spa Utopia and the Pan Pacific Vancouver. The winner will enjoy a $225 spa gift certificate, lunch for two, and one night’s accommodation at the luxurious Pan Pacific all valued at $1000.

For details, and to enter the draw, visit www.wosa.co.za.

Wines of South Africa Consumer Tasting

Friday, June 11 2010

3:00 – 7:00 pm

BCLDB 39th & Cambie Signature Liquor Store

5555 Cambie Street, Vancouver

Le Vieux Pin Dinner

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, I was fortunate to attend the Le Vieux Pin Winemaker Dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver. The event was at the Market Restaurant in the hotel and the food was masterfully designed by Executive Chef Wayne Harris in consultation with Jean-Georges. Keeping to the blog format, I will keep my notes brief and will then provide more details in www.MyWinePal.com.

Rasoul Salehi, the Director of the enotecca wineries that owns Le Vieux Pin, led us through a tasting of white, red, and rose wines he has recently produced.  James Cambridge, the wine maker was unable to attend, but Rasoul is a very knowlegable man about wine and very interesting to hear speak. Rasoul also brought a small barrel of a new wine for Le Vieux Pin, his 2008 Syrah / Viognier. For those that do not know, Syrah is a red grape, while Viognier is a white grape. Both varieties come from the Rhone Valley in France. Syrah is a bold, spicy grape, while viognier is very flowery and aromatic. In the Rhone Valley, one of their traditions is to co-ferment Syrah is a bit of viognier. The viognier helps bring out more colour from the Syrah grape skin and adds more perfume to the wine. I applaud Rasoul for trying this in the Okanagan.

This Syrah / Viognier was deep purple in the glass, with aromas of vanilla, blueberry, plum and honeysuckle. On the palate you get ripe plum, black cherry and vanilla. Quite spicy, round in the mouth and long length. When this wine is released to the public it will be in the $32-$35 range. Well worth the price. This wine was paired with homemade, melt in your mouth, gnocchi, with morel mushrooms, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. The black pepper seemed to bring out the fruit in the syrah.

To start the evening we had the 2009 Vaila Pinot Noir Rose, paired with egg caviar. The Pinot Noir grapes were picked at a ripeness that Rasoul felt did not bring out the tannins of the grapes. Some wineries, when they produce rose wines, use fully ripened red grapes, which have partial contact between skin and juice, then some of the juice is bled off to produce the rose wine, but this also allows the tannins to be imparted to the rose. Rasoul by choosing to pick earlier indicated that the tannin level can be minimized, making a smoother rose. This wine had fresh raspberries and medium cherry aromas. More fresh strawberry and red cherry on the palate with low tannins. Good crisp acidity. The egg caviar was a wonderful mixture of salty, creamy and eggy flavours that blended nicely with the rose.

There are many other wines to talk about from this evening: 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 Epoque Merlot, 2007 Apogee Merlot, and 2009 LaStella's Moscato d'Osoyoos, and of course their food pairings. Check on www.MyWinePal.com for the full review.

Enjoy!

Winemaker's Dinner with Le Vieux Pin

I don't normally post on my blog about an upcoming Winemaker's Dinner, but today I make an exception. I've sampled some of Le Vieux Pin's wines from previous tastings, and I think that they are exceptional. I heard about their upcoming dinner, which will be held on Thursday, May 20, so I wanted to share the info with you, to give you a chance to sample their wines, paired expertly with food from Executive Chef Wayne Harris at the Shangri-La Hotel here in Vancouver.

Here is a copy of the invitation to attend this event:

Thursday, May 20th at 7pm in MARKET by Jean-Georges at Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver
Amuse Bouche followed by a four course dinner, prepared by Executive Chef Wayne Harris and paired with Le Vieux Pin’s current releases.

Le Vieux Pin will be bringing a barrel from their winery in Oliver to showcase a future release.

A majestic old pine tree stands in our vineyard: Le Vieux Pin. It speaks to the earth and rain and the clean clear air of the South Okanagan. There we have created a winery inspired by the architecture and style of France.

Our goal is to make wines that capture the essence of the French tradition; but with the fruit and character of the New World: elegant and focused, with great intensity of fruit. Low-input viticulture is the method we use to get there. Sustainable and organic practices, deficit irrigation, high-density planting and extremely low yields will allow the vines to show us who they really are deep down to the roots. The pine tree stands alone.

Sante!
Seating is limited $95.00/seat
Please make your reservation with our Hostess Team 604.695.1115 marketbyjg.slv@shangri-la.com

Enjoy!