To Market, To Market to Buy a New Red

Despite all the canning and saucing over the weekend, I kept an assortment of fresh tomatoes to cut up and throw on some pasta. Add a healthy dose of olive oil, basil and shrimp and...voilà. I'd usually grab a white for such a concoction but I didn't have anything handy and cold. So, I opted for a bottle that I'd come across at Edible Canada on Granville Island.

I've been looking forward to opening this bottle because it's interesting from a couple of viewpoints. First off, it's a unique blend (at least to me) of Gamay Noir and Syrah and, secondly, it's the creative payoff from a collaboration between Granville Island's Edible Canada and Okanagan Crush Pad.

The last couple of years has seen some notable Vancouver restaurants (and restaurant groups) partnering up with Okanagan wineries to produce custom bottlings for use in those restaurants.  CityFood Magazine has noted joint efforts between the Top Table Group (which includes West and Araxi) with Foxtrot; GLOWBAL Collection (Italian Kitchen and Coast) with Painted Rock, Hawksworth with Orofino and Cactus Club with Haywire.

1399.  2010 Edible Canada Market Red (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Market Red is the first release from Granville Island's Edible Canada after they worked in conjunction with winemaker Michael Bartier and the folks at Okanagan Crush Pad to craft a wine that would match well with the fare being served at Edible Canada's Bistro (just across from the Market). The Bistro chefs have a hankering for heritage pork, BC salmon and wild mushrooms and the 80% Gamay 20% Syrah blend was thought to be particularly suited for those flavour profiles. I think they succeeded nicely.

There were only 100 cases of the wine made though. So, it's not going to be the easiest of bottles to find outside of the restaurant.

The tasting notes speak of wild raspberry and cracked pepper - and, for me, the lighter body of the Gamay Noir presents itself to being paired with all sorts of dishes, while the bolder fruit of the Syrah gives the Gamay a little more oomph.

While it lasts, the Bistro has been offering Market Red by the glass and by the bottle. To my knowledge, however, Market Red is not available by the glass - together with the Bistro's duck fat fried donuts - from their take-out window. The wine worked nicely enough with our pasta, but, if they could manage to pull off a glass of wine with donuts to go, they'd have elevated "bliss" to a whole new level.