Some Forbidden Apricots

The definition of "mistelle" is grape (or other fruit) juice that has been fortified by the addition of alcohol prior to fermentation of the juice. The process preserves the intensity of the fruit and that was certainly the case with Forbidden Fruit's Apricot Mistelle.

1819.  N.V. Forbidden Fruit - Caught - Apricot Mistelle (Similkameen Valley)

I opened the Mistelle as I figured it would pair nicely with a cheese plate we were going to dive into after we'd made a visit to the Mircea Cantor show at the Rennie Collection. Good thing I know my way around wine pairing just a tad better than I know my way around contemporary art.

If you like the flavour of apricots, this is about as good as it gets. The label says that three varieties of tree ripened, organically grown apricots were crushed to make the nectar that resulted in the intensely sweet (with a hint of spice) wine.

I could sip away on the Mistelle by itself and be fully sated but I remembered the folks at Elephant Island - one of BC's other acclaimed fruit wineries - advised that one of the most popular uses for their apricot dessert wine was to use it in a vodka martini. I can highly recommend that using this Mistelle in that manner results in one fine - if not a favourite - sip as well. I'd be a very happy Bob if ever given the chance to enjoy the Rennie garden rooftop - or a future gallery show - with such an apricot martini in hand. Whichever route you go, we can just look at this as a flexible, as well as tasty, sip.

I know folks that can sit down and finish off a big bowl of cherries in a single sitting. If all apricots tasted like this, I'd be sitting down with bowls of them as well.