Still Dining Out For Life

Dining Out For Life has been a staple event in our schedule for years now. A signature fundraising event for A Loving Spoonful and Friends For Life, the annual celebration of Vancouver food - from Whistler to White Rock - sees participating restaurants graciously donating 25% of all their food sales for the day to these two primary, and stalwart, AIDS service organizations. Originally established in 1991 in Philadelphia, the event is now produced in over 30 cities across North America, generating millions of dollars for the agencies in those participating cities.

Having drunk our way through a dozen Pinot Noirs last night with the BCWAS tasting, Boo and I opted to keep a rather low profile with this year's Dining Out For Life. There weren't too many restaurants along The Drive that were participating in this year's fundraiser but we're always up for a platter of BBQ at Memphis Blues. Considering the number of times we've had to pass on the lengthy line-ups at Memphis Blues, we were pleasantly gobsmacked to be able to get in without any wait at all - a great start to a tasty evening.

When they first opened, the boys at Memphis Blues surprised a lot of folks with the savvy that went into their limited wine list. A lot of thought was put into identifying a handful of wines that pair with the smorgasbord of meats and fixin's. The list is perpetually changing to reflect what wines are available at the time, but we've come to the conclusion that, if a wine is on their list, it won't really matter what you pick. Odds are it will work.

I think the biggest surprise for most is that Memphis Blues has always championed the pairing of Rosé with BBQ. And, give it up to them, I always take a look at whatever Rosé they're serving as a starting point. Indeed, that's what we decided to go with tonight.

1882.  2013 Le Paradou Cinsault Rosé (France)

The Le Paradou brand is a series of three wines made as a side label by the the Chaudière family of Châteu Pesquié. The wines are made outside of the AOC system in order that the two Chaudière brothers behind Le Paradou would be "completely free to create fresh and sexy wines" (or so their website advises). This wine is made, in the region south of the Rhône, from 100% Cinsault grapes and is a direct press Rosé (as opposed to the saignée method where a Rosé wine is one of the results after "bleeding" off some of the freshly pressed juice to intensify the original wine). These grapes are grown purely for the purpose of making this Rosé and the resulting wine is bright with acidity and tart, red fruit. You know, just a little sip to drink back on its own or match up with everything from chicken to ribs to brisket to baked beans, potato salad and fries.

Some tasty dining and sipping, all while helping a more than worthwhile cause. That's an evening's fare that I can whole-heartedly get behind.