Winner. Winner. (Butter) Chicken Dinner.

I figured we must have been long overdue for a round of butter chicken - after all, no one should have to go for long without this basic food group. Luckily Boo whipped some up. My task was to match it up with a wine - but only from wines in the cellar - I wasn't allowed to buy anything new.

1155. 2009 Forbidden Fruit - Cherysh Cherry Rosé (Similkameen Valley - BC)

I figured that the fruit and residual sugar of the Cherysh would counter the spice and heat of the butter chicken nicely and I think it did - even though it wasn't nearly as off-dry as I'd expected. Made from organic Stella cherries, this is one of my favourite table fruit wines. IMHO, Forbidden Fruit (along with Elephant Island) stands at forefront of fruit wine making in BC. I find that many dessert wines and fortifieds made from fruit can stand tall with those made from grapes; the still wines, however, aren't necessarily on the same level - yet.

Cherysh consistently fits the bill though. The only "problem" is that it can be hard to find in the shops that I tend to frequent because the BC Liquor Board doesn't carry it and it's not made from grapes, so the VQA shops can't carry it. We pass by the winery every other year or so and we generally manage to pick up a bottle or two at that time.

Being a 2009 bottle, I wasn't sure that the wine would still be fresh. Can't say that I know the ageing capability of cherry wine. But, thankfully, it still tasted fine and we'll no doubt continue to pick up that bi-annual bottle next time we drive by.