Boyz en Blanc - Tripping the White Fantastic

Launched in Paris 27 years ago, Dîner en Blanc has now expanded to 50-plus cities on five continents and, this evening, it's celebrating its fourth anniversary in Vancouver. Boo and I missed the inaugural event but, including tonight, we've now made the last three shows.

The simplest description of DEB is that guests "flash-gather" in a high-profile, public location and set up a chic dinner party, revelling in the iconic setting. With all the participants decked out in their sharpest white outfits and all the tables decorated completely in white, it's become one of the hardest tickets in the city to get.

With the ability of past guests to invite friends, Boo and I have been able to increase our table from the original two to four to this year's eight. Following our meeting the other week, the courses and table details were divvied up and, despite some rather annoying logistical issues with finding our designated location and collecting our wine, we finally managed to pop the cork on our bubbly and settle in for a six course extravaganza.

1987.  N.V. Moët et Chandon Brut Imperial (Champagne AOC - France)

Knowing that this blog's task of reaching wine #2001 was nearing its climax, I started the gang off with the premium choice among the sparkling wines available for the evening. After all our initial frustrations, the classic bubble with a quartet of caviars was exactly what we needed to get re-grounded and re-set the mood for the evening.

Unfortunately, we were late to the table and didn't get a chance to wander or explore the venue. This year's secret location was the "deck" below the sails of the old Trade and Convention Centre. So, unlike previous years, the narrow deck location meant that we couldn't see all of our 4,500 dining companions. That was the biggest disappointment of the evening for Boo and I. Despite its spectacular view, this year's location just didn't seem to have same group cachet as before.

Good thing our menu was equal to - or surpassed - that of any of the other tables in our vicinity.

1988.  2014 Chartron La Fleur Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux AOC - France)

The Sauv Blanc doesn't sport quite the pedigree as the Moët does but it matched nicely with the Tuna and Scallop Ceviche accented with fresh peaches, lime, basil and cayenne. By the time we were on this second course, a number of the tables around us were already finishing up with their meals. They must have been newbies. Some of these millennials might have more energy than us old folk, but they still need to learn that slow and easy can still win the odd race.

1989.  2014 La Vieille Ferme Rouge (Ventoux AOC - Rhône - France)

Our next course of a trio of pâtés was paired with the Rhône blend. Duck with Fig, Duck with Black Truffle and Venison with Cranberry were served along with Cornichons, Prosciutto di Parma, Dijon and baguette. This course alone would have out-paced many of the main plates around us - but we, of course, made it clear that we were still on the appies.

Our extensive menu and leisurely pace did mean that we still had a good portion of our dinner to go when the traditional lighting of the sparklers was announced. Ah well, we needed a bit of a stretch before we sat down for the main course anyhow.

1990.  2012 Terrazas de los Andes - Reserva Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

As the evening was getting a little long in the tooth, we picked up the pace a bit though.  A few of our dining companions were starting to close up shop and call it a night. That just meant they had to leave with their mouths watering as they passed our Barbecued Duck with Red Plum Compote, Saffron Basmati Rice and Buttered Peas & Corn Niblets.

By the time we started serving up the desserts, we were offering tastes to neighbouring tables - particularly since we had another trio: Crème Brûlée, Prosecco Raspberry Gelée and Macarons.

Not to mention the cheese course that followed. By then, we were carrying our platter to various tables to offer a little night cap to the neighbours. To be nice - and to allow Mr. D. and Soolu to slyly check out some of the other diners.

 

As tasty as the dinner was and as fine as the company was, this year's DEB didn't seem as special as years past. In retrospect, we might have been a little over-ambitious with our menu. We were definitely one of the very last tables - of a couple thousand - with food going strong at the end of the evening. Moreover, though, I think it was the large degree of separation we felt from all the other participants. The sense of community - that was so evident in previous years - just seemed to be lacking.

Of course, how can you go wrong with a dinner view like we had?

I'm sure we'll return next year - even if the blog's wine countdown will be well behind me. Our planning may need a little re-jigging but the reality of it all is when else will we be able to sport all of these white duds that we've assembled?

A Little Planning en Blanc

It may cause all sorts of controversy and it even spawned an alternatively themed protest but, like it or despise it, Dîner en Blanc has established itself on the Vancouver social calendar over the last three years. It doesn't appear to be slowing down either as this year's fourth edition is set to light up the night in white with its largest gathering yet.

Knowing that there would have to be incredible energy and supreme inventiveness put into this year's plans, we figured we should have a gathering of the clan to puts some plans to paper. Naturally, Soolu brought along a Vodka punch to get those creative juices flowing.

Boo and I learned of the Parisian off-shoot too late to make it to the year one show but we've decked ourselves out in white for the last two years and done what we could to brighten up the scene. Once you've attended one of the grand affairs, you have the opportunity to invite two guests the following year. Boo and I grew to a foursome with Mr. D.  and Soolu last year and, this year, we're up to eight.

With our gaggle of gays being that large, we're hoping for more than a little fabulous and "Je ne sais quoi" at our table. After all, if Boo and I are, once again, going to be among the oldest folks in attendance, we have to bring just a little bit more to the table to show all those Millennials that being long in the tooth doesn't mean that you don't know your way around a soirée. We may no longer party until dawn with the post-dinner bash, but I'm going to argue that it's only because we're so stuffed after eating our extravagant meal.

The wine selection at Dîner en Blanc is limited - and uninspiring - at the lower end of the price range. So, we made up for lacklustre wines at the actual party by pulling the corks on some interesting wines tonight.

1961.  2012 Henry LaGarde Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

Despite my jones for all things Argentine, I can't recall having previously run across a Henry LaGarde wine. I don't know what kind of a presence they have in the Vancouver market but I don't think they even attended the Vancouver International Wine Festival the year that Argentina was one of the featured regions. That was in 2010 and we saw more Argentine wines that year than probably any other, ever.

Ah well, their Malbec is now on The List and the bottle didn't last long at all with this group. That should be no surprise, however, Malbec and dining al fresco just go hand-in-hand. The easy fruit just seems to slide out of the glass - much like how some of our group will be gunning to slide the pants off some of the bounty of strapping diners at the party.

1962.  2010 Les Halos de Jupiter - Rasteau (Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC - France)

1963.  2006 Black Hills - Nota Bene (Okanagan Valley VQA)

2008 Red Rooster Meritage

Once the BBQ was out of the way, I seem to have gotten more caught up in our planning session than I was in taking photos for the blog. I know. What's wrong with that picture? Well, the answer is that there is no picture of two of the evening's wines. I suppose you'll just have to take me at my word that the Nota Bene and Red Rooster empties were there during the next morning's clean-up.

Les Halos de Jupiter and its selection of Rhônes is gaining a bit of a following locally. I'm more familiar with their Châteauneuf-du-Pape but this Côtes du Rhône Villages is a welcome additional to the fold. I remember - from many, many years ago when I was just being introduced to wine - that I regularly reached for a Côtes-du-Rhône for picnics and the like. Funny how I'm still a fan.

I don't need to go into Black Hills much here since this is the sixth vintage of Nota Bene to be added to The List. Bottles from 2001 through 2005 are already listed. As one of the Okanagan Valley's icon wines, it seemed a natural to bring it out for some iconic Dîner planning.

The Red Rooster Meritage isn't as heralded as the Nota Bene but this wine did win a 2011 Lieutenant Governor's Award as one of the province's top wines and the winery certainly has as many of its wines mentioned on The List as any other because of Boo's and my long-time association with Red Rooster's Adopt-A-Row program. The 2008 Meritage has actually been added to The List in two formats since we've polished off a regular bottle and it was the wine that filled Boo's 3-Litre, 50th birthday bottle that we recently added at #1939. Hence, it doesn't get added again tonight.

1964.  2005 Château Rieussec 1er Grand Cru Classée (Sauternes AOC - France)

Once we'd divvied up the various courses and decided who was bringing what plates and service items, we settled into Boo's peach pie and a treat to toast this night and the big evening to come.

I don't pretend to know much about the First Growth wines of Bordeaux - at least not from a tasting standpoint. The price tag attached to a Château Margaux or Lafite Rothschild doesn't quite fit my budget - whether for Tuesday night or a special occasion. I think it's safe to say that I haven't met a Sauternes that I didn't like though and this one happens to be a Premier Cru (meaning that the winery was identified as one of the top wines in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855). Château Rieussec is still around today; however, it has changed hands a number of times since the 19th Century. The most recent sale, in 1984, saw Rieussec purchased by the Domaines Barons de Rothschild, owners of Château Lafite Rothschild. Different owners or not, it would seem that the "premier" classification is still being earned as the 2001 Château Rieussec was named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 2004. Luckily, we picked this one up when Marquis, perhaps the city's top private wine shop, had some on sale.

If we can't drink such a bottle on the actual big night, we might as well do so when making our plans for the dinner.

Now, we just need to get all our ducks in a row. That is BBQ Duck and a row of cheeses for a final course.

Dinner Club - Vancouver Meets Bretagne

Due to member travels, our Dinner Club takes an annual winter break until our snow birds have returned to roost - except, of course, unless the gang all heads off together like we did last year to Antigua when Jeaux and Matinder hosting a once-in-a-lifetime St. Patrick's Day dinner.

J&M were hosting this time as well and, once again, they took us "on the road." However, their theme for this round wasn't Caribbean based. Rather they focused on all things Bretagne since they had just returned from a sailing regatta in that northern province of France. Luckily, it was a gorgeous day and we were able to start dinner up on Jeaux and Mutineer's rooftop deck. It was if we'd been transported off to a sunny après-midi en France.

1942.  N.V. Henriot Rosé (Reims - Champagne - France)

As is only befitting a culinary trip to France, we started off with a little bubbly. Although Bretagne isn't exactly next door to the Champagne region of France, it's certainly a lot closer than Vancouver is.

Henriot refers to themselves as one of the last independent and family owned houses in Champagne and they've been making Champagne for over two centuries, having been established in 1808. Their Brut is made with all three classic Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and their hint of rosé colour is achieved by adding a bit of the Pinot Noir wine prior to the final bottling.

Along with our bubble, Matinder and Jeaux served up a cider spritzer along with a bevy of hors d'oeuvres as we lounged on the roof. The spritzer is common to the apple growing region and we also had a quartet of mousse/pâtés that Jeaux proclaimed were omnipresent throughout the region. She'd also made some savoury pâte à choux, blood sausage tarts and filled crisps. We probably could have filled up on just the nibblies but, bien sûr, there was plenty more to come.

Our first step to happiness, once we'd arrive at the dinner table was an assortment of salads - particularly featuring beets and noodles. The course was accompanied by a duo of boutique wines with a similar heritage.

1943.  2014 Mike B. Riesling Cabinett (Okanagan Valley)

2011 Kurtis Wild Ferment Semillon (Okanagan Valley)

Both of the wines were made at Okanagan Crush Pad under the mentorship program that was introduced as part of the Vancouver International Wine Festival's Sommelier of the Year award. The winner of the annual prize is provided the opportunity to make a small batch wine of their choice. The sommelier, cum winemaker, gets to choose the grape and the style of wine they'd like to tackle - and the limited production can sometimes be found on the local shelves.

Kurtis Kolt was the first sommelier to make a wine as part of the Wine Campus series and I'd hunted down a bottle some years back when it was originally released. Accordingly, it has already been added to The List as #1248 and, therefore, doesn't get another number this time around.

The second bottle was made by Mike Bernardo, of Vij's restaurant, as he was named Sommelier of the Year in 2014. He opted to make a wine along the lines of wines that he'd regularly pair with menu items served at Vij's. I hadn't seen this wine yet. So, I was particularly pleased to give it a whirl - both because of its provenance and because he'd chosen Riesling. Bright with acidity, I can see its versatility with a number of dishes.

1944.  2012 Barton & Guestier - Lobster & Shrimp Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine (Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine AOC - Loire - France)

I remember B&G as one of the few French labels that I'd recognize many years ago when I first started to grab the odd bottle of wine now and then. They certainly didn't go in for this mass market kind of label back in the day but, then again, there were no critter wines back in the 70's and 80's - unless you counted Baby Duck and its ilk as critter wines. This bottling is part of collection of wines that are meant to give the consumer a (none-too-subtle) hint about what meal might pair nicely with the wine. A definite bonus - I should think - considering that I very much doubt that there are many folks in our Vancouver market who would have the slightest idea what to expect from a bottle of wine made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape.

The label certainly came in handy when it came to our trying to pair the wines, brought by all of the dinner guests, with an appropriate dinner course. We might not have been dining on lobster but I think mussels weren't too far off.

1945.  2006 Domaine la Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC - Rhône - France)

We normally would have served up a C-du-P with a heartier course but we seemed to have hit the dessert course before we had need to pull the cork. Unfortunately, I can't claim to have had the pleasure of knocking back many bottles of Domaine la Barroche but I can certainly say that I haven't met a bottle of their's that I haven't enjoyed. The small estate's production is difficult to find and one of their flagship wines, Pure, is generally found only on an allocation basis.

Their signature Châteauneuf-du-Pape is standardly a Grenache-driven wine and the winery, 2003 having been their first vintage, definitely steers to a more modern, fruit-laden product. I figured it could pair up to Jeaux' trio of typical Bretagne desserts. Besides, if no one else wanted to go the route of a red with dessert, that would just mean more for me.

Thinking a bit of a stretch and a flight of stairs might do us all some good, we once again retired to the roof deck to chat away the balance of the evening. Funnily enough, there were still some wines that had yet to be touched. Tyrant pointed out that we truly must be getting long in the tooth because he couldn't recall a previous dinner club where there was still this much wine left by the end of dinner. He followed that statement up with his offer to give it the old college try and drink some of the remaining juice - particularly since he'd spirited a couple of Burgundy's out of the cellar in honour of the fact that I was in my final 100 wines for the blog.

1946.  2012 Joseph Drouhin Saint-Véran (Saint-Véran AOC - Burgundy - France)

1947.  2003 Moillard Mercurey (Mercurey AOC - Burgundy - France)

Going to Burgundy and pulling out a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir certainly added to the Gallic fare of the evening. I think Tyrant might have been right when he thought we should have been better pikers during dinner so that we'd have opened these with the benefit of food but the wines seemed to go down well enough on their own.

Then again, it was late, and the time for constructive tasting had long passed. These were simply good for propelling the conversation forward on one of the first long nights of summer.

Kremmig Crème du Plessis (À L'Eau de Vie de Cidre de Bretagne)

Our hosts trotted out one final treat as well. They'd brought back a bottle of Kremmig from their adventures in Bretagne. Kremmig is a specialty of the du Plessis distillery - a cream based, eau de vie made with Lambig. Lambig, itself, is a Bretagne specialty liquor made by distilling hard cider.

There was no going back to wine after the Kremmig. All that creaminess just coated the mouth and said "you're stuck with me now kid." Not that we needed more wine.

Jeaux and Matinder may have transported us to a corner of France for the evening but reality of needing to return to our Vancouver beds had us all bidding "au revoir" and "à bientôt" and heading off into the night. The Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed are next up on the hosting schedule. Just a little something to look forward to.

Getty a Little Giggy (of is that "Jiggy?")

1898.  2006 M. Chapoutier Gigondas (Gigondas AOC - Rhône - France)

As much as I like the Rhône as a wine region in France (not that I've ever been there - but there's always hope), I don't drink Rhône wines as much as I might like to. Given that, maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised at how big and fruit forward this Grenache-dominant Gigondas was. If I hadn't opened the bottle myself, I could have easily been convinced that this was a big Aussie GSM (Grenache/Shiraz/Mouvèdre).

The exuberant extraction that's evident on the wine, with the pleasantly big nose and the dark fruit on the palate, makes me think that this is a wine made more in a modern style than one that strives for the nuances of terroir. I'm not going to complain though. I like a good whack of fruit in my glass.

Stylistically, Gigondas wines - and appellation requirements - are often compared to the near-by Châteaueuf-du-Pape region. The prices can be far more accommodating though - and who's going to disagree with that?

The M. Chapoutier website tells a brief little story about winemaking in the village of Gigondas - stating that the village was a winemaking area "up until the arrival of the phylloxera epidemic at the end of the 20th Century. As a consequence of the disaster, Gigondas chose to turn towards olive growing. However, following the "Black Frosts" of 1956 which destroyed the greater part of its olive trees, Gigondas reverted to winegrowing," replanting the region with high quality vineyards. Even with the new outlook, it took 15 years before Gigondas was granted appellation status separate from the Côtes du Rhône Villages designation.

I'd never heard of the "Black Frosts" before. So, that was kind of neat to read. Guess it just goes to show that there are more wine stories out there than you can imagine - but discovering some of those stories is one of the main reasons behind this Wine Odyssey of mine. I say, "bring it on."

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.

Hurry Hard Hollywood - Pac Rim Cup

Having pulled the corks on some pretty special bottles over the recent holidays, this post is definitely more about where I drank the next wine and who I drank it with than it will ever be about the wine itself.

Funny but our curling rink doesn't exactly have an extensive selection of wine at the bar. The beer is plentiful and liquor flows but I guess there aren't too many curlers that cry out for a glass of wine after the last rock has been thrown.

Indeed, our team at this year's Pac Rim Cup must have polished off a good dozen pitchers over the weekend but I made sure that there was at least one bottle of wine on the table so that I'd have some reason to blog about the weekend.

This year's theme was Hurry Hard Hollywood and there were some Oscar-worthy team names and costumes, the top dogs being "My Favourite Things." The A-List foursome not only won top prize with their playing on the ice but they also wowed the red carpet crowd and paparazzi with their outfits. They showed up in drag (it is a gay bonspiel after all) on the Friday night and had people guessing until it became apparent that one of their favourite things was "girls in white dresses with blue sating sashes." I particularly liked how their blue martinis matched their blue satin sashes. Julie Andrews would have been proud.

They were equally surprising the next day when they showed up with jock straps, wrapped in brown kraft paper, outside of their curling pants. Those girls in white dresses had been followed up by "brown paper packages tied up with string." Not even the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Booze Brothers could keep up with them.

Given the Hollywood theme to our little bonspiel, the event just played naturally into our regular team name of "50 Sheets of Gay." For the few of you unfamiliar with curling, the games are played on "sheets." I'm not so sure that our team was anything more than vanilla in its appropriation of the 50 Shades allusions but, hey, I hear the movie isn't so steamy either.

1847.  2012 Louis Bernard Côtes du Rhône (AOC Côtes du Rhône - France)

I think there were three red wines and three whites to choose from at the club bar and I picked the Rhône thinking it might have the biggest body of those limited choices. Not so much. I'm afraid I found the wine rather thin and insipid.  Maybe it was a palate sullied by beer but it seemed that there was little in the way of body or fruit to grab a hold of. We finished the bottle off but there was a general consensus that we'd return to the draft rather than order another bottle.

I suppose I should at least give the club some props for having any wine at all - after all, I think there's little argument that most curlers will readily agree that beer rules.

With the bonspiel continuing from Friday night all through the weekend, there was plenty of entertainment off the ice as well as on.

Friday night featured karaoke - some of which had us using an early game the next morning as an excuse to head out before the evening's crowd had fully dispersed. I heard more than a couple comments hoping that the singers curled better than they sang. Glad I didn't get up on stage. Those were some catty bitches in the bar.

Saturday night's entertainment is traditionally more involved - to pair with the banquet buffet that's also offered up - and this year's was no exception. Local diva, Mandy Kamp, gave us her best Bette and Liza and we were also regaled with a new fangled approach to "drag-in-a-bag," two victims were chosen (because of their prowess in Hollywood trivia) to re-enact a number from Chicago. That took some good sportsmanship.

All-in-all, it was another grand bonspiel - even if the wine was unmemorable and our team played like it was definitely destined for a life on the D-List. Now for some recovery time.

Wines to Summon Your BC Ferry Godmother

Poor Boo. Here it is, the holiday season and he has to work nights tonight. Luckily, Elzee was free to come out and play. Good thing cuz there's no sense me spending it home alone - or even out alone - as tonight was destined to be a good evening. Dinner, party and a play. Poor Boo.

In an attempt to make him feel a teensy bit better about his "no fun night," he woke up from his afternoon sleep to a nice dinner and an equally nice sip of wine.

1829.  2009 Tawse - Robin's Block Chardonnay (VQA Twenty Mile Bench - Ontario)

The good news is that, if he was only to have one small glass of wine, it was going to be one fine glass. I'd been introduced to Tawse at the Vancouver International Wine Festival a couple of years back and was lucky enough to get my hands on this bottle during the Festival. Tawse winemaker, Paul Pender, was one of the interesting principals forming the line-up for the speed dating/drinking seminar at the Festival. I think he had a whopping eight minutes to walk us through the Robin's Block Chardy and tell all about the winery's being a leader in bringing organic and biodynamic farming practices and single-vineyard designated wines to Ontario. It was certainly eight minutes of tweaking my fancy.

Tawse was named Winery of the Year for three years running (2010, 2011 and 2012) at the Canadian Wine Awards. Rumour has it (at least on one website) that Proprietor, Moray Tawse, is "smitten with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir" and with how he can bring a bit of Burgundy to Ontario and the Twenty Mile Bench.

I'm not a huge fan of big oak and Chardonnay and, even though this wine saw its time in French barriques, that time only enhanced the texture of the wine. The oak was subtle enough that the tree fruit still shone through along with some wet stone and acidity.

If only there were more Tawse wines around. For me, mo Tawse, mo better.

Once Elzee and I had seen Boo off to work, we wandered over to Arty400 and BabyMama's place. Our neighbours had invited us to a little Hanukkah gathering. Arty400 is a master - if he says so himself - of the latke and he was frying up batch after batch. It was a major shame that Elzee and I had just finished our meal and didn't have much time before we had to mosey on because there was one tasty - and neverending - spread of dishes. Just as if your Jewish mom had to feed you incessantly because she's worried you're too skinny. We couldn't even nibble.

Luckily, we were able to stay long enough to watch the lighting of the Hanukkah candles. I know very little about Jewish holidays or traditions but it was nice to be asked to participate in an intimate family occasion. I have a feeling we might have been the only gentiles in the room because everyone broke into song as Arty400 lit the first candle. Seeing a handful of children from all the different families sing along with their parents was something you wouldn't see in our household at Christmas.

2014 Parallel 49 Barley Wine

As much as I'd like to add this bottle to The List, it's not wine - despite the name. The brewery calls it "the granddaddy of English ales" and it's aged in whiskey barrels to add a woody vanilla note. Arty400 says they just call it a wine because it clocks in with an alcohol content of 11.8%. Parallel 49 claims this bottling is easily ready for ageing as it is for immediate swilling.

If Elzee and I hadn't had to rush off to the theatre, I'd have loved to explore the Barley Wine some more. I'll have to stop in at the brewery after work one day and see if they have any left. I think it's a seasonal brew.

As it was, we had just enough lubrication to raise our level of laughter at Cinderella - An East Van Panto. This is the second year that the new York Theatre has offered up a seasonal panto. Last year's Jack and The Beanstalk was a hit and Cinderella could well be even bigger.

Photo Credit - Emily Cooper

Now, I have hard enough of a time trying to keep up with writing about wine; so, I'm not even going to try and pretend to put my two cents worth into Cinderella other than to say there were some big guffaws, some seriously ugly stepsisters and happening tune-age. It would take a panto (or a wicked drag show - or a combination of the two) to serve up a chorus singing Cinder-ella-ella-ella-ella to Rhiannon. And where else but Vancouver could your evening be saved by your very own BC Ferry Godmother?

I'm already looking forward to next year's show.

Following the show, there was time to revisit Hanukkah since Arty400 and BabyMama were still pouring and entertaining.

1830.  2012 Cave Saint Desirat Syrah (VdP Ardèche - France)

I was a little surprised to hear that this wine is a favourite of BabyMama's. Generally, it's Arty that shows me something I haven't run across before. Interesting that this will be the first wine that I'll now associate with BabyMama. It's definitely got an Old World-liness to it. Being a Vin-de-Pays, I wouldn't expect a whole lot of lineage behind the wine but, apparently, this is more an example of the vagaries of French appellation law. The vineyards that provide these grapes fall just outside of the boundaries for highly-renowned Rhône regions: St. Joseph and Crozes Hermitage. 100% Syrah or not, if you're outside, you're outside. Too bad. So sad. No AOC rating for this wine.

It probably wasn't an end-of-evening nightcap sort of wine though. I think I might have appreciated it more while noshing away on the spread that was laid out earlier, but I'm definitely going to revisit a bottle because $13 "near-Rhône" wines are hardly a dime-a-dozen in our market. Besides, I think Boo might find this to his liking and he had to miss out due to that whole, nasty "work" thing.

All in all, I think the evening deserves a big old "Mazeltov" though.

Holiday Dine Around

There's been a bit of change in the neighbourhood over the last decade. Folks have come and folks have gone but, thankfully, there's one constant that (so far) has shown no signs of fading away. Indeed,  it would appear that the only thing threatening our hood's Holiday Dine Around is its success.

The catalyst of the event was the fact that six new households all started up around the same time as three adjacent duplexes were completed. Following the first year of meeting the new neighbours, we thought it might be nice to visit each household for half an hour or so for a bit of cheer and some nibbles. We're now into our second decade and the participants have expanded to include three of the houses immediately next door or across the lane. Without doubt, it's one of the most anticipated evenings on the McSpadden calendar.

With potentially nine stops on the tour, it makes for a lot of wining and dining. As such, we were actually pleased to give two "free passes" due to renovations that hadn't been finished in time. We'd have been happy to give a pass to Biker Boy and Steffi since they are juggling a four-month old bundle of joy but they said they were still game.

The possibility for adding seven or more bottles to The List was probably there but I needed to 1) pace myself and 2) enjoy some of the libations offered that hailed from different bottles. We do live in Yeast Van after all and, as an equal opportunity drinker, who am I to discriminate?

1822.  2011 Masi Campofiorin (Rosso del Veronese IGT - Italy)

I did gravitate towards the Masi Super Venetian that Arty400 and Baby Mama were pouring. I always like to try what Arty serves up since he gets a whack of tips from one of Canada's Masters of Wine, Barbara Philips, on a regular basis. Plus, they were serving up some stylin' pizza and it just seemed a natural fit. There was boar, there were figs, there was blue cheese and pear. I could have made an entire evening's meal here alone but this was only one of many delicious stops.

1823.  2011 Ravenswood - Old Vine Vintners Blend Zinfandel (California)

A Zin was a bold choice for the green curry that was served up by Widget but as a cocktail wine can you ever go wrong with a Zin? Especially if it's meant to an accessible crowd-pleaser like this Ravenswood is meant to be. Made from grapes that hail from appellations all over California and blended with Petite Sirah, Syrah and (my favourite) 3% mixed blacks, it's big and bold with plenty of fruit for standing around or for recovering from Widget's extreme massage "chair of death." I don't know why I do it, but I submit myself to multiple winces of pure pain every year at this time. A bold drink was exactly what I needed after an episode in that chair.

I didn't even have any wine at our place - although Boo and I did open a bottle of Red Rooster red and white since we received our annual box of wines under the winery's Adopt-A-Row program this week. I opted for a glass of Boo's hard core - and, okay, famous - eggnog. I knew how much rum and bourbon went into the nog; so, I knew better than to have anything more than that one glass. The creaminess sort of matched up to the butter chicken we were offering as well. The white wine would have been fine but we still had another two or three stops to fit in and I can always add those wines at a later time since they are readily handy.

1824.  2013 La Vieille Ferme Rosé (AOC Ventoux - Rhône - France)

We went from green curry to butter chicken to bouillabaisse at Nature Boy and Mr. Principled's home. What was funny was that Boo and I changed our mind to go with butter chicken at the last moment due to time constraints but Widget had thought about butter chicken before she decided on the green curry and seafood. We had to laugh when Nature Boy said that they'd been thinking about butter chicken and only changed their mind to go with the bouillabaisse in the last day or so. We came very close to a seasonal butter chickens bake off.

That could be a viable idea for a future neighbourhood gathering though.

The boys went with an oh-so-appropriate choice of a Rosé with the fish stew. I'm not sure if they were aware that fish stew and Rosé wine go hand-in-hand in France. I've seen and tried the other Vieille Ferme wines but I hadn't seen the Rosé before. Made from Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah - traditional red grapes in the region - I was happy to be transported off to the Mediterranean for a half an hour or so.

1825.  Quinta do Bom Retiro - Ramos Pinto RP20 Tawny (Portugal)

For a first time in eleven years, Shameless Hussy and Rock God took a pass on hosting. The dust and torn up floors - that they currently call home - just wouldn't have worked out as well this year. Feeling guilty, however, they paired up with Cupcake and Haggis and brought along a special treat - a 20-year old Tawny Port to go with Cupcake's desserts.

I haven't run across this Tawny previously and I'm a regular at the Port tables every year at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. I'm not sure how Shameless Hussy came across it but Ramos Pinto has been in existence as a Port house since 1880 and has been part of the Roederer Group since 1990. I'm going to have to keep an eye for it down the road as it provided a sweet and carmelly end to another successful Dine Around - as should only be expected from a fine, old Tawny.

And, the holidays continue...

Spinifex and Fireworks

Photo from huffingtonpost.ca 

Normally, that fireworks photo would have been one of our own and I wouldn't have lifted if from Huffington Post, but as you'll see with the post, my bloglife is a little out of skew nowadays - and desperate times call for desperate measures.

I'm what we'll call "hazardously behind" in my postings. I haven't lost count of the wines we've polished off, we just seem to drink them faster than I'm able to blog about them. So, I'm going to do a little jumping over some wines - while hitting a few memorable wines - with the idea of staying more current AND then catching up with the earlier posts as time permits.

As the day we pull the cork on my 2001st bottle starts seeming a whole lot closer at hand, I'm hoping to keep better tabs on the number of the bottles as we open them. I really had no idea that Boo and I were enjoying a landmark bottle #1700 as we were sipping away.  We might have made more of an event for it had I known.

Luckily, it turned out to be a memorable bottle and a fun evening in any event - although Boo opted to call it a night after the wine.

1700.  2004 Spinifex Esprit (Barossa Valley - Australia)

Spinifex is a relatively new winery to set up shop in the Barossa. It's owners, Peter Schell and Magali Gely, started the winey in 2001. In doing so, however, they decided to pay respect to Magali's French roots. Their website notes that Magali's parents were vignerons in the south-west of France and that Peter has worked six vintages throughout France over the last decade. The pair work primarily with Rhône grapes that have traditionally been successful in both the Mediterranean and in Australia.

Spinifex chooses to make wines that are predominantly blends and Esprit fits right into that scheme. With 36% Grenache, 34% Shiraz, 20% Mataro (Mourvèdre), they've constructed that Barossan take on the Rhône blend - the well known GSM - but they've ramped up the Rhône by adding a 10% touch of Cinsault.

Although it might take me awhile to actually get around to writing the post, Boo and I had a thoroughly enjoyable Châteauneuf-du-Pape last night and, while this Esprit is primarily the same take on grapes involved, it had bigger fruit but was equally tasty.

I figure we're lucky that Marquis Wines has carried a few Spinifex wines over the years because they don't make an awful lot of wine. A Robert Parker reference on this vintage of Esprit said that only 330 cases were made. I don't even think the winery is big enough to have its own cellar door. When Boo and I were in Barossa a couple of years back, we didn't see the winery itself but we did taste a couple of their wines at the Artisans of the Barossa - a cooperative tasting room for a group of "small batch, sub-regional" winemakers. I'm more than happy to grab a bottle or two by whichever method we can run across them.

So, I figure opening #1700 is worthy of the fireworks display at the top of the post on its own; however, the evening was the third night of this year's Celebration of Light fireworks display. Boo decided against fighting the crowds downtown to watch Japan's entry but I ventured down to Mr. D's.

I figure the photo above would have approximated what we'd have seen from his apartment. After all, it is of the evening's show. However, we didn't even stick around to watch the fireworks. Since it was the Saturday night of Vancouver's Pride weekend, Mr. D. proposed a visit to one of the local watering holes and he figured we wouldn't be able to take in both the fireworks and the bar as the line-up to get into Pumpjack would have been down the block by the time the last firework rocket had been launched. We decided to see if we could enjoy some fireworks of an even more intimate nature and just head straight off to the pub. Running into Will and Harry and a few other boys was a great start.

Unfortunately, from the blog's point of view, there wasn't another bottle of wine to be had. Funny, but I hardly think that a leather bar is going to be the best place to find a bottle of wine. But we did see a firework or two - particularly Mr. D. I think I might just leave that photo to your imagination though. No need to post it and detract from the wine at hand.

So, with 1700 bottles down, I've got my work laid out for me to try and get all my posts in order by the time number 2001 rolls around. Best get to it.

A Pride Picnic

During the first so many years following Boo's move to Vancouver, we used to try and fit in as many picnics as we could. Indeed, I think we'd termed that first summer as the "Summer of A Hundred Picnics." Now, that was more a metaphoric goal than a realistic and attainable one. All the same, we used to fit in far more picnics than we do nowadays. If we've managed to fit in more than two over the course of a summer, we consider the year to be a modest success.

Here it is the end of July and this is the first picnic we've managed to pull off. We just thought it'd be nice to sit Seawall-side and watch the world go by as the West End gears up for Pride weekend.

1699.  2003 Domaine Font de Michelle - Cuvée Etienne Connet (Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC - Rhône - France)

Seeing as how it's a rare-ish occasion and we're kicking into "party-mode" (at least for old folks like us), a bit of a splurge into the Rhône seemed like a good idea - particularly since it's Pride and I always get a kick out the fact that my sis, Vixen, coined the phrase Châteuneuf-du-Poof. Poofs and Pride: has to be a natural fit. Right?

I don't recall how we came about this bottle. Domaine Font de Michelle isn't one that I'm familiar with, nor is it one that I recall as being a regular sight on local shelves. Being an '03, it's been hanging around in our cellar for awhile though. High time it saw the light of day.

Maybe it was the picnic location that helped bring out the tastiness in this bottle but I think I should be on the lookout for another from this producer because this one was a winner. The winery website says that their C-d-P is Grenache-dominant and the wine was a full-bodied hit of rich, dark fruit.

Needless to say, the bottle disappeared far too quickly.  Guess we need to plan more picnics if the end result is that all our wines are going to taste this good.