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 Sparkling Farewell With Miss Jaq

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Whistler's All Aussies & Kiwis

Luckily for Boo and I, Miss Jaq had booked a weekend suite up in Whistler to have a bit of naughty getaway with her geographically undesirable paramour. Lucky for us because Mr. G.U. wasn't able to fly out because of work commitments. Along with Miss Jaq's Tante Luce, we were considered to be the next best Whistler weekend warriors apparently.

I'm pretty good with that. Being a high level second choice with Jaq is saying something. Long time readers of the blog may recall Miss Jaq popping up as one of our drinking buddies every so often - that is, when she isn't off teaching in the Middle East or China. So, this girl is never at a loss for options - or excitement.

The two ladies had been settled in for awhile by the time Boo and I were able to leave work and make our way along the Sea-to-Sky Highway up to Whistler. We were, therefore, welcomed with a glass of cool Sauv Blanc on the balcony minutes after arriving.

1934.  2014 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - New Zealand)

Tanta Luce is a Sauv Blanc gal - almost to the exclusion of all other wines - although she's quick to assert that she's a bit of a piker, standardly buying the cheapest Sauv Blanc that's available and, even then, often watering it down a bit. It's only fitting that we upped her game a bit with one of the classic leaders in Kiwi Sauv Blanc.

We allowed her an ice cube in her glass though.

After a few nibblies and treats - like the Dutch sausage that Tanta Luce brought along - we decided to take a wander through Whistler Village and see if anything looked appealing for dinner. We ultimately opted to go with the "grab a pizza and take it back to the suite" route but, by the time we'd finished off our 'za, the toll of the week, all the catch-up conversation and the drive had taken its toll and we all turned in early.

Determined, of course, to be a little more extravagant with our "resort" activities in the day to come.

Half Corked - Again

For the second year running, Mr. Cool and I have donned our grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts and Nikes to take part in the Half-Corked Half Marathon. Along with a thousand other wine-loving crazies, we arrived at the Hester Creek start line ready for a glorious day of taking in the Golden Mile and Black Sage Bench for what is definitely one of the most celebrated runs in Canada.

We were lucky to be positioned in the first wave of runners because the day was already heating up by the 8 a.m. start time and it was promising to be a hot one. We arrived just in time to act as witnesses for a wedding of two participants. The vows were timed to finish just before the starting gun. So, naturally, there was a toast to the happy couple as we all readied to start them off on their honeymoon.

Nothing like a few first sips of wine before starting a half marathon. It's definitely part of a proven training regime when it comes to this race.

The course winds its way through the southern half of the Okanagan Valley, traversing up and down the rolling terrain (or is that "terroir" given this is wine country?), through grapevines and along service roads. Although incredibly scenic, it's quite the taxing course. No one sets out to run a personal best on this race. Indeed, it quickly became evident that grapes grow best on slopes - a fact that we can all attest to now.

Of course, one of the most appealing aspects of the run is that water stops are regularly scheduled every one or two kilometres as the course passes through or by another winery. And, funny, but for some reason those water stops all featured wine tastings and occasional bites of artisanal foods.

A few highlights of the fifteen water wine stations were Sandra Oldfield and Tinhorn Creek's Sangria party tent, Rustico's western themed BBQ (not that I ate the baked beans as a courtesy to the other runners) and, my personal fave, Stoneboat where they'd MacGyver'ed part of a crusher/de-stemmer to provide a chillingly refreshing shower and offered an icy granita of their Piano bubbly. Admittedly, I added three or four of the granitas to my pineapple water bottle for the next part of the course. Even watered down, it was just so perfect for the occasion.

Unfortunately, I starting having a problem with my left knee shortly after the race began. So, poor Cool, he had to deal with my intermittent run/walk means of tackling the race. Even after the medical tent at Silver Sage tried to jerry-rig a tape job on my knee, it was slow going at best. Cool could easily have finished the race a whole lot sooner than we did but he was good enough to stick it out with me, all the time offering encouragement like, "alright now, I figure that, if we jog it out for a couple hundred metres, there's bound to be another wine stop just around the corner."

It might have been a sad finish to the race but, lo and behold, there was a festival tasting at the end - featuring all the Oliver-Osoyoos Wine Association members that weren't encountered directly on the Half-Corked route. By then, my knee was in pretty bad shape; so, we didn't stick around too long at the race festival - just long enough to watch some Flintstones, I Dream of Jeanie gals and sock puppet monkeys join us at the finish line. As sacrilegious as it might seem, I chose an afternoon nap and a heavy dose of ibuprofen over continued wine tasting.

As soon as the nap was over, we got back to real reason for this Odyssey and added another bottle to The List.

1924.  2012 Intersection Mile's Edge White (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I first ran across Intersection and its intriguing wines at the Vancouver International Wine Festival and The Grape Debate back in the spring. The winery is a relatively new entrant to the BC wine scene - although its principal, Bruce Schmidt, is a definite veteran. As early as the late-1970's, he was a marketing executive with Calona Wines and local writer, John Schreiner, reports that Schmidt is famously known for making Calona's Schloss Laderheim Canada's largest-selling white wine of its time. Schmidt spent the better part of the '80's, 90's and 00's working in other fields but he returned to the Okanagan in 2005 when he purchased an old orchard property and packing house.

Schmidt and team worked on converting the orchard to a vineyard and the packing house into a winery and they started releasing wines in 2010. Unfortunately, the 2008 and 2009 winters were so severe that they lost almost half the vines they'd planted.  After only being able to release a couple hundred cases of wine in those initial years, they finally reached their full production goal of 2500 cases in 2012.

Having been impressed with their offerings at the earlier tastings, Boo, Mr. Cool, Mimster and I stopped in to do a tasting yesterday and we grabbed this bottle as a weekend treat. An unusual blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Viognier, Mile's Edge White was a great afternoon sip on our deck overlooking Lake Osoyoos. Body. Aromatics. Fruit. Acidity. It might not have healed my sore knee but at least it helped dull the pain.

Following our Intersection interlude, we made our way to Tinhorn Creek and Miradoro restaurant. The winery was hosting one of its annual Canadian Concert Series nights and Rich Hope & His Blue Rich Raiders were playing away to a lively crowd in the amphitheatre below. I don't think too many of the revellers had taken part in the Half-Corked. Catchy music or not, there was no chance that I'd be dancing the night away.

2013 Tinhorn Creek Rosé (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I wasn't sure whether it was the 2012 or 2013 vintage that we'd enjoyed recently. Turns out that it was the 2013; so, I don't get to add this vintage a second time to The List. No matter. As the last vintage of Rosé where Sandra Oldfield was at the winemaking helm, it was a welcome addition to the table. It matches with all assortment of dishes and just goes down so darn easy. A welcome thing with this gang.

1925.  2012 Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I couldn't have a dinner in wine country, on such an auspicious day as the Half-Corked, without adding a new bottle of Tinhorn Creek to The List though. So, a second bottle just happened to get ordered. Sandra pioneered the planting of Cab Franc in the Okanagan and her perseverance is now paying off as the variety is seen as being well-suited for the region. Instead of all the Cab Franc forming part of Okanagan Meritage blends, more and more varietal Franc wines are showing up on winery lists and they're deservedly proving to be popular pours.

This is a big, dark-fruited version, well-suited for our richer main courses and for our simple sitting back and enjoyment of the concert.

With luck, the knee will recover quickly and I can think about coming back for next year's Half-Corked. After two years of knee issues, I could use a bit of "third time lucky" coming my way.

For some strange reason, Mr. Cool is all ready to suit up again. Maybe it's the wine.

Mussels & Sauv Blanc

Having added Howling Bluff's Sauv Blanc on my last post, here I am, right back adding another Sauv Blanc to The List. It might have something to do with another round of mussels on the dinner table. We do love our mussels round here.

Or, if I were to channel my inner Diana Ross, I could say, "we do love our muscles round here."

1845. 2012 La Poderosa Reserva Sauvignon Blanc (Valle Central - Chile)

I suppose I'll admit that I picked up this bottle (two of them actually) because of the striking label. I was making an all-time favourite soup that's not much more than mussels, white wine, onions, fennel and saffron. The recipe calls for almost a bottle and a half of white wine and I've just habitually gone with Sauv Blanc. As such, I wanted a reasonably priced wine and this one jumped out at me. I've started seeing La Poderosa at a number of the private wine stores. So, I figured it can't be all that bad if so many stores are stocking it.

According to the label, the story behind the name goes that, in 1952, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara ventured through the wilderness of Chile on his motorcycle - nicknamed La Poderosa or "the powerful one." I subsequently found out that the brand is produced by the well known Chilean winery Viña Luis Felipe Edwards to celebrate that ride.

As far as "cooking wine" goes, I'd say this one fit the bill nicely. I'm told you should never cook with a wine that you wouldn't want to drink on its own. While I don't think the folks in Sancerre - or even Howling Bluff - need to worry, the wine was true to the grape variety and, surprise surprise, paired well with the soup.

There just wasn't enough soup - or wine - to satisfy that craving for mussels. Guess we'll be back for more.

Sauv Blanc Rocks Naramata Bench

Seeing as how my last post might not have come across as one extolling the merits of Howling Bluff's wines as much as a post on marketing, I thought it'd be good to pull the cork on another bottle and just sing the praises of one fine Okanagan Sauvignon Blanc.

As much as the Okanagan Valley is home to many a fine white wine, it doesn't seem that a large number of wineries have jumped into Sauv Blanc production. Or maybe I just don't tend to gravitate much to them. There are always exceptions, however, and Howling Bluff's is one of them.

1844.  2012 Howling Bluff Sauvignon Blanc (VQA Okanagan Valley)

In taking an online look at Howling Bluff and Sauv Blanc, the majority of references are to the popular Sauv Blanc/Sémillon blend that the winery produces. For the last couple of vintages, proprietor Luke Smith has also made a varietal Sauv blanc - to some solid success. The web site proudly announces that its 2012 vintage was the "highest rated Canadian Sauvignon Blanc last year according to the National Wine Awards...in fact there was only one gold medal awarded in the Sauvignon Blanc category."

Of course, there was very little of the wine to be found - often a problem with boutique wineries. The Sauv Blanc is a winery tasting room only find as there were only 300 cases in 2012. I was lucky to make this my last stop following the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference that had just been held down the road in Penticton. There wasn't much left but I was able to grab some.

As might be expected from the Okanagan, there was bright acidity and plenty of fruit but I liked that the wine still had a nice balance and, overall, tasted more Sancerre than New Zealand - which is almost inevitably a good thing with me.

And topping that off was the fact that we paired it with mussels. Another inevitable win in my books.

Now, the task is to find some more.

A Vegan Affair

Other than sometimes having to contend with the odd morning after, the biggest problem our Dinner Club has is trying to schedule an evening when all four couples can attend. Things aren't made any easier now that Matinder and Jeaux spend five months of the year in semi-retirement down in Antigua, particularly since I don't think we can manage to get everyone down there on a regular basis for a dinner club like we did this year. With last night's Holiday Cookie Bash now behind them, our Caribbean couple were charted to head off to the sun in another week.

Although Tyrant had just returned from a month's visit to New Zealand, he and Panda Guy thought we might be able to fit in a dinner before Jeaux and Mat's departure. Luckily for us, Tyrant had access to his old Vancouver condo (and its view of the carol ships in Coal Harbour); so, he brought along his tools of the trade and made his way into town from Salt Spring Island.

The only clue we had as to the dinner's "theme" was that we were all asked to bring along organic wines. For those of you not familiar with Salt Spring, it is well known as a haven for artistic, holistic and organic back-to-nature folk. Upon our arrival and our learning that the evening's fare would all be vegan, we immediately began joking about how, despite Tyrant's carnivorous ways, his current island surroundings must be rubbing off on him. He countered that the theme had more to do with trying to come with something new after more than a decade of Dinner Club gatherings than it did with turning all granola on us.

In any event, it was going to be an interesting evening because none of us could remember ever having partaken in an entire menu plan based on vegan cuisine.

Tyrant started us off with vodka martinis made with Calvados, ginger beer and fresh pressed apple juice from our hosts' own trees. As we sipped away, an array of hors d'oeuvres were presented: sesame crusted tofu batons with dipping sauce, faux crab salad in cucumber cups and pesto seared king oyster mushroom medaillons on daikon rounds. it would seem that vegans have their ways of presenting food so that it reminds you of more familiar foods - like crab and scallops. Regardless, we were off to a tasty start.

1812.  NV Summerhill Pyramid Winery - Cipes Brut (Okanagan Valley VQA)

It only seemed fitting to bring along a bottle of Summerhill Cipes Brut. Not only is it consistently lauded as an excellent example of Okanagan bubbly, Summerhill is as dedicated to organic production as anyone in the Okanagan. Indeed, they've pioneered biodynamic practices where possible in their vineyards and they dedicate a healthy portion of their website to educating consumers on organic farming and wine.

Their website also has a "Note to Vegans" where they state, "although there is no third party verification for vegan wine, Summerhill uses no animal byproducts in its winemaking, and is therefore vegan friendly. We were once asked whether our Biodynamic practices are vegan friendly. Some biodynamic preparations are made by fermenting herbs in stag bladders and cow intestines. These animal parts are not in the wine or in any way touching the grapes. They are used as a medium to create beneficial soil bacteria that aid processes in the grapevine's immune system. We must leave it to each individual vegan to decide whether the biodynamic preparations are a deal breaker or not. Some animal byproducts commonly used in winemaking include fish bladders, gelatin, egg whites, milk and milk byproducts. Summerhill uses none of these ingredients in our wine."

It also didn't hurt that we were pairing the 2014 All Canadian Wine Championships "Sparkling Wine of the Year" with a roasted sweet potato soup (vegetable stock naturally) that had been thickened with puréed macadamia nuts.

1813.  2012 Domaine Fouassier - Les Romains (AOC Sancerre - France)

1814.  2013 TWR - Te Whare Ra Pinot Gris (Marlborough - New Zealand)

My favourite dish of the night was the miso-marinated, grilled Portobello carpaccio with lemon zest, pistachios and arugula in a lemon vinaigrette. It matched up nicely with our pair of whites - a Kiwi Pinot Gris that Tyrant had brought back from his trip as a treat for the Dinner Club and a Sancerre (which is always a treat in my book) that Lady Di had brought. I thought it was interesting that Tyrant brought the Kiwi wine but it was a Pinot Gris and not the variety more associated with New Zealand. The Sauv Blanc hailed from France.

This is the second vintage of Domaine Fouassier to be added to The List, but I've never heard of - let alone tried - TWR. Tyrant ran across them during his Kiwi tour and they are a boutique winery that specializes in organic, small batch wines. The current owners, Jason and Anna Flowerday, took over the vineyards ten years ago and they replanted one of their blocks with a Pinot Gris clone that they felt was suited to their terroir and passion for aromatics. Their site says that 2013 was a textbook summer in Marlborough and, in a little different take from most of the Pinot Gris we see from BC, 40% of the wine was aged and lees-stirred in old French oak to add to the "texture and complexity."

I think it's particularly telling that the owners' name is Flowerday and they are into organic and biodynamic farming. The biodynamic calendar is divided in four days: fruit, leaf, root and flower. Certain activities are planned to be in sync with phases of the lunar calendar to coincide with the most favourable times for sowing, planting, harvesting and even tasting. Flower days are noted for how wines are supposed to taste better on them (and fruit days) as opposed to root or leaf days.

When Tyrant announced the vegan theme for the evening, I checked my phone to see what day it was on the biodynamic calendar (yes, there's an app for that) and saw that it was a root day - not noted for being good days for tasting wine. I didn't know how root days boded for tasting vegan dishes but I hoped for the best.

One of Tyrant's neat little tricks was to serve a kiwi fruit sorbet in a hollowed out kiwi fruit "egg cup." I mean, there are palate cleansers and then are palate cleansers. Such a witty play on Tyrant's recent adventures down under.

1815.  2011 Carrick - Bannockburn Pinot Noir (Central Otago - New Zealand)

1816.  2010 Covert Farms MDC (Okanagan Valley VQA)

A bit of a break in the menu prompted another two bottles to be opened and this round saw a second treat of Tyrant's from New Zealand and a wine from another star in the Okanagan's organic movement - Covert Farms.

I've had a jones for Central Otago from the time I tried my first Pinot Noir that came from there - not that I get much of a chance to try them. Most of the premium Central Otago Pinots that make their way to the Vancouver market generally carry a premium price tag. A fact that often leaves me relying on the kindness of strangers (or friends such as Tyrant) to open a bottle.

I don't know if it was the whole "root day" thing but the Carrick didn't come across as nicely as I would have hoped for a Central Otago wine. It was shy on the bright fruit and weight that I associate with the region's top Pinots.

The MDC is a Cab Sauv dominant blend with Zinfandel and Syrah playing smaller roles in the mix and it certainly could have paired up with a big, old grilled steak. Ooops, wrong dinner.

1817.  2012 Emiliana - Novas Gran Reserva Garnacha Syrah (D.O. Valle del Cachapoal - Chile)

1818.  2012 Vistalba Corte C (Mendoza - Argentina)

The entrée was its own little tasting menu. Having their highly coveted, quadrant plates, the boys served up a foursome of dishes: Thai red curry soba noodles with shiitakes and scallions, coconut and panko crusted deep fried seitan nuggets with a charred corn and red onion salsa, tofu cubes stuffed with bulgur wheat and Asian vegetables and, lastly, fried lotus roots. I can't say that I've even heard of seitan before - a wheat gluten that is used as an alternative to soybean-based products. It is apparently a common ingredient found in restaurants catering to Buddhist patrons.

The pairing of the two South American wines with the largely Asian entrée may not have been a match in heaven but we were low on whites and we'd saved the bigger wines for the proteins. No one complained. In fact, the Vistalba might have been the favourite wine of the night. I know it was mine, but then, I'm a little biased since Boo and I visited Vistalba during our stay in Argentina - and it wasn't even us who brought that bottle. Jeaux and Matinder brought it (and the sister Tomero wine yet to come), but they apologized profusely as they'd only picked it up on the way to dinner and their choices were limited as their car had broken down and they couldn't make it to a larger wine shop. They had to settle for a little, local wine and beer store that didn't feature an organic section. They were advised that, while Vistalba wasn't labeled as organic, the winery did look to using sustainable growing practices.

Graciously, our hosts did not ask them to leave the table. Personally, when the wine tastes as good as the Vistalba did, I'm willing to put up with a bit of non-organic farming.  Corte C is a blend of Malbec (76%), Cab Sauv and Bonarda and it is actually Vistalba's entry level blend. I only wish that Cortes A and B were available in our market.

Emiliana is a stalwart entry in the provincial liquor board's selection of organic wines. I seem to recall their Novas brand as being the first organic wine to be aggressively marketed here - particularly since it was seen as a well-priced and consistently balanced wine.

Tyrant and Panda Guy topped off their feast with a vegan take on chocolate ganache pie. No cream or butter or was used in the recipe, rather it featured a ground hazelnut crust and a puréed mixed nut filling with organic cacao, medjool dates and agave nectar.

And, since there was chocolate, there was red wine.

1817.  2012 Tomero Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza - Argentina)

1818.  2011 Pangloss Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County - California)

The last two wines saw another mix of old and new for me. Tomero is the sister (and entry level) label to Vistalba and, while I don't have a lot of their wines on hand, they are one of my faves for well-priced Argentine wines.

I'll readily admit that I don't know all that many Californian producers but I'm pretty sure that I've never run across Pangloss before. I see from their website that they are a small volume producer of a number of varietals and blends. The Cab Sauv saw one of their bigger case volumes but even it was limited to under 600 cases. I always appreciate it when I get to try a small volume production bottling like this.

The "unfortunate" part of trying these last two wines was that they were the last two wines - and I have to confess that I was drinking tonight's wines, not sipping, spitting and taking notes. I'd be laughed out of the Dinner Club if I tried that - and I started this gang. As such, I don't even recall if I favoured one of the wines over the other. Too bad because a Argentina vs. California tasting could be a decent evening all on its own.

So, vegan or not, I don't think anyone left hungry - and we all have a couple of vegan dishes that we could re-create if the need arose. Tyrant did say, however, that the vegan menu plan was a helluva lot of work and that he doesn't think he'd tackle it again. Indeed, he's already announcing that he figures their next Dinner Club theme will be a Brazilian meat buffet.

Either way - vegan or omnivore - I'm looking forward to it.

Touring and Tasting

It appears that Boo and I may need to come up with a whole new wardrobe this fall. The Canucks traded Ryan Kesler and Jason Garrison and, wouldn't you know, those are the two current player jerseys that we sport.

The Garrison trade was a bit of a surprise and, since he didn't leave Vancouver while in everyone's bad books, Boo can probably get away with still wearing the #5 jersey. I'm not so sure I want to keep going with my Kesler jersey though. Sure enough, I got three or four good years out of it - and the city loved Kesler during the 2011 playoff run. He might still be able to make the odd Aussie smile, but I think all the locals got the impression that Ryan was all about himself and cared nothing for the Canucks, his teammates or the city. Too bad. But good riddance, I suppose. Makes me want to find out if you can get jersey numbers changed after the fact.

Putting aside the trades, we moved on to happier activities with our #TwoKangaroos. We couldn't entice Merlot Boy out of bed with a trip to the Trout Lake Farmers Market but Margarita and I completed a tasty tour in the morning. Then Boo and Merlot Boy joined us and we all spent the afternoon touring Gastown.

When you consider how many of the shops seemed new to Boo and me, it was clear that we don't get down to this part of VanCity very often. We passed some "new" restaurants that looked pretty tasty and Boo and I clearly need to make it back to the carpet shop because we barely poked our heads into the store and saw two gorgeous silks that may need to add some colour to our household.

As we were finishing off our tour, we discovered that we'd parked right next to Bambudda, a new-ish entry to the Gastown scene serving up modern Chinese and inventive cocktails. They were just opening the doors as we sauntered by and the empty bar seats right at street level were just too inviting for four tired wanderers to pass up.

I'd seen a few tweets recently that raved about the cocktails at Bambudda. So, it seemed like a no-brainer for us to do a little research of our own. The drinks arrived both pretty and pretty tasty. There's definitely potential to do a whole lot of damage as you sip your way through the drink menu. Despite the tawdry comments that flew from Merlot Boy's lips, I went for the Sum Yung Gai - a concoction of gin, Cava, lemon, maraschino and lavender syrup. merlot Boy himself went ordered the Bubble Tea and it, with Gin, Blue Curaçao and hibiscus bubbles, was sure a looker. Boo and Margarita opted for "classics": Satan's Whiskers and Mother-in-Law which Bambudda says are both cocktails from circa 1890.

Something tells me, wine blogger or not, we'll be back.

The possibility of heading out on the town was proffered but our Aussies opted to stick around the home front. With Cher behind them, a day's worth of walking just completed and a wedding on the morrow's agenda, a night of adding bottles to The List and a binge-viewing of Archer episodes seemed as adventurous as our buds wanted to be.

1650.  2013 Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - New Zealand)

Despite her nom de blog, Margarita's sip of choice is probably Sauv Blanc and this Stoneleigh is one of her "go-to's." Offering up classic Kiwi notes, it was still easy to see why this is a pleaser for Margarita. It was determined that, despite the classic notes, the wine was "neither overly acidic nor cat pee-y." Seems appealing enough to me on a summer's eve.

Then, the reds kicked in. Merlot Boy had picked up a couple bottles of Aussie Shiraz at the local shop. Funny, guy travels half way around the world to drink his home country drops.

1651.  2011 Vinaceous Wines - Snake Charmer Shiraz (McLaren Vale - Australia)

I can't say that I know much about Vinaceous Wines. Given the labels, my guess is that it's a commercial venture along the lines of critter wines - without the critters on the label. Or, maybe, just critters of a different sort. Their website states that "the Vinaceous concept is to produce seven distinctive wines representing seven personalities - men, women, angels, demons, mermaids...and other creatures of mythology!" Their wines are sourced from "the best regions suited to the chosen varietals." So, we're definitely talking about a Down Under négociant concept.

Commercial enterprise or not, we still found it tasty enough. I believe the collective response to my "what do you think?" was "a tad stronger than 'charming' but a charmer all the same."

1652.  2012 The Black Chook Shiraz Viognier (McLaren Vale - Australia)

Roos, snakes, chooks (Aussie for chicken). What is it with Aussies, animals and wine? My learned guess is that they all just drink like fish. Then, with so many big, tasty sips within easy reach, who could blame them? The Black Chook is a project that brought in noted South Australian winemaker/consultant, Ben Riggs, to shepherd this Aussie take on the northern Rhone co-ferment of Shiraz with Viognier.

Hardly a critter wine. I likely wouldn't have gravitated to this bottle because of the name and label. I guess it just goes to show that, if you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, the same can be said about judging a wine by its label.

2005 Orofino Merlot Cabernet (Similkameen Valley)

With all the antipodean bottles hitting our glasses, I thought I'd serve up a bit of curveball. I didn't tell our guests what it was that I'd opened and they thought this wine was even bigger than the Aussie Shiraz we'd been sipping. They were pleasantly surprised when I told them it was another Orofino wine from the Similkameen. We'd completed our Orofino Riesling trio the other night; so, I figured it couldn't hurt to try a red as well. The two Roos didn't think BC wines were supposed to be a full as this.

Unfortunately, I don't get to add the bottle to The List this time around. With Orofino being one of my favourite wineries, I suppose I should be surprised that the '05 Merlot Cab was added to The List all the way back at #433. Still drinking good though.

1653.  2005 Pisano - EtXe Oneko Licor de Tannat (Uruguay)

The final bottle of the night was a surprise and a treat. Since Merlot Boy and Margarita arrived, I haven't been playing up World Cup entries to the blog much. This bottle was a tip of the cap to Uruguay's run at the 2014 Cup. They lost their Round of 16 playoff game to Colombia earlier in the day but their show was still worthy of a nightcap of a bottle.

This was a bottle that I'd been given at the Wine Blogger's conference last year in Penticton. Luckily, the Uruguayan producers had some bottles left at the end of the conference and I managed to score this rarity (at least to me) as they didn't (or couldn't) take everything with them.

Made from 100% Tannat grapes, the wine combines techniques from both Amarone and Port. The grapes are left to desiccate on the vine for an extra month before pressing. They were then fermented to a desired level of residual sugar and topped off with grape alcohol to stop the fermentation. A second batch of grapes that had been left even longer on the vine were then added to the fermentation tanks in whole clusters. After approximately six weeks, the wine was pressed off and barrel-aged for another six months. Rich, tasty, fruity, dark. Right up my alley.

And, again, that's from Tannat grapes. Not going to find many wines using this production method.

Hardly the equivalent of an Aussie sticky, we were all taking a big bite out of this Luis Suarez of a wine.

And on that happy note, we bid "good night" to Archer and each other. Wedding prep and bells were calling on the horizon.

Love Beach

As our last full day in Antigua was now upon us, the plan was to take a bit of an island tour with Jeaux and Matinder. Boo and I were the last of our Dinner Club members still here with J&M; so, we could finally all fit in their car and hit the road - not that the island's all that big. It is surprising how hilly it is and how varied the vegetation is however.

We kicked off the day with - surprise, surprise - another of the beautiful beaches as it was an easy drive from Jeaux and Matinder's villa and it allowed us to see a local community not far from the Jolly Beach resort. I never tired of watching Antigua life pass by as I kept an eye out for brightly coloured homes and buildings. Our next stop would leave present day life and and look to the years gone by as we visited Betty's Hope - an historical sugar estate that is in the process of being restored as a national park. Not only did we see close up one of the many cane-processing windmills that dot the island, it provided some insight into the island's colonial past.

As we drove to our next beach, we happened upon a picturesque church. I noticed a small cemetery across the street and asked to stop knowing that Boo would be far more interested in a cemetery than in yet another beach. I have to admit it was one of the more intriguing cemeteries I've visited - and that says a lot seeing as how travels with Boo do tend to take in a higher number of resting grounds than most folks' vacations would normally.

Cemetery detour or not, we made our way to yet another spectacular beach (picture on top of post) - this time fronting the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean - where we were among a small handful of people. All that splendour almost to yourself is simply what vacations are meant to be. Unfortunately, we didn't have a bottle of wine with us. We were able, however, to buy some Carib and Wadadli beers to go with the snack we picked up at the beach food stand.

Our real destination was the Love Beach but we still had one stop to take in - one of J&M's favourite galleries on the island - the added bonus being that it was set in a truly stunning tropical garden. Most of the island isn't incredibly lush as there are definite water supply problems, but this space was riotously verdant - awash in flowers that Vancouverites would never see anywhere except in insanely expensive bouquets. Again, I had to regret not having a bottle of wine that we could have opened and lounged around sipping while taking in all the charm of the location.

Luckily, Jacquie O's Love Beach was hardly lacking in allure - or wine. Half restaurant, half secluded beach, this would be my idea of a day at the beach. Private cabana lounges provided comfort, shade and luxurious access to the Caribbean. We only had time for the restaurant but at least we now had access to some libations. Jeaux and Matinder have gotten to know the manager/sommelier at Jacquie O's and I could tell that she'd definitely be a person to know if you were staying in Antigua. A transplanted Aussie gal, Sheila was chock full of stories of the impromptu parties that erupted at the Love Beach and, I ask you, how can a place be wrong when its greeting board message is "Resolution #14 - Champagne is always the answer."

1563.  2012 Chateau Sainte Roseline - Lampe de Méduse Cru Classé Rosé (Côtes de Provence I.G.P. - France)

We did not pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly ourselves but we did opt for a wicked rum punch and for what was likely the freshest of all the Rosés we'd tried on the trip. Typical of Rosés from the South of France, two-thirds of the wine is made with Cinsault and Grenache, turned out I got a bit of an unexpected tropical treat in that the balance is made up of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Tibouren - and I had yet to add Tibouren to my Wine Century Club tally.(Too bad we didn't have the the 2013 vintage because it also contained Rolle.)

The person who came up with the concept of Provençal Rosé clearly had occasions such as this in mind when he or she first started squeezing grapes because we could have kept on sipping away on this for hours. Unfortunately, the bottle quickly disappeared. We weren't about to let the moment slip away though. We took another look at the "compact" wine list (which likely doesn't change much because it was carved in wood) and were about to settle on a Sauv Blanc. We were debating the brash acidity and flavours of a Kiwi version versus the more subdued nature of a Sancerre (at twice the price) when Sheila came by and recommended a bottle she had that wasn't on the main list. She'd just happened upon a couple cases of a new wine that she figured could meet all our needs.

1564.  2012 Comte LaFond - Menetou-Salon (Menetou-Salon AOC - France)

She was right. Like wines from neighbouring Sancerre, this Menetou-Salon is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc and it is subtle in its expression of acidity and "green." I mentioned earlier that Sheila would be a good person to know to get the best out of Antigua. Perfect example.

Our late lunch was quickly morphing into the dinner hour - well, at least, into happy hour - and we had to reluctantly call an end to our honeymoon at the Love Beach. Jeaux had invited her Mom to join us for dinner and she needed to get a start on those preparations.

So, with our beach view and our now empty glasses in hand, we couldn't help but bemoan the fact that we couldn't come back and do it all over again tomorrow. And the day after that. We bid "adieu" to Sheila and hit the winding roads back to Jolly Beach.

The whole day had made it abundantly clear that we were just going to have to journey Antigua way again - hopefully sooner than later.