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.

Cabernet Day, Eh?

So, the last Thursday in August arrived and so did International Cabernet Day.

Not that we ever need an excuse to determine which bottle to open but it seemed appropriate to open a Sonoma Valley Cab to show a little solidarity for the Napa/Sonoma/San Fran region after it experienced that 6.1 earthquake last weekend.

1726.  2005 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Country - California)

So, edging toward the century mark in Canadian dollars, this isn't your standard weeknight bottle - at least not my standard weeknight bottle.  It's just that we don't have many (if any) entry level Napa or Sonoma Cab's lying around our home. Luckily, that just meant we got to enjoy a bit of a splurge.

The label might call this a Cab Sauv but Cinq Cépages is actually a full Bordeaux blend or Meritage. The "Cinq" in the name is, of course, French for "five" and the wine is a blend of the five varieties that are standardly drawn from to make a Bordeaux-styled red wine. The blend is predominantly Cab Sauv though - with Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec merely playing supporting roles here.

There's a good reason why Napa and Sonoma Cabs have the reputation that they do. With a bit of age behind it, the bottle was showing a good degree of integration. It still had a nice bouquet, with dark fruit that was clearly present but not over the top, and there was a good balance with a strong backbone of tannin.

The wine wasn't overpowering in the least (as a good percentage of Cabs from the region can be) and it paired deliciously with the chorizo we grilled for dinner. Granted, the Caesar salad didn't exactly embellish the wine's finer points but that just meant we could finish off the salad without wine and keep our glasses full for the balance of the evening - if only it were that easy to keep our glasses full for an evening with only one bottle of wine.

These international wine varietal days are kind of hokey but, hey, if they give me a "reason" to pull the cork on beauties like this, bring 'em on.

An Antipodean Landmark

Except for that one vacation when he was on the "Merlot Boy No Merlot Diet," there's never been a shortage of party or booze present whenever we find ourselves with Merlot Boy. Whether it's in VanCity, Oz, Vegas or the Big Easy, it's always been 5 o'clock somewhere. Then, there's Margarita, that lovely little addition to the travelling entourage, and her nom-de-blog is likely enough of an indication as to the influence she has on the collective decision-making process. So, we were somewhat taken aback when our favourite Aussie wanted nothing more than a small dinner party to celebrate his 50th birthday - even though we'd offered to throw a rave of a bash for him.

Despite the fact that there may have only been a tight cadre of nearest and dearest, that didn't mean that Merlot Boy was putting the kibosh on a smorgasbord of wine. Indeed, I'm adding a full ten bottles to The List - and the count would have been higher except that there were a couple of duplicates.

1677.  N.V. Josef Chromy (Tasmania)

Every landmark birthday calls for a sparkling kick-off and, given our birthday boy's Aussie heritage, we popped the cork on a bottle of Tassie bubble. Luckily the weather was everything a boy could ask for. So, we took advantage of the garden setting. Merlot Boy hadn't even heard of Josef Chromy before; however, one must realize that you can pretty well bet on the fact that MB will be draining the brewskis most of his time in Tasmania. After all, almost all of his visits there coincide with footy games when his beloved Hawks play a "home away from home" game.

1678.  2013 Folonari Pinot Grigio (Italy)

As much as I try to get Merlot Boy to drink BC wine when he's visiting, he still gravitates to his Aussie reds or to bargain buys that he recognizes from home. Trying to tell him that BC makes some of the best Pinot Gris in the world is like trying to convince an Aussie that there actually are some lovely Kiwi wines in the market. Yeah mate, as if.

1679.  2013 Paul Hobbs - CrossBarn Rosé of Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast - California)

I don't generally look to California for my Rosés either. Memories of California and White Zinfandel can be hard to get rid of - especially when the Okanagan is becoming a bit of a hotbed for Rosé. From the shot, it looks like there couldn't have been a better choice of wine for the BBQ'd salmon though - at least from a colour coordination standpoint. Good thing the wine tasted as good as it looked.

1680.  2010 Eau Vivre Pinot Noir (Okanagan Valley VQA)

I needed to throw at least one BC wine into the mix. Given that salmon was the main course and we were definitely a red-leaning group, I figured a perennial critic's fave would be a good pour for the table. Not sure that I did anything to convert Merlot Boy's buying habits, but the wine was certainly well-received.

And from that point on, the photos of wine bottles was a forgotten task. There were plenty of photos taken - just not of the wine bottles. There's the one at the end of the post of all the dead soldiers but you'll just have to take me at my word that the wine kept flowing long after the salmon was cleared from the table.

2012 Wirra Wirra - Scrubby Rise (not added to The List as we've already downed this vintage)

1681.  2013 Lindeman's Cawarra Shiraz-Cabernet (South Eastern Australia)

1682.  2012 Tommasi - Le Prunée (Merlot della Venezie IGT - Italy)

I think this bottle was someone's way of telling Merlot Boy that he's getting old and wrinkled - like a prune - but in a classy way, hence "Le Prunée." 

1683.  2011 Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon (North Coast - California)

1684.  2011 Long Flat Cabernet Shiraz (Australia)

As luck would have it, Miss Jaq's 50th was only a week or so apart from Merlot Boy's. He may live in Melbourne but it often feels like we see more of him than we do of Miss Jaq since she's usually off somewhere teaching in exotic locales like Abu Dhabi or China. Luckily, she was spending the summer in Vancouver and was able to celebrate right along with Merlot Boy.

And celebrate we did. Maybe not to the same extent as we did for Daveyboi's 50th, but that's likely a good thing. I think there were a few too many martinis poured at that birthday bash. Perhaps having Miss Jaq and Elzee in attendance just kept the boys a tad more in line than is often the case.

1685.  2008 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon (New South Wales - Australia)

This wine was not chosen as a dig at Merlot Boy's advancing age. Botrytis may be known as "noble rot" but not even we would joke that MB is in an advanced stage of rot. Rather, I chose this lovely because, like him, it's iconic and Australian. Noble One is one of those bottles that you feel you have to keep for a special occasion. There aren't many events that are more special than a landmark birthday with equally monumental friends.

Thing is, there were one or two (at most...as if) that were still going strong after the dessert wine. Accordingly, a quick reach into the cellar was needed. However, I will have you know that I, personally, only had enough of a pour to legitimately add it to The List.

1686.  2009 Henry's Drive - Dead Letter Shiraz (Padthaway - South Australia)

In the spirit of the evening, it was Aussie and it was big and bold.

It might be a good thing that we don't have 50th birthdays to celebrate every week. I'd get through this Odyssey count a lot faster but the old liver might have a bit of comment to make.

Happy happy bud!

A Dinner Club Like No Other

Of course, the primary reason for our visit to Antigua was the Dinner Club Road Trip and dinner was set for tonight. Despite the anticipation - after all the road trip was over a year in the planning - we needed to give our hosts some time to prep their Antiguan morcels. As Jeaux and Matt diced and sliced, the rest of us took in some of what the island had to offer. Axel and English Doc went for a scuba dive while Lady Di, She Who Must Be Obeyed, Boo and I decided to wander around the thriving metropolis of St. John's.

Antigua's capital and biggest city, St. John's still only has a population of around 24,000 to 25,000 and it's abundantly evident that the city and country is dependent on tourism - with cruise ships and their day visitors being a primary focus of the city centre. Most of the shops and market stalls are geared to cruising tourists who meander in the shadow of the huge ships that tower over local buildings.

We started our visit off with what was to be a quick bite at a local lunch spot. Unfortunately, that proved to be our undoing as SWMBO's purse and camera were stolen right out from under our noses as we were sitting in the street-side, public dining area. We still have no idea as to who might have pulled off the dastardly deed but it certainly put a damper on our plans as the girls had to return to the resort to cancel credit cards and deal with the issues that arose. The one good thing was that their passports weren't in the purse.

At the girls' insistence, Boo and I continued to amble around St. John's - not that there was an awful lot to take in. We hiked up to St. John's Cathedral but the old Anglican cathedral was undergoing extensive renovations and wasn't even open for viewing. We continued our walkabout and made our way to the local food market but, it was Monday and that's not one of the big market days. As such, there was no real buzz around the place.

Once we'd had our fill of town, we made our way back to our villa and started prepping for Dinner Club. As circumstance saw fit, it was St. Patrick's Day and, unbeknownst to us, St. Paddy's is quite the going concern throughout the Caribbean. It must be all the drinking associated with the day! Forever the consummate hostess, Jeaux was well prepared for the day with a parade of Irish accoutrements - as well as an array of libations. She even started off the evening with green cocktails - a Midori Pineapple concoction that set the tone for a dockside evening.

If Jeaux hadn't written down the menu, I'd have had a hard time recounting it because the names of and many ingredients of the dishes were certainly foreign to this Canuck. Jeaux and Matinder strived to feature local ingredients and whip up some of the most popular national dishes. Appies on the deck started with Keshi Yena - cheese stuffed with spiced meat - that is believed to have originated with the slaves from the Dutch Empire who stuffed the rinds of Gouda or Edam cheese with meat table scraps. These were followed by Fiery Shrimp and Potato Cakes (made with "hairy potatoes") and Conch Fritters.

Prior to our arrival, I likely mentioned to Jeaux (but no more than a dozen times) that, if she only served dish at Dinner Club, I hoped it would involve conch. Girl came through - even though she pointed out that conch is not the most delectable of seafoods and isn't even all that easy to find on local shelves. No matter. Conch is what I think of when I think Caribbean cuisine and I got to go home and say that I'd had some.

I've also always thought of Caribbean foods as having an underlying heat. So, when Boo and I saw a bottle of off-dry bubbly in the Toronto Airport Duty Free, I grabbed it - figuring it'd be a nice way to start off the evening's wines.

1551.  N.V. Peller Estates - Signature Series Ice Cuvée Rosé (VQA Niagara Peninsula - Ontario)

Made in the traditional method (read Champenoise), the Ice Cuvée Rosé is a sparkling wine made from primarily Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes; however, in a bit of a detour from traditional Champagne grapes, 10% of the wine is Cabernet Franc. I was also intrigued to see that, for this sparkler, Peller Estate added a dosage that is a combination of Cab Franc Icewine and Vidal Icewine. The intended result is off-dry notes on the palate but with a dry finish resulting from the tannins in the Cab Franc that forms part of the base wine.

Of course, bubbles just naturally hint that a celebration is at hand as well and I think travelling over 5700 miles, one way, for "a dinner" is a bit of an occasion. Bubbles also lead to toasts and we heartily toasted our missing comrades-in-arms. Tyrant and Panda Guy were all arranged to make Dinner Club with us but they had to back out shortly before we left when a family health issue arose.

Truly disappointed that they couldn't join us, that just meant that we had to eat and drink enough for them as well.

1552.  2012 Pedroncelli - Signature Selection Chardonnay (Dry Creek Valley - Sonoma County - California)

1553.  2012 Chemin des Sables - Savion (Rosé d'Anjou AOC - Loire - France)

If you check out my posts on previous Dinner Clubs, there's often a preponderance of big reds through the evening. Jeaux knew better and her request for wines this time around were for whites or rosés. We also had to rely on the selection of wines available down at the Epicure grocery and, while I have seen worse, the array of wines was rather limited and included a lot of globally commercial brands. Bright, light and cheerful was obviously the route to take.

Turns out that there was a bit of bonus for the blog when I saw that the Rosé d'Anjou was made from Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir, Pineau d'Aunis and Grolleau. I was a little surprised to see that I hadn't added Grolleau to my Wine Century Club tally yet but, sure enough, it wasn't there. So, this little road trip had an unexpected addition to that list - in addition to the (much expected) fine dinner.

And, speaking of that fine dinner, Jeaux and Matinder started the sit down portion of the meal with callaloo soup. Another well-known staple of the islands, Jeaux made her's with fresh callaloo greens which were, again like the conch, not the easiest of ingredients to find. In keeping with the secondary St. Paddy's Day notes, the soup arrived with a green Irish soda bread. Is there no end to this gal's creativity?

1554.  N.V. Sartori - Pinot Grigio Blush (Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie I.G.T. - Italy)

The Blush was paired with yet another trio of traditional Caribbean dishes:
Salt Fish and Ackee, Green Papaya and Breadfruit Salad (with its potato-like flavour). The first dish is considered to be Jamaica's national dish but it has migrated throughout the Caribbean. The salt cod is sautéed with boiled ackee (a treefruit brought to the islands from West Africa centuries ago), onions, hot peppers, tomatoes and spices. I don't know if Jeaux cooked fresh ackee or not but I have since learned that it can be poisonous if the fruit is unripe and TIME magazine named it one of the world's "10 Most Dangerous Foods." Somehow I missed this fact during dinner - if it was even mentioned.

We all lived to tell though. And, thankfully, all lived for dessert.

Capturing the tropical nature of the dinner - and with a tip o' the cap to St. Patrick - we finished off the evening with a Pineapple Carpaccio doused in a Ginger/Lime dressing and a dollop Coconut Ice Cream.

Of no assistance to my speedy conclusion of reaching 2001 Bottles, we did not pop the cork on another bottle of wine. Rather, Matinder twisted our arms and served up a nightcap of Bushwhackers - coconut cream, Kahlua, Dark Rum, milk and Crème de Cacao. Another popular drink that he's picked up on the sailing circuit, those Bushwhackers had us all ready to call it a night.

As if the five hours of dining and drinking wouldn't have been enough to leave us knackered as is.

I can't say as I've ever travelled this far for a dinner party before. Conch. Ackee. Breadfruit. Callaloo. There's little doubt that Jeaux and Matinder came through with a Dinner Club menu and location for the ages. They might have a hard time equalling this one when it's their next turn to serve it up in Vancouver. I can't wait to see how they try though.

Tyrant and Panda Guy's Big Day

When the timeframe of my last post ended, the weather sucked. Rain was pouring down just as we were primping to attend Tyrant and Panda Guy's wedding. Luckily, 15 minutes on the Gulf Islands can see an entirely different weather pattern kick in. As we arrived at the lakefront site for the wedding, the sun was shining and the smiles were almost as bright.

Tyrant's and my friendship is into its fourth decade now and he's always been the consummate entertainer. He's one of my most mentioned drinking buddies in the Blog and we've chatted over and thrown back many a bottle of wine in our days. Seeing as how Tyrant has one of the most extensive wine collections I've had the pleasure of knowing, I was excited to see what wines he'd chosen for his and Panda Guy's big day. He didn't disappoint with a collection of some of the biggest icons in BC wines.

N.V. Blue Mountain Gold Label Brut (Okanagan Valley)

Everyone was greeted at the door with a glass of Blue Mountain Brut. I wasn't surprised to see this favourite bubbly. Tyrant had asked what my first choice would be for a BC sparkler and - even though there are many equally fine BC bubbles produced - I didn't hesitate in nominating the Blue Mountain. Seeing as how Boo and I served it at both our commitment ceremony all those years ago and, again, at our "formal" wedding when gay marriage became legal in Canada. The winery has a range of traditional method wines available now but the vintage and Rosé wines can be difficult to obtain. This Gold Label Brut is generally available and, at under $25, is a bargain.

Thing is, the bottle doesn't get a number for The List since it was added long ago, back at #261. As mentioned, this is a bit of a "go to" wine for me. Consequently, I'll gladly quaff it back anytime - number on The List or not.

After the scene had been set with Brut in hand and sun in the sky, the faithful were gathered out in the lakeside garden for the ceremony. Thinking back on one's own marriage ceremony seems rather de rigueur at every wedding, but this one held a little special magic for Boo and I. Tyrant and PG had asked long time friend, Hizzonner, to perform the nuptials. I believe this is only the third ceremony that Hizzonner has officiated at - the other two were both Boo's and mine.

When you add the fact that Tyrant had M.C.'d at our commitment ceremony reception and then remembered that Tyrant's old love, Cher, had helped decorate the cake and arrange flowers for this day as well as for our commitment, we started joking that Tyrant should have just engaged us to re-stage our wedding - albeit with a much expanded budget and a fiercely fabulous setting.

There was definitely one difference though. Tyrant recited part of his vows in Mandarin. The closest I had to worry about when it came to a foreign language was to speak slow enough so that Boo's relatives from the Southern US could understand seeing as how I couldn't realistically recreate a drawl.  Following the ceremony at hand, we tried to determine just how flawless Tyrant's pronunciation in Mandarin had been. Mandarin isn't the easiest of languages to fake and I always recall one story where a Cantonese friend was practicing his Mandarin at a formal dinner and got slapped by his wife for ordering rather "delicate lady parts" instead the crab. Who knows what Tyrant could have ended up promising?

2007 Monmousseau Cuvée J.M. Brut (AOC Touraine - Loire - France)

The "I do's" seem to have passed without incident and they were heartily toasted with Monmousseau. This far into the wedding, I wasn't having much "luck" in adding bottles to The List. I'd added the Monmousseau last December, at #1323. when Tyrant served it at his legendary Winter Solstice/ Mayan End of the World party. No wedding had been announced back then but maybe they were trying out the bubbles to see how they'd go over with the gang. Obviously well enough to see their corks popped all over again.

And I might add that, indeed, many corks were popped.

In going back over our photos, it would seem that I was more concerned about being caught up in the wedding and the event than I was thinking about the blogging to come. There were wines being served from an assortment of top BC wineries - including the likes of Black Hills, La Frenz, Laughing Stock and Red Rooster - but do you think I took a picture of all the different wines on offer. Not a chance.

Then again, I didn't try every wine on offer either. Even if I'd wanted to, some of the bottles were quickly gone as many of the guests knew the pedigree of Nota Bene and Portfolio just as well as I did.

I probably did some damage to a couple other wines through the evening - particularly downing some white wine while noshing on the sushi being made to order on the lake dock. (Tell me they weren't happy at this station when the rain clouds cleared up.) But I must have given up on wine pictures after reining in a couple reds to add to the bubbles.

1430.  2010 Marichel - Deep Roots Syrah (VQA Okanagan Valley)

As I was writing this, I realized I'd better check to make sure I haven't already added this bottle to The List as well. Both Tyrant and Lady Di have been big fans of Marichel ever since I introduced them to the new (at the time) winery on the Naramata Bench. I've added other vintages of Marichel Syrah to The List and a 2010 Viognier has been added but, luckily, I'm good to go with this Deep Roots Syrah.

Not that I could find out much about it online. The winery website doesn't refer to the wine at all but I figure that's likely because it was sold out and/or the "Deep Roots" label might have been a one-off vintage in 2010.

I do know, however, that Marichel might have been the smallest producing winery - and the least known amongst the bunch being offered - and, consequently, I cold keep refilling to my heart's content because not many others knew how nice the wine was drinking.

1431.  2011 Tribunal (Sonoma - California)

While checking to make sure that I hadn't added the 2011 Tribunal to The List either, I was surprised to see that I added the 2010 vintage to The List on the same night as the Monmousseau. Looks like Tyrant was doing some major "market testing" that night at the Solstice party. Either that or he was serving up some of his faves just in case the Mayan "predictions" were right and we weren't going to make it past last December and he wanted to go out on a good note.

In any event, the Zin, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cab Sauv and Merlot blend was the only non-BC red being served. Whereas Boo and I decided to serve Blasted Church and Church and State as two of our wedding wines in a tongue-in-cheek nod to the arguably blasphemous standing of our marriage, Brent wittily chose Tribunal as a tip of the hat to all the old law school chums in attendance and to the fact that there are still many folks who will sit in judgement of a gay wedding and proclaim guilt.

The only thing we were guilty of that night, however, was being guilty of being in love - and of enjoying all the wines and the delicious food at hand. Add in some love for the live jazz band and the plentiful dancing and the makings of a truly memorable evening were all there.

Incredibly, the afternoon's rain clouds stayed away until well into the evening - after most people had moved inside or left anyhow. So the outdoor beauty of the venue was fully enjoyed by all.

Although Boo and I had wished the happy couple all the best and made our way back to our cabin, I'm told that the boys' wedding had one final point of similarity to Boo's and my earlier ceremonies. We always joke that it ain't a party unless the police come by. Our commitment ceremony saw three different squad cars come by over the course of the evening and even our much smaller, formal marriage ten years later - held in our back yard with maybe 50 people - saw the police arrive to ask us to tone it down. When they told us our neighbours were complaining, I said, "I kind of doubt it since most of our neighbours are here," the response was that "these neighbours were two blocks away."

Considering Tyrant lives in a rural setting on a lake, I'm thinking the party levels must have kept building after we'd left.

I probably should have stayed longer.

Congrats boys! Here's to many years of happiness of good wine to come.

Mayan Apocalypse or Night On The Town?

Wasn't sure whether I'd still be around to write this post or not.  What with the Mayan Apocalypse being predicted and all.  But here I am - and happy to be so, I might add.

Never one to let an end of the world threat get in the way of a good party, Tyrant continued to schedule his annual Winter Solstice party for December 21.  As his invite astutely stated, "End of the World you say? Well then I'd better have another glass of wine."  The thought was that if we were all going to go up in a big poof, we might as well be having fun with friends, drinking fine wines and nibbling on an endless supply of tasty treats.  Heaven may have its allure for many, but I'd say this party was a pretty good stab at "heaven on earth."

And for once, the soirée fell on a weekend night!  The good news was that I wasn't going to be obligated to play nice, limit myself to a couple of drinks and head home to be ready for work in the morning.  The bad news was that, if the world didn't really come to an end, I still had a lot of Christmas to plan for.

Thinking that we likely would all still be around come Saturday morning, I played it safe - even if I was one of the last to leave.  As always, Tyrant served up a full array of wines at the Solstice party but I only worked my way through a trio of the wines being poured.

1321.  2010 Marichel - Estate Viognier (VQA Okanagan Valley)

The fact that Tyrant opened a case of Marichel wines was a good indicator of his largesse - or his fear that the end of the world really might be nigh.  Marichel is the Naramata Bench winery that only produces wines made from two Rhône varietals - Syrah and Viognier - and they've never made more than a thousand cases in total.  I rather like their website blurb regarding their philosophy on winemaking. They don't try to mimic Rhône producers (or any others for that matter) and state that, "Much as we love them all, we don't make a Côte-Rôtie Syrah, a Barossa Shiraz, or a Viognier from Condrieu.  And while we adore Cold Heaven Viognier from California, Tarawara Shiraz from Yarra Valley, and Hermitage Syrah from the Rhône... they've all been done.  Instead we make wine that is singularly, identifiably from the Okanagan Valley.  Not only do we make no apologies for that, we exult in it."

There were only 90 cases of the 2010 Estate Viognier made and I was heartily recommending it to anyone making their way for a white wine - particularly when Tyrant, an avid fisherman, always has a superb spread of salmon and other treats from the sea.

The Solstice party has been a regular addition to my December calendar for years now and it's often the only chance I have to meet up with a lot of these folks during the holiday season. With some guests travelling hefty distances and making overnight visits into town, it can sometimes even be the only time I'll see certain acquaintances all year.  To emphasize the party's allure, this year, Jeaux and Matinder delayed a flight to the Caribbean long enough so that they wouldn't miss out on the evening's pleasures.  Attending the party trumped an extra day on Antiguan beaches.

Boo, on the other hand, had to work a night shift and miss the party this year.  Seems the hospital didn't give much credence to the end of the world and made Boo work his shift anyhow.  After being asked where he was for the umpteenth time, I finally texted him to say that I was getting tired of people asking about him and suggested that he just tell the administration that he'd contracted a Mayan flu and needed to leave.  He didn't think much of the idea, but he did text back a photo that I could show to anyone that asked after him.

Meanwhile, back at Tyrant's, those in attendance were all smiles - especially Desmond and the Divine Miss M as they modelled one of the evening's wines.

1322.  2010 Tribunal Red (Sonoma - California)

I hadn't run across this wine previously and I had to look it up afterwards.  Turns out it's a California blend and was picked as one of Vancouver Magazine's Best Red Wines of 2012 and was also named No. 5 on Wine Access magazine's Top 20 Bargain Wines.

It was hard finding out much more information about the wine with a simple Google search however.  There's plenty of hits that pop up but no real info on an actual winery or the wine itself.  I think it's pretty safe to say that most fingers point to this being a "vanity" label for Trader Joe's in the States.  It's proved to be so successful that they must have deemed it worthwhile to cross the border into Canada as well.  There's a rumour that the wine was styled after a well known California wine called The Prisoner and even that The Prisoner's winemaker, David Phinney, has been involved in the making of Tribunal but I didn't see anything formal backing that up that concept.  Indeed, if anything, any one connected to The Prisoner or to David Phinney denied his involvement.

It appears that the wine contains a little bit of everything and that the blend has changed a bit from year to year.  One site states that the current vintage contains Petit Sirah, Merlot, Syrah, Dolcetto, Sangiovese and a "secret" grape. Other sites have mentioned Cab Franc, Grenache, Barbera and Primitivo (or Zinfandel).  In any event, it was a big, bold wine and was a very popular choice among Tyrant's guests.

1323.  2007 Monmousseau Cuvée J.M. Brut (Touraine AOC - Loire - France)

The final wine that I concentrated on was the bubbly - another label that I wasn't familiar with.  Monmousseau has a history in the wine business of over 125 years and they produce primarily sparkling wines (80% of their total production has bubbles).  Back at the start of the 20th Century, a member of the Monmousseau family identified the fact that their region of Touraine, in the Loire Valley, had great similarities to the terroir of the Champagne region.  Accordingly they began to make sparkling wines using the Méthode Traditionelle and quickly garnered a name for themselves.  They remain one of the principal producers in Touraine.

The Cuvée J.M. Brut is made with the Chenin Blanc grape - different from real Champagne - but it sees second fermentation in the bottle which is in line with the traditional method for making Champagne. I liked the fact that the wine allows the fruit to show through and, while I wouldn't call the wine off-dry in any sense, there was a definite ease to the palate.  I could have started with this wine a whole lot earlier in the evening and carried on with it for some time.  It doesn't hurt that it costs about a third of real Champagne either ($19 in Vancouver).

As mentioned, the world didn't meet its demise, Mayan prophesies or not, but the best news about that is that we get to do this all over again next year when Tyrant will be back to a plain, old Winter Solstice party.  I can't wait.

Some Christmas Lights from Tyrant's Balcony

Memories of WBC12

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I haven't written much about the 2012 Wine Bloggers Converence that I attended in Portland, Oregon, this August.  As heretical as it might sound, sometimes life takes priority over blogging and my Mom's passing certainly brought that into perspective.  In trying to stay somewhat current with The List and the wines now being poured into our glasses, I just haven't made time to go back and flesh out that timeframe.

Opening tonight's bottle served as a bit of reminder of Portland and WBC12.  A bottle was graciously gifted to each of the conference participants - but there was more than enough wine to keep us going at the conference.  So, this one made it home with me.

1294.  2010 Don & Sons Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast - California)

I hadn't realized the fact when I was given the bottle, but "Don" is a Don from the Sebastiani family - a pioneering name in California winemaking with over 100 years experience in the business.  The original Sebastiani brand was sold back in 2008; however, Don Sebastiani branched off to create Don & Sons with two of his children.   They have modelled the company on a négociant format and they source grapes from growers throughout California - aiming to produce appellation-driven wines at consumer friendly prices.

The company is also structured so that it produces wines under more than just the Don & Sons label.  I'm actually more familiar with the Smoking Loon and Pepperwood Grove brands - Dons & Sons being behind both of them.  Their reach isn't limited to using California grapes either.  The company has sourced fruit from Chile and Tasmania as well.

The bottle at hand was 100% Pinot Noir, primarily from Sonoma Coast growers - website notes say that 13% of the fruit was grown in the nearby Clarksburg appellation.  It's a fleshy, easy drinker with lots of bright fruit.  I'm not sure it was a Pinot that Myles would gush over in the movie Sideways, but Boo was quite taken with it - and that surprised me a bit in that that he generally favours wines with a little more Old World structuring.  Wines that are awash in bigger tannins and structure and not so much juicy fruit.  Guess it just goes to show that any given wine on any given day can hit the mark.

As for my hitting the mark, that'll revolve around getting caught up with some more posts - and maybe in going back to fill in some those gaps that "life" left behind.