BCWAS WINTER-FESTDECEMBER 2022
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our BCWAS Winterfest on Sunday!
A wonderful time was had by all, and the food was spectacular! Happy Holidays to all of our friends and members! |
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COWICHAN VALLEY BUS TOURNOVEMBER 2022
Your executive team was overjoyed to announce A COWICHAN VALLEY BUS TOUR!
On Friday many of us took in the Chemainus Theatre Festival where we enjoyed a three course dinner and the play Glory, the inspirational, triumphant and incredible story of the Preston Rivulettes women’s hockey team set in 1933. Saturday morning we started with the Island's oldest estate vineyards, Blue Grouse Estate Winery. Next we descended upon Rocky Creek Winery where we enjoyed wines from the most awarded winery on Vancouver Island including an award winning Wild Blackberry wine picked by first nations. Lunch was served on the south slope of Mount Prevost at Averill Creek Vineyard which is Vancouver Island's largest estate winery with breathtaking views the Cowichan Valley. We enjoyed “the island dog” which is a European wiener on a brioche bun with coleslaw, green olives and hickory sticks… and it was delicious! |
After lunch We visited Divino Estate Winery which has been built on years of experience in the Okanagan valley starting in the late 1960's.
Dinner was hosted by Lorin Englis of Enrico Winery, famous for their 2014 Tempest Ortega, which won the Lieutenant Governor's Award for excellence. We were treated to a gourmet dinner by chef Leigh Parkin-Hatch, at Bridgemans Bistro in the beautiful Mill Bay. The food was as outstanding as the views and the wines were beautifully paired.
Our first stop on Sunday, was Unsworth Vineyards where Chris Turyk started us off with a glass of the beautiful Charme de L'ile sparkling. We took a walk in the vineyard to enjoy our tasting while surrounded by the vines.
Cherry Point Estate Wines was next up. These award winning wines are made following traditional European wine making methods where the earth makes the wine, honoring the spiritual connection between earth, rain and sun.
Lunch was a private affair in an old farmhouse, at the oldest winery on the Island. Zanatta Winery and Vineyard. The chefs from Old Firehouse Restaurant amazed us with a delicious lunch of heirloom beets with whipped chevre, halfwhistle cheese and herb mezzalunas with wild mushrooms and an olive oil cake with lemon curd. All of this was beautifully paired with Zanatta 2021 Ortega, 2019 Pinot Noir and a 2019 Glenora Fantasia Brut.
The final stop was unique... Damali Lavender & Winery which is a boutique craft winery that specializes in wines that contain lavender grown on the estate.
Dinner was hosted by Lorin Englis of Enrico Winery, famous for their 2014 Tempest Ortega, which won the Lieutenant Governor's Award for excellence. We were treated to a gourmet dinner by chef Leigh Parkin-Hatch, at Bridgemans Bistro in the beautiful Mill Bay. The food was as outstanding as the views and the wines were beautifully paired.
Our first stop on Sunday, was Unsworth Vineyards where Chris Turyk started us off with a glass of the beautiful Charme de L'ile sparkling. We took a walk in the vineyard to enjoy our tasting while surrounded by the vines.
Cherry Point Estate Wines was next up. These award winning wines are made following traditional European wine making methods where the earth makes the wine, honoring the spiritual connection between earth, rain and sun.
Lunch was a private affair in an old farmhouse, at the oldest winery on the Island. Zanatta Winery and Vineyard. The chefs from Old Firehouse Restaurant amazed us with a delicious lunch of heirloom beets with whipped chevre, halfwhistle cheese and herb mezzalunas with wild mushrooms and an olive oil cake with lemon curd. All of this was beautifully paired with Zanatta 2021 Ortega, 2019 Pinot Noir and a 2019 Glenora Fantasia Brut.
The final stop was unique... Damali Lavender & Winery which is a boutique craft winery that specializes in wines that contain lavender grown on the estate.
GASTOWN WALK AROUND EVENT
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NOVEMBER 2022
A wonderful evening of delicious wines at our old haunt in the of heart Gastown.
Such a beautiful night in a quaint setting at the 2nd floor Gastown. Thank you so much to all of you who joined us! |
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CUCHILLOJUNE 2022
On Saturday BCWAS held our first ever brunch at Cuchillo's. The event started with the best ever margaritas. For the first course we were served a scrumptious avocado toast with cotija cheese. This was followed by a spicy pozole jardin with hominy corn and heirloom vegetables. It paired really well with Wild Goose Riesling.
The next course was a tasty house made chorizo verde scotch egg with a quinoa and pumpkin crust and amarillo mustard aioli. The pairing was Bartier Brothers Rose. The final course was blue cornbread "French Toast" with maple chipotle tamarind syrup and local pork belly chicharron. We ended our tasting with Corcelettes Pinot Noir. This event was envisioned by Steve Magown who continues to surprise us for thinking "out of the box". Thanks also to Cuchilllo for outstanding food and service |
CLOS DU SOLEIL VERTICALMAY 2022
We were honoured to welcome Michael Clark, Managing Director & Winemaker at Clos du Soleil. Michael's philosophy is to treat the grapes gently and with respect in order to produce complex, age-worthy wines that showcase the very best expression of the Similkameen Valley terroir. Michael was originally trained in Theoretical Physics. He also spent 14 years as a successful investment manager in Canada, the USA, and Europe. It was during his years living in Europe that Michael decided to turn his life-long obsession with wine into his day job.
Clos du Soleil Winery is a small artisan winery and vineyard located on the Keremeos Upper Bench. Their unique characteristic is described as "Old World Elegance, New World Edge." The winery has been producing exceptional wines since 2006. |
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For this vertical, we tasted the flagship red blend from Clos du Soleil - "Signature" - a blend of Bordeaux varieties, produced by hand, and aged for 16 months in French oak barrels. This tasting of Signature from 2009 to 2015 will showcased the balance and structure, as it has been know for its ability to age for many years.
In addition to our 2009-2015 vertical, Michael brought the 2020 "Capella" Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend and a new 2020 Chardonnay for us to enjoy.
In addition to our 2009-2015 vertical, Michael brought the 2020 "Capella" Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend and a new 2020 Chardonnay for us to enjoy.
OSAKE CRAFT SAKEAUGUST 2022
What a unique experience as we learned about the Canadian expression of Japan's national drink. Our special guest Masa Shiroki, founder of Artisan Sake Maker from Granville Island, shared a few of his premium sake, made sustainably, locally, and naturally.
We also enjoyed some outstanding BC wines, and a selection of delicious cheese from Benton Brothers, charcuterie from Oyama Sausage (including a Kazu Coppa marinated with Sake Kasu) as well as some tasty Sushi rolls. As an added bonus we were able to learn about the sake making process, including a tour by Masa of his sake making facility. A big thank you to our Cellar master Russell who pulled these gems out of storage and added some of the newest, award-winning BC wines to complement the sake. |
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Our wines line up was as follows:
Averill Creek NV Charm de L'ile - a top Vancouver Island sparkling wine
Mayhem 2021 Small Lot Sauvignon Blanc - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Terravista 2021 Fandango (Albarino/Verdejo) - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Kitsch 2019 Esther's Block Riesling - Platinum Medal, National Wine Awards, 2022
CedarCreek 2021 Pinot Noir Rose - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Blue Mountain 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir - 15 years old!
Howling Bluff 2013 Century Block Pinot Noir - BC Lt. Gov. Award 2017
Not only an enjoyable event on a beautiful day, but informative as well.
Averill Creek NV Charm de L'ile - a top Vancouver Island sparkling wine
Mayhem 2021 Small Lot Sauvignon Blanc - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Terravista 2021 Fandango (Albarino/Verdejo) - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Kitsch 2019 Esther's Block Riesling - Platinum Medal, National Wine Awards, 2022
CedarCreek 2021 Pinot Noir Rose - Gold Medal, National Wine Awards 2022
Blue Mountain 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir - 15 years old!
Howling Bluff 2013 Century Block Pinot Noir - BC Lt. Gov. Award 2017
Not only an enjoyable event on a beautiful day, but informative as well.
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VERTICAL TASTING OF FAIRVIEW CELLARSMARCH 2022
We were to be welcomed back after Covid with one of our most sought-after events, a ten-year vertical tasting!
Our featured winery for this event was Fairview Cellars, a boutique winery located on the Reed Creek alluvial fan at the north end of the benches of the Golden Mile. Situated off the second tee of the Fairview Mountain Golf Course on the southwest corner of Oliver, Fairview Cellars is well known for some of the Okanagan's best bold red wines. The wine collected by our expert Cellar masters over the years for this ten-year vertical is none other than The Bear's Meritage, otherwise known as THE BEAR. We were privileged to savour ten of these epic, age-worthy red blends from 2005 to 2014. |