OUR EVENTS IN 2022
DECEMBER 2022
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SEPTEMBER 2022
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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 Bridgeman's 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, half-whistle 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.
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, half-whistle 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.
AUGUST 2022
WINE & SAKE TASTING
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A unique experience helped us learn 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. Our Cellarmaster pulled some gems out of storage and added the newest, award-winning BC wines to complement the sake: Averill Creek NV Charm de L'ile - a top Vancouver Island sparkling wine Mayhem 2021 Small Lot Sauvignon Blanc - Gold Medal Terravista 2021 Fandango (Albarino/Verdejo) - Gold Medal Kitsch 2019 Esther's Block Riesling - Platinum Medal CedarCreek 2021 Pinot Noir Rose - Gold Medal Blue Mountain 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir - 15 years old! Howling Bluff 2013 Century Block Pinot Noir - BC Lt. Gov. Award 2017 |
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JUNE 2022
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We were pleased to offer our first ever BCWAS Wine Brunch at Cuchillo's: Steve approached numerous restaurants to get this concept going and Chef/Owner Stuart Irving pulled it together with an the incredible menu.
“Cuchillo‘s dishes are more my personality, which is to say they are a little edgier,” Stuart explains. Drawing on his passion for Latin-inspired cuisine, Stuart's bold and savoury take on classic south-of-the-border dishes was influenced in part by his travels through Central and South America where he fell in love with Latino food," he says simply. As this was a first, our arrival beverage was Cuchillo‘s well-known “Margarita”. Yes, you read this right, a Margarita, with all its traditional ingredients, was served at our wine brunch! When we do “First Ever” events, we allow ourselves liberties to go a bit “outside the box” and this featured drink was selected to set the mood and get us all in the spirit… and it worked! We also challenged ourselves to look at the menu and select, from our BCWAS cellar, wines to pair exceptionally well with the diverse dishes served, including Wild Goose 2016 God’s Mountain Riesling, Bartier Brothers 2021 Rose, and Corcelettes 2015 Pinot Noir. |
Menu
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FIRST
Chorizo Verde Scotch Egg Quinoa Y Pumpkin Seed Crust Free Range Cage Free Egg Aji Amarillo Mustard Aioli |
SECOND
Blue Cornbread "French Toast" Maple Chipotle Tamarind Syrup with Crispy Confit of Local Pork Belly y Chicharron |
THIRD
Pozolé Jardin Hominy Corn y Heirloom Vegetables Organic Romaine y Radish Garnish |
FOR THE TABLE
Avocado Toast House Guacamole y Cotija |
MAY 2022
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We were honoured to welcome Michael Clark, Managing Director & Winemaker at Clos du Soleil for a vertical of the flagship Signature red. 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. 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 showcased balance and structure, as it has been know for its ability to age for many years. |
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MARCH 2022
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We were welcomed back after Covid-19 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 Cellarmasters 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. |