Through the Grapevine

Roslyn Buchanan follows the BC wine industry news and events

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Canada’s Great Kitchen Party

The Canadian Culinary Championships was renamed Canada’s Great Kitchen Party and the national competition has been relocated from Kelowna to Ottawa, February 2020. In its place, Kelowna hosted its inaugural qualifier event to send a talented local chef to the nationals.

For 50th Parallel Estate Winery it proved a triumphant evening as Block One’s Chef Kai Koroll won the Judges’ Gold and the People’s Choice Award in the culinary competition with a dish paired with 50th Parallel 2017 Chardonnay. As well, Winemaker Matt Fortuna’s Parallel 50th 2016 Pinot Noir was the Best of Show Wine Winner.

For her dish paired with Indigenous World’s 2018 La’p Cheet, Chef Andrea Callan of the Red Fox Club took the Silver Medal. The Bronze was awarded to RauDZ Regional Table Chef Chris Braun, who paired his dish with Checkmate Winery’s 2014 Black Rock Merlot.

Competitors also included Chef Brock Bowes of CrAsian Food Concepts; Chef James Holmes, of Salt & Brick; Chef Jeff Van Geest with Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek; and Chef Rob Walker from Big White Ski Resort. Kelowna sets a high bar, noted National Head Judge James Chatto on jameschatto.com: “From a food perspective, it was the most challenging decision of the entire KP campaign, with a good hour of deliberation required to separate the gold and silver winners.”

Quails’ Gate Winery’s 30th Anniversary Celebrations

The 30th Anniversary of Quails’ Gate Winery’s opening in West Kelowna in 1989 was marked with a Gala Celebration amid festive lighting. The evening featured small lot and library wines, multiple grazing stations prepared by Old Vines Restaurant and live music from chart topper Andrew Allen.

In addition to the many special and library vintages, Quails’ Gate provided guests an opportunity to taste some of its California winery selections. Proprietor Ben Stewart and other family members were on hand to mingle with guests and Winemaker Ross Baker addressed current approaches and the legacy of winemaking at Quails’ Gate.

The Westside property has been family farmed since 1956 and family members have farmed in the Okanagan Valley since 1908. They continue to expand with new wineries in California’s Lake Sonoma and Valley of the Moon, and the original 81-hectare Stewart Brothers Nursery property has been purchased from other family members, and will now be planted in grape vineyards.

Riedel Tasting at Great Estates Okanagan

Unique tastings are being offered at the Great Estates Okanagan Wine Experience Centre in Penticton. Riedel Crystal Canadian manager Alysha Harker led us through a fascinating and fun tasting that highlighted the impact the glass plays in our experience of wine.

We explored four examples of Great Estates Okanagan wines including Jackson-Triggs Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Inniskillin Dark Horse Vineyard Chardonnay 2016, Nk’Mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Pinot Noir 2017 and Darkhorse Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2016. Alysha led us through each one pouring it in various glasses before demonstrating the Riedel glass designed specifically for the varietal. For some selections, she had us try the wine with and without a dark or white chocolate. Along with our heightened awareness, each participant got to take home a complimentary Riedel tasting set featuring glasses from the Performance collection.

Watch for repeats of the Riedel Tasting on the Events tab of greatestatesokanagan.com

RIP Maria Ferreira

Wine lovers in BC are mourning the sudden passing on December 19 of Maria Ferreira, co-founder Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery. She was a member of the Oliver Chamber of Commerce and was on the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association board. Truly entrenched in all aspects of the winery and community, she will be dearly missed.