Article & photos by Lenora A.Hayman.
The Van.Int’l Wine Fest. celebrated her 36th birthday from Feb.24-Mar. 2, 2014 with 177 wineries from14 countries, showcasing 1,750+ wines & 54 events. The theme country was France & the global focus, bubbly. Not only were you assured finding something friendly both for your taste buds & wallet but you also had the privilege of tasting wine not yet available in the liquor store.
The Coast Restaurant, part of the Glowbal group, at 1054 Alberni St. hosted the Heart of Burgundy Dinner. Mark Allen, the Export Director of France’s Burgundy Maison Louis Latour provided 7 wines & Coast Restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine Pedro Gonzalez, beautifully paired them during the reception, the 5 course meal and the dessert.
The Louis Fabrice Latour Company has been a family-run company in Burgundy since 1797 & is currently run by the 7th Louis Latour.
An appellation is a legally defined & protected geographical indication used to identify where grapes for a wine are grown. Crémant de Bourgogne is the appellation for the white & rosé sparkling wines of Burgundy, made mainly from Pinot Noir & Chardonnay in the methode traditionelle. The best examples of Burgundy sparkling wines are produced from vineyard sites classified as Grand Cru.
At the reception, the Simmonet Febre Crémant de Bourgogne with its fine bubbles & aromas of ripe yellow fruits paired well with the Atlantic lobster Beignet or fritter.
The grilled sable with morel & Yukon potato risotto & crispy artichokes was complemented with the citrus fruits & toasty aromas of the pale gold, superb Château Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2010, the best vintage in 20 years.
The light ruby red Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2005 with cassis & saffron aromas, balanced the flavor & complexity of the rack of lamb with piquillo pepper & sun choke gratin.
The dessert of Madagascar 64% Manjari chocolate & pomegranate cake with a vanilla-rum semifreddo(semi-frozen sweet), crispy praline & pomegranate-ginger gelée was complemented with the scents of violets, plums & cherries in the Henry Fessy Julieneas wine as yet unavailable in BC.
An addition this year to the usual 3-3hr evenings at the Vancouver Convention Centre West of the International Festival Tastings was the 2hr tasting on Saturday afternoon. At the Puddifoot Tasting Station, I borrowed one of their champagne Riedel flutes before going to the France Bon Appétit section with 52 of France’s participating wineries.
Champagne is a legally restricted name for the world’s most famous sparkling wine from the French wine region of Champagne, I learned there are no red champagnes but I did try a couple of pink champagnes. The elegant $100 Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé NV champagne has intensely fruity flavours of Morello cherries, black currents & raspberries. This pink bubbly is the world’s #1 selling rosé champagne. Red wine from Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier combined with the Chardonnay, gave the elegant $70 Nicolas Feuillatté Brut Rosé, a salmon pink colour with silvery glints & a fine thread of bubbles. It had blueberry, black current & raspberry aromas.
I liked the light fruity aromas of the citrus fruit & wild peach in the Champagne Charles de Cazanove Brut Millésimé 2006. Millésimé means a vintage year or a vintage wine. I was told champagne must be declared a vintage wine at harvest to have Millésimé on the label. Although Millésimé means the wine comes from a single vintage, it has nothing to do with the quality.
The Passionate Pairings of 14 New Zealand wines with 7 New Zealand foods at the Boathouse on Kits Beach was a fun grazing event on the Saturday afternoon.
The NZ Tio Point oysters have a higher meat to shell ratio than ours and their plumpness looked lovely on the silver platter, sprinkled with ginger vinaigrette & vodka cocktail sauce. They went well with the balanced acidity of the citrus & ripe fruit flavours of the Wither Hills Sophora Sparkling Cuvée Marlborough NV.
The grilled NZ lamb lollipops with the garlic & parsley Chimicurri sauce were complemented with the savoury spicy & earthy aromas & plum & herbal notes of the Seresin Leah Pinot Noir Marlborough 2011.
It was a pleasure to meet Bill Spence whose Matua winery was the first to produce Sauvignon Blanc in N.Z. A glass of Matua Sauvignon Blanc 2002 with its zesty, grassy overtones & crisp tropical & citrus fruits always goes down well sitting on the patio or with food. The Nautilus Estate Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2013 has herbaceous notes too, and both these Sauvignon Blancs offered a nice contrast with the white Trevally fish with coconut lime sauce, mango salsa & micro Thai basil.
The deep red Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Hawke’s Bay 2011 with aromatics of violets & plums & vanilla like oak overtones balanced the complexity of the coffee crusted venison loin with sweet potato & pear purée served with red wine jus & crispy brussel sprout leaves.
The plain, soft & creamy goat cheese was nice with the pear, melon & apple floral notes of the Kim Crawford Pinot Gris Marlborough 2013.
Finally a slice of La Pleine Lune cheese covered in plant ashes with mushroom aromas & peppery flavours hit the spot with the spicy oak, peach & floral aromas of the Stoneleigh Chardonnay Marlborough 2013.
What a happy week we all had!