Savour Fall 2010

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FALL AnniversAry 2010

RECIPES:Autumn Bounty

G o u r m e t

On the Farm DELICIOUS&

Fresh NEW FACES

Information & Reservations: 1.800.930.4622spectaculargolf.com

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The Vineyard CollectionThe opportunities that present themselves with our Vineyard offerings are abundant. From a simple cottage nestled in the vines to a successful, working estate you can create the perfect home and business on our vineyard properties. The Vineyard Collection is a distinctive group of such property offerings throughout British Columbia, Canada.

Call our team today for your own private tour.

LOCAL EXPERTISE, GLOBAL CONNECTIONS. | sothebysrealty.ca

*Business Manager. E&O.E: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective Purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal. Independently owned and operated.

The Vineyard ColleCTion 1.877.515.6005 | www.vineyardcollection.caChrisTa FrosCh, maria peTers, Brandon groenVeld, Chad maCTaVish*

Sotheby's 2 pg spread - SAVOUR.indd 1 10-06-30 10:36 AM

The Vineyard CollectionThe opportunities that present themselves with our Vineyard offerings are abundant. From a simple cottage nestled in the vines to a successful, working estate you can create the perfect home and business on our vineyard properties. The Vineyard Collection is a distinctive group of such property offerings throughout British Columbia, Canada.

Call our team today for your own private tour.

LOCAL EXPERTISE, GLOBAL CONNECTIONS. | sothebysrealty.ca

*Business Manager. E&O.E: This information is from sources which we deem reliable, but must be verified by prospective Purchasers and may be subject to change or withdrawal. Independently owned and operated.

The Vineyard ColleCTion 1.877.515.6005 | www.vineyardcollection.caChrisTa FrosCh, maria peTers, Brandon groenVeld, Chad maCTaVish*

Sotheby's 2 pg spread - SAVOUR.indd 1 10-06-30 10:36 AM

COVER:

Chef Natasha's

ChARCUtERIE PLAtEserved at Watermark Beach Resort.

See pages 70-71 for description and recipes.

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Fall 2010

ContentsFresh Start

22

the Crush 17

FEAtURES

GioBean Espresso

43

6 magazine • FALL 2010

Feast of Fields 60

DEPARtMENtS

Contributors ............................. 6

Editor's Letter ........................... 7

Book Reviews .......................... 65

Recipes .................................... 66FEAtURING

WINERy ChEF RyAN FULLER'S Seared Scallops

Paired With

Sumac RidgeEstate Winery's Sparkling Rosé

COLUMNS

Swirl ......................................... 11

Guest Columnist: thE RISE OF WINE tOURISM ........ 29

Restaurant Review thE ItALIAN KItChEN COMPANy . 49

tasting Notes .......................... 52

Savour Spots ........................... 55

Savour Its ................................ 58

COvER StORy

Dirty & Delicious

tour 30

magazine • FALL 2010 7

contributors

Lisa HaRRisOnLisa’s journalism roots get a shot of inspiration as she interviews coffee

connoisseur Giovanni (Gio) Lauretta, owner of GioBean Espresso (Kelowna). As an avid reader and recipe tester, Lisa enjoys creating some tasty selections from Heidi Noble’s Menu from an Orchard Table. She also joins Barbara-jo McIntosh in her travels through Paris collecting recipes and romance in her culinary memoir, Cooking For Me and Sometimes You: A Parisienne Romance with Recipes.

CHEf stEVE MaRstOnChef Marston visits the very popular Italian Kitchen Company in Vernon,

where they’ve been producing good food for the past 16 years. He follows his nose from the kitchen to making his menu selections, and is pleasantly surprised by the results.

RHys PEndER, MWCanada’s youngest Master of Wine takes us along for a first-hand experi-

ence of the crush. From picking through bottling, Rhys captures vintage nature winemaking during the annual autumn harvest.

REMy sCaLzaRemy writes about food and travel for the National Post,

National Geographic Traveler, and wine-related publications throughout Canada and the Unites States. In this issue he examines the rising tide of immigrants entering our country to work in the wine and culinary industries as they make a fresh start in their new homeland.

HELEnE sCOttWith more than 20 years of experience as an educator and

writer in the wine industry in South Africa and the Okanagan Valley, Helene loves to share glass of wine and a great meal with friends. In this issue, Helene prepares an early Thanksgiving feast to sample her recommended wines for our tasting notes.

sWiRLIn every issue, the Swirl column strives to cover the news of the wine, culinary, and

hospitality industries: recent events; sponsorships; new products, people, and businesses (or significant changes to existing ones, including promotions and transfers). Our team invites contributions and pictures for consideration either in our print magazine or online. Please contact us at [email protected].

guest columnisttHE Okanagan WinE fEstiVaLs sOCiEty

The 2010 Fall Okanagan Wine Festival marks three decades for this successful organ-ization. It is a tribute to their vision of the local wine industry (and the attributes of the Okanagan Valley) that it continues to grow in popularity. With four distinctive festivals offered throughout the Valley, the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society provides positive eco-nomic activity and international awareness to our region.

Publisher Chytra M. Brown

Managing Editor Joyce D. Wegner

Art Director Donna Szelest

Contributors Roslyne Buchanan Lisa Harrison Chef Steve Marston Rhys Pender Remy Scalza Helene Scott Dona Sturmanis Juliette Williams

Cover Photograph Shawn Talbot

Contributing Photographers: Chris Mason Stearns, Dona Sturmanis, Joyce D. Wegner, Juliette Williams, Lionel Trudel, Lisa Harrison, Roslyne Buchanan, Shawn Talbot, Stephanie Seaton

All other photos supplied are mentioned on photo.

Account Managers Kathie Nickel Murray Hicks Angus Cathro Roy Kunicky

National Sales Jesse Kunicky

Administration Joanne Clarke

To subscribe: [email protected] Magazine is published quarterly by

Prosper Media Group Inc. Copyright (2010)

Prosper Media Group Inc.101B-1979 Old Okanagan Hwy.Westbank, BC V4T 3A4P: 778-755-5727 F: 778-755-5728

President Craig N. BrownVice President Noll C. Derriksan Grand Chief WFN, U.B.C.I.C.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement No.7296429.Publication Mail Agreement No. 41835528The views expressed in Savour Magazine are those of the respective contributors and not the publisher or staff. No part of this publication may be produced without written consent of the publisher.

PRINTED IN CANADA

ISSUE 5 • VOLUME 2


Pantone 485 C:0, M:95, Y:100, K:0

The logo should not be de�ned by a red shape; square, rectangle or circle.The logo is placed on a red background that bleeds on the surface it is applied.

In House. By Hand.

WItH Love.366 Bernard ave KeLoWna 250.862.2909

Mimi’s Italian Grill

SAVOUR MAGAZINEBanner AD : L 8.25 po x H 1.625

4 colour

Leanne Beler Marketingcell. 250 864-6427

LOCOMOTIVE-DESIGN 604 676-8848

happy Anniversary!One year ago, we launched our premiere issue at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. Your comments, your support, and your suggestions

are a continuous source for our inspiration. Thank you for inviting us to participate in your events, informing us about your products, or teaching us about new culinary, wine, and cultural experiences.

An epicurean revolution is happening in our valley. In past issues we have focused on the challenges of our local farmers with farmgate sales; we have featured the slow food (cittaslow) movement in Naramata; we introduced Kootenay cuisine; and we embraced the coming together of culinary, wine, and food producers through events such as this year’s 2nd annual Feast of Fields which we support as title sponsor.

In this edition, I return to Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos and experience the outcome of general manager Ingrid Jarrett’s passion-ate quest to create custom culinary tours in the Okanagan Valley. It is her dream to educate and inspire people to return to the origins of their food, where ingredients are wrapped and comfortable in their own skin, simple, fresh, and wholesome. Come with me and experience the best of farm life — both dirty and delicious.

Thanks to innovative leaders like Ingrid Jarrett, we were inspired to approach other industry members to participate in our brand new editorial board as we strive to push our journalistic integrity to an even higher standard in our second year of publishing.

Welcome to our editorial board members:

• Jessie Campbell, Marketing, Manager Tourism Penticton

• Geoffrey Couper, President, Okanagan Chefs Association

• Gene Covert, Owner/Manager, Covert Organic Farms & Dunham & Froese Winery

• Ingrid Dilschneider, Director of Sales & Marketing, Predator Ridge Resort

• Ingrid Jarrett, GM, Watermark Beach Resort & VP Finance, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

• Paul LaGrange, Owner, Passatempo Restaurant

• Rhys Pender MW, Owner Wine Plus+ As we celebrate our first anniversary, I would like to acknowledge the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society as they enter their 31st year in

the Valley. Their success and longevity in our community are enviable achievements that we aspire to in our years ahead.

Joyce D. WegnerManaging [email protected]

letter from theeditor

Fall 2010

170 McLeod Street, Salmon Arm , BCwww.culinaryinspirations.ca

ph: 250.832.1585

"a friendly and welcoming place to linger and peruse

the selections of import and regional specialty food products."

"a friendly and welcoming place to linger and peruse

the selections of import and regional specialty food products."

culinary inspirations gourmet & speciality foods

come and discover your . . . come and discover your . . .

what a gift your magazine has been to us! We now look at the Okanagan

with new eyes and have been organizing adventures inspired by your articles when we have a few days off.

You introduced us to the Naramata Bench in issue one and we fell in love with the area, while marveling at the variety of wineries that opened their doors and welcomed us in. We have not yet managed to arrange a trip to God’s Mountain Estate, but it’s definitely on our bucket list!

We had not imagined that wineries would offer rooms for guests. You’ve sparked the imagination and now it’s up to us to make the plans.

The ‘Tasting Notes’ you’ve included in each issue has been invaluable when we are plan-ning our trips to the wineries. We now can go looking for specific wines to add to our home wine cellar while finding fabulous new ones that we never would have tasted.

Finding out what is available and the quality of the chefs preparing unique dining experiences has made an enjoyable adventure into a stellar memory. How wonderful it’s been taking friends and relatives out for lunch or dinner and being confident that everyone will be totally delighted with their food, service and surroundings. Thank you for the recipes which are so descriptive that even I am willing to give them a try!

After reading your Summer 2010 issue it looks like we’re going to have to broaden our travels. It’s been almost 40 years since we’ve travelled to Nelson and it seems we need to take some time and experience something very special.

We anxiously await your next issue and congratulate you on the past year.

Brenda and Ted Fisher, Kamloops, BC

thank you so much for the press in the “Organic Revolution” article in your

summer issue.Organic is a term that is meant to be used

only when the ingredients and process are certi-fied by an independent third party. This system is important, as it is the only way consumers can trust the claims being made. By includ-ing a winery in the article that is not certified organic, nor in transition to organic, the article endorsed an organic claim that is not qualified. This diminishes the importance of certification, and can lead to the word ‘organic’ losing its meaning, and the door opening yet wider for false and misleading claims.

The qualifications are very stringent, both in the vineyards and in the winemaking. At Summerhill, we work under strict legislated guidelines to make wine in a truly minimal-intervention fashion, as many standard inputs are not allowed. This means we endeavor to grow the highest quality fruit possible without the aid of pre-packaged disease control and arti-ficial fertilizer. We must work to create healthy vineyards with strong eco-systems, and then our winemaking is an expression of nature and terroir rather than a factory process.

The word ‘organic’ is regulated by a federal national standard, and the CFIA can levy fines for false claims, on labels or in print. The word “organic” is also now making its way through our BC provincial legislature to become pro-tected regionally. I hope in the future, it is not used misleadingly by those who are clearly green-washing.

Sincerely,Ezra CipesChief Operations OfficerSummerhill Pyramid Winery

Editor’s Note: As writer Rhys Pender points out in The

Organic Revolution (Summer 2010), there are varying definitions of the word “organic” within our vernacular. He also notes that while some wineries mentioned within the article do not claim to be “certified organic,” they are using sustainable techniques and environmentally responsible practices.

We do applaud Summerhill’s efforts in protecting the term ”organic” for those who have gone to the significant lengths to achieve certification. For more information about the descriptor “organic” within our government guidelines, visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website: www.inspection.gc.ca (searchword: organic).

letters to theeditor

Your feedback is important to us.

Let us know how we're doing or share your experiences preparing our

featured recipes. We may publish your comments in our next issue.

WE LOVE tO HEaR fROM yOu.Email us: [email protected]

www.tour ismwestside.com

Rural Sophistication

Mission Hill Family Estate

Limited quantities available at the winery or �ne dining establishments in B.C.

“Fragrant aromas of peach, orange blossom and creamy

lemon biscuit. Rich mouth feel with a supple palate and

refreshing acidity. Finishes light and delicate...a versatile food

wine, great with seafood”.GRAHAM PIERCE, WINEMAKER

www.blackhillswinery.com

It’s just so easy to belly up to a tasting room bar, quaff

back some Pinot Gris or even some Merlot before you

can spell Loire. Wine is everywhere here. On roads like

Bottleneck Drive and Corkscrew Drive, the wineries come

Travel down the small, twisted roads of the

Thompson Okanagan and sooner rather than later

you’re going to find something worth drinking. The

region, now boasting more than 130 wineries offers

wine drinkers a distinctly un-Napa experience. Not

that there is anything wrong with Napa, but you can’t

get to Napa in 45 minutes from Calgary or Vancouver.

WINE IN EVERY DIRECTIONYou can start your tasting at the architectural wonder,

Mission Hill, complete with a 12-story bell tower, a

childhood dream of proprietor Anthony Von Mandl.

Then, you can head south and along the way from

Kelowna to Oliver, the Wine Capital of Canada, you hit

Bottleneck Drive. Here 11 wineries hide in a surprisingly

friendly suburban landscape where, more often than

not, the winemakers man the tasting room.

But this is only a taste of the food and

wine of the Thompson Okanagan. Mouth

watering yet? Explore the Thompson

Okanagan this fall and indulge in its

flavours. Get delicious special offers and

four more vacation/pairing getaway ideas

at www.thompsonokanagan.com/savour

Or, you can head north where Northern winemakers are

defining how to make wine in unlikely places. If there is

a place where cool climate wines go to die and end up

in heaven, this is most definitely it. Near Salmon Arm,

a surprising middle of BC hotbed of artisanal cheese

makers, farmers markets, plenty of wineries and all

around tasty goodness, there is still more to taste – like

the hardy and unusual varieties at Larch Hills Winery

and Recline Ridge.

A TASTE OF THE THOMPSON OKANAGAN: FALL 2010 | thompsonokanagan.com/savour

PAIRED UP WITH THE REGION’S BEST ACTIVITIES.

Like a local

&EAT DRINK

&FOOD

in every shape, size, and experience. From garage-based

tasting rooms or those where you buzz the family to

come down and let you in for a taste, to epic stop-and-

pinch yourself moments at exotic Tuscan-like villas.

thompsonokanagan.com/savour

FROM EXECUTIVE CHEF BERNARD CASSAVANT AT WILD APPLE, MANTEO RESORT

WATERFRONT HOTEL & VILLAS, KELOWNA

Heirloom tomatoes.“Without a doubt.”

Espresso braised beef short ribs with a red wine, roasted shallot reduction-made with First Nations-produced beef at Black Creek

Ranch in Kamloops.

Anything from Okanagan Sprits in Vernon. “Frank Deite’s raspberry frambois is just

unbelievable.”

The Risotto at RauDZ’s with duck sausage or wild boar. And if they have it, the snap

pea risotto is “wicked.”

Pan seared-star anise-infused salmonat the Wild Apple.

Roasted plum tatin-served with sundried yam and pecan ice cream and paired with

a Rustic Roots plum wine.

THINGS YOU HAVE TO TASTE

6

F O O D G E TAWAY S

SAVOUR.indd 1 8/31/10 9:43 AM

By Joyce D. Wegner

our warm summer weather finally arrived in time for the Okanagan Symphony Mid Summer Gala at Mission

Hill Family Estate Winery. A spectacular celebration of the symphony’s 50th anniversary, the golden themed celebra-tion shone as brightly as the sun. The stunning Okanagan gala was complete with live performances from some of the symphony musicians and talented jazz singer Anna Jacyszyn. The winery’s loggia and Chagall room were full of an enticing selection of silent auction items — travel packages, culinary experiences, wine cellar collectibles and original works of art. Net contributions totalled in excess of $85,000. Savour is proud to be a sponsor of the Gala as this is the organization’s major fundraising event.

Winery chef Matthew Batey, with the assistance of chef Bernard Cassavant (Wild Apple Grill, Manteo Resort), served up an extravagant four-course dinner, each course paired with a thoughtful selection of Mission Hill’s exquisite varietals and vintages. What a tasty, delightful way to support the symphony! A more traditional way is to become a regular subscriber. The 51st season commences in Kelowna on Friday, October 15. Canadian-born violin-ist Jasper Wood will lend his talent to the beauty and power of Beethoven’s incomparable Symphony No. 5.

Inspired by my symphony experience, I accepted the honour of introducing concert pianist Elizabeth Rebozo at Kelowna’s first annual PianoForte Festival at the Mary Irwin Theatre. Formerly from Cuba, Rebozo earned her Master of Music in Piano Performance at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, where she now resides. Festival organizer Vincent Collado did an outstanding job in bringing a collection of amazing pianists (including young local performers) to our hometown stage. It was an inspiring event and I look forward to attending again next year.

Fall 2010

The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society (OWFS) announced the first ever British Columbia Wine Awards. Hosted by the OWFS, the judging for the BC Wine Awards will take place over three days from October 3–6 at Manteo Waterfront Resort in Kelowna and is open to all wineries in BC that make wines from 100% BC grown fruit. The competition is expected to attract over 600 entries from wineries throughout BC.

Jazz singer, Anna Jacyszyn lends her golden pipes to the Okanagan Symphony Gala.

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Concert Pianist Elizabeth

Rebozo holds the keys to a

memorable performance.

Winners will be announced at a public event, the Medal Winners Wine Reception, where patrons can mix and mingle with winery owners and winemakers and best of all be the first wine consum-ers to taste the award winning wines. The public awards event will take place on Friday, October 8 at 2 pm at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

The Gold Medal Plates Competition will take place on Friday, October 29 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver. Okanagan chefs, Stuart Klassen (Delta Grand, Okanagan), Roger Sleiman (Old Vines Patio, Quail’s Gate Estate Winery), Cameron Smith & Dana Ewert (Joy Road Catering) are competing for spots at the Canadian Culinary Championships hosted by the Delta Grand, Okanagan from February 18-19, 2011.

JoieFarm started out the year with the prestigious award as British Columbia Winery of the Year from Washington based Wine Press Northwest. Their Noble Blend 2009 won Best White Wine in Show at the prestigious Riverside International Wine Competition in California. The Riverside judges also saw fit to award JoieFarm the Terroir Trophy for the winery “that displays the best regional character in its wines.” However Heidi and Michael’s best collaborative project arrived with the birth of Theodore Miles Dinn on May 10, 2010. Both mom and baby have been spotted in the vineyards. And we’re happy to support the “Noble” cause by reviewing Heidi’s popular cook-book, Menus from an Orchard Table, in this issue (page 65).

In August, I joined Tasting Room Radio host and celebrity

wine connoisseur Terry David

swirl

. . . in the pursuit of HARMONY

. . . the taste ofEXCELLENCE

250.768.97003361.Glencoe Rd.

West Kelowna BC V4T 1M1

kalalawines.ca

Winner of Organic and International Awards

Terry David Mulligan of TastingRoomRadio.com.

Cameron Smith and Dana Ewert are

on their way to the Gold Medal Plates

Competition in Vancouver.

Authentic Italian Dining

Enjoy a sensory experience

where each course is

savoured, every aroma

enjoyed and taste treasured.

1451 Ellis street, Kelowna BC(Downtown Cultural District)

For Reservations:

250.763.3110

Fine Italian Dining

www.labussolarestaurant.com

Mulligan, James Gordon (Flight Centre Travel Guys), Jo Leary (Vancouver View Magazine), Siobhan Chretien (Canadian Tourism Commission) and Cheryl MacKinnon (Getawaybc.com) on an extensive tour through the South Okanagan cour-tesy of Ingrid Jarrett (GM,

Watermark Beach Resort, Osoyoos) on a fascinating culinary/wine tour including a sampling at Seven Stones. The winery is only in its fourth season of operations yet has managed to land eight medals including gold and silver in the prestigious All Canadian Wine Championships and silver at the Northwest Wine Summit.

Resident winemaker, George Hanson poured a selection from their medal winners. The hardware shows up in every sip. “Taste the terroir,” George says as he explains the enviable soil profile that exists within his 20-acre estate and an additional five-acre parcel below. With production of a mere 2500 cases it’s no wonder they consistently sell out of their awarding winning wines.

At Stoneboat Vineyards, Tim Martiniuk’s engaging presence reminded me that even though every wine has its own personal-ity, part of the adventure of touring is discovering the personalities behind the wine. Tim poured for us some of their award winning pinots (gris and noir) and their amazing and rare pinotage. The contemporary tasting room raises the wine bar with a baby grand piano neatly tucked into one corner. After a lively and entertain-ing tasting, we gently twisted Tim’s pouring arm to tickle the ivories for us. It was an unexpected pleasure in an extraordinary

afternoon. To experience the tour in its entirety visit www.tastingroomradio.com (Archive: August 14, 2010).

After more than 20 years guiding the strategic and marketing activities of wineries from BC and beyond, industry consultant Christine Coletta, along with her husband Steve Lornie, is launch-ing Haywire Winery. Their first wine will be a 2009 pinot gris from the duo’s Switchback Vineyard located in Summerland, BC.

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George Hanson pours gold

behind his bar.

Beauty in a bottle at

Stoneboat Vineyards.

With an M.Sc. Oenology from Adelaide, Australia, Andrew has worked the past couple years at a prominent Australian winery. EauVivre also has new signage and is now a member of the BC VQA program.

Larch Hills Winery is a little treasure hidden in the Tappen Valley of Salmon Arm. Jack and Hazel Mansur were serving behind the tasting bar during my visit. I had the pleasure of tasting their signature Ortega that earned a gold medal at the Cellars of the World 2010 with their 2008 vintage. For equine lovers, Larch Hills is a trail ride away from Skimikin Lake Trails and Campground where there are eight equine spots. Jack says, “We often welcome groups of trail riders that stop here at our tasting bar.”

Antony Buree has opened a new tasting room, Perseus Winery & Vineyards, on Vancouver Hill in Penticton at what was formerly Synergy Winery & Vineyards. Tony is well known in the industry and is enjoying this new endeavour.

Another industry veteran, wine and vineyard photographer Brian Sprout has opened Spierhead Winery off Spiers Road in Southeast Kelowna. Tom DiBello, award winning winemaker (formerly from

CedarCreek Estate Winery), is the wine consultant. The winery label mimics the nearby landmark of Layer Cake Mountain. With an epic view of the Valley from the tasting room, the winery is nestled into a slope with an underground barrel room. Open only weekends, it will be closed for the winter season.

EauVivre Winery and Vineyards in Cawston has acquired Andrew Windsor as their new winemaker.

Hazel and Jack Mansur welcome visitors at Larch Hills Winery.

swirl

Andrew Windsor is the

new winemaker at EauVivre.

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Recline Ridge Vineyards & Winery has new owners: Graydon and Maureen Ratzlaff are from the Lower Mainland and looking forward to enjoying their retirement in Salmon Arm. I visited their charming tasting room in July while Maureen was still unpacking boxes from their move. Siegerrebe is their flagship wine

with the 2008 vintage winning a silver medal at the All Canadian Championships. Maureen also

won our collectible Savour apron from our draw at the summer wine festival up at Silver Star Mountain Resort.

The Savour team enjoyed another delightful stay at the Pinnacles Suite Hotel up at Silver Star Mountain Resort during the Okanagan Summer Wine Festival in August. (It is sad to say that this was the last OWFS event up on the mountain; watch for the new location next year.) With gorgeous sunny weather in a spectacular mountain resort setting, the festival was another success. Our booth was very busy giving away our summer issue and our congratulations to the winners of our prizes, a vintage apron and a set of Riedel cab-merlot glasses (courtesy of Tracy Gray, Discover Wines). Surrounded by colourful Victorian architecture over 450 guests sampled wines at tasting stations scattered along the main outdoor walkway of this quaint village. My loyal companion Winston was a big hit as he welcomed visitors to our booth with his royal Corgi charm and grace.

One of the many people I met during the summer festival was Roseanne Van Ee, award winning guide and owner of Outdoor Discoveries, an eco-tour operation based out of Silver Star Mountain. Rosanne offers seasonal adventures from a myriad of snowshoe tours in the winter months to "wildflower, bear and berries" expeditions in the summer and popular mush-room safaris in mid October. She’s talked me into joining one of her many experiences, so stay tuned…

Dave Prystay of the Penticton Lakeside Resort & Casino has opened a brand new restaurant onsite. The Bufflehead Tapas Lounge was formerly Magnum’s. It has a new look, new menu, and new energy with a dedicated ladies’ night every Wednesday. (A bufflehead is a duck, similar in species to the hooded merganser for which the Lakeside’s waterfront restaurant is named.) I’m

looking forward to checking it out soon!

While visiting the Salmon Arm Visitor Centre, I followed my nose and walked straight into the elegant yet casual dining room of Table 24. I admitted to the hostess that the aromas coming from the kitchen had compelled me inside. “Oh,” she laughed, “that happens all the time.” I enjoyed a tasty three-course dinner that was an exceptional value at $34.75. Owner

Lenny Wells explained that his chefs source local

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Cas

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“... well worth the quest.”Jurgen Gothe, Georgia Straight

Introducing our truly unique Prosecco-style Chardonnay

Recline Ridge Winery has new owners, Graydon and Maureen Ratzlaff.

The Bufflehead Tapas Room at the

Penticton Lakeside Resort & Casino

Located in the Penticton Lakeside Resort 21 lakeshore dr. w penticton bc

Sunday to Thursday 5 - 11 pm

Friday and Saturday 4:30 - 11 pm

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Hooded MerganserBar Grill Marina

Open for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Daily 7 am - 1 am

250.487.4663

PASTA & TAPAS ROOM

ingredients to feature in their menu. The restaurant’s kitchen is located in the former jail of this historic building, which served as the city’s courthouse for many years.

New chef Ryan Fuller at Cellar Door Bistro, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in Summerland has introduced the Small Plates Menu. Sally Sharpe, Regional Manager of Hospitality for Vincor, explains the concept. “It is the perfect culinary complement to our wine flights. Each small plate provides a unique taste combination to the wines presented in a flight.” Check out Ryan’s recipe on page 67.

There were plenty of plates being passed around at the second annual Feast of Fields with a sold-out venue at Brock Farms in

Okanagan Falls. Our Savour booth was hopping with entrants hoping to win our popular Savour aprons. Tiffiny Richardson (Vancouver) and Suzanne Burbidge (Powell River) won our vintage aprons and Scot Adams, director of sales, Sysco (Kelowna) won our classic BBQ apron. Anna Sears (Kelowna) won our grand prize. She took home tickets for two to all the events for the Gold Medal Plates Culinary Championships taking place in Kelowna next February.

We look forward to hosting a booth at the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. It’s always a pleasure to see old friends and meet new ones. Come and visit us! Or keep in touch at [email protected].

Chef Ryan Fuller

introduces the Small

Plates Menu at Cellar

Door Bistro.

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yswirl

thECrushBy Rhys Pender

there is a palpable excitement in the air, almost visible as your breath

escapes into the cold fall morning. The pickers gather, hands in pockets against the chill, waiting for the commands that will determine which grapes will be the first to be harvested and begin the process into becoming wine. The excitement of harvest is about to begin.

Heads together, the winemaker and viticultur-ist are busy discussing the plan for the day, the start of a long few weeks of logistics. Theirs is the craft of balancing the realities of what a winery can process with the ultimate goal of quality. It is a daily challenge to pick each variety of grapes at their peak while making sure there is the man-power, the press capacity and the tank space to handle the incoming fruit.

The excitement is at least partly due to the long wait finally being over, another season of weather successfully navigated. Pests and diseases have been averted, yields have been bal-anced and ripening has completed. Bursting with sugar and flavour, the fruit is now ready. The first step of making wine, the growing of the grapes, is done.

Grapes ready for fall harvest.


Pickers are given buckets and secateurs and sent into the rows, and the busy process kicks into gear. Bins fill, tractors run back and forth and the harvest team works quickly through the vineyard, the vines suddenly devoid of the fruit that has taken months to mature. The morning sun rises higher in the sky and layers of pickers’ cloth-ing are shed with the rising temperatures, the warm Indian summer ripening the late maturing varieties waiting for the winemaker’s nod in the untouched rows.

As the bins start to accumulate on the crush pad, the machines are readied and the winemaking team takes over. They are charged with making the most of what the vineyard has to offer in this vintage. As the saying goes, you can’t make good wine from bad grapes but you can sure mess up perfect fruit in the winery. This is the pressure the winemaker is under — a one shot deal for the year, decisions made that are worth hundreds of thousands or sometimes millions of dollars. A forklift begins to lift the bins, dumping the grapes first into the destemmer-crusher to remove the green stems and gently break open the grapes, a system that is designed to make the juice flow freely once they fall to the press waiting below.

The press fills, the door is sealed and the first cycle applied to inflate the giant airbag that will gently squeeze the juice out of the grapes. A sweet, fresh, ripe fragrance fills the winery as the sticky sugar-filled juice falls into the pan and disappears into a hose running to a wall of shiny stainless steel tanks ready and waiting to receive the mixture. After a quick dose of sulphur dioxide to protect against oxi-dation, some juice is mixed the winemaker’s favourite strain of yeast and then added to the tank.

As the grape juice, or must, begins to warm, the yeast starts its work, feeding on the sugars and converting them to alcohol. The must starts to become wine. And with the onset of alcohol fermen-tation comes the dangerous carbon dioxide gas that can starve the air of oxygen leaving workers unable to breathe, something that has taken countless lives amongst those who have made wine over the millennia.

All the while, as the juice ferments into wine, the temperature rises and must be monitored. Kept cool, 15–18˚C, the white wine will preserve those fruity and aromatic components and encourage a long slow fermentation. Glycol coolant is pumped through a special jacket surrounding the tank to give precise temperature control. For the winemaker, the commitment to the harvest is total, and the winery will become home for weeks if not months while the young wines are nursed through to a state of dryness — the signal that fermenta-tion is complete and problems such as stuck fermentations have been avoided.

the crush

The crush begins.

Snippers at work.


the crush

The smooth flow of grapes from vineyard, to crush pad, to cellar is the result of many months of planning, and in some vintages can be a logistical nightmare if Mother Nature doesn’t deliver ripeness to the assorted grape varieties in a steady and staggered manner. Equipment has been cleaned, repaired and tested, everything done that could avoid a cog in the wheel to break down and cause a backlog that could easily ruin a batch of grapes or wine.

From the first grapes that enter the winery, the crush pad will be a busy progression of different varieties as they reach their individual ripeness and maturity, a kaleidoscope of different colours and aromas. As the weeks progress, the mornings become even cooler and the sun stays low in the sky. Pickers leave their layers on against the cold. The risk of a cold snap becomes more of a danger. If grapes freeze on the vine, it prematurely ends the ripening process and threatens the quality of the vintage.

The initial excitement begins to wear off. Weeks of 18+ hour days without a break become a burden of hard labour to the team. But even-tually the light appears at the end of the tunnel. The wines filling the cellar with their varietal aromas start to clarify as the fermentations

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come to an end and the yeast, now dead, falls to the bottom of the tank to become lees.As things slow down, equipment is cleaned and the vineyard prepared for another

winter. The quality of a vintage is already starting to emerge in the young wines, wines that will spend somewhere between a few months to a few years in the cellar before they are ready to be bottled.

There is something about the completion of a harvest: the accomplishment of being a part of a natural process. The grapes, now safely guided through the winemaking process, have completed their annual cycle. And as the wines are tasted, adjusted, finished and bottled, it is a one-time experience never to be repeated. Nature captured in a bottle — a new vintage created for us to enjoy.

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Waiting for pickup.Autumn in the vineyards.

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even on the hottest days of summer — those 35-degree

scorchers when a plunge in Osoyoos Lake offers but fleeting relief — Andrew Moon holds fast to his fashion mantra. “I always wear trousers in the vineyard, never shorts,” he explains, speaking in an Aussie accent so thick it would put Crocodile Dundee’s Paul Hogan to shame. “I guess that comes from being struck by so many snakes back home.” Viticultural manager at Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver, Moon emigrated from Australia to the Okanagan with his family one year ago. He still loves his Vegemite on toast, has to think twice about which side of the road to drive on and isn’t ready to give up his trousers yet. But that doesn’t mean he’s planning on returning home anytime soon.

Fresh StartsNew immigrants enrich the Okanagan’s food and wine scene

By Remy Scalza

Andrew at work in the vineyard.Facing Page: A nice place to work – Tinhorn Creek Vineyards. magazine • FALL 2010 25

fresh starts

“My wife and I are currently doing the residential paperwork to stay in Canada,” he says. “That’s how keen we are. We love it here.” They’re not alone. The Okanagan’s emergence as “Napa North” has attracted a new tide of immigrants from around the world, special-ists in wine, food and hospitality bringing international expertise and flavour to the region. The lures for newcomers are multiple. From rel-ative obscurity, the Okanagan has skyrocketed to wine celebrity over the last quarter century, offering unparalleled prospects for winemak-ers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and beyond. With great wine has also come an influx of discerning wine tourists and corresponding opportunities for restaurateurs, artisan food makers and boutique hoteliers from around the globe. Add to that the Okanagan’s balmy climate (for Canada at least) and epic geography of lakes and mountains and you’ve got a magnet for international migrants.

It was a mix of economics and serendipity that brought Moon and his family to the Okanagan in July 2009. Drought, recession and bloated grape harvests had conspired to ravage the Australian wine industry and the multinational agribusiness where Moon was growing grapes went belly up. Like many job hunters, he turned to

Andrew at work in the vineyard.

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the Internet. Six months into his search, his wife got a surprise phone call about a prospect. “I was sitting on a tractor ditching a field when my wife rang me,” he explains. “She said, ‘There’s an awesome job. There’s just one thing – It’s in Canada.’” Six weeks later, the couple and their three young children were on a plane, lives packed into eight overstuffed suitcases. Overnight, their world was turned upside down. “We were standing in the middle of Vancouver airport with our bags and our kids screaming at us,” Moon says. “We were thinking, ‘What the hell have we done?’”

Adapting to their new life in the Okanagan remains an everyday struggle — but one that’s getting easier all the time. Fresh off the plane last July, the family of five had to shack up in roadside motels and a trailer park for a month before finding a place in Oliver. That was just the beginning. “It was like my wife and I were 16 again. We had no credit at first,” Moon says, laughing about the experience now. “We went to a Canadian Tire and got a $200 Mastercard and started the credit trail.” Between testing for new drivers’ licenses and enrolling the kids in school arose an unexpected challenge: language.

Andrew Moon, Viticulturist, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.

fresh starts

The Moons’ 12-year-old son, Josh, is deaf and communicates using Auslan, Australian sign language. But in Canada, American Sign Language — an entirely different system — is the standard. While Josh now studies at a specialized boarding school in Burnaby, the rest of the family has been busy taking American Sign Language lessons to get up to speed.

Of course, in between building a new life in Canada, Moon also has professional responsibilities.

These days, he spends much of his time in Tinhorn Creek’s vineyards along the Golden Mile and Black Sage benches. Days start early, at 4:45 a.m., and often extend deep into the hot afternoons as his team tends more than 150 acres of vines, tucking, trimming and making sure weeds are kept down. The most trying part of the season lies ahead: During harvest, 14–hour days are commonplace, a labour-intensive slog that has little parallel in the highly mechanized

A day outside of the office – the vineyards at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.

fresh starts

Australian vineyards. But Moon would have it no other way. “I was pretty dis-enchanted after working for a huge agribusiness in Australia. We had 12,000 hectares of vines - that’s probably the size of the Canadian wine industry in one company,” he explains. At Tinhorn, he has been able to introduce cutting edge irrigation technology, in a setting where profits and cost cutting aren’t the sole priority. “I think this is a pretty incredible place to grow grapes. I’ve never seen anything like the gris, the gewurz and the chardonnay that comes from the Okanagan,” he says, glowing over soil and climate conditions around the region.

For Moon, life in Canada is a work in progress. He’s been on ice skates, skied Apex and learned to love the Canucks. But there are still a few things from the Australian outback he can’t do without. “I miss lamb. My God, I miss lamb! You can get it here, but it’s very expensive.”

And with a full year of Okanagan living under his belt, Moon has begun to notice a change. “It’s starting to feel like home,” he says. “It teaches you a bit about having possessions and what’s important in life.”

Fresh starts — and false starts — are nothing new in the Okanagan. For generations the region has represented a promised land, drawing succes-sive waves of fortune seekers and free spirits. Following trails blazed by fur traders, the first gold prospectors swept into the valley more than 150 years ago — footloose adventurers hoping to strike it rich in the dry mountains and canyons. When gold didn’t pan out, ranchers followed, fattening their cattle on Okanagan forage and their wallets in the 1890s beef boom. Later, prompted by government land grants, vets from World War I would stream in, trading the battlefields of Europe for the orchards of the Okanagan and helping turn the valley into Canada’s fruit basket. Recent times have seen dreamers of a different sort: retirees seeking reprieve from harsh winters, wine pioneers enamoured of Okanagan grapes and emigrants from abroad in search of their Canadian Shangri-La.

This is a refrain echoed by new (and not so new) immigrants across the Okanagan. Look closely, and the contributions of international food and wine gurus are everywhere in the valley. Mission Hill owes much of its acclaim to pioneering winemaker John Simes, who emigrated from New Zealand all the way back in 1992. Canada’s largest certified organic vineyard, the Kalala Estate Winery in West Kelowna, is the passion of proprietor Karnail Singh Sidhu, who relocated from India in 1993. And Burrowing Owl’s award-winning wines received a big boost this year with the addition of South African winemaker Bertus Albertyn. These and other immigrants sought a fresh start in the Okanagan, not only leaving their marks but also making the valley their home.

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reputation as an intimate gathering of wine education, fine cuisine and spectacular winter recreation. It is held over 10 days in late January and attracts an affluent well-traveled adult oriented market that is active in winter recreation and is passionate about fine wine. The four Okanagan Wine Festivals are also complemented by two major wine judging competitions annually. The Best of Varietal competition pro-vides a boost to new releases each spring whereby consumers can learn what are the “best” wines each spring across the major varietals.

The BC Wine Awards takes place during the Okanagan Fall Wine Festival and attracts close to 500 entries. Wineries throughout BC have their wines judged by 12 of the most respected wine judges and awards are presented on a gold/silver/bronze basis. Both wine judging competitions are as important to the industry as the Okanagan Wine Festivals as they provide an important tool to create awareness of the high quality of wines produced in the Okanagan.

As the 30th Fall Okanagan Wine Festival approaches, it is a good time to pause and reflect on the successes of our industry. Our Okanagan wineries have evolved to become leaders in the production of the world’s best grapes and ultra-premium wines and they have also engineered a unique collaboration to market themselves to the world. The Okanagan Wine Festivals has taken the industry lead for sustainable

tourism. With nearly 100 member wineries, 20 tourism members and a select group of brand name corporate sponsors, it has emerged through the past decades as a thriving business model and one of the largest wine tourism marketing ventures in North America.

For more information: www.thewinefestivals.com or www.bcwineawards.com. Or follow us: www.twitter.com/OKWineFests or www.facebook.com/OKWFS.

the year was 1981 when a few Okanagan winery pion-eers had a vision not only to build a superb wine region

but also develop a tourism industry built around the region’s wineries. SeptOberfest was initially launched as an event to celebrate the grape harvest — only a few dared believe that it would become a hugely successful wine festival that is one of the prime economic engines of tourism in BC. Now entering its 30th year, the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival is the senior member of the wine festivals in BC and continues to be ranked for over 10 years as one of the top 100 events in North America. It offers over 130 events during the 10 days leading up to Canadian Thanksgiving. And as time has passed, the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society has created three other Okanagan Wine Festivals — Winter, Spring and Summer — to provide a series of uniquely Canadian events.

The Spring Okanagan Wine Festival will enter its 17th year in 2011. It kicks off the main tourism season in the Okanagan between the first two weekends in May spanning 10 days in total. With the buds break-ing in the vineyards and the orchards in blossom, it is a welcome way for wine enthusiasts to experience the Okanagan when there are few choices elsewhere for wine-related festivities in North America.

The Summer Okanagan Wine Festival has been redesigned for 2011 and will for the first time be held in July in the Okanagan Valley with a focus on food and wine. It will provide the Okanagan with an exciting new event that will enhance the image of the Okanagan as a wine tourism mecca.

The Winter Festival of Wines at Sun Peaks near Kamloops will enter its 13th year in January 2011 and has gained an international

guest columnist

the Rise of WINE tourism By The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society

Blair Baldwin, Allen Tozer, Christina Ferreira


The Summer Okanagan Wine Festival has been redesigned for 2011 and will for the first time be held in July in the Okanagan Valley with a focus on food and wine.


destination/food feature

Dirty DELICIOUS

By Joyce D. Wegner

&Watermark Beach Resort Introduces Custom Tours for the Culinary Curious

vineyard getaways

DAy ONE:DOWN AND DIRty tOUR

i’m kneeling in rows of lush basil. The sun warms my shoulders as I

reach down and pluck away at its leafy greens. I am getting down and dirty, an apt description for the tour of the same name as I harvest the ingredients for my lunch at Harker’s Organics Farm. Down and Dirty is a full day experience that commences at Watermark Beach Resort and is hosted by the resort’s chef de cuisine, Natasha Schooten.

A former member of Delta Hotels and Resorts’ culinary team, she has toured the country working under the direction of some well known talent, including chef Michael Allemeier of Mission Hill Family Estate Winery.

Embracing her grandmother’s passion and respect for food, she has developed a back-to-basics cooking philosophy that incorporates fresh, local ingredients. Chef


dirty & delicious

Natasha is a solid supporter of locally grown produce, meat products, and wine. She has combined her gastronomic passion for freshness with Watermark’s General Manager, Ingrid Jarrett, to create a unique and tasty culinary approach to destination travel.

Our group is a friendly mixture of wine enthusiasts who are eager to examine the roots of farm life. Less than 30 minutes ago, we climbed into the touring van at the resort with chef Natasha acting as our guide. The view from the passenger window quickly transformed from the eclectic retail centre of Osoyoos’ Main Street to the scenic two-lane highway (Crowsnest #3) where fruit stands skirt a colourful patchwork of apple, peach, apricot or cherry orchards that hem the surrounding hillside.

It is a georgic collection of charming country cottages and ram-bling farm homes that are modest in comparison to the dramatic architectural influences of the neighbouring estate wineries. My travel mates, who are almost entirely visiting from the busy burbs of the Lower Mainland, lap up the bucolic scenery like kittens to cream.

For me, it is a romance of memories from my childhood days of visiting the Okanagan when we’d come to collect our bounty of fresh fruit, produce, and preserves to stock our pantry for another winter season. It is steeped in these recollections that I have arrived at the farm and find myself kneeling in fields of basil. I relish the flavour of freshness on my lips and the pungent smell of farm dirt beneath me. Delicately crisp in texture, the tender leaves offer a sweet zest of tang that easily identifies it as the lemon variety. Lime, cinnamon, spicy bush, and Christmas are just a few of the ten distinct flavours that are grown in this expansive field.

Troy Harker, fifth generation farmer and co-owner, is directing our group through his farm as we gather the ingredients for our al fresco lunch. His enthusiasm for his job is as refreshing as his produce. “We harvest 40,000–50,000 pounds of Roma and about 80,000 pounds of field tomatoes every year,” he says with a grin as he leads us along a narrow path of tall tomato vines. He stops and invites us to pluck

vineyard getaways

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a few of the cherry variety that hang in bright red clumps. I pop one into my mouth and bite into a ripe explosion of sweet juicy goodness.

Troy continues the tour taking us to the greenhouse where he grows an exotic mixture of micro-greens that are exclusive to restaurant sales. “This is bulls blood,” he explains as he clips the tops of the beet inspired micro-green that has a delicate purple leaf with a sweet taste. High maintenance and challenging to grow his varied micro-green collec-tion wholesales for $50/lb. He tosses a generous portion into our growing lunch harvest. Chef Natasha collects the bounty and leaves us to prepare our lunch while we satiate our picker’s thirst with an introduction to the farm’s partner business, Rustic Roots Winery.

Troy’s wife Sara is the winemaker and looks very much at home in the tasting room adjacent to the fruit stand. Above the wine tasting bar is a series of photographs depicting

vineyard getawaysdirty & delicious

each of the five generations of family history. Balancing on Sara’s hip is the sixth generation, her 11-month old daughter, Akaya. Troy’s sister, Alysha, pours us wine as Sara explains her practical approach to winemaking.

“Utilizing tree fruits helps not only our farm but other growers remain sustainable in the challenging markets of the orchard indus-try,” she says. It makes sense to tap into the phenomenal growth of the surrounding vineyards and estate wineries by producing compa-rable varietals with tree fruits. The cherry wine is similar in taste and presentation to a pinot noir, the plum to a rosé, the apple/pear to a gewürztraminer and their dessert wines are an economical and deli-cious choice to the region’s trademark and highly valued Icewine.

We sample at the tasting bar until we’re invited for lunch on the grounds of the family’s heritage home and under the leafy canopy of a 110 year-old Fameuse tree. This historic snow apple tree is featured

on their wine labels as a symbol of the deep roots of the Harker family and the generations of pride that go into every bottle.

Chef Natasha has set out a feast that spreads the length of two picnic tables: baskets of bread baked at Okanagan Grocery made from organic flours, a colourful vegetable dish of grilled peppers and arti-chokes, an irresistible plate of charcuterie, tasty lamb coil from Two Rivers Specialty Meats and our salad mixture of organic and micro-greens and tomatoes harvested earlier from the farm. Accompanying the bounty is the chef’s own in- house prepared red onion jam, apricot peach mustard, smoked tomato chutney and lemon basil vinaigrettes.

Winemaker Sara joins us, still bouncing baby Akaya on her hip. Troy and his mom Kathy sit across from each other at the far end of the table, happy to share in our experience. “There’s wine on the table,” Sara offers. The apple-pear blend is a hit with the spicy lamb while the plum finishes nicely with the grilled peppers.

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“You know I’ve never eaten a tomato directly from the vine,” admits Joe, one of our group, during lunch.

“How was it?” I ask.“It was marvelous!” he exclaims as he re-fills his plate. “I had no idea what to expect

when I decided to come on this tour, but I’m sure glad that I did.”

Troy and Kathy nod in agreement. “This is exactly the experience we want to share,” says Troy. “So many people are removed from the origins of their food. It’s really gratifying to introduce them to the process, the care, and the quality of farm freshness.”

We return to Watermark Beach Resort where I relax in our luxurious surroundings. Located at the end of Main Street in down-town Osoyoos, this new and influential property has raised the standard of overnight accommodation in the once sleepy summer cottage community.

Rooms are configured in one and two bedroom suites that are family and pet friendly, with fully equipped kitchens and comfortable outdoor patios, offering lake, pool, city or mountain views. I have been for-tunate enough to be a guest at the resort on several occasions. As much as I appreciate the warm earth tones of the interior décor with all the conveniences of home including com-plimentary organic coffee, herbal teas, and

luxurious bath products, it’s the warm and genuine service from the staff that always makes my stay so pleasurable.

Tomorrow I will enjoy another custom culinary experience featuring the farmer, the winemaker, and the chef. Chef Natasha that is.

DAy tWO:The Farmer — Covert Organic Farms with Dunham & Froese Winery

A scenic country drive from Osoyoos and nestled at the foot of McIntyre Bluff is the location of Covert Organic Farms and its sister winery, Dunham & Froese. Founded by George Covert in 1961, the farm is now oper-ated by the next generation with son Gene handling the operations. The 2010 recipient of the province’s Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year, Gene and his wife Shelly are com-peting for the national award this November.

Certified organic, the farm is a major leader in quality fruit and vegetable pro-duction in the Okanagan. With fields of tomatoes, sweet onions, sweet corn, and strawberries, the farm also has peaches and greenhouses plump with assorted peppers. “We encourage u-pick with everything but the muskmelons, which take a particular skill to determine ripeness,” says Gene.

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The bustling fruit stand shares space with the winery’s tasting bar plus a busy seasonal deli and patio that features Mexican dishes — Pancho’s Country Market. Gene jumps into our tour van to guide us around the acreage. Our first stop is in the vineyards. “This is the southeast corner of the property,” he explains. “It’s ideally located in the narrowest part of the Okanagan Valley and, as you can see, under the shadow of McIntyre Bluff. This is the sweet spot for our grapes — merlot, cabernet merlot, petit verdot, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah.”

We continue onto the vegetable fields and witness pickers and families side-by-side filling their crates, picking pails, and baskets, while children run playfully between the rows. It’s an idyllic picture that emphasizes the farm’s goal to reconnect children with their food source.

Gene has invited us to sample the freshness of his farm’s labours with a picnic lunch in a quiet shaded area just beyond the fruit stand. The meal is a casual affair paired with the Dunham & Froese 2009 Amicitia White Blend of sauvignon blanc, semillion, and viognier. “Amicitia means friendship,” Gene translates for us as he sets a sharing plate on the table. Lemon and Armenian cucumbers, straw-berries, thornless blackberries, French fillet beans and slices of Rising Star peaches are a colourful and tasty starter to our picnic gathering.

The blueberry salad is almost too pretty to eat. Purslane greens that grow wild throughout the valley are artfully tossed together with blueberries, artichoke hearts, crumbled dry feta, almond slices and sundried tomatoes. An Amaranth Green Quiche (creamy with smoked Gort’s gouda cheese, farm fresh eggs and sundried tomatoes) is a melt-in-your-mouth experience that leaves us begging Gene for the recipe.

Between the trees adjacent to our picnic table a pair of hammocks swing empty in the breeze. Great wine, great food, and an empty hammock? I can barely resist the temptation to fall into this glimpse of heaven but we have a wine date with some Red Angus beef.

The Producer — Sezmu MeatsSeriously, we are on our way to the stockyards to meet the world’s

only wine fed beef. The big red cows are finished in their last 90 days with one litre of wine per day. Founders Janice Ravendahl and her brother Darryl are familiar with the exceptional marbling qualities of the Red Angus breed from their ranching days in Saskatchewan. “When I relocated to the Okanagan and saw the prevalence of wine in the region, I thought it might be a good idea to feed it to the beef,” says Janice. “And after testing the concept the idea just took off.”


dirty & delicious

Cabernet heavy, the wine provides fresh, earthy qualities to the meat and combined with the marbling allows the finished product to be more forgiving to amateur cooks in the kitchen. Chef Natasha is preparing Sezmu rib eye for today’s dinner.

The Winemaker — LaStella WineryOur tour continues to the Tuscan inspired winery that liter-

ally translates to “the star” with its Italian style wines and musical labels such as Vivace (pinot griggio), Leggiero (unoaked chardonnay), Allegretto (merlot), and my personal favourite, Moscato (muscat).

The cozy tasting room extends to a large patio with a breathtak-ing southern view of the valley. It is there that Jay Drysdale, business development manager for the winery and its sister winery, Le Vieux Pin, introduces us to what he calls, “the best expression of wines in our region.”

While we sip on the patio I witness constant traffic of visitors who arrive to sample or simply purchase their favourite varietals from behind the bar. It is a tribute to the wine quality from our region that locals support the industry with impressive sales stats. According to the BC Wine Institute, “BC VQA wine continues to be the second-best selling category in BC, with 19 per cent (dollar sales) of the market, ahead of all wine-importing countries….”

Our group contributes generously to those numbers by purchas-ing several cases to be shipped directly home for their convenience.

The Chef’s Table — Watermark Beach ResortMy room is so cozy when I return to the resort that I hate to leave

it but after a refreshing shower I get ready to reap the rewards of our day of touring — at the chef’s table.

As we spent our day touring the valley, chef Natasha was busy in her kitchen preparing a four-course dinner to highlight the bounty of our day. Our group is seated under the open portico of the resort’s

wine bar. It is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere on the patio. In the distance, silhouettes of couples are captured in the fragile strands of daylight as they wander along the lakefront walkway. A gentle breeze creates barely a flicker to the candles placed upon the thoughtfully set table. Our chef is stationed at the outdoor grill preparing our courses with a dedicated team of assistants eager to assist her. Although clearly focused on every dish, she smiles easily at the compliments emanating from our table as we savour each morsel.

Jay Drysdale from LaStella and Le Vieux Pin has rejoined us for dinner and expertly guides us through each course with carefully selected vintages that pair perfectly with chef Natasha’s creations. It is truly a convivial event, full of merriment and appreciation for the labours of love from everyone involved — the farmer, the producer, the winemaker and chef Natasha.

Please note: Custom culinary tours require advance booking through Watermark Beach Resort.

For more information:www.watermarkbeachresort.comwww.harkersorganics.comwww.rusticrootswinery.comwww.covertfarms.ca


dirty & delicious

www.dunhamfroese.cawww.sezumeats.comwww.lastella.ca

ChEF NAtAShA’S tABLE MENU

First course La Stella Moscato d’Osoyoos 2009Temura battered zucchini blossoms with spicy ricotta surprise and micro green summer salad

Second CourseLe Vieux Pin Viola Rose 2009Sezmu Meats Steak Tartar Wilted arugula, fried caper vinaigrette and truffled toast points finished with a poached quail egg

Intermezzo — Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon Blanc 2009Harker’s Organic Farms Tomato Popsicle with smoked basil oil

third CourseLe Vieux Pin Barrel SampleSezmu Meats Rib EyeCarmalized shallots, organic potato salad

and local pan fried vegetables topped with red wine jus

Fourth CourseLa Stella Maestoso 2007Chef’s blue

cheese panna cotta, grilled local peaches and mint honey

www.eauvivrewinery.ca716 Lowe Dr. Cawston, BC V0X 1C2

(250) 499-2655 winery(250) 499-9405 cell

Winery & Vineyards

Savour our Wines ...with your next

gourmet creation

For Wine Cellars, Tasting rooms, restaurant, ceilings or any room imaginable.

Contact Clay Interiors for your personal wall of art.

Tel 250-707-3242Cel 250-859-3242

[email protected]

Simply Natural, Simply Beautiful, Lime Plaster

DATE: October 28, 2010TIME: 6:30 pmWHERE: Predator Ridge ResortTO PURCHASE TICKETS: dinewithsavour.eventbrite.com

Join us for a wonderful evening with Okanagan wines and

special rate of $99/per night.

Book now and be entered to win a spa treatment at the Aveda Spa in Predator Lodge!

G o u r m e t

dineWITH

Each course of this memorable dinner will be presented by Chef O'Neill with every wine pairing introduced by the participating winemaker or proprietor.

evening of dining and pampering in a spectacular world-class golf resort.

301 Village Centre Place, Vernon, BC V1H 1T2Phone: 250-542-3436Fax: 250-542-3835Email: [email protected]

BREATHTAKING VIEW, NO CHARGE.

as many as 1,200 compounds contribute to the unique flavour

of coffee versus 800 for wine. Coffee’s richness develops as the raw bean is roasted, caramelizing the natural sugars and releasing aromatic oils. The final flavour depends on the bean type, where they were grown, their ripeness at harvest, the length and intensity of roasting and, of course, preparation. Few people know how to brew a perfect cup of coffee more expertly than Giovanni (Gio) Lauretta of GioBean Espresso in Kelowna.

Born in Turin, Italy, Gio spent 15 years with Douwe Egberts, one of the world’s largest coffee roasters.While he was their account manager in the United Kingdom, his top client alone purchased 140 tonnes annu-ally. In his role as a trainer, he educated more than 12,000 people including hundreds of managers from Hilton Hotels worldwide. The training involved developing a refined nose and palate for exceptional coffee. He became one of only three accredited barrista train-ers in the UK and judged the UK Barrista Championships. As one of 30 coffee special-ists for Douwe Egberts, he travelled to coffee plantations to meet with growers.

This café, in the lively Arts District in downtown Kelowna, is miles from the Lauretta family’s original plan. Gio and his wife Lucy met at a resort in the Alps two decades ago. She was a tennis pro from England and he worked in hospitality. After

feature

GioBean ESPRESSO

By Lisa Harrison

magazine • FALL 2010 45The line-up at the bar.

initially thwarting his attention (he smiles), Lucy was won over and they married. Gio anticipated a lifetime career at Douwe Egberts in the UK but the Iraq War put a major product launch on hold leaving him ready for a change. The couple and their two children explored western Canada in 2002 including a one-day stop in Kelowna. It was enough to plant the seed.

“Before we stopped here on vacation, we didn’t even know about Kelowna. That one night was enough to see — Wow! This place is fantastic! It has the mountains, skiing and a nice lake.” In 2008, Giovanni and Lucy attended the Emigrates show in London and met a BC immigration officer, who was enthusiastic about Gio’s coffee expertise. The family arrived a year later with a business plan and capital to back their dream.

In a community crowded with coffee shops, Gio’s venture involved an element of risk. “The most important difference for me was my experience in the coffee industry and dealing with so many busi-nesses. I’ve learned that quality, ambiance and customer service are paramount.”

Always a gracious, friendly and attentive host, he frequently pauses to chat with customers. And it’s no wonder he’s on a first name basis with many of them: from the grand opening in March to this late summer visit, he has worked seven days a week. Rather than hiring a manager, he is typically found behind the counter preparing a frothy cappuccino or ensuring the perfect 3 to 5 millimetre crema on a demitasse of fragrant espresso. His teenage children, Claudia and Max, help to serve clients and his wife Lucy handles the administra-tive and accounting responsibilities. Business is brisk. Customers fill the patio on sunny mornings. Indoors, tall-backed, comfortable chairs and soothing décor invite guests to linger over a steaming hot choco-late (white or traditional) on cool evenings.

A tempting selection of biscotti, muffins, croissants and sand-wiches are prepared in the kitchen of the neighbouring Delta Grand Okanagan. Gio raves about the croissants, which are made with dough he imports from Italian dessert maker, Bindi, and baked fresh each morning. Today, the croissants are already sold out by 9:30 a.m. Fortunately, the Delta Grand’s head pastry chef, Olivia Harding, has stopped by to confer about an order. When asked for her second favourite, she suggests banana bread. The thick, moist slice is good and reasonably priced but I’m determined to arrive early enough to try the croissants. When I do, I’m not disappointed. The crispy exterior is dusted with powdered sugar; inside, the pastry is a little more dense and moist than the typical puff pastry style.

Coffees at GioBean Espresso are blends of four to 12 different Arabica varieties. Gio notes that Arabica beans have a more delicate taste and are more aromatic than the “earthier” Robusta varieties that grow at lower elevations.


giobean espresso

The flavour bar

“We use flexible blending because, just like wine, coffee beans can have good and bad seasons. The blend provides consistency.” All of his beans are organic and OTZ Certified. He worked for months with a roaster in Summerland (The Beanery Coffee Co.) to develop his custom blends. Each offers a unique taste sensation.

In the espresso, it is possible to detect marzipan, mandarin and dark chocolate flavours. The medium roast has a nutty baseline and a hint of lemon acidity compared to the velvet body of the dark roast. In the coming months, Gio plans to offer tasting classes to help budding connoisseurs develop their appreciation for great coffee.

gioBean Espresso1340 Water Street, Kelowna, BC250-868-2992

giobean espresso

“For the love of coffee”

Giovanni mans the bar with is daughter

Claudia

For dinner out, a family gathering, home parties or kicking back at the cabin, Tinhorn Creek has the wines for the occasion. � We are proud to show you our 100% estate-grown varietal line up and Oldfield Series wines. � At Tinhorn Creek we sustainably farm our land and create wines of merit. Our 150 acres of vineyards are located on two unique and diverse south Okanagan sites: the Golden Mile and the Black Sage bench. Our ability to blend the grapes from these vineyards and capture the best characteristics of each site sets us apart. � Visit our spectacular estate winery in Oliver, BC and experience for yourself. We will welcome you with open arms.

DRESSED UP & READY TO GO!

NATURALLY SOUTH OKANAGANwww.tinhorn.com

Although coffee franchises offer some excellent products with an emphasis on consistency, independent coffeehouses have steamed into the lead when it comes to one inspired intangible: creativity.

Freed from the strict franchise rules governing everything from the exact recipes for pastries to the décor and even the music selection, independents offer clients a unique experience including menus that change periodically and other surprises.

On any given morning, Pete Borsboom, the baker and co-owner of The Beanery and Bakery in Summerland, chooses local apples for their popular tarts and seasonal fruit for specials. Catering to overheated customers in the summer, Good Earth in Kelowna created a Mocha Affogato described as “ice cream drowned in espresso with a hint of chocolate”. Another item to try is their satisfying spinach, bacon, and cheddar scone. The Bike Shop Café in Kelowna is licensed allowing them to offer a Bailey’s Latte containing espresso topped with steamed Bailey’s and milk.

Other independents excel at ambiance. Stepping into the Marmalade Cat Café in Kelowna is like walking into a large, 1950s country kitchen (no frosted glass or sleek logo here). Pull a wooden chair up to a pine table and peruse the shelves filled with jams, jellies and marmalades. Inside

ESPRESSO yOURSELF By Lisa Harrison

A consistent winner of numerous awards Nationally and Internationally.

Including the coveted Lieutenant Govenor Award

for our 2009 Gamay!

Desert Hills Estate Winery 30480 71st St. Oliver, BC 250.498.6664

the rather non-descript exterior, Green Beanz in Penticton boasts a tall, indoor living tree surrounded by an eclectic green, orange, teal and earthy décor. Pacific Brimm in Penticton, which has excellent cinnamon buns, offers a window seat on the city’s bustling Main Street.

While Tim Hortons has mastered the inexpensively-priced "cup o’ joe," it’s not likely to be a popular meeting spot for a first date. When a speedy visit is not the optimum experience, a coffeehouse with comfort-able chairs and maybe a plush loveseat is the place to cozy up with a cup (ceramic, not paper). The overstuffed chairs and fireplace at KVR Coffee in Kelowna offer an oasis of calm and a nice rendezvous spot in a busy shopping area.

Creative selections can also extend to quality. With more than 40 varieties of Arabica and Robusta beans in the world, coffee should be anything but boring. For example, the Ethiopian Harar is known for its complex, fruity flavour that resembles a dry red wine. Bourbon is a variety that developed on Bourbon Island (now called Réunion) in the Indian Ocean. Around 1708, the French planted a Dutch cultivar that mutated in isolation and now is a heavy producer with an individual flavour. Ask about the unique blends available at your favourite coffeehouse.

giobean espresso

Come Check Out Our

New Menu.

LaunchedOctober 1st

2010

hours lunch: Tues - Fri 11:30 am - 2:00 pm

Dinner: Tues - Sun from 5:00 pm

250 492 9144

Reserveyour

Company’sChristmas

Dinneror Family

Party NOW!

1090 main street Pentiction, BCwww.lacasaouzeria.com

CALLfor

DETAILS

103 - 1180 - Sunset DrKelowna BC

250.979.1222

International Award Winning Wines

Collectables from B.C.’s most Renowned Wineries

Downtown Kelowna’s most Exclusive Wine Selection

Proud partners with Vancouver aquariums Oceanwise program.

Please ask in store for details of our sustainable seafood options.

2355 Gordon DriveGuisachan Village • Kelowna(250) 763-FISH (3474)www.codfathers.ca

Follow us on Twitter@codfathers

MLS# 10016170

Bike Shop Cafe & Catering Co101-1357 Ellis St., Kelowna BC250.861.6858WIRELESS – YES

Cannery Coffee (was Bean Scene North)109-1289 Ellis St., Kelowna BC250.763.4022WIRELESS – YES

KVR CoffeeSuite 109 -1835 Gordon DrKelowna BC 250.860.7818WIRELESS – YES

Marmalade Cat Café 2903 Pandosy St., Kelowna BC 250.861.4158WIRELESS – YES (new)

Good Earth Coffeehouse102-2949 Pandosy St., Kelowna BC 250.448.7768WIRELESS – YES

Lake Country Coffee House10356 Bottom Wood Lake Rd.Winfield BC 250.766.9006WIRELESS – YES

Raina’s Bistro Tea & Coffee House107-5301 25 Ave., Vernon BC 250.503.2021WIRELESS – YES

Green Beanz Café The218 Martin St., Penticton BC 250.493.8085WIRELESS – YES

Pacific Brimm103-399 Main St., Penticton BC 250.490.8725WIRELESS – YES PLUS A COMPUTER FOR $2 FOR HALF AN HOUR

Beanery & Bakery13016 Victoria Rd N., Summerland BC 250.494.1884WIRELESS – YES

Good Omens13616 Kelly Ave., Summerland BC250.494.3200WIRELESS – YES

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! For more information on our four annual Okanagan Wine Festivals, contact www.thewinefestivals.com or email [email protected] or call 250-861-6654. Access our site from your mobile www.owfs.mobi and follow us on twitter/OKWineFests

The Okanagan Wine

FestivalsStart Planning Your Visit to Okanagan Wine Country

Okanagan Spring Wine Festival Savour spring and fine wine in the warm Okanagan sunshine. Described as “one of Canada’s best small festivals”, the Spring Festival is a perfect marriage of wine and culinary tourism. 2011: April 29 - May 8 2012: May 4 - 13

Okanagan Summer Wine Festival Expanding in 2011 from the intimate weekend at Silver Star Mountain Resort to a valley wide festival for guests to come and treat yourselves to wine education, arts, music, gourmet meals, winetasting and outdoor recreation. 2011: July 8 - 16 2012: July 7 - 15

Okanagan Fall Wine Festival This is the only wine festival in North America that takes place during the heart of grape harvest. Enjoy over 165 events throughout the valley including vineyard tours, lunches, dinners, events and the fall wine harvest. 2011: September 30 - October 9 2012: September 28 - October 7

Okanagan Winter Festival of Wine The most unique of all the festivals, the Winter Festival of Wine is held at Sun Peaks Resort. Enjoy winemasters dinners, educational seminars and a unique progressive tasting of acclaimed wines and world famous Okanagan Icewines. 2011: January 19 - 23 2012: January 18 - 22


restaurant review

the very popular Italian Kitchen located on 30th Avenue in

downtown Vernon has been stead-ily producing good food for around 16 years. The visionaries behind this are Brad Brousseau and Paul Moore, who worked for many years in the Vancouver area. They decided to move to the North Okanagan and design a menu bringing together specific and unique items and ingredients they had “borrowed” from fellow restaurateurs. The key to their success has been using strong menu items whilst keeping the overall feel fresh and simple.

This interesting eatery is not overly inspiring from the exterior but as soon as I enter, the open kitchen, the cheery hostess, and the friendly ambiance make me feel welcome. The subtle aromas of oregano, marjoram and sweet basil along with the pungent warm smells of roasting garlic, rich meat sauces and the nuances of exotic spices immediately capture my senses.This is not a typical Italian restaurant. The obligatory red and white checkered tablecloths are missing and the customary renaissance artwork has been replaced with fresh vibrant paintings by local artists displayed gallery-style. In fact, the red brick walls that wrap around the interior and the well-worn floorboards are the only reminders of olde world décor in the place. The menu may appear to offer standard Italian fare but my nose is telling me a differ-ent story, so I am keen to make my menu

thE Italian Kitchen COMPANy

By Chef Steve Marston

choices and find out just what these chefs are creating. For my first selection I pick a platter for two of the Seafood Antipasta, and for my second choice a traditional Italian dish — Tomato Bocconcini. I am pleasantly surprised by the seafood platter. The base plate is covered with chilled ratatouille, capers, candied salmon, olives, rich salsa, goat’s cheese, grilled vegetables, warm focaccia breads and roasted garlic. Sitting in the centre is a sumptuous steam-ing bowl of seafood with mussels, scallops, prawns and calamari. The sauce for this bowl is the first tell-tale sign of true creativity coming from the cooks. Orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and mini black turtle beans — although these are not your typical Italian ingredients, it is very delectable. The salad is pleasantly simple with ripe tomatoes and bocconcini cheese, topped with mesclun leaves then drizzled with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.

For my entrees I choose their Santa Fe and Manzo Fungi pastas. You can custom order your meal from the vast selection of items from the menu. From linguini, spaghetti, fettuccini, fusilli or penne pasta select how you want the dish finished, and there are 14 sauces and garnishes to sample. They have eight in house specials on the menu, with Jambalaya being one of the favourites. Or try the standard fare of lamb or steak or chicken.

restaurant review

Seafood antipasto platter for two

The Santa Fe had an almost Asian flare to it, partly my fault as I ordered linguini as an accompaniment. Once again the turtle beans made an appearance, but the heat for this dish emanates from jalapeños instead of red chillies that you would normally find. The sauce again was wonderful, yet a tad salty. Could this be an over indulgence with soy sauce by the chef? The Manzo, mush-rooms, sun dried tomatoes and strips of grilled sirloin in a cream pesto sauce I had with penne pasta was subtle and rich and very tasteful. For both of these dishes the pasta was cooked perfectly.

I simply had to order the Italian classic tiramisu for dessert but it resembled more of a French mille-feuille in taste and appearance. The Peach and Strawberry Cobbler was a tasty combination of fresh fruit flavours under a rich biscuit crust topped with creamy vanilla gelato. It was everything this farm-style favourite should be including its casual presentation — heaped on a plate straight from the kitchen. The Italian Kitchen should most definitely be visited. To ensure you’re not disappointed about your selection, ask specific questions for each of your choices and insist your server writes them down. My server was very charming and atten-tive but had to return to the table twice to reconfirm my order. The talented chefs have put together an interesting ingredient list for their menu items, maybe not your classic marinara sauces but a great variation on the theme.

There is a good wine selection classically written on a blackboard featuring Okanagan wines with another selection available from a small wine list. These can be ordered by the glass ($7 to $11) or by the bottle ($28 to $45).

RATING: 3.5–4 stars / $$The Italian Kitchen Company2916–30th AveVernon BC 250.558.7899

Photos by Shawn Talbot

L E g E n dRestaurant ReviewRated on Quality, Ambiance, Service, and Presentation.

CHEf’s Rating 1–51. Stay Home and Cook2. Try the Specials 3. Worth a Reservation 4. Delightful Dining 5. Excellent

a La Carte value based on a three-course wine-paired meal.$ (35-45) $$ ($45-65) $$$ ($65-$85) $$$$ ($85+)

Visit our new site: www.loyalhairtherapy.ca

OWN

F I E R C E

tasting notes

thanksgiving and harvest WINES By Helene Scottwith harvest season and Thanksgiving

festivities looming on the calendar, I invited some friends over to enjoy a late summer meal full of traditional autumn recipes and a sampling of wines to match. Much more fun than drinking alone!

Mission Hill Viognier 2008 OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$19Peach and apricot

hints on the nose

follow through on

the palate. Pale

straw colour, the

wine shows a

medium body

and good

viscosity,

the result of

extended lees

contact. May

blossoms

and citrus

linger on the

well-balanced

finish.

3.5 out of 5

Red Rooster Reserve

gewurztraminer 2008

OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$20This wine has a clear

golden straw pre-

sentation. Notes of

rose petals, lime,

lychee, pear drops,

spicy ginger and

allspice on the

nose. This lovely

aromatic wine is

very versatile and

pairs with many

different foods.

Made more in the

Alsatian style but

it has a hint of

sweetness that

remains on the

long aftertaste.

4 out of 5


summerhill Pyramid Winery Pinot noir 2007 OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$27Classic Pinot aromas

of cherry, wild

strawberry, red

currant, earthy,

vegetal char-

acters carry

through from

the nose to the

palate. Gentle

oak gives this

ruby coloured

wine a soft

finish. The wine

is well balanced

and has good

acidity. A 100%

organic wine.

3.5 out of 5

NUANCE WINE FINER

We test-drove the Nuance wine finer at one of the busiest wineries in the Okanagan Valley. It performed extremely well. Primarily designed for aeration, it also filters sedi-ment, and catches pesky drops for a clean pour.

This sleek and elegant wine finer is easy to clean — just a quick rinse under the tap. It is convenient for every-day use and it enhances that special older bottle of wine. A recommended gift for any wine lover.

Suggested retail price is $34.99

www.wineaerator.ca

La frenz Liqueur Muscat nV OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$20 for 375mlThe quintessential dessert wine — rich floral, sweet rum and raisin

flavours, caramel and cinnamon. Soft although fortified and at

18.5% alcohol. Made in the solera system. This wine with its rich

taste is a good example of “less is more!” Completely decadent

with pumpkin pie or peaches and cream.

3 out of 5

arrowleaf Pinot noir 2008 OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$18This is a lovely lighter style pinot noir with strawberry, cherry and soft

red berry aromas. These flavours are evident on the palate with added

gentle spice and pepper. The soft, well-integrated tannins make this a

very easy wine to sip and enjoy. Perhaps a touch short on the after-

taste, but still has a lovely fruity finish.

3 out of 5

stoneboat Vineyards Pinotage 2008 OKANAGAN VALLEY, BC

$25The favourite wine of the evening!

Not the typical jammy style we

have come to expect from this

grape variety that originated in

South Africa in 1925 (a cross

between pinot noir and hermit-

age/cinsaut — the brainchild of

Prof. Perold). This wine exhibits

rich dark fruit, spice, buchu, earth

and plum flavours reflected in the

vibrant garnet pour in the glass.

The soft tannins make this a very

easy wine to enjoy.

4 out of 5

Vanilla PodTapas + Wine Bar

9917 Main StSummerland250-494-8222

open from 5:30phone or emailfor reservations

[email protected]

thevanillapod.ca

The Vanilla Pod on Main Street in Summerland - the perfect pairing of

food and wine.

The Vanilla Pod

A DIVISION OF FIRST WEST CREDIT UNION

Calling Your Great Big Bank

Calling Valley First

Become a member-owner today for a chance to wina trip for two anywhere in Canada that Westjet flies

when you call, we answer

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banking . borrowing . insurance . investing

A DIVISION OF FIRST WEST CREDIT UNION

visit www.valleyfirst.com to find your nearest branch

LOS hUESOSBy Dona Sturmanis

It’s always an adventure trying to find authentic Mexican food in the Okanagan. Los Huesos in Vernon is a just such a find. Sometimes a plate of chicken enchiladas with home-made rice and beans and sides of fresh, hand-cut salsa and guacamole are just want you want for lunch...or dinner.

Yet the whole array of Mexican favourites are to be had here including filling tortilla soup, enchiladas, enfrijoladas (tortillas in black bean sauce), stuffed jalapeno peppers, green chile carnitas (simmered pork) and more.

Family-owned and operated, this relaxing, colourful downtown eatery opened three years ago. Co-owner Brenda Bright translates Los Huesos from Spanish to “the bones” and refers to the savory stocks on which many of the house-made sauces are based.

Trained chefs from Mexico City do the cooking. “The flavour of old Mexico and the cosmopolitan style of Mexico City are combined in our dishes,” says Bright. And many of their recipes are from grandmothers and aunts who still live there.”

Lunches are under $10; dinner items between $10 and $20.

2918 30th Ave.Vernon, BC

Mon–Sat 11:30am–2:00pm;

5:00pm–9:00pmLicensed

250.275.4820

savour spots

Stay™

|

in the okanagan

Stay in spacious 1, 2 or 3 bedroom suites near local vineyards and amazing restaurants. Call 1.877.737.6782 or visit www.bellstar.ca/savour

Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa - oSoyooS BC

Bella Sera Tuscan Villas & Piazza - kelowna BC

Strand Lakeside Resort - vernon BC

Stay™

|

in the okanagan

BURGER 55By Roslyne Buchanan

Taking “a burger your way” to a new level, Burger 55 is a worthwhile detour. Steve Jones and Chris Boehm’s brainchild was born in reaction to a lot of boring burgers on Vegas road trips and a 55 speed limit etched in memory. For their funky little licensed burger joint, and true to the travel theme, the guys transformed one of Penticton’s oldest buildings — a vintage tire shop. The concept is a burger custom built to your craving. Grab a clipboard there or go online to check off a list of the components, sides and beverages. If you can’t decide, select the burger of the month or let them freestyle it. With a goal to buy locally and use fresh ingredients, all patties and 90 per cent of the sauces are handmade on site.

85 Westminster Ave. E., Penticton, BCMon–Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 11am–7pm

778.476.5529 [email protected] www.burger55.com

L’ISOLA BELLA BIStRO By Dona Sturmanis

L’Isola Bella, “the beautiful island,” is named after owner Andrea DiMaggio’s birth island Sicily. He left his hometown of Palermo ten years ago, and began creating menus from traditional recipes before he opened his restaurant three and a half years ago with his wife Bobbi.

What’s wonderful about L’Isola Bella is that you can eat hearty Italian dishes for both lunch ($10+) and dinner ($15+) and anti-pastos that include three types of bruschetta ($6.95) plus there’s a take-out menu.

The Da Vinci Panini is a particularly scrumptious lunch suggestion with zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, onion and an eggplant and roasted red pepper spread, grilled between Mozzarella and Edam cheese. Or, you can choose from a series of classic pasta dishes including Gnocci (potato pasta).

Dinner entrees range from traditional pasta to light salmon, Veal or Chicken Parmigiano or Spicy Pollo Cacciatore — chicken with tomato sauce, chipotle pesto and roasted red pepper. They all come with steamed vegetables, spaghetti and bread.

By far the most requested dish is Linguini Neptuno (with shrimp and prawns), according to Andrea. “It’s a recipe from my country, like my family used to make.”

3250 Berry RoadLake Country, BC

Lunch Mon–Fri 11am–4pmDinner Tues–Sat from 4pm

Licensed250.766.7625

www.lisolabella.ca

Phot

o by

L’is

olaB

ella

Bis

tro

POPPADOMS — tAStE INDIA! By Juliet Williams

Poppadoms may mean “light appy” in India, but the menu at this authentic Indian restaurant embraces the country’s regional cuisine. Signature dishes such as Lamb Popsicles, Dosa with Sambar, and Halibut Fusion Curry Tender share the menu with Britain’s national dish, Tikka Masala (Butter Chicken). Local wines are featured on their wine list with plans for custom labels and vintages from Desert Hills Estate Winery in Oliver, BC.

Poppadoms recently launched the tiffin lunch delivery program. A tiffin is a four-section stainless steel tower with a collapsible handle that offers two vegetable servings, one meat serving, and a dessert ($10–$12). Mimicking the successful office delivery program in the populated cities of India, the restaurant offers a variety of regional choices (Goa, North/South India, Britain and Punjab) from Monday through Saturday. Lunch orders taken by 6:00 p.m. (online/phone) the day before will be delivered within city limits for a minimum fee and the empty tiffin collected later the same day .

Enjoy the taste of India in the family friendly atmosphere and con-temporary décor of Poppadoms.

Poppadoms118–948 McCurdy Road

Kelowna, BC(Grand 10 Complex)

Mon–Thur 11:30am–4pm &

4:30pm–10pmFri-Sat

11:30am–10pm Sun

4:30pm–10pmLicensed

778.753.5563www.poppadoms.ca


savour spots

The Okanagan Symphony gratefully acknowledges everyone who contributed to this very special event! The Okanagan Symphony Orchestra plays an important role in enhancing the cultural vibrancy

of our community. It assists in supporting the economic sustainability

of the Okanagan so all our residents and visitors alike can benefit.

DONORS: Big White Ski Resort, Air Canada, Graham & Judy Burns, Gallery Odin – Kalman and Maria Molnar, Delta Grand Okanagan, Chef Stuart Klassen - Delta Grand Okanagan, George Galbraith, Robert Genn, Victoria Regent Waterfront Hotel & Suites, Watermark Beach Resort, Amante Bistro, Chef Michael Lyon – Hotel Eldorado, Chef Bernard Casavant CCC – Manteo Beach Resort, Chef Rod Butters WCC - RauDZ Regional Table, Olympian Emily Brydon, Julie Elliot, Fairmont St. Andrew’s-Scotland, Kenna Graff, Michael and Marsha Laub – Lake O’Hara Lodge, Soleil Mannion, Cheryl McFadden, TD Canada Trust Music, Chef Steve Marston - A View of the Lake Bed & Breakfast, Wedgewood Hotel & Spa Vancouver, Kalli Jewellers, Lori Mairs, Angelika Jaeger, Mary Smith McCulloch, Passatempo at Spirit Ridge, The Coast Plaza at Stanley Park, Naramata Heritage Inn & Spa, Kelly’s Orchard Plaza Cleaners, Penticton Lakeside Resort, Little Creek Gardens, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, Helene Scott, Green & Bear it!, Laurel Point Inn, Pat & Linda Aldous, Rhys Pender-Master of Wines, Hester Creek Villas, Jigsaw Trading Company, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, The Banff Centre, Juniper Hotel & Bistro - Banff, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Walley & Marietta Lightbody, Bread Company, Heinz Boshart & Sylvia Lange, Kerry Bourdon, Predator Ridge Resort, Sutton Place Hotel-Vancouver, El Dorado Hotel- Sonoma, James Harder, Gold Medal Plates, Brin de Soleil Guest Suites, Mouldings & More, Okanagan Limousine, Dominic Petraroia – Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Annegret’s Chocolates, Wayside Printers, Lynden Beesley – Atelier Pom, John Walker & Lisa Noseworthy, Valorosa Foods, Brian & Laurie Postill, Terry David & Meg Mulligan.

SITe STagINg: Tim WatsonTRavel SpONSOR: Air CanadaFlORal pRODucT: Bylands NurseryaRTwORk appRaISalS: Hambleton GalleriesphOTOgRaphIc SeRvIceS: Lynda Miller, Jean Willerton, Marina MacKenzie

DONaTINg wINeRIeS: 8th Generation Winery, Amati Corporation, Arrowleaf Cellars, Beaumont Family Estate Winery, Black Hills Estate Winery, Burrowing Owl Winery, Camelot Vineyards, Cedar Creek Estate Winery, Cerelia Vineyards and Estate Winery Inc., Crowsnest Vineyards, Desert Hills Estate Winery, Discover Wines, Dunham and Froese Estate Winery, Ex Nihilo Vineyards, Forbidden Fruit Winery, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Gray Monk Estate Winery, Herder Winery, Hillside Estate Winery, Inniskillin Winery, Intrigue Wines, Jackson-Triggs Estate Wines, Kalala Organic Estate Winery Vineyards, La Frenz Winery, Lake Breeze Vineyards, Little Straw Vineyards, Mission Hill Family Estate,Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery, Naramata Bench Wineries Association, Nk’Mip Cellars, Noble Ridge Vineyards & Winery, Okanagan Spirits, Orofino Vineyards, Okanagan Villa Estate Winery, Osoyoos Larose, Paradise Ranch Wines Corp,Pentage Winery, Poplar Grove Winery, Quails’ Gate Okanagan Valley, Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery, Raven Ridge Cidery Co. Ltd, Ruby Tuesday Winery, Road 13 Vineyards, Rustic Roots Winery, Sandhill Vineyards, See Ya Later Ranch, Seven Stones Winery, Silk Scarf Winery, Sonoran Estate Winery, Stoneboat Vineyards, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Tangled Vines Estate Winery, Tantalus Vineyards, Thornhaven Estates Winery, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, Tree Brewing Company, Vincor Canada.

MuSIcIaNS: Edmund House, Dennis Colpitts, Susan Whyte, Elizabeth Wocks, Anna Jacyszyn, Neville Bowman, Rob Hogeveen, Jim Howie, Tim Watson,Reynold Epp, Jim Hopson, Cindy Hogeveen, Wade Dorsey, Bob Rogers,Chelsea Vandenberg.

hOSTS: Rosemary Thomson & Terry David MulliganaucTIONeeR: Mike Ritchie

Thanks to the gala committee, and special thank you to the many volunteers who assisted in the organizing, set-up, and production of the event evening.

Thank You!

Dr. Duncan & Monica Innes

Graham Burns

OKANAGAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

1960-2010www.okanagansymphonymidsummergala.ca

TITle SpONSOR:

veNue SpONSOR:

MeDIa SpONSORS:

SaFe DRIve hOMe:

keY SpONSORS:

The Okanagan Symphony would like to thank all the participating sponsors, donors and volunteers

savour itsFOODS ALIvEFormerly an interior designer specializing in kitchens and bathrooms, Afke Zonderland now helps you use that amazing kitchen space in your home for great and healthy meals. Her slogan: “We eat what we show and share what we know.”

Based in Grindrod, BC, Afke runs Raw Gourmet workshops for a fresh food experi-ence every Thursday and the first Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Group and classroom presentations are available. She will also provide dinner pre-sentations and workshops in the comfort of your home with eight to ten confirmed guests.

In operation for three years, Afke sources all her products from local farms. Some of her products are available in health food stores like Nature’s Fare in BC and Alberta. At Feast of Fields she offered samples of her marinated dehydrated kale with sesame seeds, and a dehydrated jalapeño and hemp-heart cracker with a cashew dill sauce.

92 Stroulger Rd., Grindrod, BC

250.838.2005 www.foodsalive.ca

By Helene Scott

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tWO RIvERS SPECIALty MEAtSJason Pleym has a vision to support producers who use sustainable farm practices. He and his team also want to foster a relationship between the local farms that provide the products and the people who consume them — the chef, the retailer, and the customer. They source their meat from small local farms in the Lower Mainland. “We believe our customers should know where their food is coming

from,” he says, “and that it is produced ethically and naturally.” The result is the fresh, natural taste of their products.

Opened in 2007, their butcher shop supplies wholesale products to restaurants and retail outlets. Stephan, their German sausage maker, dazzled the crowd at Feast of Fields with his tasty lamb sausage. Other Two River products that are rapidly appearing on menus and specialty food stores include game birds, pork, venison, buffalo and duck.

180 Donaghy AvenueNorth Vancouver, BC

604.990.5288www.tworiversmeats.com

POPLAR GROvE ChEESEThis wonderful hand crafted cheese has been produced at the Naramata Bench location of Poplar Grove Vineyard for over six years.

Although their Tiger Blue is their most well known variety, Gitta Sutherland and her team of cheese makers reward many travelers to a variety of samples in the winery’s tasting room.

All the cheeses from this boutique producer are created from pas-teurized cow’s milk and sold in the cheese shop. They are also available in retail outlets, delicatessens and wine shops in major centres in BC, and at a handful of locations in Alberta and Ontario. Many of their home province’s top restaurants feature Poplar Grove cheeses on their menus or in their dishes.

Cheese Shop HoursApr & May weekends only 11am–5pm

Jun–Oct daily 11am–5pm

1060 Poplar Grove Rd Naramata, BC250.492.4575

www.poplargrovecheese.ca

savour its


By Helene Scott


FarmFolkCityFolk’s second annual Feast of Fields provided a delightful introduction of city folk to farm folk’s work environment (the stunning Brock Farms in Okanagan Falls), and the mouth-watering delicacies that greeted the enthusiastic participants at every station.


feast of fields

Conversations were plentiful as one wandered from table to table, wine glass and cloth napkin in hand, sampling with the 32 exhibitors the bountiful wonders that this region has to offer. Live music, award winning wines, festive ales, a marketplace to purchase tempting products and a seductive tasting menu, all under the glow of a late summer sun.


feast of fields

It was a very pleasant way to while away an afternoon.


feast of fields

FEASt OF FOOD IN thE FIELDS

Raspberry cured snapper, fingerling potatoes and corn salad, bean slaw in a soft flat-bread wrap — Rod Butters (RauDZ Regional Table)

Halibut ceviche with anise brûlée, Little Creek Farm’s organic tomato jam and carrot Bellini, served on a vine leaf and paired with Gray Monk’s Rotberger — Chef Bernard Casavant, Wild Apple Grill, Manteo Resort

BC albacore tuna with compressed watermelon, kalamata olive, cucumber and candied orange peel, served with Wild Goose Vineyards’ Gewürtztraminer — Codfather’s Seafood

North Okanagan stuffed saddle of rabbit and braised wild boar belly, cured Schinken accompanied with a garnish of fresh garden fruits and vegetables — Chef, Roger Sleiman, Quail’s Gate Old Vines Restaurant

Heirloom tomatoes and balsamic caramel candy apple on a basil leaf napkin with a refreshing glass Cipes Rosé and Cipes Vintage 2008 Sparkling Wine — Chef Jesse Croy, Summerhill Sunset Bistro

Cedar jelly cured salmon gravlax on bannock bread with Anjou pear salad, or Mediterranean seafood marinated with fresh tomato, basil, toasted pine nuts on a home-made crisp — Chef Heath Cates, Harvest Golf Club

Bite size heirloom tomatoes from Harker’s Farm with Natural Pastures’ buffalo moz-zarella and Vinegar Works’ balsamico blend reduction; Two Rivers Meats’ sausage coil with house-made mustard red onion jam and smoked tomato chutney — Chef, Natasha Schooten, Watermark Beach Resort

Butter chicken, Blackwell Dairy yoghurt, Wolfgang’s grain and Red Fife roti, Eldorado Farms’ tomato, mint and cucumber and Arlo’s Honey Farm’s ice cream — Chef Mark Filatow, Waterfront Wine Restaurant

Slow cooked sockeye salmon with grilled corn-bacon salad and arugula emulsion — Chef Paul Cecconi, The Local Lounge and Grill

Lois Lake steelhead cured in Brainy Bee wildflower honey; fruit nibbles cake and Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan’s yoghurt cheese with lavender — Chef Stuart Klassen, Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel & Resort

Barbequed Sezmu beef sirloin with Brock Farm vegetables — Chef Ned Bell, (and co-owner) Cabana Bar & Grille

Cobb salad sandwich (adobo- and Falcon Ridge Farm honey-cured BC salmon, grilled boar bacon, heirloom tomato and avocado salsa, hard-boiled quail eggs, organic micro greens, preserved lemon and Carmelis Chevry aioli on Gellatly heritage nut bread) — Bonfire Restaurant & Bar

Slow braised suckling pork on sweet bell pepper cornbread and mole poblano, paired with their pinot gris, rosé and pinot noir — Lake Breeze Vineyards

Pinot Noir 2006

GOLD MEDALWine Access 2008

Canadian Wine Awards

Great wines begin here!All Mt. Boucherie wines are made with 100% Estate grown grapes from the family vineyards in Westbank, Okanagan Falls and Cawston. At over 300 acres it is thelargest family owned and operated vineyard and winery estate in British Columbia.

VISIT OUR SCENIC WINE SHOPPE TO TASTE AWARD WINNING WINES

AND EXCITING NEW RELEASES

OPEN DAILY: 10AM - 6PM

829 DOUGLAS ROAD, KELOWNA, BCTEL: 250 769-8803

TOLL FREE: 877 684-2748

www.mtboucheriewinery.com

feast of fields

book reviewsBy Lisa Harrison

Book title: Menus from an Orchard tableauthors: Heidi noblePublished by: Whitecap Bookssoftcover

Available at Penticton Wine Country Info Centre, Amazon.ca, Chapters, Mosaic Books (Kelowna) and other local bookstores$34.95

Cooking classes with guests dining al fresco in the setting sun at Joie Farms have passed into history but the moments are captured splendidly in Menus from an Orchard Table. In this 320-page book, Heidi Noble shares her adventure on the front curve of the slow food and local food move-ments. In 2004, Noble and her husband Michael Dinn opened a cooking school where students explored five-course, seasonal menus paired with wine. To simplify eating locally, each menu includes the names of local producers for cheese, fruit, wines and other items. Profiles of these resilient and creative entrepreneurs are fascinating. As a professionally-trained chef, Noble has a B.A. in Philosophy and Western Literature. Her book is an engaging story married with a tantalizing collection of recipes. Lush, colour photography by Chris Stearns captures the flavours: from the formidable bite of the Red Onion and Thyme Tarte Tatin to the silky sweetness of the Bittersweet Chocolate Tarte with port.

Book title: Cooking for Me and Sometimes you: A PARISIENNE ROMANCE WIth RECIPES author: Barbara-jo McintoshPublished by: french apple PressHardcover

Available at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks in Vancouver and online: www.bookstocooks.com $29.95

Barbara-jo McIntosh, a trained chef and owner of the well-known Books for Cooks shop in Vancouver, takes a delicious journey: a month in Paris to cook, explore and flirt with love. She can almost hear the clop, clop of horses from a century earlier as she steps into the flat she has rented, an old, converted stable with Herringbone wood floors and antiques yet with a modern kitchen. Combining storytelling and recipes, she channels the genteel sweetness of Jane Austen through the lens of a spirited, savvy 21st century woman. She is smitten with all that makes Paris remarkable — the architecture and people but especially the restaurants, shops and cafés. Back in her flat, she cooks for herself and others as she creates 47 recipes such as her wonderful (and surprisingly easy) Wild Salmon with Artichoke Butter. The dark linen cover, soft pencil drawings and a purple satin ribbon to mark the thick, creamy pages add to the book’s nostalgic charm.


recipes

autumn's bounty


Serves 4

12 U10 scallops5 tbsp (80 ml) vegetable oil

Sparkling Cranberry Raspberry Dressing

1/2 cup (120 mL), fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup (120 mL) fresh, or frozen raspberries

1/2 cup (120 mL) Sumac Ridge Estate Winery Sparkling Rose

1/4 cup (60 mL) honey1 vanilla bean

zest of one lemon1/2 cup (120 mL) vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste2 bulbs fennel cut in 12 slices

Chef's note: scallops are sized by the maximum number per pound. U10 means "under 10", so these are large scallops.

appetizer

Seared Scallops

with Grilled Fennel and Sparkling Cranberry Raspberry Dressing

By Winery Chef Ryan Fuller

In blender combine cranberries, raspberries, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery Sparkling Rose, zest of one lemon and honey. Cut vanilla lengthwise in half and scrape seeds into blender. Slowly add oil to emul-sify, season to taste with salt and pepper.

FennelCut greens off top of fennel and reserve for garnish. Cut fennel bulbs in approx 1cm strips starting at the top down into the root. Oil and season, place on grill and mark, lightly cook until “al dente.”

ScallopsHeat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan on high heat. Take scallops and dry between paper towel, place on a plate and drizzle with remaining oil, season with salt and pepper. Turn heat down to medium high, place scallops gently into pan and allow to sear. When scallops come off pan and are golden brown turn over. Turn heat to medium and cook for approximately four minutes more.

To serve: Arrange warm fennel on plates, as desired, place one scallop on each. Garnish with fennel fronds. Drizzle dressing lightly over scallops and fennel and around plate. Serve and enjoy.


WinE RECOMMEndatiOn:

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery Sparkling Rose.

heirloom tomato Salad

from Chef Natasha Schooten


recipes

Yield: 4 Salads

Salad2 heirloom tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 ball (175 g) buffalo mozzarella, torn into 12 pieces

Balsamico ReductionYield: ¼ cup

3/4 cup (200 mL) of red wine vinegar 1 1l2 cup (400 mL) of white balsamico vinegar

4 cups (1 L) port 2 tbsp (30 mL) honey

Put both the vinegars in a saucepot and bring to rapid simmer until the liquid is reduced by one third. Add the port and keep reducing at rapid simmer rate. When liquid is reduced by half, add in the honey and reduce until syrup consistency. Store at room temperature until ready to use.

To serve: Use a pastry brush, “paint” a line of reduction across the bottom of each plate. Add two pieces of tomato and three pieces of buffalo mozzarella, arranging as you like.

Top with a nice kosher salt and a little of the canola oil, then finish with the balsamico reduction.

WinE RECOMMEndatiOn

Apple Pear Blend (Rustic Roots Winery)

VINEGAR WORKS (Rosso [Red] and Bianco [White] Balsmico Vinegars)FAIRBURN FARMS (Buffalo Mozarella)HIGHWOOD CROSSING (Organic First Press Canola Oil)HARKER FARMS (Heirloom Tomatoes)


recipes

Originally intended as a way to preserve meats, the craft of charcuterie began in Roman times with the introduction of meat products that have evolved into terrines, pates, sausages, salami and other cured meats.Today, charcuterie is part of a chef’s repertoire as a way to express their creativity and artistry by featuring local or house made meats and cheeses served with tastefully prepared accouterments that bring an exciting selection of flavours to broaden any menu.For the home chef, charcuterie offers a casual dining approach where guests can sample a variety of meats, cheeses, chutneys and pickled items in traditional European fashion.

Charcuteriefrom Chef Natasha Schooten

cover recipes

APPLE AND CRANBERRy ChUtNEyYield: 4 Cups

2 tbsp (30mL) butter1½ cups (350 mL) dried cranberries

6 apples, peeled and chopped½ cup (120 mL) brown sugar

zest of one lemon¼ cup (60 mL) fresh ginger, minced

1 red onion, minced ½ tsp (2.5mL) chili flakes

¼ cup (60 mL) rice wine vinegar1 tsp (5 mL) mustard seeds

¼ tsp (1 mL) kosher salt¼ cup (60 mL) flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until the onions are soft, about seven minutes. Add the ginger, chili flakes, and mustard seeds. Cook for two more minutes. Add the apples, cranberries, brown sugar, vinegar, lemon zest and salt. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the cranberries are soft. Remove from the heat and add in the parsley.

To serve: Perfect accoutrement to a cheese platter featur-ing classic Gouda, old Cheddar, Camembert, and Brie selections.


LOCAL PLUM & PORt GRAINy MUStARD Yield: 1½ Cups

¼ cup (60 mL) yellow mustard seeds2 tsp (10 mL) brown mustard seeds¼ cup (60 mL) port wine¼ cup (60 mL) red wine¼ cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar ½ cup (120 mL) plum puree zest and juice of 1 lemon½ cup (120 mL) dry mustard 2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar¼ tsp (1 mL) ground allspice2 tbsp (30 mL) cold water

Place all ingredients in an airtight container and let stand for 24 hours. Pour mixture into a food processor; pulse the mustard until desired consistency.

To serve: The quintessential condiment for a traditional charcuterie plate with salami, blue cheeses, lamb merguez sausage accompanied with medium rye, Red Fife or alpine style breads.


cover recipes


White Black Bean Soup

from Chef Steve Marston

recipes

Serves 6 to 8

2 tbsp (60 mL) unsalted butter1 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled & diced2 medium carrots, peeled & diced

½ red pepper, deseeded & diced4 sticks celery, washed & diced

1 red chilli pepper, very finely chopped1 Yukon Gold potato, diced (leave skin on; remove any imperfections)

2 medium red potatoes, diced (leave skin on; remove any imperfections)3 cups (750 mL) vegetable or chicken stock

1 tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped parsley2 cups (500 mL) homogenized milk

1 cup (250 mL) 33% whipping cream1 14 oz (398 mL) can black beans, drained & washed

3/4 cup (90–125 g) cooked smoked sausage (optional), finely diced½ cup (100 mL) cold water

2 heaping tbsp (40 mL) cornstarchsalt & pepper to taste

In large saucepan melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the first five vegetable ingredients and cook for six minutes in a covered saucepan, stirring occasionally.Add stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer 15–20 minutes until veggies are tender.Add milk, cream, sausage, black beans, and parsley. Heat to boiling.In a separate bowl, mix water and corn-starch. When mixed thoroughly, slowly add to hot soup stirring well for consis-tency. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with warm crusty bread.

WinE RECOMMEndatiOn

Tantalus Riesling 2009

A fun play on this recipe goes from the rich warm deep coloured tomato style to my twist on this traditional black bean soup. Sharpen up your dicing skills and keep all of the veggies the same size. This gives a better visual appeal when the soup is finished along with keeping the cooking time even. Some corn and/or green peas can be added. Whatever type of sausage you choose, make sure it is cooked before adding into the soup. The sausage can be omitted to make a vegetarian soup.


Autumn Braised Lamb Shanks

from Chef Steve Marston

recipes


recipes

Dinner for Two

4 lamb shanksolive oilsalt and pepper1½ cups (375 mL) red wine (robust)2 generous cups (½ L) rich beef stock2 medium onions, roughly chopped2 carrots, roughly chopped4 celery sticks, roughly chopped8 oz (230 g) firm button mushrooms6 cloves garlic, peeled 2 sprigs rosemary2 sprigs thyme1 16 oz (475 mL) can diced tomatoes in tomato juice1 tsp (5 mL) tomato paste 1 tsp (5 mL) tred currant jelly or strawberry preserve

Preheat oven to 400F (200C).

Note: regular setting, not convection.

Put the lamb shanks in a large bowl or a large zip lock bag. Add a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then massage until fully sea-soned. Heat a large sauté pan and brown the lamb shanks on all sides. Transfer the lamb to a large lidded casserole pot. Add all the remaining vegetables to the sauté pan and sear for a minute or two and then add to the casserole pot. Add all the remaining ingredi-ents to the pot and place in oven. After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 325F (170C) for 3½–4 hours.After this time the lamb should be just about falling off the bone. Be careful to take the lamb shanks out of the roasting liquid in one piece. Remove the cooked vegetables; keep warm in the oven.Heat up the remaining roasting liquid until reduced slightly. You should end up with a nice richly scented sauce. Season with additional salt and pepper.

To serve: Place the lamb into a dish, preferably a shallow soup platter. Spoon sauce over the lamb. Arrange mashed potatoes and reserved vegetables alongside.

WinE RECOMMEndatiOn

Laughing Stock Portfolio 2007


Lamb Lolliesfrom David Colombe

The spice blend on this is amazing. There are a lot of recipes for Harissa, but this is one of my favourites. The addition of lavender really pulls out an “exotic-ness” to the lamb. If you can prepare these a day in advance and let them marinate overnight that would be perfect. If not, just do it as long as you can that day. Pick lavender in the late spring, just before the flower buds open. Tie the stems up and hang them to dry outside for a couple of days. Easy! Also, many health food stores will carry dried lavender for medicinal teas and what-not. Again, if you don’t know how to French a lamb rack, don’t be afraid to ask your butcher to do it for you.


recipes


1 Lamb Rack, Frenched and cut into individual Lollies

¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil2 tbsp (30 mL) cinnamon2 tbsp (30 ml) coriander

2 tbsp (30 ml) cumin1 tbsp (15 ml) allspice1 tbsp (15 ml) paprika2 tsp (10 ml) nutmeg2 tsp (10 ml) cayenne2 tsp (10 ml) lavender1 tbsp (15 ml) ginger

2 garlic cloves

Put the olive oil and all the spices into a food processor or blender. Buzz together until fully mixed. If the mix is too dry, add a bit more Olive Oil. This should be the consistency of a moist paste, not drippy. Rub the Harissa on each side of the Lamb Lollies.Grill the Lollies for a couple of minutes on each side on a really hot grill.

Serve 2 or 3 Lollies top of a salad or with a chutney, salsa or a bit of balsamic reduction. Perfect as an Appie.

WinE RECOMMEndatiOn

Cedar Creek Syrah

recipes

Serves 2-4 as an Appie

recipes

vanilla and Lemon Zest Scented Scones with fruit compote topped with

cinnamon creamfrom Chef Natasha Schooten


recipes

Local Berry or Stone Fruit Compote

SconesYield: 6 Large Scones

2 cups (475 mL) sifted flour1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda

2 tsp (10 mL) cream of tartar1 egg

½ cup (120 mL) of milk zest and juice of 1 lemon

½ vanilla bean — use only the seeds 2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

Yield: 6 cups (1.5 L)

4 cups (1L) of 33% or 36% whipping cream2 tbsp (30 mL) white sugar

½ vanilla bean — scrape seeds into the cream½ tsp (2.5 mL) of cinnamon

6 sprigs fresh mint

To serve: Cut the scones in half and add two heaping tablespoons of the compote then one heaping tablespoon of the cinnamon whip on the bottom half. Top with second half of scone; garnish with fresh fruit or berries and a sprig of fresh mint.

Preheat oven to 450F (230C). Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl or on a piece of wax or parchment paper for easy pouring.Cream together butter and sugar. Add lemon juice, zest and the vanilla seeds and combine. Add egg and mix, then alternate mixing in the dry ingredients and the milk until all are incor-porated. Roll out with rolling pin to ½ inch thickness and cut to desired shape. (Optional: Brush with egg wash for golden top.) Bake at 450F (230C) for 15 minutes.

Yield: 2½ Cups

4½ cups (1 L) of stone fruit such as peaches, nectarines or plums and/or berries such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries —

approximately 1½ lbs (700 g) of fruit in total¼ cup (60 mL) of honey

coarse salt6 tbsp (90 mL) water

2 small cinnamon sticks2 star anise pods

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped into the pot

1 lemon (zested)

In a small saucepot combine fruit, honey, pinch of salt and vanilla seeds and the water. Cook over medium to high heat stirring occa-sionally until the fruit is soft, approx. 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool or serve immediately with the scone and cinnamon whipped cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Pour cream into stand mixer (or a bowl if you have hand beaters). Start whipping the cream on low setting, then medium. Whip for two minutes or until it starts to thicken. Add in the sugar and vanilla seeds. Whip on high until stiff peaks form, then lightly fold in the cinnamon.


Gourmet Shopping

discover Wines 2080C SPRINGFIELD RD., KELOWNA, BC

Phone: 250.868.3990 discoverwines.com

L & d Meats & deli 2365 GORDON DRIVE, KELOWNA, BC V1W 3C2

Phone: 250.717.1997

Valoroso foods 1467 SUTHERLAND AVE., KELOWNA, BC V1Y 5Y4

Phone: 250.860.3631

Okanagan grocery artisan Bread Bakery 2355 GORDON DRIVE, KELOWNA, BC V1W 3C2

Phone: 250.862.2811

Codfathers seafood Market 2355 GORDON DRIVE, KELOWNA, BC V1W 3C2

Phone: 250.763.3474

Vinegar Works 10216 GOULD AVE., SUMMERLAND, BC V0H 1Z8

Tel: 250.494.7300 vinegarworks.com

Victoria Rd deli & Bistro 108-13615 VICTORIA ROAD NORTH,

Summerland, BC, V0H 1Z0 Phone: 250.583.9343 victoriard.com/deli.html

The Victoria Rd Deli carries a large variety of gourmet local and imported cheeses, meats and grocery items.

the Bench Market 368 VANCOUVER AVENUE, PENTICTON, BC V2A 1A5

Telephone: 250.492.2222 thebenchmarket.com

iL Vecchio delicatessen 315 ROBINSON ST., PENTICTON, BC V2A 4M9

Phone: 250.492.7610

East indian Meat shop 10475 HIGHWAY # 97, OSOYOOS, BC

Phone: 250.495.4894

The East Indian Meat Market features Fish Pakora, Chicken Pakora, Tandoori Chicken, Meat Pickles, Marinated Chicken and Meat Curry. The East Indian Meat Shop suggests the fish or chicken pakoras for appetizers; then some marinated specialties.

dolci deli 8710 MAIN STREET, OSOYOOS, BC V0H 1V0

Phone: 250.495.6807

Dolci Deli & Catering is a vibrant main street business serving Osoyoos, BC with killer lattes, inexpensive, quick lunches and fine grocery products. Part café, break-fast stop and licensed neighbourhood deli, Dolci is also an established full service catering company.

the Market @ spirit Ridge 1200 RANCHER CREEK ROAD, OSOYOOS, BC

Phone: 250.495.4660 www.spiritridge.ca

simply delicious natural & gourmet grocer 3419 31 AVENUE, VERNON, BC V1T 2H6

250.542.7500

Cresendo 311 FIRST ST. WEST, REVELSTOKE, BC V0E 2S0

Phone: 250.837.6552 cresendocanada.com

Unique vinegars and outstanding oils come direct from our hand picked manu-facturers, who have extensive experience and then bottled in barrels

34646 - 97th. Street, Hwy 97, Oliver B.C.

250-498-4418

Serving Lunch and DinnerMon. - Sat. 11am - 10pm Sundays 4pm-10pm

1 877 433 0451

[email protected]

Visit our award-winning wineries and experience the most memorable hospitality in Okanagan Wine Country.

17403 Highway 97NSummerland, BC

t 250 494.0451

sumacridge.com

Green Lake RoadOkanagan Falls, BC

t 250 497.8267

sylranch.com

1400 Rancher Creek RoadOsoyoos, BC

t 250 495.2985

nkmipcellars.com

Road II, R.R.#1Oliver , BC

t 250 498.6663

inniskillin.com

38691-97th StreetOliver, BC

t 250 498.4500

jacksontriggswinery.com

Discover our Gold-Winning Wines.

Documents

Savour Fall 2010