In the warm Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island you will find a handful of amazing farms and top-notch wineries. On Cobble Hill you will find the Venturi Schulze vineyard that produces 100% estate-grown wines. The family run vineyard follows the basic philosophy of natural sustainability: no irrigations, no herbicides or pesticides in the vineyard, no chemicals in the winery outside of a small amount of sulphite added to some of our wines as an antioxidant to enable cellaring.

In the tradition of pairing local foods with local wines, we have taken Cowichan Valley wine and paired it with Cowichan Valley duck. Lyle and Fiona Young are the owner operators of their beautiful Cowichan Bay Farm. The Youngs follow sustainable agricultural traditions. Their Pastured Poultry is raised in the summer months outside in roomy moveable pens. The chickens and ducks they raise always have access to fresh grass, air and sunshine. In the winter months the birds are raised in warm and dry roomy barns with natural light. The feed used does not have any antibiotics or animal byproducts.

Executive Chef, Rick Choy, and his culinary team has taken duck from Cowichan and created a spring roll. The duck legs are BBQ’ed with a housemade BBQ sauce that has notes of spice and ginger. The duck is cut Julian style and wrapped up with carrots, diakon, celery, leeks and onions into a spring roll. The spring roll is deep fried to perfection and served piping hot.

Sadly, there are many people out there who say that wine causes them headaches – even migraines. Sometimes it’s easy to pass this off as a hangover (and/or blame it on the questionable wine your friend brought over last night), but there may be more to it than that – there are several (organic) compounds found in vino that you may actually be allergic to. When a recent round of migraines forced me to consider the frightening possibility of this being my own situation, I decided to look into it a bit more. (Personally I have yet to decide which is a worse fate – life with migraines, or life without wine.)

Fortunately I’m now pretty sure that my headaches have nothing to do with my favorite libation, but if you think you are cursed, maybe I hope this will help you figure out what’s going on. If you can pinpoint exactly what hurts, at the very least you may be able to determine which over-the-counter medicine to take before the next wine dinner or tasting that you just have to go to.

(Rather than scattering this post with lots of links to the same place, I’ll just confess that most of what I didn’t know here came from Wikipedia – as well as a couple of tidbits from a good medical friend who is internet-shy and will therefore remain anonymous)

When most people hear about Sake they think about Japan or the United States.  But in Canada there is one Sake Winery breaking ground on Granville Island. Beginning in January 2007, Japanese-born entrepreneur, Masa Shiroki, opened up shop.  Osake is reported to have been the first sake made in Canada.  And at the artisan studio, Osake has the first “fresh premium” Junmai Sake (Namazake) of its kind produced in Canada.  Handcrafted and unlike premium sakes imported from Japan which are typically produced once a year in wine, Osake is made in small batches several times a year in cycles.  These cycles roughly correspond to the changing seasons.   This allows Osake to explore and produce versatile wines that complement the seasonal foods of local West Coast cuisine. 

The sake is fermented from top-quality Japanese sakamai, hand-pressed and hand-bottled.  Osake is left unfiltered to optimize its fresh, delicate, fruit-like aromas and flavours.

http://www.cityfood.com/drink/drink_news/

Venue: Hotel Louis C. Jacob in Hamburg, Germany

Before the tasting begins we are served 1999 Giulio Ferrari from magnums as an aperitif. This sparkling wine from the Trentino Region is based on Chardonnay. The wine is superbly balanced. It is rich, bright gold and has a creamy vibrancy on the palate. Exceptionally satisfying.

The 1999 vintage in Tuscany is not considered top-notch, so I am curious to see how these famous wines developed over the last decade.

The group of tasters assembled is relatively small – about 30. Both Piero and Ludovico Antinori are there.

“We are happy to have both brothers together,” says Anton, our host from the Ariane Abayan wine importing company. He goes on to add: “This tasting is for fun – no need to make comments just a few ohs and ahs will suffice.”

We taste the wines blind.

During the past month I’ve spent most of my time in a car or hotel room, when not dropping in on all the world class winemakers on the West Coast who could make the time to help me get a better grasp of organic and Biodynamic® grape growing and winemaking. Elsewhere, I’ve filed reports on some of the issues regarding that, particularly in respect to groups who foster “sustainable” methods (i.e. generally meaning to say, growers who adapt organic practices, but without totally committing to them). Re two of these pieces: The War Between the Greens and A Consumer’s Precise Guide to Going Green.

Otherwise, here’s a rundown on some of the most exciting organic and Biodynamic® wines tasted over the past month:

REDS

Seven Springs Vineyard, Celebration Gamay 2008 (Eola-Amity Hills; uncertified organic/biodynamic grapes) - Employing nouveau vinification, but a far cry from the usual: vivid purplish ruby followed by teems of sweet blackberry (like the gushy wild fruit we were picking off the sides of the road during our entire two weeks in Oregon) and raspberry aromas; round, luscious, drippy in a zesty center; the sensations soft, yet dense enough with mild tannin to give a little bit of grip on the palate.

Seven Springs Vineyard, Les Gamine 2008 (Eola-Amity Hills; uncertified organic/biodynamic grapes) - Passetoutgrains inspired blend of authentic gamay (60%) and pinot noir; but again, because of the sheer, gorgeous intensity of this vineyard, more like a passetoutgrains of your dreams: vividly defined rouge on noir berry perfumes in complex, nuanced nose; marvelous interplay of zesty edge and silk/velvet textures, the luscious berry fruitiness emanating brightly on the palate. Utterly unique, compelling.

Seven Springs winemaker, Isabelle Meunier

Seven Springs Vineyard, La Source Pinot Noir 2007 (Eola-Amity Hills; noncertified organic/biodynamic grapes) - Oregon pinot noir lovers have been enthralled by this vineyard for years; and although, since being purchased by Evening Land Vineyards, its grapes are no longer going out to artisanals like Penner-Ash, Cristom and St. Innocent, rest assured that in the hands of French born winemaker Isabelle Meunier and über-consultant Dominique Lafon, Seven Springs pinots will be better than ever. The proof is already in the bottle: beautiful, luscious, fragrant array of rose petal, anisey spice, wild red berries, and blueberry jam in the nose. Velvety smooth entry leading to long, sweet flavors, anchored by sturdy tannin, solidifying the fruit once past the mouth-watering middle.

Maysara, Delara Pinot Noir 2006 (McMinnville; Biodynamic® grapes) - Given its unique locale at the furthest western, coastal edge of the Willamette Valley – strongly influenced by cooling winds pushing through the nearby Van Duzer Corridor – the McMinnville AVA is already associated with pinot noir of exhilarating breadth, more steely structured with acidity and tannin than pinots from the rest of Oregon. Delara is perhaps the most terroir driven of Maysara’s cuvées: its dense, fullsome body elevated by lively acidity, while amplified by its luscious, pungent fruitiness – sweet raspberry and strawberry jam infused with peppermint, pepper, and anise/licorice nuances.

Maysara, Estate Cuvée Pinot Noir 2008 (McMinnville; Biodynamic® grapes) - Slated for fall 2009 release, this cuvée shows the fully ripened, sweet fruit, silk texture, zesty edge, and moderated alcohol typical of this vineyard, as well as the bright qualities of this cool yet trouble-free vintage. Unfettered, wild strawberry in the nose, expressed in vibrant, fruit forward sensations on the palate, gliding clear through firmly defined tannins.