Question: Sid with so many forest fires in the Okanagan the last two decades I wondered which years you thought resulted in the smokiest wines?

Answer: Yes the wild forest fires in the Okanagan have been a continuing hot topic (pun intended) for the BC wine industry. I would offer my opinion that the worst vintages for smoke taint are 2003, 2015, and 2018. There were also lots of wild forest fires in 2009 but they started quite early on because of above average temperatures and lower precipitation resulting in fewer grape issues. Luckily the 2003 fires were localized more around the environs of the Cedar Creek Estate Winery. In 2015 the fires were much more widely spread out (including extensive Washington State damage) and your scribe has noticed in some of these now bottled wines an extra smokiness with a difference in the tannins particularly in the reds having extended skin contact during the fermentation. Caveat Emptor. 2018 was another bad season with multiple fires but it is still early days for these wines from that year and the final results are still to be assessed after bottling. Always be careful in your selection.

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Your scribe always enjoys the challenge of judging over three main events this endurance culinary test for eleven talented chefs each coming off just winning their own city competition for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (greatkitchenparty.com).

The first task was to shop and cook for several hundred guests on an extremely limited budget of just over $1/per guest with ingredients to match a mystery wine which turned out to be fruity good acidity 14.9 powerful finish 2016 Mission Hill Family Estate Vista’s Edge Cabernet Franc from East Oliver producing only 26 barrels under their Terroir Collection series spending 18 months in French oak (25% new). Chef Christopher Hill of The Taste Restaurant Group of Saskatoon led after this start in a close photo finish with a lovely artistic braised crispy pork belly confit in its own fat for 5 hours with a squid ink agnolotti stuffed with moist brandade of long cod.

The second event is the most difficult challenging Black Box cooking a dish in 1 hour using compulsory all 7 items – this year all vegetarian: Saffron, Sweet Potato, Mushroom, Whole Grain Buckwheat, Sheep Milk 5% Yogurt, Whole Quince, and Sweet Chestnuts. The winner again in a close battle was Calgary Chef Dave Bohati of Murrieta’s who did the best job of utilizing the tough hard buckwheat element in a tuile wafer.

The third concluding Grand Finale on February 2, 2019 spotlighted some very outstanding and innovative cuisine including even aerated foie gras, reindeer moss, sea buckthorn, and shrimp okonomiyaki. Chef Takashi Ito from Aura Waterfront Restaurant in Victoria who stumbled to last place in the Black Box section with a thick undercooked dumpling bounced back to win this event with an amazing Sake poached spot prawn & seared scallops seafood winner.

After the final voting marks from the triathlon were totalled the consistent Chef Yannick La Salle from Les Fougeres in Chelsea Quebec representing Ottawa/Gatineau prevailed with Chef Hill second and Chef Bohati third.

Congrats to the three medalists plus all these participants for the very high quality of their preparations. Very well done indeed!

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Question: Do you prefer Syrah or Shiraz?

Answer: I like both but don’t feel it is as easy as that simple alternative choice. It is the same grape that produces full-flavoured big bodied wines with lots of polyphenols. You see the Shiraz name used more in Australia & South Africa but it can turn up anywhere. Look to compare two fantastic examples from South Africa of Leeuwenkuil Syrah 2015 with Luddite Shiraz 2014. Syrah is historically more French Rhone-like in style often with less ripeness and more elegance and is the grape name used most commonly today. When Mission Hill Family Estate released their first wines they had two distinct bottlings one called Shiraz in a big rich full spice almost jammy style and another called Syrah in a somewhat lighter less ripe white pepper style. Both were popular. Note that these roughly defined styles can cross over. Better to taste each wine and find the style of wine you prefer regardless of the name used. Enjoy the experiment.

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Your scribe had heard lots of complimentary reports about the cuisine of James Beard acclaimed Chef Kevin Binkley. Therefore it was with eager anticipation to attend a special dinner held at his restaurant in Phoenix Arizona on January 26, 2019. Everything very impressive indeed from the warm welcoming ambience start to the finish with each course utilizing seasonally ingredients so perfectly prepared. It was also a joy to unite again with Christian Giles who was at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago for 16 years and is now their general manager. An excellent team in place and an outstanding menu served:

Hors d’oeuvre – Seared scallop sandwich with marinated cucumber & dill; Salmon tartare vol-au-vent; Foie Gras filled kumquats (innovative way to enjoy this combo); Truffle Avocado Slider of charred sweet onion & watercress; Ham Biscuit with pear butter. All matched superbly well with that great 2008 balanced Champagne vintage of Guy Charlemagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs from old vines. Liked the alternative aperitif choice too of the intense minerally 2010 Valmur Grand Cru Chablis from William Fevre in Magnum.

First course was a brilliant artistic painting of half seared on one side Bluefin Tuna in paillard style with tangerine, slow roasted pineapple, cucumber, arugula, and lime pickled red onion. Outstanding presentation with true flavours paired well with a young classic 2013 Meursault Genevrieres of Latour-Giraud in Magnum.

Second course of a so-called Perfect Paprika Farm Egg was just that. Never experienced an egg with such a bright concentrated orange colour that blended into the special many hour preparation whipped potatoes (better than Joel Robuchon rendition) and delicious mushroom ragout. Heavenly and earthy a wonderful teaming with the 2003 Pommard Les Grands Epenots of Michel Ganoux – again in Magnums.

Third course main was a lightly smoked lamb loin au poivre with butter nut squash, cippolini onion, olive & huckleberry vinaigrette. One of the world’s best wines was served with it of a young vibrant complex 2005 Clos de Tart. Sublime.
To finish was the Delice de Bourgogne cheese served at exquisite ripeness with appropriate stewed prunes, spiced walnuts, and crostini. Never had one in such perfect condition. The attention to detail in all the items prepared and the service was truly outstanding.

If you are ever in Phoenix this is a must detour. Check them out at www.binkleysrestaurant.com.

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Question: How much wine is there in a Jeroboam size bottle?

Answer: Yes this is rather confusing. Generally you think of a Jeroboam as being the same as a Double Magnum containing 3 litres or the equivalent of 4 standard 750 ml. bottles. This is the situation for example in Burgundy and Champagne. However, in Bordeaux they refer to a Jeroboam (or Rehoboam) as the rather unusual 4 1/2 litre size or the equivalent of 6 standard bottles. Depends where you are and who you ask!

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