Question: What about my 4 bottles of André Simon Champagne from the seventies?

Answer: Yes, your bottle shots are quite intriguing. Not much information was ascertained from the labels to help except for Cuvee Speciale Champagne shipped by André Simon Epernay and imported by Barton Brands Inc (used to be a Barton Distillery plus also a wine & spirits store) in Chicago USA. Any back label information? The Founder in 1933 of our International Wine & Food Society was André Simon (1877-1970) who was the English Agent for the Champagne House of Pommery and Greno. Possibly it might be produced by Pommery but slightly suspicious as prominently shows “Produce of France” & “Imported From France”. Also as André died in 1970 perhaps someone else was trading on his famous name in marketing these bottles. No vintage? A blend? Can’t really help you on value. Suggest you open one of your 4 bottles to try it to see the quality and present condition of these bubbles. Can anyone from the Chicago area throw any further light on this issue? Good luck.

Happy Easter weekend. Hope you all had a good one. We celebrated with sustainable fresh wild Pacific Halibut. First of the Season at introductory promotional prices is so consumer attractive. With our groceries still at all time high levels it is certainly the time to buy it taking advantage of the sales. In our marketplace again this year the best opening prices were at Safeway followed by T & T Supermarket (about to expand into Washington, USA) and Whole Foods. The 3 day sale was advertised as “Line-caught off the coast of British Columbia” with Fillets at $4.99/100 grams. We usually buy the Safeway Ocean Wise steaks also on sale at a cheaper $3.99/100 grams but actually results in a better flavour when cooked on the bone. Halibut is more difficult to cook than many fish (compare the easy moist Sablefish) so you have to be careful not to overcook it and dry it out. En papillote with a julienne of vegetables is an outstanding safe method. We often sear the outside and finish cooking in the oven with excellent results. A sauce can enhance your enjoyment with our fav puree roasted sweet orange (or red) peppers, almonds and smoked Spanish paprika tasting marvellous! Even some pesto or some other sauce of your choice helps retain moisture. Lots of wine choices pair well though we were supporting mainly the BC wine industry with some wonderful whites including a delicious rich mature 2015 Joie Farm Riesling & pure varietal 2022 Noble Ridge Stony Knoll Chardonnay and of course some Chablis. Tried together the better acidity balanced 2020 & softer more ready 2021 Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux Domaine Servin. A real celebratory match with the halibut is two of the very best white wines in the world: classy 2021 M3 Chardonnay Adelaide Hills from Shaw + Smith and the best ever vintage of Chablis 2014 minerally youthful Les Clos Grand Cru Domaine Christian Moreau. A treat indeed!

Are you already enjoying the fresh halibut in your market? Kindly advise.

Question: What is Masseto?

Answer: Arguably the best 100% Merlot wine produced in Italy. Like Chateau Petrus in Pomerol (arguably the best 100% Merlot from France) it is grown on deep dark (“blue”) clay soils suitable for obtaining big intense impressive fruit from this grape variety. Originally part of the Tenuta dell’Ornellaia stable with Masseto’s first vintage in 1986 it now has evolved to a unique single vineyard (organic since 2012) with an independent underground modern gravity flow winery since the 2018 vintage. Classy unique Bordeaux-styled Super Tuscan IGT wine worth trying sometime as a very special treat.

Images courtesy: mountpleasantbia.com & chefstablesociety.com

The 10th Annual Curry Cup was held on March 11th by Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia & Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area showcasing a wide variety of curry culinary creations. The original idea was launched a decade ago as a result of several board members of @ChefsTableBC wanting to have a fun event spotlighting curry dishes – often the most popular restaurant staff meal. Talented Executive Director Shawna Gardham sums it up well as “The Curry Cup was created as a tongue in cheek competition about who had the “best” staff meal – and as we all know, we eat lots of curry as a staff meal. It also highlights that these meals, although having some similarities, come from all corners of the world, representing all peoples of the world. The event is meant to be educational for guests and a time for chefs and their brigades to showcase their culinary talents. ” Today it has become a vibrant popular event showing the diverse and delicious world of curry dishes in this region prepared by talented chefs. This edition had a wide diversity of ingredients used for dishes ranging from a refined sidestripe shrimp, butternut squash & crispy shallots to a full blown Texas style smoked brisket with cilantro yogurt. Diversity prevailed with exciting items of Jamaican spiced bison & wild rice, glazed chicken & masala paneer, Caribbean goat & plantains, Fraser Valley pork & vegetable dumplings with zingy Trini green sauce, Chettinad prawn with tamarind rice, Moringa bone marrow with taro pinwheel, authentic Goan fish curry with green mango, and 3 desserts plus wines, beers and sea ciders.

The judges awarded the Cup this year to Katy Cheung & Kyumin Kim of Andrea Carlson’s Burdock & Co with a superb vegetarian Cantonese Sunchoke, Black Salsify Ga Lei with Tofu & fragrant coconut on eight grain rice. Delicious.

Do you have a personal fav curry dish? Please let us know.

Question: What is Timorasso?

Answer: An old rare autochthonous but now enthusiastically revived thick-skin white grape variety planted mostly in southeast Piedmont that is rapidly becoming a cult gem of wine lovers. Usually named Colli Tortonesi DOC & “Derthona” (Tortona old village name) on the wine labels. Exciting new young plantings of it are everywhere in northwest Italy. Timorasso was very popular at the 45th @VanWineFest from several producers showing fragrant aromatics with impressive inherent lively refreshing acidity with some aging potential. Not inexpensive but the best value one was from 2022 Fontanafredda $33.99, organic 2021 Cantine Volpe $42, aged 2018 Tenute Rade $46.99, and 2021 Vietti $ priceless (value beyond price!) so brilliantly paired with roasted butternut squash soup (topped by 2023 EVOO from Villa Delia) at #VIWF Giardino dinner. Try a Timorasso!