A case of Serendipity: Victoria International Wine Festival

Completely by chance, we are in Victoria, British Columbia at the time of their annual international wine festival.   This has to be a case of serendipity.

After seeing an advertising banner stretched above a main road into the city,  we decide at the last minute to book tickets.  On another sunny Autumn Victoria afternoon, we head off to explore the wine festival; the first time we have attended this event.     Our first impression is amazement at the large number of people there.   In a city known to attract retirees, it’s fantastic to see so many young people exploring and enjoying the adventures of wine.   It’s clearly party time!

The choice of available wines is extensive although we are surprised not to see more Vancouver Island wines.   We decide to focus on red wines, mainly Canadian with a couple of exceptions – it is an International Wine Festival after all!

Stand out wines for us at the festival are mainly Bordeaux style blends (typically Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec in varying quantities and styles, sometimes referred to as Meritage) and include:  Gold Hill 2015 Meritage (winner of the Lt. Governor Award of Excellence),  Mission Hill Quatrain (for special occasions price-wise), Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin and Sunrock Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon.

On the International side, we enjoy an italian Sangiovese, La Mora Morellino di Scansano and particularly enjoyed the spanish rioja, Baron de Ley series, especially Baron de Ley Rioja Maturana, both good valu

What really caught my eye are innovative artisan wine products made in the Okanagan Valley from the wine crush.  Grape seeds and grape skins are dehydrated, ground and added to such products as cheese and sea salt, which are infused with the rich flavours from the wine grapes.  We tasted The Winecrush Gamay Goat Cheese, and the Malbec and Herb Sea Salt:  both are delicious. The Gamay Goat Cheese has been nominated for a Canadian cheese award.   I can imagine serving the Malbec and Herb Sea Salt with quails eggs, as one example.   It’s exciting to see new concepts and value added wine products being made by BC entrepreneurs.

We also discovered a new bistro to try on another visit to the Island:  Artisan Bistro in Broadmead Village, which is on the outskirts of Victoria.

We are big fans of Vancouver Island and the capital city, Victoria with its colourful gardens, cheerful water taxis ferrying people around the harbour communities and interesting local history well described and highlighted throughout the city.   Our chance visit to the Victoria International Wine Festival was an added bonus.

References  :   Winecrush    www.winecrush.ca

Artisan Bistro.  www.artisanbistro.ca

 

 

From Farm and Vineyard to table: Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia offers that mix of Western Canadian history and urban charm itself.   This is why we enjoy our summertime visits there so much.

 

These photos represent all the things we look forward to when visiting Victoria:  browsing and buying books at Munro’s books,  always a highlight of our visits;  sampling delicious chocolates at Roger’s Chocolates, and generally taking in all the small town charm of British Columbia’s capital city.    Each visit, I re-read  the history of the early explorers on the statues around the inner harbour;  quite often there is a seagull perched on Captain James Cook’s head.

On our most recent visit in June we discovered a restaurant new to us:   10 Acre Kitchen, one of three 10 Acre restaurants in downtown Victoria.   This enterprise offers local farm to table imaginative cuisine and serves interesting wine.   A definite recommendation for future visits.

We enjoyed beet salads and Dungeness crab cakes – light and delicious with a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend white wine from Lock and Worth Winery in Penticton, British Columbia; also new to us!

 

I particularly enjoy this Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend.  To me, this is the classic Bordeaux White wine blend that I am familiar with in SW France.   It’s another opportunity to think about the wine related connections between SW France and Western Canada!    What I enjoy about this blend and find very drinkable is that the Semillon gives depth and gravitas to the acidity of the Sauvignon blanc.  At Lock and Worth, the winemakers produce wine that is un-fined and un-filtered so the wine is slightly cloudy.  The winemakers say they make wines without pretense and this approach is behind their plain label bottles   I will definitely plan to visit this winery on a future visit to the Okanagan Valley and taste more of their wines.

It’s always fun to discover new restaurants and wines and incorporate those experiences into familiar venues.    I am looking forward to a return visit already!

References:   10Acres.ca   Group of restaurants, Victoria BC

lockandworth.com.     Lock and Worth Winery, Penticton BC