Urban Winery Opens In Vancouver

Vancouver Urban Winery Brings Wine-on-Tap to BC Consumers 

July 17, 2012 - Vancouver, BC - Vancouver’s first commercial urban winery, Vancouver Urban Winery, has officially opened its doors in the historic heart of the city's Railtown district. The multifunctional 7,700 sqft open-concept space boasts a tasting bar equipped with 36 taps serving a rotating selection of wine-on-tap, a creatively curated retail store, and a fully operational winery that packages, imports and distributes wine for a multitude of brands.

THE TASTING BAR

36 wine taps line the 24-foot custom crafted Douglas fir tasting bar in Vancouver Urban Wineryʼs historic 1920s high-ceilinged building. Staffed by a keen team of wine lovers and sommeliers alike, the tasting bar offers a continuously rotating selection of wines that highlight both international selections and the best of British Columbia. 

Special to Thursday and Friday evenings (or anytime when called ahead) guests are able to enjoy local artisanal food and wine pairings, with each selection being announced via social media on the preceding Wednesday. Wines on-tap are priced at $10 for five one ounce pours, and food and wine pairings are priced between $17 and $25 for five wines paired with five bites. And for those that want to take a taste of the experience home, a creatively curated shop lies within the walls of the Vancouver Urban Winery venue. 

THE TASTY SHOP

A uniquely local experience, Vancouver Urban Wineryʼs retail shop offers a creatively curated selection of artisanal gourmet products, artwork and all things wine. Shoppers can expect to find Beta5 chocolates, Urban Bean coffee, Sea to Sky salts and spices, Fey and Hobbs antipasto and drunken olives, Okanagan Vinegar Brewery selections, as well as bottles of the Vancouver Urban Winery’s own wine label, Roaring Twenties Wine Co. vancouverurbanwinery.com

 

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Mission Hill Family Estate's Summer Lineup

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Sample Menu:

Locally-sourced ingredients and wine pairings from Mission Hill's portfolio. Highlights include:

• Vine Smoked Arctic Char with berry gel;
• Ocean Wise Shrimp and Sweet Corn Panna Cotta;
• Naramata White Peach Gazpacho;
• Deep Fried Hen's Egg with chickpea panisse and buttered green peas;
• "AAA" Beef Strip Loin with crispy polenta and truffled cauliflower;
• Glazed French Lemon Curd 'Bar' with basil marshmallow and pine nut crunch.

 

4-Course Garden to Vineyard Lunch: Thursday, July 19th, 2012

Guests are invited to join Executive Winery Chef Matthew Batey in Mission Hill's on-site varietal garden, to glean knowledge and pick their own fresh ingredients that will pair perfectly with the meal's wine selections. Enjoy a four-course tasting menu in the vineyard, created and presented by Chef Batey from the day's harvest.

Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 11am $85 per person 

 

Summer in Whites Loggia Dinner: Friday, August 3rd, 2012

Fresh, vibrant, alluring, these words all describe the white wines of Mission Hill. This exclusive dinner is a splendid way to enjoy these exuberant wines of summer. Guests will be privy to a gorgeous pre-dinner vineyard reception, a Sommelier-hosted winery tour and a three-course wine-paired dinner, set in the winery's stunning Loggia gallery. Guests are encouraged to dress in white in celebration of the evening's wine theme.

Friday, August 3rd, 2012 at 6pm $99 per person 

Purchase tickets online: missionhill.com

Mission Hill Family Estate is world renowned and honored as one of the 'Top Five Winery Restaurants in the World' by Travel + Leisure magazine. The restaurant and epicurean program is led by Executive Winery Chef Matthew Batey and Chef of The Terrace Chris Stewart. Majestic mountains, scenic lakes and lush orchards encase the winery's dramatic architecture. With sustainable practices that ensure care for the environment, and a timelessness that respects the von Mandl family's European heritage, guests experience the height of winemaking in an incomparable lakeside mountaintop winery.

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De Vinis Illustribus

by Paige Donner

Tucked practically underneath Paris's Pantheon is the 17th c. cellar and mythical wine shop, De Vinis Illustribus.  When current owners, husband and wife Lionel and Dominique Michelin, took over the cellars in 1994 from the legendary Jean-Baptiste Besse, a wine lover and connoisseur who welcomed the likes of Papa Hemingway to his shop back in the day, it looked nothing like it does now.

Read my Review on BlackBook City Guides HERE

From the street entrance you are greeted with a light and airy, water-blasted original stone interior that dates to the 17th c. This is the shop and the welcoming area where the Michelins have forged an impeccable reputation for advising clients on birthday and special occasion wine purchases. For example, if your son or daughter was born in 1972 they will tell  you that a "Bourgogne is more appropriate than a Bordeaux." And if you were  married in 2009, they can advise you on the best Côte du Rhônes to buy and cellar now so you can enjoy for your 10  or even 15 and 20 year anniversaries. 

De Viris Illustribus Urbis Romae was a book written in 1779 by abbot Lhomond to teach about famous men from Rome. De Vinis Illustribus is a play on words and means Famous or Great Wines.

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The real treasures are downstairs in the truly ancient cellar. Pictures of what it looked like when Besse was still the owner can only be described as a  cobwebbed and dusty Ali Baba's cave. Today it is still a treasure trove of legendary wines - though much more organized and well-lit - that we rarely get to see physically: 1955 Chateau d'Yquem,  1929 Corton "Clos du Roy", an 1811 Fine Champagne Imperiale Cognac. The list is quite extensive.

Mr. Michelin has an impressive collection of Sauternes, an AOC he particularly enjoys. Their cellar is dominated by French wines and mostly of the regions Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Rhône, Loire and Alsace. Though Champagne is also represented and you can find a few bottles from Porto, too. Prices range from 13€ to into the thousands.

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Another specialty of De Vinis Illustribus is their wine tastings [More Pics on Local Food And Wine].  You can join in on a wine tasting or book your own group. You can read more about these by Keiko, a fellow blogger who also attended a recent wine tasting there who writes in both Japanese and French. These are some of the popular choices:

Discovering French Regions: 3 wines, 1 White Burgundy, 1 Red Bordeaux, and 1 Red Côtes du Rhône. Accompanied by aged Comté cheese. 50€ pp

Tour de France of the Vineyards: Tasting Lunch. 4 Wines, 1 Burgundy, 1 Bordeaux, 1  Côtes du Rhône, and 1 Loire. Served with fine cooked meats, cheese and pastries. 105€pp.

Great French Wines Over Time: Tasting Dinner. 5 great wines including 1 old vintage with hot meal courses. From 255€ pp.

Reservations required.

De Vinis Illustribus, 48 rue de la Montagne-Saint-Geneviève Paris 75005  devinis.fr

 

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Ciel de Paris

by Paige Donner


From about the end of the 1910s to the 1940s Montparnasse was the neighborhood that claimed the title, Place To Be. It's where Hemingway had been hanging out the most when he wrote his friend that letter saying, "...Paris is a moveable feast." *[Full quote here]. 

With the recent re-opening of the 56th Floor Ciel de Paris in the Tour Montparnasse, it is once again the place in Paris To Be.  [PICS HERE]

Read My Review on BlackBook City Guides HERE

Christophe Marchais is still the chef here, having done his Ducasse time in Las Vegas years ago as well as time in Monaco, so the cuisine is consistently as fabulous as it always has been. His methods are to use fresh French produce and choose among "noble ingredients" for the creative flair: truffles, lobster, caviar, foie gras, turbot. Though for the re-opening as of June 2012, he and his Chef Patissier, Baptiste Methivier, added innovative upgrades of a tea-time Bar Millefeuille which features 3 sweet and 3 savory choices each day. A perfect light meal to enjoy with your glass of Besserat de Bellefon Cuvée des Moines at the bar with the city's best view over Paris and the highest point in Europe.

I've written about the best champagne bars of Paris for BlackBook and if this one had been open yet after its complete interior overhaul, it would have made it to the top of the list. Not least because it's one of the only champagne bars in town where you can order a tasting flight of different champagnes, blanc de blancs no less. Look for this on the menu: Dégustation des Blanc de Blancs 22 € (Ruinart, Nicolas Feuillatte, Canard Duchêne).

Another overhaul that Elior, the parent group of the restaurant, has done with the menu is offered a quick lunch for people arriving at the next door Montparnasse Train Station (departure for Bordeaux) where for 38€ you have appetizer, main course and dessert. That's gastronomic quality fare at dizzying heights over one of the prettiest cities in the world in modern chic art deco reminiscent décor - all for less than $50 per person. It's the deal of the decade. Signature dish is Lobster soup flavoured with sea urchin stock.
Notes on the décor: all half-tones of ambers and caramel done in sleek lines that feel like 21st century take on Art Deco. Credit goes to Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance who used the thematic of "sparkling" to season his choices. Fall in love with the ceiling lighting, big flat, LED back-lit circles that have you thinking of champagne bubbles and indeed make you feel like you're floating in a flute of champagne, suspended from the sky, 56 storeys above Paris.
Guess who else used to haunt Montparnasse in her day? Anäis Nin... but we'll leave that for the bedside recommended reading after you've dined at Ciel de Paris.

Tour Montparnasse, 56th Floor, 33 Avenue Maine 75015 Paris
+33-01-40-64-77-64   CieldeParis.com

c. 2012 all photos by Paige Donner is Editor of BlackBook City Guides Paris

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Wine Evenings at Restaurant 114 Faubourg St. Honore

By Paige Donner

Read More Here

At the epicenter of chic, where rue Fbg. St. Honoré meets Avenue Matignon in the shade of Paris's Élysée gardens, is where you will find the restaurant 114 Faubourg. 
As part of Le Bristol Hotel, but with a separate entrance and in an adjoining building, the lunch and dinner restaurant headed up by chef Eric Desbordes along with his chief Sommelier, Marco Pelletier, is altogether a destination unto itself.

Tomes can and likely will be written about the talented young chef's French cuisine, but focus here is on the restaurant's once-monthly Wine Tasting Evenings, held the first Monday of the month, to be precise.

In a city that gathers the best wines of one of the best wine-producing countries in the world, there is an unexpected and surprising dearth of good wine-tasting evenings organized for the amateur/enthusiast and/or the visiting tourist. A once-monthly excellent wine and tailored food-pairing evening open to 25 guests is hardly going to make a dent in what should be a huge demand for this type of food and wine evening event, but, at least it's a start...

Marco Pelletier, an adoptive Parisian whose authentic Canadianisms pepper his oenological descriptions and explanations, shines as the evening's champion organizer. He not only invites the winemakers to Paris so they can talk about their "treasures," but also curates his wines with that delicate care that only a professional with great passion and reverence for his metier can muster.

Evenings start at around 7:30 with a tasting flight of four wines during which the winemaker shares tales about the vintages he's pouring. The 114 Faubourg team takes care of hosting duties, which allows these extraordinary cultivators of French wines to simply elaborate the stories of their wines in the company of the people who have come to sip and savor their particular expressions of terroir.

According to Pelletier, there is no commercial element to the evening. The winemakers are not honored guests invited to “sell” their wines. "They just come to share the story behind the wines and vintages being poured for the evening. The winemakers are often small producers that I've usually already chosen to feature and work with or who have already worked with Le Bristol for a long time," explains Pelletier. "These are the 'Haute Couture' of winegrowers."

Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/travel/article/wine-evenings-at-restaurant-114-rue/#ixzz1w6g4Kbg5

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FishPhone

This is  brilliant! It works from U.S. phones. Just text and insto-Presto you get your answer back as to whether your sushi is sustainable...or not.  

Read on... (from their website) FishPhone instantly puts Blue Ocean's sustainable seafood information right at your fingertips, giving you access to all of our seafood information from your mobile phone.

 

Text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish in question. We'll text you back with our assessment and better alternatives to fish with significant environmental concerns. 

 Msg&Data Rates May Apply.  Reply STOP to opt-out.  Reply HELP or contact info@blueocean.org for help.

The FishPhone texting service is made possible through the generous support of the Waitt Foundation and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

 

Want seafood info for your iPhone or Android?  Check out Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch app.

 

Send comments or questions about FishPhone to info@blueocean.org.

Blue Ocean Institute Privacy Policy.

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Molecular Maestro Chef David Faure Invited to Cook For Ritz Carlton Osaka's 15th Anniversary

In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the Ritz Carlton Osaka has invited molecular chef David Faure as one of the celebrated chefs, and the only Frenchmen among them, to help with the days-long festivities.

David Faure of Nice's Aphrodite Restaurant will join 6 other international chefs: Jun Yukimura (Japan), Paul Lau (Hong Kong), Sergi Arola (Spain), Erlantz Gorostiza (Spain), Christophe Gibert (Japan), and Wu Huimin (Japan)...all chefs who have either 2 or 3 stars as awarded by the Guide Michelin.

Faure is in charg of a lunch, two dinners one of which is partnered with Dom Perignon (Moet & Chandon) and the the Gala Dinner in collaboration with the other distinguished chefs.

The menu that will represent David Faure's concept-restaurant in Nice, South of France, called Aphrodite can be found by following this link:

http://restaurant-aphrodite.com/blog/actu/japon2012/japon2012.htm 

David Faure seul Chef français  invité du Ritz Carlton Osaka pour la célébratio n de son 15ème anniversaire Seul Chef Français invité d'honneur au Ritz Carlton Osaka pour la
célébration de son 15ème anniversaire avec 6 autres Chefs internationaux :
Jun Yukimura (Japon), Paul Lau (Hong Kong), Sergi Arola (Espagne), Erlantz
Gorostiza (Espagne), ... Christophe Gibert (Japon) Wu Huimin (Japon) tous
2* et 3* au guide Michelin. Nous serons en charge d'un déjeuner, 2 dîners
dont un en partenariat avec Dom Perignon et du dîner de gala pour 200
personnes en collaboration avec les autres Chefs.
Le menu d'Aphrodite pour représenter Nice au Japon c'est la:
http://restaurant-aphrodite.com/blog/actu/japon2012/japon2012.htm

Bien Savoureusement,

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♥Chérie Du Vin

 

 

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GMO Labeling Initiative Heading to California Ballot!

Hi LA friends, I wanted to let you know about this event taking place in LA next week to celebrate the good news that Californians will get to decide in November whether we have the right to know if the food we eat is made with genetically engineered ingredients. This rally and press event will take place at the Board of Elections office in Norwalk, where hundreds of thousands of signatures will be dropped off on May 2. Please help spread the word and all are welcomed to come celebrate! 

Thanks,
Stacy Malkan

Environmental Working Group

We have a right to know what's in our food. More than 90% of Americans agree: genetically engineered food should be labeled. We are going to get this done in California. Join us on the road to victory in November!

GMO Right to Know Victory Rally May 2 in Los Angeles: On Wednesday, May 2 we will be turning in more than enough signatures to bring the California Right to Know initiative to label genetically engineered foods on the November ballot! This massive achievement is thanks to the work of thousands of volunteers across the state, including farmers, concerned, parents, activists, celebrities, sustainable businesses and many others. 

Now we need your help to show the world the energy and commitment behind this historic initiative. Join us May 2 to celebrate our success and show the world our intention to win in November. We will deliver petitions in baby carriages to represent how important this issue is to future generations.

Please arrive at 10:00 a.m. May 2 with signs, posters, carriages, bring the kids and your friends!

Los Angeles area event: Meet at Board of Elections office at 12400 Imperial Highway, Norwalk. Speakers: singer, songwriter and GMO Right to Know leader Zuri Allen Star, petition leader and mom Stacey Hall, special guests TBA. 

Help spread the word: http://www.carighttoknow.org/content/gmo-right-know-victory-rallies-join-us-may-2-celebrate

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♥Chérie Du Vin

 

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Food Truck Fever Hits Paris

by Paige Donner

Paris, the ultimate city of foodies, is, as we write this, gripped with Food Truck Fever.

WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE

Yes, believe it! In exemplary fashion of how it takes several months to a few years for trends to cross the Atlantic (and it goes both ways!)... Since December, when Paris got its first Food Truck, aptly named Le Camion Qui Fume (transl. "The Smoking Truck,") to now, mid-April when Paris can boast its second Food Truck as of April 1st - Cantine California - to feed the fevered frenzy for French Fries, we can now confidently say that food trucks have firmly taken hold of the Parisian Foodie Scene.

Because, indeed, it is french fries these food trucks purvey. Cantine California offers both sweet potato french fries and regular french fries. All are organic. On their menu are also Burgers made from steak-grade quality cuts of beef bought direct from a small country farm where no hormones or other additives are used to process the meat. Same goes with the pulled pork he slow roasts in Mexican (mild) spices to achieve a very excellent Paris rendition of carne asada tacos. The taco shells are handmade in the truck and are the traditional soft tacos that anyone from California has come to expect.

And the cupcakes - red velvet with a butter cream white frosting, or a deep dark chocolate with a rich chocolate frosting - all made with organic flour that he - owner-entrepreneur Jordan Fielders (French/American/ Canadian) also buys direct from the mill. And the chocolate is Fair Trade too. The chef, also named Jordan (Powers) and her boyfriend man the cooking and prepping while Jordan Fielders, always a foodie but formerly working in the energy and mining sector, takes care of the "front of house."

Figure on about 10€ for a plate of carne asada tacos, served with lime wedges and real black beans, along with authentic hot sauce. Truly one of the few places, very few places, in Paris where you can find an authentic California -even S. of the border - taco. Hamburgers are stupefyingly delicious. I'll stop by regularly just for more sweet potato fries. And the cupcakes are a terrifying 2.50€ - terrifying because at that price I'll be able to pick up a half a dozen of those fresh baked butter cream monsters at a time.

WATCH VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE

Kudos to both Kristin of Le Camion Qui Fume  - read more about her hamburgers in this month's Glamour magazine, French version - and Jordan of Cantine California for braving not just a city of foodies (yes, ok, read food snobs) but also a business bureaucracy that doesn't make things all that easy for young entrepreneurs. Although, I have to come clean, I did see a food truck parked in St. Germain - on St. Germain Blvd near rue du Bac - last year during Designer Days. They were giving away/selling little cups of butternut squash soup and macarons, if memory serves. Will have to dig up that picture I snapped...if only to prove to myself I'm not imagining it!

Also, when you reflect on the whole itinerant food vendor thing and the long history the city has with its fresh markets, all of which also have food vendor stalls established within them (like crepes to go or roasted chicken with potatoes) it doesn't, in fact, seem like such a stretch for these new kids on the block to rock up to the same curb and set up their tent, er, truck.  After all, one thing Parisians do know and that's food. And every lunch hour, M-F, millions of them swarm the city streets looking for something good to eat.

FYI, Le Camion qui Fume accepts cash only; Cantine California accepts credit cards and cash. Check their sites/ Twitter feeds for today's location.

Twitter @ LocalFoodWine   [photos/video by Paige Donner]

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Saint-Emilion Wineries Hold Open House 2012

[press release]

This year the Saint Emilion "Portes Ouvertes" Open House event will last four whole days from Saturday 28 April to Tuesday 1st May 2012.

If you are looking for an idea for a real break, don’t miss this unparalleled opportunity to meet the winegrowers of the Saint-Emilion, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Lussac Saint-Emilion and Puisseguin Saint-Emilion appellations, who are opening their estates to welcome visitors, share with them their passion for wine and invite them to taste their products.

The program has been significantly updated this year:

• A winegrowers’ dinner will be served in the Dominicains Hall on Saturday 28 April and the Saint-Emilion Jurade will be present,
• An oenologist will lead tastings of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé wines in the Saint-Emilion Maison du Vin,
• On Sunday 29 and Monday 30 April, bus tours will be available for visitors. These will be free shuttles running between all the chateaux that are open,
• Two reception tents will be set up at each end of the town to provide information, guidance and support for visitors,

As before, visitors will be able to get to know the chateaux around four themes:

• Tasty delights
• Exploring our architectural heritage
• Culture and fun events
• Family properties and traditions

This will also be a perfect time to explore the Medieval town, attend tasting classes at the Saint-Emilion Maison du Vin and really enjoy a weekend travelling around the Saint-Emilion vineyards.

There will also be a question-and-answer contest with bottles of wine from the different Saint-Emilion appellations as prizes!

For further information and brochures:

Maison du Vin de Saint-Emilion – Place Pierre Meyrat – 33330 Saint-Emilion – France - Tel.

+33 557 555 055 – maisonduvin@vins-saint-emilion.com – www.maisonduvinsaintemilion.com

Conseil des Vins de Saint-Emilion – 14 rue Guadet – 33330 Saint-Emilion – France -Tel.

+33 557 555 050 – info@vins-saint-emilion.com – www.vins-saint-emilion.com

Office de Tourisme de la Juridiction de Saint-Emilion - Le Doyenné - Place des Créneaux –33330 Saint-Emilion – France - Tel. +33 557 552 828 - st-emilion.tourisme@wanadoo.fr     www.saintemilion-tourisme.com

From 16 April 2012 you will be able to download the brochure from the website: www.vins-saintemilion.com (Photos courtesy Vins Saint-Emilion)

YOU WILL LOVE MY WINEPICKS! - ♥CHÉRIE DU VIN

*LOCAL FOOD AND WINE *

 

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