Roast Gold Beet and Turkey-Breast Salad

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, but in Vancouver that could all change in a heartbeat. Welcome to the WestCoast WetCoast~! If you’ve ever been here you understand how and why we always cherish the *(brief) moments of sunshine when they arrive… and what could be more in keeping with the current conditions than a hearty salad for dinner.

The trouble is, it’s only the first week of April and we really don’t have salad crops coming in: hence the need for what a chef-colleague of mine refers to as “The Crunchy Salad”. Not for the faint-of-heart, this salad includes celery, cauliflower, carrot – just about any winter crop that you can think of. And when it comes to those wintery vegetables, don’t think that they can’t fit into a salad – they just need a little extra love!

So for this salad I’ve roasted some beautiful Gold Beets, then sliced them against the grain to showcase the gorgeous colors. I also roast a sweet potato and parsnip for my next salad at the next time. Trust me, with the right dressing even my finicky 2-year old gives it a try… “What is it Daddy?” she ask. “Oh,” I respond with fingers crossed, “it’s just carrots. You love carrots!”

And there’s nothing that says summer to me more than sparkling wine; in any of its guises. Cava, Prosecco, Champagne… bubbles are the Sirens call for weddings, baby showers, Mother’s Day mimosas and so much of what we celebrate in the “School-Free” season. I’ve paired this salad with two unique wines that not only provide excellent balance for the dish but are from producers who I have the highest respect for; as winemakers and as people.

THE WINE

1. 1.    Summerhill Cipes Rosé

http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/

Gold Medal, Top 10 Sparkling Wines of competition - 2013 Effervescents du Monde

100% Pinot Noir

$27 at the winery

91+ points, EXCELLENT VALUE

… Springtime in a glass~! An enthusiastic mousse rushes to the surface carrying with it aromas of cranberries, young strawberries, clean flinty-mineral tones and a light savory herb tint. The palate is brisk with tight/lean/focused cranberry acids driving that mineral backbone. Dry enough to be almost austere, the generosity of the concentrated red berry flavors (currant, young raspberries) delivers excellent balance and superlative structure for the price. This is a natural pairing for most any poultry dish but is so refreshing that I love to serve it at home just before dinner to wake-up the taste-buds and get everyone thinking about food~! It is worthy of note that Summerhill is not only an organic winery, but also bio-dynamic, which means that while you’re getting your great value – you’re also supporting a company that works with their eco-system. Bravo!

1. 2.    LaMarca Prosecco D.O.C

http://www.lamarcaprosecco.com/

100% Glera varietal grapes

from $10 USD in some American markets to $20 in some Canadian *(BC)

90 points Wine Spectator

89 points, Great Value

… as the Summerhill rose is the essence of bright red berries, the LaMarca Prosecco is the essence of white fruit: young peaches, Golden Delicious apples, Anjou pear, melon and light honey tones. Another example of dry sparkling wine *(brut), once again the concentration of fruit flavors more than adequately compensate. Very good balance and structure, only the (relative) coarseness of the bubbles made me score this less than 90 points. If you’re in the mood to serve this with breakfast, try it with chorizo and onion scrambled eggs, tomato-cilantro relish…. Sparkling wines, of course, being one of the best bevvies to pair with egg dishes, the flavors in this particular Prosecco get a little giddy when around cilantro and/or fresh basil~! I love the wine, love the price, but especially love that consulting winemaker Fabrizio Gatto started off on the family’s modest vineyard, in a small town. He sets his sights, worked his tail off, and grew a career bringing the grapes of his native hillsides to international respect.

THE FOOD

The (sometimes) dullness of winter vegetables can easily be uplifted by the ultra-fresh flavors of sugar-peas. The addition of a handful of peas from Mexico/California bring an entire dish to life and become, to me, an incredibly effective seasoning. My daughter also likes snacking on them raw and I can’t say that I blame her!

RECIPE (4 portions)

3         tomatoes, seeds removed, julienne

½        cucumber, seeds removed, julienne

4 stalks celery, julienne

3 oz    sugar peas, julienne

2 oz    cauliflower, julienne

2 oz    carrots, thin julienne

1 oz    purple onion, julienne

(THE DRESSING)

3 Tbsp mayo

1 fl oz fresh lemon juice

1 fl oz rice wine vinegar

10 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade *(fine julienne)

           Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

1 lb     gold beets, roast until just tender

1 lb     roast turkey breast, cooled

4         savory scones: I made sun-dried tomato, dried cranberry and BC goat cheese

While it’s true that food is sustenance; we need it in order to live, it is also true that great food nourishes the soul or the spirit as much as it does the body. Living with the seasons celebrates what is surrounding us and helps us keep our focus on what really matters. To me, that becomes abundantly apparent when we sit down as a family and share what other families have worked so diligently to offer us.

 

So enjoy your meal with great wine and family or friends. Treat yourself, spoil someone else, and above all: savour the moment~! Many thanks to E & J Gallo Winery Canada for letting me try the LaMarca Prosecco!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

an Ode to the humble pot roast

Pot roast:

The lowliest cut of beef turned into the most succulent comfort food. I mean, what says comfort more than pot-roast? Immediately thoughts turn to Sunday evening meals; family is near, there’s good conversation amidst the bickering (it is family after all) and always a decent bottle of wine.

Well as soon as I tasted these two wines I started thinking of pot-roast, and I hope the wineries take that as a compliment! For not all red wines under $20 can actually stand-up to the richness, the intense “beefiness” that is great, slow-cooked meat. These wines deliver concentration, balance and value… perfect for your Wintery-type braised dishes.

THE WINE

2010 Milton Park Shiraz

88+ points, Very Good Value

$14.99 www.BCLiquorStores.com

… deep, dark and inky in the glass – it even looks like a wine for beef! Rich aromas of stewed cherries and blackberries, some fresh thyme and rosemary with that background of cracked pepper that is signature Shiraz. Crisp, light acid and approachable, chewy tannin, the flavors in the wine are much in-line with the aromas and are rich enough to pair with dinner but fresh enough to appreciate a glass or two on their own.

*Shiraz: a note on Shiraz; it is the exact same varietal (grape) as Syrah… no difference at all! The only thing that is worthy of noting between the two is that in the past Syrah was considered the French style of winemaking (and so more restrained, less obvious fruit and more earth tones) and Shiraz was the Australian style meaning big bold fruit, higher alcohol. Well, the times have changed and in a recent meeting of the #WineTastingCircle of Vancouver, industry professionals couldn’t tell which was Australian, American, Canadian or Spanish Syrah/Shiraz. It’s not that there are no differences, but that wine-making has grown and evolved that much in the past 10 years. If you think that you don’t enjoy Australian Shiraz but enjoy full-bodied wines with great concentration, balance and structure then you owe it to yourself to “pony-up” the $15 and give this little gem a try.

Jumilla “Las Hermanas” organic Monastrell

89+ points, Excellent Value

$15.99 www.BCLiquorStores.com

… fresh, fruity, inviting: this is the wine you open as you’re cooking and hope that you have a second bottle for dinner! The aromas are plush with red cherries, currants and young plums and the palate has just enough acid to crave a bit of fatty food but, once again, balanced enough to appreciate thoroughly on its own. A solid wine, this is already on my Top 100 list for 2014~!

*Monastrell: not familiar with it? I find that this grape is very much like Merlot, which all of us can remember as fresh, fruit-driven flavors. This is a classic to serve at social events, but when well-made can offer concentration and structure to pair with classic Canadian winter dishes like pot-roast, tortierre and Shepard’s pie/Cottage pie. As per this particular producer, it’s small wonder that the European Portfolio Manager for the BC Liquor Board (one of Canada’s three Masters-of-Wine: Barbara Phillip) has named this as an “Insider Pick”. This would be a great value even if it wasn’t organic!

THE FOOD

Making beautiful food doesn’t have to be time consuming! And while I can admire the economy of throwing everything into one pot and turning it on, when plating that food it can look sometimes like a plate for the dog rather than the (fussy) kids.

This plate of pot-roast took relatively little extra time to prepare for dinner @ 5:30:

STEP 1:   2pm:      pot-roast in the oven @ 350F (about a 4lb roast)

STEP 2:   4:30:      baked potato and spaghetti squash in the oven

STEP 3:   5:00:      sauté the whole mushrooms on medium-high for 5 minutes, then in the oven

STEP 4:  5:20       steam the carrots 5 minutes, then throw the broccolini in, continue steaming 3 minutes

Kristof’s Pot Roast Recipe

1 fl oz     canola oil

1              yellow onion, finely sliced

6              cloves garlic, finely sliced

4 lb         pot roast

1 lb         green cabbage, rough chopped

½ bottle red wine

1 L           beef stock

½ tsp        each: fresh thyme and fresh rosemary

*salt and pepper to taste

• Start by sautéing the onions in the oil on medium until translucent
• Add the garlic and continue cooking until it’s turned a nutty brown
• Add the beef, sear on all sides. When it’s on it’s last sear then add the cabbage
• When the beef is finished searing, add the wine, then stock, then herbs
• DO NOT salt the dish until it’s finished cooking… as it reduces, the flavors will concentrate. If it tastes perfect at the start then by the end you run the risk of having salty food!
• Just before serving slice the roast on your cutting board and thicken the juice with cornstarch – excellent gravy! Don't forget to rest the roast on that cutting board for a good 15 minutes to ensure it stays moist!

So enjoy your pot-roast dinner with great wine and family or friends. Treat yourself, spoil someone else, and above all: savor the moment~! Many thanks to the Christopher Stewart Wine Agency, representatives in Canada, for the sample bottles. www.christopherstewartwineandspirits.com

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival: Consumer Tasting

http://www.playhousewinefest.com/

Over 20,000 people came to the Vancouver Convention Center last week for the 2014 @VanWineFest; the expected crowd of doctors and lawyers but also mechanics, secretaries and firefighters... for too long I've heard the rhetoric from people explaining to me how much they love wine but how they wouldn't feel comfortable coming to a Wine Festival.

"It's too stuffy for me. I just want to enjoy the wine!"

Gustavo Crespo, Managing Director Blends Wines

Take a look at my friend Gustavo from VistAlba wines, Argentina. He sure looks like he's enjoying the wine! The @VanWineFest is, to me, what people want it to be. This was my third year of delving deeply into the inner dimensions not only of wine, but the people behind the wine. That was the true allure and what has me hungry for the 2015 Wine Fest already. I mean, if the event is about people then the year that was focused on France obviously had its highlights... but Australia next year? If there's going to be one wine event you go to - this is it. And it won't be stuffy, that much is for certain!

In the space of three days I spent time with winemakers from France, marketing directors from New Zealand, sales gurus from Chile and vineyard managers from California. I sipped outrageously expensive champagne with a man who traces his family back through 8 generations of winemaking and then swapped Okanagan stories with a recent transplant to Canada who felt that this was his new home... all under the canopy of the Coal Harbor vista and surrounded  by thousands of people enjoying themselves as much as I.

Here is a small smattering of the decidedly divine wines I discovered, and the stories of the people behind them.

1.  Villa Maria "Private Bin" Sauvignon Blanc

Marlborough, New Zealand

90 points, GREAT VALUE

http://www.villamaria.co.nz/

$18.99 listed in the http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

 . Fantastic~! This winery is 100% family-owned and run, having just finished its 51st vintage and with a more then sizable production. The quality that goes into this modestly-priced white impressed me, and all the more when I started to learn their techniques: multiple passes through the vineyards when harvesting is one. What this does is allow the pickers to choose only the perfect grapes meaning that what then gets pressed for juice (and then wine) is also perfect. This is a sustainable winery, employing some of the highest-standards in organic viticulture in New Zealand and is driven by the fastidious George Fistonich, proprietor. Remember those grapes? I asked my friend who works with them, "What happens if the grapes aren't up to Georges standards?" "George doesn't believe in "good-enough" was the response. "Either they're perfect, or we pass. That's how he built this company and it's not changing."

. THE WINE: aromas of young yet well-balanced stonefruit and floral tones... apricots, peaches, wild flowers. Fresh, clean and very inviting! The palate offers medium+ grapefruit acid which is refreshing on it's own but carries enough weight and structure for great food pairings: brilliantly precise minerality made me immediately want to serve this with oysters, but would be a natural for many seafood dishes including Thai/Vietnamese/Indian seasoned food.

2. Poplar Grove Pinot Gris

Penticton, BC *Okanagan Valley DVA*

90+/91 points, GREAT VALUE

http://www.poplargrove.ca/

 . also 100% estate fruit, I asked Ian Sutherland, winemaker what brought such concentration and finesse to the wine. "We had the courage to wait" he replied. He told me about that particular vintage and how, in the Fall, the fruit just wasn't ripe enough. They could have picked a little early... the grapes wouldn't have been perfect but it's better then letting the bears eat them, or the deer. Or watching them washed away by heavy rains or frozen on the vine by a cold-snap. I'm only one-generation off the farm and so when Ian told me about how nervous he got, watching the weather, watching the grapes, until that late warm spell when a week of sunshine came. Well, I understood what he was saying. "It's about freshness, ripeness and aromatics" he continued, "there needs to be a balance between all of the components. And that, that comes from the vineyard. If we don't do it right out there, then it just doesn't happen." Any of my readers with a vegetable garden will understand Ian as well as I do, I think.

.  THE WINE: a fully expressive wine with rich aromas of warm peach cobbler and grapefruit marmalade... crisp young acid, well balanced and a terrific representation of the World-Class work BC can produce. Food pairings? Sure the seafood dishes will work but BC salmon will lend a certain fattiness to create beautiful balance! Another? Duck is a perennial favorite of mine: same reason.

3. LaPostolle Cabernet-Sauvignon

Colchagua Valley, Chile

91 points, EXCELLENT VALUE

http://www.lapostolle.com/

$28.99 listed in the http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

. "French by birth, Chilean by nature" is the motto here and, after tasting the wine, I can understand why. "French by birth" is a nod to the restrained, elegant style of wine; a harmony of fruit, earth and floral tones I knew as soon as I tasted this that I had found something special. But it was the "Chilean by nature" that really got me because, for all the finesse, all the stylish charm of the wine, the gusto was pure Chile. It's as if what the wine says is Chilean, but it says this in a French accent! I was hooked, having loved the power and concentration of Chilean Cabs for years but am currently discovering the nuances of Bordeaux. This winery was started by Alexandra LaPostolle, daughter to the head of that famous family that has owned and grown the Gran Marnier brand into a world-wide phenomena. But she wanted to do something of her own and when she walked the vineyards of the Colchagua Valley found that she was humming to herself... she had found a place to call her own. 15 years later and you and I get to reap the benefit of Alexandra's belief that Chile still has much it can show the world, and itself, about the heights of quality it is just beginning to reach. This is the kind of value that is Very Hard to find - even for me.

. THE WINE: so restrained, but with such force, such concentration... red and black berry aromas melting with roast beef and savory herbs warming in the garden. The palate opens with a burst of lively red current acid then is followed by earth/wood tones and that same herbaceousness from the bouquet. Well integrated tannin with plenty of chew to them, this is a brilliant wine for top-tier beef and while it can be enjoyed now - cellar it for a decade or more and watch it turn into a sophisticated powerhouse!

4. Georges du Boeuf, Fleurie

Northern Beaujolais, Burgundy, France

90+ points, EXCELLENT VALUE

about $25 in BC, http://www.duboeuf.com/

. when Laurent Gamonet, brand ambassador for Les Vins Georges Duboeuf and I met, I knew that I had found a kindred spirit. A ready smile, a firm handshake, and an eagerness to share the joy of the Duboeuf story (and wine) - Laurent is not only a true gentleman, but a kind one as well. It was a welcome reprieve from a very long day when I shared a table with him and listened as he spoke with genuine passion about the dedication that Georges has had since the beginning. One story stuck with me of how when Georges was barely 20 years old the local merchants refused to pay him enough money for the high-quality grapes his family vineyard was producing. Rather then sell himself short, or stint on quality, Georges decided to start making wine himself! And when the wine was made, off he went on his bicycle and sold it by hand to restaurants in the local villages. Now 81 years old, George's business sells 2.5 million cases annually. It reminds me of a Kevin Costner film: "If you build it, they will buy it..."

. THE WINE: what an elegantly perfumed, slightly-sweet raspberry and red flower bouquet. Nuanced hints of wild scrub-brush (known as sous-bois or under-growth) and a brilliantly keen/precise mineral backbone. Ultra fresh yet inviting acid, very fine tannin - it would be very difficult for most people to tell this Gamay Noir from Pinot Noir. The difference however is that this is about half the price (or less) then the same quality in Pinot from just across the border into Burgundy proper. Food pairing? There's a reason we called braised beef with mushrooms Beef Bourguignon!!!

5. Bodegas Santa Ana sparkling Malbec rose  (15% Pinot Noir)

Argentina

90 points, EXCELLENT VALUE

about $14 in BC

http://www.bodegas-santa-ana.com.ar/

. If I hadn't been impressed by the fact that this company is just around the corner from celebrating its 125th anniversary, I was most certainly impressed by tales of "Opi" Sadler, its current winemaker. You see Opi, as he likes to be known, has been working here for 27 years... so what you ask? Well, this was Opi's very first (and only) job. He has never worked anywhere else, nor could he imagine it. Opi is the third generation in his family to work as winemaker and the only thing he likes more then telling a bad joke, is telling people about the history of Santa Ana and his family. Opi loves to talk about when he was a little kid, maybe 5 years old, and the family would congregate at his grandfathers house for a feast. Grandpa would ask little Opi to go down to the cellar and grab a few bottles of wine but Opi was scared of the bats that lived down there! That is, he was scared until he learned to look at it a different way: he started to see the bats as the Guardians of the Cellar, the Protectors of the Wine. Now he is the Protector and it is us he protects the wines for; careful stewardship of the land, passion, commitment... these are the things that I could taste in the wine. One of the best values in sparkling wine I have ever had.

. THE WINE: so utterly fresh! Lightly spiced young raspberry aromas with complimentary tones of pink roses and clean minerals... the palate also so vibrantly alive: fresh cherries at the beginning of ripeness, red raspberries and the same mineral/floral bouquet. Great balance, this over-delivers for the price! Food? The start of a meal with light appies, the end of a meal with creamy dessert, after a meal with the one you love... you decide! If you need more choices, this wine will SING with a variety of sushi especially tuna, scallops and salmon.

my friend Laurent from Georges Duboeuf

And this literally was the tip of the iceberg. The wines were as beautiful as they were plentiful. Always something to nosh on if you're so inclined, great people from all over the world to talk to - it's easy to understand now how people can book the week of WineFest off and absolutely fill it with activities. France may have been the focus region this year on paper, but to me I will remember this year as focusing on the human heart. Perhaps it was just all the bubbly wine? But every time I turned my head I saw another smile, heard another laugh and felt another genuine person standing across from me - just wanting to share the story of their families passion.

My thanks to the @VanWineFest and Heth PR ( http://hethpr.com/ ) for access to the Consumer Tasting room and for coordinating such a stellar event so close to home.

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Valentine's Special

As I am a trained chef, I get a lot of people asking me for suggestions for what to serve their significant other on Valentine's Day.

Oh it's a dangerous thing to give advice~! And with this in particular, so much depends on personal taste and so I often say "Make them something you know they love." I mean, what's the point of grilling steak for a vegetarian??

With that out of the way, I love oysters. Absolutely love them. And what could me more classically Valentines then a little oyster-aphrodisiac appetizer? I've got a few easy ways to prepare them and some brilliant wines to pair that won't break the bank.

THE FOOD

Oysters Rockefeller

An utter classic, this recipe has been around for almost two centuries, and this is my adaptation of it. Not brave enough for raw oysters? Give this a try... I've even given this to "non-oyster" eaters who declared "Hey - this is actually pretty good!"

6 oysters on the half-shell, shells cleaned

1 cup    36% cream

1/2 cup sparkling wine

            cornstarch to thicken

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup blanched spinach

1/2 cup home-made bacon bits, cut large

6 large slices of medium-firm white cheese like: Jarlsberg/Gruyere/Fontina

1. bring the cream just under a boil in a saute pan. Add the wine, whisk thoroughly, and as it returns to a low-boil add the butter and whisk again.
2. add the oysters and poach 2 minutes, turning them as necessary to ensure even cooking
3. place the spinach on the bottom of the oyster shells to provide a stable base and put the oysters on top of the spinach 
4. thicken the poaching liquid with cornstarch and spoon a small amount of the sauce over
5. place some bacon over the oysters, top with the cheese and place under the broiler in your oven under the cheese starts to brown (gratinée in French)

 WINE OF CHOICE:

Jaume Sera Cristalino Brut, $12.91 http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

Bold. Fresh citrus notes in this wine will cut through the dishes richness and bring it into focus. A keen mineral edge to the wine will harmonize perfectly with the mineral-tang of fresh oysters.

89 points

"Au Naturel"

Those who truly love oysters though, will adore fresh fresh oysters with nothing more then a bed of coarse sea-salt, a great glass of wine, and pleasant company. I know that restaurants are full of fresh oysters with "Mignonette" sauces, lemon, cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish, pickled daikon and the like. Infidels! Oyster connoisseurs around the world enjoy the fresh ocean-brine quality of great oysters and most of the above simply overpower these more subtle flavors. 

Of course, it's not for me to tell you that you can't or even shouldn't enjoy oysters with a condiment, but if you spend $2 per oyster for something that is only a mouthful, why wouldn't you want to savor the flavor??

WINE OF CHOICE: 

Jaume Sera Cristalino Rose, approximately $15 **specialty wine/liquor stores**

First-place finisher at the Whistler Cornucopia wine-festival, this was my choice for Top Sparkling Wine (under $50) for 2013. Worth the work to find, it's bright red berry tones of cranberry/raspberry/young strawberry will delight! Very approachable acids mean that it works well with slightly leaner seafood/fish dishes.

91+points

The Option

And if oysters just aren't your thing, and cooking is the last priority for Valentine's, then consider a plate of fresh fruit: your local grocer is bound to have some special goodies this week so (as I do) pile a plate with grapes, cut melon, ripe pear and garnish with a few long-stem strawberries (yes a real thing), maybe some blackberries or raspberries, a wedge or two of starfruit or mango and a little chocolate dipping sauce on the side.

WINE OF CHOICE: 

Riondo Prosecco, $14.93 http://www.bcliquorstores.com/

A decidedly feminine wine, small wonder this is the #1 sparkling wine of Italy! Ripe flavors of melon, tangerines and lemons are cut by mild yet zesty acids and an ultra-creamy mousse. Truly addictive you may want to purchase an extra bottle for mimosas the next morning and this will surely make your list of what to keep on-hand for romantic evenings or Monday nights watching "Castle"

90 points

So enjoy your Valentine's Day in your way, with some good food, great wine and even better company. Treat yourself, spoil someone else, and above all: savor the moment~!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Pusser’s Rum, British Virgin Islands, West Indies

www.PussersRum.com

Pussers Rum Public House, Tortola

I’m a man who craves routine; yearns for some semblance of pattern in the chaos that is life with a two-year old, and so, it is with no small amount of nervousness that I recount the tale of 330 years of tradition, routine and pattern, shattered.

The British Navy had issued it’s fighting men a daily dose of rum for centuries and, suddenly, while reading this I can understand the allure of leaving home to sail the sea for years at a time. Waves, the tropics and a bottle of rum? Heck yeah! But in 1970 that all changed when the Navy quoted Bob Dylan by stating that “The times had changed…” though I’m sure even Bob didn’t know they were changing this much. And so to this day sailors re-enact the dark day the rum stopped in an annual ritual which is well attended and draws the finest sort of people. My kinda people.

So it’s 1970 and the rum ends, but a few sailors keep the odd bottle and such in a footlocker for a rainy day. Enter to the story a Mister Charles Tobias ( www.CharlesTobias.com ) who crossed the British Navy on a (metaphorically) rainy day in 1978: taking his ship from Gibraltar to Barbados, a small pump stopped working. Not an optimistic way to start a long voyage, the Navy is close by and so Charles hails them, hoping for a spare part. Whilst convening with the ship’s captain, said captain offers Charles a parting gift to soften the rough trip ahead: a 2-gallon cask of Pusser’s Rum. Now remember: this had never been sold privately before, and had been “off the market” for 8 years! It’s a challenge for me to keep rum in my house for a year… so a treasure to be certain.

Well the rum didn’t last as far as Barbados and Charles ended up with the happiest crew in the Atlantic that month. But beyond that, Charles had an experience; for he had never tasted rum with such depth, such dimension, such character.How, how could he get more???

He couldn’t. The producer had closed, the patent locked, the recipe in the hands of the Admiralty. Hopeless. Well, being a rummy myself, I understand all too well the impetus for Charles to march himself to said Admiralty and ask for the recipe in order to restore the vintage Pusser label back-to-life. As anyone who has ever dealt with government, much less military government, will understand: I admire Charles Tobias for his tenacity, and must believe that he has angels looking out for him that it only took 2 years for the British Navy to accept Charles’ proposal.

And the part that clinched the deal for Charles and the re-born Pusser label was the commitment from Charles to donate a significant portion of every sales dollar back to the Navy sailor’s fund. How significant? Over a million pounds Sterling since 1980, making it the biggest source of income for the Fund outside of it’s seed-money. That’s not window-dressing, that’s not publicity, that’s genuine, responsible business… to give back to our community is one of the truest marks of profitability.

But let me get off the soap-box and back to the rum!

wooden pot still, circa 1792

What makes it so flavorful? So full of life and energy? Well a little secret, that I’ve written about before, with two parts: the pot-still and the wooden-still. Pot-stills are shunned by many (read: most) large distillers due to it’s low efficiency and slowness of production. On the flip-side, master-distillers and connoisseurs adore pot-stills for their ability to evolve the production of a spirit into a work of art. Column stills, in general, produce a lack-luster product that is bereft of dense flavors, but technical sound, and do so in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours.

And then there is the matter of wood over metal: as anyone who knows wine will well understand, wood imparts flavor on liquids be they wine or spirit. A wooden still which has some age to it can then impart nuances of flavor from each and every successive vintage before… Pusser’s Rum is not the only distillery to adopt this practice, but they certainly are in the upper-echelon of practitioners with this behemoth which has been in constant production since approximately 1792. It’s craftsmanship like this which yields a rum so full of flavor and dimension that there are no additives. 100% natural product. And what difference, really, can such tools and such dedication make to the end result?

The results are in the glass~!

British Navy Pusser’s Rum

92+ points

$50+ CAD in BC

Gold Medal Winner, Best Dark Rum, London 2001
Gold Winner, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2005
Double Gold Winner, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2003
Gold Medal Winner, IWSC International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2011
Double Gold Winner, The Fifty Best, New York 2012
Double Gold Winner, The Fifty Best, New York 2012
Gold Medal Winner, IWSC International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2011
Gold Winner, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2005
Double Gold Winner, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2003

• TO THE EYE:   beautifully rich amber/gold liquid, light apricot tones
• ON THE NOSE:   full bodied aromas of Winter spices, molasses, hard-candy, ripe peaches and apricots
• ON THE PALATE:   Intense! Big, bold flavors ranging from aged tobacco to warm apricot compote to salt-water toffee. Brilliant structure and balance, I find that at 42.5% ABV it benefits from a dram of water like great single-malt
• How to serve it?:   rum like this needs no fruit juice or soda to make it quaffable and I delighted in this bottle on its own, with the barest whisper of water. Ice I find dulls the aromas. I sat on the veranda many times with the rum and a good cigar, and with a friend was the perfect treat at the end of the week.

British and Russian sailors celebrate Victory Day

So what the heck does Pusser’s mean anyways? It’s slang for purser: the officer on-board who was responsible for handling the ship’s money. And while this bottle certainly was a bit of money, it was a worthy investment. All the more so now that I learn that I’m not alone in my appreciation of the decidedly artisanal approach this company has taken. I’m also not alone in appreciating that, quietly, they have also been supporting the men and women of the British Navy for decades. I don’t pretend to be vigilant enough with my consumer dollars… I need to research more and spend less much like many (read: most) North Americans. That being said, it made me smile to see the photo of a few crusty sailors having one last kick-at-the-can with a bottle or three of Pusser’s rum. It’s a privilege, to me, when we can repay those who have served our society selflessly. That I can help by choosing a great bottle of rum – well that’s just dandy with me!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape

Flor n/v, Prosecco DOC, Italy

What do you get when Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich decide to put their collective heads together to import Italian sparkling wine?

If your answer was anything other then “Quality”, “Value” or “Excellence” then you are wrong my friend. This trio represent some of the absolute pre-eminent Italian regional cuisine in all of the New World and have an understanding of the human palate far beyond the keen of most people. Their collective success is more then sufficient evidence to support this wild accusation and so I’ll go one step further:

If they understand how flavors interacts with the tastebuds then they understand how wine can interact with the soul.

Prosecco, Cava, sparkling wine, Champagne… all words that represent tiny bubbles of perfection captured in time by an ethereal liquid. It is a well-cut suit, a beautiful woman by your side and a well-appointed vehicle to whisk you to your destination. This glass of effervescent gems is a glamorous party with pretty people thronging to be let in and you walk past them all. Sparkling wine is the dream of something better, something prettier, something richer.

How utterly brilliant that these collective taste-gurus have imported such luxury, but at a price that the masses can appreciate. At under $20 this wine is an easy competitor for the contemporaries in France who charge twice, thrice, tenfold the cost… and also handles itself confidently against Spanish challengers with it’s ripe orchardfruit and stonefruit palate.

Brilliant value for the money? The proof is in the glass!

Flor n/v Prosecco DOC

90+/91 points

$16.99 limited special in BC

• tiny pearls of air raise through the glass with movie-like perfection, bringing refreshing aromas of ripe pears and clean minerality… the palate is Springtime; peaches and apricots are warm and honey-like, emphasized by a seductively approachable medium- acid. Excellent balance and structure with medium+ length, a show-stopper for the price and an excellent way to start an evening or create Mimosas with the next morning 

Prosecco is still a red-headed step-child in the sparkling wine market of the New World. Misunderstood, often abused, this wine is capable of greatness in the right hands but has been bastardized by some into a bubbly Koolaid beverage that stuck in the minds of many… ah the heyday of Asti Spumante right?!

Batali. Bastianich. Koolaid. Like they say on Sesame Street, “One of these words just doesn’t belong.” So don’t trust my words, or my palate, that this wine is worthy of your time and effort. Don’t even trust the literally hundreds of fellow journalists who have written words of praise for this budget-conscious jewel. Just trust your own eyes when you read that it was created by three of the savviest people in the restaurant business today.

And trust your own palate when you try it, because really, at the end of the day yours is the most important opinion.

Many thanks to the Christopher Stewart Wine Agency, representatives in Canada, for the sample bottle. www.christopherstewartwineandspirits.com

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments and questions. Here, or:

on Twitter @AStudentofWine

on Facebook @www.facebook.com/TheChefandTheGrape