Hanging out at the Crooked Goose

Great spots for food and wine in Victoria ultimately come down to people. Who runs the place, what are their standards, how do they run the place and what is their vision for success as an establishment. The Crooked Goose is one of the newer players on the block in Victoria located at the "corner" of Helmcken, Interurban, Wilkinson and the other three streets that come to one set of traffic lights near Camosun Interurban. The transformation on the inside from what used to be the old pub to what is now an open, airy, humming room is quite remarkable. Much of the work was done by owners Steve Watson, Chris Bremner, Ben Peterson, Andrew Moffat and Steve's partner Gina Basra. Quite amazing for any of you who ventured into the pub in its old form.

Ultimately though, the test of a good restaurant is what they produce to eat and drink, and there is lots to talk about here. I judge a good restaurant by the simple things done well. Can they make good french fries, care in the kitchen to a staple like this is important. No problem here. Excellent fries that are used everywhere from Steak-Frites to some very well done poutines. The classic is currently my favourite. Tasty gravy, Quebec cheese curds and perfect fries, scrumptuous. The cream of mushroom soup is second to none, anywhere. What exactly they are putting in the soup to make it so darn good is a mystery, but wow. And no shyness from the mushroom here, lots of them to go with the richness of the rest of the soup. The house salad is not an afterthought. Good greens and additions, and the dressing is well done. I like the fact that the calamari is grilled and not battered and fried, a whole different mouth feel and taste. The onion rings that accompanied were good, but a wee bit greasy. Teething pains!

Of course when you enter the room, you are greeted with the beaming smile of Steve Watson behind the bar. I say that not in jest but truly because, he obviously is passionate about what he does, loves doing it and wants every guest to feel that warmth when they come in. Like he is pouring drinks in his own kitchen bar at home for you, while you wait for a quick bite to eat! The beers and wines that have gone onto the lists here are fabulous and there are certainly some choices you may not find everywhere on the lists. From the Fat Tug IPA from Driftwood to the Pffafenheim Gewurtz. Even Rocky Creek's Pinot Gris makes an appearance, great to see some Island fare in the mix.

Ultimately as a community restaurant, Crooked Goose will be successful, but they have enough to be a destination spot for those ensconced in the downtown restaurant scene and a great drive by for Camosun students and staff, as well as parents who are headed out to PISE to be a part of the Island soccer, volleyball or basketball scenes.

You will come for the consistent food, scrumptuous bites, great wine and beer, but ultimately, you will come back for the people, the atmosphere the serenity and the service!

Taste - The Main Event

Kathy McAree has been working with an amazing group of volunteers for a few years now to create a premiere wine tasting-food pairing event for Victoria. This year’s Main Event was a testament to the success she has achieved in this respect.

Many of BC’s top wineries were represented at the evening, pouring a wide variety of excellent wines. Additionally, there were some culinary masterpieces created by some of Victoria’s top chefs, pairing beautifully with the wines on offer.

As I entered the Rattenbury designed Crystal Garden, where the food and wine was showcased I was greeted by smiling volunteers offering me a Riedel wine glass to use for tasting for the night.  Next came a terrific smoked chicken Long John with cucumber salad and citrus yogurt from Garrett Schack at Vista 18.

Painted Rock is making some terrific wine and have added a Chardonnay to their arsenal of cult favourite wines. The Red Icon is still my favourite, but John Skinner’s stories about the making of the wine really made them all that much better. Skinner is the proprietor of the winery and has really sparked its success.

As I turned to check out the next food table, I was met by the fabulous meat concoctions of Corey Pelan at the Whole Beast. His offering was neither mainstream, nor everyone’s cup of tea, but, anyone who walked by missed out on a fabulous appetizer. It was perfect with the remnants of that Red Icon in the bottom of my glass.

                         Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Wellman Photography

                         http://www.rwellmanPhotography.com/blog

Of course, there was no rhyme or reason to the order that I covered the room. It was hard not to run into the group from Lure at the Delta Ocean Pointe. They had created a fabulous dessert, so why not, did it really matter when I had chocolate in the evening? The dessert described in a fabulous French accent was a goat cheesecake mousses on a cocoa wafer with sour cherry and a chocolate covered coffee bean for crunch. Absolutely fabulous, and quite frankly the crunch was just perfect against the softness of the mousse.

I backtracked and came to Red Rooster Vineyard, where they are making a dry but very drinkable Gewurtztraminer. It was perfect with Sam’s, from Bistro 28, sablefish tartar with chili lime vinaigrette. A fabulous melding of crisp flavours and freshness.  Around the corner was Mount Boucherie winery producing an absolutely delectable Gamay Noir. They produce some other great ones too, but the Gamay Noir is far and above my favourite of all their wines. I re-traced and wandered by Moonstruck cheese. Perfect to get me going for the next wine. I ventured over to Hillside winery to try their Muscat Ottonel. A great glass of wine, with some elements of sweetness and fruit, but a good dry finish as well.

More dessert was brewing at the Paprika Bistro station where Anna Hunt had dreamed up a spiced chocolate shortbread with chocolate mousse and candied local rhubarb. It was chocolatey, but the rhubarb cut that richness perfectly. Of course the perfect pair for me was one of my favourite BC wines, the Pinot Noir from Blue Mountain. Christine Fawcett was pouring for Blue Mountain and it was just as expected a great glass of wine. She was quick to refer me to her husband at the station right beside hers who was pouring for Blasted Church. This is not a winery that I have spent a great deal of time drinking, but their Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot was the Gold Medal winner as the best red wine at the All Canadian Wine Championships. It was a well deserved accolade. I have been on a search at the liquor store to find myself some of that wine, it is full bodied, with great fruit at the front and some round tannins giving it a smooth finish and a wonderful taste on your tongue. An excellent glass of wine. I had to try it twice!

                         Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Wellman Photography
                         http://www.rwellmanPhotography.com/blog

As I made my way upstairs to the second level, I was impressed to see the winemaker himself, Howard Soon pouring at the Sandhill table. Their Gamay Noir and Pinot Gris were both fantastic, as attested by the lineup for this station! Next it was wonderful fresh Morels at the Forrester’s table from Olympic View Golf club, They paired with some chicken liver pate, which went beautifully with the Gamay Noir!

Seven Stones is located in the Similkameen Valley just before you get to Osoyoos and always produce some excellent wines. I thoroughly enjoyed the Row 128 Merlot. It was full bodied, lots of raspberry and a great finish. Definitely going to pick this one up when I pass by their winery on the way to Osoyoos next month!

Sumac Ridge is a wine I like sometimes and not so much at others. My friends Blagica and Jess were pouring at this station, and I must say the 30^th Anniversary Tribute Sparkling was fabulous as was the white Meritage. They went wonderfully with Gord O’Neill’s Porchetta a la Romana from Butchart Gardens kitchens.

I think that Venturi-Schulze produces some quality wine and balsamic and my tasting with Marilyn and Michelle at their station just verified that for me. The Brut Naturel was fabulous and the Brandenburg #3 was unmatched – sweet syrupy yumminess!

The vodka from Victoria Gin was mind numbingly strong in comparison to everything else I was having, but that being said, tasty and one I will seek out for my occasional vodka-soda!

What a fabulous evening of food and drink. As I prepared to leave at the end of the night and the chefs were making their exits, a multitude of local berries was proffered up for those who might want them to take home or to much on while leaving, wonderful sweet juicy raspberries and strawberries, just the perfect capper to the night!

Taste – The Main Event is just that fabulous evening out that Victoria needs in the middle of the Summer. A chance to get in touch with all of the wonderful food and wine we are so lucky to have access to in our beautiful city and province. Well Done Kathy! Well Done volunteers! A wonderful opportunity!

A little taste of Seattle!

Seattle seems to be on e of those cities that is just overlooked generally by the American public. People talk of their culinary and cultural experiences in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, heaven forbid, Las Vegas, but rarely does the Pacific Northwest and Seattle come up. Yet there is so much there. Maybe I should just shut my mouth and keep it to myself and continue to enjoy each and every visit over the border!

Really heading to Seattle is as much about the shopping, for so many different things as it is about Seattle itself. Certainly when you are travelling with an 11 year old, it is more about the shopping and the fun than ever.

Of course there are the two factory outlet malls, the have not and the have. First is the have-not, the original factory outlets in Burlington, Wa. Now really there are a number of great secrets at this one. First of all, LuluLemon. This is the only truly factory outlet LuluLemon I have come across. They have a store in Vancouver, but the pricing is not that much better than in the stores. AT this one, the prices are great, if you are willing to spend some time looking. The Coach and Gap outlets always seem to have deals that are way better than at any of the other outlets, maybe that is me imagining it all, so I can keep the romantic notion of visiting this very unvisited mall!

Of course, if you come to Burlington, you may as well hit up Costco too. And not for the electronics or the massive slabs of meat, which are all terrifically priced, but for the wine!!

Where else can you get the 7 Deadly Zins, a favourite of mine since a visit to the Napa Valley, for $10.99? This wine is $25 in the Fort and Foul Bay Liquor store. Or the Stag’s Leap Artemis for a mere $36? There are deals to be had here. You need to have your LCB guide with you or know the pricing well, but if you want to drink good wine each night, you can, and not pay much!

The first meal was at Applebees, I know, a chain and not known for their amazing food. But we needed nourishment and so in we went. They have Steamed vegetables and a side salad as an option for an entrée – wow are we in the USA? And they were good to boot? The salsa that came with the appies was fresh, as in, I think they may have made it, who knew! We had some wonton tacos with pulled pork, a steak quesadilla fried up and some boneless chicken wings, all white meat and surprisingly not bad. All that along with unsweetened ice tea, a personal favourite for $20 total, how can you go wrong. Great during shopping nourishment!

Of course that was the same night as game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs and after a vigorous soccer game, some nourishment was in order again. This time is was Bob’s Burgers and Brew in Tulalip, Wa, near the Premium Factory outlets, the haves! These outlets have Banana Republic to Adidas and Kenneth Cole. Some nice stuff, but the prices were still relatively high. Bob’s was full of Canuck fans cheering on the boys. The mighty cheer that erupted when the goal was scored was so much fun! We indulged in some cut vegetables with Honey mustard dip, and were wholly surprised when enough fresh vegetables for 4 came out on a platter, really are we in the USA? We added on some lightly fried prawns and smiled happily. The wine was a Columbia Crest Merlot, and was fine, but nothing to write home about.

The next morning on the way to the next soccer match, we made a stop at my favourite Seattle coffee place, Café Vita. It took a little bit to remember exactly where it was and to cut up and back through the streets near Key West Arena, but we found it. Café Vita roasts their own beans and have a few outlets in the Seattle area. The one on 5^th Street is a small darker place with some effervescent staff who make a wonderful Americano. By all accounts they make a pretty darn good hot chocolate too! They have a full line of Top Pot doughnuts, and marvelous croissants to muffins and loaves. It is worth the trip, and really represents the essence of the coffee culture of the Pacific Northwest.

Lunch that day after the game and before the third game was at PF Changs. Despite being a chain of Chinese restaurants, they are consistent from place to place and the service is fabulous. Their specialities are many but the Chicken lettuce wraps and the tempura green beans with hot sauce are awesome. We had both for our lunch with some more unsweetened ice tea to wash it all down. They are really very consistent and the food is hot, well made and tastes yummy, how can you go wrong!

After the 3^rd game, the plan was to attend the Sounders-Whitecaps game at Qwest field. We headed down a couple of hours early, found a great parking spot in 1^st Avenue and went for a walk. We read menus, looked at gem stores and basically enjoyed the warm sun that was beaming down. Thinking a snack was in order we searched for a little place for me to have some wine and for us to share a little cheese. Well we found a little place located in a hotel called BOKA, Kitchen and Bar. They were having Saturday Happy Hour, so we thought why not. Well for $3 or $6 you could have some pretty darn good fare. We opted for the Truffle frites with homemade ketchup and Aioli and the warm nuts and olives, a house favourite. I started with a little Washington number, a Steppe Cellars Rattlesnake Hills 2008 Riesling. I explained to our most helpful waiter that despite our proximity we were privy to very few Washington wines and imagined that beyond an ice wine or two they were not privy to our best, what a pity really! This Riesling was fabulous. It was a little less sweet, but had wonderful overtones of green apple on the nose and just one of those pleasant linger in your mouth finishes. Then the warm roasted almonds, wonderful marinated olives and some of the most perfect frites (and I am an expert on frites!) arrived. How wonderful to compliment the wines. Our table agreed that this patio experience in the sun was starting out fabulously well. I decided to opt for a red wine next to change it up a little and went for the DiStefano Winery from the Columbia Valley Bordeaux Blend on the recommendation of our server. What an amazing wine. A little hint of vanilla with some cherry thrown in and a great finish . As I sipped on this one, we decided to order some Harissa beef skewers, a perfect match for the red. These three skewers of tender beef were wonderful and spiced just right. In the mean time, our server seeing that I was enjoying the Washington wines brought along a sample of the Distefano Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and a Kana Winery Tempranillo 2006 from the Yakima Valley. The Sauv Blanc had wonderful honey like sweet undertones with some citrus and apple on the palate. The Tempranillo was a great version, with some good farmy pinot noir qualities to it – and that is a very good thing from a guy who loves a pinot noir. This was a fabulous experience both from the food and the drink perspective and one that will need to be repeated on a future Seattle venture.

Another trip to Café Vita on Sunday rounded out the experience as well as a finishing wine trip to Costco to re-stock the cellar a little. What a wonderful time in Seattle all in all from all perspectives! Plan your next trip!

Cheesalicious

Cheese really is one of the world’s most scrumptious foods, especially with a great bottle of wine. Cheese can make a wine taste fabulous and wine can make a cheese taste amazing!

My two favourite cheese shops happen to be on one side of the water and the other. One across the strait in Vancouver and one here in Victoria, literally down the street from me.

Interestingly enough there are some remarkable similarities, or not. Charelli’s on Foul Bay Road in Victoria has aptly named themselves the Cheese Chicks. It is a gaggle of fantastic women who know cheese, love cheese and make buying cheese a wonderfully pleasurable experience. They have a teeny tiny store stacked full of cheese, specialty foods, meats, tapenades, pates, crackers, chips and a whole lot of of other delectables. Carmen who is the ultimate cheese chick runs the show with Nicole and Lauren enchantingly smiling at you and helping in anyway they can. They proclaim to have the best sandwiches in Victoria, and with the quality of the bread, cheese and meat, I have no doubt they very well could. Many a time I have named a wine and the cheese chicks have found the best cheeses to compliment the wine, and rarely are they wrong.

Across the water, interestingly enough we have the cheese hunks. The Benton Brothers, Jonah and Andrew along with friend, Ryan, These men of cheese might get as many visits from female buyers for their hunk status as they do for their cheese and other goods. The Benton Brothers have two locations on Cambie and Kerrisdale with a soon to open location on Granville Island. They are cheese importers and bring in cheese from all over the world. They have been known to provide for restaurants as well as cheese shops in BC. In fact some of the cheese at Charelli’s comes from the Bentons! The Bentons too, have amazing sandwiches at their Cambie location. They smoke their own duck breast, have amazing salamis and cheeses and just today introduced a smoked meat sandwich filled with fabulous cheese curds.

Andrew Benton

The Benton Brothers have chef experience and extensive cheese education in their background, so they can tell you just about anything you want to know about the cheese you are eating, it’s bouquet, the tastes you will experience and can help with wine pairings

Interesting how these two wonderful entities, Charellis and Benton Brothers mirror each other. Perhaps the cheese chicks should visit the cheese hunks for a throw down?!

Either way, you cannot go wrong the cheese menu, the amazing sandwiches and the friendly cheese seducing smiles will keep you coming back for more on either side of the water.

Check them out, you will not be disappointed.

Lost in Cyberspace?

Well Good Evening!
 I must apologize for virtually being lost in cyberspace. I am never fond of people who write blogs and then do not take the time to upkeep them. I have so many stories I want to and need to write about, I cannot even count them all. It has been a pretty tumultuous last couple of months! In the end, I have decided to leave the profession that I have been in for the last 20 years to pursue something new. I have always felt that life is full of possibilities to be created and we can do anything that we create for ourselves in this life we live. Over the last couple of years, i have found traits in myself that I did not know existed, or at least had been supressed and I have learned about who I am as an individual. i suppose that this blog was a part of that self-discovery, and the feeling that when you think something should happen, JUST DO IT!! NIKE had it right.
So I have spent the last couple of months figuring all of that out, and it has taken more energy than I had anticipated. I am ready to come back to the blog and tell you about my recent favourite wines, restaurants and foodie experiences. I have to apologize to my wine distributor friends, who left with me with some awesome wines and then probably thought, OK what happened? The thoughts about those spec wines are on their way, as are a myriad of other thoughts about the foodie world. Cannot wait to put a few posts up, look for them in the next little while!
Glad to be back, and so at peace with decisions that I have made to forge forward in life!!
Chat soon!
Shrawan

Venturi-Schulze Tantalizes Crossfit Zone - The Art of the Marilyn Story!

Crossfit 102

Saturday, March 19, 2011

7:00 p.m.

The Crossfit Zone (www.crossfitzone.ca) community is just that. A group of great people, who love pushing themselves to that threshold athletically in the gym and aiming always for the best, but who outside of the gym enjoy wonderful camaraderie, fun and good times as well. I wrote a little while ago about Wine 101, hosted at the home of two of the members which ran through seven of the main grape varietals and gave everyone a chance to experience a little of the wine world.

This time, I was privileged enough to host the group. I decided that we instead of tasting across varietals from different countries and vineyards, that we would highlight one winery/vineyard, and thus one winemaker, and would experience different wines from the same vineyard. Who we would highlight was really quite an easy decision. One of the oldest wineries on Vancouver Island, is the family run Venturi-Schulze (www.venturischulze.com). Marilyn Venturi (nee: Schulze) and Giordano Venturi along with Marilyn’s daughter Michelle Schulze, have created a labour of love in the Cowichan Valley. They have exacting standards, grow their grapes without chemicals and do much of the work around the vineyard themselves. They are famous not only for their wonderful wines, but they craft amazing balsamic vinegar, with starter that Giordano brought from his hometown of Modena, Italy in 1970.

Marilyn is the consummate storyteller, and we were so lucky that she was our guide through the wines of the winery for the evening. We started with the Brut Naturel KS Cuvée 2008 (available at Spinnakers Liquor Store in James Bay or direct from winery $35). Marilyn had ensured that she brought proper sparkling wine glasses from home, and explained to us why once we all had a glass in our hands. The wine formed a layer of bubbles at the top of the liquid in the glass. Upon first sip, the bubbles were responsible for a smooth and creamy sensation on the palette. It was like drinking a rich drink, with tiny bubbles that tickled you. Certainly having had a few sparkling wines in my time, this tasted like a very expensive French champagne, and really I am not a huge sparkling fan. It was not sweet and not dry, it was ‘just right’ as the Three Bears would say. Marilyn did explain that the old wives tale that sparkling wine goes to your head faster than non sparkling is actually true. The carbon dioxide causes some sphincter to stay open and for the wine to flow into the stomach faster and thus into the bloodstream faster. Regardless, it was yummy, and my feeling was, let this get to my bloodstream as fast as it wants, it tastes wonderful! Venturi-Schulze does not use any sulphites in their sparkling or any additional sugars. The wine actually ferments in the bottle until ready for drinking. With this wine, we had some pork and beef sliders with Italian seasonings, a garlic aioli, avocado and tomato. It was the haute cuisine, Crossfit version of a burger and beer!!

So onto wine #2. Ah yes, the 2009 Indigo( Spinnakers Liquor Store James Bay or from the winery $27). This was a special wine for the evening. Why, you might ask? Well we had no oysters…the aphrodisiac of choice on the west coast, so instead we had Marilyn bring the Venturi-Schulze version, this wine. Marilyn explained to us all that with some men, and women, this wine brought out the “tiger”, but not for everyone. It seemed that after tasting this one everyone remained around the group, but no accounting for what may have gone on later in the night! This wine had some definite fruit at the front, described by a few people as mandarin oranges. It was not overly sweet, but had enough fruit in it to just make you sing Yummy! It was definitely a favourite in the crowd, hopefully for all the right reasons!!. With this wine we had lasagna cupcakes. Marilyn had indicated before the tasting that the Indigo would be great with Bechamel sauce. The lasagna cupcake was an attempt to infuse that sort of flavour to be paired with the wine. It was layers of wonton wrappers that substituted for the pasta, with marinara and mozzarella, provolone and parmesan cheese, with some spinach too. The final layer was a piping of ricotta and cream cheese with some nutmeg stirred in to give that béchamel type taste. The wine and the cupcake worked well together and really brought the floral qualities of the wine out.

The stories behind the wines from Venturi-Schulze are a wonderful part of trying their wines. Having Marilyn tell the stories makes them all that much more compelling. Even the names of the wines, often random in their nature, are interesting. The third wine was the Felino, which is named for a small town near where Giardano Venturi, the winemaker, grew up. The wine itself is a bright and crisp white. The Pinot Gris in it lend some wonderful fruit overtones. The orange citrus is a wonderful flavour, while the acidity of the grapes blended well with the barbecued ribs that I served with this wine. The ribs disappeared in no time, just like the wine, which was obviously a fan favourite. The ribs had been cooked for a few hours in Phillips Slipstream ale with a little maple syrup and a whole lot of spices. Their slight sweetness and spice blended well with the wine.

Pinot Noirs, as highlighted in Sideways, the movie, have earned a cult following. Generally, my experience is that either people really love them or they just do not care for them all that much. When presented with the Venturi-Schulze version, really, it is hard not to love it. Their pinot noir has the earthiness typical of many pinots, but the fruit forwardness of the wine tantalizes the tongue immediately and the smooth tannins make it a wine that slides down the gullet very easily. Giardano has done a masterful job of taking what was a difficult year of grapes in 2007 and crafting what is an amazing bottle of wine.  The common comment as the wine was poured was: “Oh I can smell the farm”! To me the sign of  a great pinot noir is the farm – you can smell it and then the fruit just takes you away. That is exactly how I felt with this one. It was cherries and blackberries on the tongue, and then melted away beautifully with smooth tannins and a full bodied finish. Obviously well crafted and engineered by the winemaker. With no malolactic fermentation, this really is a wine to behold. I only wish I could get a chance to try the reserve version as well, which sounds absolutely divine. With this pinot, I served some braised beef in Indian spices on a fresh mini-naan bread with a cilantro pesto yogurt sauce. The spices worked well with the smoothness of the grapes and really brought out the sugars and the fruit. Would definitely pair these together again.

The final wine of the night was the absolute best story. The Brandenburg Number 3 has recently been voted best local after dinner drink by Monday Magazine. Marilyn gave us the entire story behind it, and really given the current movie climate out there it was so a propos. A story of Giardano and his shyness and stuttering, and his amazing afternoon as a youngster sipping the fermented juice destined to make Balsamic vinegar in Modena. He, similarly decided to craft Brandenburg Number 3 in the same way, and he has done so SO successfully. A wonderful nectar full of sugars, yet dry in some senses, that just rolls of the tongue and tantalizes every taste bud.

It was like having a caramel treat, when your mother is not looking. Just that yummy and that decadent, but so accessible. I paired two very diametrically opposed dishes with this wine to showcase its diversity. We had both a chicken curry with Basmati rice simmered for a few hours, with some fresh cilantro and caramelized ginger as well as an orange, fennel, almond biscotti handcrafted in my oven, and providing just that hint of dessert that accents a wine like this o well. Really the wine tastes all that more amazing after you hear Marilyn tell the whole story of its origin, but really, just get a bottle and find that special someone and sit down, and drink the whole thing….it is divine!

That was it for the wine, but Marilyn is so generous that she brought some verjus as well as the infamous Balsamic vinegar for all to taste as well. She crafted , well actually her daughter Michelle Crafted a sorbet from the verjus, which is the not so sweet raw juice of harvested grapes. Wonderful to cook with, and as Marilyn mentioned to de-glaze a pan with, when cooking, well ANYTHING! Even raw, the verjus had a wonderful grape flavour and just that sourness that makes eating a pickle so wonderful. 

The balsamic, made from starter that Giardano brought from Modena in 1970 was amazing. It had a subtle sweetness to it, that would lend it to be distributed wonderfully over some fresh tomatoes with fresh cracked pepper, just as well as it would be over some great real vanilla ice cream. It would be the highlight in either instance. This vinegar is true and wonderful. The true foodie will appreciate just how wonderful it is and how it can accent so much that you create in the kitchen.

So, in the end, what an amazing evening. We had story upon story from Marilyn, wonderful wine, some great food to go along and of course the camaraderie of the Crossfit group. Even Marilyn commented afterwards about the wild Crossfit group, and the nurturing atmosphere created. If you get a chance make an appointment and get up to Venturi-Schulze Vineyard. These guys know what they are doing, do it with love, do it with care and do it because they know what they are doing – absolutely stellar!!

Just Shiraz you say.....Pity!!

When friends invite you over for a blind shiraz tasting there is only one thing to do, go with wings on! So it went for a BLIND shiraz tasting. It was well-organized and formally conducted. Here were the rules of the game. Everyone had to arrive with a light appetizer and a bottle of shiraz. There were no rules for the shiraz, could be at any price point and could be from any country. The key was, of course, that the shiraz deemed as the best would win a prize. That being said, the one liked least would get a booby prize too!

Each shiraz was secretly brought into the house, absconded and taken to a secret location where it was dressed with a jacket preventing anyone from knowing which wine was which! Once all the wines had arrived, between fabulous cheese plates from , who else the Cheese Chicks at Charellis, the tasting began. Each Shiraz was poured and individually we each rated the shiraz with a number between 0-100 and by making some additional notes.

The shiraz grape can be huge and fruit forward, especially when it comes to the Australian kind, but we had shirazes from France, Argentina, Italy, South Africa and Australia. The complexity of the wines varied as did the heaviness.

In the end, the amazing happened. Every single person chose the same wine as their favourite. From a group of 10 people, this is relatively uncommon. The Shiraz most preferred by the group was the 2008 Nederburg Shiraz. For a wine selling in the Fort and Foul Bay Liquor store for $12.99 that is a big comment. It beat out other shirazes from Australia in the $30-40 range.

The next best wines were all very close in the end. One of the top contenders was The D'Arenberg Wild Pixie 2008 which is a shiraz with a little Rousanne grape mixed in. It sells for $29.99 at the Fort and Foul Bay Liquor store. The wine that seemed to be lieast liked was from an Italian Vineyard and was called the Cusumano. It sells for $17.99 at the Fort and Foul Bay Liquor Store!

Nevertheless, the fun of the blind tasting and then discovering the wines was fabulous! The cheese was wonderful, and the company was even more terrific. Another excellent wine night!