December Wine: Chateau Partarrieu Sauternes

Tom Doughty, owner of Refuel in Kitsilano
Doughty skips the traditional ice wine at dessert for a sweet Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc.

The mysterious art of pairing wines with dessert. 
Plus a must-visit website for making holiday drinks – or, if you can’t be bothered, call booze-on-wheels.

Ask an Oenophile

The Expert: Tom Doughty, owner of Kitsilano’s Refuel

The Dish: Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream, $8

The Pairing: Chateau Partarrieu, Sauternes, 2007, $10/glass


When it comes to dessert wines in B.C., we tend to lean more toward ice wines, but there are great sweet wines all over the world. Sauternes, in particular, is well known for its sweet and dessert wines.


Essentially, there are only three types of white grapes grown in Sauternes (red is a different story): Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and muscatel. This Chateau Partarrieu is 80 per cent Sémillon and 20 per cent Sauvignon Blanc. It is a much more honeyed, flowery and viscous wine, which is the perfect complement to our Tarte Tatin. 


Even though the Tatin is a rich dessert, the acidity in the apples and the chill of vanilla ice cream does a great job of cutting through the richness of the wine. And roasted Granny Smith apples is a classic flavour and nose profile of Sauternes. Although it’s a sweet, sticky wine, there is a natural acidity to it due to the cooler climate of the region.


This Partarrieu exhibits a little bit of apricot and beeswax, which is characteristic of Sauternes as well. That honeyed flavour pulls out the sweet sugars of the caramelized apples. I love the Chateau Partarrieu because of its incredible value. Sauternes is quite dear to purchase, so to find a half bottle under $30 at the liquor store is a great deal.

Drink Decoded

It never hurts to have a few drink recipes up your sleeve to keep things merry this month. Our favourite new site for all manner of lively libations is whattodrink.com. Try out their very festive (and very strong) Hard Rocker Cider. In a pot, heat and stir 1 litre (4 cups) apple cider, 250 ml (1 cup) cranberry juice and 5 ml (1 tsp) of nutmeg on low heat for two hours. When ready to serve, turn heat to high for 10 minutes and stir in 250 ml (1 cup) Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila and 50 ml (¼ cup) orange liqueur. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and prepare to get tipsy! Serves six, whattodrink.com

Party-a-Go-Go

Festive times call for festive measures, but sometimes planning the office party can be a little less than jolly. Fear not; there’s Lavish Liquid, a luxury mobile event and bar service that brings the planning and party to you. The Vancouver-based company offers three hours of event planning and consultation with every event package. Personalize the bar with your own logo, customize an ice sculpture or simply rejoice in the fact that Lavish’s catering, entertainment and bar services can travel anywhere in the Lower Mainland – leaving you to the more important things, like, well, drinking. lavishliquid.com