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Finding a wine with minimal oak isn't easy, but January's reserve syrah does the trick.
It’s a ’50s-infused Doris Day kind of month: Polynesian drinks at the Waldorf, a fancy ?new apron and . . . well, a Syrah. Ask an Oenophile The Expert: Brooke Delves, general manager at Kitsilano’s Maenam ? The Dish: Steamed red curry of jumbo Quadra Island scallops with rich coconut cream, $17? The Pairing: Cremaschi Furlotti Reserve Syrah, 2006, $35/bottle?
Finding a wine with minimal oak isn’t easy, but January’s reserve syrah does the trick.
The Expert: Brooke Delves, general manager at Kitsilano’s Maenam The Dish: Steamed red curry of jumbo Quadra Island scallops with rich coconut cream, $17 The Pairing: Cremaschi Furlotti Reserve Syrah, 2006, $35/bottle
The thing I find most difficult about pairing wine with Thai food is finding wines that don’t have a lot of oak in them. The oak concentration in this Syrah is pretty subtle.
The grapes are entirely hand-picked and steel fermented, spending about eight months in 50 per cent American oak and 50 per cent French oak. It’s really an exciting and different pairing as people wouldn’t really expect a Chilean Syrah to be such a great match with Thai food.
We have four main flavours in Thai food: savoury, salty, sweet and spicy. This steamed red curry is mainly savoury and salty. This is not your typical curry at all; it’s much more reminiscent of a mousse. And the dish itself is quite earthy, which is a perfect complement with this Chilean Syrah. You’ll see on the nose all of the earthiness: a mossy forest floor or even a strawberries-warmed-in-the-sun kind of flavour as well as a touch of eucalyptus on the palate.
Specifically, the mossiness of this wine does very well with the richness of the dish. There’s also that touch of vanilla that really works nicely with the spice. And because galangal, which is a wild ginger, is used in a lot of our dishes, any wine with a bit of eucalyptus will echo that flavour.
It won’t exactly cure your holiday hangover, but the vitamin-C-rich Pepino Magico, available at the recently opened Waldorf Hotel Tiki Bar, does add a splash of healthy-ish-ness to your 2011 drinking routines. To make your own, rim a highball glass with a mix of cayenne pepper, sugar and salt. Shake 90 ml (1/3 cup) of premium white 100 per cent agave tequila, 15 ml (3 tsp) of agave sweetener, 15 ml (3 tsp) of lime-cucumber mix (a blend of lime pero and 1 half-skinned cucumber) and 15 ml (3 tsp) lime juice with ice. Shake well and strain into the highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with a cucumber slice and lime wedge. $9, waldorfhotel.com
We first came across these clever aprons at Vancouver Fashion Week last November. And knowing that many a New Year’s resolution involves spending more time in the kitchen, we were eager to highlight them this month. Designed and made by Gina Cook of Vancouver’s Lootz Designs, the 100 per cent cotton Lootz apron protects your clothes while a cotton-poly-blend tea towel neatly Velcroed to the apron (and covered by a decorative fabric band) mops up messes, saving the need for numerous paper towels. Styles and sizes available for men, women and children. $35 for adult aprons, $25 for children’s aprons and $15 for a three-pack of coloured replacement tea towels, lootzdesigns.com