January Wine: Nichol Vineyard Pinot Gris 2011

Ask an Oenophile

The Expert: Margot Baloro, restaurant manager at Forage in The Listel Hotel in Vancouver
The Dish: Savoury clams with merguez sausage and Sea Cider Pippins, $12
The Pairing: Nichol Vineyard Pinot Gris 2011, Naramata, B.C., $10/5 oz glass

“Wine on tap is a very sustainable option and a program that we have confidence in. There’s no corking, there’s no screw cap failure. You’re not worried about having to gas the wine in terms of keeping it fresh, or about the consumer having a glass of wine [from a bottle] that was opened yesterday. Nichol Vineyard was one of the first to offer wines in the keg. They’ve settled into the program, so it made a lot of sense to bring them on.

The Pinot Gris has a nice minerality and acid to it. There’s a bit of apple and pear skin, and a bright kind of malic acid that hits you. You get that off the nose, then it eases into a bit of spiciness followed by a mimic of the pear and apple on the palate.

It has a nice rosé colour as well because you get a lot of [grape] skin contact with this wine – the merguez sausage plays a little bit to that. It’s put into neutral barrels so that it doesn’t impart any giant oak, caramel or vanilla components. That neutral oak gives it more of a texture component, as opposed to a flavour component, which is mimicked in the dish’s romesco sauce and those wonderful savoury clams.

The way chef [Chris Whittaker] has divided the menu is rather than appetizers and entrées we’ve got irons, boards, plates and bowls. So for us, it’s more about presentation. This dish is served in an iron, ready for sharing.

– as told to Alexandra Barrow

Raising the (Wine) Bar

In order to meet changing neighbourhood and revenue demands, Jean-Francis Quaglia, owner and executive chef of Provence Marinaside in Yaletown, recently introduced a wine bar to his eight-year-old, award-winning restaurant. Simply called The Wine Bar, it occupies Marinaside’s foyer, a former antipasti case and a private function room. The foyer, says Quaglia, “was actually quite a large area that was not generating any revenue,” while money brought in by the private room was inconsistent. “When I looked at the neighbourhood, I realized what the area lacked was a wine bar – a casual place where people could drop in for a glass of wine and a bite without feeling the pressure to order something more substantial.” Wines by the glass start at $7; snacks on the bites menu are from $5. (provencevancouver.com/marinaside)

Drink This in

On a health kick this month? Of course you are. And since there’s no point in pretending you’ll actually make an egg-white omelette every morning before heading to work, Vancouverites will want to get acquainted with the city’s best breakfasts served through straws. Sejuiced, a vegetarian café and juice bar, takes the guesswork – and the diet-busting sugar – out of smoothies with its tasty blends full of fresh, locally grown organic produce. Juices served fresh by the roving Juice Truck, including ones in its Juice Cleanse, are cold-pressed from avocados, cucumber, pineapple and agave and more tasty veg, fruits and roots. At Organic Lives, both smoothies and fresh juice are on offer, including make-your-own juice combinations and a Choco-Mint Chip smoothie that won’t ramp up your daily calorie intake. (sejuicedvancouver.com; thejuicetruck.ca; organiclives.ca)