November Wine: Marqués de la Mancha, Tempranillo 2008

Renaldo Decembrini, Taste Restaurant | BCBusiness
Decembrini’s November Pick: Look to Spain for the perfect pairing with B.C.-bred beef tartare.

Nothing livens up grey November quite like a bright wine and some homegrown hooch. Nothing, that is, except chocolate.

Ask an Oenophile

The Expert: Renaldo Decembrini, executive chef at Fivesixty’s new Taste restaurant
The Dish: Organic B.C. Cariboo region beef tartare
The Pairing: Marqués de la Mancha, Tempranillo, 2008, Spain, $42

I first tasted this wine with one of our charcuterie plates. The way the deep flavours of the berries complemented the smokiness of the cheeses and our bacon chutney put an end to the tasting so we could finish the bottle.

The wine comes from Castilla-La Mancha, just south of Madrid. It’s the largest wine region in the world, with 450,000 hectares of vineyards, and the yield per hectare is not very high. The vines are healthy and strong, soaked in sunshine and have a long ripening cycle.

The name of the grape comes from the Spanish word “temprano,” which translates to “early.” This grape ripens several weeks earlier than most Spanish grapes and is the main grape used in Rioja.

The wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 months and expresses mature blueberry and strawberry notes with layered spice, tobacco and earthy nuances. It also has characteristics of summer berries, plum, vanilla and herb and exhibits bright fruitiness, but is smooth on the palate.

It pairs beautifully with our beef tartare. The brightness complements the texture and the roundness of the tartare and draws out the natural sweetness of the beef – enhanced by the depth of flavour from caramelized onion, the tartness of pickled red onion and the spark from apple horseradish cream that accompanies the dish.

– as told to Alexandra Barrow

Cosy Corner Café

Gastown got a touch of French café meets prairie kitchen when Jeff Jefkins and Armand Tencha opened Lily Mae’s Comfort Café. The duo – who have lived in the neighbourhood for seven years – was keen to keep the business close to home, but the location at the corner of Powell and Carrall made financial sense, too. “We felt there was a niche [in Gastown] for something that wasn’t a coffee shop, pub or high-end restaurant. The space itself is in a high car and pedestrian traffic location, plus the bones of the space were great – a 100-year-old building oozing with character. It just needed some – well, a lot – of love,” says Jefkins. As much care goes into Lily Mae’s approachable, home-style fare, such as chocolate Guinness bundt cake with orange liqueur whipped cream. $6 per slice, lilymaes.ca

Kindred Spirits

If the success of Foodconnect.com’s annual November Hopscotch Festival is any indication, Vancouverites have rekindled their taste for spirits. For the first time in 16 years, the PNE Forum will serve as the event’s Grand Tasting Hall to accommodate all the spirited connoisseurs. As telling is the growing list of artisan distillers in B.C. Victoria Spirits Inc. on Vancouver Island launched its renowned Victoria Gin in 2004. Today the distillery, owned and operated by Bryan Murray since 2007, crafts four spirits including a hemp vodka and a soon-to-be released whisky, for a total of about 12,000 litres of spirits produced annually. In 2009, Pemberton Distillery Inc. looked to organic potatoes to create its distinct brand of Schramm Vodka. It currently produces about 900 six-bottle cases (about 5,000 litres of spirit) per year. And in June 2011, Shelter Point Distillery Corp. near Campbell River announced it had laid down its first barrels of malt whisky. Put them all to the taste test yourself by visiting the distilleries, or check out Hopscotch’s Grand Tasting Hall on November 16 and 17. hopscotchfestival.com