BC Business
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The virtues of being a small producer, ?digging for gold in Kelowna, ?and hot Chilean wines. Ask an Oenophile The Expert: Jake Skakun, sommelier at Gastown’s L’Abattoir ? The Dish: Leg of lamb, served with coriander fritters, spinach and eggplant purée, $25 ? The Pairing: La Compagnie des Papillons, Clot de L’Oum, 2005, $66 ?
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The Expert: Jake Skakun, sommelier at Gastown’s L’Abattoir
The Dish: Leg of lamb, served with coriander fritters, spinach and eggplant purée, $25
The Pairing: La Compagnie des Papillons, Clot de L’Oum, 2005, $66
I like to support small farmers that are making good wine. And I am supportive of people who are farming naturally; if there is enough attention paid to the way grapes are grown, there isn’t always the need for pesticides and herbicides.
With that in mind, I’ve selected La Compagnie des Papillons’ Clot de L’Oum to pair with our leg of lamb. This is a small, family-owned producer in the south of France, farming free of chemicals. The name is a reference to the butterflies that returned to the area once they stopped conventional farming.
The wine itself is a blend of three grapes: Carignan, Grenache and a splash of Syrah. So it has some nice spice elements and a bit of earthiness that complements the coriander, cumin, cardamom, fennel and chili spices rubbed over the lamb.
It’s a real harmony of flavours. The wine also has a lot of ripe, plum-y fruit that rounds out the spice in the lamb and fritters. The spicy nose leads to a firm, savoury palate. And the weight of the wine is perfect. It’s a medium-bodied wine, which doesn’t overpower the lamb and vice versa.
It’s a beautiful dish, especially for fall because it’s warmer and heartier, and the wine adds a touch of rustic charm.
Kelowna’s RauDZ celebrates the season with a wonderful root vegetable torte. It’s a jam-packed dish, so without further ado here’s how you do it. First, peel and slice 2 large carrots, 2 large beets (red or gold), 1 rutabaga, 2 medium white turnips, 1 small celery root, 6 pieces of sunchokes, 2 parsnips and 2 russet potatoes. Then prepare 3 cloves of minced garlic, 3 thinly sliced shallots, 125 ml (½ cup) of shredded Parmesan, 250 ml (1 cup) of heavy cream and 50 ml (¼ cup) of mixed herbs. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and layer each vegetable one at a time, sprinkling the garlic, shallots, Parmesan, cream and herbs between layers (salt and pepper to taste). Top with 85 grams of goat cheese, cover loosely with tin foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. $21, raudz.com.
In B.C. we’ve developed a more refined palate in recent years, and that’s borne out by the number of wine seminars and tastings going on around the province. This fall more than 30 Chilean wineries are touring Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. On Oct. 7 head to the Sutton Place Hotel to taste the winners of the Wines of Chile Annual Awards and visit a booth dedicated to Carmenere, Chile’s signature grape. Chilean-style hors d’oeuvres will be paired with the wines. $39 per ticket, chileanwineevents.ca.