October Wine: Tenuta del Portale, Aglianico del Vulture Le Vigne a Capanno 2004

Lindsay Ferguson, Wildbeest | BCBusiness
Wildebeest’s Lindsay Ferguson digs the rich terroir of southern Italy.

Gastown’s newest hot spot, heritage apple ciders and the latest from Rob Feenie.

Ask an Oenophile

The Expert: Lindsay Ferguson, sommelier at Gastown’s recently opened Wildebeest
The Dish: Dry-aged Angus beef rib-eye, $38 for two
The Pairing: Tenuta del Portale, Aglianico del Vulture Le Vigne a Capanno 2004, Italy, $75

Aglianico, though lesser known than other Italian grape varietals, is one of the regional grapes of southern Italy. You find it in Campania and on the hillsides of Basilicata, especially around Monte Vulture, a now-extinct volcano.

This Aglianico del Vulture le Vigne a Capanno is a very full-bodied wine. It’s quite rich, and it’s reliably smoky – one of the distinctive characteristics of Aglianico. It really highlights a lot of the natural details that Chef David Gunawan puts in the food. I’ve chosen to pair it with our dry-aged Angus beef rib-eye.

Dry-aged beef is completely different than the beef you get in the supermarket. It has an extremely earthy, very meaty flavour to it. You can almost taste the grass that the cow was eating. It’s very mouth-filling. It’s very rich. And it’s beautifully marbled. All of this works to accentuate the smokiness and the earthiness of the Aglianico.

Plus, the marbling of the rib-eye is great with a full-bodied wine because it helps bring out the smoothness of the wine and round out any rough edges.

Even better, for wines that are fairly cheap and cheerful, Aglianicos tend to have great and surprising aging potential compared to other wines that age. You cannot go wrong taking a bottle of this home.
– as told to Alexandra Barrow

Drink Decoded: Sea Cider’s Wild English

Ten years ago, Kristen Jordan decided to turn her cider-making hobby into a business. After inheriting an apple orchard, and studying at a Welsh boarding school where she learned all about cider culture, it seemed the logical thing to do. Located on Jordan’s 10-acre farm on the Saanich Peninsula, the cidery produces an assortment of tasty tipples from more than 50 varieties of organic heritage apples. All of the ciders are traditionally fermented using the rack and cloth method and champagne yeasts, resulting in a selection of critically acclaimed artisan ciders. The robust and earthy Wild English is an inventive and delicious addition to your standard Caesar cocktail: simply replace the typical 1 oz of vodka with 120 ml of Wild English. Find Sea Cider’s Wild English at Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, Rim Rock Café in Whistler and Trafalgars Bistro in Vancouver. Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., October 1 to May 31. $15 per 750 ml bottle, seacider.ca

Feed it Like Feenie

Under Canada’s first Iron Chef America Champion, Rob Feenie, the Cactus Club Café has been raking in the awards. Since 2008, when Feenie was appointed the chain’s food concept architect, he has infused the Club’s menu with his signature globally inspired dishes that make use of local fare. Now the champ is sharing his techniques for creating innovative and approachable meals in his latest cookbook, Rob Feenie’s Casual Classics: Everyday Recipes for Family and Friends. Both the juicy poached chicken and braised osso buco are perfect for a fall feast and, as importantly, easy to recreate at home. D&M Publishing (2012), $29.95. chapters.indigo.ca