September Wine: Bartier Scholefield Red Table 2008

David Scholefield, Crush Pad Winery | BCBusiness
David Scholefield explains how Red Table captures the Okanagan’s hot, dusty climate.

A golden Japanese salad and Okanagan reds and whites sure to cure any blues.

Ask an Oenophile

The Expert: David Scholefield, wine advisor at Okanagan Crush Pad Winery in Summerland
The Dish: An Okanagan picnic
The Pairing: Bartier Scholefield Red Table, 2008, Okanagan Valley, $19.99

An extraordinary amount of care and attention has gone into this wine. This is supposed to be a straightforward, everyday, outdoorsy wine that is no muss, no fuss.

For us, it’s not so much about the grape; it’s about the place. We make wine that is first and foremost Okanagan wine – it should express the area’s ability to produce wine that is fresh, juicy and lively and adaptable, too.

Red Table has all of the Bordeaux grape varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot, but it’s uniquely Okanagan. Cab Franc is a big part of that. It gets flak in other parts of the world for being too harsh, too tannic and fruit-deficient, but here it’s transformed because of the long, intense sunshine.

This wine has very good structure. It’s really fresh and juicy, not heavy, but also has a lovely earthy aspect. The Okanagan is a very dry, dusty place and when you capture that in the wine, it’s very exciting. There’s an herbal character that’s very important. It’s got an essence of sagebrush – the Okanagan’s dominant native shrub.

What’s good with this wine? Fresh air. Grass. A picnic table! Keep it simple: bread, cheese and a bit of cured meat. Oyama Sausage on Granville Island is really special and Okanagan Lake’s Carmelis goat cheese is to die for. Throw in a couple of apples, peaches and cherries, and you’re golden.

– as told to Alexandra Barrow

Dish Decoded: Beet It

Seigo Nakamura, owner and executive chef of Vancouver’s Miku Restaurant and the newly opened Minami in Yaletown, is known for his beautifully executed Aburi (flame-seared sushi), but his food artistry extends further. From the zensai (appetizer) to the shusai (entree), dishes at Minami are vibrant in both colour and flavour, such as the slow-roasted beet salad with yuzu crème fraîche. To impress out-of-town guests, recreate it at home: Marinate four golden beets and two red beets in 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake at 230 degrees Celsius for one hour. After baking, remove skins and cut beets into quarters. Toss two cups of arugula and two diced fresh figs with 1 tbsp yuzu juice, 1 tbsp Chardonnay vinegar, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp honey. Assemble beets and greens together and dollop with yuzu crème fraîche (4 tbsp combined with 1 tbsp yuzu marmalade). $13, minamirestaurant.com

Blending Together

Hawksworth Restaurant has received an astounding number of accolades since opening in June 2011. Among its distinctions, it was voted one of Canada’s Best New Restaurants by enRoute magazine; chef David Hawksworth was named Best Chef by the Georgia Straight’s Golden Plate Awards; and Terry Threlfall was pronounced Sommelier of the Year by the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. Now, the restaurant has added winemaking to its accomplishments. Handcrafted by the Hawksworth Restaurant sommelier team under the watchful eye of winemaker John Weber of Orofino Winery in the Similkameen Valley, H’s Blend is a light and refreshing offering of both red and white wines. The blend is inspired by the Orofino down-to-earth approach of making wines to be paired with wholesome, locally sourced food. And at $55 a bottle, it’s a steal. Available exclusively at Hawksworth Restaurant and Bel Café. $11 a glass; hawksworthrestaurant.com, belcafe.com