Kitchen party shakes up Chef Meets BC Grape wine tastings
The wine will be flowing at the ChefMeetsBCGrape signature tasting. Sarah England photo.
The grape harvest has started in British Columbia’s Okanagan region, and that means it’s time to get in the sip-and-swirl spirit. You don’t have to visit the vineyards themselves: just grab a tasting glass at ChefMeetsBCGrape in Vancouver and dive in.
The annual fundraiser for the Arts Club Theatre Company happens from September 17 to 23 this year. As you might have guessed by the name ChefMeetsBCGrape, food and wine from British Columbia are intimately intertwined.
Harvest-inspired fare will accompany the wines at the signature ChefMeetsBCGrape tasting. Sarah England photo.
There are three events this year. The first is the signature tasting, which happens on September 17 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to taste the new red releases from 90 British Columbia VQA wineries. Pace yourself…there will be over 350 wines on offer, from wineries such as JoieFarm, Laughing Stock, and Nk’Mip Cellars.
Fifteen restaurants will be serving harvest-inspired fare to pair with the wines. Participants include Forage, Hart House Restaurant, and La Pentola della Quercia.
It all goes down at the picturesque Vancouver Convention Centre East. Tickets go for $85 each.
A vineyard in the Southern Okanagan. Photo courtesy of Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country.
If a smaller, more intimate event is more your speed, check out this new event. The Uncorked Kitchen Party takes place on September 18 at the Westside Grand, a gallery space in Kitsilano. It focuses on wines from the Oliver and Osoyoos region.
Part wine tasting, part interactive cooking demonstration, the evening involves three chefs from the South Okanagan region preparing tasting plates as if you were in their kitchens. Each dish will be paired with wine, naturally. Chefs include the talented Jeff Van Geest from Miradoro restaurant at Tinhorn Creek.
Ten proprietors from the 31 wineries that make up the Olivier Osoyoos Wine Country Association will be on hand to talk about their wares and the winemaking process. As well, there will be a pop-up tasting room stocked with labels from over 30 wineries such as Burrowing Owl Estate Winery and Church and State.
Tickets for this event cost $95 each, and it happens from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Mission Hill Estate’s Naramata Ranch vineyard in the Okanagan. Photo courtesy of Mission Hill Family Estates.
The final event happens on September 23 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The Mission Hill Family Estate Dinner is a more formal evening that takes place at Kitsilano’s Bistro Pastis. It will showcase reserve labels from the flagship Okanagan winery, accompanied by classic, French-inspired cuisine.
The dinner will be a four-course meal with wine pairings, all hosted by Mission Hill’s fine-wine consultant, Steven Lane. Bistro Pastis proprietor John Blakeley will also be on hand and will give a cooking demonstration himself.
Tickets for this dinner go for $160, and a partial tax receipt is available.
All proceeds from the fundraising series go to the Arts Club’s community engagement initiatives and youth-focused education programs. You can buy tickets for the signature tasting and kitchen party here. For tickets for the Mission Hill dinner, email specialevents@artsclub.com or call 604-687-5315, extension 248.
Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2014/09/12/kitchen-party-shakes-up-chef-meets-bc-grape-wine-tastings/
