Naramata Bench Wineries Spring launch at Vancouver's Bayshore Hotel… yum yum!

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Some of my favorite wineries from Naramata were in Vancouver last night…
18
wineries… 13 restaurants… 3 hours… one location…

www.naramatabench.com

Todd Wong sampling 09 Black Dog cask wine, from Township 7 Vineyards and Winery.  Definitely something to reserve ahead of time, before it is bottled and put to market – photo D. Martin

Laughing Stock Vineyards, Marichel Vineyard,
Nichol Vineyard, Peseus Winery, Red Rooster Winery, Poplar Grove Winery,
Serendipity Winery, Therapy Winery, Township 7 Vineyards, Van Westen
Vineyards, Black Widow
Winery, D'Angelo Estate Winery, Elephant Island Orchard Winery,
Hillside Estate Winery, Howling Bluff Estate Winery, Kettle Valley
Winery, La Frenz Winery, Lake Breeze Vineyards.

Restaurants serving canapes, and dessert were: O'Doul's,
Central Bistro, Hillside Estate Winery Bistro, Twisted Fork, Hamilton
Street Grill, Edible at the Market, Cin Cin, Westin Bayshore, Bishop's,
Vij's, Adesso Bistro, Kitsilano Daily Kitchen, The District.

Gotta
love comparing duck tastings between CinCin's Smoked Duck Breast with
Truffle Artichocke Salad on Focaccia Crisp & Foie Gras Stuffed
Cherry, vs Kitsilano Daily's Braised Breast of Duck with Blackberry Jam
vs Hillside Estate Bistro's Fraser Valley Duck Ballontine with Cured
Orange & Blueberry Macaroon vs Centro Bistro's Cherry Smoked Duck
Breast, Bacon Pear Chutney with Peppered Raspberry Vinagrette.

We did repeat visits to the restaurant tables… eg. 6 venison canapes
at O'Doul's where we hung out soooo long, that the paired winery, Black
Widow, brought out the special bottle of syrah… while I had been going
back and forth b…etween
Merlot, and the Hourglass blend. I didn't get to taste Vij's Garam
Masala Beef Curry with Coconut Green Bean or Westin's spiced lamb kotta
with Crisp Parnship and Blackberry Gel until the end of the evening.

Especially
good was the “Chardonnay du Monde” winning Chardonnay from Red Rooster
(not advertised), the Kettle Valley Merlot, Township 7 Merlot + “Black
Dog” from the cask, Howling Bluff Pinot Noir & Sauvignon Blac
Semillon, and… the Elephant Island Stellaport Solera Aged Port Style
cherry Wine – from the cask!

This was different compared to an afternoon spent lazily driving up and down the
Naramata Bench, as one sips wines while watching the eagles float on the
updrafts from the Okanagan Lake… But it was a great opportunity to access the
barrel casks before they
are actually bottled… and to taste the restaurant offerings, without
having to spend $100 per meal X 13 visits… or drive between
wineries… after drinking too much…. Yes it is an all-in-one… but a
great introduction for us to plan our next weekend holiday in Naramata
.
Surprise!  Anthony was serving us wine from the Perseus Winery booth. He shared that he is 1/8 Chinese + Indonesian, Portuguese and Spanish.  He hadn't heard of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, but loved the idea of cultural cuisine fusion.

BIG SURPRISE!  We discovered that Howling Bluffs owner Adam Smith loves Gung Haggis Fat Choy.  He shared with us that his daughter is half Chinese, and they love the Chinese-Scottish fusion of our event.  We exchanged phone numbers, and hope to get together to plan some events together.

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