What could be better at this sunny time of year than sipping a glass of wine with your favourite bite at a local hot spot or even on your own patio?
The popularity of wine by the glass has exploded, and with good reason.
Ordering wine by the glass makes sense for so many reasons. Not having to buy the full bottle allows you to taste more broadly.
It makes food pairing flexible, helps us to discover new wines, and it’s often more affordable.
Wine by the glass when tapped from a keg is also a whole lot greener and ultimately more sustainable. Likely no one knows that better than David Stansfield, the sommelier in charge of wine for the blossoming Tap & Barrel group. When Stansfield started out with the first edition of Tap & Barrel, he thought they’d dabble in it to the tune of a dozen taps because they weren’t sure how long it would take to pour a full keg.
But wine by the glass caught on. Within the first year they’d saved around 60,000 bottles, which adds up to a whole less garbage.
On the spacious patio at the recently launched Tap & Barrel Shipyards, we taste through his current B.C. wine flight, which features The Hatch’s tongue in cheek Left Bank white Bordeaux salute, Stoneboat’s nicely balanced Faux Pas Rosé, and a Haywire Single Lot Pinot Noir that really underscores the Summerland winery’s pinot potential.
As to what you might want to drink at home, Stansfield suggests Unsworth Allegro, a refreshing blend of Petit Milo and Sauvignette, which he describes as “unabashedly Island, light, fresh and crisp.”
And although you can’t buy the one he pours, he suggests any Haywire Pinot Noir “because they make such beautiful summertime reds, which are overall lighter, fresher and more acid driven. Red wine with white wine values, as they like to say.”
Close by at Fishworks, owner-chef Shallaw Kadir loves to play with food and wine pairings, and perhaps understands better than most the nuances of properly matching good wines, especially with seafood.
His current fave white by the glass is Fairview Cellars Sauvignon Blanc from Oliver.
“It’s fantastic and also what I love to drink. People are always surprised to discover it. The wine has some herb, sage aromas with grapefruit on the palate. And it’s a great match with our halibut poutine.”
For a red, Kadir turns to Benton Lane Pinot Noir (Oregon), with strawberry and cherry notes wrapped in fine tannins.
“Great with salmon Wellington,” he says.
At long-running La Cucina Ristorante, one wine that owner Tiberio Faedo loves to pour (“It’s exquisite with food,” he says) is Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino. This mineral-tinged, citrus-fruity but zesty drop sports a broad palate with a solid finish: perfect with everything from prawns sautéed in garlic, Linguini con Vongole and more. Or for just plain delicious sipping!
My recommendation: Quails’ Gate Rosé 2015 (Okanagan)
This blend of Gamay Noir (80 per cent), Pinot Noir (10 per cent) and Pinot Gris (10 per cent) yields lifted strawberry and red berries, with juicy-acidity citrus and clove through a dry finish. Ideal with cold cuts or for brunch (91 points).
Tim Pawsey writes about wine for numerous publications and online as the Hired Belly at hiredbelly.com. Contact: [email protected].
