James Kendal

Does anyone know why the BC liquor stores have pulled Eat?

Andrew, Joshua Wesson is awesome. He and Larry Stone are the tops in my world for wine. What Pinot's were they talking about and did anyone pipe up about the over-extraction with the majority of new world Pinots? Anyway, Pornotopia sounds pretty strange. Sounds like you needed to wear sunglasses so your wife doesn't catch you staring

The past few post are funny The Fort & Foul Bay store in Victoria tends to be very good for product and the store does not sell out as fast as the Vancouver stores. What was interesting about the wines that I mentioned is that they are all under $20 which is rather rare in the BCLDB. You can have the store rep track down the wine and place a store to store transfer. Another wine that I did not mention is the 2003 Artazuri (Grenache) from Spain which is only $16.95. CSPC#122606 Robert Parkers Notes: Parker writes..."There are 8,000 cases of the 2003 Tinto, a 100% tank-fermented old vine Grenache made by Artadi’s brilliant winemaker, Juan Carlos Lopez de la Calle. An elegant, deep ruby/purple-tinged Tinto, it boasts sweet, crunchy raspberry and cherry fruit, medium body, a luscious texture, and a heady finish. This is knock-out stuff to drink over the next 1-2 years

If you can't find any more try these two selections: Jumilla - Panorroz 2003 SKU #198879 / UPC #97871006101 Price: $15.90 Alcohol %: 14 % Sweetness: 00 Volume: 750 mL Country: Spain Jumilla - Casa de la Ermita Purple Capsule 2003 SKU #147785 / UPC #831906004386 Price: $19.90 Alcohol %: 13 % Sweetness: 00 Volume: 750 mL Country: Spain (I am quite fond of the Ermita)

In this case they are for my own cellar. November does not find much budget for hotel purchases.

I know that this should be in the wine thread but I want to give everyone the heads up on a great wine that can be found in the BC liquor stores for $19.95 I bought a selection of 2003 Spanish reds and tasted through most of them this week at home. With such a hot vintage I assumed that there is great value to be found with super ripe grapes. Look for the following product at specialty stores: Ribera Del Duero - Corona de Castilla Estilo 03 SKU #329284 / UPC #812205002365 Corona de Castilla Estilo 2003 (D.O. Ribera de Duero) Technical Data courtesy of the wine link Appellation: Ribera del Duero Wine growing area: Castilla y León – Spain Grape variety: 100% Tempranillo Characteristics of vineyard: Vines of over 50 years. Low bush vines. Harvest method: By hand. Climate and Orography : Extremely Continental. Temperature range : -12ºC to 40ºC. Stony and very dry soil. Elaboration: A cold film maceration. Fermentation at 25º C Aged in cask: 6 months in American and French oak. Aged in bottle: 2 months. Tasting notes: Intense cherry red color. Red berry fruits, vanilla and liquorices aromas. On the palate is pleasant, fresh and very fruity. Long finish.

Thanks Jamie, I just finished talking to our chef and it comes down to changing our banquet menus for the next season as certain items conflict. In the dining room we have been following the program but to be compliant we have to redo our inroom, picnic menu and group menus.

We need to get the Island restaurants on board. The slow food thing is popular here but I am dissapointed about Ocean Wise. I have asked our chef to be on board (months ago) and will bring the point home sooner rather than later. I have been left with the impression from some of the hotels on the island that they do not want to have their hands tied. Not only is this a noble cause it is also a wise marketing move (not that I am solely motivated by that end).

Craig, Thanks for your reply and nice to hear your thoughts on style. I'll look for your wines when I am State side as there is very little Oregon product in the B.C. market.

Hi Craig, I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My wife and I just spent a week in Portland and we popped down to see Peter Rosbach as Sineanne. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to see him due to timing. This does not seem to be the greatest year and not a lot of fruit. Here in B.C. the season has proven difficult. Spring rain in the Okanagan dropped fruit production big time. Frost in the fall in the South Okanagan. Here on the Island the birds were nasty, in particular the finches. I notice one thing you were talking about in terms of alcohol. Do you think Pinot should be made at 14-15%. After tasting a lot this past week I found the oak and alcohol in most of the wines so high.. too high. Sadly, I found very few restaurants with older vintages to assess. Most wine listed are 03's.

Email our chef christopheletard@aerie.bc.ca He has a farmer on the island that grows it for him as salsify is not an idigenous product.

Glad to hear about the recognition and the service. I'm starting to wonder where all the great servers have gone in this world....

This is a big event with a bit of Griffin economics at play. 2 Relais Gourmand chefs, wow. This certainly helps with exposure for Vancouver. I would certainly hope and expect that a cool g would have a charity component to the ticket price otherwise it's a bit decadent.

My wife and I have now been in Portland for 4 days. 1st night was a quick meal at Red Star. Excellent pizza and steaks, reasonable prices. They need to invest in some wine glasses. 2nd night we ate at the Harrison. Contrary to some opinions the food was decent but desserts were superior to everything. We had a nice ravioli appy and a rib eye main course. Portions were large, service was novice but friendly. Decent wine list with a 2000 Ken Wright Freedom Hill Pinot for $100, not a a bad price for this wine and that vintage. Martinis are excellent. For dessert we had a samplier plate with usual suspects of molten cake, creme caramel and a cheesecake, all classic dishes but very modern in presentation and lots of texture. 3rd day spent down in Newburg visiting with Sineanne and scouring wine shops around Lake Oswego for must haves that we don't see in B.C. 3rd night we went to Blue Hour. This seems very new but it was outstanding. No reservation and I was a little concerned at the door. We were casually dressed (as in not looking too hip) but the attitude was very professional and the server, mature, efficient and very tight and competent. The stand out... a very simple dish of gnocchi and truffles. I can still taste the gnocchi... ultra light and fluffy... like very high end pillows in a Ritz hotel. Wine list was good but not a lot of local selections and much depth in vintages. Young Oregon Pinots with pedigree are not that easy to drink. Seems that all reds are served in Riedel Syrah glasses and whites in Sauvignon Blanc glasses??? You would think in pinot land things would be different. 3rd day. We went to Mothers Bistro for lunch. Very hectic, excellent portions friendly and youthful service. Wines by the glass not so good. Server even had the courtesy to tell me that the wine rep is trying to get rid of wines through the glass list and that I should have a bottle... this seems like more a breakfast spot. Tonight we are going to Wildwood. Looking forward to it but I'm not sure if my body can handle much more. 2 more days to go then we are off to Seattle for dinner at Mistral then on to Vancouver to try out Nu. Overall, Portland is awesome. Prices very reasonable compared to Seattle or Vancouver. Very healthy environment. Don't forgo a trip to the zoo or the Japanese gardes. Pictures from trip found on My Webpage Thank you for the suggestions and the help

Thanks Steve, ironically we are guests of Mission Hill on this trip and we have one free night. I just jumped on the weigh scale and my fighting weight is off by about 10 pounds so I think I will just stick to the wine on that night

Thank you everyone for you help.

I am in Kelowna on Monday night and I need a reccomendation for dinner. Fresco is booked up with a private event. Any help appreciated. Cheers

I would not leave out C Restaurant. Awesome food and service IMHO.

In my humble opinion, Feast of Fields has been a very exciting event in the past but I think it is time for it to evolve or reposition itself. It is generally the same people going every year looking to get as much wine and food as possible and I do not see the actual profiling of the farmers. Perhaps the focus should shift more to the producers, such as farmers and wineries etc, than the restaurants, or how those restaurants work with the farms and suppliers.

The standout from Gray Monk was their Pinot Blanc (creamy textured, green apple hints, balanced acid, good mouth feel). The Oddyssy (sic) Pinot Gris was very polished (this is one that I kept grabbing the bottle to top up my glass and that is when my memory shut down and I just enjoyed the rest of the night and the food). They had a small production cab sav which was pretty decent but the price point at $33.95 was tough when comparing it to Kettle Valley and Burrowing Owl cabs.

I attended a Gray Monk wine dinner last night at the Rosemeade Dining room. I had avoided the property for quite a while and was pleasantly surprised last night. I wasn't sure what to make of the hotel and the entrance is a little confusing (I came in through the back door) but to my pleasant surprise the dining room and the lay out, once inside is quite something. Overall the restaurant and hotel is seeminly mixed loungy/nightclubby. The contrast between the historic house and the very sexy modern fixtures works nicely. The food was very good and the service brigade had a lot of enthusiasm. It would be nice to see table linen on the tables which, in my opinion, would brighten the room up a touch. With a bit of tweaking this could be the in spot for victoria. Of course your probably wondering what I ate... all I know is that the food was excellent. That is my only problem with wine dinners, I never take notes and after 5 courses and x amount of wine I stop recording mental notes about the food. When I left the dinner I walked away with the notion that I would be back sooner rather than later.

Well, From my point of view, and believe me I get it left right and center in my position, is the biggest problem with any operation is when the following items are negelected: 1. No ownership in a room 2. Not paying attention to capital projects and upgrades (something we are going through this winter). 3. Not paying attention to small details. 4. Poor management and allowing the staff to run the room with their attitude. 5. Not having a consistent turn over in talent. Some times people get a little long in the tooth and the competitive edge wears thin. 6. Crappy wine list, no thought or reason behind the menu. 7. resting on your awards (biggest mistake and I have seen it in my operation, which is why I was headhunted back from the depths of the corporate operations). 8. Forgetting that the GUEST IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Whats with the happy face Maki, someone must of been smoking dope that night

Not a problem at Globe@YVR: they hand out dark napkins for those of us whose clothing color pallets end with black. [Might I add that this is one Vancouver establishment that has done everything mostly right every time I'm holed up at the airport.] ← Dark napkins is a Fairmont standard, pain in the but considering everyone wears dark clothes. Why not just have dark napkins.

THank you for the ideas. Wildwood sounds good. I liked the look of the Harrison from the web site, any reason why I should not go there? I am in Portalnd for 4 nights. I was also looking at going to Olea, any thoughts on that. If any of you are in Victoria come see me at the Aerie. I would be happy to show you around. Cheers!

Hi I am taking my wife to Portland in Mid October for our anniversarry. We are staying at the Kimpton Vintage Plaza Inn, downtown, and I am looking for dinner ideas. So far I have found the Harrison I am looking for some lunch spots and a couple of dinner venues. Any assistance is most appreciated. Cheers,