Thanksgiving Pairings

Stay Local With These Thanksgiving Pairings

Emandare Vineyard 2019 Rosé

We all love turkey, gravy and all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings. The most versatile wine available for pairing with food is Rosé! It’s the delightful juiciness that cuts through the fat and leaves our palate ready for the next delicious bite. Happy Thanksgiving! $25 Alderlea Vineyards 2018 Pinot Noir This elegant and subtle wine contrasts flavours and aromas of red cherry and allspice with hints of eucalyptus and leather. The balanced acidity and smooth finish, make it an excellent pairing with traditional Thanksgiving turkey or ham. $26

Unsworth Vineyards Allegro 2019

the perfect wine for many holiday dishes. Across my table we have a traditional turkey and cranberry sauce with all the usual suspects. There are always multiple bottles of Sparkling, White and Red wines. The bottle that always disappears first is Allegro. It has a broad range of aromas and flavours from citrus to apple and peach. It has enough weight on the palate to pair with heavily seasoned mashed potatoes and gravy but also the poise and finesse to pair with an ever present smoked Salmon Canape. Island wines have flair with food, and Allegro

is certainly no exception. $23

Averill Creek Vineyard Charme de l’Ile Sparkling

Charme de l’Ile and apple pie: We love finishing a decadent meal with the refreshing and unexpected pairing of a Sparkling Wine. The Charme de l’Ile from Averill Creek mimics the tart, Granny smith notes of an spple pie, with a hint of underlying sweetness and a creaminess that compliments a fine vanilla ice cream. The celebration continues! $22

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Blue Grouse Winery 2018 Quill Gamay Noir

Go Gamay! This wine is fresh and lively, sporting aromas of black currant, cherry and red plum. On the palate, it is light and juicy with moderate to low tannins. Gamay wines are loved for their delicate floral aromas, subtle earthy notes, and ability to pair with turkey or fish for Thanksgiving. $26.99

Westholme Tea Company Golden Chai

Blended with healthy and tasty spices, this herbal masala chai mixture offers a rich and balanced cup with a dash of earthiness and an irresistible, delicious zest. The turmeric steeps to a warm yellow ochre. The perfect friend to any Pumpkin Pie! $15 100g

Vigneti Zanatta Ortega Producing since 1989, Ortega is the first wine variety Zanatta released upon opening in 1992. The cross of Siegerrebe and Mϋller Thurgau produces a fruity full-bodied white wine. Our dry Ortega pairs perfectly with the moist turkey and cutting through the gravy while balancing with the cranberry sauce. Being the original grape of the birth of Cowichan Valley wine region it seems fitting to serve it at a Thanksgiving dinner. $16.29

locally grown, organic and delicious Ol’ MacDonald Farm seed garlic, spinach, salad mix, arugula, mustard mix, hakurei turnips, beets, carrots, beans, eggs and more. delicious local food grown with love Visit us on Saturdays at the downtown Duncan Farmers Market.

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With so many wineries and wine labels around, you might not think about it, but the word “estate” on a wine label has some people wondering: when a winery is named an ‘Estate’ winery or has a wine labeled ‘Estate Bottled’, what does that mean? Well, get ready for a peek behind the curtain, to the regulations here in BC…

In our BC wine industry earlier days, when it was undergoing its regulatory formation (which is only in the decades-old, compared to many international multigenerational hundreds-ofyears-old regions) there were categorizations made among BC wineries.

In 1980, “Estate” wineries were established first, with these parameters: • a minimum of 20 acres and annual production of 7,500 gallons minimum, and a

Hans and Richard Kiltz installing the new Farm store sign for Blue Grouse Winery.

Putting The “Estate” in Winery

maximum of 30,000 gallons • all wine was from 100% BC grapes and at least 50% from the winery’s vineyards In 1984, new regulations designated the category “Farm Gate Winery” • those producing between 1,000-10,000 gallons or 500- 5,000 cases per year. • Wineries to grow 75% of their own grapes, and use 100% BC grapes.

The wineries that produced more than 30,000 gallons were named “Major” wineries.

Today, we have a different way of designating wineries. The main regulatory bodies for the wine industry in BC are the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (BC LCLB), that controls where and how alcohol is consumed, the Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB), that controls the supply; and the BC Wine Authority (BCWA) looks after wine standards under the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation.

While the term ‘estate’ winery was used in the past to denote a specific winery license category, the term is no longer regulated and has not been for close to 20 years. Since the repeal of those winery classes, there is no legal definition of estate winery - like calling oneself a ‘craft’ brewery, which is similarly undefined.

Today there is only one winery license issued by the BC LCLB, although the LDB dictates distribution and reporting models based on a winery being land-based, versus non land-based, or ‘commercial’, and is independent of production amounts or size. In 2018, more than 50 licensed wineries reported to the LDB as commercial, and with no relation to their production capacity, sales, or size.

What’s in a name?

In other countries, the term “estate” needs to abide by specific rules, but here in BC, the word ”estate” on a BC wine label has no legal definition. A winery may claim that they are an Estate Winery or have Estate Vineyards as these terms are not restricted under the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation. Those using ‘Estate Winery’ in their name do so mainly for marketing purposes: they like the way it sounds, or they want to give customers an idea of winery size (it’s perceived estate wineries are smaller and family-owned, likely a holdover from the earlier days).

What is Estate Bottled?

The BCWA, under the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation, governs labels that declare “Estate Bottled”. For “Estate Bottled” one can refer to the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation section 52, which says, summarized, that the wine grapes must be grown on land owned by the winery and must be within a sub-geographical indication (Sub GI), and then crushed and bottled on site.

What’s a Sub GI?

If you missed the news from earlier in the Summer, the Cowichan Valley is now recognized as a subgeographical indication (subGI), an official and protected term under BC law, used to help consumers identify BC wines’ origins. The Cowichan Valley sub-GI is roughly defined as the area between

Blue Grouse Estate Winery and Vineyard Image;Derek Ford

the Cowichan watershed, the eastern coastline from Mill Bay to Maple Bay and, the western area of Cowichan Lake.

Wines labeled with geographical indications and/or sub-GIs commit to consumers that the wine was produced with a minimum of 95% of grapes grown from the specified region.

There are nine official geographical indications in the province and five subgeographical indications. The Cowichan Valley is the first sub-GI outside of the Okanagan and joins the Golden Mile Bench, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Falls and, Skaha Bench in the Okanagan Valley.

Blue Grouse through the regulatory history

One Cowichan winery has been there through all these regulatory evolutions. Before there was ever a winery, the land that is now Blue Grouse was purposefully selected in 1986 as an ideal site to be used to test viability on the Island for growing Vitis vinifera grapes. When opened by founder Hans Kiltz in 1990, Blue Grouse fell under the Farm Gate category and was named Blue Grouse Vineyards. When the Brunner family took over the winery in 2012, the winery was renamed Blue Grouse Estate Winery and Vineyard, and the brand was revitalized. Blue Grouse offers wines under two tiers: the Estate and Quill. Blue Grouse’s Estate wines come from its 65-acre Cowichan Valley vineyard where there is full control of the grapes. Plantings here include vines from John Harper’s original test vineyard, the Kiltz family plantings done during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, to the ongoing planting taking place from 2017 onwards. Quill is the second label, where the winery sources quality fruit from partner grape growers on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan / Similkameen.

In 2020, initiated by Blue Grouse winemaker Bailey Williamson, the Cowichan Valley wineries combined efforts to achieve the naming of the region as British Columbia’s newest Sub-GI.

Cowichan residents can be proud that this new Sub-GI recognizes their unique terroir and solidifies Vancouver Island’s position as an upand-coming wine destination.

Leeann Froese owns Town Hall Brands – a marketing and graphic design agency. townhallbrands.com

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A&S MICROGREENS COBBLE HILL

Looking for microgreens? We grow plenty of them, indoors, year-round. Microgreens are superfood. They’re delicious, flavourful, and nutritious.

LOCKWOOD FARMS COBBLE HILL Beautiful crops available for Thanksgiving: Eggs, parsnips, brussels sprouts, pumpkins, kabochas, butternuts and South African squash. Lots of lettuce and greens, carrots and turnips, beautiful frozen chickens too! That’s My Jam

Shawnigan Lake Handcrafted, small batch preserves created using as many local ingredients from the Cowichan Valley and BC.

The Garden Education Centre Ross Wristen Inclusion Garden Duncan

A communally tended market garden set up to make gardening more comfortable, inclusive and accessible. Sweet Meat and Acorn squash available this fall. BOOTS & ROOTS

PERMACULTURE FARM GLENORA Pasture raised non-GMO roasting chickens, carrots, potatoes, squash, beets, garlic, greens and more. CURE ARTISAN MEAT & CHEESE cowichan bay Thanksgiving Dinner Box - Cowichan Valley wild mushroom soup, Turkey roulade, Confit fall vegetables Roasted potatoes, gravy... $100 box feeds 4. Add $20 per extra person.

KinPark Youth Urban Farm Duncan

Duncan’s only youth-led urban farm offers garlic, leeks, beets, squash, and

kale to complete all your fall feasts.

Dancing Dandelion Farms Duncan

A local flower arrangement is perfect for the Thanksgiving table alongside our delicious vegetables including garlic,

cherry tomatoes and microgreens.

Little Zimbabwe Farm DUNCAN

African inspired products, seed to belly! Delicious meat & veggie pies, sauces, organic kale powders and spice blends, muffins and more!