Before I get to a wine you should be drinking this week, you may want to brush up on your wine knowledge a little. I have just the thing for you.
The fun folks at Railtowns Vancouver Urban Winery are diversifying yet again, this time launching Sunday School A series of irreverent wine seminars. It is hosted by the Winerys resident sommelier David Stansfield and Lisa Cook, the cellar manager at Joey Wine Bar who I wrote about a few weeks back. Youll have to jump on it; things get going this Sunday, April 14, and then continue every second Sunday for four weeks in total.
The crew over there are way too fun and energetic for you to be concerned about the events being stuffy or boring, I promise.
I get a lot of panicked calls and texts from friends looking for urgent wine advice, from matching wines with food, finding cheap wines that dont seem cheap, to picking the ideal wine for meeting the in-laws, says Cook. While Im always happy to help, it seemed like there had to be a better way to address these all too common wine crises. That was the inspiration for these seminars.
Each seminar features multiple flights of wines corresponding to a set theme. Doors will open at 6pm, when guests will be given a tour of the winery, leading into the 7pm seminar that runs for a couple hours. The seminars are $35 apiece, but you can purchase the initial set of four for $120. Heres how the calendar lines up:
April 14, #101: World Tour of Wine
April 28, #102: Better Know A BC Winery Joie Farm
May 12, #103: BC vs. The World
May 26, #104: How To Buy Wine & Influence People
Id reckon these are going to sell out fast so head to VancouverUrbanWinery.com for more information and tickets.
Now, how about a little wine for your weekend?
Terra Andina 2011 Semillon Chardonnay | Valle Central, Chile | $12-ish | Private Wine Stores
It was a sunny day a couple weeks back when I was running errands around Olympic Village and stepped into Legacy Liquor Store, managing to leave with spending less than 12 bucks! I gotta say, Im totally blown away by the value of this bright, juicy, summery white thats made just outside of Santiago. The Semillon bursts out with both opulence and finesse, all rich and waxy with a little stone-fruit and citrus, while the Chardonnay simply floods the palate with lively apple, pear skin, pineapple and nectarines. Theres just a hint of toasty goodness that adds some great complexity and cradles all of that fruit lovingly. I like the idea of Carbonara pasta with this one, with the acidity bright enough to cut through the creaminess, the fruit juicy enough to balance the salty bacon and Parmesan or Pecorino, and the peas that dot the dish will mimic the wines freshness. Buy this one by the case!
