The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 73

THE VANCOUVER SUN, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008 F7 EATDRINK A GUIDE TO THE GOOD LIFE 1 je B.C. WINE OF THE WEEK ANTHONY GISMONDI IN THE CELLAR mngi 1 i Gnocchl In sage and garlic butter. Scan from book. FROM EVERYONE CAN COOK MIDWEEK MEALS Simple dish lets wine shine MATCH MAKER Comfort food Gnocchi is comfort food and is almost always best with young rustic reds. I say almost always because once in while you can have a great bottle of wine with as simple dish and simply allow the wine to shine.

Anthony Gismondi Bataslolo Barbera d'Alba Sovrana 2003, Piedmont, Italy $25 This is a workhorse barbera and it matches the dish on all levels. There is plenty black cherry, pruneplum, white pepper, tobacco and mineral flavours to tame the cheese and sage and lots of acidity to cleanse the palate. UNDEMANS SOUTH AFRICA CHARDON-NAY 2006, South Africa Price: $13 UPC: 089819937721 Score: 86100 Remarks: A fruity, consumer-driven style well-balanced. Great value. SIMONSIG CHENIN BLANC 2006, Stellen-bosch Price: $14 UPC: 06002123103006 Score: 86100 Remarks: A solid wine best consumed with spicy dish to tame the sweet notes.

SAXENBURG 2007 GUINEA FOWL CHENIN BLANC VIOGNIER, Stellenbosch Price: $20 6002461000333 Score: 88100 Remarks: Sip all summer with seafood or on the patio. PORCUPINE RIDGE SYRAH 2006, Coastal Region Price: $18 746925000786 Score: 88100 Remarks: A serious barbecue red that is value. GRAHAM BECKSHIRAZ 2004, Breede Valley $20 699446000028 Score: 88100 Remarks: A big, showy shiraz that should fairly wide appeal. GRACELAND CABERNET SAUVIGNON Stellenbosch $30 06009648990968 88100 Remarks: Supple with mocha cherrychocc-late flavours. La Splnetta Barbera d'Alba Galllna 2005, Piedmont, Italy $70 Sometimes the wine is the dinner.

In this case use the gnocchi to temper or support each sip of this fabulous black plum and savoury red streaked with licorice, mineral and orange peel flavours. Gnocchi in Sage and Garlic Butter This dish will depend on the quality of gnocchi you buy; for best results, buy the freshlymade product from a pasta shop but packaged ones are also available in supermarkets and delis. The texture should be soft and plump, not a tight clump. This is a simple recipe for midweek by Eric Akis In Everyone Can Cook, Midweek Meals. Mia Stainsby SA picks 9 When I think of modern South African wine I usually occupy my white wine thoughts with chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc, simply the freshest and most interesting examples coming out of the Cape.

When it comes to reds, it's the shirazsyrah as it relates to the French version that is the best of the lot, while sporadically, blends and other grapes can sometimes rise above the ordinary. It doesn't help to have so many commercial offerings in Canada, perhaps obscuring the best SA has to offer. Syrah, as we are learning here in the Okanagan, appears to better suit the vagaries of the many SA appellations or districts, and if South Africa is to move ahead in this market, it may well be that its syrah offerings will lead the red wine charge. I think I said that 10 years ago, but like most emerging wine markets that come to Canada, GRAHAM BECK i s. i but a UPC: solo UPC: good River Price: UPC: have 2005, Price: UPC: Score: Getting 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 pound package gnocchi 1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped Bring a large pot of light salted water to a boil.

Set a skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the butter and oil. When the butter starts to melt, add the gnocchi to the boiling water. When the butter has completely melted, add the garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add the sage leaves and cook until they become very fragrant and slightly crisp on the outer edges, about 2 12 whole fresh sage leaves -V4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus some for the table salt and freshly ground black pepper When the gnocchi is tender (it will float to the top when cooked), scoop it out of the water and add to the skillet.

Sprinkle in the cheese and salt and pepper and toss to coat. Divide the gnocchi among pasta bowls. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese grated overtop. Mates 3 to 4 servings. CHARDONNAY 2007 Ungated hi) JOIE RIESUNG IV 2007, NARAMA-TA BENCH, OKANAGAN VALLEY, $21 Another pleasant offering from Joie.

Think summer and enjoy the mineral, grassy, butter, melon, peach skin, lime, grapefruit aromas and flavours here. The finish is a bit rind-y (bitter) and warm, so chill it down and sip on the patio. It's fun to drink but you will only find it in select private wine stores and restaurants. EVENTS Congratulations to Wild Goose Vineyards for sweeping every category they entered at the recent Okanagan Wine Festival Societies, Best of Varietal Wine Competition. The competition is a blind tasting as judged by industry winemakers.

Wines are tasted by variety and the best wine in each varietal category is chosen along with one or two finalists. Wild Goose entered six categories and topped each one. Its winners include: Best Riesling, 2007 Wild Goose God's Mountain, Best Pinot Blanc, 2007 Mystic River, Best Gewurztraminer, 2007 Wild Goose, Best Open Table White, 2007 Autumn Gold, Best Pinot Gris, 2007 Wild Goose and Best BlushRose, 2007 Blanc de Noirs. More than 300 wines were entered in competi- tion. Tickets to the CedarCreek Sunset Concerts go on sale May 15.

You can purchase your ticket package for $125, or solo ducats from $35 to depending on the show. A concert and dinner package at Vineyard Terrace Restaurant ranges from per night. For more information, contact the winery at 250-764-8866 ext. 102 or via Ticketmaster. The gates open at 6:30 p.m., showtime is 7 p.m.

Reserve tickets are recommended. Alan Frew of Glass Tiger is first up, on July 23. Graham Beck Shiraz 2004, from the warm Robertson, Breede River Valley region, is similarly consistent each year, offering up a friendly nose of meaty, floral notes with bits of tobacco. Cleaner than usual, the entry is soft, mouth-filling with supple textures and a mix of peppery, meaty, savoury, mulberry-plum fruit flavours. This is a big, showy, almost noisy shiraz that should have fairly wide appeal.

Try it with barbecued ribs. New to me is the Graceland Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from Stellenbosch. It gets full marks for its nose that sports a mix of cran-cherry and black fruit with some smoky oak notes underneath. On the palate, the entry is supple with mocha cher-ry-chocolate flavours and a streak of acidity and minerality. It's young and will need a bit more time to become fully knit, but it's certainly well made and worth trying.

Special to The Sun offer K. Lmt Sans aafc Mi Pmauan, (g ianj to know South African wines can be a real trip wineries and their agents are determined to try to sell us chardonnay, cabernet and merlot first, even fit's not the best wine they make. It's been a tough road for post-1994 SA wine in B.C. where California, Australia, Spain, Argentina, Chile and France have pushed the quality bar at light speed, not to mention the intense competition from local B.C. wines.

Ordinary, and often unclean, wine has been the biggest problem in SA, and while wineries routinely slough off such talk, consumers do not. I'm often asked what that foreign "flavour" or "taste" is in so many commercial SA reds. My guess is consumers are detecting various amounts of burnt rubber, game, and or unripe tannins in the wine, flavours not seen in decades in most other wines. That said, there are some good bottles out there and, during the month of May, BC Liquor Stores will highlight the diversity of wines from South Africa. In all, some 50 stores will feature South African wine displays covering a variety of labels.

There is also an added incentive to get to know South African wine this month a trip to the land of the springboks. As part of the month-long celebration, anyone is eligible to win a trip to South Africa. You can enter the contest online at wwwwinesof-southafricaxa until June 15. The offer includes round-trip, economy class tickets to Cape Town, South Africa, leaving from Vancouver; luxury accommodation in South Africa for six nights, as well as transport to and from the airport in Cape Town. Today, we look at six labels currently available in BC Liquor Stores.

Lindemans South Africa Chardonnay 2006 is an inexpensive, tasty, floral peach-scented chardonnay with cantaloupe, spicy lees and buttery notes made by Australians. It has a round, ripe, fresh, clean palate with buttery, orange creamsicle, melon, peach, buttery flavours and a touch of sweetness on the finish. A fruity, fresh, easy sip-ping-style white that is well balanced and represents good value. Similar to last year, Simonsig Chenin Blanc 2006 from Stellenbosch has a pleasant aroma that mixes floral notes with ripe peach and pear. The entry is smooth with ripe, almost sweet, flavours of honey, pineapples melon flecked with minerals.

A EatDrink online THE GOOD LIFE ONLINE Can't get enough of EatDrink? Well, you can continue to sip from the cup of quality and the plate of pleasure by going to www.vancouversun.comeatdrink. Once you're there, scroll down to Current Features and you'P see the EatDrink link. Click and enjoy. good wine that needs a spicy dish to tame the sweet notes. Think Indian or Thai.

Year 3 of the Saxenburg 2003 Guinea Fowl, a fresh 6832 blend of chenin blanc and viog-nier, is a delight to drink. The nose is an enticing mix of lees, tropical pineapple fruit and honey aromas. The viognier definitely fattens up the skinny, fresh chenin blanc fruit, giving the white wine all the balance it needs. Sip all summer with seafood or solo on the patio. This one is a winner.

We like consistency, and the Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2006 is almost a carbon copy of the '05 with its smoky, savoury nose and rich roasted peppers and game notes. The entry is soft and warm with plenty of ripe, supple fruit and peppery, licorice, blueberry fruit with meaty gamey notes in the finish. A serious barbecue red you don't just want to leave on the counter for everyone else to drink. Good value. Limited time $1.00 Pinot Noir Chardonnay 7 to sr.

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