Our favourite Okanagan Pinot Noir comes from Foxtrot Vineyards on the Naramata Bench. We love it so much that we volunteered to help with their harvest this year, which took place over a frosty weekend in October. The grapes were fat and sweet and Gustav Allander, Foxtrot's winemaker, was very generous in answering our many, many questions.
Looking west, the vineyard sloping down toward Okanagan Lake.
Sunrise behind ice on the apricot trees. The sprinklers had not been drained and so had to be turned on overnight to keep the pipes from bursting.
The white crates hold about 500kg of grapes. We filled seven crates in a day and a half of picking.
A beautiful example of a ripe, juicy bunch of Pinot Noir grapes.
The grapes are loaded into the de-stemmer, specially designed for Pinot Noir.
November 01 All along Ontario Street these incredible, inedible rep caps popped up in close little gangs, like alien tourists. They seemed to be mostly near the roots of different trees and were in all states of development. People wondered what we were taking photos of and once they realized, the fungi drew quite a crowd. For about a five block stretch they seemed to be under every bush.
Aya woke up smelling smoke at about 4:30. Then the power went out about an hour later. We realized the fire wasn't on our block but was still quite close so we went to have a look. The flames were mostly out by the time we got there. It started in Kishu Sushi then spread to Slickety Jim's restaurant and an accountant's office. Lugz Coffee was also destroyed but they had already gone out of business a couple of weeks before. This was the fourth fire in that two-block area in the eight years we have lived here. Glad no-one was hurt but it is very sad to lose such unique local businesses.
Looking west at Broadway and Main.
The Globe And Mail had a very good illustration of the businesses lost. Let's see how long they'll let me embed it here.
In late July and early August, just when Vancouver was remembering how to do summer properly, turning hot and lush, we left for Scotland. We had a very good reason: the Wem Family was having its first-ever reunion, and we were keen to meet Keith's mother's relatives.
Some photos from our wine-tasting trip to the Okanagan Valley in August, 2009.The red bridge over the Similkameen River, near our favourite riverside campsite. Just outside Keremeos, BC.
Inside Orofino Winery's strawbale storage room. Orofino, we'll have it known, makes the best Riesling this side of Alsace. And that is not even getting to their excellent collection of crisply acidic whites and beautifully structured reds.
Freshly picked nectarines, passable prosciutto and Road 13's Honest John Rosé. A delicious appetizer before grilled pork chops. This was dinner at BC Parks' tiny Inkaneep campsite where we were lucky to grab the last site.
A tour of Foxtrot's winery with Kicki Allender. The Okanagan's best Pinot Noir aging gently in French oak.
Steaks rubbed with chilli, spices and ground coffee with a full-bodied Cabernet-Merlot from Sandhill. Dinner beside the river at our favourite campsite in the Similkameen valley.
Picking apricots into a hat.
The collection from this trip. Lots of familiar faces and many new treasures.
We just had a great fly-by of the ISS, sweeping very quickly (almost 8km per second) from SWS to ENE. It is so big now (350 feet wide, apparently) that it is by far the second brightest thing in the night sky. It was amazing to stare up at it, knowing that mankind put it there and that there are humans aboard, including a Japanese astronaut right now.
Being able to track it from my desktop and then look outside and see it arrive right on schedule gave me goosebumps. What an incredible confluence of technologies.
Aya's father took us to an amazing onsen (hot springs resort) on the coast near Nanao City in Kanazawa Prefecture. There were private tubs on the deck and all sorts of stone baths facing the ocean view. Aya's uncle, Tadahiro, got right down to business with his favourite hobby. He wouldn't put the rod down, even when he was soaking in the tub. His perseverance paid off and the kitchen prepared the fish he caught as part of our dinner that evening.
Breakfast was waiting in our room when we got back from our morning bath. The little grill at top left is for charring the fish cake directly below it. The covered pot contained delicious, silky soft tofu in hot water (yudofu).
Sashimi on a wave of ice. Yes, that is gold leaf on the maguro.
Ta-dah! Steamed crab legs, a local specialty and one of Aya's favourites.
Here is a great example of Japanese technology's bleeding edge catching up with the ancient traditions, or perhaps vice versa. These delicious senbei crackers, individually wrapped of course, had designs printed on them in (hopefully) edible inks. They were all traditional icons like a spinning top toy for children, a "shi-shi" (lion-god) costume and so on.The one that grabbed our attention was the QR code printed directly on the cracker. You capture it with your cell phone and it takes you to a website (for mobile phones only) with promotions or other information. If you are interested, the link is http://m.daimaru.co.jp. The "m" is for "mobile" and means the page won't display on a regular computer.
Events with both family and friends took us to Sakai, Japan (just south of Osaka) for six weeks in April and May. We got set up with computers and internet access there and were able to continue working on projects, too, if not always as smoothly as we had hoped.
Here is the view from our second-floor apartment, facing west. The Nankai Koya line passes under the overpass on its way to Namba station. The sound of the commuter trains is somehow very comforting, especially when echoing over a warm spring night.
Kitsune soba for breakfast! Slightly sweet deepfried tofu in dashi soup with buckwheat noodles. And many salads with about one hundred ingredients each, including shredded crab, tiny translucent fish, bamboo shoots, cucumber, spinach, seaweed, sesame seeds, and skinny mushrooms.
Mario from Caffé Rustico gave us a pack of espresso ground coffee when he heard we were going away for six weeks. We thought of him and his wonderful café every morning when we brewed up our cappuccinos.
Ready?
Puffy pancake panic!Who is David Ayers?
We don't know, but we ate his pancake like crazy.
2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup flour 3 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 425.Beat eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt. Melt butter in an oven-proof frying or baking pan. Coat the pan with melted butter, mix the rest into the batter.
Bake it for 12-15 minutes, or till it's puffy-assed and golden. Don't open the door till it's ready or you'll kill all the puff!
Serve immediately with maple syrup or lemon juice and icing sugar, or strawberries and sour cream.
And the tallest cappucinos EVER.
*Minor adjustment to the salt amount and wording of the method. Much improved. So easy, so delicious, and so exciting!
A few weeks back, on a dark Monday evening while we toiled in the office, two of Vancouver's best and brightest decided it was the right time to push in our bedroom window, ransack the place and steal our shiny things. A Nancy Drew-ish neighbour, passing at the right moment, noticed that there was a lot more foot-traffic than usual through our window and sweetly called the police. We only became aware of what had happened when the good officers arrived, missing the loot-laden lads by just six minutes, according to our security cameras.
Luckily they didn't get much, and very little that can't be replaced. They did miss some things by the merest good fortune, and they did luck into some things the value of which they haven't the smallest idea. But then, not having the smallest idea seems to be the predominant quality of their world-view. They probably think the hand-made Japanese lacquer box is plastic. Sigh.What really boils our bottoms is the wine. They managed to relieve us of a significant quantity (all) of our Foxtrot Pinot Noir 2005 and all-but-one of our Sandhill Small Lots Petit Verdot 2004(PDF link). The real crime, of course, is that they won't air it properly and most certainly will serve it at the wrong temperature and with the wrong dish. I predict their dinner will be ruined. Just ruined.Pardon me, sir, but is that Foxtrot Pinot Noir you're carrying? Sir is clearly in possession of a discriminating palate. We hope the wine's 16 months in French oak will not over-power the scent of urine in whichever dumpster Sir chooses to partake of this spicy vintage.Bon appetit!
Animated GIFs from the security cameras in the hall and stairs. The first one is paused on particularly revealing frames.
Looking west, the vineyard sloping down toward Okanagan Lake.
Sunrise behind ice on the apricot trees. The sprinklers had not been drained and so had to be turned on overnight to keep the pipes from bursting.
The white crates hold about 500kg of grapes. We filled seven crates in a day and a half of picking.
A beautiful example of a ripe, juicy bunch of Pinot Noir grapes.
The grapes are loaded into the de-stemmer, specially designed for Pinot Noir.
Looking west at Broadway and Main.
Beinn an Tuirc, Scotland. From the ferry to Islay.
Tasting the goods in Lagavulin distillery, Islay.
Best breakfast ever. Burnside Lodge (bed and breakfast, really) in Port Wemyss, Islay.
The ruins of Kilchurn Castle.
Highland cattle getting curious.
The red bridge over the Similkameen River, near our favourite riverside campsite. Just outside Keremeos, BC.
Inside Orofino Winery's strawbale storage room. Orofino, we'll have it known, makes the best Riesling this side of Alsace. And that is not even getting to their excellent collection of crisply acidic whites and beautifully structured reds.
Freshly picked nectarines, passable prosciutto and Road 13's Honest John Rosé. A delicious appetizer before grilled pork chops. This was dinner at BC Parks' tiny Inkaneep campsite where we were lucky to grab the last site.
A tour of Foxtrot's winery with Kicki Allender. The Okanagan's best Pinot Noir aging gently in French oak.
Steaks rubbed with chilli, spices and ground coffee with a full-bodied Cabernet-Merlot from Sandhill. Dinner beside the river at our favourite campsite in the Similkameen valley.
Picking apricots into a hat.
The collection from this trip. Lots of familiar faces and many new treasures.
We just had a great fly-by of the ISS, sweeping very quickly (almost 8km per second) from SWS to ENE. It is so big now (350 feet wide, apparently) that it is by far the second brightest thing in the night sky. It was amazing to stare up at it, knowing that mankind put it there and that there are humans aboard, including a Japanese astronaut right now.
Aya's father took us to an amazing onsen (hot springs resort) on the coast near Nanao City in Kanazawa Prefecture. There were private tubs on the deck and all sorts of stone baths facing the ocean view. Aya's uncle, Tadahiro, got right down to business with his favourite hobby. He wouldn't put the rod down, even when he was soaking in the tub. His perseverance paid off and the kitchen prepared the fish he caught as part of our dinner that evening.
Breakfast was waiting in our room when we got back from our morning bath. The little grill at top left is for charring the fish cake directly below it. The covered pot contained delicious, silky soft tofu in hot water (yudofu).
Sashimi on a wave of ice. Yes, that is gold leaf on the maguro.
Ta-dah! Steamed crab legs, a local specialty and one of Aya's favourites.
The one that grabbed our attention was the QR code printed directly on the cracker. You capture it with your cell phone and it takes you to a website (for mobile phones only) with promotions or other information. If you are interested, the link is http://m.daimaru.co.jp. The "m" is for "mobile" and means the page won't display on a regular computer.
Here is the view from our second-floor apartment, facing west. The Nankai Koya line passes under the overpass on its way to Namba station. The sound of the commuter trains is somehow very comforting, especially when echoing over a warm spring night.
Kitsune soba for breakfast! Slightly sweet deepfried tofu in dashi soup with buckwheat noodles. And many salads with about one hundred ingredients each, including shredded crab, tiny translucent fish, bamboo shoots, cucumber, spinach, seaweed, sesame seeds, and skinny mushrooms.
Mario from Caffé Rustico gave us a pack of espresso ground coffee when he heard we were going away for six weeks. We thought of him and his wonderful café every morning when we brewed up our cappuccinos.
Who is David Ayers?
What really boils our bottoms is the wine. They managed to relieve us of a significant quantity (all) of our Foxtrot Pinot Noir 2005 and all-but-one of our Sandhill Small Lots Petit Verdot 2004 (PDF link). The real crime, of course, is that they won't air it properly and most certainly will serve it at the wrong temperature and with the wrong dish. I predict their dinner will be ruined. Just ruined.
Pardon me, sir, but is that Foxtrot Pinot Noir you're carrying? Sir is clearly in possession of a discriminating palate. We hope the wine's 16 months in French oak will not over-power the scent of urine in whichever dumpster Sir chooses to partake of this spicy vintage. Bon appetit!
