Going Haywire (with a little BS thrown in) at Edible Canada at the Market

Cutting edge: Haywire and Bartier Scholefield vial samples, Tim Pawsey photo

(Edible Canada is now closed.

Yesterday we took time out from our pre-holidays deadline whirl, and Zagat Survey wrap-up (hence the lack of posts here), to catch lunch with the Okanagan Crushpad gang and consulting winemaker Alberto Antonini.

His best quote of the day was:

“If I was a yeast, I wouldn’t want to spend my life in stainless steel!”, which led to an update on OCP’s new concrete eggs, in service at the now fully operational winery.

The other, equally memorable but more troubling comment was that the life of the average commercial vineyard (read chemically farmed) is now considered to be about 20 years. Needless to say, Antonini, whose method is to be as non-interventionist as possible—reminds us it really is “all about fruit integrity.”

Lunch was in ‘the garage’ at Edible Canada at the Market. If you haven’t seen it yet, this is a very functional, casual private room, created by a glass garage door that neatly closes off the noise, but not the light, from the main bistro and kitchen. Could be the town’s most exhibitionist dining room—next to Yew, of course.

General comments:

David Scholefield and rosé Tim Pawsey photo

David likes his rosé, Tim Pawsey photo

• Bartier Scholefield 2010 Rosé gets better every time we taste it. Looks pretty too. Lovely salmon colour in the glass, raspberry earthy notes on top. But, “Really, who cares about descriptors?” asks the (ever unbiased) David Scholefield, who notes:

“It’s dang delicious!”

“The best use for Gamay.”

and, above all,

“Rosé you can gargle with” …

—and an excellent match with Edible’s winter frisée salad, arguably the best use of frisée ever, thanks mainly to its lashings of lardons.

The wine is $25-ish at Private Wine Stores in BC.

Edible Canada scallop and smoked tomato vinaigrette, Tim Pawsey

• It was also good to revisit Haywire Switchback Pinot Gris 2010, ($23-ish PWS) which has become more textured, citrus toned and mineral-y complex, with some zingy acidity, all of which served to bump the wow factor on Edible’s Qualicum Bay scallops with peppy chorizo and an assertive, wonderfully smokey tomato vinaigrette.

We’re thinking we’ll be back. Very soon.

About the Author: Tim Pawsey

Tim has been covering the food and wine revolution for about 20 kilos. Count 15 kg alone thanks to the blossoming cuisine and wine culture of British Columbia, Canada. His awards include: BC Restaurant Assn. Hall of Fame, Okanagan Wine Festivals Harry McWatters Founder's Award, BC Wine Growers Industry Recognition Award, Vancouver International Wine Festival Spirited Industry Professional award. Tim’s hallmark is seeking out and recommending value wines from BC and around the world that offer quality at every level. He also scopes out noteworthy restaurants that live up to their promises—and often over deliver. For several decades Tim wrote columns in the Vancouver Courier and North Shore News. He currently contributes to several magazines, including BCLS Taste, Vitis and others. Tim is a frequent judge for wine competitions and was a founding judge of The BC Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Wine. He is frequently invited to judge at The BC Wine Awards, and others. Tim has traveled to taste in many of the world’s leading wine regions, across Europe, in North America, Argentina and Chile, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa.