F5FOOD & WINE ||

Drouhin Vaudon Chablis Premier Cru Vaudésir 2009, Chablis, Burgundy, FrancePrice: $72UPC: 0012086325113Score: 93/100Remarks: Delicious Chablis that will age well for another two to four years.

Chester-Kidder Red Blend 2007, Columbia Valley, WashingtonPrice: $50UPC: 808755003877Score: 92/100Remarks: Give this another three to !ve years in bottle, or serve now with roasted meat.

Laughing Stock Vineyards Syrah+7/10 2010, Naramata Bench, Okanagan ValleyPrice: $34UPC: 00850451001466Score: 91/100Remarks: An excellent bold, rich style that really needs two to !ve more years in bottle.

M. Chapoutier Monier de la Sizeranne Hermitage Rouge 2009, Rhone Valley, FrancePrice: $110UPC: 003391181020732Score: 92/100Remarks: A restrained, youthful Syrah that needs another two to !ve years aging.

Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Napa Valley, CaliforniaPrice: $80UPC: 00752183057769Score: 92/100Remarks: An impressive e"ort for the vintage, and likely better than the 2007 in the long run.

Mission Hill Oculus 2009, Okanagan ValleyPrice: $70UPC: 776545981301Score : 92/100Remarks: Drink it now if you must, but !ve to seven years cellaring will repay your patience.

WINES TO COLLECT

FOOD & WINE

ANTHONYGISMONDIIN THE CELLAR

B.C. WINE OF THE WEEK

Black Hills Alibi 2011 Okanagan Valley, $25

Attend a relaxed, Italian-themed, standup cheese and wine tasting at Les Amis du Fromage, 843 East Hastings St., in support of The Vancouver Heritage Foundation. The event happens Friday, Oct. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets: $45; buy them online at buycheese.com.

The 33rd Okanagan Fall Wine Festival is in Kelowna on Tuesday Oct. 2. Share a multi-course winemaker’s dinner and meet John and Virginia Weber from the Similkameen Valley’s Oro!no Winery. Chef Mark Filatow will be matching the food and wine. Tickets: $130 din-ner (taxes and gratuities included); call 250-979-1222.

NEWS & EVENTS

ANTHONY GISMONDISPECIAL TO THE SUN

Change is the only certainty in our lives, and it is no different in the wine busi-

ness. So beginning next week, you can expect some minor modifications to this column and some of the wine content that appears in the Saturday Sun. Don’t worry you will still see all six wine picks on Saturday, but the descriptions and details will appear together alongside the labels — easier to clip out and take to the wine store. The col-umn itself will become a bit more free form covering a range of top-ics that define the modern wine business.

The British Columbia wine of the week, our event notices and bites of wine information will all move to Wednesday’s Arts & Life section starting Sept. 26. Joining that package will be a new feature for wine collectors. There have been many requests to feature wines suitable for cel-laring so every Wednesday we will offer a specially selected, highly available wine pick that you can lay away for five to 10 years in the cellar.

When it comes to cellaring wines, something I’ve done for three decades, the best advice I would offer aspiring collec-tors is to remember that even-tually all wine is made to be consumed. After that it’s up to you to decide the best method of “investing” your time and money in wine. Keep in mind the basic concept is to buy wine at today’s prices and wait for it to mature in your cellar both physically and economically. Not only will you save the pre-mium that years of aging adds to the retail cost of wine, but a decade down the road you will be assured of owning a scarce and valuable commodity.

Aside from any growth in value, “investing” in wine is all about marking time to allow a great wine to develop to its full potential. During the aging period, the harsh angular com-ponents of youth give way to the rounder, more complex

flavours that are the hallmark of fine, old, mature wine.

The long maturation period offers other possibilities as well. Many collectors now “put down” wines to mark special events such as their child’s birthday or their wedding anni-versary. Just imagine celebrat-ing your birthday every year with a wine as old as you are. All you need is patience and persistence.

In terms of cost, quality and quantity always keep in mind that you are not buying wine for next week. If the differ-ence between a good wine and a great wine is only a few dol-lars always buy the better wine. Believe me, the few extra dol-lars it costs will look like a bar-gain a decade from now. The amount you buy is more a mat-ter of budget, but anywhere from three to six bottles of any one type is sufficient to age, taste, track and trade along the way.

We begin with a local icon Mission Hill Oculus 2009. Oculus is the pinnacle red at Mission Hill fashioned after the great red blends of Bordeaux,

and made with select grapes from designated blocks in Osoyoos and Oliver. No wine in the region is handled more gen-tly before it is aged 14.5 months in French barriques. The mix is now 50 per cent Merlot with 30/15/5 bits of Cabernet Sauvi-gnon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, all of which lends the wine an attractive soft, elegant demeanour and slippery, fine-grained tannins. You can drink it now if you must, but five to seven years will repay your patience handsomely.

White wine is often over-looked by young collectors but wines like the Drouhin Vau-don Chablis Premier Cru Vaudésir 2009 will change your mind. Its round, full, juicy, fresh palate is packed full of lime, honey, green apple, pear skin, spicy, light butter, seashell flavours with a long, fresh finish and a touch of lees. Delicious Chablis that will only improve over the next two to four years in bottle.

The latest Chester-Kid-der Red Blend 2007, a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mer-lot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and

Malbec is the best yet from Washington’s Long Shad-ows home winemaker Gilles Nicault. The attack is full and smooth with good acidity and rich vanilla, coffee, pepper, tobacco, blackberry jam/cas-sis flavours. The finish is long, warm and stuffed with youth-ful tannins yet to be shed. Give this another three to five years in bottle or serve now with roasted meat.

I’m very impressed with the Laughing Stock Vineyards Syrah+7/10 from the Okana-gan Valley. From gingerbread and sage to sausage meat and blackberry jam, this is one savoury red. The style is big and bold with a warm, slightly tart finish that craves a piece of lamb, or two to five more years in the cellar. Well done.

A completely different take on Syrah and equally compelling is the M. Chapoutier Monier de la Sizeranne Hermitage Rouge 2009 from the Rhone Valley. The style is dry and fresh with both elegance and auster-ity with a flood of smoky, curry, peppery, meaty, leather, barn-yard, garrigue and plum fla-vours. A more restrained, youth-ful wine that needs another three to seven years aging in the cellar to reach its peak.

We finish with Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 — not your typical Napa caber-net. Owner Ray Signorello, who splits his time between Cali-fornia and his hometown West Vancouver, is fascinated by the complexity of French wine, and is determined to make a similar style in Napa. Pepper, menthol, dark chocolate and cassis pre-view a warm rich red but one with great finesse and flavour intensity. An impressive effort that will clearly improve in bottle over the next six to eight years.

Special to The Sun

COLLECTING

Cellaring adds value, tasteStoring is about allowing wine to develop to its full potential

RIC ERNST/POSTMEDIA NEWS FILES

During the aging period, harsh components give way to rounder more complex flavours that are the hallmark of mature wine.

Pasta Carbonara Perfection

Elizabeth Falkner met the per-fect carbonara in a trattoria in Italy. To near perfection, she says don’t substitute bacon for pancetta and try to use fresh rigatoni if at all possible (but use dried if you can’t find it). This is from her book, Cooking off The Clock.— Mia Stainsby

4 ounces (113 g) pancetta, cut into #-inch pieces, 1/8-inch thickolive oil1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt, plus more for seasoning8 ounces (225 g) fresh or dried rigatoni pasta4 large egg yolks, fresh, free-rangefreshly ground black pepper$ cup (60 mL) grated pecorino Romano cheese

In a large saucepan, over low heat, add pancetta and

a splash of olive oil. Cook until the fat is rendered and the meat is just beginning to brown and crisp lightly, about 10 minutes; set aside.Bring large pot filled with water to a boil over high heat and add the 1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt. Drop in the pasta and cook for 4 minutes if fresh pas-ta, or 10 to 12 minutes if dried.In small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons (30

mL) of the pasta water to blend. Reheat the pancetta over medium-high heat. Drain the pasta and add to the sauté pan with a few cranks of pepper and toss together.To serve, divide between warm bowls and spoon the egg yolk mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle with grated pecorino and serve immediately.Makes 2 servings

A classic dish needs little more than a classic wine; in this case one white and one red.!Anthony Gismondi

Ricasoli Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico 2007, Tuscany, Italy, $30Expect the fresh, full peppery, savoury, black cherry, balsamic %avours to enhance this favou-rite dish.

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2011 Valdadige, Veneto, Italy, $20This underrated white will cleanse your palate between bites with pear skin, quince and green apple %avours.

MATCH | MAKER

Can’t go wrong with double the pleasure

Open, clean, fresh nose with pink grapefruit, citrus and %oral aromas. Crisp and inviting, the attack is juicy, cool and elegant with sweet, smoky herbal notes. Look for more pink grapefruit, lemon thyme, mineral and ginger %avours with a trace of chalk underneath. Steamed buttered clams with a squeeze of Alibi in the pot works for me.

WINE TALK EVERY THURSDAY ... Anthony Gismondi and co-host Kasey Wilson 6-7 p.m.

BEST OF FOOD & WINE

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 | BREAKING NEWS: VANCOUVERSUN.COM |

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