The Beaujolais are here ... Join us for lunch or dinner and enjoy some i Beaujolais Nouveau specialties from November 20 i Book your Christinas Party nos up toi50 people Open Mon-Sat 1373 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 926-4913 wv veal taste of the 7 swediterr anes culsiesc. . forse Turkish St Aer dest en Vancouver swviel Wi an original Peqc vate. Hearty ortions of Vegetarian dishes , eVholevheot pitas *\Vorld famous original chicken or lamb donair kabobs oelicious price? dis starting feo $3: oF Tau rhisl, SOelighye Dine in or take out 1118 Davie St. Vancouver 682-1007 on the Noreh Shore. Ta reach this courmet market, place your ads where she readership is Hayors VA ny Dw Y By Cool treat Ice wines fit fine under the tree Deana Lancaster News Reporter dcana@nsnews.com LOOKING to buy the ideal Ciarisemas gift for a wine lover on your list? If they like it sweet and sticky then a late harvest wine, Botrytis-affected wine, or one of B.C.’s famous ice Wines is the way to go. Mark Taylor is the owner and operator of the Cellar Door Bistro on Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in the Okanagan. He was recently in Whistler for the food and wine cele- bration, Cornucopia, sharing knowl- edge and some samples of these “stickies.” “You can’t get too serious about them,” he said of the sweet wines. As for what to serve them with, he said irs hard to pair them with dessert since they’re already so sweet, so he often serves them as dessert on their own. Late harvest wines are made from pes which have been ripened to | maturity on the vine and then kt there even longer, until they begin to raisin. Since sugar content increases and acid drops off as they ripen, the grapes are already sweet. Letting them dry out means there is less water to dilute the sweetness once they're NEWS photo Paul McGrath {CE wines are currently the toast of B.C. The bottles above are available on the North Shore at Liberty Wine Merchants. vintage is always a resule of Mother Nature's work. Once it takes hold, the infection must be carefully con- trolled as it spreads, and there is less juice from the dry grapes. Therefore, ji Botrytis-affected wines are more expensive than most table wines. Most expensive of ali are ice wines, which generally run abour $50 for a half bore. : “They are the toast of B.C..” I said Taylor. “We are receiving worid- wide recognition for our ice wines.” The Okanagan has an ideal climate for ice wine production because its temperature drops below freezing almost every year. But it’s a love-hate relationship, said Taylor. Before the grapes can be harvested the temperature must drop to -8 degrees or lower. The longer they stay on the vine, a, sweeter the pe is, but it’s a proposition. as the days get colder, wildlife gets hungrier and the grapes are a popular snack for bears. And the more frozen they get, the heavier they get and_ there's “drop-off.” The grapes are harvested by hand, and in below-freezing temperatures most pickers don’t last long before Pa a they need to come inside and warm up. But the grapes must be pressed within two hours, before they thaw out. The frozen grapes are hard on the presses and because there’s no crushed. Botrytis, also called “the Noble Rot,” a common fungus which attacks the erapes By definition... A few terms to start you off on your epicurean adventure into the world of wine tast- ing. Vintner is a term used to commonly describe a wine- maker in North America, and in Europe to describe a wine ‘and causes miniscule holes in the fruir from merchant. Vintage generally means the year the grapes were har- vested, not the year the wine was bottled. Table wine is a term used to describe a wine meant to accompany food. Varietal wines are wines made from only one type of high-quality grape. Blended wines are developed when several wines are combined to create another wine with its own unique characteris- tics. Nose refers to the way the wine smeils and is used by some as a replacement for the word “fragrance” as in: water content (it’s frozen and falls off on which water evaporates, The grapes are not the press), the juice yield is usually less than | infected on purpose so a Botrytis-affected half that of a table wine. “Oh Muffy, this pinot noir has a wonderful black pepper nose on it.” Finish refers to the after- taste — both the general iaste of the wine and to how long this taste lingers in the mouth. Now get out there. Swirl, sniff, taste and enjoy! YOUR BETTER Come to Vision Works for the bes? value in quality brand name eyeweer. This month choose the half price SALE that's best suited to you. 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