Siri's Rant about Wine Pronunciation

The Okanagan Valley is a phenomenal wine region.  I have lived here 12 years, and the wines have expanded in quality, quantity, and varietal almost exponentially in this time. We are on the world wine map 

and a destination for wine lovers and connoisseurs from around the world.

So, here is my rant.  If we make and serve wonderful wine, could we also pronounce the names of the varietals correctly?

Just to put things in context,  I am generally quite tolerant of variations in pronunciations- my name is Siri after all, and I have learned through my life that those 4 (well 3) simple letters can be pronounced dozens of different and inventive ways.  I generally just nod and smile to all of them, thinking “close enough”.  I have lived and travelled in different countries and provinces, and have a wonderful blended, extended family including people from Turkey, Australia, Romania, Spain, Britain, the United States and Ireland. I love the primary languages, accents and pronunciations of all of these people. I love and embrace cultural diversity.

So, what is bothering me? It is the mysterious and highly pervasive evolution of the pronunciation of the word sauvignon in the Okanagan.  My favourite red wine is Cabernet Sauvignon, and my favourite white is Sauvignon Blanc. I frequently order these in restaurants, and ask to taste them in wineries. A few years ago, servers would smile and serve.  Now, I am generally corrected, sometimes quite forcefully regarding my pronunciation. Generally the server pronounces cabernet correctly (CAB-AR-NAY), but they correct 

my pronunciation of sauvignon.

The correct pronunciation of sauvignon is SOH-VEE-NYON (the first syllable rhymes with “STOVE”). But if I ask for a glass of SOH-VEE-NYON, 9 times out of ten the server says to me, “Do you mean SAV-I-NEON? Like do you want CAB SAV?”(they say “SAV” like it rhymes with “HAVE”).   “Yes”, I respond, “I would like a glass of CAB SOHVE.” “Right”, they tell me, “you want CAB SAV.”

Okay, I think, “close enough”. 

But, now it is beginning to really irritate me. I think we need to pronounce these names correctly, so we don’t look like wine hicks to the rest of the world.  Perhaps we can begin with the pronunciation of sauvignon. It is a good start.  There are other battles to fight, such as Cabernet Franc, one of my other favourite varietals.  The c at the end of Franc is actually silent- the wine is “Cab Fran”, not “Cab Frank”.  But that will be a bigger battle to take on.

I have friends who are oenophiles, and even they are falling prey to the new sauvignon pronunciation phenomenon.  Until recently they pronounced sauvignon correctly, but many now hesitate, and often pronounce it in a new fusion of “sohve” and “sav" and will say “sawve”.  Clearly they have had the same bombardment that I receive!

So let’s all practice the correct pronunciation.  On line you can listen to many audio pronunciations, so you can practice on your own. I invite restaurants, bars, and wineries, to please take this on as a challenge.  Teach your staff correct pronunciations.   Yes- patrons will try to correct them, but at least they will know they themselves are correct.

Please feel free to invite us to be undercover sauvignon pronunciation police! 

Charcuterie Party!

Here is the invitation....made "With Love....." by Siri

We have invited 6 couples over on May 14th, 2011

Stay tuned to hear how the party turns out!

CHARCUTERIE PARTY!

“Derived from the Italian word for "cooked meat", charcuterie is a platter of cured meats, sausages and pate with various acidic and savoury garnishes. Very customizable with mix and match potential, it should include a showy array of colors, textures and flavours.”

Please bring an item or small amount from some of the following categories.

The lists are intended only for suggestion and inspiration- the choice is yours!

We will sip wine, and together arrange the offerings on platters, boards and trays. We will spend the evening savouring, pairing, and experimenting with flavours!

Category One:  Charcuterie

Prosciutto, salami, ham, pate ........

Category Two:  Cheese

Hard cheese, soft cheese, blue cheese, potted cheese, old cheese, young cheese.....

Category three:  fruit and nuts

Dried fruit, nuts, preserves, jellies, chutney, grapes, pears, apples, berries, Asian pear, persimmon....

Category four: vegetables

Pickled vegetables, cornichons, crudités......

Category five: dips and garnishes

Hoummos, baba ganoush, parsley, seeds, olive oil, truffle, roasted garlic, fleur de sel.......

Category six: breads and crackers

Baguette, crostini, crackers, crisp bread.....

Category seven: sweets

Chocolate, biscotti, Turkish delight......

Category eight: libations       

 Wine, port, mineral water, brandy.......

Hot wine pairing tip of the week!

Our pairing of the week is Paella from The Vanilla Pod restaurant in Summerland, BC, paired with 2006 Meritage from Pentage Winery on Skaha Lake in Penticton.

The Meritage is a classic Bordeaux blend, Merlot driven, with gorgeous notes of chocolate and tobacco. It has forward nose and flavours of the Cab Franc.
The wine paired perfectly with the delicious, smoky flavours of The Vanilla Pod's paella, a feast of seafood, chorizo sausage, tomato and saffron rice.

If you have never eaten at the Vanilla Pod, it is a must!  It a a gem of the Okanagan.
We look forward to further exploring the lovely wines from Pentage.

Both the food and the wine for this perfect meal were clearly made With Love...

Check out the website for The Vanilla Pod:  http://thevanillapod.ca

And for Pentage Winery: http://www.pentage.com

Hot wine pairing tip of the week!

Pair cold honeydew melon with cold Quails Gate's blended white:  Çhasselas-Pinot Blanc-Pinot Gris.


A perfect match for eating outside in the sunshine!

http://www.quailsgate.com/our-wines/quails-gate-wines/chasselas.php

Siri and Brett

Honey wine!

Meadow Vista Honey Wines, Kelowna BC

Finally! I have tasted Honey Wine!  It was privilege!
At a wine event last night, I met Judie of Meadow Vista Honey Wines. She wore a delightful t-shirt that said "BEE JOYFUL......." 


My first tasting was Joy- Organic Sparkling Honey Wine- Canada's first sparkling honey wine. It was like a crisp champagne, with light bubbles, and slightly sweet with a mellow note of, well, honey!

Judie spoke with delight and conviction about wine, made from honey, being the oldest fermented beverage on the planet. We talked about why is seemed to have disappeared, and how it seems the right time to have a renaissance now because people are looking closely at where their food and beverages come from, and have developed a respect for traditional methods of procurement and preparation.

I then tasted Cloud Horse- Organic Traditional Honey Wine, which, as Judie explained, could also be called a Meade. It was a clear, light colour, with a good balance of acidity and slight sweetness, lovely fruit and honey notes, and light body and a clean finish.

Judie talked about the distinct challenges of finding an organic honey for her wine making.  She explained that for a honey to be certified organic, it needs to be miles away from any crops where pesticides are used, and also miles away from a highway! The best source she has found to date is from Northern Alberta.

I savoured every last drop of the wine, and imagined how Meadow Vista has the most wine making workers of any winery I can imagine, with thousands and thousands of bees flying miles to collect the nectar for this noble and traditional beverage.

Visit the web site to read about all the products:  www.meadowvista.ca

Meadow Vista Wines are, without a doubt, made "With love......"


Siri

The Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver: A GEM!

Over the last couple of years, we have heard comments about an historic and beautiful hotel on English Bay in Vancouver called The Sylvia.  So, for a business trip to Vancouver in late February, we decided to book a room.


What a joy!  The hotel is BEAUTIFUL!  Built in 1912, it still maintains much of its original glory.  Yes- it may need some updating in terms of textiles and bathroom fixtures but, for us, it all just added to the experience.


These are the reasons to stay at the Sylvia:

• LOCATION!  Right on the ocean and next to Stanley park, and walking distance to wonderful restaurants and shops on Denman Street and Robson Street.
• It is affordable!
• the service is friendly and efficient.
• the patrons are varied and interesting.
• Parking is great. It is underground, and does not have the inconvenience of valet parking.
• The hotel is charming and quiet.

The hotel does have a bar and restaurant. In fact, it has the first cocktail bar in Vancouver!  The view is worth a visit in itself.

The existing bar is crying out for a restoration to return to its former glory. We speculated that with professional bartenders who make perfect cocktails with love and passion, the cocktail bar could be the premier cocktail bar in Vancouver!  

THANK YOU to anyone and everyone who has kept this gem of a hotel going for almost 100 years! It has not been torn down and replaced with a modern condo! It still retains a majesty of a era gone by. The stories the hotel could tell!

The Sylvia gets a hands-down WITH LOVE..... designation.

We will stay there many more times!

A restaurant you must experience: Tavola in Vancouver

On a cold Wednesday evening in Vancouver, we ventured out looking for a restaurant that would captivate us, and came upon TAVOLA, nestled at the bottom of Robson Street.
From the moment we approached the door, to the warm and exuberant welcoming, to the staff, clientele, food, wine and ambiance, we were perfectly captivated all evening.
One of our favourite features was the option to sit at a long table down the centre of the restaurant. There are plenty of separate tables, and bar seating, but we hoped that by sitting at the long table it would be conducive to socialising and meeting others. We enjoy getting to know people when we are out, and this seating option proved to work extremely well for providing chances to chat with others who were also clearly choosing a more communal dinner experience than by sitting at a separate table.
The food is fresh Italian, the menu is not too long, but every item is inviting. It includes sections such as "Mozza Bar", "To Share...", "Crostinis", "House Made Pasta and such...", and "Big Plates".
Our server was clearly knowledgeable, and we happily surrendered ourselves to his suggestions.


We began with Buffalo Mozzarella with Burrata (from Gioia in California) with LaQuercia Prosciutto (artisan cured from Iowa  www.laquercia.us) and crostini. Unbelievable. We still dream about this appetizer! The warm creaminess of the Burrata and mozza, and the lovely dryness of the perfectly cured prosciutto was stunning.
For those of you new to Burrata, as I was, it is described beautifully on the Gioia Cheese website as "Burrata, the dreamy, creamy cousin of mozzarella". www.gioiacheeseinc.com


We followed this with a platter of grilled vegetables. This is a signature of the restaurant- each day the chef seasons and grills a selection of fresh vegetables, and upon request a platter is served to you. Our platter included about 8 different vegetables, perfectly grilled, including asparagus, tiny patty pan squash, fresh beans, and many others.  We paired this with the spaghetti Puttanesca, that was deliciously anchovy infused (do not order this dish unless you love anchovies, as we do).


We paired both courses with Italian wines, suggested by the server,


Rest assured that what you eat will have been carefully and thoughtfully procured, and prepared and serve WITH LOVE.....


Go and enjoy yourself. Listen to the staff, and trust their suggestions!


Siri and Brett


TAVOLA
1829 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 1E4
604-606-4680
www.tavola.com
www.tavolavancouver.co