Stir Pairing: A day at the museum plus 7 local wines to celebrate BC Day
Burnaby Village Museum hosts artists like sitar player Mohamed Assani; a look at few B.C. labels for summer toasting
Mohamed Assani.
Blue Mountain’s seared scallops and prawns with balsamic strawberries.
Every week, Stir Pairing suggests locally available drink and food to go with a local arts event.
The event
BC Day (August 1) at Burnaby Village Museum, from 11 am to 4:30 pm
The wine
A bunch from B.C.
The lowdown
Arts and culture are at the heart of events unfolding on August 1 at Burnaby Village Museum, for B.C. Day and the venue’s 50th anniversary.
We Are 50: Explore the Unexpected is a new exhibition at Stride Studios that digs deep into the museum’s collection, featuring objects that have rarely been seen in public. Consider the table pictured below, made in the 1950s by Nettie Trainer to sell in her daughter’s store, Helen’s Children’s Wear on Hastings Street, with its iconic neon sign of the girl on a swing.
50th Anniversary Arches is a series of art installations in the 10-acre site’s meadow, while Art by the Arches: Community Neighborhood Sculpture is a drop-in mixed-media project.
Table, Helen’s Children’s Wear, from the Burnaby Village Museum collection/We Are 50: Explore the Unexpected. Photo via Burnaby Village Museum.
Sitar master Mohamed Assani will perform from 1:45 to 2:25 pm and from 3 to 3:40 pm on the main stage/Vorce Tram Station. Trained in Indian/Pakistani music as well as western classical music, Assani has co-composed a sitar concerto that was performed by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, performed for his Royal Highness the Aga Khan, and taught at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music. He was a finalist for Instrumental Artist of the Year at the 2021 Western Canadian Music Awards.
The C.W. Parker Carousel. Photo by Burnaby Village Museum
Other BC Day highlights at the Deer Lake Park museum? BC Circus School will be sharing skills with folks who want to run away and join them; members of Tian-Jin Temple will share Chinese drumming and dance; and Burnaby Art Gallery will be help visitors try their hand at printmaking.
There’s a 1920s-style Ice Cream Parlour, while the 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel will be turning for $2.65 per ride.
The museum also offers a space for people to learn more about First Nations, whose relationship with the land long predates the arrival of colonial settlers.
Mohan Gill, Bordertown Cider & Winery. Photo by Bordertown Cider & Winery
The lowdown
If there were ever an opportune time to drink local, it’s the August long weekend. Here are a few home-grown wines for BC Day after a day at the museum.
Bordertown Cider & Winery 2019 Chardonnay
Mohan Gill was raised in rural India in a farming family. They continued their harvesting heritage upon immigrating to Canada and began growing grapes in the Okanagan more than two decades ago, supplying coveted fruit to a handful of select wineries and winemakers across B.C. In 2015, Gill realized his lifelong dream of having his own winery with Bordertown’s opening in Osoyoos, where he’s actively involved in the day-to-day operations as chief viticulturist. The Cabernet Franc swiftly put the place on the international wine map, and many of the winery’s 14 varietals have received prestigious recognition. Bordertown’s Chardonnay is one of them, the 2018 vintage earning a B.C. Lieutenant Governor-General’s Wine Award. The 2019 Chardonnay ($27) is golden, full-bodied, and buttery; Bordertown’s own recommendations for food pairings include seared scallops, which fit the bill nicely for these hot summer days.
Blue Grouse 2021 Quill Rosé Frizzante
Paul, Cristina, and Paula Brunner are marking their 10th anniversary of running this Cowichan Valley winery, which was founded in 1989 among the oldest vineyards on Vancouver Island. (They cheekily refer to the last 10 years as the #BlueGrouchDecade.) Earlier this year, winemaker Bailey Williamson released the Quill Rosé Frizzante ($25.99), infusing Quill Rosé with carbon dioxide for a slight sparkle. Made with 100-percent Cowichan Valley Gamay Noir grapes, the bubbly has become a best-seller, with its pop of summer-berry flavours. DL Chicken, anyone?
Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars’ Gold Label Brut
This Okanagan Falls winery has long set the standard for sparkling wine in B.C., and its méthode traditionelle bubbly, at $27.90, is proof you don’t need to seek out zanily expensive Champagne from said region in France to enjoy a fine fizz. Crisp, green apple-y, refined, and refreshing, this one has celebrate written all over it. Plus, it’s perfect for B.C. strawberry season; check out the winery’s recipe, rated “easy”, for seared scallops and prawns with balsamic strawberries.
foxly by Graphics Fairy
Foxtrot Vineyards’ foxly 2021 Pinot Gris
Foxtrot Vineyards—a boutique Naramata winery known for its premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay—introduced its foxly label in 2020. Designed for “everyday adventures”, the line is meant offer the standards that the Naramata winery is known for at more affordable prices. The easy-drinking 2021 Pinot Gris ($24), with its seashore minerality, is one to take to the beach and sip with ripple chips.
Hillside Winery 2021 Gewürztraminer
Hillside winemaker Kathy Malone is a seasoned pro, with close to four decades in the field. Under her guidance, the Penticton winery’s list of honours is long, the 2021 Gewürztraminer being one of six Hillside wines to win medals at the 2022 All Canadian Wine Championships. Sourced from four Naramata Bench vineyards ranging in age from 10 to 45 years old, the 2021 Gewürztraminer is full of juicy citrus flavours and has the fragrance of freshly picked flowers. Toast B.C. Day on your apartment patio, back deck, or front step, or in one of Vancouver’s parks where drinking is allowed.
Phantom Creek Estates’ 2018 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Rosé
Located on Oliver’s Black Sage Bench, the destination winery has its own celebration happening this summer, marking the 25th anniversary of the Phantom Creek vineyard. The place cranks out some of the best reds in the country. Its 2018 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($45) is a great example of why: aged in French oak, it’s big and bold with hits of sage and cedar. The 2021 Rosé ($33), meanwhile, is director of winemaking Mark Beringer’s first Phantom Creek release. If his name sounds familiar, think Napa Valley’s Beringer Vineyards; he’s the great-great-grandson of one of the two cofounding brothers of the iconic California winery. Beringer aptly describes the dry, textured, and bright wine as “summer in a glass”.
Sandhill Estate Vineyard 2021 Small Lot Sangiovese Rosé
A soft, dry rosato (Italian-style) rosé made from 100-percent Sangiovese grapes from Sandhill Estate Vineyard Block C9, this is a unique, limited-edition wine. The light colour is achieved by hand-picking the grapes and getting them straight into the press; very little skin contact means less colour extraction. It’s delicate and fresh and has the backbone to age for a bit longer. It would go well with grilled B.C. salmon. Chef Rosa Basile-Marrello shares a recipe with Organic Ocean for wild Pacific sockeye salmon with peperoncino-garlic-and-dill-infused olive oil that would be perfect; it’s light, healthy, fast, and flavourful.
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