Stir Wine Pairing: A stop to hit the spot after Squamish Wind Festival for the Arts
It’s Feast’s fried chicken and B.C. rosé following a day trip to the largest fest of art and culture in Squamish
Feast in Dundarave is celebrating summer with a special fried-chicken-and-B.C.-rose meal deal. Photo by Feast. At right, artist Alex Fowkes paints a mural in downtown Squamish crafted in in consultation with the Squamish Nation. Photo by Squamish Wind Festival of the Arts.
Every week, Stir Wine Pairing suggests BC wine and food to go with a local arts event.
The event
Squamish Wind Festival for the Arts, August 9 to 15
The food and wine
Feast’s Fried Chicken and Rosé
The lowdown
If you can’t travel far these days, day trips are where it’s at. Now in its eighth year, Squamish Wind Festival for the Arts is the biggest cultural event in the mountain town better known for all things outdoors.
Dalannah Gail Bowen, Jane Mortifee, and Mat Bergeron are among the featured artists this year. Amped in the Park is an outdoor concert featuring local musicians on August 12; running throughout the week are hands-on workshops in everything from pottery to drum-making.
Skwxwú7mesh Úxumixw cultural workshops are also among the offerings. The educational sessions will explore topics such as the origins behind the traditional Salish art form of wool-weaving and the history of First Nation cedar weaving.
On August 15, Juno-winning musician Norman Foote, a guitar player, composer, and storyteller, hosts a live and livestreamed show.
Produced by the Squamish Arts Council in partnership with the District of Squamish and the Government of Canada, the fest is also holding a fundraiser for DJ and producer Mat Andrew, aka Mat the Alien, who was left paralyzed following a mountain biking accident last October.
The pairing
Right on the way back to Vancouver from Squamish, Feast is in West Vancouver’s Dundarave neighbourhood. Its French owner, Geoffroy Roulleau, studied at École Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris, where he worked as a sous chef and pastry chef before transitioning to front-of-house positions. Upon moving to Vancouver, he helped open Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar as assistant director alongside chef Alex Chen, among other positions elsewhere. One of the top draws at Feast is its fried chicken.
For the rest of the summer, the restaurant is pairing this popular dish with some B.C. pink wine. There are two choices for the latter: a bottle of Saint Hubertus Frizzante Rosé or Therapy Pink Freud.
The 80-acre St Hubertus & Oak Bay Vineyards in the north Okanagan Valley dates back to 1928. In 1984, the Gebert-family owners began using sustainable and organic farming practices, making 100-percent estate-grown wines known for showcasing the South Kelowna Slopes terroir.
St Hubertus Oak Bay’s Frizzante Rosé 2020 is a blend of 91 percent Gamay Noir and nine percent Pinot Noir with flavours of strawberries and cream.
It’s slightly drier than Therapy Vineyards’ 2020 Pink Freud, which is made of hand-harvested Merlot grapes that reach peak acidity by being shielded from the blazing sun. Situated in Naramata, Therapy Vineyards and Inn overlooks Okanagan Lake and Giant’s Head Mountain.
You can’t go wrong with either pick, the fruity freshness of the rosés offsetting the salty-crispy-spicy crunch of the chicken.
Feast’s Fried Chicken and Rosé Happy Hour ($50 for two pieces of chicken or $60 for four, with fries and a bottle of wine) happens all day on Wednesdays and during Happy Hour the rest of the week (2 to 5 pm Wednesday to Friday and 3 pm to 5 pm Saturdays and Sundays).
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