The Oak Bay Beach Hotel culinary team is excited to bring back our very popular Winemaker’s Long Table Dinner series this summer.
These fabulous al fresco dinners are served on the Seaside Terrace include a multi-course family-style dinners created by Executive Chef Kreg Graham with BC wines presented and poured by guest winemakers and winery owners.
While an inclement weather back-up is planned guests are encouraged to dress for the occasion. Flat or low-heeled shoes are recommended for the grassy settings as well as a light jacket.
A bout of stiff breeze saw the first of the longtables, held in May, shift indoors.
A warm welcome in the breeze-cool garden at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel included the Alderlea Pinot Gris 2017 paired with foie gras parfait, toasted brioche, Okanagan peach chutney spot prawn gougères potato blini, spring asparagus and fromage frais slides.
Zac Brown and Julie Powell took over Alderlea Vineyards in April 2017 from Roger and Nancy Dosman.
They continue the strong vision for an Island vineyard, skilled winemaking and sustainabilty at the fourth oldest vineyard on the Island.
“It’s a really exciting time to be in the food and wine industry on Vancouver Island,” Powell said during her introduction. The pair left behind 20-year careers with global corporations to pursue a long-held dream of owning a vineyard and making wine professionally.
The first savoury course – Pan Seared Digby Scallops, Saanich Organics Greens Shaved Fennel & Citrus Salad paired with Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – is served family style. The ample plates keep each patron well fed, and the passing of food inspires conversation.
Next up a Merlot 2015 paired with charcoal grilled Woodgate Farm beef rib steak with charred sweet onion and eggplant shimeji mushrooms and chimichurri on the side.
A savoury baked cheese tart with Avonlea clothbound cheddar marks a favourite of the evening alongside a Matrix 2015.
From the Oak Bay Beach Hotel’s pastry chef with Martinique background, an exotic trifle with coconut mousse mango, banana confit and vanilla bread finished the meal.
Future long tables feature the executive chef’s creations paired with works from Averill Creek Vineyard (sold out) and Clos Du Soleil (July 19) and Cedar Creek Estate Winery (Aug. 16). They hope to add a September long table.
If get to the Cowichan vineyard, ask the couple at the helm of Alderlea how they fell in love with each other and wine, in a winding tale that starts in Kitimat and travels the world before landing on Vancouver Island.
Coming soon
July 19: Keremeos, BC-based Clos Du Soleil produces premium-quality wines, borrowing an aesthetic derived from the great wines of Bordeaux, but stamped with the flavours and aromas of our particular piece of rocky Similkameen land.
Aug. 16: Offering a variety of red and white varietals, grown from grapes that love the sun-kissed heat of the Okanagan, Cedar Creek Estate Winery in Kelowna, BC, has more than three decades of combined wine-making experience.
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