With most of the wines now available for purchase having won medal honours in various competitions this year (all 5 entries won medals at the Savour NorthWest Wine Awards), Serendipity Winery continues its run of great vintages. But for owner Judy Kingston, the best measure of her wines is how they pair with food. She is, after all, a French-trained chef whose goal since day one has been to make food-friendly wines.
“I always stress food and wine pairings with customers,” Judy says. “People are appreciative of that.” She is even thinking of doing a cookbook this winter, and it will include wine pairing recommendations with each recipe.
Judy’s daughter, Katie O’Kell, jumps into the conversation, saying that Serendipity Pinot Noir is a perfect match for Judy’s mushroom bruschetta with Buratta cheese.
“Our Viognier goes beautifully with Swiss cheese fondue, but Serendipity Sauvignon Blanc might have an even better pairing!” she says. An endive salad designed to enhance the flavours of the Sauv Blanc includes goat cheese croquettes with chunks of ruby grapefruit and watercress. The dressing base is a ruby grapefruit juice reduction and the dish is topped with a sprinkling of toasted walnuts.
Judy goes on—“Our Pinot Grigio is great with spicy foods, and Red-Handed pairs with many flavours, including blue cheese, roasted vegetables and grilled beef.”
“And with dark chocolate mousse with rock salt sprinkles!” Katie reminds her mom.
As grapes ripen on the vine and harvest nears, Judy begins to sample the fruit to determine picking dates, but her mind is never far off food pairings—even the grape flavours inspire new recipes!
~ Lorne Eckersley