Argentina is also, fittingly, becoming known for their fine wines – the signature of which is Malbec on the red side.

We kicked off Argentina month on Monday night, with our good friend the big cat, by enjoying some steaks and a bottle of Terrazas Reserva 2007 Malbec over a couple of great hours of conversation.

We’re looking forward to going beyond Steak and Malbec in Argentina this month.

Two weeks ago, the first Sunday of the Games, we set off, sans 9 month old daughter, to take in an Olympic Women’s hockey game, enjoy the food of Vancouver, and just to walk around town and to take it all in.  The hockey game saw Finland Beat Russia 5-1 and afterward we remembered where our all time favorite Japanese restaurant was, Gyoza King!

Sorry, eh, but Canada greeted us with sunshine and warmer temperatures and no frozen tundra in sight.  We had two perfect days to walk around and absord the Olympic energy.  Below are some of the highlights of our experience.

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Nk;mip is North America’s first Aboriginal owned and operated operation, and part of the Osooyos Indian Band’s long term plans for sustaining their land and way of life. The Vancouver Olympics have done a very nice job honoring and highlighting the impact of the native tribes on life in Canada.  Their vineyards are planted in the soils of the last remaining desert in Canada, and the northern most tip of the extensive desert that stretches all the way from the Baja peninsula in Mexico, through the American Southwest, and Northwest, all the way into Canada.

This was the quintessential white wine recommended by the good folks of Taylorwood Wines in Vancouver. We were particularly excited about this one after learning about the Canadian guidelines for simply describing the sweetness of wine on a 0-3 scale.  This Riesling came in at 1, I believe…

The Osooyos sub region of the Okanagan Valley is right on the US border and less than 2 hours from the cozy hamlet of Lake Chelan, which makes it even more understandable how this wine can easily compete with the best Rieslings of Washington State.  It  put forward a very nice peachy pear acidity to go along with the perfect amount of Riesling smooth sugar.

So more about ice wine:  When the temperature is cold enough to harvest, the pressing process commences. Ice crystals are separated from the frozen grapes during pressing and this procedure concentrates the juice into a truly unique and typically sweet libation called Icewine.

Last night, my wife and I had Inniskillin’s 2005 Gold Vidal. Before I even pulled the cork I learned something: vidal is a grape varietal. It is an aromatic and hardy French hybrid is supposedly ideal for making icewine. No other more common varietals are blended as this is a 100% Vidal wine grown on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.

Icewine is a dessert wine, so we sipped it after dinner. While the wine had distinct apple aromas and taste, complemented with a little spice, it didn’t jump to the top of our favorite after dinner wine list (We’ll stick to the Port and Tokaji). Overall though, I would still recommend giving this wine a shot the next time a pear tart or apple pie is your dessert of choice.

As I’ve been learning about BC wines this month, I’ve been skeptical that they would be able to produce red wines of substance due to the northerly latitude.

This bottle, Mt Boucherie Summit, was recommended highly by Taylorwood as a quintessential example of the BC capability to produce a powerful full bodied red wine from Merlot, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauv grapes. I figured it would be a good sample to see what BC is capable of.

While not mind blowing or life changing, I am impressed and encouraged by the potential to ripen these classic varietals this far to the north. Much of this is due to the long summer days and temperate effects of the huge lake Okanagon. With a little more global warming they could really be on to something in the next 50 years.

Mt Boucherie has vineyards in both the Okanagon Falls subregion of the Okanagon Valley region and the Similkameen Valley, all of which they own and maintain themselves.  The Gidda family has been in the BC wine business for over 40 years, and are the largest family owned and operated outfit in BC.

Their winery and tasting room is located in Kelowna and I will definitely be making a stop to visit someday.

So, as I learn about new cities and regions, its always important for me to start with a map.  You can make plenty of assumptions about people and places if you first understand their spot on a map. Neighbors, topography, and climate are huge factors in culture.

Looking at the map, one can draw plenty of similarities between British Columbia and California.  Both are shaped in the same skewed upright rectangular shape, both have hundreds of miles of Pacific Coastline.  Both are dissected by impressive inland mountain ranges.  Both have enviable wine country real estate and thriving wine and tourism industries.

The similarities may end there. One is inhabited by 4M people and the other by 37M.  California’s GDP is $1.85T, while all of Canada is $1.3T.

More to come on this fascinating land over the next few weeks.

First, thank you for reading.  We hope that you enjoyed our January quest to learn a few things about the wines, people and region of Champagne.  I know I can’t wait to visit someday and walk the chalky soils, drive the crazy roadways, and visit the many growers of the region who are taking the road less traveled by not selling their grapes to the big houses.  Consistency is boring.

Stay tuned for our take on British Columbia in February, which will include a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Here is a summary of our Champagne articles:

• Ringing in a Decade with Champagne
• Take the E50 from Paris to Reims
• L’Histoire de Champagne
• A Running List of Champagne Favorites
• Time to Split
• There are Big Houses in Champagne
• James Bond’s Champagne
• The Greatest Champagne-Dessert Pairing

Leading up to my encounter with Molly, I gave one of her recipes a try. And I was pleasantly surprised at how well Coeur a la crème with raspberry sauce accompanied Champagne. We enjoyed this heavenly dessert with good company, and a glass of Moet & Chandon. While it appears difficult, it is, hands down, one of the easiest desserts I’ve made, and by far one of the best. It is light and fluffy yet full of flavor given the richness of cream cheese and white chocolate. And raspberry puree is the perfect addition on top. If you’re thinking about making something sweet for Valentine’s Day, I highly recommend giving this a try.

Coeur a la crème with raspberry sauce

Instead of using a heart shaped mold, I used a colander, which Molly suggests as another option. Although it doesn’t look quite as pretty, it tastes the same. Serves 6-8.

For the Coeur/dome

3 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped (use the best you can find)

One 8-ounce package of cream cheese (not low fat, room temperature)

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

¾ powdered sugar, sifted

Using a 1 ¼ quart colander, first take some damp cheesecloth and line (double layer) the interior completely while leaving enough to extend beyond its edges and enclose the filling completely. Press smooth and let the extra hang over the sides of the colander.

Heat white chocolate in microwave in 22 second burst, stirring until smooth. Set aside and let cool.

Combine cream cheese, ¼ cup of cream, and powdered sugar in bowl, mixing together until light and fluffy. Add white chocolate and continue to mix until silky smooth.

In another bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup cream into peaks, and then fold into cream cheese mixture. Spoon the mix directly into mold, folding cheese cloth over the top. Put the colander on a plate or cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

For the puree

One 10-ounce bag of frozen raspberries, thawed

3 tablespoons sugar

Combine raspberries (and their juice) with sugar in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Push the purée through a very fine sieve to remove the seeds. Store in covered container and chill for up to 4 hours.

When ready to serve, spoon a dollop or two into a Ramekin, topped with a spoonful of raspberry puree.

Champagnes from the Bollinger estate are the choice of 007:

Live and Let Die: Bollinger
Moonraker: Bollinger RD ‘69
License to Kill: Bollinger RD ‘75
The Living Daylights: Bollinger …
Goldeneye: Bollinger Grande Année 1988
Tomorrow Never Dies: Bollinger Grande Année 1989
The World Is Not Enough: Bollinger Grande Année 1990
Die Another Day: Bollinger ‘61
Casino Royale: Bollinger Grande Année 1990

While Dom Perigon, Veuve Cliquot and Moet & Chandon are household names, Bollinger has quietly built an impressive reputation. Perhaps the strongest tie to this being James Bond’s champagne is the fact that in 1884 Bollinger was deemed to be the official champagne of England’s Royal Court. High honors indeed, but what impressed me most as I researched this legendary estate was the fact that Bollinger is still an independent grower – which we at Tavola Rosso advocate heavily.

Although it could be a little difficult to find, Bollinger’s non-vintage brut retails for around $50. If you are into collecting Bollinger’s R.D. and Grand Année champagnes will run you several hundred dollars. Not only are those two wines vintage, but both are very unique in how they are produced.

The Grand Année is only produced when Bollinger believes there is an exceptional harvest. This choice is designed to express the character of the vintage. The house will select the best wines, cru by cru. The wine spends five years on its lees and is aged in bottle under cork, instead of crown seal.

The R.D.  takes the Grand Année further by extending the aging on lees. R.D. spends eight years on its lees, and is also, like the Grand Année, aged under cork, not crown seal. R.D. is a registered trademark of Bollinger which stands for récemment dégorgé (”recently disgorged”). In the mid-1990s, Bollinger sold Année Rare which was an R.D. that had gone under even longer aging on the lees. The disgorgement date is given on the back label. The 1981 R.D. is unique in that there was no Grande Année produced from that vintage.

For your next special occasion – or if you are just looking to add a little romantic intrigue like 007 – look for a bottle of Bollinger as a fantastic substitute to the usual suspects. Cheers.