Wine and dine your favourite valentine

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/02/2020 (2434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If revelling in all things romantic with that special someone is important to you, Valentine’s Day is one of those times when you don’t want to sleep on figuring out what to do with your sweetheart — especially if dinner and/or drinks are on your radar.

Here is just a handful of ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day while enjoying a glass of wine (or beer) and some tasty treats…

Beat the Valentine’s rush with your loved one at a wine-and-food event hosted at Banville & Jones (1616 St. Mary’s Rd.) and featuring dishes by the Mitchell Block. The multi-course dinner takes place Feb. 6 starting at 7 p.m.; tickets are $89.99 plus fees, and can be purchased in-store or at wfp.to/banville.

While it’s not exactly Valentine’s Day-themed (or even happening on Cupid’s special day… but, well, close enough), Manitoba Liquor Marts’ Grant Park Education Centre (1120 Grant Ave.) will host a California wine tasting on Feb. 13 starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available at wfp.to/california.

Chef Sergei Didenko, chef at Piazza De Nardi (1360 Taylor Ave.), will cook up a five-course meal with wine pairings on Valentine’s Day. Tickets for the event, which starts at 7 p.m., are $150 and include dinner and wines (taxes are extra), and are available at wfp.to/denardi or by phone at 204-982-8466.

Calabria Market (139 Scurfield Blvd.) is hosting an evening of food and wine this Feb. 14, with nine wines paired with cheeses, antipasto, pizza and more. Things get underway at 8 p.m.; tickets are $120 per couple and are available at the shop or by calling 204-487-1700.

Smith, the restaurant at the Inn at the Forks, is hosting Feast, a three-course Valentine’s Day pop-up dinner, at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (300 Memorial Blvd). In addition to the multi-course meal, guests get a guided tour of the WAG and its exhibitions. The dinner features a cash bar, so guests can curate their own wine and food (and art) pairings. Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and the tour starts an hour later. Tickets are $100 ($95 for members) plus fees, and are available at wag.ca/event/feast/. Can’t make it Feb. 14? The event also happens the following night.

Promenade Café and Wine (130 Provencher Blvd.) has put together a multi-course meal that’s a bargain at $60 (plus taxes and gratuity). Guests have a number of entrée options, including beef tenderloin, Manitoba pike, pork two ways and more. And while the dinner doesn’t include wine, Promenade has a killer selection of vino for your quaffing needs. Check out cafeandwine.com for details.

If beer’s more your speed, Brazen Hall Kitchen & Brewery (800 Pembina Hwy.) is hosting the Valentine’s Day Masquerade, featuring a 35-ounce tomahawk rib steak (to share, obviously) with two beers for $75 between 5 and 9 p.m. Live music by Garrett & Nazeem begins around 9 p.m., and later guests can enjoy an oyster bar, select $25 bottles of wine and two Valentine-ish new beers being released — a chocolate hazelnut stout and strawberry milkshake IPA. For more information and to make a reservation, visit brazenhall.ca.

Flying solo this Feb. 14, and loathing the idea of Valentine’s Day? Winnipeg Tasting Tours is hosting an anti-Valentine’s brewery tour, with four brewery stops and a meal included for $99 plus fees. The tour gets underway at 5 p.m.; to book a spot (it’s singles only), visit wfp.to/tastingtour.

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The Winnipeg wine community lost one of its true champions this past week when Tico Cornejo, owner of the Winehouse (1600 Kenaston Blvd.), died suddenly on Jan. 27 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Born in Chile in 1953, Cornejo was an enthusiastic, passionate wine lover who was generous with his time and brought an incredible energy wherever he went.

Prior to opening Pembina Fine Wines on Pembina Highway in 1999 (the Winehouse changed names and moved to its current location in 2009), Cornejo worked at the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission for more than two decades; he had also long been involved in Winnipeg’s track-and-field community.

During the last 20-plus years, Cornejo played a key role among Winnipeg’s private wine stores and in furthering a culture of wine and food in the city. You always knew when Tico was in, as his boisterous voice and infectious laugh carried through the store. He will be dearly missed.

Social media has been flooded with tributes over the last week. Details about a celebration of life are forthcoming; in the meantime, messages of condolences can be emailed to info@ticoswinehouse.com.

uncorked@mts.net

Twitter: @bensigurdson

 

Wines of the week

Here’s a trio of solid reds to enjoy with your Valentine…

Charles & Charles 2016 red blend (Columbia Valley, Wash. — $19.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

A 60-40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, this Washington State red blend brings jammy cherry, cassis, blackberry and plum notes on the nose, with secondary leather and tobacco notes. It’s full-bodied and fruit-driven without turning sweet, with rich dark- and red-berry flavours, secondary plum, mint and white-pepper notes and soft, subtle tannins that linger. It’s fresh and decidedly New World, but offers enough structure for those looking for a red to stand up to steak or big meat dishes. ★★★★

Wolf Blass 2018 Yellow Label Merlot (Langhorne Creek/McLaren Vale, Australia — $16.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

Plum, spice, black cherry, blueberry and modest cedar notes show nicely on the nose of this Aussie Merlot. On the medium-plus bodied palate, it’s pretty much everything you’d want or expect from a New World Merlot at this price point: fresh dark-berry and plum flavours, hints of cocoa and white pepper, subtle tannins and a rich, pleasant finish. It’s a crowd pleaser that will appeal to both casual wine drinkers and more “serious” palates. ★★★★

Soto de Torres 2016 Altos Ibericos Crianza (Rioja, Spain – around $23, private wine stores)

The plum, savoury spice, cedar, blackberry and raspberry notes on the nose of this Spanish Tempranillo are right on point for this grape/region. On the medium-plus-bodied palate, the vanilla/spice notes of the wood are slightly more aggressive than your typical Crianza, but the rich, red-berry flavours persist, narrowly averting an over-oaked disaster. That said, the fruit finishes before the woodier note, which persists with the medium tannins and the slightly hot 14 per cent alcohol.★★★