Groceries and Wine

We loved being included in Steve McNaull’s latest Wine & Dine article.

“Indubitably, my favourite aspect of grocery shopping is wine tasting.

Nothing brightens the dreary errand of picking up food on a Wednesday afternoon like a sample, or two, or three, of wine.

This past Wednesday at the Save-On Foods in Kelowna’s Orchard Plaza, Karine Sylvestre of Bench 1775 Winery in Naramata was a welcome distraction from the task at hand.

Standing behind the counter in the B.C. Wines section of the store, she had bottles of the winery’s 2016 Pinot Gris ($19) and 2016 Viognier ($22) chilling in a giant bowl of crushed ice and 2014 Merlot ($30) breathing in a decanter.

Of course, I had to have some.

The Pinot Gris was fresh and minerally with aromas and flavours of apple, melon and pear.

Sylvestre suggested pairing it with roast chicken.

I had to make do matching it with a little chunk of Armstrong Monterey Jack cheese Save-On had speared on toothpicks.

The Viognier is big and bold and a little off-dry, a perfect foil for spicy food or sipping on its own.

And the Merlot is classic with a nose and taste of cherries, plums and cocoa.

If you buy a bottle of any of the wines being sampled that day, you get $1.50 off.

Save-On has winery representatives pouring samples every afternoon.”