A couple of hard frosts in the Comox Valley recently have more or less finished off the most delicate of outdoor salad greens; but there’s still plenty of kale! If you’re on the fence about a raw kale salad, try drizzling the leaves with this balsamic vinaigrette. Add some lentil dal and serve with a glass of Ça Beautage and all will be well!

INGREDIENTS Makes enough to dress a salad for 3-4 people

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

Half a small clove of garlic, finely grated

Salt and pepper

METHOD

Place all of the ingredients in a glass mason jar and secure the lid tightly. Shake well to mix and emulsify. The vinaigrette will keep in the fridge for a week – just bring to room temp and shake well.

This recipe should help you squeeze the last out of summer – smoky BBQ mushroom sandwiches, paired with 100% Beaufort-grown Ça Beautage. We’ve long since figured that Marechal Foch pairs like a charm with mushroom based dishes, so grab a bottle of the recently-released 2017 vintage Ça Beautage and give this recipe a go!

INGREDIENTS Makes 4 sandwiches/sliders

4 large portabello mushrooms

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tblsp molasses

2 tblsp white vinegar

1 tblsp demerara sugar

2 tbslp soy sauce

1 tbslp Dijon mustard

1 tsp sriracha (or your favourite hot sauce)

1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

*You will also need 4 buns or sliders (or you can use a baguette cut into 4 as we did in the photo)

*Other sandwich fixings of your choice; we used coleslaw and lettuce but we think red onion and avocado would be a great addition too!

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the mushrooms into .5cm slices and arrange on a baking tray in a single layer. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with some salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25minutes or until tender, turning once half way through the baking time. Set aside to cool slightly. In the meantime, prepare your BBQ sauce…
2. Combine the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, mustard, sriracha, and spices with 4 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer gently for approximately 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and is thick and glossy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Toss the mushrooms in the hot BBQ sauce and divide between 4 buns. Add you favourite sandwich fixings and serve immediately.

Life would be so dull without avocados, and tortilla chips! This is a super simple recipe for summertime snacking. Use ripe avocados and a vegetable masher for the best consistency. Make lots and keep leftovers in the fridge in a tall Tupperware container (or a glass jar) with a layer of olive oil on top to prevent oxidation.

Have you tried our 2018 Ortega yet? If not, stop by the tasting room soon! This guacamole is a perfect accompaniment to a chilled bottle of Ortega. Just add a couple pals and a big bowl of Abuelo’s corn tortilla chips. You can find Abuelo’s chips in our tasting room, as well as at the Courtenay Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.

INGREDIENTS Makes about a pint

4-5 large ripe avocados

1 medium tomato

1/4 of a small red onion

juice of 2 limes

1/2 tsp dried granulated garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsps ground coriander

2 large handfuls of cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Peel and pit the avocados and place the flesh in a large bowl. Give them a rough mash.
2. Finely chop the tomato (leave the skin on!) and the onion.
3. Add the tomato, onion, lime juice, granulated garlic and spices to the avocados; mash to mix.
4. Finely chop the cilantro (leaves and stalks), and add that to the guacamole. Give the mix one final mash (it should still be a little lumpy). Season to taste.
5. Serve heaped up in a big bowl for dipping.

These squidgy double chocolate cookies with toasted macadamias are just the ticket on a grey and chilly day, and even better paired with a glass of mulled wine. We love to infuse our Franc Merlot with Hornby Island Tea’s mulling spices – grab a sachet from the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings. 2016 Franc Merlot is available at select liquor stores on Vancouver Island, and in the tasting room in December (15th & 16th AND 22nd & 23rd).

INGREDIENTS Makes about 8 large cookies

1 tablespoon milled flax

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Demerara sugar

1 cup white flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/4 cup dark choc chips

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place the nuts in a single layer on a small baking tray and toast for 10-15 minutes until aromatic and just starting to colour. Set aside to cool.
3. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, oil, vanilla, sugar and flax. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together with a large spoon.
4. Roughly chop the macadamia nuts and add them to the cookie mix along with the chocolate chips. Mix well.
5. Use slightly wet hands to form the cookie dough into balls (we make 8 pretty large cookies with a single batch). Place the balls on 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and place in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Rotate the trays once during the bake time. When the cookies are done they will have a slightly cracked surface, but will still look a little squidgy in the centre.
6. Leave the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on their trays before removing them to a wire rack. The cookies will keep for a week in an airtight container.

While cooler days always take a little getting used to, we embrace the opportunity to switch things up in the kitchen. Hearty flavourful dishes are a welcome comfort on chilly autumn evenings. Ribollita epitomizes Tuscan thrift. It’s a truly simple soup that’s stick-to-your-ribs good and naturally plant-based. Its flavours intensify over time, so make your ribollita a day or two in advance for the tastiest result. In Italian, the literal translation is ‘re-boiled’ so Ribollita ain’t ever gonna be a fancy soup. It is however, delicious, nutritious, simple and inexpensive.

We recommend pairing a bowl of hearty ribollita with a glass of 2015 Big Nose Red; a similarly robust blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS Makes enough soup to feed 6 very hungry people

2 medium onions, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 ribs of celery, roughly chopped

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato concentrate

400g can of chopped tomatoes

250ml vegetable stock

250g can of cannellini (white kidney beans)

2 bay leaves

2-3 all spice berries

4-6 thick slices of stale sourdough bread, torn into chunks (toast the slices if the bread is fresh)

2-3 handfuls of kale leaves, roughly torn

salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, and celery and fry over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the tomato concentrate and continue to fry for a minute of two. Next, add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves and all spice berries. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat until the soup is simmering gently. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, uncovered.
2. Add the can of cannellini beans, the kale and the sourdough chunks. Season and stir well. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes until you have a thick and aromatic soup. When the soup is ready you can either serve it straight away, or chill it for reheating later. Ribollita freezes well and is a great freezer stand-by for cold winter nights.
3. Serve steaming hot, garnished with chopped parsley, olive oil and some thinly sliced red onion.

Mapo Tofu is a punchy but comforting dish from the Sichuan province in China. This recipe is 100% plant based and will go down a treat with a bottle of G’Wurtz. Our 2016 vintage was made in a dry style, but with all of the gingery jasmine and allspice typical of the noble Gewurztraminer variety. It really is an excellent choice to temper a bowl of spicy and pungent Mapo Tofo. This dish takes no time to cook, so as with most Chinese dishes, it really helps to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go.

INGREDIENTS Serves 4

1 tsp Sichuan pepper corns

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

5-6 dried shiitake mushroom, rehydrated and finely chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tablespoon fermented black beans

1 tablespoon gojuchang, or sambal oelek will work too

500g pack of soft tofu, cut into bite-sized chunks

300ml vegetable stock

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine

2 tsp corn starch

METHOD

1. Place a dry wok over a high heat until the wok is very hot. Remove the wok from the heat and add the Sichuan peppercorns. Agitate the pan for 30 seconds until the peppercorns are toasty and aromatic. Set the peppercorns aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in the wok over a medium/high heat and add the chopped shiitake. Fry for 5-6 minutes. Set the shiitake aside.
3. Heat the remaining canola oil and the sesame oil in the wok over a medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and green onions and fry for a minute or two until the mix is bubbly and aromatic. Add the fermented black beans and the gojuchang and mix well, frying for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the tofu to the wok, along with the vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar and rice wine. Mix gently and turn up the heat so that the sauce starts to bubble. When the sauce is bubbling, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.
5. Mix the cornstarch with 150ml of cold water and pour over the tofu. Mix gently and continue to cook until the sauce thickens (about 2 minutes). 
6. Crush the Sichuan peppercorns and add them to wok , along with the reserved shiitake. Mix well.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with more spring onion, and served alongside some jasmine rice.

Farinata is a kind of thick chickpea pancake hailing from the Liguria region in north west Italy. It is typically cooked in cast iron in blisteringly hot ovens and then served in wedges as a healthy snack or as an ‘aperitivo’. The white wines of the Ligurian coast are crisp and salt whipped – Pigato, Vermentino and Bianchetta are common and thoroughly delicious, with lots of structural acidity and bright fruit aromas. Not too dissimilar from the whites we produce here in the Comox Valley! And so, if an Italian vacation is out of the question, don’t even worry – pick up a bottle of our 2017 Epic and whip up a skillet of farinata. You’ll be glad you did…

INGREDIENTS (makes enough for 6-8 people as a snack)

1 cup of chickpea flour

a really good glug of olive oil (about 4-6 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

1.5 tsp salt

fresh ground black pepper

METHOD

1.Whisk the chick pea flour with 1 3/4 cups water, then whisk in the salt, rosemary and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Don’t worry – the batter will appear quite runny. Cover the mixture, and set aside at room temperature for at least a couple hours, or ideally overnight.

2. Heat oven to 400°F. Heat 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large cast iron or other oven proof skillet (10-12 inches diameter) over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the batter – take care as it might splatter a bit. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. Check by inserting a knife in the center; if the knife comes out clean, the farinata is cooked. The top should be a blistery, golden colour. You can fire the farinata under the broiler for a minute or two at the end of its cooking time to achieve this effect.

3. Allow the farinata to cool slightly before cutting it into wedges. Top with some freshly ground black pepper and serve drizzled with some more olive oil.