Rik Leaf's Blog, page 15
July 29, 2014
July Newsletter
Entertaining Wine Educator
Hey I’ve been working on something that I thought might interest you.
This year I completed my advanced level wine education with the Wine Spirit Education Trust from London, England. I’ve combined this wealth of wine knowledge with my love of art and culture, creating two events I’m excited to share with you.
The Entertaining World of Wine essentially takes wine education out of the classroom and into a party setting. Basically you and your guests spend a night with a professional sommelier learning,
How to approach tasting like a professional
Characteristics of the seven noble grape varieties
The principles of successful food and wine pairing
How to understand and navigate Old world labels
Glassware, serving temperatures and much more
The focus is on information that will empower you to explore and appreciate the world of wine to a greater degree.
I worked with a master chef to prepare a menu that highlights the principles of food and wine pairing. If you, or some of your friends love cooking, these recipes can be made available before hand and the dishes prepared in advance by those with a deft hand in the kitchen.
Pairing Food & Wine
This provides a great opportunity for people to use their gifts and talents and creates a delicious component to the evening.
The second project is ‘The Perfect Pairing’ a fun, interactive event that combines a presentation of four wines with a series of four books. After tasting the wines and exploring the books, the audience works together in a light-hearted and humorous way to determine what is the perfect wine to drink while reading each book. It’s like an awesome book club held in a tasting room!
After the perfect pairings have been decided, everyone pours a glass of their favourite wine of the night and sits back and enjoys a live performance of music, slam poetry and comedic storytelling.
Entertaining Wine Education
The Perfect Pairing and The Entertaining World of Wine are both ideal for private parties or corporate functions. If either (or both!) of these events sound like something you’d like to host or attend, please contact me at entertainingworldofwine@gmail.com or text/call 250 896 2572. I have tours coming together in many regions, and may be coming to your area sometime soon.
I hope you’re enjoying your summer with lots of fun in the sun!
Rik Leaf is a WSET Advanced Level III wine educator and sommelier who has traveled to some of the top wine producing regions in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany and France. Rik combines his passion for wine with 18 years as an award winning multi media producer in TV/Film, Music and Publishing.
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July 11, 2014
The Perfect Event
The Perfect Moment
After months of dreaming, scheming, organizing, filming, editing and an incredible investment of time and money I finally have a 2-minute video!
Ha, ha, I’m kidding…what I really have is an amazing live production that I’m super excited to host. I know without a doubt that this will be one of the most exciting events you’ll go to all year.
Production and entertainment values are through the roof, and everyone working on this project are super passionate and inspiring. Please check out this short video filmed during our pilot episode and let me know what you think. If you’d like to attend an upcoming event, or host one of your own, contact entertainingworldofwine@gmail.com
Rik is a world traveling Advanced Level Wine Educator, Performer & Published Author.
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July 7, 2014
4 Wines. 4 Books. 1 Event.
Best Party of the Year
The idea for the Perfect Pairing came up during a conversation with my publishers at Promontory Press. We all love stories. We all love wine. And we love having a great time together with other people who feel the same. I describe The Perfect Pairing as, Book-Club-meets-Wine-Tasting and discovers it’s the best party of the year!
Pitching a Perfect Pairing
Here’s how it works.
I start by presenting some exceptional wines in a way that allows the audience to appreciate the unique characteristics and complexity. Every wine has a story and I love sharing these stories. Click EX NIHILO or SEA STAR VINEYARDS to watch short excerpts from a recent event.
I also love authors who make a reader’s imagination spread its wings and fly. Tapping into the wealth of West Coast writers, I present four exciting books with an overview of each story and author. Click CRUSH or SO WHERE DO YOU GO AT NIGHT for quick clips from a recent event.
Having Fun
After tasting all the wines and exploring each book, it’s the audience’s turn to work together to decide which wine would be perfect to drink while reading each book. It all comes down to the fun and frivolity of pairing exciting, inspiring (and tasty) stories! CLICK HERE for a short clip from a recent event.
Producing a great event is a story in itself. Which is why we make sure to provide everything you’ll need…the wine, food, books, sound and lights, live music, slam poetry…even a Photobooth and a box of props so we can capture the fun with photos!
A good time was had!
This summer we’re offering a limited number of Perfect Pairing promotional packages on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. These events are perfect (pun intended) for private functions, corporate events, birthday parties, anniversaries or just as a great excuse to get together and have a great time.
Your job, (if you choose to accept it) will simply be to invite 50 friends, family, neighbours and coworkers, and open up your home, backyard or other suitable venue. Feel free to offer your luxurious yacht or private castle if you happen to have one sitting around.
To book your event or for more information contact info@rikleaf.com Call/Text 250 896 2572.
Rik is a world traveling Advanced Level Wine Educator, Performer & Published Author.
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June 24, 2014
Food & Wine Success!
A master chef’s specially designed menu to showcase the principles of food & wine pairing
My advice is to approach pairing food and wine with a sense of adventure! Treat it like you would art, music or theatre. One taste doesn’t fit all. It’s not about right or wrong it’s about exploring the world of possibilities and discovering something that you really love.
In the pairing game food has more of an effect on wine than the other way around. In this game there are four key players. The bad guys are umami and sweetness. As a rule, they basically make wine taste worse.
a savoury taste with a shady reputation
They increase the perception of bitterness, acidity and alcohol and decrease the perception of body, sweetness and fruitiness. If you’re not familiar with umami, (ooh-MAH-me) think of it as the ‘meat’ of vegetables. It’s the savoury flavour of cooked mushrooms, also found in foods like asparagus and eggs. Umami and sweetness can make balanced tannic red wines suddenly taste bitter and astringent.
The good guys are acidity and salt…they basically make wine taste better by increasing the perception of body, sweetness and fruitiness and decreasing the perception of acidity. They can make really tannic wines suddenly seem balanced.
For a recent Entertaining World of Wine Event, our chef, Malcolm Barker designed the entire menu around these principals. Each dish had place cards that identified what it would pair best with from the fleet of wines I was pouring and the audience was encouraged to be culinary voyageurs.
Here is a recipe for the Thai Ground Pork Salad you really should try. “Psst…BTW, it pairs exceptionally well with Riesling and Shiraz!”
Try with Riesling or Shiraz
Thai Ground Pork Salad
2 pounds ground pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
1 large jalapeño, seeded and minced, plus sliced jalapeño for garnish
Juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges, for serving
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Sriracha (chile sauce), plus more for serving
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1⁄4 cup Hoisin Sauce
1. In a bowl, mix the pork, garlic, shallots and minced jalapeño. In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar and the 1 teaspoon of Sriracha.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the pork mixture and cook over high heat, stirring to break up the meat, until no pink remains, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the meat to a bowl; stir in the herbs and Hoisin Sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve in endive leaf or use as lettuce wrap
Want To Play The Pairing Game? You could start with what the French call, rosé, also known as Rosado in Portugal and Spanish-speaking countries and Rosato in Italian. Whatever you call it, it pairs brilliantly with hors d’oeuvres. A rosé combines the fresh acidity of light body whites with the fruity character of reds. Rose is your ‘GO TO’ wine for appies. I recently had an amazing gold medal rosé from Sea Star Vineyards on Pender Island. Try it if you can get your grubby little muckers on it!
A Gold Medal Rosé
An unoaked white wine can pretty much go with anything you can squeeze a lemon on. Remember it’s all about the acidity. Try smoked sablefish, grilled salmon or even potato salad with any Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and tell me your taste buds didn’t throw a party in your mouth. If they didn’t…please send your left overs to me, cause my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
I’m a traveler and adventurer by heart, so my events are an adventure of discovery where everyone is empowered and encouraged to explore the world of possibilities for themselves. But always remember, it’s a game,and ultimately about discovering something you like and having fun. And of course, impressing the crap out of your friends and family!
Got a recipe or experience you want to share? Leave a comment below. And be sure to join the mailing list if you’d like to know about upcoming events in your area, wine recommendations and reviews.
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June 20, 2014
The Perfect Pairing
A few months ago I went into my creative lab and cooked up, The Perfect Pairing. It’s an awesomely entertaining wine event that involves pairing wine and words instead of wine and food. (although food & live music are both involved!) As a wine educator and author, I just connected two things I really like as the excuse to doing something I really love…throwing a great party!
I chose four exceptional west coast wines, 1) Pinot Gris from Ex Nihilo, 2) Blanc de Noir, from Sea Star Vineyards, 3) Pinot Noir from Siren’s Call, BC Wine Studio 4) My fourth choice ended in disaster as the winery failed to ship my case of wine and never bothered to inform me. Discovering this just hours before filming, I made the executive decision to choose JUNO, from South Africa. Not only is it a personal favourite, I rationalized it surely must be considered West Coast by someone somewhere…a little to the east. J
Then I selected four West Coast authors with titles published by the International Hybrid Publishing Group. 1) Crush, by Jennifer Fraser, a mystery novel set in Okanagan wine country. 
2) So Where Do You Go At Night, by Patrick Hill, a family adventure on the high seas sailing around the Pacific for a year.
3) In Search of Sticks, by Randy Kaneen, an intricate novel that challenges the notion of what it means to be the change we want to see in the world.
4) And my own book, Four Homeless Millionaires, the humorous odyssey of adventure and discovery from the year our family toured the world. (and I hurt myself on many different continents)
After enjoying the stories behind each wine and book, everyone was instructed to look at the piece of paper they’d been given when they came in the door. On each paper was the name of one of the books or wines. The audience had to search the room to find the other members of their group. Then as a group they needed to pair up with either a wine or a book group, (depending on who they represented) and together come up with why, their wine was the perfect pairing to drink while reading their book.
Everyone quickly got into the act of interchanging wine descriptors with the language of book reviews. Then the lights were dimmed, the glasses refilled and the audience sat back and enjoyed a live concert presentation.
We had Photobooth set up in the lobby with a large supply of props and costumes ensuring many hilarious memories were made. (I have the photos to prove it!
Here is a short clip from the event.
Interested in booking The Perfect Pairing? Contact info@justartists.org
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June 17, 2014
Event Photos-World of Wine
The Perfect Setting
A world of taste sensations!
Event and Multi Media Production
Just waiting to be discovered
Wine from around the world bringing us all together
Transforming spaces into places of culture & community
Master Chef’s pairing menu
A world of taste sensations!
Kung Fu Girl Riesling to begin the tasting adventure
The Battle of Bordeaux – a Grand Cru Adventure!
A fleet of wines showcasing the noble grape varieties
The post Event Photos-World of Wine appeared first on Rik Leaf.
Entertaining Wine Education
The Perfect Setting
The Entertaining World of Wine transports wine education from the classroom to a cultural event. Rik Leaf is an advanced level wine educator whose interactive performance presentation creates a really exciting environment that makes it fun to explore the world of wine.
Seven Noble Grapes Out of the thousands of grape varieties used to produce wine, there are seven international varieties that have proven their ability to produce outstanding wines any where in the world. These are referred to as the noble grape varieties, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc for whites, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah for the reds. Knowing the characteristics of the types of wines these noble grapes produce is a great place to start a journey of discovery.
A fleet of wines showcasing the noble grape varieties
Event Wine List Rik chose five outstanding winemakers whose styles showcase the unique characteristics of five different noble grape varieties. (prices represent B.C. market)
Kung Fu Girl, Riesling, Washington, USA $19.99
Babich, Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand $19.99
Cono Sur Single Vineyard Block 21, Pinot Noir, 2012, Chile $19.99
Pascual Toso Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012, Argentina $21.99
Evans & Tate 2010, Margret River, Metricup Road, Shiraz, Australia $19.99
A specially designed menu to showcase the principles of food & wine pairing
Food & Wine Pairing Malcolm Barker is a chef with a flare for delicious artistry who created an outstanding menu designed to showcase the principles of successful pairing with each wine. Audience members were able to explore an array of food and wine combinations at their own pace throughout the afternoon as the flight of wines was presented.
A world of taste sensations!
This event was held at a private residence outside Victoria, B.C. with a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean, providing the ideal west coast setting to enjoy food, wine, music, songs and stories.
Coming Up Next – We’ll be looking at Malcolm’s event menu and sharing some of his lip-smacking delights. Each one guaranteed to make your next event a delicious affair!
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March 22, 2014
Available in Malaysia
https://www.e-sentral.com/search/byid...
March 10, 2014
Tasting Notes – March
Syrah 2011
This Syrah has an intensely intellectual personality, and is unapologetically full of gutsy aplomb and sex appeal. At a dinner party I imagine this wine as a combination of Jon Stewart and Sunni Patterson…poetically political by nature.(and I mean that in a complimentary way)
The Gush: This wine is produced by vines planted sky high at 1700 meters above sea level in the Cafayate Valley of Argentina. It’s deliciously intense. Fully of spicy aromas, cassis and cloves. The tannins have a delicious weight woven seamlessly with the dark fruit flavors of blackberry and plum. The wine has aged for 12 months in American and French oak barrels, which produces the overt hints and suggestions of vanilla and oak.
Playing Matchmaker: Drink with roasted vegetables, Teriyaki ribs, rich, spicy pastas and basically anything coming off the BBQ.
Bottom Line: Want an excellent value wine that will leave your friends convinced you broke the bank to afford such luxury? Priced around $15 a bottle, it’s amazing. I don’t honestly know how they do it. Try it, and tell me what you think.
February 9, 2014
Tasting Notes February
Pinotage – South Africa
Pinotage is South Africa’s signature grape variety; a red wine grape that was made back in the 20’s by crossing Pinot Noir and Cinsault, (known at the time as Hermitage) hence the name Pinotage.
The Gush: Swirl the wine in your glass, close your eyes and inhale deeply and savour the rich coffee and chocolate aromas along with plum, blackberry and sweet cherry. Stay in that posture as long as you like, cause there is a lot to enjoy and few things you have to do are more important. Each of these aromas deliver on the palate along with coffee, vanilla and oak. Seriously…this wine is super sexy. It’s not over the top, it doesn’t try too hard, the tannins, acidity and alcohol are all perfectly balanced…it’s just awesome.
Playing Matchmaker: Absolutely enjoyable on its own, or with smoked meats or anything you might have coming off the BBQ.
Bottom Line: At $14.99 in B.C. it’s an incredible value wine for the price.
Nerding Out: Barista is produced by Bertus Fourie, the winemaker who actually created this coffee-style of Pinotage. Fourie has called it, ‘the most controversial style of Pinotage in the world.’ Where most wines, particularly Old World wines, seek to represent the terroir, which refers to the soil and terrain where the grapes are grown, Barista lets oak play the primary role in this style. Toasting the oak barrels produces the rich coffee flavours and the creamy chocolate richness.
Cabernet Sauvignon - MontGras Reserva 2011MontGras estates is located in Chile’s Colchagua Valley and along with the Maipo Valley is one of Chile’s best known wine regions. It is known for producing full-bodied Malbecs, Cabernet Sauvignons, Carmeneres and Syrahs. These winemakers hand pick their grapes and age their wine in oak barrels to enhance complexity, structure and style.
The Gush- This Cab Sauv is a deep lush ruby red. It’s an aromatic wine that leads you down the garden path (by the nose) with ripe plum, black berry, mocha, toast and cedar. At 14% it is a high alcohol, but is still a medium body, fruity wine that finds a good balance with medium tannins and acidity. You’ll enjoy a nice long finish.
Playing Matchmaker – will pair well with roasted veggies, teriyaki ribs, grilled steak, hamburgers or game birds.
Bottom Line – I enjoyed this wine. The inexpensive price isn’t necessary to recommend it, but it sure makes it that much more compelling. This is an excellent value every day wine, that will be of particular interest to those looking for a good Cabernet Sauvignon on a budget. I’ll happily buy this again.
Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara - Folonari Ripasso, Valpolicella, Classico Superiore
Made from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes, this wine comes from the celebrated Valpolicella wine region in Northern Italy.
The Gush: Decant for an hour to let this wine open up and it’s amazing. It’s wonderfully balanced with low acidity and tannins. Enjoy the bouquet of cherry, vanilla, floral and pomegranate. This a dry, warm red wine, full of black fruit flavors and spicy black pepper that lingers wonderfully on the tongue.
Playing Matchmaker: Think of traditional Italian dishes, rich pasta, wild mushroom risotto and game meats. It’s a delicate wine that could be overpowered by really strong, spicy foods. Enjoy just sitting back sipping this on it’s own.
The Bottom Line: Under $20.00 a bottle, this falls into the ‘Inexpensive’ category and is an excellent value! I seriously can’t say that enough. This is one of those wines you want to keep in the back of your mind…or better yet, keep a picture of the label in your phone so you don’t forget.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon - Xanadu, Next of Kin, 2010
Xanadu vineyards were named after the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. They are located in Margaret River, a famous wine region in South West Australia with over 200, mostly boutique size wineries. Though the region only produces 3% of Australia’s grape production, it is responsible for over 20% of Australia’s premium wine.
The Gush: This Cabernet Sauvignon has a lot of what you’d expect. An earthy bouquet of black fruits like black currant, plum are balanced with mocha and oak, which is primarily what you’re going to taste as well. It’s high in tannins and acidity, which obviously is going to appeal to some and not others. It’s stupid to say a wine is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ simply because of what we like personally. I find the structure of a wine like this is usually polarizing. If you enjoy the mouth drying effects of high tannins, then you’ll likely really enjoy this wine.
Playing Matchmaker: Would be great with fusilli and feta with lemon capers, a beef stir fry or sweet potato gratin with caramelized onions.
The Bottom Line: I’d call this an every day wine. For an inexpensive wine it manages to be expressive and interesting enough you’re not likely to complain, especially for the price.
Tempranillo
Tempranillo – Anciano, Valdepenas Aged 10 years
Tempranillo is a black grape variety grown widly in Spain. To legally be labeled a Gran Reserva in Spain, wines must be aged a minimum of 5 years before being released.
The Gush: This wine has great complexity for such a modest price. Enjoy the bouquet of ripe red cherries, sweet spice, pepper and hints of cedar and vanilla. Take a taste and you’ll discover a dry wine with low tannins that produce a soft feel in your mouth. The 24 months ageing in oak barrels produces some interesting flavors to compliment the black fruit, red cherries and ripe cassis, like leather, tobacco and coffee. Decant this wine and let it breath for at least an hour to really open up.
Playing Matchmaker: Enjoy with roast, grilled or BBQ meats, stews or a sharp cheese of your choice.
Bottom Line: I really enjoyed the intensity of this wine. Ageing in oak provides a complexity to the fruit flavors and aromas that make this a pleasure to sit and sip. Excellent value wine that exceeds expectations!
Malbec, Bonarda and Syrah – Trapiche, Extravaganza, Red BlendTrapiche Winery is located in Mendoza, Argentina. I picked this wine up for three reasons, its inexpensive price range, cool label and a personal interest in blends.
The Gush: This wine provides a great opportunity to review a wine I’m not personally a fan of, but by no means think that many people won’t love it. Its rich, sweet and fruity…almost thickly so, at least for me. It has a full mouth feel to it, which for me personally it was just a bit too much. The low acidity gives it a very round almost texture. But again…I know some people love that. It reminded me of Apothic red.
Playing Matchmaker: I imagine chocolate or other dessert. Maybe BBQ chicken or pork sausages if it was done in a rich savoury sauce.
The Bottom Line: It falls in the inexpensive range, which means you could easily afford to try it out. If you know that you like slightly sweeter wines, often find red wines too dry or are just looking for a wine with low tannins and acidity, then I’d say you should definitely check this out.
Malbec Syrah – Leon de TarapacaThis wine is produced in Chile’s Maipo Valley, a renown wine growing area outside the city of Santiago. There are three distinct regions in the Maipo Valley that produce a variety of conditions that appeal to different grapes. Alto Maipo runs along the foothills where the majority of Cabernets are grown. Central Maipo has the longest history of grape growing and produces the widest variety. Coastal, or Pacific Maipo enjoys the cool maritime influence that make it ideal for Carmenere and Syrah.
The Gush: This blend of Malbec and Syrah is a really good one, combining Malbec’s dark purple, high tannin, plum, raisin and earthy tobacco flavors with Syrah’s dark black fruits and spicy, black pepper aromas.
Playing Matchmaker: Think BBQ…full flavoured hamburgers, kabobs, steaks, meatballs or lasagne.
Bottom Line: Super affordable wine that delivers way beyond expectations for a wine priced under $15.00 Highly recommend.
Shiraz - Rolling, 2011The label features the whimsical and carefree cyclist Beatrice, proudly wearing the scarf of the local Orange Emus football team. Any wine that proudly features someone named Beatrice who apparently cheers for the Orange Emus is worth a try.
The Gush: The wine has the deep red colour characteristic of a Shiraz. But it also has a bright party style aromatic personality full of of raspberry, spice and pepper that says, ‘hey everyone…I’m here!’ Your taste buds are going to be glad they were invited to such an exquisite party with just the right combination of tannin, acidity, alcohol and fruit…pulled together with time ageing in oak barrels.
Playing Matchmaker: Sip this wine on its own, or enjoy it with roast, BBQ burgers, steaks, kabobs, casseroles or with hard, sharp cheese.
Bottom Line: Super affordable wine ideal for a party. Beatrice and her Orange Emus will have you cheering and dancing in no time.
