Lingering snobbery around wine still exists despite the slow but steady shift towards a more approachable, egalitarian industry.
For some consumers, it is easiest to just throw up their hands and say “I like what I like and I can’t be bothered with all that lofty nonsense.” On the flip side, the well-versed respond with “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.” And so we end up with wine experts on one shore and wine novices on the opposite shore, with a vast ocean of fermented grape juice between them.
The WineBox Tasting Co. is predicated on the idea that great wine can be enjoyed by anyone and learning more about it shouldn’t be an intimidating or onerous task.
Founded and operated by North Shore sommelier Jessamyn Box, who holds a Wine and Spirit Education Trust Diploma and has worked in accomplished restaurants for the better part of two decades, The WineBox offers guided tastings in the comfort of a participant’s home, surrounded by friends and liberated from the airs that too often attend wine education in more traditional environments.
Box curates her selection of wines based on a number of deciding factors, from participant tastes and interests to budget and level of existing wine knowledge.
Speaking about her clientele, Box tells me, “The common theme is that they feel comfortable to ask questions that they may have found silly, or, in fact, didn’t even know they had. In a more formal classroom setting, people sometimes feel like they should already have a base of knowledge even just to start.”
In a typical tasting, like the one to which I was recently invited, Box selects wines that represent both their grape varietals and regions in the most characteristic, consistent way. At the tasting in question, she poured bone dry, mineral and citrus leaning Riesling from Australia’s Eden Vale, Sauvignon Blanc from its traditional home in the Loire Valley of France, Sonoma Chardonnay, Tasmanian Pinot Noir, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, and a real standout: a lesser known red (Mencia) from the Ribeira Sacra region of Galicia, Spain. This latter had concentrated notes of plum, espresso, anise and black currant, making it a food friendly, complex but approachable wine, available locally from BC Liquor Stores.
Box has an affable, lighthearted way about her and her enthusiasm for wine is infectious, creating a comfortable learning environment. I can’t help but think that as we approach the hectic holiday season and seek to connect with friends through good food and wine, the prospect of expensive seasonal menus, inflated wine costs and hard-to-come-by reservations is comparatively off-putting; a home wine tasting may be the most novel party theme of the season.
Wine Box tastings are $65 per person, with a minimum of eight people. The price includes six different wines, ISO tasting glasses, tasting notes, and, of course, Box’s personalized instruction. Whatever wine is leftover after the tasting is left with the host.
Thewinebox.ca. 778-886-3611.
The WineBox doesn’t do food, but fear not, because the North Shore is spoiled for choice with catering groups that can tailor to all budgets. For me, however, when it comes to fare to pair with wine, there is perhaps no group more exciting than Puccini’s Deli on Lonsdale.
This family-owned and operated shop is home to a massive collection of hand-selected products that represent some of the most interesting, carefully produced, and ultimately delicious goods that the food world has to offer. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to step foot into the high-end foodie wonderland that is Eataly in the United States, I liken Puccini’s to a distilled down version of that.
The contemporary, stylish deli features a staggering selection of cheeses, cured meats, and everything that rightfully accompanies those things, from oils and vinegars to preserves, condiments and crackers, plus all the paraphernalia to serve it properly. The deli has evolved noticeably since my earliest visits, and through conversation with its owners, I know that Puccini’s steady evolution is the result of years of tireless research, travel and relationship building. The effort has paid off as there is arguably no finer deli on the North Shore today, no other place where so many extraordinary, artisanal, many times locally produced goods coexist under a single roof.
I reached out to co-owners Lino Pucci and his sister Maria and asked them to put together a charcuterie board for two that would pair especially well with luscious red wines, as one might do for a home tasting. Herein lies another of the compelling reasons to recruit Puccini’s for your event: they custom build catered boards to order, taking into account the occasion, personal preferences, what is new and exciting in the shop, and, of course, budget. If I sound effusive in my enthusiasm for this place, it’s because in this era of increasingly indifferent, uninformed, or anonymous service, the Puccis’ engaged approach is like a rare beacon in the storm; they know the backstory of every item in their shop, the taste of every cheese, the nuance of all salumi and the provenance of every olive. I personally find that kind of impassioned focus inspiring.
I had to take pause often as I tucked into my catered charcuterie board with my wife DJ to remark on the unique quality of the items that populated it, like the melt in your mouth succulence of 36-month aged Iberico ham, the revelatory complexity of creamy BellaVitano cheese hand rubbed with toasted espresso beans, or the indulgent and rustic character of a par-baked semolina loaf imported from Italy. My charcuterie board, ostensibly for two but easily suitable for four, was $75.
Puccinni’s Deli is located at 2027 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Puccinisdeli.com. 604-985-6328.
