sidebar By Sylvia Jansen, Sommelier (ISG, CMS), CSW
The World Through a Wine Glass During the Olympics last year, I was lucky enough to have a Russian experience. Not that I could travel to Sochi— there was no way my schedule or my budget would justify that trek. But I was fortunate to be a guest for an evening of Olympic coverage on a big screen television, accompanied by a well-researched, well-done dinner of Russian cuisine and hearty dark bread. Without access to the local wine, I decided on something that Russians traditionally enjoyed: a few bottles of French bubbly, white and red. It worked. On the way home it occurred to me that I had joined the staycation trend. Face it: there are times when travel to a wine destination is not so easy. Money, family, work, health—all of these can conspire to keep us home instead of jumping on the next flight. Never mind that some people enjoy staying close to home. The staycation concept began during one of the recent dives in the roller coaster of world economics. It involves initiating the vacation mindset in one’s own city, visiting local sights, local restaurants, and ignoring that mobilephone-vibration on the hip or in the purse. But when it comes to dining, some supposed staycation “experts” recommend stress-reducing techniques like take-out or frozen dinners. Many do not even talk about wine. What are they thinking? For a truly wonderful staycation, try the time-honoured food-and-wine tradition of what grows together, goes together. Pick a country: Italy, France, Spain, Germany. Wherever you want to “go.” Read up on its cuisine. Plan one fabulous dinner—you can make a staycation out of a
single evening with friends. Or plan numerous fabulous days, taking every meal as a virtual tourist. Breakfast in style. At lunch, spread a tablecloth, toss a salad, make or buy some authentic bread from your chosen region, and enjoy a tumbler of modest wine from that country with your salad. For dinner, make your experience authentic. There are plenty of grocery stores that offer ingredients for world cuisine. Then bring your recipes to Banville & Jones and ask for some good advice (some of my favourite times at work involve roaming our store to plan a fabulous evening with someone who is holding their menu). Let your wine glass be your guide. Go local on every wine, and take wine with every course. Give yourself a by-theglass pour at each course, and look forward to leftovers tomorrow. Or for a trip in a taxi, the wine staycation can involve a good restaurant that has done the homework for you and matched its cuisine to a good selection of regional wines. An evening out in your city is a fabulous staycation. Wine has the capacity to take us anywhere, because, ultimately, it is an authentic product of a particular corner of the Earth and its people. A good glass of wine brings with it the ancient sunshine on the hills of Tuscany or the wild herbs blooming along the side of the road in the south of France. A good glass transforms a theme dinner into an experience to remember. It is a grown-up way of playing let’s pretend, and it is a beautiful relief from the stresses of everyday life. So here’s to you, seeing the world through my wine glass.
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