Last night Richard Vanfoodster and I had a wonderful dinner at Collective Goods Bistro enjoying their dishes with a flight of BC’s Solvero Wines. The winemaker, Alison Moyes, was there to talk to us about the wines and the winery. We had her Solvero Wines Pinot Gris 2023, Rosé 2023, Chardonnay 2022, and Pinot Noir 2020. It was fun trying out the different wines with the dishes that evening. Our dishes were Beets & Boursin’ cheese, Chicken Liver Mousse, Sablefish, Burger, Steak Frites, and Grapes & Chocolate dessert. Let me tell you about the wines first then I will get into the food and wine pairings.

My Wine Tasting Notes

As I was in a restaurant, I had no control over lighting, table covering, and dishes from adjacent tables, so I could not write my normal rigorous tasting notes. These brief notes cover the main points of aromas and flavours in the wines.

Solvero Wines Pinot Gris 2023 (BC $25) – It has a fresh, medium-intensity stone fruit aromas plus some grape stem.  Medium body, round and thicker mouthfeel.  Mineral.  Fresh stone fruits and some grape stem on the palate.

Solvero Wines Rosé 2023 (BC $25) – A light, bright pink salmon colour.  Light strawberry and strawberry leaf aromas.  Medium body, smooth with a viscous mouthfeel.  Rhubarb, red fruits and minerality on the palate.  Tart, brisk acidity.  Medium-plus length finishing with tart red fruit, medium pepperiness and light tannins. –

Solvero Wines Chardonnay 2022 (BC $30) – This wine has a light tropical fruit and butterscotch nose.  Medium-body, with a soft round mouthfeel.  Rich ripe pineapple flavour, plus cinnamon and some pepperiness.  Buttery mouthfeel. Medium length finishing with pineapple, citrus and pepperiness.  A classy wine. –

Solvero Wines Pinot Noir 2020 (BC $35) – Light toasty, red cherries and floral aromas.  Medium-plus body, dry with a thicker mouthfeel.  Tart red fruit and red cherries on the palate, plus light oak and a touch of minerality and toastiness. 

Our Dishes and Wine Pairings

Beets & Boursin’ cheese made with charred scallion & mint vinaigrette, pickles shallots, cara cara oranges and watercress. I am a fan of beets, so was excited to try this dish.  The beets were soft to eat and the boursin cheese creaminess worked well with the beet earthiness.  The Pinot Gris made a tasty pairing.  I liked the bright fresh stonefruit flavours with the earthiness of the beets.

Chicken Liver Mousse with brioche toast points, port wine gelee, Saskatoon berry compote and maple.  The brioche toast points were very buttery, which enhanced the creaminess of the chicken liver mousse.  The sweetness of the Saskatoon berries and flavour of the berries also worked so well in this dish.  More people should try these berries in general.  The acidity of both the Pinot Gris and the Rosé made these wines a complementary pairing to this dish.

Sablefish rolled into a disc served with potato fondant, turmeric pickles crosnes, beurre blanc and a maple balsamic reduction. In case you have not heard of crosnes before, they are a type of tuber called knotroots. They are crunchy and offer a different texture in this sablefish dish.  The sablefish was another winning dish.  The fish had a nice oily texture.  The crunchy crosnes complemented the texture of the fish.  Of course, the beurre blanc also brought out more deliciousness.  The salt in the dish and the parsley’s herbaceousness was brought out with the Chardonnay as well as the creamy graininess of the potato fondant.  My recommended pairing.

Burger served on a brioche bun, triple cream brie, onion jam, dijonaise and arugula salad. The patty was cooked medium well as was quite thick.  It was delicious.  The brioche bun has a nice crisp toasty texture.  The Pinot Noir made this a complementary pairing to the burger.  The tart red fruit of the wine became prominent.  The acidity and light body of the wine also added to the enjoyment of the burger.

Steak Frites from striploin steak, cooked medium, with a brandy peppercorn sauce, arugula and grana padano cheese. The steak was cooked rare to medium and was a bit chewy.  I prefer medium well as it is still soft to chew but also gives you some texture.  I enjoyed the brandy peppercorn sauce with the steak.  The Pinot Noir pairing was OK.  You get the acidity from the wine and the red fruit flavours complementing the steak but makes the wine taste lean.  The Chardonnay was a better pairing.  The steak brought out the cinnamon spice flavour and the buttery texture of the wine.

Grapes & Chocolate dessert with a mirror-glazed mousse, peanut brittle, pickled grape slices, and grape caramel. I initially thought there was not going to be any good pairing with this massive chocolate dessert, but I was wrong.  The Pinot Gris, with its fruitiness and acidity, stood up to the deep flavour of the dark chocolate and the heavy creamy texture of the chocolate.  Give it a try!

Thank you to Collective Goods for creating such elaborate and delicious dishes.

Where Can I Buy These Wines?

You can purchase these wines online via the Solvero Wines website. The Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rosé wines are available at Marquis Wine Cellars. The Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are available at Everything Wine stores. 

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