This holiday season, why not give your friends and loved ones a moment of serendipity. Serendipity is an unexpected but fortunate experience.
Horace Walpole coined the term in 1754 after he unexpectedly came across a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip. The princes were always making pleasant accidental discoveries.
I recently had a serendipitous moment when I stumbled across a wonderful B.C. winery in Naramata called Serendipity Winery. With owner Judy Kingston and daughter Katie O’Kell in command, their wines are well suited to this jolly time of year with its many celebrations and good food.
The 2014 Serendipity Viognier ($20) is one of the tastiest B.C. Viogniers I’ve had. On the nose, there’s flowers and a hint of orange. On the palate, expect intense flavours of white peach and pears with honeysuckle.
Clean, smooth, with a long fruity finish. A versatile wine; serve with shrimp, crab, oysters, curries, and pork or ham. The Serendipity 2014 Sauvignon Blanc ($20) is a delicious white with grassy hints, without being overly vegetal.
Those nuances, along with tropical mango, guava, and lemon zest, make for a tasty, dry white.
It’s great with any seafood, as well as your turkey. And sauvignon blanc is a perfect accompaniment with goat cheese appetizers, or as part of a cheese plate.
With a mother/daughter team running the winery, you had to expect them to produce a pink wine. Wines like the 2014 Serendipity Rosé ($20) are light-hearted, yet serious.
Expect a rich glass of strawberries, cherries, and cranberries with a dry, slightly tart finish, a hallmark of a serious rosé that begs for food. You can talk turkey, ham, or salmon with this rosé.
I was pleasantly surprised with the deep burgundy red colour of the Serendipity 2012 Pinot Noir ($25). This is a wine with more character than a lot of pinot noirs for the price.
Anticipate rich flavours and scents of red currants, raspberries, and cranberries with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Think smooth and velvety with a lingering oak and vanilla finish.
Pinot noir is the epitome of a food-friendly wine. Serve with your Christmas bird, whether it’s turkey, goose, duck, or ham (as if pigs can fly), even salmon, tuna and prime rib of beef!
Merlot is one of B.C.’s successful reds and the Serendipity 2011 Merlot ($40) will show you the reason why.
There is the rich, red colour indicating a wine of good breeding and depth. It looks like a Bordeaux, and smells and tastes like one with a bit of B.C. fruit character thrown in.
Enjoy the bouquet of red and black fruits such as plum, cherries, raspberries, and blackberries. There are smooth tannins with flavours of fruit, cigar-box, vanilla, and coffee. And there’s the seductive chocolate and cassis finish. Multi-facetted and elegant!
The Serendipity Merlot would be delicious with pork souvlaki, rack of lamb, or the cheese plate after dinner.
All of these wines are good to sip before the meal and to enjoy during various courses, except for dessert.
Serendipity wines are available at VQA stores such as Sip Wines, select private stores, and at the winery. Visit serendipitywinery.com
Eric Hanson is a retired Richmond teacher and local wine expert. He can be reached at ehanson@sd38.bc.ca
