Anthony Gismondi: B.C. wine for the week of Sept. 8, a bottle to cellar and calendar items

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Naramata Inn chef Ned Bell is hosting several October dinners with guest chefs collaborating in the kitchen.

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All dinners begin at 6 p.m. and include six courses plus wine pairings. Prices range from $155 to $185. First up on Oct. 3 is “The Future is Female” with chef Andrea Carlson (Harvest, Burdock + Co. and Bar Gobo). Then, on Oct. 17, “Legends + Apprentices” features Michel Jacob (Le Crocodile) with his former apprentices Rob Feenie and Ned Bell. Finally, on Oct. 24, it is “Dream Like a Visionary Cook Like a Chef,” featuring the legendary duo of John Bishop (Bishop’s) and Michael Allemeier (Culinary Arts at SAIT Polytechnic).

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View the entire lineup at naramatainn.com/events. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase now by emailing Groups + Events Manager Anna Collard at anna@naramatainn.com. So if you want a seat, do not delay.

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Every Friday this fall, the West Kelowna Grizzli Winery will welcome local musicians to perform in the wine lounge. Happy hour will also feature wine specials, wine-based cocktails, charcuterie, and cheese boards.

You can reserve a table, but walk-ins are more than welcome. Grizzli Winery encourages you to book a Vineyard or Estate Wine Tour to complement your visit for the perfect wine country experience. For more info and reservations and tour bookings, visit grizzliwinery.com.

B.C. wine of the week

Tantalus Chardonnay 2020, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 

$36.50 I 92/100

UPC: 626990067405

The Tantalus flagship Chardonnay comes off a mix of 35-year-old estate vines and vines planted in 2007, mixing French clones 76 and 95. It is all fermented using native yeats and aged for 10 months in French barriques and puncheons. Only 30 per cent of the wines see new oak, but all of the wine goes through the acid softening malolactic process. Its reductive leesy nose and palate paint a tightly restrained fruit picture built around pears and green apples with a citrus undercurrent and a touch of spice. It should effortlessly age through 2028 and beyond, a blockbuster effort from a generous vintage. It’s rare to see such a concentrated effort this far north, but we love it.

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Wine for the cellar

Torres Mas La Plana 2016, Penedès, Cataluña, Spain 

$76.99 I 94/100

UPC: 8410113003126

From the heart of Penedès, Mas la Plana spreads across 29 hallowed hectares of 10 plots on two levels. The vines planted in the 1970s have adapted well to the ever-warming Mediterranean climate. Today, the Mas La Plana estate is a natural ecosystem, benefitting from regenerative viticulture and teaming with life. It’s not your typical Cabernet Sauvignon. Instead, it takes its cue from Bordeaux and offers complexity and concentration without losing balance. It is fermented in stainless and oak foudres and spends 18 months in French oak barrels, of which 65 per cent were new. Its juicy, fleshy nature draws you into the wine, with rich black cherry, tobacco, and a tremendous savoury undercurrent that permeates. It is the real deal. Drink or hold through the next decade or beyond.