Stir Pairing: Holiday edition, with local spirits, craft beer, and sparkling wine to go with everything from drag to Vivaldi
The festive season is in full swing with a holiday burlesque show, the VSO’s Four Seasons, artisan markets, and more
Odd Society’s Peat & Smoke whiskies; Jimbo.
EVERY WEEK, STIR Pairing suggests a BC beverage to go with a local arts event. For this holiday edition, it’s a festive mash-up of five unique combinations whether you’re looking for a raunchy celebration, an elegant celebration, or something in between.
The drink: Odd Society ’s Peat & Smoke Whiskies (pictured at top).
The event: Tits the Season! presented by Helvetica Productions at the Rio Theatre on December 18 (pictured at top).
The lowdown:
Peated whiskies are a rarity in B.C., but the crazily creative team at East Van’s Odd Society has come up with two softly smoked styles of the stuff, using peated malt from Scotland and Washington State.
To be designated as a craft distillery here, companies are required to use 100 percent B.C. agricultural products to make their alcohol. However, makers are allowed source botanicals from outside the province to flavour their products. Odd Society founder and distiller, Gordon Glanz, along with the small-batch distillery’s brewer-distiller Joel McNichol (who’s also a musician and an artist) found a work-around by sourcing peated malt from Scotland and the Skagit Valley, putting it in the gin basket to flavour the whisky rather than including it in the mash before fermentation. The Washington whisky is delicate, a smidge smoky, and a bit briny; the Scottish is more intense and phenolic. Plus get this: Odd Society has partnered with the Burns Bog Conservation Society for a 2025 release. Find 375mL bottles (46% ABV) for $40 including tax online and at select private liquor stores.
You want a smokeshow? After you pick up your Peat & Smoke Whisky from Odd Society on Powell Street (home to one of the best and funkiest tastings lounges in the city), stroll three kilometres up Commercial Drive to the Rio Theatre, where none other than Jimbo is headlining Tits the Season! a drag, burlesque, circus and variety show. The stage name of James Insell, Jimbo stood out for various reasons on Season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race. Hosted by Miss Kiss, the Rio lineup also features Ariel Helvetica, the burlesque artist behind Helvetica Productions, a former can-can/showgirl in France and pro high-kicker on cruise lines who has performed and taught around the world and who’s assistant director at Vancouver Burlesque Company. Joining them are Madam Lola, Matt the Human, Renne Mak Circus, Layna Emerald, Lynx Chase, Shirley Gnome, the Darlings, Continental Breakfast, P.M., Maiden China, Rose Butch, Helvetica’s Follies, and Disco Squad. With two performances, at 6 pm and 10 pm, this is guaranteed to get you on the Naughty list.
Elf Stocking by Pam Leitch.
Red Barn at Jagged Rock’s Lost Art Semillon, with PITTER PATTA GOES MY HEART by Kathy Ager.
The beverage: Red Barn at Jagged Rock’s Lost Art Semillon
The event: Place des Arts’ Holiday Artisan Shop, at Place des Arts in Coquitlam to December 18 and online to December 16
The lowdown:
The grapes from Jagged Rock Vineyard on Black Sage Bench are coveted by winemakers all over the province and have been used in some of the best wines B.C. has ever produced. So it only seemed right for the place to have its own winery. Situated among the vines at the end of a dirt road surrounded by a dramatic rocky landscape is the striking namesake barn, designed by architect Tom Kundig, who has earned some of the world’s highest design honors, including a National Design Award in Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and an Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The winery will be open to visitors in the spring of 2022 and has an intentional focus on wines that are young, fresh, and vibrant, with a different winemaker coming onboard for each harvest. The vineyard’s intense fruit gives rise to wine that is meant to be unconventional. And in keeping with that uniqueness, each label is distinct, the winery collaborating with emerging artists for expressive designs.
The collection includes Off Centre Viognier, Discordian Chardonnay, Transfiction Rosé, Silent Partner Cabernet Franc. We love the Lost Art Semillon ($30), a bright and exuberant take on the classic style. Fermented and aged in concrete, it’s citrusy and crisp. The label features PITTER PATTA GOES MY HEART by Kathy Ager, a painter who splits her time between Vancouver, Lisbon, and Amsterdam. She works in a Dutch Masters style but puts her own modern, pop art-like spin on things.
If Red Barn is all about originality, so are all the darling, funky, and finely crafted items at Place des Arts’ Holiday Artisan Shop. The event features cool, eco-friendly ornaments, decorations, and gifts all made by hand by local artisans. We love Pam Leitch’s Elf Stockings in a range of colours and styles that would make Buddy the Elf himself proud.
McWatters Collection Brut.
Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John. Photo by Adrienne Lloyd.
The beverage: McWatters Collection Brut Okanagan Valley 2017
The event: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Lara St. John at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts on December 18
The lowdown:
The late Harry McWatters earned the named of the grandfather of B.C.’s wine industry, having opened the province’s first estate winery, Sumac Ridge, in 1980. The pioneer also loved bubbles, and that winery was the first here to make a traditional method sparkling wine, Steller’s Jay, an iconic B.C. wine to this day. Fast forward to 2017, and the McWatters family opened TIME Family of Wines in Penticton. The patriarch was celebrating his milestone 50th vintage at the time, which yielded one of his last projects: the McWatters Collection Brut. Just in time for the holidays, this just-released sparkling wine was made in the méthode traditionelle, a blend of 65 percent Chardonnay, 25 percent Pinot Noir, and 10 percent Pinot Blanc sourced from three premium vineyards throughout the Okanagan. Techies will be wowed by hearing that, after secondary fermentation, the wine was left to rest on its lees for 42 months, making for a dry sparkling with fine bubbles, rich texture, flavours of pineapple and lemon, and a crisp finish. It has an aging potential of 10 years and can be found via the winery or at Save-On Foods for $64.99, a splurge-worthy choice to toast loved ones near or far, or with us in person, via a computer screen, or in spirit.
An extra-special sparkling calls for exceptional music, and you can find it when the VSO brings back its holiday tradition, The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. The Italian composer’s most iconic work will be performed live at the Chan Centre, gorgeous in surroundings and sound, led by Juno-winning violinist Lara St. John, a member of the Order of Canada. The maverick artist has performed with leading symphonies around the globe; has been featured everywhere from People and CNN to NPR and the BBC; and owns and runs her own label, Ancalagon. Here’s how the Los Angeles Times once described her: “Lara St. John happens to be a volcanic violinist with a huge, fabulous tone that pours out of her like molten lava. She has technique to burn and plays at a constant high heat.”
Eastside Flea (left); Superflux Beer Company’s Wonderlove.
The beverage: Superflux Beer Company’s Wonderlove
The event: Eastside Flea Holiday Market at Eastside Flea, December 18 and 19
The lowdown:
Proudly based in East Van, Superflux is constantly coming up with all sorts of fresh twists and takes on beer, and Wonderlove is no exception. Brewed with a brand-new yeast strain, the experimental brewery’s newest IPA takes you to the tropics with tastes of pineapple, passionfruit, and grapefruit. With licks of candylike sweetness, it’s timed right for the holidays. Find 4-packs for $20 at the Clark Drive brewery (and stop in at the tasting lounge for one of its killer hot dogs, made with Two Rivers Speciality Meats’ dry-aged beef or chorizo smokie; vegan and vegetarian options available).
We’re raising a glass to Eastside Flea, a community market that takes place year-round at Eastside Studios (550 Malkin Avenue), a 20,000-square-foot arts and culture hub that’s home to more than 20 creative studios. During the final weekend of its 2021 Holiday Markets, find indie hand-made goods, collectibles, vintage clothing, and other inspired, original gifts.
Ramification Cellars’ Verification Pinot Noir.
Clockwise from left: Ali Ledgerwood, Valerie Arntzen, David MacLean, and Ginger Sedlarova of arThanks. Photo by Ric Ernst.
The drink: Ramification Cellars’ Verification Pinot Noir 2019
The event: arThanks
The lowdown:
Ramification Cellars is one of the newest wineries in the Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country region, overlooking the shores of freshwater Vaseux Lake, which gives rise to cool breezes (the estate winery’s “natural air conditioning”). It’s perched amid a tranquil designated migratory bird sanctuary, sharing space with all kinds of wildlife (including the rare night snake), the place taking its name from so many resident California bighorn sheep.
With only four planted acres, this is micro-vinification at its finest, an artisan approach to winemaking. Ramification’s flagship product, the Verification Pinot Noir, has flavours of blackberry and cherry with a lingering finish and would hit the spot with turkey or tofurkey, as well as charcuterie or seacuterie plates. “The driving force of our portfolio is our Pinot Noir,” winery manager Stephen Judge tells Stir. “Very food versatile, it can be enjoyed with a range of dishes, from pork tenderloin to salmon and turkey to a thin-crust pizza.” Find the 2019 vintage at the winery online for $30.
We love the winery’s signature sketch done by an old friend of the Lloyd family owners, who had long dreamed of one day opening a winery in the place they call home. Big projects start with small but mighty ideas, and that’s what’s got us thinking of ArThanks.
The local project is a way for artists to give back and say thank you to front-line workers for all they’ve done and continue to do during the pandemic.
The volunteers behind arThanks are seeking donations of work from local artists to be given for free to front-line workers throughout Metro Vancouver, from nurses and doctors to grocery-store workers. And they’re hoping to get the word out to front-line workers to visit the website to pick out a gift of art.
arTHANKS is the brainchild of David MacLean, a local visual artist who works in the movie industry. He rallied fellow visual artists Ginger Sedlarova and Valerie Arntzen and arts supporter Ali Ledgerwood to bring his concept to life. The works include a range of media, including painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, collage, assemblage, paper cutting, textile, glass, wood, ceramics, prints, and more.
“If you’re a COVID front-liner, thank you,” arThanks notes on its site. “We know it’s often been rough, dispiriting, and maddeningly unfair, and we hope this helps. Choose a piece of art that calls out to you from an upcoming show or our gallery of images.”
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