Framboise is one of my favourite eaux de vie, but–as so often happens with favourites–it costs a bundle. (The only one presently available in B.C. is from Okanagan Spirits, at $39.99 for a slender 375-millilitre bottle.) If you love the luscious, sweet taste of fresh raspberries, let me steer you toward a fortified-wine version: Elephant Island Orchard Wines' Framboise, from the Okanagan's Naramata Bench, with its whimsical label, for only $19.90. It's sweet and rich, lovely and luxurious, redolent of the ripest raspberries imaginable, and you'll be surprised what tastes good with it–would you believe razor clams? The Islanders' own suggestion, from the back of the label, is a bit more conventional, and delicious: "slightly chilled, with a teaspoon of cream or a sliver of chocolate". Why not both? 'Tis the season, nearly. From the winery only: www.elephantislandwine.com/ .