It’s the glitch that won’t go away. First there was the January 24 column that got Ikon Vodka inadvertently delisted when it wasn’t listed in the first place. Then there was the attempted glitch-fix (in the Valentine’s pink-bubble column of February 7), which got its own glitch when the last line was lost.

Here’s true glitch glue—by putting it first in this portmanteau column, I’m hoping it’ll stick. Ikon, the silky-smooth, real Russian vodka is available in B.C., at many private liquor stores and hotel outlets, even the airport. And it’s well worth your time and effort to find it, especially if you’re a lover of iced shots with deli food.

But there is truth to the delisting information—the brand’s Max Smith sent a note that it was pulled from store shelves in West Virginia, because—shades of the Wild West—the bottle size (your standard twenty-sixer, or 750 millilitres) was too small for them! “No joke,” said Smith. As the saying goes, think big or go home. Or to West Virginia. Or not.

The Hill’s topper Mission Hill’s winery restaurant, up there on the hill at Westbank in the Okanagan, just made another major mark on the culinary globe. The Terrace restaurant got the nod as one of the top five winery restaurants in the world from Travel + Leisure magazine. Not that anyone who knows is surprised; chef Michael Allemeier (ex Bishop’s, Teatro in Calgary, other heavies) has assembled a great team of cooks and servers, and puts up fine, fresh, local cuisine du terroir.

And those Oculus cherries are, if not to die for, surely worth rolling over and begging for—plump, ripe Okanagan cherries in a sweet suspension made mostly of the winery’s rare and expensive signature wine, Oculus. The tab for a bottle is $70 (the cherries are cheaper), and yes, you’re worth it.

There’s no point in getting too excited, though—not yet. The Mission Hill restaurant won’t be opening this year till early May, and then for lunch only; dinner starts being served in June.

More from the Hill: Four fine reds I paid a visit to the White Rock Rotary Club’s fundraiser earlier this month, and four Mission Hill reds were being poured: The Fork in the Road Oliver Block Red 2004 ($24.99), a Meritage-style blend of mostly Merlot; the Wild Horse Canyon Merlot 2005 ($12.95); the Reserve Merlot 2005 ($24.99); and the Five Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2005 ($18.99).

All four certainly hit the spot before the event and at intermission, and an impromptu call for favourites ranked them in the order listed above: the Fork for superior taste; the Wild Horse for unbeatable value; the Reserve, lovely but in no way ready to drink yet; and the Five Vineyards, big and fat and fruity and full. Check out that Wild Horse Canyon—for $12.95? Amazing.

Joie to New York The West Coast Canadians are taking over the famed James Beard House again, and Joie, the award-winning, always-sold-out producer of exquisite wines, had the foresight to keep a few boxes back because they’ll be pouring on March 15 when chef Angus An from Gastropod on West 4th is there with his brigade to dazzle the palates of those jaded New Yorkers. If I lived in New York, that’d be the first thing I’d set up—a season’s ticket to these dinners. The phone would come later; you can always locate a payphone and a quarter.

Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble will be on hand to pour the Noble Blend, Rosé, and Un-Oaked Chardonnay from 2006, as well as the 2005 Reserve Chardonnay and the scarce 2005 PTG (stands for Passetoutgrain). Gutsy move, the rosé; show those guys a thing or two about pink wines, ha! Joie’s next-door neighbours, Elephant Island, are going even gutsier, pouring their 2007 Crab Apple Wine. Take that, Big Apple—here comes a little one with attitude.

A little Valentine’s Day leftover The bar at Morton’s the Steakhouse served this up to great acclaim over the romantic-holiday period, and they most likely still remember how to do it if you missed it: called My Bubbly Valentine, it’s a pomegranate version of the Kir Royal, and it tastes terrific. Besides, think of all those antioxidants that pomegranate is supposed to give to your booze-abused body!

1/2 shot pomegranate syrup

splash fresh lemon juice

4 hefty shots sparkling wine

Shake everything with ice and strain into a champagne flute; garnish with a twist of lemon. Make another almost immediately, for standby.

Salute Sicilia The ultra-urbane Cosmo Piccirilli (well remembered from his days at Umberto’s Al Porto, among others) has been handed the happy task of managing the city’s classiest new wine store, Sutton Place Wine Merchant, in one corner of the stylish downtown hotel. “Exclusive wines and home delivery” says the discreet note on the back of the card. What makes the shop particularly appealing is the fact that it stocks not just high-end wines—it’s not hard to get something good for 50 bucks!—but also midweek dinner accompaniment bargains.

And quite a few of the brands are exclusive to the Sutton Place, notably a hearty trio of Sicilian reds under the Itynera label, the 2004 Syrah being a particular favourite. It’s one of those big, beef-brothy reds that pours with India ink–purple colour and combines dark, full fruit with hefty but not harsh tannins. It’ll stand up to the most aggressive of soft cheeses, like Munster; tongue-biting, acidic blues such as Stilton and Roquefort; and the most smoky-rich hard ones, like spiced Gouda and Cantenaar.

These are food wines of the first order, and at less than $20, very good value.