Blue Mountain, les amis du fromage go virtually into the night for a wine and cheese tasting you can have at home

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      Thanks to COVID-19, virtual wine tastings have become a thing. Now, one of the province’s most prestigious wineries is taking things up a notch by pairing up with a top Vancouver specialty cheese shop for… you guessed it… a virtual cheese and wine tasting.

      Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars and les amis du fromage will live-stream the event via the cheese shop’s Facebook page on August 23.

      Hosted by les amis du Fromage founder Allison Spurrell—a veritable authority on all things cheese—the hour-long guided tasting (6:30 pm to 7:30 pm) will feature a selection of foods from the store and signature Blue Mountain wines: Brut Gold Label and Pinot Noir Reserve Cuvée 2017.

      Made in the méthode traditionnelle style, the Brut Gold Label is a blend of 50 percent Pinot Noir, 45.5 percent Chardonnay, and 4.5 percent Pinot Gris. At 12 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), it’s characterized by a fine mousse and a bright lemony finish.

      The Reserve Cuvée Pinot Noir (13 percent ABV) is made of 100-percent estate-grown grapes from 33-year-old vines from the Okanagan Falls winery’s three key Pinot Noir vineyards.

      Tickets cost $75 for two and include cheese and a 10 percent discount on the wines if purchased at Marquis Wine Cellars. (The cost is $36.79 for the Brut and $58.89 for the Pinot Noir Reserve Cuvee, including taxes.) You can also order the wine directly from Blue Mountain, which offers free shipping on orders of six bottles or more. The winery has opted to keep its tasting room closed for the 2020 to protect employee health and safety and has curated several wine packs of premium bottles for at-home tastings; each package has its own YouTube video with insider insights.

      You can pick up everything from either of les amis du fromage’s two locations (843 East Hastings Street or 1752 West 2nd Avenue) during the three days before the event.

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