The Creation of the Orofino Long Table

historical photo of the bridge where the beams were first used

For a couple of years now Virginia and I have been wanting to create a dining space next to our wood-fired oven and the winery. That outdoor space is perfect for relaxing with friends and enjoying company until the wee hours of the morning. It has seen a fair number of late night parties. We needed a table though. A proper long table that would mean something to our family and stand for decades to come. A couple of months back we found exactly what we were looking for and chronicled the construction of the table. We hope to share it with all those who want to pass some time here at Orofino.   

6 beams for an 8 foot ceiling

Hauling it to the mill. 18.5feet x16 inches x 8 inches

Doug Crow sawing the beam in half

Murray Fonteyne, owner of the terrific Scout Vineyard that produces some of our best grapes is currently in the midst of tearing down his small house on his property to make space for something more suitable for his family of 4. This old house was made from old  first growth fir beams that were salvaged from the original Chopaka bridge that was constructed in 1907 and destroyed in the flood of 1972. The bridge spanned the Similkameen River. Murray carefully kept the beams intact and picked out a beautiful 18.5 foot board for me to make my table from. 



Sanding is a dirty word

raw boards



Half of the legs
 getting assembled

Its good to know a guy with a big saw when you want to make a table. Doug Crow is that guy. He helped cut the beam into 2 identical boards 4" thick. I then sanded the boards, sanded the boards and then sanded the boards some more. From there, 2 coats of stain and 3 coats of a clearcoat finish to prep the boards for mounting to the legs. Our friend Marc LePage worked with us to design the big beefy legs made from 3" tubular steel. Marc's a pro welder and designed the legs for function and fashion. The boards were then bolted onto the legs and we had our dream long table ready for friends, family and functions.



Finished table

The inaugural soiree

 
 






New Haircut...

Summer is in full swing! Following a little rain in the spring, we have had a hot summer, with temperatures reaching upwards of 40 degrees Celsius! Despite various forecasts for plenty of rain, as usual our little spot on the Cawston bench has remained relatively unscathed, allowing us to control the moisture levels with our drip irrigation. A recent watering will be the last one for a long time, as we begin to stress the vines. This heat means there has been considerable growth in a short period of time, and has kept us busy this month tucking the shoots inside our top wires. Inevitably, there are always some or many shoots that grow outside the top wires or are blown over in the wind and it becomes our task to tuck these shoots back in and clip them in place. This ensures the shoots stand straight and do not snap in the wind. It is a lengthy process and our shoulders might pay the price, but the vineyard cleans up nicely. Next step, hedging. I'm in the thick of it now, so to speak. Call me a geeky farmer, but after all the tucking and hedging is done, it makes me happy to see it all cleaned up, like a brand new haircut.

Orofino's Four Days in Montreal...

The connection to the Montreal food scene started about 4 years ago when a couple of young restaurateurs stopped into our tasting room to try our wines. Derek Dammann and Alex Cruz of the tres chic restaurant DNA (Derek 'n Alex) were on a wine buying trip to BC and so it was all business. What so impressed us was that they were focussing on Canadian product only. Not the norm in the French wine dominated restaurant culture of Quebec. They had even gone so far as to get their own wine import license to sidestep the bureaucracy of the governing body of liquor in Quebec - the SAQ. They liked what they tasted and bought lots of Orofino to share with their customers.

Fast forward 4 years and we find ourselves working with the affable Eric-Gabriel Beauchamp who owns a small wine import agency in Quebec.  He has represented Orofino for a few years now and had invited us to Montreal numerous times to visit clients. He set up an itinerary and we all flew out to promote the wines. Virginia and myself were accompanied by Aaron (assistant winemaker) and his wife Carly (our new wine club manager) for a 4 day tour of food and wine in Montreal.  The idea was to have fun and eat well in perhaps North America's most exciting culinary city at the moment but mix in some Orofino business at the same time. We visited some tasty spots such as the Relais and Chateau Restaurant Europea, Pullman Bar with a killer wine list, and Olive and Gourmando where the pastries were delicious. Eric had set up winemakers dinners at the restaurants of two of our best clients in Montreal.

L'AUBERGE SAINT-GABRIEL


Virginia and John with
Sommelier and Canadian wine "freak"
 Francois



The art of the L'Auberge (yes, 2 moose)

A L'Auberge Plate  

The first night we enjoyed a terrific 5 course meal at the venerable L'Auberge Saint-Gabriel. This is a fine dining establishment in Old Montreal that is currently owned by the same guy who owns Cirque du Soleil. It also happens to be the first registered inn in North America (1788) and also holds the first liquor licence handed out. The place is incredible and we wondered what stories the old stone walls and big wooden beams could tell. Every course was terrific and we had a hard time picking the best of the night. Francois was a great host and he spoke so highly of Orofino and the Canadian wine scene in general. He is a big supporter and loves to show off what we can do.

MAISON PUBLIQUE

Maison Publique

Derek and John

The next night Eric-Gabriel arranged to have another Orofino-focussed dinner at the super cool Maison Publique. This was a very comfortable evening as this was Derek Dammann's latest project in Montreal. He partnered up with Jamie Oliver to produce this amazing little room that focusses on Canadian comfort food. Brilliant. This was a much more casual affair than the night before and it had its own charms. We loved the family style servings and elevated dishes that were simple yet just so perfect. The big plate of braised veal with green peas and the sticky salty caramel pudding (which makes me salivate just thinking about it) were 2 examples of what Derek does. Classic comfort food that makes people smile.
The rest of our time was spent visiting some SAQ stores where I learned the complexities of their government system of liquor distribution. To be honest it really has me shaking my head as it seems the bureaucracy is so entrenched it cripples those trying to bring in something unique or something that they can get excited about. The other disappointing trend is the shrinking shelf space for Canadian wines in SAQ stores. Very few spots are available on the shelves reserved for hundreds of European, especially French wines. We met some of the managers who understand and promote Canadian wines. They are few in number but very passionate.