Sustainable Seafood at Pescatores

Pescatores is moving forward, into the future, with a focus on fresh, sustainable food. Our new fresh sheets will be designed to showcase the best, sustainable seafood available in Victoria. We are concerned not only with the quality of ingredients and product we deliver to our guests, but with our impact on the eco-system, as well. You can actually taste the difference.

Here’s what we’ve learned about changing our perspective, we hope you’ll join us.

Sustainability:

“The movement towards sustainable seafood is about solutions for our oceans. Choosing sustainable seafood is a simple and effective action that you can take every time you eat at a restaurant or buy seafood. Whether you are an individual shopping for your family, a chef buying for your restaurant, or a supplier sourcing from fishing communities, your choices count. Voting with your wallet sends a strong signal to government and industry leaders, telling them that you support responsible stewardship of our natural marine resources.”

Overfishing is the greatest threat to our oceans today. The world’s marine life is quickly being depleted. An estimated 90% of all large, predatory fish are already gone from the world’s oceans. A recent scientific study predicted a world-wide fisheries collapse by 2048. The only solution is to turn back from the brink, and to begin consuming seafood in a sustainable manner.
Sustainable seafood can be defined as species that are caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-term health and stability of that species, as well as the greater marine ecosystem.

Categories that determine ocean friendly fish:
1. Abundant and resilient to fishing pressures
2. Well managed with a comprehensive management plan based on current research
3. Harvested in a method that ensures limited by-catch on non-target and endangered species

4. Harvested in ways that limit damage to marine or aquatic habitats and negative interactions with other species

http://www.oceanwise.ca/about/sustainable-seafood
http://www.seachoice.org/

Suppliers and Product for current menu fresh sheet:
Sooke Trout
Albion – Grey Cod, Arctic Char, Hokaido Scallops
Sysco – Naturally raised Spring Salmon

**We try to use products/fish that are only in season or retain the seafood friendly choice from the guidelines listed above.

   FEBRUARY’S FEATURED WINES: BURROWING OWL

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is one of BC’s leading wineries, both from the perspective of the premium wines it produces, from the more than 100,000 tourists that visit the winery each year and from the leadership it has shown in embracing an environmentally responsible program from the top to the bottom of its operations.


Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is located on Black Sage Road south of Oliver, B.C. The infrastructure consists of a winery that produces approximately 30,000 cases of wine each year, a 60-seat restaurant, an 11 room Guest House including a 25-meter pool, an all season hot tub, and 136 acres of producing vineyard on the 140 acre property. Burrowing Owl Estate Winery has been awarded numerous awards for each of the 8 wine varieties that it produces

Under the leadership, direction and vision of Proprietors Jim and Midge Wyse, there has been a commitment to environmental and ecological sustainability since the inception of Burrowing Owl Vineyards in the early 90’s. This is evident from the name that was chosen for the vineyard when it was first purchased in 1993 – Burrowing Owl Vineyard. The Wyse’s chose the name when they learned that the little owl may have lived in the area at one time, but has since become an endangered species and is only rarely found in the region today. As a counter measure, winery patrons are asked to donate $2 for each wine tasting and all proceeds are given to the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC for their captive release program for burrowing owls and to SORCO (South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls). In 2007, more than $50,000 was donated to these two organizations.

BURROWING OWL VARIETALS AVAILABLE AT PESCATORES

Tasting Notes:

Generous aromas of pear, apple, and honeysuckle, tinged with hints of lychee and exotic spices. On the palate, the apple, pear and honeysuckle aromas continue on, providing beautiful intense, expressive flavours, with a gentle minerality that ensures the wine finishes clean and fresh.

Pescatores Wine Guru suggests pairing Pinot Gris with:

~Our Famous Seafood Salad & Fresh Dungeness Crab Dinner~


Tasting Notes:

A dark plum core with a bright fuchsia rim give a sultry, elegant appearance to this vintage of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery’s Cabernet Franc. The elegance continues on the nose with chalky chocolate overtones that welcome you like an old friend, and an abundance of truffle and forest floor characters with a slight hint of ripe black cherries.

The chocolate and forest floor continue on the palate with silky soft tannins and a voluptuous finish. The balanced acid will carry the wine for the foreseeable future. Decanting is recommended for the greatest enjoyment. Drinkable 2011 through 2018.

Pescatores Wine Guru suggests pairing Cabernet Franc with:

~Filet Mignon with Chef’s demi-glace & Fondue for Two featuring three Callebaut Chocolates~


Tasting Notes:

The 2008 growing season was cooler than normal for the Okanagan Valley. This resulted in a slower ripening of the Pinot Noir fruit, generating fantastic varietal character. The wine has a nice bright terracotta core with a raspberry rim appearance. The nose consists of red forest fruit, and subtle earth tones long associated with Pinot Noir. On the palate, the earth and forest fruit continue to dominate with refined silky, elegant tannins and balanced acidity. The wine has a beautiful mid-palate and such persistent flavour that you will not want to share it.

This wine will drink well until 2013. Only 2,214 cases were produced.

Pescatores Wine Guru suggests pairing Pinot Noir with:

~Seafood Platter with House Smoked Fish & Scallop Carbonara~


Tasting Notes:

The 2008 merlot vintage features rich aromas of dark cherry, gooseberry, cassis and additional red berry fruits; it also shows nice mineral flavours including slate and stone essences, along with hints of nutmeg, spice and mushrooms. The wine has a dark plum core with a vibrant ruby red rim. A noticeably full mouthfeel with silky tannins, balanced acidity and an elegant finish, ensure good age ability. Red berry fruit flavours with hints of tobacco and dark chocolate persist on the palate along with subtle oak characteristics. This wine can be enjoyed in the next 6 – 9 months, preferably with decanting. Recommended cellaring is 5 to 7 years.

Pescatores Wine Guru suggests pairing Merlot with:

~House Smoked Albacore Tuna Loin & Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon~


Tasting Notes:

A deep, dark purple core with a vivid violet rim greet you with beautiful aromas of cassis, black currants, blackberry, truffles and complex earth tones with a hint of tobacco and clove. Tannins are silky and elegant with a rich ripe full and round palate. The earth tones, cassis, currants and truffles continue onto the palate, with hints of chocolate and ripe red fruits leaving a clean, long finish. Drink mid 2011 through 2020, with longer aging possible with proper cellaring. Decanting is recommended for optimal enjoyment.

Pescatores Wine Guru suggests pairing Meritage with:

~Beef Carpaccio & Our Weekly Surf And Turf Selection~

   Pearls of Wisdom: Symbolism, Myths & Legends of the Oyster

As you’re probably gathering with this blog, there’s more to the half shell than meets the eye!  The oyster, and its partner the pearl, have been a part of folklore around the world for centuries.  In fact, the marine mollusc has more of a varied and symbolistic past than you may think, and we’ve ventured deep to find it!

Ancient Mayans and Olmecs used the concept of an empty oyster shell to express the concept of Zero. oyster is an empty shell, but also a giver of life, which produces a living thing or another ‘being’ almost magically, much like Zero.

Oysters and their pearls were once held sacred by the Celts.  The Cauldron of Regeneration is said to have been lined with pearls, and when Morgana  Goddess  of the Sea  appeared in the guise of the moon, she was called the ‘Pearl of the Sea’.  In fact, pearls were believed to have been created from moonlight and water, and so should only be worn at night.

Did you ever wonder just where the notion that oysters are an aphrodisiac came from?  As the story goes – the Greek love goddess Aphrodite rose out of the sea in an oyster shell, and the “guilty by association” rule kicked in for oysters, which century after century have gained by this association with Aphrodite the reputation of enhancing the feelings of sexual desire and performance of those mortals who eat them!


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