BC Wines in Fiji

Bula from the Jean Michel Cousteau resort in warmest, sunniest Fiji, where I am enjoying a grand prize trip won at last year’s BC Travel Writer’s Association gala, compliments of Tourism Fiji. When faced with the prospect of a week in the South Pacific, my first thought was: what wine should I bring?

The Jean Michel Cousteau resort is the perfect destination for a wine writer. Apart from being a very authentic Fijian experience, this place is a foodie’s delight, presenting a menu of beautifully presented three course meals on a fourteen-day rotation. So, if you stay two weeks you never eat the same thing twice. On Tuesdays, they prepare a Fijian feast that includes pork, chicken and lamb cooked in the lovo, a fire made in a pit in the ground lined with heat-resistant stones. Coconut milk is a key ingredient here and is made fresh daily. So with that in mind, I brought a bottle each of JoieFarm Riesling, Pentage Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, and chardonnays from Quails' Gate and Sandhill.

JMC’s Chef Raymond prepared a special menu to pair with these and we enjoyed them with two of the resort managers, Bart and Lindey, an Australian couple with keen palates for great wine.

Under a bright moon and tiki torches, we started with Kokando – walu fish drenched in coconut milk, Fiji lime, onions and chilies – and paired it with the fresh, off-dry JoieFarm 2009 Reisling. It was an inspired match, with the vivid lime flavours latching onto the Fiji lime, and the mouthwatering acidity cutting through the coconut milk like a sharp machete. The wine has a clean, juicy finish that works like a sorbet palate cleanser and leaves notes of tropical fruit and flowers.

For the Pentage Sauvignon/Semillon, Bart had the idea to pair it with local Savusavu Bay crayfish and vegetarian palusami - taro leaves saturated with coconut milk, onions, and tomato. That dish I love, with its soft texture and gentle balance of sweet and savory flavours. The Pentage, being a 2007, has gained complexity in the last couple of years, and along with its gooseberry and lime notes, had a nice herbal/grassiness that beautifully complimented the taro leaf and crayfish.

Both the Quails' Gate and Sandhill Chardonnays had ripe apple, vanilla and butterscotch notes, full bodies and long caramel finishes. They both paired nicely with our main course of filleted walu in a coconut milk sauce, taro chips and steamed otta with purple basil fresh from the resort garden. Big, rich wines for a big, rich dish. Perfect.

Vinaka (thank you) to everyone who showed us such a great time in Fiji.

Someday, I’ll be back.

Update 4/16/10: More on our Fiji adventure is now posted at Tasting Room Confidential.