Wineries change hands as the original owners decide to either retire or otherwise move on. The new owners then have to live up to or surpass the reputation of that winery. I was invited to a winemaker’s dinner at Provence Marinaside with the winery being BC’s Fairview Cellars. Fairview Cellars was taken over by husband and wife team, Danielle and Dermott Hutton, in 2022 with Danielle being the winemaker and Dermott the vineyard manager. Fairview Cellars is well known for high-quality, small-lot wines. The winery gained a strong reputation for its focus on Bordeaux-style red wines, emphasizing bold, age-worthy reds. Danielle worked with previous owner and winemaker, Bill Eggert, since 2019 so she learned about his style of winemaking.
We had a five-course menu with most of the Fairview Cellars wines made when Danielle worked at the winery. There was also an older red from 2014, which gave us an idea of the ageability of these wines.
The Menu
~~WELCOME~~
2022 FAIRVIEW CELLARS ROSÉ
Chicken Liver Parfait – brioche, fig chutney
~~FIRST COURSE~~
2023 FAIRVIEW CELLARS SAUVIGNON BLANC
Spiced Carrots – whipped goat cheese, toasted pistachio
~~SECOND COURSE~~
2021 FAIRVIEW CELLARS CHARDONNAY
Sablefish – sunchoke velouté, kale, house-cured bacon
~~THIRD COURSE~~
2022 FAIRVIEW CELLARS PINOT NOIR
Rabbit and Wild Mushroom Vol au Vent – rabbit and wild mushrooms in puff pastry
~~FOURTH COURSE~~
2021 FAIRVIEW CELLARS THE BEAR
Beef Tenderloin – broccolini, pomme dauphinois, red wine peppercorn jus
~~FIFTH COURSE~~
2014 FAIRVIEW CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Poached Pear and Blue Cheese Tart & Flavour Theory Artisinal Chocolates
The Wines
Before getting into the pairings, I’d like to tell you about the wines.
Fairview Cellars Rosé 2022 – a medium-intensity clear orange colour. Nice fresh strawberry aromas. Dry, medium acidity with a light prickle on your tongue. Nice savoury notes and strawberry flavours. Some bitterness. The acidity keeps this wine fresh. 
Fairview Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2023 – It has a light nettle nose. It is dry, medium-minus body, soft with a lightly round mouthfeel. Green fruit and nettles with touches of honey and peach. Some chile pepper flavour with air. Medium-plus acidity. Medium length. Tasty.
Fairview Cellars Chardonnay 2021 – A medium-intensity toasty and pineapple nose. Medium-plus both with a smooth, thick mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Pineapple flavour with medium oakiness. A long with with a peppery finish.
Fairview Cellars Pinot Noir 2022 – It has a medium garnet colour. Medium-intensity red cherries with a touch of floral. Floral and tart red fruit flavours with a touch of sweet spices. This wine is dry with a lean mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity and medium-minus acidity. Medium length.
Fairview Cellars The Bear 2021 – This is probably the most well-known wine from Fairview Cellars. This wine has a medium-intensity, deep, black fruit aromas plus a touch of capsicum and oak. It is dry, medium body, lightly round. Ripe black fruit flavours plus butteriness. Medium acidity and tannins.
Fairview Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 – It has medium-intensity deep aromas of sweet black fruits and cassis. It has a lighter body with a light mouthfeel. Cassis, pepperiness and a touch of capsicum on the palate. Light tannins. Higher acidity. This wine can still age!
Wine Style and Labels
It will be interesting to see if Danielle and Dermott will continue to keep the same wine style for Fairview Cellars or may make some adjustments in style and/or grape varieties they will use in the future. They did mention that they are not making any wine for this 2024 vintage and that their Cabernet Sauvignon vines need replanting. I do not know if there will be any other changes, like planting new, more cold-resistant grape varieties.
They made one change so far; to change the design of the wine labels. The new design on the left is clean and modern.
The Pairings
Chicken Liver Parfait – brioche, fig chutney: was very creamy with the chutney spice prominent. This was a complimentary pairing but could be better if the chutney spice was a little lighter in intensity, which would let the strawberry flavours from the 2022 Rosé wine come out more.
Spiced Carrots – whipped goat cheese, toasted pistachio: This dish was light and creamy. It had a mix of nutty and lightly salty flavours. The carrots were lightly crunchy. The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc made a complementary pairing with the acidity and green fruit flavours of the wine meshing with the creaminess of this dish.
Sablefish – sunchoke velouté, kale, house-cured bacon: The sablefish was smooth, soft, with some fattiness from the fish. The bacon adds texture and salt to the dish. I was getting a buttery flavour and light oak from the 2021 Chardonnay working with all the components of the dish.
Rabbit and Wild Mushroom Vol au Vent – rabbit and wild mushrooms in puff pastry: This was my favourite pairing. The rabbit was slow-cooked then shredded and mixed with the wild mushroom on the bottom of the vol au vent with a few cubes of rabbit on the top of the dish. The pastry was crispy and there was smoky, savoury, and salty components in the dish. It was a perfect pairing with the tart red fruit and acidity of the 2022 Pinot Noir.
Beef Tenderloin – broccolini, pomme dauphinois, red wine peppercorn jus: The beef tenderloin was soft to the bit and had some smokiness. I liked the red wine sauce bringing some bright acidity and flavour to the dish. The pomme dauphinois (potato) was creamy and worked nicely with the 2021 The Bear, Fairview’s signature red wine blend. The drying tannins in the wine did affect the softness of the beef tenderloin to a degree, but overall a tasty pairing.
Poached Pear and Blue Cheese Tart & Flavour Theory Artisinal Chocolates: For dessert, you get light bitterness and creaminess from the blue cheese in the tart, plus some of the gritty texture (a good thing) from the pear. When paired with the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon I mainly picked up the taste of the tart with the cassis flavour of the wine. The chocolates were dark and luscious on their own and did not add anything of note when paired with the wine.
Thank you to Executive Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia and his team for their top-quality dishes. I’ve eaten here many times for lunch and for dinner and happily recommend that you enjoy their dishes. Thank you to Nancy Wong PR for inviting me to attend.
Where Can I Buy These Wines?
You can purchase these wines online via the Fairview Cellars website.