Classical guitar music with a passion!  Flamenco en Rouge brings us festive, colourful and heartstring-tucking music by Spanish composers Rodrigo, Granados, Albéniz and more!

Alluring evening filled with blood-pumping music, dancing and singing!

Matthew Martin, guitar

Martine Durier-Copp, dance

Ruth Pacis, dance

Marina Roussakova, dance

Brenley Heaver, voice

Csaba Kanyasi, percussion

Download the Season 7 brochure HERE

WINE PAIRING

by Sommelier Dr. Paul Hines

Hines Ocean Sommelier & Tasting)

RED

Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2015 ($23): If Flamenco is the most famed music of Spain, then certainly Rioja complements it as its most famed wine appellation. I’ve selected a Reserva which refers primarily to its greater aging requirement before release. It is medium ruby in colour and with 5 years of maturing, the primary berry fruit flavours, while still present, are taking second stage to secondary and tertiary flavours of pipe tobacco and cedar. It has medium acidity, a solid tannic structure that is nicely integrated into the wine, and a long and pleasant finish. This Rioja is made in the traditional well-oaked style rather than the modernist fruit-forward style that is becoming more popular in region. I’m old-school so I prefer the complexity and severity of the more traditional styling. (NSLC General listing.)

WHITE

Guztave Lorentz Pinot Gris. Alsace, $25. I selected this because in the words of Artistic Director Mr. Jack Chen, this week’s concert “represents a harmony of layers of different complexities.” For me there are few white wines that provide the potential for the complex layering of the Pinot Gris grape. Never confuse this with a Pinot Grigio. Although they are the same varietal, the two are miles apart stylistically (Gris plays the violin, Grigio plays a fiddle). Pinot Gris is far more complex and nuanced, with flavours ranging from white flowers, to baking spice, to honey suckle and marmalade; the Guztave Lorentz is yellow-amber in colour, with a tiny hint of residual sugar (you’ll often see this referred to as “RS” in the biz). The hint of sweetness (and it really is only a hint) is balanced perfectly by the accompanying acidity. The wine has great mouth feel, with a rich, almost oily texture, and a generous finish. Pinot Gris is sometimes referred to as Alsace’s “red wine” due to its ability to stand up to hefty meals such as a Raclette or Choucroute Garnie.

Although this wine is available as a Port of Wines listing, it can be purchased at any of the following NSLC stores: The Port on Clyde St., 650 Portland St, Joe Howe Dr., Bayers Lake Park, Mill Cove Bedford, Larry Uteck, Fall River, Tantallon, New Minas, Bridgewater, Amherst, Antigonish, Yarmouth, and Sydney River. (Search the NSLC website under wine, enter the name, and when the wine appears, click on the “check store availability” button to see what stores have it stocked.) If you can’t make it to one of those stores, I recommend you go for the Kim Crawford Pinot Gris from New Zealand. It doesn’t have quite the depth (or the history) of the Gustave Lorentz, but it is nonetheless a very good Pinot Gris, shares much of the varietal character, and will be widely available across the country.

Cheers, and enjoy the show!

Paul