Pairing Two Township 7 Wines With Sous Chef by Cardinal™ Chicken Tikka MasalaPR SAMPLE 

Food and wine pairings can be exciting, with each dish and wine bringing out aspects of the other.  I will be taking on four different food and wine pairings, with this pairing of Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude wines with a Chicken Tikka Masala from Canadian, Cardinal Meats.

Sous Chef by Cardinal™ entrées, were created by Executive Chef, Caleb Lobraico. Chef Caleb is a Red Seal-certified culinary professional and the Executive Chef at Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd.

“We are thrilled to finally share these five exceptional creations with our customers,” said Brent Cator, President and Owner, Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd. “By incorporating Cardinal Meats’ Safe Sous Vide™ cooking technology, we’re empowering culinary enthusiasts to enjoy perfectly heated, gourmet meals with ease. Each product has been thoughtfully crafted by our Executive Chef Caleb, to meet the needs of both food lovers and culinary professionals, ensuring an unforgettable at-home dining experience, without the delivery fees.”  Cardinal Meats is a proudly Canadian, family-owned company with a 100-year legacy of
innovation, quality, and leadership in the meat industry.

Township 7 Interlude wines is a new line of wines, brought about from necessity due to the 2024 winter damage to BC’s Okanagan vineyards.  They sought out premium, sustainably farmed vineyards in Washington and California.  The Pinot Noir grapes for the Rosé wine come from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, California, while the Pinot Gris grapes were sourced from Clos CheValle, a sustainably farmed vineyard perched above Lake Chelan in Washington. The grapes are brought up to BC where they are fermented and bottled.

Let me tell you about these wines, the Chicken Tikka Masala, and the food and wine pairing.

My Wine and Food Tasting Notes

Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Pinot Gris 2024 (BC $26.97)

Winemaker’s notes, “The grapes were hand-harvested and primarily fermented in stainless steel to preserve its bright, delicate fruit character, with a single French barrique added for subtle texture and complexity. The result is a vibrant, fruit-driven wine with layered depth and a crisp, refreshing finish.”

Appearance: A clear, medium-plus intensity peach colour in the glass.
Nose: Medium-plus aromas of ripe and dried stone fruits, plus some bramble leaf. Medium intensity aromas after decanting.
Palate:  Dry with medium-plus body, and a smooth soft, round, mouthfeel.  Higher acidity leaving a light acidic prickle in your mouth.  Again, a mix of fresh and dried stone fruit flavours, with peach most prominent.  Some pepperiness, a touch of honey, and stoniness on the palate. After decanting, the wine has a leaner mouthfeel and lighter body.  No change to the fruit flavours.
Finish:  A medium-plus to long length, finishing dry, with stone fruits (peach) flavours, some pepperiness, a touch of honey and some bitterness.  A leaner finish after decanting.

A wine with fresh and bright stone fruit flavours.  No need to decant, as decanting, just makes the aromas and weight of the wine a little lighter.

Rating: – Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Pinot Gris 2024 shows a clear peach-toned hue and enjoyable aromas of ripe and dried stone fruits, layered with a touch of bramble. The palate is dry with fresh acidity, showcasing a medley of stone fruit, notably peach, complemented by hints of honey, pepperiness, and stony minerality. After decanting, the wine takes on a leaner structure, while the fruit flavours remains intact.

Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Rosé 2024 (BC $29.97)

Winemaker’s notes, the grapes were “Harvested at night to preserve freshness, the fruit was immediately destemmed and cold soaked for 24 hours during transport in refrigerated trucks to maintain vibrant colour and aromatics.  After a gentle press, the juice was fermented slowly at cool temperatures in stainless steel, ensuring bright, expressive flavours and fresh, lifted aromatics in the final wine.”

Appearance:  This wine has a medium-plus, bright cherry colour.
Nose:  It has medium intensity aromas of rhubarb, red fruit and red cherries, plus a touch of strawberries. Lighter aromas after decanting.
Palate:  It is dry with medium body, and a round, smooth mouthfeel.  A mix of tart and sweet cherries, red fruit, rhubarb and some strawberry flavours.  Higher acidity leaving a light prickle in your mouth.  Some bitterness that gets stronger toward the finish.  Light, soft tannins.  The wine feels softer, with lower acidity, less tart fruit and some butteriness on the palate after decanting.
Finish:  A medium-plus length finishing with red cherry flavours, a touch of pepperiness and some bitterness.  Light tannins on the finish.  A rounder finish and maybe a little more peppery after decanting.

No need to decant this wine as decanting makes the aromas lighter, the flavours less tart and lower acidity on the palate.

Rating: Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Rosé 2024 presents a bright cherry hue and aromas of rhubarb, red fruit, and cherries, accented by a hint of strawberry. On the palate, it offers a mix of tart and sweet cherry and red berry flavours with higher acidity and light tannins, finishing with a touch of pepperiness and bitterness. After decanting, the wine has lighter aromas, shows a rounder texture, lower acidity, and some butteriness.

Sous Chef by Cardinal™ Chicken Tikka Masala (suggested MSRP is $15.99 (perfect for two))

The Chicken Tikka Masala is pre-cooked sous vide, so you only need to heat it up with whatever method you choose. The chicken and the rice come in two separate packages.  Each package needs to be heated separately.

From the www.souschef.ca website, I saw the following instructions to heat up this dish. (I should note that the amount of time in the microwave would depend on the wattage of the microwave.  You may want to start with half the time, test it, then add more time as appropriate.)

The Chicken Tikka Masala had proper bite-sized, soft chunks of chicken.  Nice aromatics.  Lightly spiced with a touch of pepperiness, not salty, and has a creamy texture.  The cumin flavour became more apparent at the end of the bite.  The rice was al dente.  There were some herbs mixed in, but I didn’t notice their flavour.  A really tasty dish that I would buy.

The Pinot Gris wine made a complementary pairing.  I enjoyed the acidity balancing out with the creaminess of the dish.  I also liked the stone fruit flavour of the wine with the spices in the dish.  Neither the chicken or the wine overpowered each other.  A perfect pairing.

The Rosé wine was also a complementary pairing.  The acidity from the wine worked with the creaminess of the dish.  I liked the red fruit and rhubarb flavours with the flavours of the spices in the dish.  The bitterness in the wine diminished when enjoyed with the chicken.  There was a little pepperiness from both the wine and the dish together, but still very mild.  An excellent pairing.

For more information on the Chicken Tikka Masala, visit www.cardinalmeats.com and www.souschef.ca

Where Can I Buy These Wines and the Chicken Tikka Masala?

Both wines are available for purchase from the Township 7 website:

The Chicken Tikka Masala is available through Sobeys, Walmart, and Costco stores.