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SOSIMA OLIVERA – OAXACA MESCAL MASTER & FUNDRAISING FOR BC HOSPITALITY

THE SHOW

 Stay safe and well.  Please watch over each other and Be Kind.

 We start with the headlines.

During this pandemic restaurants and wineries have been shuttered. The hospitality business has been struck a dark blow.  Staff and employees of every description are now sheltered  at home, unable to work and watching their saving disappear. There’s bills to pay and families to feed.

This week we spotlight the first of  two support movements.

The HOPE Fund has been organized by the 44 wineries of  Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country!

Following the closure of tasting rooms, Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country launches the HOPE Fund (Helping Our People Eat), which will support up to 200 family meals per week for members of the region’s hurting hospitality industry, who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

In partnership with Oliver-based deli Oliver Eats Ltd., the fund will help them to produce fresh and frozen family meals that will help support those that are usually employed by wineries,  restaurants and other hospitality businesses in Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country (McIntyre Bluff to the Border) but are out of work due to the pandemic.

Oliver Eats

The organization’s 44 member wineries range from some of the largest winemaking brands in the Okanogan Valley to small, independent family run estates. All are donating to this cause in a unified offering of support to the people that help make this area so special.

One of our guests Derek Uhlemann, founder of Oliver Eats said:

“From farm hands to dishwashers, cellar hands to servers, these people are the backbone of our region and it would be shockingly different if they weren’t around.  The pandemic is a shared hardship and we wanted to support our workers with nutritious, delicious family meals.”

Derek Uhlemann

Guests are:

Jennifer Busmann – Executive Director of Oliver/Osoyoos Wine Country

https://www.oliverosoyoos.com/

Derek Uhlemann – Founder of Oliver Eats  https://olivereats.com/

Jeff van Geest – Executive Chef Miradoro Bistro at Tinhorn Creek https://www.tinhorn.com/Restaurant

https://www.hellobc.com/

Sosima Olivera – Mezcal Master (Oaxaca)

Sosima Olivera                                                 photo  credit: Kate Siobhan Mulligan

Mezcal FaneKantsini (@fanekantsini) 

Mezcal FaneKantsini – Home | Facebook

http://tlayudona.com.mx/

Our featured guest is Sosima Olivera. A Mescal Master in Oaxaca.

mezcal  tasting                                               photo credit: Kate Siobhan Mulligan,

Mezcal is the distant cousin of Tequila. For fans, the search for real mescal starts in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico  (wa-hawka)

The tasting session with Sosima in Oaxaca was a Christmas present from our daughter Kate.

Kates husband Pete was along for the tasting, to take some photos and make sure I found my way  home!

Sosima is a  third generation mezcal master from San Miguel Suchixtepec, Olivera’s grandfather and her father brought Sosima and her six brothers into the world of making mezcal from a young age. She was taught the art  by  her Grandmother and Aunt.

She’s proud of her chontal ancestry—the indigenous people of Oaxaca—and explains that her people are a peaceful and united group that continues to make mezcal in the traditional approach: not only for drinking, but to sustainably cultivate the plant for future generations to come.

Beautiful Oaxaca!                                        photo credit: Kate Siobhan Mulligan

I wanted to know about the nuances of mezcal.. much of what we see is industrially made by large distilleries.

How do we know what’s in the bottle?

Sosima takes us through the test you can do with any bottle of mezcal right in the store.

Watch the bubbles, not the label. The bubbles tell you the quality.

There’s a saying in Mexico about Mescal:

“When something is bad..the answer is mezcal

When something is good..the answer is mezcal”

FYI – In Mexico if you are about to go into labour ..the nurses pour you a ½ glass of mezcal to INDUCE LABOUR!!

The mezcals that Sosima poured for us were up to 8 years old. Glorious nose and taste.

                                                                              photo credit: Kate Siobhan Mulligan

Forget that sense of pepper hitting you between the eyes…

Deep flavours of caramel and spice. Vanilla and citrus. Wonderful texture.

No mix..no water..no ice..just Mezcal very neat!

Her primary label is:

Sosima and tdm

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Sosima Olivera  works with a collective in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca and sells to bars, restaurants, and mezcalerias in Oaxaca.

colours of Oaxaca!

Our interpreter is Jennifer Furlong from the company Tlayudona.  She specializes in “cultural experiences”

“Tlayudona provides unique and authentic experiences in Oaxaca based upon intercultural learning and mutual respect. The idea is that our hosts design the experiences that they offer, and our visitors are their guests.“

Pete and Jennifer

We thank her for the support and knowledge.

Please enjoy this..because we sure did.

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Jason and Naomi Priestley – at home LA on Zoom

Hospitality Hustle with Dana Lee Harris

Exec Director of BC Hospitality Foundation

Checking in with Fort Berens. (Lillooet)

Winemakers Cut – someone to watch.