The weather forecast for last Saturday in Victoria warned that a snow-storm was imminent and that there could be winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour.

I decided the wise thing to do would be to get my Christmas shopping done early and then buy a bottle of wine to help see me through what could be a scary night. I feared there could be blizzard conditions with trees uprooted and probable power outages. A good rich B.C. red would provide some welcome comfort.

Before heading home I stopped at the Wine Barrel the beautifully appointed BC VQA store conveniently located in the heart of downtown on Broughton just off Douglas.

The Wine Barrel is a brilliant shop where you will find all of the best B.C. wines and anything and everything to do with the enjoyment of wine.

I selected a Sumac Ridge 2005 Private Reserve Merlot ($15.95). I was home before the snow started falling and opened the merlot right away to give it some breathing time while I grilled a sirloin steak and baked a potato. I made a simple salad of celery, radishes, lettuce and cucumber topped with my favourite Italian dressing.

The predicted storm never did materialize but it had provided a good excuse for an evening indoors with the central heating keeping me warm on the outside while the merlot did the job on the inside.

Sumac Ridge Private Reserve 2005 Merlot has the flavours of black cherry and raspberries and is recommended to accompany steaks, chops and pasta.

Sumac Ridge only recommends it until the end of 2008, however, so I suggest you purchase the younger 2006 version or one of their many other fine Okanagan wines.