Now that I’m looking for them, the number of wine-related events across BC is astounding. Whether an individual is looking for education or a pairing of food and wine, there is always something to choose from. For example, Hester Creek Estate Winery in the Okanagan has a seminar series going, with ‘Understanding Your Palate’ coming January 28th. This event features Sommelier Jay Drysdale, VQA store liason. I don’t know what he will break out for the tasting, but one bottle on the website caught my eye: the Trebbiano. Not only have I never heard of this wine before, but the tasting notes interest me: melon, honeysuckle, white peach and lavender in the nose; creamy with tropical fruit in the mouth. My kind of wine, and under $20 Cdn per/bottle, though only 1,000 cases produced. Definitely the topic for an upcoming tasting and article.
For a Victoria wine event, try ‘Shopping for Wine 101′ with Robin Granewell. Learn to choose, pair, and identify wine, and taste a bit too. Cost is $25, 6:30 to 8:00pm. Take this opportunity to plan how you will fill your wine cellar. Victoria is a beautiful city, the best-known area of Vancouver Island (the far west coast, with Tofino, Uclulet and Long Beach, is also stunning if less rich in modern cultural monuments). The Natural History Museum is a wonderful place for all ages to explore British Columbia through the centuries, including their rich First Nations history. We like the bug museum where my kids held a praying mantas and flinched at the sight of a bird-eating spider. They also have some creepy bug-related gifts.
Which is when a glass of wine will likely come in handy to steady the nerves. There is a harbour in Victoria, so be careful to go there first, drink after. There are massive squid in those depths which are scary enough viewed from behind glass when one is completely sober.

California boasts so many interesting things to see and do, no matter your age or interests. With beaches, Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, wine country, you are spoiled for choice in California. I remember visiting as a teenager, my first and only visit so far, and thinking that California was like a giant playground. Mickey Mouse, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm, Montezuma’s Revenge: I didn’t want to go home.
One event you may not hear about from your travel agent is the ‘Unified Wine and Grape Symposium’, unless your agent is an avid collector with an ample wine cellar. We didn’t hear about it when we were going because my brother and I were under-age, but we’re old enough to go now. This annual event held in Sacramento is a place for professionals to share their knowledge and information on all aspects of the wine industry, from vineyard to vintner and beyond. Professionals don’t get to have all the fun, however, as more than 11,000 visitors come to the four-day event where more than 550 vendors are also set-up.
The Symposium is ideally situated just 20 minutes from the Sacramento airport, quality restaurants, hotels, museums, the State Capitol, and more. On the other hand, if you were to visit from, say, Northern British Columbia, justing sitting on the ground near your car would be a gift in this sunny state.
I must confess, however, that however much I love wine, California always makes me think of Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. I wonder if the Symposium has a funfair.

Returning to the Palate Press for an update on their ‘Wine Auction for Haiti’ has yielded some impressive results so far. Already, Lot 3, ‘Twisted Oak Vertical’, has sold for $350. This is $100 more than the retail value of this unique offering. Lot 3 is a vertical of all versions of ‘The Spaniard’ from 2002 up to 2007. Twisted Oak offered this Lot with free shipping, an added bonus. The highest bid for Sara Nelson print ‘Wine Goddess’, Lot 5, is $300 so far. Watch this one: at $500 retail value, this could be a great gift for someone.
Rodney Strong ‘Rockaway’, 6.0L, Lot 2, currently has a $350 bid. I wonder if anyone will get near the $600 value of this donation. Meanwhile, the 2004 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select 3.0L, valued at $1032, is also hot. The last bid currently stands at $1100, with bidding due to close soon on this item.
Think Wine Marketing gave away one of only 18 Radio-Coteau Savoy Anderson Valley magnums ever made. Worth $125.00, the bidding currently holds at $200.
One item which really got my attention is the pairing of two wine cellar items: ‘Vina Valoria Rioja’, Spain 1968, and ‘Balbach, Warsteiner Klostergarten Trockenbeerenauslese’, Germany 1976. Together, Lot 19 is worth $700. Right now they can boast a bid of $400. The latter name alone made me pause for a long time, and certainly had me double-checking my spelling very carefully.
What all of these donations and bids shows is how emotionally involved we are over the devestation in Haiti, especially when seen as part of a larger trend. Today in our local mall, kids from one grade 5 class were selling homemade cupcakes for Haiti. Their Saturday off and these kids are spending it trying to raise money for people they’ve never met, yet feel connected to.
Twenty-five cents for a cupcake; $400 for a bottle of wine: whatever you do, however much you raise, however much money you donate, it all adds up, so keep going. They’re going to need every gift you can give.

According to Tom Stevenson, ‘French wine regions are a fortunate accident of geography, climate, and terroir. No other wine making country … has such a wide range of cool climates’ which has allowed their winemakers to produce ‘the entire spectrum of classic wine styles.’ Go to the table of contents of ‘Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, 4th Edition’, edited by Stevenson, and you will find that France takes up 207 pages. Eleven regions are represented there with a number of sub-regions as well. With 89 pages, the entire Americas comes in second, with Australia, New Zealand and Asia placing third at 68. In other words, a country the size of Columbia requires more wine referencing than the Americas, the Antipodes and Asia put together. When it comes to the Canadian part of this comparison, I’m certain that the many northern, mountainous, and northern mountainous regions which barely get above 20C at any time in the year have something to do with the lack of vineyards by comparison with France. While we have the wood for many a wine rack, it’s better used to keep us warm. As for everywhere else, my knowledge is too limited to say much except: wow.
France has its own version of the Canadian VQA, only older. Their Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) was formed in 1935 and regulates the origin and quality of wine meant produced in France. This is not the earliest such organization. Sotheby’s fine encyclopedia notes similar controls in Chianti in 1716 and in Rioja in 1560 as well as the INAO. Wine has clearly been important to European culture for a very long time. Anyway, France seems to have more to regulate judging by their 207 pages.
In spite of less than 100 years of INAO controls, it would seem that winemaking traditions run deep and to propose a change to the way wines are distinguished has been controversial. As with other organizations, according to Stevenson the INAO was no longer considered a guarantee of quality. I can remember many jabs at the quality of French wine in different media over the years, even a children’s cartoon (though the name escapes me). Today, though, there is still that stereotype which goes back a long way, telling us that French is best. Perhaps this is partly caused by our association between France and Champagne, and our cultural connection between Champagne and high-class. All I know is this: there is a lot of French wine out there to try, and I’d like to get some into my cellar. Watch this space.

Public service groups and charities always need volunteers. These include individuals who make and serve food in soup kitchens; minister to the emotional needs of the hungry or the homeless; support workers on crisis lines; administrators and door-to-door people with pledge forms. Charities also need gifts of money from supporters who, for whatever reason, don’t get involved but who are glad to combine pleasure with philanthropy. Without them, food banks and shelters would go bust.
This is why something like ‘The Main Event’ on Vancouver BC’s refurbished Main Street is such a good way to make money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. I mean, sure, chowing down on gourmet food while people starve is ironic, but patrons are going to do that anyway. Why not make their money count? I’m involved in a fundraiser right now and the nail-biter is: will people show-up? On the other hand, a venue where your clientele is already there makes for an effective fundraiser.
Restaurants all along this newly chic strip of Vancouver, with its art galleries and specialty shops, are offering prix fixe 3-course meals for $25-$45. Patrons alone, however, cannot make an event like this work. ‘The Main Event’ needs sponsors also.
Among these are two award-winning wineries: Peller Estates and Sandhill. Sandhill was recently voted winery of the year by Canada’s National Wine Magazine, Wine Access. On top of that accolade were 21 medals, including White Wine of the Year for their Small Lot 2008 Viognier and Red Wine of the Year for their Small Lot 2007 Syrah. Peller Estates, like Sandhill, has won numerous awards, among them Gold medals from Tasters Guild International for two Family Series wines: 2008 Riesling and 2007 Cabernet Merlot.
There is also one winery I don’t know much about, but which has a very interesting name: Funky Llama. I wonder if their wines are as funky as their name?
The Main Event started on the 18th of January, but there’s still time to get to Vancouver and enjoy some mild winter weather until the event closes on the 24th. Your wine cellar can do without you this weekend for a good cause.