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Cornucopia

Nine-year-old Cornucopia offers an abundance of choice

Cornucopia, Whistler’s annual ode to food and wine, turns nine years old next month (Nov. 9-13) and you get the sense that locals are finally ready to acknowledge the beneficial long-term effects of the fall bash on the village.

Every time you open an international magazine or newspaper, someone is extolling the virtues of B.C. food and wine, yet Whistler has been slow to tout its culinary prowess and impressive wine lists as anything more than après ski.

Today, this late autumn getaway, first designed to bridge the gap between the end of the golf and hiking activities and the beginning of the ski season, has become an important pump primer for the winter season. It’s also a fabulous opportunity to get some of the biggest names in food and wine, including media, to come to Whistler.

What follows is our now annual insider’s guide to those events that offer both value and entertainment and, frankly, provide locals with a terrific opportunity to learn more about a subject that is now clearly as important to your well being as the depth of snow on the hills.

Unless otherwise mentioned all events take place at the Telus Whistler Conference Centre.

House Party

has become a prime time event where you can hang out with visiting vintners, sip on a wide range of wine and/or beer and relax to music. This year, famed Vancouver eatery Memphis Blues Barbeque House will be supplying its signature pulled pork sandwiches. Organizers are promising the evening will be "a tribute to the wine-drenched film, ‘Sideways’." Are they planning a merlot/pinot noir showdown? Personally, I prefer riesling with my barbecue pork. Nov. 9 from 7 to 9:30 p.m., $49.

New to Cornucopia in 2005 is A Serious Tasting for the Serious Set . If you want to taste the way the trade does, this is the tasting for you. The lights are up and the tasting tables will feature the "Top 25 Wines of Cornucopia" as chosen by a panel of experts earlier this fall. No food will be served. Nov. 10 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., $65.

ARTrageous

is a great example of a maturing Cornucopia that is reaching farther afield. Presented by the Whistler Arts Council, the 10th Annual Art Bash features emerging and established local artists in an evening of exciting live art, music, roving performers and of course wine. Nov. 10 from 9 p.m. to midnight, $15. (You can also drop by all day from 11:30 to 6:30 p.m. when the room is open free to the public.)

Vancouver food and wine writer Tim Pawsey and a panel of chefs will guide you through which wines to pair with Asian, Indian, Thai, and fusion influenced foods. Grapes in Heat includes small plates of bites to sample with an international selection of wines. Nobody does small plates better than this corner of the world and when matched with the perfect wine it’s a journey not to be missed. Nov. 11 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., $49.

I will be presiding over the Battle of the Sexes: An Interactive Blind Tasting with my radio partner and food maven Kasey Wilson. This time we are pitting men against the women in two panels of four. Everyone will taste blind, including the audience who will be seated in men and woman only sections where they will be allowed to assist the appropriate panel. If you ever wanted to spot the riesling or blurt out the name of a recognized producer (in the glass) this will be your chance. It should be a tasting to remember. Nov. 11 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., $49.

Sammy Piccolo takes coffee to its highest art form everyday of the week at Café Artigiano in Vancouver but this year he brings his craft to Whistler and the Art of the Latte with the help of Frog Friendly Coffee. Nov. 12 from 9 to 10:30 a.m., $29.

If you are fan of Rhone wines don’t miss Leave Me a Rhône conducted by Vancouver wine merchants John Clerides and Michelle Bouffard. The pair will explore the grapes and styles that emanate from the modern-day Rhone Valley and that are being aped around the world. Nov. 12 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., $59.

Back by popular demand is Wine Guys – Wine Picks another blind tasting where this time you can enjoy (and have fun guessing) what the pros drink at home far from the public spotlight. We will also ask the panel to share some tips with you on how to read a wine list. Drop by for 90 minutes of insider information with Wine Access Editor Anthony Gismondi and a panel of Cornucopia "wine elite." Nov. 12 from 4 to 5 p.m., $49.

Crush!

is Cornucopia’s signature event and it fills the entire Telus Sea to Sky Ballroom. No jeans or baseball hats please, say organizers. Whistler's finest restaurants join 75 vintners to provide an evening of food and wine that should be memorable. This year the event features the Top 25 Wines of Cornucopia and a long list of participating Whistler restaurants. Food will be served by Black's Restaurant, Pub and Patios; Earl's Restaurant; Joey Chan's Chinese Eatery; Hilton Whistler Resort; Ric's Grill Steak, Seafood and Chop House; Sushi Ya; Tandoori Grill Whistler; The Mix; Whistler-Blackcomb Food and Beverage; and Whistler Cooks. Nov. 11 from 8 to 10:30 p.m., $95.

The weekend wraps with Farewell Brunch at The Wildflower . Still and sparkling wines will accompany Fairmont executive chef Vincent Stufano’s brunch selections in the grandeur of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. This is a seated event this year and reservations are required. Call 1-888-999-4566 to make your Farewell Brunch reservations. Nov. 13 from 10 to 2 p.m., $55.

You can buy event tickets on an individual basis, subject to availability, at the Tourism Whistler Information & Activity Centre in front of the Telus Whistler Conference Centre or on-line at http://www.whistlercornucopia.com or call 1-888-999-4566. See you there.

Anthony Gismondi is a globetrotting wine writer who makes his home in West Vancouver, British Columbia. For more of his thoughts on wine log onto www.gismondionwine.com