Vancouver Int’l. Playhouse Wine Festival – 8th Annual Awards Lunch Winners

PLAYHOUSE WINE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2011 TRADE COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS
Vancouver, BC, April 1st, 2011 – The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival announced this year’s trade competition winners at the 8th Annual Awards Lunch on Friday, April 1st, 2011. “The trade competitions give the Festival an opportunity to honour and celebrate those professionals who have developed and enhanced the extraordinary wine and food culture of our region,” says Festival Executive Director Harry Hertscheg. In honour of the awards, guests enjoyed lunch prepared by culinary talent Blair Rasmussen, Executive Chef to the VCC, and toasted winners with wines from Spain, this year’s Festival theme region.
SPIRITED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL (SIP) AWARD

The Spirited Industry Professional Award annually honours an individual who has made a significant contribution to the sales, service or promotion of wine in British Columbia. The sixth annual SIP Award goes to internationally acclaimed food and wine critic, Jurgen Gothe. Gothe has seen his columns run in over 100 publications over the past few decades, and is currently the weekly wine columnist for the Georgia Straight. After 23 years hosting CBC Radio Two’s DiscDrive, Gothe retired as the station’s only double-gold-medal winning program host. Today, he does weekly spots for CBC on everything oenophilic, and can also be found on The Peak FM airwaves commenting on BC’s local flavours.
SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR AWARD  

The 11th annual Sommelier of the Year Award recognizes outstanding wine knowledge and wine service. This year’s award goes to Owen Knowlton for his 500+ wine list at West restaurant, which also took one of the most coveted accolades in the trade competition: the Platinum Wine List Award. Driven to provide West guests wine that is high in value and quality (with a splash of boutique bottles and sommelier favorites), Knowlton has been sipping, spitting, and perfecting his wine knowledge over the last decade. The Sommelier of the Year is awarded based on votes by key members in the industry and is also included in the May Restaurant issue of Vancouver Magazine.

 

WINE PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGE

The Wine Professional Challenge gives sommeliers and wine professionals a chance to compete for the coveted Puddifoot Award. Currently in its sixth year, competitors were required to rotate around 5 judging stations and speak for 3 minutes on topics related to technical and varietal distinctions, flight tasting and customer service. This year, the challenge winner was Jay Whiteley of Hawkswort

h Restaurant. The Wine Professional Challenge is sponsored by Puddifoot.FETZER GREAT BEGINNINGS WINE & APPETIZER CHALLENGE  

Vancouver’s top chefs vied for gold on Wednesday night at Fetzer Great Beginnings, Flavours of the City. Chefs from Bearfoot Bistro, One Hundred Nights at OPUS Hotel Vancouver, Cibo Trattoria, DiVino Wine Bar, Sandbar, Diva at the Met, Prestons, Terminal City Club, and Uli’s Restaurant all vied for top prize from a panel of judges that included the city’s top food and wine journalists. This year’s award for best food and wine pairing went to Diva at the Met Executive Sous Chef Jeff Kang.

QUADY DESSERT COMPETITION

The Quady Winery of Madera California hosted the 23rd Annual Quady Dessert Competition, inviting British Columbia’s top pastry chefs, cooks and students to complement their orange muscat dessert wine, Essensia. At stake was a Grand Prize trip for two to California, as well as Silver and Bronze Prizes and Certificates of Merit for the top 10 competitors. First Place went to Lisa Ip of the Four Seasons Hotel, Second Place and Top Student from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts went to Maria Darquier, while Michael Gelinas of Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates & Patisserie took Third. Competitors were judged on taste, wine pairing with Essensia, technique, presentation, and practicality by a respected panel of pastry chefs, executive chefs, sommeliers and food and wine media.

WINE LIST AWARDS
Celebrating the best food and wine pairings in the business, restaurants in Metro Vancouver, Whistler, Vancouver Island, the Interior and Alberta have all been recognized for creating wine lists that complement their establishment’s unique menu and concept. Candidates submitted their wine and menu lists, and were then visited by judges who reviewed their programs. The top restaurants were awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, or commended with an Honourable Mention. The Wine List Awards are sponsored by Vancouver Magazine.METRO VANCOUVER
Platinum
Blue Water Café + raw bar
West Restaurant
 

Gold
C Restaurant
Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca
CinCin
Wine Room at Joey Bentall One
L’Abattoir
Au Petit Chavignol
Salt Tasting RoomSilver
Cactus Club Cafe
Provence Marinaside
The Observatory
The Salmon House
Zest Japanese Cuisine
Chambar
Bronze
ShuRaku Sake Bar & Bistro
Poor Italian Ristorante
Lift Bar Grill View
Yew Restaurant + Bar
Raincity Grill
Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House 

Honourable Mention
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
Gramercy Grill
Joey Restaurants
Hart House Restaurant (Burnaby)
WHISTLER

Gold
RimRock Cafe Whistler

Silver
Araxi Restaurant + Bar

Honourable Mention
Ric’s Grill

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND GULF ISLANDS

Silver
The Pacific Restaurant (Victoria)

Bronze
Nautical Nellies Restaurant

 

(Victoria)
Stage Small Plates Wine Bar (Victoria)
Veneto (Victoria)Honourable Mention
The Landing West Coast Grill (Nanoose Bay)
The Marina Restaurant (Victoria) 

BC INTERIOR

Silver
La Bussola (Kelowna)

Honourable Mention
Emerald Lake Lodge (Field)
Local Lounge . Grille (Summerland)
The Restau

 

rant at Painted Boat (Madiera Park)
Whitetooth Mountain Bistro (Golden)ALBERTA

Gold
Divino Wine & Cheese Bistro (Calgary)
River Café (Calgary)
Vin Room (Calgary)

Silver
Cilantro (Calgary)  

Bronze
The Ranche Restaurant (Calgary)
Ric’s Lounge and Grill (Calgary)

Honourable Mention
Taste (Calgary)
Ric’s Grill S

 

teakhouse (Grande Prairie)

ABOUT THE PLAYHOUSE WINE FESTIVAL

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, Canada’s premier wine show, runs from March 28th to April 3rd, 2011. The Playhouse Wine Festival is one of the biggest and oldest wine festival events in the world. In 2011, the theme region will be Spain and the global focus, Fortified Wine. The Festival features a week of special events including the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, wine seminars, wine minglers, winery dinners, and lunches and brunches at fine restaurants and hotels. The Playhouse Wine Festival is produced by the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival Society, which has three mandates: provide an informative, educational and entertaining wine experience for public and trade; be a premier marketing opportunity for the wine industry and Festival partners; and raise funds for the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. Since its inception in 1979,

 

the Festival has raised over $7.2 million to enable Western Canada’s leading theatre company to mount 223 productions and develop extensive community outreach and educational programs.The Shore Club generously presents the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. 

 

 

 

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Sanafir Raises a Glass to the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival

 

 

Olé!
Sanafir Raises a Glass to the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival with an Exotic Wine Fest Tapas Menu Featuring Spanish Flavours

With the 33rd Annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival just wrapping up (March 28-April 3), many people are deciding which events, wines, and restaurants they will take in while enjoying this year’s regional theme of “Wines from Spain.”

In line with the fiesta, Sanafir Restaurant & Lounge has created a Spanish-style tapas menu, on offer now through April 3. From Serrano & Quince Crostinis to Wine Cured Pork Belly and Sautéed Honey Mussels with grilled Chorizo, all dishes can be paired seamlessly with Sanafir’s Spanish wine offerings. By the glass or bottle, choose from labels such as the delicate Prado Rey ’2009 BL8 Birlocho,’ or the more robust Sabor Real Toro ‘Viñas Centenarias’ Tempranillo.

With its central location on Granville Street, Sanafir is the perfect place to wind up or wind down an evening of wine tasting. The restaurant’s exotic vibe and sultry ambiance will set the mood for tasting, sharing, and learning about wines from all over the world.

About Sanafir
Sanafir Restaurant & Lounge is Vancouver’s most imaginative tapas restaurant and bar located at 1026 Granville Street. Lush décor reminiscent of an Arabian night creates a luxe and exotic atmosphere. The menu showcases innovative twists on Asian, Mediterranean and Indian flavours. For reservations, please call 604.678.1049.

 

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Bramblings From Vancouver Island

By: Angeline and James Street

Brambles Market

Well, summer is here for sure-at least in the produce department, if not outside! This is our favourite time of the year. We get excited by every delivery; it’s like Christmas every week. We can’t wait to break into the boxes to see what new goodies we have received. Asparagus is done, as are fiddleheads and mache. But, then there are other treasures to be had: baby potatoes, baby carrots, strawberries, lettuces,green beans and baby zucchini… Oh, it’s hard to know what to eat first!!

We are planning and setting up so many things for the coming year. It’s too bad there are so few hours in the day to get everything done. As many of you know, we are working on a website as one of our big projects right now. It is taking longer than expected as we want it to be really great. There are just so many things we want to cram onto the site, but we have to pick and choose what we do put on it, so that it is useful and entertaining and interactive for YOU. And it really is challenging to figure it all out! If there are particular things that you think you would like to see on the site, please let us know. Right now, if you have food photos or recipes featuring local goodies, feel free to send them in to us to use on the site. The more the merrier!

French Breakfast Radishes

Here’s an idea: Serve the radish roots in the French fashion: dip them in butter and kosher salt and eat them with buttered bread for breakfast!

The first year and a half have flown by, and we sure have learned a lot! We are taking stock of what we do well, what we need to improve, and what else we want to accomplish in the coming year. (That’s where all the thinking and planning come in…) We just have to work really hard at making at least half of our dreams into reality now.

So, here is the first newsletter as part of one of the things we want to make happen this year! Let us know what you think! If it’s great, let us know. If it stinks, we suppose you can tell us that too. Till next time, thanks for being part of the Brambles experience with us. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Meet the Grower:  Vantreight Farms Saanichton

How many years in business?

126 – Five generations

What are the primary products you offer?

A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, fresh cut daffodils, bulbs and upick crops.

Fresh cut daffodils from organic, bio-diesel run Vantreight farms, Vancouver Island, B.C.

Please describe your production methods or farming practices, particularly those that are distinguishing or unique to your business?

We are utilizing organic methods and are applying this year for organic certification for our 15,330 m2 (165,000 sq.ft.) state-of-the-art greenhouses and land adjacent to the greenhouses totalling approx 6.5 acres with further certification planned for the future.   Our packing facility is second to none with a 4650 m2 (50,000 sq.ft.) warehouse processing plant, 8  cooler units totaling 1,189 m2 (12,800 sq.ft) of cold storage, shipping and receiving areas with 3 loading docks with room for further expansion.  Future plans include the use of bio digesters for the creation of heat and power to grow food all year round while significantly reducing GHG’s for the region.

What inspired your choice for this career?

Aside from carrying on our family farming legacy, I was personally inspired to choose the farm as a career because of our farm’s ability to positively contribute to the community and increase local food security on Vancouver Island.

Why do you sell to Brambles?

The more local businesses support local agriculture by buying from the farmer the better off we all are.

Do you believe that it is important to shop locally?

Absolutely.

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Fort Berens Estate Winery, Lillooet, B.C.

Fort Berens Estate Winery Investors See Gold In Lillooet, B.C.

“Fort Berens Estate Winery is the first of its kind in Lillooet. We saw the potential for the wine industry to take root in this area – just like prospecting for gold, sometimes you have to take a chance,” said Pannekoek. “Our new investors share our vision and our excitement in creating quality wines in this beautiful part of the province.”

Proprietors Heleen Pannekoek and Rolf de Bruin, newly arrived from Holland with their young family are pleased to welcome the gold company executives into their ambitious and exciting new business.

Fort Berens Estate Winery, first in Lillooet, B.C.

LILLOOET, BC (May 30, 2010)  – Fort Berens Estate Winery (Fort Berens), today announced that it has attracted the venture capital necessary to accelerate its business plans and build a new winery facility located in Lillooet, British Columbia. With the new funding, Fort Berens will commence construction of a new wine making operation and shop on its property to produce and sell wines from grapes grown on the winery’s initial twenty acre vineyard. The first crop of grapes is expected in the fall of 2011.

Fort Berens is located in historic Lillooet, at Mile 0 of the Cariboo Trail and rallying point for the Cariboo Gold Rush. The winery was established on the east side of the Fraser River at Lillooet in early 2009, exactly one hundred and fifty  years after the Hudson Bay Company started construction of a trading post in the same location under the same name. The fort had been designed to serve the thousands of prospectors who flocked to the Lillooet region in the mid-1800’s in search of gold. However, it was never completed and the fertile river bench was instead used for the growing of melons, tomatoes and alfalfa.

Fort Berens Estate Winery, Lillooet, B.C.

Located in the magnificent Fraser Canyon, this historic site is now home to Fort Berens Estate Winery, Lillooet’s first commercial vineyard and winery. In keeping with the pioneering spirit of the Gold Rush era, the proprietors of Fort Berens Estate Winery are forging a new and unique wine experience in British Columbia, offering superb, distinct, hand-crafted wines.

The investors in Lillooet’s newest venture are no strangers to the pursuit of pioneering. Hugh Agro, Sean Harvey and John McConnell are Toronto and Vancouver-based mining executives and members of the Board of Directors of a TSX-listed gold exploration and development company.  As investors in Fort Berens Estate Winery they have come to Lillooet looking for a different kind of gold, of a liquid variety.

Agro has had his eye on Lillooet for years and now, with a project that suits his sense of adventure and his desire to establish a presence in south-central British Columbia, he looks forward to assisting the fledgling winery. “I’ve kept a subscription to the local newspaper for years and when I heard about the Lillooet grape project, my interest was piqued,” Agro said. “Then I read that this young couple from Holland was actually planting a vineyard and building a winery and I got in touch with them.  When Rolf and Heleen said that they were looking for investors to grow their business, I came out to see them and I was very impressed with their vision and business plan. Two of my business partners, Sean Harvey and John McConnell, became interested and together we agreed to get involved.”

Fort Berens Estate Winery currently offers five select wines under their label, made from grapes sourced in the Okanagan. They are available for sale in the existing on-site winery and tasting room and also in a number of specialty wine stores in Vancouver, Whistler, Kamloops and Lillooet.

For further information: Fort Berens Estate Winery, (250) 256-7788, www.fortberens.ca

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Fort Langley Weekend Afternoon

Summer is the season for exploration and discovery. Often this takes the form of travel and in our desire to see the world, we sometimes forget about what’s in our backyard, or the special spots that lay just outside the main destinations.

Fort Langley is bejeweled with boutique wineries and artisan food shops and, what’s more, it’s a convenient outpost to Seattle, Vancouver, and even Tsawwassen when you’re catching one of the BC Ferries to the Gulf Islands or Victoria.

Langley is one of those places where, when you do stop, you are pleasantly surprised by the quality you find and you can’t help but reward yourself for being such a savvy traveler – perhaps with a chocolate from Euphoria Chocolates on Glover Rd. or maybe a sweet to accompany afternoon tea from Milsean Shoppe, specializing in traditional Irish sweets.

Planning a little bit ahead can give you a fuller experience. For example, Well Seasoned is both a gourmet food shop and cooking school so when you book in advance, you can spend your afternoon or early evening cooking up the fresh treasures you’ve found that day on your Farm Gate forage at, say Vista D’Oro Farms and Winery, JD Farms or Krause Berry Farms in Langley.

There’s also The Seasonal Experience that offers cooking classes followed by professional wait staff serving you a tasting of the demonstration menu. Their classes are designed to “give you the restaurant experience with the added value of a cooking demonstration.”

On the calendar for June is the Langley Children’s Festival and what better than to combine this with a few hours of strawberry picking and a stop at the B.C. Farm Museum?

May Day Parade
The parade on Monday, May 24 will commence at 11:00 AM and will start at Mavis and Glover.  The parade will proceed down Glover Road to 88 Avenue then west on 88th Avenue to Trattle and north on Trattle to the Community Park behind the Fine Arts School.

There are a good many choices for accommodations in the area, but keeping the kids in mind, they are sure to love the two-storey water slide into the heated pool that Langley’s Super 8 Motel features. The hot tub, right next to the pool, is an easy place from which to keep your eyes on the kids while you relax away the day’s stresses.

Waterslide at Super 8 Langley. Kids love it!

This Super 8 sits right next to a Tim Horton’s but the kids might hardly even notice after they’ve filled up on the Motel’s complimentary breakfast of fresh-made waffles, yogurt, fruit and orange juice.

Some of Langley’s outstanding wineries include Township 7 Vineyard and Winery, Blackwood Lane Vineyards & Winery to mention only a couple.

If you seek a Zagat-rated Bistro attached to a winery, look no further. Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery’s Bacchus Bistro fits the bill. Owners Claude and Inge Violet traversed the wine-growing regions of B.C. when they first migrated from France in the 70′s. They chose Langley in which to grow their vineyards because Claude Violet, whose family has been making wine since 1644, found that the area mimicked weather conditions in Northern France. Domaine de Chaberton offers winery tours daily, weather permitting.

For a more complete list of Langley Goodies, contact Tourism Langley www.tourism-langley.ca

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Most Romantic Mollusc

The Laughing Oyster – Darren Robinson Photography

Sex Shells: Exposing the Sunshine Coast’s Most Romantic Mollusc

By Darren Robinson

Move over Viagra, there’s a new libido launcher lining the waters of BC’s Sunshine Coast. And the pearl of this love story is the foundation of a new scientific study that intends to prove (or dispel) the ancient myth that oysters can increase human sex drive. Sex sells, and here is not the place to argue the details of the study or its validity and acceptance by the medical world, we just want to know if it’s true. And
according to the study, it is. But millions of grinning people from all around the world that solemnly swear by the steamy power of this slimy sea delicacy have known this for ages.

Smittys Oysters – image by Big Pacific.com

What we do know is that this study supports a more natural way to kick your love life into high gear; likely with fewer side effects.

So if oysters are in fact a natural aphrodisiac, then BC’s Sunshine Coast may very well become known as the land of getting-it-on. Think about it. All the primary ingredients necessary to elevate your love life are all right here in abundance on the West Coast of Canada. Magical beaches. Check. Captivating sunsets. Check. Solitude and serenity. Check. Beautifully-appointed accommodations. Check. Waterfalls straight out of fairy tales. Double-check. Unspoiled nature. Check. Oysters aplenty. Check and check.

Kayaking The Sunshine Coast– Darren Robinson Photography

Situated only 40-minutes from Vancouver and less than 90-minutes from Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast is made up of charming coastal communities including Gibsons, Sechelt, Pender Harbour Powell River, Lund, Texada Island and Savary Island. All encompassed by pristine waters (fresh and salt), coastal mountains and old-growth forests, the Sunshine Coast draws visitors from around the world
wanting the very best in outdoor adventure, mental and physical rejuvenation, and romance.

Lund Harbour at sunset – Picture BC

The journey starts with the love boat. Not the one with Captain Stubing, Gopher and Isaac, but whichever boat you choose to get yourself, and your loved one here.

BC Ferries operates regular sailings year round, or perhaps a romantic private charter is more what the love doctor ordered. No better way to impress your date than by showing up to his/her door in a private boat. Check.

If your love happens to get sea sick easily, no need to surrender the night, there are available alternatives. Pacific Coastal Air will deliver you to Powell River from Vancouver in less than 30 minutes. Of course, there are also float planes that would happily fly you into any of the many surrounding area lakes in premiere fashion.
Once on the Sunshine Coast, the oysters take centre stage.

In Gibsons, on the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, Smitty’s Oyster House will prepare an oyster feast sure to get any mojo working quickly. The restaurant prides itself on enticing all of the senses of those who enter its doors. Shell-shocked lovers can be caught savouring a bevy of local shellfish, including Jervis Inlet oysters, Salt Spring Island mussels, and Savary Island clams both indoors and from the patio with a backdrop of glistening water and towering coastal peaks. The oysters are starting to kick in.

Sunrise image – Thors Cove Cottage www.thorscovecottage.com

For a gastronomic oyster overload on the upper Sunshine Coast, The Laughing Oyster’s David Bowes prepares innovative and creative seafood dishes while guests delight in panoramic views of Okeover Inlet, the welcome gate to Desolation Sound Marine Park. Gunpowder Prawns, Wild Salmon and Spinach Crepes, and oysters anyway you like them round out a seafood menu of the Gods. On many nights the
romance is further enhanced with live music, sometimes straight from the guitar-wielding hands of the Executive Chef. By now, your senses are likely overwhelmed in a state of oyster-induced bliss.

If the “shaping clay” scene of Ghost infamy is a fantasy of yours, then Thors Cove Cottage should be next on the date list. A water taxi will bring you to the cottage’s shores in Lancelot Inlet for an oyster experience unlike any other. Delight in an escorted tour of their oyster farm, where you will learn about seven species of oysters, clams and mussels cultivated on approximately forty shellfish farms in the inlet
complex. The tour appropriately ends with a seafood feast that includes Oysters Grilled in Salsa with Jalapeno Cheese, Locally Smoked Oyster Pâté, Oyster Seviche, Oyster Baguette, Grilled Oysters with Pesto, and Oven Baked Parmesan Oysters. You’ll be asking for your room key before you can say Oysters Rockefeller.

Romance is in the salty-air. If you yearn for a more natural approach to sexual therapy, you might want to consider the Sunshine Coast in lieu of filling your next prescription of the little blue pill at your localpharmacy.

www.discoverpowellriver.com   * www.sunshinecoastcanada.com

Darren Robinson is a freelance writer and professional photographer from Powell River, on BC’s Sunshine Coast. He can also be found some afternoons at Powell River Tourism. His images can always be found at www.darrenrobinsonphotography.com.

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