The thing about being “tricksy” is that sometimes you don’t always outsmart the process…I spent a chapter out of Trains, Planes and Automobiles as I flew from Santa Rosa airport on Thursday evening. After hopscotching my way north, I finally arrived in Vancouver 6 ½ hours later…saved time on the drive to the airport, but the flight had three stops!
I consider it a great omen when the cab driver has heard of your hotel but has no idea where it is…The Loden Vancouver is a gem, located in a great part of town. My view of the bay and groovy chic room are a welcome reprisal for the extra hours on the plane…up early next morning with fellow vintner, Jack Edwards of Miner Family Vineyards, and our shared agent, Todd Ramsay of Marram Wines, to make the trek to Whistler. Without a doubt, this is one of the most picturesque drives on the planet…snow dusted mountains, waterfalls that make Yosemite’s look like a bad fire hose, pine clad islands resting peacefully in a calm sea…it’s a balm for the soul.
Whistler is all a-bustle as the mountain is opening a full two weeks ahead of schedule and the Westin is hopping with amped up skiers, boarders and of course, wine worshippers in for the annual Cornucopia event. The best part about pouring wine at this event is the response from the wine loving Canadians…all locals from Whistler and Vancouver, this is a crowd that appreciates fine wine and food. The problem is that not too many small Napa Valley producers have representation here, so most people only know the big guys. Regarding the food scene, you can’t go wrong! Dinner on Friday night at Bearfoot Bistro was incredible…my appetizer, an heirloom tomato salad with olive oil powder (!) was fantastic. If you order sparkling wine you are escorted into the wine cellar where you can saber your bottle with a choice of swords from the movie 300. I brought a bottle of Ehlers Estate 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon 1886 which was theatrically decanted in the crazy Riedel EVE decanter. The wine showed superbly…
Other amazing meals were had at Hy’s Steak House and Araxi. The wine service at both was informative and gracious. The food scene in Whistler is well above what one might expect for a ski village. As the snow turned to rain, we headed back to Vancouver on Monday. The volume of water sheeting off of the mountains was stunning…coming from water challenged California, the sight of so much drainage into the sea was mind boggling. And that beautiful drive never disappoints…
Back in Vancouver, Will Flatt, also of Marram Wines, led me around to introduce our wines to the thriving restaurant scene. I was again amazed at the high level of dining. Charming Pino Posteraro from Cioppino’s gave me a jar of house made honey to soothe my tired throat, Andrea from Blue Water Cafe commiserated with me about how to turn consumers back on to Merlot and Van Doren Chan from Elixir was ecstatic to have a new wine budget for the upcoming Olympic games. I also found great retail wine outlets run by passionate folks (Bruno at Firefly and Neal at Dundarave Wine Cellar) who are committed to offering the lesser known brands to oenophiles in Vancouver. But my biggest surprise was the meal at Vij’s…the Ehlers Estate 2005 St. Helena Merlot showed splendidly with the signature lamb popsicles! I never thought about red wine and Indian food, but then again, this was no ordinary street fare…but the best news is that Mike is on a mission to bring Vij's to the US!
This amazing week came to an outstanding end last night at West. I barely know where to begin…a portfolio tasting from Ehlers Estate shared with the top press from Western Canada, the 12 of us recreated our own version of the Last Supper! Chef Warren met the challenge of pairing multiple vintages (2005, 2006 & 2007 Ehlers Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1886) and multiple wines (Ehlers Estate Cabernet Franc & Ehlers Estate Merlot) within the perfectly prepared 4 course meal…the highlights were the Yuzu Marinated Vancouver Island Octopus and the Loin of Salt Spring Island Venison, both very local ingredients that reflected a deep culinary passion. Wine steward Owen kept the wines in order and I think all of the other diners had to make do with water glasses as I’m sure we used every piece of stemware in the house!
Seated in the YVR airport, thinking about my twin prop flight home, I am already scheming of my return trip…Cheers to Vancouver/Whistler which is home to so much more than the upcoming winter Olympics!
I consider it a great omen when the cab driver has heard of your hotel but has no idea where it is…The Loden Vancouver is a gem, located in a great part of town. My view of the bay and groovy chic room are a welcome reprisal for the extra hours on the plane…up early next morning with fellow vintner, Jack Edwards of Miner Family Vineyards, and our shared agent, Todd Ramsay of Marram Wines, to make the trek to Whistler. Without a doubt, this is one of the most picturesque drives on the planet…snow dusted mountains, waterfalls that make Yosemite’s look like a bad fire hose, pine clad islands resting peacefully in a calm sea…it’s a balm for the soul.
Whistler is all a-bustle as the mountain is opening a full two weeks ahead of schedule and the Westin is hopping with amped up skiers, boarders and of course, wine worshippers in for the annual Cornucopia event. The best part about pouring wine at this event is the response from the wine loving Canadians…all locals from Whistler and Vancouver, this is a crowd that appreciates fine wine and food. The problem is that not too many small Napa Valley producers have representation here, so most people only know the big guys. Regarding the food scene, you can’t go wrong! Dinner on Friday night at Bearfoot Bistro was incredible…my appetizer, an heirloom tomato salad with olive oil powder (!) was fantastic. If you order sparkling wine you are escorted into the wine cellar where you can saber your bottle with a choice of swords from the movie 300. I brought a bottle of Ehlers Estate 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon 1886 which was theatrically decanted in the crazy Riedel EVE decanter. The wine showed superbly…
Other amazing meals were had at Hy’s Steak House and Araxi. The wine service at both was informative and gracious. The food scene in Whistler is well above what one might expect for a ski village. As the snow turned to rain, we headed back to Vancouver on Monday. The volume of water sheeting off of the mountains was stunning…coming from water challenged California, the sight of so much drainage into the sea was mind boggling. And that beautiful drive never disappoints…
Back in Vancouver, Will Flatt, also of Marram Wines, led me around to introduce our wines to the thriving restaurant scene. I was again amazed at the high level of dining. Charming Pino Posteraro from Cioppino’s gave me a jar of house made honey to soothe my tired throat, Andrea from Blue Water Cafe commiserated with me about how to turn consumers back on to Merlot and Van Doren Chan from Elixir was ecstatic to have a new wine budget for the upcoming Olympic games. I also found great retail wine outlets run by passionate folks (Bruno at Firefly and Neal at Dundarave Wine Cellar) who are committed to offering the lesser known brands to oenophiles in Vancouver. But my biggest surprise was the meal at Vij’s…the Ehlers Estate 2005 St. Helena Merlot showed splendidly with the signature lamb popsicles! I never thought about red wine and Indian food, but then again, this was no ordinary street fare…but the best news is that Mike is on a mission to bring Vij's to the US!
This amazing week came to an outstanding end last night at West. I barely know where to begin…a portfolio tasting from Ehlers Estate shared with the top press from Western Canada, the 12 of us recreated our own version of the Last Supper! Chef Warren met the challenge of pairing multiple vintages (2005, 2006 & 2007 Ehlers Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1886) and multiple wines (Ehlers Estate Cabernet Franc & Ehlers Estate Merlot) within the perfectly prepared 4 course meal…the highlights were the Yuzu Marinated Vancouver Island Octopus and the Loin of Salt Spring Island Venison, both very local ingredients that reflected a deep culinary passion. Wine steward Owen kept the wines in order and I think all of the other diners had to make do with water glasses as I’m sure we used every piece of stemware in the house!
Seated in the YVR airport, thinking about my twin prop flight home, I am already scheming of my return trip…Cheers to Vancouver/Whistler which is home to so much more than the upcoming winter Olympics!
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