Cornucopia serves up a little bit of everything
Cornucopia, the annual Whistler food and drinks party, is an 11-day celebration that runs Nov. 7-17.
Initially founded as a wine festival, it has morphed into a food and drinks weekend offering a little bit of everything for attendees: Classic sit-down wine and beer seminars, multi-course luncheons with wine pairings, chef demonstrations, winemaker/ brewer dinners, and more.
You will find a colour-coded guide to all the events at whistlercornucopia.com. If you are planning on staying in Whistler, you can check out ticket and accommodation packages on the website, too.
Cornucopia is a charity event that raises more than $35,000 a year, and organizers have named the Whistler Public Library as the 2019 recipient.
The Alois Lageder family winery
produces vibrant biodynamic wines in Alto Adige in northern Italy, where their latest project gets them closer to the goal of implementing a fundamental tenet of biodynamics: the self-contained cycle.
It involves a long-standing relationship between the winery and farmer Alexander Agethle, owner of the organic Hofkaserei Englhorn cheese dairy in Val Venosta.
“For a few years now, the oxen have been coming to the vineyards in Bassa Atesina after spending the summer in the mountain pasture in Val Venosta,” says Alois Clemens Lageder.
“Thanks to the milder climate, the animals can find food in the vineyards, even during the winter months.”
The male animals aren’t fattened and slaughtered when young, but can spend three to four years on the pasture, and for the first time, the winery will also sell the organic meat from oxen that graze freely in the pastures all year round.
“For us, this partnership marks the start of responsible and fair meat consumption.
B.C. WINE OF THE WEEK
Tightrope Winery Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2018, Okanagan Valley
$22 | 91/100
UPC: 626990244448
The grapes — hand-picked, and whole cluster pressed — are from the Eira Thomas Vineyard on the Naramata Bench. The ferment is long, slow and super cool, and takes four weeks to complete. The attack is vibrant, with fresh lemon and grassy, green fruit everywhere. More juicy than oaky, it delivers a refreshing experience, but with some minerality and complexity. The winery suggests the match could be asparagus frittata, steamed mussels or clams. Bravo.
WINE FOR THE CELLAR
Izadi Rioja Blanco 2017, Rioja, Spain
$27.99 | 90/100
UPC: 8410591003601
Izadi Blanco is an intriguing mix of 70 per cent Viura blended with 10/10/10 Malvasia, Garnacha Blanca, and Tempranillo Blanco. Izadi is young by Rioja standards, boasting just over three decades of production, but it has a soul for producing wine. Like very few whites you would taste in a year, this juicy mix of grapes yields a fresh core of ripe quince flecked with nectarines and excellent acidity. Understated and versatile with food, we enjoyed it with homemade pesto and pasta.