BLINK, AND DON’T MISS IT
Wine sales to benefit Hospice Calgary
Leslie Echino was born in Calgary but grew up in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, where the vineyards around Summerland and Kelowna were her first introduction to wineries.
She has been in the hospitality industry all of her working career, with jobs taking her to Jasper, Calgary, Whistler, B.C., and even a stretch in Newcastle, England, where she taught North American service.
Echino’s father was an investor in the original Blink restaurant downtown. He bought out the other partners in 2007 before his daughter decided soon after to purchase the space on Stephen Avenue and closed it for three months to renovate.
The complete makeover included the installation of natural elements like beaten copper around the bar, a welded wine rack she designed and exposed 1870s exterior brick walls.
Renamed Blink Restaurant & Bar, Echino is owner and restaurant director. She selects all of her wines, although the family remains a big supporter.
The business seats 64, with a private dining room for 10 people. It’s run by a staff of 26 full-time employees, and many of them have been with her for a long time.
A dishwasher has worked in the kitchen for the past nine years.
Having such a reliable staff means Echino can foster her interest in wine by taking a number of trips each year to vineyards, where she establishes relationships with their owners.
Burgundy wines are a favourite and two years ago Echino attended the legendary wine auction at Hospice de Beaune — and was successful in buying a barrel.
The hospice was founded in 1443 as a charity for the sick and needy. Its grounds include a 148-acre private wine estate that’s among the best appellations in Burgundy. All of its wine is sold at the auction that’s held Nov. 3 for each of the past 153 years. The proceeds support the maintenance and heritage of the hospice.
The 2014 auction raised the equivalent of $16 million.
Echino split the barrel with Mark Kuspira of Crush Imports and it has provided them with 24 cases of a spectacular red wine. It’s now being sold exclusively at Blink, and in keeping with the legacy of the winery, Echino is donating all sales to Hospice Calgary Society.
When the first bottles arrived, a reception at Blink offered invited guests a first taste of the wine and the opportunity to buy a bottle at $175. That evening raised $11,000, and Echino expects to raise $40,000 for the organization.
Echino visited Celler Pinol in the mountainous area of Tarragona to the south of Barcelona four years ago and enjoyed meeting with fifth-generation owner Jaungo Galcera Pinol, who agreed to supply her with her own exclusive wine.
She returned to the winery to learn all she could about the estate and became thoroughly hands-on, assembling boxes, attaching labels and, of course, sampling from beakers.
One hundred cases of Conti-Mei red and white recently arrived carrying labels designed by Sharie Arthur of Arthur/Hunter who illustrated Echino punching down grapes in pencil, ink and watercolour, and Spanish tile patterns.
The Conti-Mei label conveys a personal connection with her family; named after her two grandmothers.