Written By Anya Levykh Libations / Wine Festivals Nov 27, 2012 Whistler’s Cornucopia Weekend SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter PinterestTop to bottom: Araxi hot smoked salmon & wild shellfish soup, Araxi roasted saddle of rabbit, housemade bacon, pomme puree, Alba truffles, Fairmont Grill Room spice-crusted venison loin, Swiss chard, celeriac mousse. Photos by Anya LevykhWHISTLEREarlier this month, the 16th annual Cornucopia Food and Wine Festival took place in Whistler. More than just a chance to party hard and long, Cornucopia is a collection of food and wine enthusiasts from around B.C. and the rest of the Pacific Northwest region, as well as wineries, producers and chefs from further afield. For me, it was a weekend of eating—and some drinking—my way through a series of dinners and tastings that reminded me that Whistler is about more than just the after-party. Araxi’s Big Guns winery dinner was one of the highlights this year. Executive chef James Walt paired an incredible, locally-sourced menu with iconic and rare wines from around the world, like the house hot smoked salmon with salmon caviar, fennel pollen, lemon thyme and Root Down Farm veggies, all nestled in a wild shellfish bisque that gave off fabulous lobster and prawn notes. Paired with the Gaja “Gaia & Rey” 2009 Chardonnay from Langhe, Italy, it was one of the best courses of the night. Another course of roasted saddle of rabbit wrapped in housemade bacon and seated over lightly whipped potatoes was made even better by the liberal amounts of shaved white and black Alba truffle sprinkled over the dish. It was paired with a fantastic Burgundy, the Louis Jadot “Corton-Pougets” 1999 Grand Cru. Chardonnays and big reds also made an appearance at the Painted Rock Estate Winery Dinner at Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s The Grill Room. Executive Chef Vincent Stufano paired a delicate Dungeness crab cake and North Arm Farm beet salad with Painted Rock’s 2011 Chardonnay, a very vibrant bottle that matched the shellfish and sweet beet notes perfectly. The big 2009 Icon, a Bordeaux-style blend, went perfectly with the spice-crusted loin of Sydney Island venison, which sat next to some Swiss chard in red wine syrup and celeriac mousse. Alba truffles made another appearance at Quattro Restaurant, where the white Alba floated freely onto plates from the many shavings made during the meal. Fresh from Piedmont, there is nothing quite as sublime as some thick shavings over a poached egg. Simplicity can be mesmerizing. Next year’s festival will be a record 10 days in length, so gird your loins—and appetites—and make sure to go hungry.festivalsWhistlerWine SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Written By: Anya Levykh Anya Levykh was born on the shores of the Black Sea, in what was formerly the USSR. The cold, Communist winters were too much for her family, and, before she was four feet tall, they had left for warmer climes in the south of ... Read More You may also like Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / Events / Victoria March 24, 2019 A New Beer Society in Town Victoria Beer Week launched its sixth annual festival earlier this month, which ran from March 1-9. In addition to the festival returning for another ... Read More Beer / Wineries & Breweries February 4, 2019 Vancouver Island Brewery’s New Porter and New Re-Rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery unveils new porter along with their new re-rebrand Vancouver Island Brewery held a flight night last week, in part to ... Read More Causes / Events January 25, 2019 Blue Monday Pop-Up Bar – 100 Proof Blues January can be tough around these parts. In fact, it has come to be so globally known as such, that the third Monday of each January has ... Read More Cocktails / Events January 25, 2019 The Complete Bartender Competition 2019 Little Jumbo played host to Nimble Bar Co.’s The Complete Bartender Competition, January 16, 2019 Last Wednesday, I judged my first cocktail ... Read More Beer & Cider / Events / Victoria March 1, 2018 Victoria Beer Week launches its fifth year Victoria is once again readying itself to host the fifth annual Victoria Beer Week. As locals and beer geeks alike wet their palates for special ... Read More Coffee & Tea / Victoria December 18, 2017 Level Ground Trading Moves Up to New State-of-the-Art Headquarters Victoria, BC – Level Ground Trading, Victoria’s Fair Trade pioneer, is moving from their current location in Central Saanich, to a larger ... Read More Comments are closed.
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