The Best Deal In Town

Last week was the 28th International Wine Festival, a fundraiser event for the Vancouver Playhouse, and also the largest wine event in North America.

I went to the Friday night tasting, with the intent of buying some reds, but ended up buying almost nothing but whites! Some years it just goes that way - you have to buy what's good and what's a bargain. There were to be sure sme gorgeous reds (the theme country this year being France after all), but in terms of real bargains, they were mostly in the whites.

This year's tasting was only the second I've been to since moving to Vancouver, and this time, unlike when I went two years ago, was disappointing from the point of view that there were very few "mom & pop" wineries. It was almost exclusively the large distributors, which meant that, with little exception, there were mostly things on offer that once finds commonly at the local liquor store. This isn't to say it's not nice to try something easily available, but rather that there was little to be discovered that was of the "if I don't buy it now, I'll never have the chance again" kind.

However, on Sunday I went to my favourite event of the wine festival, the Vintner's Brunch. It's the best deal in town for great food and wine. It's like attending a very upscale potluck really. There are 14 restaurants in attendance, each of whom has a special dish for the occasion in a tapas sized portion, paired with wine. And... unlike the tasting menu at any restaurant you care to name... if you really like something, you can go for seconds. Or even thirds and fourths. You can experiment on your own too. If you think the tuna dish from Joe Fortes would go better with the wine from Aqua Riva, well, try it out!

I dread to think how many calories vanished into me on Sunday, but it was fab-u-lous!

At $120 a ticket, it might seem steep, but it's really the best deal in town for fine dining.