Whistler welcomes its 15th annual celebration of wine and food, the 2011 Cornucopia, this weekend, November 10-13.
Cornucopia is a four day and night event chocked-full of gourmet food and wines, attracting more than 10,000 people to the resort and catering to everyone from amateur enthusiasts to aficionados. Held on the cusp of the opening of each ski season in Whistler, British Columbia, Cornucopia was designed to showcase and support the local food and wine industry. The event has expanded to encompass wineries and restaurants from Vancouver, greater B.C. and beyond.
Winemakers’ dinners are held each of the four nights and feature Aura restaurant paired with Conn Valley Winery and Sheridan Vineyards; La Bocca and Hester Creek Winery; Hy’s Steakhouse and Peter Lehmann Wines; and Sidecut with Painted Rock. Visit http://whistlercornucopia.com/schedule/ for tickets.
Next on the docket: Make Mine Chardonnay, Tiny Bubbles, Pinot Noir: Wine’s Holy Grail and Get Me a Cab make up the four-part mini-tasting program on Sunday, the final day of the festival. Wine educator DJ Kearney leads guests through the menu.
And don’t miss out on the event’s major party: House Party – Best of BC features local breweries, wineries and cuisine November 10 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Whistler Conference Centre. Enjoy domestic beer makers such as Whistler Brewing, Phillips Beer and Granville Island Brewery and exceptional B.C. wines from producers including Road 13, Stoneboat, Pyramid, Tinhorn Creek, Blasted Church and Castoro de Oro Estate Winery. Sidecut restaurant returns to offer its array of tasty barbecue cuisine, salads and sides.
CRUSH is the flagship dual-night tasting event which returns November 11 and November 12 from 8-11 p.m. at the Whistler Conference Centre. The official tasting features more than 70 wineries from across the globe: from new world to old world and all points in between. Tickets are $85.
After parties carry Cornucopia’s celebratory mood well into the night with some of the resort’s finest establishments hosting now legendary events including Bubbles + Oceans, Masquerave and Casino Royale.
Although her Cornucopia session is already sold out, you can still meet Canada’s most widely read wine writer Natalie MacLean at Cornucopia, and get signed copies of her book.
Visit whistlercornucopia.com