Sid Cross has been doing a little guest-blogging for us this week as we cover the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. Widely considered one of the finest palates in the world, Sid’s list of honours and accomplishments are staggering. He is Wines Committee Chair for The International Wine & Food Society (www.iwfs.org) headquartered in London England; an Officer in France’s prestigious Ordre du Merite Agricole; a Membre d’Honneur of the L’Academie du vin de Bordeaux (and the only Canadian to receive that honour); and he has been named The Gourmet of the Year by The Society of Bacchus America. He’s also co-founder and an advisor to The Chef’s Table Society of BC, and an all around gent, first class.

Leave it to this man to lead you through a night and day you didn’t have. Sid Cross, live from the Wine Fest (with photography by Karen Hamilton)…

TABLE NOTEBOOK

– Day 5 of the VPIWF on March 27 saw the endurance test continue. Seminars in full swing: BC reds; Pairing with Pinots, visiting glass expert George Riedel showing what a difference his glasses make to the enjoyment of wine.

– Off for a lunch at the 6th Annual Awards celebrating excellence.

– Nadin Buehrer of Thomas Haas wins the Quady Dessert Competition over Tomiko Mayede of Terminal City and Hitomi Syvertsen of Pan Pacific with her pistachio mousse with raspberry, coconut orange cake with vanilla, orange-kalamansi sorbet. John Schreiner gets the 4th annual Spirited Industry Professional Award and Andrea Vesconi from Blue Water gathers in the Sommelier of the Year.

– Off to help the directors of Black Hills winery conduct their vertical of Nota Bene (“take note”) of nine vintages from 1999 t0 2007. This estate of 27 acres on one site was planted in 1996 with about 49% Cab Sauv, 36 Merlot, and 15 Cab Franc is at the maximum of 4300 cases for 2008. New spectacular winery building in 2006. Wines showing steady improvement and showing the Black Sage terroir to advantage. With ageing vines and careful work they are showing less green pepper/herbaceousness and more balanced riper fruit. Keep it up guys!

– Trade tasting afternoon again a big cocktail party of many friends.

– Joined Mission Hill Family Estate for a bite in their Pan Pacific reception suite = spectacular view of the water and mountains showing Vancouver to advantage!

– Attended the Icewine seminar conducted by John Schreiner of 13 different ones. Talk about a kid in a candy shop! Very sweet treat but some fantastic examples. My fav was the 1998 St Urban-Hof Ockfener Bockstein rieslng at 6.5 alcohol was a delicious complex dessert of it own and will last a lot longer yet. The drier higher acid 2001 Erbacher Michelmark riesling from Schloss Reinhartshausen contrasted with the riper sweeter Rieslings of 2006 Ch. Ste Michelle Eroica from Washington and 2006 Mission Hill SLC. The 1984 Hainle Rielsing (earliest one in North America started in 1978 same year as Ste. Michelle) was older showing buttescotch roasted nuts yeasty bread and almost Madeira-like.

– Dropped in on the House Wine gals Michelle Bouffard & Michaela Morris who said their Bourgogne tour of Terroir went well. Liked that 2005 Christian Moreau Les Clos Chablis.

– Off to the Festival Tasting with a nice focus on BC wines getting a lot of consumer attention.
Really the TGIF Friday party night here. What a scene. Thinking about Federico Fellini’s classic film of La Dolce Vita as I wander from booth to booth…

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