When I think of perfect trips, they always involve food. No matter where I go, I really care about what we’re eating, how it’s prepared, the freshness of its ingredients and its presentation. And since food and wine form a symbiotic relationship, it’s hard to imagine eating a delicious meal without pairing it with a glass of wine.

That’s what makes Cornucopia, the annual food and wine festival in Whistler so spectacular. And we’re not just talking about the mountain and lake views. This year, the festival took place over two weekends, from November 7 to 17th and featured a number of food and drink seminars, signature tasting events, and restaurant and bar events. It really is a place to learn, mingle and sample the enormous bounty of food, wine and spirits from around the world, especially those from the BC region.

This is the second year that Keith and I are attending Cornucopia; and since we had the benefit of advanced planning this time, we were able to try many new activities. But before we go there, let’s talk about our accommodations.

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Whenever we’re in Whistler, our preference is to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. There’s just something about all Fairmont hotels. The properties themselves are grand and luxurious without being too showy. The level of service is beyond comparison, and the quality of the rooms and end-to-end experience of the stay itself is always what puts it on top. Fairmont Chateau Whistler is no exception, and if anything, it has all those qualities and more.

We stayed in a one-bedroom suite on the 8th floor of the hotel, which also house the Gold Rooms - ones that give direct access to a private check in desk and private lounge with refreshments and much-needed quiet from the crowds.

The suite was very spacious and had a separate seating area that boasted a fireplace, TV, large sofa and two large, deep chairs. Two bathrooms also reside in the suite - one next to the entrance and living room while the other is hidden as part of the master bedroom. Rounding out the suite are the Juliet balconies to take in the view of Blackcomb Mountain and the Fairmont pool and outdoor lounge deck. During the winter, the deck boasts a wood-burning fire pit to release that extra seasonal scent. From our room on the 8th floor, you can inhale the cedar in the air and it’s really exhilarating.

Upon arrival, we were treated to the Chateau’s famous mixed chocolate platter, featuring the best chocolate made by their executive pastry chef, Anup Chaubal. They’re absolutely delicious and I strongly recommend getting your hands on some if you’re ever up there to visit! A couple years ago, I had the pleasure of attending one of Anup’s chocolate making workshops and it was a super fun and sweet afternoon.

Dinner: Il Caminetto Presents Ruffino

When I was online buying tickets to the restaurant events, Il Caminetto was on my short list. It is the shining star of cuisine in Whistler Village and it never disappoints. Its focus is modern Italian with a superb wine list. We’ve been there for dinner before and the food execution is brilliant, its service spectacular. That evening we enjoyed a multi-course dinner paired with Ruffino Italian wines and the entire experience exceeded my expectations.

Most memorable was their slow cooked ‘snake river’ pork jowl. With a name like that, you’re likely to think it must be a delicacy and perhaps something foreign to you. Well, it was indeed foreign to me as I don’t usually search for pork jowl when browsing a menu. Luckily, this time I took the plunge and was rewarded with an incredibly tender, flavourful and complex dish. It was served with wild rice, onions, reduced tomato and brassica. It was easily my favourite dish of the evening. The butternut squash ravioli was well executed with just enough bite on the butternut squash dough. It came with toasted hazelnuts, brown butter and mouth-watering 30-month shaved parmiggiano cheese. As it was a tasting menu, we also got to try the roasted branzino, a type of white fish, swimming in a velouté plus a generous helping of white and black truffle shavings. The Chocolate Cremeux was delightful, comprised of a raspberry and oat crumb, amarena cherries, and sorbetto. A perfectly light way to end the evening.

Seminar: Top Value Wines

Drinking a good bottle of wine shouldn’t be limited to the amount of money in your wallet. But it often does, as wine quality is frequently correlated with its price tag, whether it’s true or not. In other words, the assumption is that the more expensive the wine, the better the quality. But that is simply not the case and shouldn’t be the rule of thumb. In fact, Keith and I go out of our way to find great tasting wines at an accessible price point. We like to shop for good value.

That said, wine can indeed be very subjective. This leads to varying opinions about varietals, vintages and tasting notes and more. I like to think of this as a good thing; that I can learn more about wines from the experts, and what better way to do that than at a wine seminar on Top Value Wines by some of the most notables critics out there?

In this seminar, we learned from three experts in the wine industry about which wines they ranked as being the best value. While you may not always agree on their findings - because at the end of the day you’re the one drinking it at home - the information forms a great baseline to begin judging your own wines. I found myself enjoying the following three (out of a total of 12 wines shared) - let me know if you have tried any of these and if you have an opinion about them:

Gran Passione Rosso IGT Veneto
Lupi Reali Organic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
Gerard Betrand Terroir Corbieres

Culinary Stage: Tyax Lodge and Fort Berens Estate Winery*

The Culinary Stage events are for cooking demonstrations - along with tastings of course - paired with wine. Ours was hosted by Tyax Lodge and Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, one of the oldest towns in BC.

Fort Berens Winery is located approximately two hours north east of Whistler. Hot sunny days, cool nights and the nearby cloud-catching Coast Mountains make Lillooet an ideal climate for growing grapes. They have been making wine for the last 10 years and is known for their strong single varietals of pinot gris, chardonnay riesling, pinot noir, merlot and cabernet Franc.

Google the location of the winery and you’ll be blown away by how beautiful the nearby lake is to witness - one that’s turned a creamy Tiffany, robins egg blue from the minerals. I had never heard of this winery until this particular event and Keith and I were very impressed.

The food, as prepared by executive chef Daniel Crane and his Tyax Lodge restaurant team, was beautifully executed. If there was one thing to nit pick about, would be the temperature in which the food was served. Because there were so many of us in the audience, the staff were already beginning to plate the dishes while the Tyax Executive Chef was still undergoing the demonstration. But given the sheer number of people in the audience and with only three kitchen staff, the food was only served lukewarm. Temperature aside, however, it was still very delicious and we’re keen to go visit Lillooet one day and see both these places for ourselves.

*this particular event was sponsored by Tourism Whistler, who provided the tickets for Keith and I.

Savour at the Westin*

This event, as the name suggests, is held at the Westin Hotel in Whistler. It is meant to act as the precursor to the Grand Crush Tasting and to whet your palette (and appetite). This year, the Westin is undergoing major renovations to its lobby and check in area, which renders much of the hotel conference space unavailable. So Savour took place in an enclosed, outdoor tent complete with live music plus a host of cocktail and food options.

To be honest, by this point, we had ingested so much wine that a cocktail was a much needed distraction. I got to choose from autumn fizz, raspberry basil spiked vodka, crudité caesar shots and spiked prawn cocktails. All of these were incredibly delicious - but there wasn’t much to do beyond standing around and mingling with strangers. In addition, it was getting progressively stuffier inside so we decided to head back inside to the bar at the Westin before slipping out to the Grand Crush Tasting back at the Whistler Conference Centre.

*this particular event was sponsored by Tourism Whistler, who provided the tickets for Keith and I.

Grand Crush Tasting

The Grand Crush Tasting, upon entering, reminded me a bit of the Vancouver International Wine Festival with its numerous booths and crowds of people sauntering from one booth to the next, glasses in hand. That’s about as similar as they get. The biggest difference overall is size and the end-to-end experience. Grand Crush is smaller and the vibe is much more friendly and laid back. It’s a bit more of a party where there are food stations all over and the music is much more fun. You don’t feel like the organizers are just packing people in like at VIWF, with maddening crowds and ridiculously long line ups just for a couple of sample drops. Grand Crush is more like a private party where the average age isn’t fifty. Plus, it’s priced so that it’s very accessible to the average wine drinker.

Chef Table Luncheon - Origo Club

Now on the other side of the accessibility spectrum, are the exclusive chef table luncheons held at enormous private residences owned by the glitterati of Whistler. You arrive at the Whistler Conference Center, where they whisk you via private bus up to the secret location of the lunch. When Keith and I bought tickets to this event, we weren’t quite sure how the logistics was going to work but it made a lot of sense to shuttle everyone at the same time. We also selected this one hosted by Origo Club as we had heard good things about this fine dining French restaurant located in Richmond.

Upon arrival at this gorgeous property, I immediately made a bee line for the tables that had already been set next to the large windows in the living room. It boasted spectacular views of Whistler’s Creekside neighbourhood and its nearby Nita Lake. If there was any setting to enjoy lunch it would be this one.

Lunch itself was delicious although a bit underwhelming given all the hype. And honestly for fine dining, I expected more from the plating. The tomato velouté with truffle oil was tasty - but as Origo Club is a fine dining establishment (and we were certainly sitting in a fine room) I expected more than just a crostini placed on top. Even something simple and elegant like a bread stick or a strategically broken wedge of flatbread cracker would have been a more sophisticated plating option. Or perhaps a soup bowl with an exaggerated rim?

And for fine dining, the portions provided were much larger than expected. Take the mushroom and frisée salad, for instance. Any larger and it would have been a meal on its own. The mushrooms had a nice bite but the dressing for the frisée was much too acidic for my liking. And the wine paired with the dish only further added to the acidity. I would have liked to see a nice, fatty protein to cut into the acid and give the dish more balance.

The main course - duck breast - was a stellar attempt although with a slightly over-salted jus. The duck was done via sous-vide and seared to perfection, served rare which is honestly how all duck should be served. I wish more fine dining restaurants in Vancouver would follow suit. Cutting into it was similar to cutting into a rare tuna steak and it had a delicious, bouncy chew. Bravo at that.

Dessert was a chocolate ganache layer that was surprisingly good and even better than my dessert at the Il Caminetto dinner.

So I’d say Origo Club has promise, and with a few tweaks they could get real consistency (key), quality presentation and then become a true contender in the fight for the fine diner dollar.

Seminar: Value of Italian Wines

Our last event at Cornucopia was a seminar dissecting the value of Italian wines. Keith and I went into this with great interest as our knowledge of Italian wines is very limited yet we have enjoyed nearly all the wines we’ve tasted from Italy. To truly understand this area, it would take many years of study as there are over 350 native grape varietals. I also learned there are rumours that the number is much higher, likely up to 2,000 varietals.

In this seminar, three experts went through a tasting of 12 different Italian wines they deem as having good value. Out of the twelve, I landed on the following three as the best of the lot:

Rivera Bombino Bianco ‘Marese’ Castel del Monte COS 2018 - Bright with nice acidity from Puglia, made from 100% Bombino Bianco (a grape I’ve rarely had but now just discovering!).
Travaglini Gattinara DOCG - bold, fruit forward wine from Piemonte, made from 100% Nebbiolo.
Mazzei Poggio Badiola Toscana IGT 2016 - delicious, jammy Super Tuscan made from 70% Sangiovese and 30% Merlot.

So I’d say all in all, it was a very eventful trip with lots of wine discoveries, great conversations and fun, culinary adventures. For me, it’s all about learning and discovering new things - and not taking any of it too seriously. It’s all about the experience and if that’s something that matters to you, Cornucopia is a perfect getaway to fully immerse yourself into the world of food and wine.

(Disclosure: A big thanks to Tourism Whistler for arranging our accommodations at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort and in providing some of the tickets to events marked with an asterisk (*). While we had paid for the rest of the activities ourselves, their support made the trip much more enjoyable.)