Chef Meets Grape Event Announces Winners

CHEF MEETS GRAPE EVENT ANNOUNCES WINNERS
(Directly from the press release).

Vancouver, BC - Chef Meets Grape, the largest BC food and wine event in the city, toasted BC’s chefs, winemakers and winery proprietors to a sold out crowd last night. The third annual event put on by the BC Wine Institute had eleven of Vancouver’s finest chefs and 35 BC VQA wineries serving the ‘best of BC’ to almost 400 people in their new venue at the Rocky Mountaineer Station.

This year’s competition for top awards was stiff as chefs from Lumiere, Diva at the Met and Cru participated with eight other restaurants – with the judges finally announcing a tie. Chefs Roger Planiden from Fairmont’s Globe @YVR and William Tse from Goldfish Pacific Kitchen were pleased to share the 2007 title for the Judges’ Choice for Best Food and Wine Pairing Award. Planiden’s organic duck terrine and pickled chanterelles was paired with Quails’ Gate Family Reserve 2005 Pinot Noir and Tse’s lemongrass and maple-cured wild BC salmon gravlax was paired with Tantalus Vineyards 2006 Reisling.

Judge DJ Kearney, respected wine educator and accomplished chef herself, noted that it was a difficult decision for the judging team to choose just one winner from the amazing food and wine pairings that we were presented with. “I know this is a first, but we have to declare a tie – these two restaurants both deserve to win the evening’s top prize for best food and wine pairing.�

The top chefs’ winning combinations shared prizes with two other winners. The People’s Choice Wine of the Evening award went to Tantalus Vineyards for their 2005 Old Vines Reisling. And the People’s Choice small plate of the evening award went to Chef Shaughn Halls and his hard-working crew from Pair Bistro. Winners received BC Wine Institute gift packs filled with VQA treats, along with Reidel crystal wine glasses from Vancouver’s Puddifoot Store to enjoy them in.

“BC wines are all about expressing what is uniquely BC, says BC Wine Institute Executive Director Peggy Athans. “This is also what BC restaurants are striving for and the reason they are such a great match.� Athans adds, “Chefs in BC restaurants are part of the reason why demand for BC VQA wine is so strong.�

ChefmeetsGrape is an annual fall event that brings together the fresh flavours of the province with BC VQA wines. This year, eleven Vancouver Chefs prepared small-plate dishes, and over 35 BC VQA wineries served their new summer and autumn-release wines for people to enjoy at the event. The event is organized by the British Columbia Wine Institute.


Participating Restaurants and Wineries

Restaurants:

C Restaurant
Coast Restaurant
CRU Restaurant
Diva at the Met
Globe@YVR
GoldFish Pacific Kitchen
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
Lumiere
O’Douls
PAIR Bistro
Senova

Wineries:

Arrowleaf Cellars
Calona Vineyards
CedarCreek Estate Winery
Church & State Wines
Crowsnest Vineyards
Desert Hills Estate Winery
Gray Monk Estate Winery
Hainle Vineyards & Deep Creek Estate
Hester Creek Estate Winery
Holman Lang Wineries
Inniskillin Okanagan Vineyards
Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate
Lake Breeze Vineyards
Little Straw Vineyards Estate Winery
Mission Hill Family Estate Winery
Nk’Mip Cellars
Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery
Paradise Ranch Wines
Peller Estates
Prospect Winery
Quails’ Gate Estate Winery
Red Rooster Winery
Sandhill Wines
Saturna Island Vineyards
See Ya Later Ranch
St. Hubertus Estate Winery
Sumac Ridge Estate Winery
Summerhill Pyramid Winery
Tantalus Vineyards
Therapy Vineyards
Thornhaven Estates Winery
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery
Van Westen Vineyards
Wild Goose Vineyards


About the BC Wine Institute (BCWI): The province’s lead wine industry trade association since 1990, the BCWI has played a pivotal role in taking BC’s wine industry from a vision to an internationally recognized niche region producing premium wines and providing quality wine tourism experiences. The BCWI markets the Wines of British Columbia (BC VQA) brand and BC’s wine regions, delivers quality trade, media and consumer tastings; and acts as the voice of BC’s wine industry by advocating to government on behalf of its members. Please visit www.winebc.com for more information.