By Athena Lucero
When I first heard about Whistler Cornucopia, an 11-day (yikes) food and drink festival held in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, I couldn't fathom eating and drinking that long. I've attended many a fete celebrating life's bounty, but they've lasted only a few days. So I did what any curious food and wine lover would do.
On a crisp November day, a short flight from Los Angeles landed me at Vancouver International Airport in time to catch the shuttle for a glorious sunset drive up the Sea to Sky Highway, the road to Whistler. With a glistening Pacific Ocean and island silhouettes to one side and sheer cliffs and forested mountains on the other, it's no wonder people call it one of the most scenic highways in the world.
Little did I know the blissful journey was recharging me for the epicurean extravaganza's opening weekend held at one of North America's top mountain resorts.
A cornucopia indeed, Whistler becomes the "horn of plenty" each fall — the classical symbol of the harvest, prosperity, abundance and nourishment — that showcases Canada's home-grown wineries, breweries, distilleries, restaurants, food producers and chefs in the most unimaginable ways.
From almost a dozen signature events held over two weekends, such as House Party (the opening event), Cellar Door Grand Tasting, Bearfoot Bistro's World Oyster Invitational and Bloody Caesar Battle to Cornucopia Night Market and the BC Craft Brewers Guild's Winter Beer Market to the Culinary Stage Series, Chef's Table Luncheons, winemakers' dinners and late-night parties — and the seemingly endless offerings in between - the bounty was wonderfully staggering.
Celebrating its 20th year, Whistler Cornucopia wasn't always this lavish, so I learned at the House Party.
"This started out as a small community event," a longtime Whistler resident and Cornucopia veteran told me as she and her gal friends shared a cocktail table with me. "...It just kept growing and I've never missed it!"
I looked on as she multitasked, holding her glass of red wine, bobbing to the live music, waving to friends and huddling with her cohorts over which of the evening's 31 wines, spirits and beers to imbibe next. Exquisite food-tastings prepared by local chefs added to the night's divine temptations.
Canadians love drinking their own wines, which are not widely exported (yet) and a reason why the relatively young commercial industry here has been under the radar. But with the explosion of winemaking in the Okanagan Valley — from fewer than 30 wineries 20 years ago to more than 250 today - world-class vintages here are turning heads on the international stage, including award-winning First Nations wines.
In a spectacular setting of lakes, rolling hills, sunny climes and unique microclimates, the Okanagan Valley is the hottest and driest part of the country. Some 250 miles east of Vancouver, it is Canada's second-largest winemaking region (after Niagara in Ontario) and is home to about 60 varietals with vinifera, pinot noir, pinot gris, merlot and chardonnay leading the bunch.
And just as winemaking in California began during the mission era, when Father Junipero Serra planted grapes for sacramental wines, so did Father Charles Pandosy, an Oblate priest from France, when in 1859 he built the Okanagan Mission and planted the first grapevine in the region. If only the two priests could see now what their sowing has reaped!
Whistler Cornucopia is extravagant, living up to its name. But it is also delightfully unpretentious, educational and charitable. It's not just for the connoisseur but for anyone fascinated with food and drink. And it isn't just about merrymaking 24/7. Before the nighttime revelry starts, guests hungry for knowledge queue up for enlightening daytime workshops and seminars where they can meet the experts — winemakers, brewers, chefs, food producers and cheese-makers — who share their insights and passions for their craft. And for the career-minded, the Industry Educational Series offers courses, training and certificates in wine, beverage and hospitality.
The handful I attended was just the beginning.
At the "All You Need is Wine and Cheese" seminar sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada the packed room of cheese-lovers discovered the subtleties and nuances of pairing the perfect Canadian wines with cheeses produced around the country, from creamy Comox Brie with notes of mushroom and flavors influenced by the seaside conditions of Vancouver Island to the semi-soft Le Douanier from Quebec (made with a center layer of vegetable ash), to a fine bold creamy blue cheese from Mapleridge, British Columbia, and more.
The new and unexpected "Nourish" retreat offered a wellness timeout to "restore the body, inspire the mind and celebrate the spirit" through yoga, meditation and valuable reminders that we are what we eat. Energizing juices, raw food "cooking" demonstrations, including a savory breakfast of quiche and taco wraps, made me feel balanced, empowered and a lot less guilty.
For a bit of northern Italian exposure, guests attending "Amarone: Building an Icon" met Raffaele Boscaini, the seventh generation of the renowned Masi Winery, family-owned and operated since the late 1700s in Valpolicella, the viticultural zone of Verona, Italy, and considered the one of the region's most important wineries.
"Amarone is a style of wine, not a type of grape," said Boscaini.
It is made only in Valpolicella by 10 Amarone families.
Participants enjoyed a crash course on appassimento, the traditional method of drying grapes, founded by Boscaini's grandfather. With a dozen wine glasses laid out before each of us, we sniffed, swirled, sipped and spat 12 luxurious variations of Amarone, a rich red blend made from dried grapes. Air-dried on bamboo trays for three months, the grapes are gently pressed, vinified and aged almost five years. The wine's subtle dried-fruit character pairs beautifully with Thai dishes, glazed duck, liver and onions, and horse meat salad (a popular meat in Veneto).
Three days at Cornucopia was feeling like a rite of passage as I met more friendly locals from Whistler and Vancouver. They don't necessarily attend each day of Cornucopia, but rather the events that catch their fancy.
In that spirit, and before my weekend drew to an end, there was just enough time to catch the start of the Invitational Oyster Shucking Competition and Bloody Caesar Battle (a fundraiser for local charities) sponsored by Bearfoot Bistro, a Whistler dining landmark and culinary destination.
With a good choke on their oyster knives, the world's best oyster shuckers were each given a tray of 30 oysters — and one minute — to shuck as many of the mollusks as possible, hopefully finishing, for the scrutiny of the judges, with flawless oysters sitting ever so perfectly on the half shell in their "liquor" (juices) — no broken shells, no damage to the oyster, no shell splinters on the meat, no remains of the adductor muscle and no blood from nasty cuts.
Nearby, top mixologists and bartenders from around the globe were prepping for their own competition - the best Bloody Caesar, a Canadian invention made with vodka, Clamato juice, salt, celery salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Giddy onlookers slurped away freshly shucked oysters and sampled Bloody Caesar "warm ups." Now that's a juice that jolted my taste buds.
I couldn't help thinking about the ancient Roman banquets where guests lavished for days on oysters, an abundance of meat, fruits and vegetables and drank wine that flowed forever. It couldn't have been much different from Whistler Cornucopia.
WHEN YOU GO
For more information: www.whistlercornucopia.com
I stayed at the landmark Fairmont Chateau Whistler, a ski-in, ski-out hotel at the base of Blackcomb Mountain and host venue for several Whistler Cornucopia events: www.fairmont.com.
Athena Lucero is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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