Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival 2012
Wine List Awards

David Niddrie

Each year they come, from around the world to celebrate, introduce and attempt to sell wine into an influential Vancouver (and Western Canadian) market. Principals from wineries both large and small, will arrive in Vancouver to tender their vinous merchandise at dinners, sit down tastings, parties and to attendees in the all important International Tasting Room.


WINE LIST AWARDS
Celebrating the best food and wine pairings in the business, restaurants in Metro Vancouver, Whistler, Vancouver Island, the Interior and Alberta have all been recognized for creating wine lists that complement their establishment’s unique menu and concept. Candidates submitted their wine and menu lists, and were then visited by judges who reviewed their programs. The top restaurants were awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, or commended with an Honourable Mention. The Wine List Awards are sponsored by Vancouver Magazine.


METRO VANCOUVER

Platinum:
Blue Water Café & Raw Bar
Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca
Hawksworth Restaurant
West


Gold:
Brix Restaurant & Wine Bar
CinCin Ristorante & Bar
Fraiche
L’Abattoir
MARKET by Jean-Georges
Nicli Antica Pizzeria
Salt Tasting Room
Wine Room at Joey Bentall One

Silver:
C Restaurant
Chambar
Cork & Fin
Edible Canada at the Market
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
Lift Bar Grill View
Maenam
Tableau Bar Bistro
The Observatory
YEW restaurant + bar
Zest Japanese Cuisine

Bronze:
Raincity Grill
The Salmon House

Honourable Mention:
Al Porto Ristorante
Gramercy Grill
The Beach House Restaurant
WHET kitchen bar patio

WHISTLER

Gold:
Araxi Restaurant & Bar
Rimrock Café

Honourable Mention:
Ric’s Grill Whistler
The Grill Room at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND GULF ISLANDS

Silver:
Galiano Inn (Galiano Island)
Nautical Nellies (Victoria)
The Pacific Restaurant (Victoria)
Vis à Vis Wine & Charcuterie Bar (Victoria)

Honourable Mention:
Ric’s Grill Victoria
The Landing West Coast Grill (Victoria)
Mix by Ric's (Sooke)
Zambri's (Victoria)

OTHER BC

Silver:
The Restaurant at Painted Boat (Madeira Park)

Bronze:
La Bussola Restaurant (Kelowna)
Local Lounge + Grille (Summerland)

Honourable Mention:
Whitetooth Mountain Bistro (Golden)

ALBERTA

Platinum:
Divino Wine & Cheese Bistro (Calgary)
Vin Room (Calgary)

Gold:
Catch Restaurant and Oyster Bar (Calgary)
Cilantro (Calgary)
Emerald Lake Lodge (Calgary)
RUSH (Calgary)
The Ranche Restaurant (Calgary)

Honourable Mention:
Ric’s Grill Downtown Calgary
Ric’s Grill Grande Prairie

SPIRITED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL (SIP) AWARD
The Spirited Industry Professional Award annually honours an individual who has made a significant contribution to the sales, service or promotion of wine in British Columbia. The seventh annual SIP Award goes to Richard Carras, Vice President Western Canada of Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants. For over 25 years, Carras has been a leader in the wine industry. In the early 1980’s he set up and ran western Canada’s first Wine Bar in Kitsilano and in 1997, he became the first Canadian employee for Robert Mondavi, where he worked his way up to become the Export Sales Director for Asia & the Americas. In 2006 he helped to establish the Western division of Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants, which now has employees and offices throughout Western Canada. Inducted into the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association Hall of Fame in 2011, Carras is also a past president of the International Society of Wine Educators, and is a “Certified Wine Educator”, a certification held by only around 250 people worldwide.

SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR AWARD
The 12th annual Sommelier of the Year Award recognizes outstanding wine knowledge and wine service. This year’s award goes to Terry Threlfall. Threlfall is the renowned Sommelier and Wine Director at Vancouver’s Hawksworth Restaurant. His expertise stems from over a decade spent working as Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at London’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Chez Bruce. Furthermore, Threlfall is certified by the International Sommelier Guild and was the first Canadian Sommelier to become a regular panelist for Decanter magazine. The Sommelier of the Year is awarded based on votes by key members in the industry and is also included in the May Restaurant Awards issue of Vancouver Magazine.

THE ART INSTITUTE OF VANCOUVER WINE PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGE
Sommeliers and wine professionals vied for the chance to win The Art Institute of Vancouver Wine Professional Challenge, now in its seventh year. Competitors were required to rotate around 5 judging stations and speak for 3 minutes on a specified wine-related topic. This year, the challenge winner presented with the coveted Puddifoot Award by Mr. John Puddifoot was Adrien Boisvert from Black + Blue.

BLIND TASTING CHALLENGE
On Wednesday February 29th, 2012 wine trade and service professionals, culinarians, and non-professional connoisseurs alike competed in the Blind Tasting Challenge. They blind tasted seven wines and identified them using the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s Systematic Approach to Tasting. This year the Blind Tasting Challenge winners were Brian Glaum (consumer) Leah Gamache of Chambar (culinary) and Lesley Anne Saito of Legacy Liquor Store (trade).

More from Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival

An intro primer - My wish list for great events city wide here
International Tasting Room - What to Taste, Who to Meet here
Printer-list, wines only. What to taste in the International Tasting Room here
Hola! Great Chilean Wines 16 high scoring wines to buy here
Wines to buy - Cannot make it to Wine Fest? 80 bottles from the wineries here
It's a Wrap - Memorable Moments from the 2012 VPIWF here