Media Releases

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Cornucopia’s Top 25 wines announced

Tourism Whistler media release
For immediate release - October 17, 2013

Suggested Tweet: Swirl, sip and savour the best of the best at @CornucopiaWine Top 25 #Cornucopia2013 http://bit.ly/19N5CRB

Whistler, B.C. – A panel of 11 judges sipped, sampled and savoured a breathtaking number of individually incredible wines to select the best of the best for Cornucopia presented by BlueShore Financial’s Top 25 wines.

“The Top 25 Celebratory Reception is an opportunity for us to recognizing the contribution that each winery makes to our festival.” says Dana Lee Harris of Dana Lee Consulting Ltd., wine events programmer for Cornucopia. “This event is an evening that is all about the wines and the people who make them.”

Each winery participating in Crush was offered the opportunity to enter wines they felt best made a quality statement, into the running for the Top 25 wine competition. The judges tasted in a closed tasting session before making their final selection.

Wine lovers and aficionados who want to taste these winning wines will have the opportunity on Saturday, November 9 in a casual setting at the Whistler Public Library. Tickets for the event are $35 and will sell out quickly. They can be purchased online at www.whistlercornucopia.com.

The Top 25 wines are:

Top Bubble - Charles de Cazanove Brut Premier Cru NV

Top White - Fort Berens Estate Winery Chardonnay 2012

Top Red - Stoneboat Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011

Best of the Rest, in alphabetical order:

• 8th Generation Merlot 2011
• 8th Generation Riesling 2012
• Antinori Bramito del Cervo Chardonnay 2011
• Blasted Church Cabernet Merlot 2010
• Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Gold Label Brut NV
• Bottega Gold NV
• Calliope Viognier 2012
• Chaberton Estate Winery AC 50 2008
• Chateau Ste Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling 2011
• Michael David 6th Sense Syrah 2011
• Michael David 7 Deadly Zins 2011
• Michael David Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
• Michael David Petite Petit 2010
• Mission Hill Family Estate Quatrain 2009
• Noble Ridge Reserve Meritage 2008
• Perseus Merlot 2011
• Ramos Pinto Douro Duas Quintas Red 2010
• Salvatore Molettieri Riserva Taurasi - Vigna Cinque Querce 2006
• Santa Ana La Mascota Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
• Stoneboat Vineyards Piano Brut NV
• Stoneboat Vineyards Pinotage 2011
• Tightrope Winery Pinot Noir 2012

Cornucopia Faces + Places

Samantha Rahn - Wine Director, Araxi restaurant + bar
A passionate sommelier and world-traveler, Samantha arrived at Araxi in October, 2007 following a tour through Burgundy. Previously residing in Banff, Rahn was wine director at the award-winning Maple Leaf Grille for six years where she led the restaurant to numerous recognitions, including Wine Spectator’s ‘Best of’ Award of Excellence.

Trained at the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and with over 15 years of hospitality experience, Samantha sources exciting, value-driven wines to complement Araxi's highly acclaimed, 11,000 bottle library. In 2013, Samantha won the title of "Sommelier of the Year" at the Vancouver International Wine Festival and was recognized with the “Premier Crew Service Award” at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. An accomplished musician, Samantha is also a former snowboard cross racer, certified snowboard coach and avid downhill mountain bike competitor.

Cornucopia presented by BlueShore Financial is Whistler’s food + drink celebration celebrating its 17thyear. The festival is newly expanded to eleven days of gourmet food, wines, spirits and craft beer complete with an exciting line up of talent, including mixologists, sommeliers, and renowned chefs in the food and drink industry. Attracting more than 10,000 people to the resort – and catering to everyone from amateur enthusiasts to aficionados - the diverse program offers educational seminars, wine tasting, elaborate dinners, late-night events and a new health and wellness series Nourish. Held on the cusp of the ski season opening in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia; Cornucopia was designed to showcase and support the local food and drink industry. Cornucopia has become recognized as a preeminent representation of the culinary tourism industry in Canada.

Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.WHISTLER and whistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Broadcasters: Whistler now has the capability to take you live with our enhanced fibre network. The significantly expanded network of more than 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling throughout the resort allows instant transmission of HD signals to any location at any time. Details on how to access, and book the fibre are available on our media site.

Media can visit whistler.com/media for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality profiles and access to images and B-roll.

Media Contacts

Mary Zinck
Specialist, Media Relations
T: 604.938.2702
E: mzinck@tourismwhistler.com

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