Media Releases

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Expert panel reveals Top 25 wines for the 21st annual Cornucopia, presented by BlueShore Financial

Whistler, B.C. – A panel of 11 esteemed industry experts has announced the Top 25 winning wines for the 2017 Cornucopia, presented by BlueShore Financial – taking place November 9-19, 2017.

With an impressive number of submissions, the day-long judging is not a simple task. 
DJ Kearney, head judge and festival presenter, gathered the diverse panel of professionals – who hail from Whistler and Vancouver - on October 3 in Whistler Village’s The Cellar by Araxi for the closed blind-tasting.

Kearney commends the quality of admissions for this year's competition, "Thanks to all the judges, volunteers and wineries that participated. Cornucopia participants keep raising the bar on the selection of wines put forward for this competition. Holding the judging in Whistler makes so much sense, and our venue, The Cellar by Araxi, was brilliant! Congratulations to all the winners."

Every winery participating in Cornucopia was given the opportunity to enter their choice of wines into the Top 25 competition.

The Top 25 wines for 2017 are:

Top White: Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2015

Top Red: TIME Winery Syrah 2013

Best of the Rest, in alphabetical order:

• 50th Parallel Estate Pinot Noir 2015
• 50th Parallel Estate Riesling 2016
• Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz 2015
• Basel Cellars Double River Vineyard Syrah Walla Walla 2013
• BenMarco Malbec 2015
• Clos du Soleil Signature 2013
• Corcelettes Estate Winery Pinot Noir 2016
• David Hill Vineyard & Winery Estate Grown Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2014
• DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 2015
• DeLille Cellars D2 2013
• Desert Hills Gamay 2016
• El Esteco Don David Reserve Malbec 2015
• Fort Berens Riesling 2016
• Howling Bluff Pinot Noir, ACTA Vineyard 2014
• Kestrel Vintners Yakima Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
• Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot 2014
• Lunessence Pinot Blanc Oraniensteiner 2016
• Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2011
• Thornhaven Estates Winery Gewurztraminer 2016
• Treana Blanc 2014
• Treana Red 2014
• Villa Maria Single Vineyard
• Southern Clays Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016
• Vina Ventisquero Grey Cabernet 2014

Ticket holders can catch many of the judges at various seminars or as a host at their respective restaurant’s winery dinner. The festival schedule lists all seminars and presenters so participants can take advantage of learning from this esteemed group. The panel consisted of:

• DJ Kearney, Head Judge
• Eric Blouin, Cornucopia Ambassador
• Samantha Rahn, Cornucopia Ambassador
• Daenna Van Mulligen
• David Brownridge
• Joanne DiGeso
• Kurtis Kolt
• Michael Kompass
• Olivia Halla
• Paul Street
• Ted Low

With a robust schedule of local restaurant-run events, seminars, various tasting events including the must-attend flagship event Crash Grand Tasting -- there is a menu for every taste and budget. Don't miss out - tickets are on sale now. Visit www.whistlercornucopia.com for ticket and event information. Media accreditation is open - forms can be accessed here. 

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Cornucopia, presented by BlueShore Financial is Whistler’s Celebration of Food + Drink. The dazzling eleven-day display of gourmet food and drink attracts over 15,000 visitors to the resort and
caters to everyone from amateur enthusiasts to aficionados. Respected industry professionals, judges and presenters headline each event, seminar and tasting, offering the best possible opportunity to garner as much information and insight as possible. Held on the cusp of the opening of each ski season in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia, Cornucopia was designed to showcase and support local restaurants, restaurateurs and the food and wine industry. With wide-spread appeal through the immense variety of events available, the festival is truly a food and drink festival with a Whistler attitude.

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 1.800.944.7853 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.

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

Media Contact

Mary Zinck
Manager, Travel Media, Tourism Whistler/Cornucopia
T: 604.938.2702
E: mzinck@tourismwhistler.com
W: www.whistlercornucopia.com/media
T: www.twitter.com/CornucopiaWine
F: www.facebook.com/WhistlerCornucopia
I: @cornucopiawhistler