The Vancouver International Wine Festival announced the 2016 trade competition winners on Friday at Celebrating Excellence: 13th Annual Awards Lunch, featuring Italian DOCG Wines, presented by ContainerWorld. The Celebrating Excellence program is part of Trade Days Conference, presented by Sysco; the program honours those professionals who contribute to this region’s exceptional wine and food culture. Guests enjoyed a meal prepared by Vancouver Convention Centre executive chef Blair Rasmussen, exquisitely matched with a selection of 35 Italian DOCG wines, Italy’s highest wine classification.
2016 SPIRITED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL AWARD
The annual Spirited Industry Professional Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the sales, service or promotion of wine in British Columbia. The 10th annual award goes to industry icon Norman Gladstone.
Normanentered the import agency business 35 years ago with his own company, Gladstone and Company Wine Imports, after having worked overseas in the beer industry with Whitbread. Fifteen years later he partnered with International Cellars, where he remained until his retirement this year. He held the post of the Import Vintners & Spirits Association (IVSA) president for several terms and spearheaded the long running IVSA/BCLDB baseball tournaments. Known as a man of many words, Norman has been a mentor and mediator to many people in the industry.
2016 SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR
The Sommelier of the Year Award recognizes working sommeliers who consistently demonstrate an outstanding passion for marrying wine with food and a dedication to exceptional service. This year’s winner, Alistair Veen, chef/owner of Tap Restaurant, was selected through a hands-on competition organized by the BC Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS). Veen will represent British Columbia in the “Best Sommelier in Canada” competition this spring.
Veen became interested in wine as part of all the food and wine paired menus he was asked to create. Over many years through trial and error he learned some of the nuances that play off each other in pairing. But he hungered for more knowledge about wine so he signed up for a level 1 International Sommelier Guild program. There he met his instructor, Michelle Bouffard, whom he credits for planting the seed in his head that there was a deep and exciting rabbit hole to follow with his wine education. He is currently the chef/owner of Tap Restaurant in South Surrey.
2016 WINE PROGRAM EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
Celebrating the best food and wine pairings in the business, restaurants throughout British Columbia and Alberta have 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 key judges were Tom Doughty, Jay Jones, DJ Kearney, Iain Philip, and Treve Ring. The top restaurants were awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, or commended with an Honourable Mention. The Wine Program Excellence Awards are sponsored by Vancouver Magazine.
