ae

MYSTERIES DISPELLED

Festival a haven

ANY SERIOUS lover of food will inevitably develop a
serious extra-marital affair with wine.

For those who are intimidated
into feigning wide-ranging
viticultural knowledge or who
Joathe to venture beyond.the more
pedestrian bottles for fear of
wading into uncharted depths,

Vancouver Wine Festival organizer
John Levine has good news: wine
expertise does not require French
citizenship.

table
hopping

_ by Timothy Renshaw

“There is nothing mysterious
about wine,” he told a ‘table of
erstwhile restaurant critics at the

helm *: ‘of. a recent wine seminar

promoting the. upcoming . wine
spectacular. “‘Its smelis and flavors
are different for everyone. And

“none.of those smells: and: flavors
“are wrong. There is no. right or.
_ wrong, there are only differences.”

From. April 1 to 5, Levine and a

; growing number of North Shore
“and®Yancouver : area wine afi-
cionados and enthusiasts will make
, the acquaintance of over 250 wines
‘from 70 different wineries and
‘eight different countries: at: the

ninth annual Vancouver Interna-
‘tional Wine Festival.
Besides raising money for the

=Vancouver Piayhouse, the festival

Chicken Madeira

Breast of chicken roasted in Madeira» )

--Wine & Mushroom Sauce
. includes soup or salad

Open Daily from llam
Serving Lunch and Dinner

2nd Floor
on the waterfront
at Lonsdale Quay Market

_every  restaurant-goer
whenever a bottle of wine is

will be a grand reunion for wine
connoisseurs and an educational
experience highly recommended
for anyone who has even 2 passing
interest in the rejuvenating proper-
ties and fascinating characteristics
that have made wine man’s most
intriguing alcoholic beverage.

Wine can be enjoyed on any
level. That enjoyment is 90 per
cent enthusiasm and 10 per cent
expertise.

The novice has only to connect
past sensory experiences to wine’s
myriad characteristics to vastly in-
crease simple appreciation. _

Because human taste-buds can
distinguish only sweet, sour, salt
and bitter, taste is winc’s least
distinguishing aspect.

Smell is where the wire steward
hits his real stride, and where wine
‘leaves other more earthbound fi-
. quids.

The human nose can identify

3,000 different smells,’ Levine

- said. “If you can learn to identify

only a fraction of them in wine
you are half way to being a wine
expert.”

In addition, color and liquid
weight of wine, its texture on the
tongue and the complexity of the
15 acids that provide its complex
bite are all integral. to its appeal
and quality.

Prior to directing our various
beaks into a six-bottle selection of

- Californian wine, Levine blew the

mystique from a few well-worn but
ultimately confusing wine charades
faces

ordered with dinner.

Presentation of ‘the wine bottle
by, the waiter requires only con-
fircnation from the patron that it is

,indeed the wine ordered. No.
rambling comment on. glory of ©

year or vintage is required.
The cork, which I have had oc-

. casion to sniff like a viticultural

bloodhcund, is presented only so.
its pliability can be checked. A
flexible cork will assure that the

987-3322

ALWAYS WILLING to swill
spirits, table-hopping Timothy
Renshaw reccives some pointers
on the refined art of wine
tasting.

‘DINNER SPECIAL

Enjoy A Little Sit
of India Right in
Vancouver All
Foods Prepared
Fresh Daily
We feature
vegetarian & non-
Vegetarian Dishes. %
Over 21 Items {0 choose from

LUNCH 11 am-3 pm
$499

DINNER 4 pm-9 pm

; $599

Boinbay Sweets’ |
=" and Restaurant'So

es8eo Main Street (at 49th) Vancouver
874-8722 321-1414

tf em
wot sie A. A .
NEWS photo Te:ty Poters Naresh Shukla
carry-over from bygone days when
any aristocracy worth its salt
employed court poison-testers. The
tradition now is to ensure the wine
can safely be served to the assorted
See Wine

Page 26

all-important seal is intact; a ‘dry,
crumbly cork indicates possible vi-
olation’ of that seal and possible
entry of air, wine’s mortal enemy.
Sniffing betrays questionable
winemanship. —

A test sampling for the host.is a

ALL YOU CAN EAT —
FAMILY EASTER BUFFET
Sunday April 19, 1987

-in the Versailles Room from 11 am to 2 pm
with Entertainment

EASTER MANIA
FOR CHILDREN

Have the children | join the fun in our specially set-up games:
room and win an Easter surprise Free Polaroid Pictures: :

Adults $19.25 Children 6-12 years $10.00 -
Children under 5 years — free . poe
Gratuity included - , we pope
Reservations confirmed upon prepayment , fo

Come and see the ‘“World’s Largest Easter Egg”’
and enter our contest to win a trip for two
to Hong Kong :

“March 30 to April 20, 1987

Your presence always makes it
a special occasion for us.

MERIDIEN | |.
VANCOUVER. _

845 Burrard Street at Robson ° (604) 682- 55M

A taste of Europe

25-°Friday, March -277°1987— ‘Notifi Shore News