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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