By Margaret Swaine
Fine wine and dining was in great form during the Telus Skins Game in Whistler this July. Bearfoot Bistro was sabering open champagne bottles, Après featured a cooking class with Chef Eric Vernice in his kitchen and The Fifty Two 80 Bistro at the Four Seasons offered fresh market seafood paired with a boutique collection of British Columbia wines. So après press conference on the first day of the Skins I had to pose the question to golf legend Jack Nicklaus. “What do you think of your fellow players getting involved in the wine business?” The answer, “I suppose they’re doing well but I don’t drink the stuff myself.”
Ah yes, us wine wienies sometimes forget that after a great game, many continue to savour the golf rather than focus on the next meal with deliciously matched wine. I nonetheless hightailed it back to the Village to do just that. Waiting for me at Bearfoot with a huge knife in his hand, was the ebullient owner André Saint-Jacques. He has a habit of getting his visitors to whack the top of bottles of bubbly. During the busy winter season he told me he has 20 to 30 guests a night do this. Under his expert tutelage it was surprisingly easy. In his ten years of sabering wine he’s had only one testosterone driven man hit the bottle too hard causing it to explode in shards. We took our freshly sliced open bottle of BC’s Blue Mountain Brut and poured it into the bistro’s unique stemmed flutes. They lack a bottom so you can’t put them down unless you sit at the Champagne bar with its rail of chopped ice. Fiber-optic illuminated holes mark the spots wherein to sink the glasses.
Oyster guy Chris Field, one of America’s top ten in the Shuckfest Championships then lead me through a tasting of different cultured BC oysters – Stellar Bay, Effingham Inlet, Chef’s Creek, Deep Bay and more. Bearfoot offers oysters at ten dollars a dozen at the Champagne Bar but you must order bubbly to sit there. So civilized. Oysters and crisp champers go together like a glove on a hand. In the dining room, three course, five course up to ten course tasting menus are available all expertly matched with selections from the 20,000 plus wines in their cellar. Chef de Cuisine Melissa Craig at 25 years old is already a rising star. That she lives, breaths and dreams cooking shows in her exquisite dishes.
The next day in the kitchen at Après I joined fellow food enthusiasts at a cooking class given by Lyon born Chef Vernice. He showed us how to make chicken breast stuffed with wild mushroom pain perdu, halibut with leek fondue and Yukon gold potato gnocchi with tomato sauce. The culinary tips and tricks were gems of information. As well as half day classes, the restaurant also offers five day schools in summer and fall. Adventurous regular diners should try the small plates tasting menus with wine pairings. Blue Mountain Cream Label Pinot Noir for example is matched with port wine glazed quail, organic spring lamb with Sheridan Vineyard Kamiakin (Washington State cabernet merlot blend) and warm chocolate mousse with Quails Gate Optima. The wine selection is all North Pacific, featuring expertly chosen wines from BC, Oregon, Washington and California. Flights of three (two ounce) tasting portions go for $15 to $23 and include “What’s in Vogue: West Coast Viognier” and “A mélange of Merlot”. The supple, classy, delicious Burrowing Owl merlot is one of a number of top notch BC reds on their list.
If you go (and I highly recommend you do) Golf Whistler is a collection of four signature courses with golf vacation packages available at 1-866-338-4026 or www.golfwhistler.com. For Bearfoot Bistro visit www.bearfootbistro.com and for Après see www.apresrestaurant.com.
J.J. McWilliams Winery is the presenting sponsor of ScoreGolf’s Best of the Best Golfer’s Choice contest (including Best of the West). Even if you don’t win a chance to play golf in Australia, home of McWilliam’s wines with editor Bob Weeks, you can get a taste of things here at home. Samuel McWilliam first planted vines in New South Wales in 1877 starting a legacy that has seen six generations of McWilliams run the winery. Today twelve family members are involved. Their wine range reflects the regions of Oz include Mount Pleasant in the Hunter Valley, Lillydale Vineyards in the Yarra Valley and McWilliam’s Hanwood in south-eastern Australia. McWilliam’s also recently launched its McWilliam’s Regional Collection featuring varieties and blends of Australia’s most renowned wine regions. If you want a treat try their McWilliam Stentiford’s Reserve Old Vines Shiraz 2000 ($74.95) or the Shiraz 2001 ($39.95). Their value priced line sold in Canada is under the J.J. McWilliam label and hails from south eastern Australia. The reds in this line are well made with a smooth, fresh fruitiness. Cabernet merlot 2003 has a lively blackcurrant freshness in a medium body. Shiraz merlot 2003 is slightly softer and meatier with raspberry spice tastes. Shiraz Cabernet 2003 is a medium full, plump plum with smoky hints. In the whites Chardonnay Colombard 2004 is crisp zingy fresh like a lime sherbet.
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Swaine Top Picks
JJ McWilliam Cabernet Merlot 2003 $11.95
Agent: E. & J. Gallo Winery Canada 905-819-9600
www.mcwilliamswines.com
Burrowing Owl Merlot 2003 $25.
(Either buy in BC or order via internet or phone for delivery anywhere in Canada)
Order desk: 1-877-498-0620
www.burrowingowlwine.ca