Wine and food show bigger, better
Thursday, 28 October 2010

Lansdowne site isn't pretty, but sips are tasty

The Ottawa Wine & Food Show returns in a week (Nov. 5 to 7), and this year it celebrates its 25th anniversary. That's quite an achievement, and I think that makes it the oldest continuous wine show in Canada.

Before I say more, let me declare an interest, in that I've been involved with some of the organization this year.

I co-chaired the new wine competition, the Ottawa Wine Challenge, and I'll be leading three tastings: red blends from South Africa; highlights from the new 2011 edition of my 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO; and a retrospective on 25 years of wine, in honour of the 25th anniversary.

For the rest, you can expect to see a bigger, better show this year, although we'll all be pleased when the show vacates the temporary premises at Lansdowne Park and returns downtown next year. It hasn't been easy to make the show look good at Lansdowne. Even though the show's content has held up -- not just held up, but improved -- the facilities haven't been the best.

But if you focus on the wine (and beer, spirits and food), you'll be far from disappointed. All the information you need about the show is on its website: www.ottawawineandfoodshow.com, but there are interesting innovations to look for.

Many people want to try the medal-winners in the wine competition. In earlier years, you had to identify them by looking for a bottle at each booth with a ribbon and medal draped around its neck. This year, the show program lists all medal-winning wines and also indicates at which booth each can be tasted. It makes things more efficient, if that's the way you approach the show. I think there's also a lot to be said for wandering randomly. You never know what you'll find. (You can also taste some of the gold medal-winning wines at one of the tutored tastings.)

As usual, a number of Ottawa restaurants will serve food (it's an excellent idea to eat, as well as drink). Some have partnered with wineries and wine agencies, and you can test-drive their suggested wine-and-food pairings.

Then there's the Tasting Alley, where (for an additional charge) you can taste premium wines and enjoy artisanal cheeses in an area separate from the main exhibition halls. The Tasting Alley was introduced two years ago, and this year an additional 25 wines will be poured -- again, to celebrate 25 years of the show. (Does this mean an additional 26 will be poured next year?)

Finally, tickets this year are sold for specific days, rather than in the past, when you bought a ticket good for any one of the three days. This new system should reduce the lineups that frustrated a lot of people.

All in all, everything looks good for another successful show. This is one of Ottawa's iconic annual events for a reason: it's a unique chance to taste and learn about hundreds of wines (and beer and spirits), most in our market, but many not.