We were on the second week of Cornucopia in Whistler. On top of specialty dinners and grand tastings there are also seminars you can take to further your food and drink education. Wine seminars, drink workshops, and cooking demos. We would take one of each. They are a fun and interactive way to learn.
Our first was Cornucopia Drink Seminar: Syrah World Tour. For this class the goal was to have us walking away with a new found appreciation for Syrah and increase its popularity, where many of us would more normally gravitate towards a Pinot or Cabernet Sauvignon instead (myself included).
Our time began with the history or Syrah learning how it shape-shifts according to site and climate. We would take a world tour through six different bottles.
We learned of the vineyards of Côte-Rôtie Northern Rhone Valley, the homeland of Syrah. Where steep slopes offer better drainage, along with better air and water quality. These are all factors that are critical to wine quality. These slopes are where some of the priciest Syrah comes from.
Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape, just with different names given its locale and customs. This is a French grape, and the great grandchild of Pinot Noir.
The grape is grown in over 31 countries, with France having the most. BC only has 500 acres and we will being seeing less in the future, seeing they are not winter hardy. As a Mediterranean grape it needs a certain amount of heat with sand and granite. Our Northern winters have been known to wipe out the crop, with the need for farmers to replant and start anew.
Syrah is always a dark red colour with plenty of structure and plenty of tannins. It is closer to Pinot with its lightness. With high acidity you always expect a mouthwatering sensation. It pairs well with peppercorn steak, charcuterie, and charcoal barbecue. Our expert advised against pairing it with fish due to the acidity of the wine reacting to the fish oils, giving it a metallic taste.
Cool and warm climate Syrah differ in flavour profile. Cool-climate Syrah offers fleeting floral aromas of dark purple flowers. Coupled with bloody, smokey meats and hints of graphite. Our first wine was a fine example of this. J-L Chave Saint Joseph Offerus 2018 from Northern Rhone, France. At $60 a bottle, this would the the priciest buy of our session.
Warm-climate Syrah give you jammy flavours with a bacon-y sweetness. You get liquorice, mint, tiger balm, and Black Forest cake. A good example of this is Poplar Grove’s 2021 Syrah from the Okanagan Valley, BC. We spent time noticing the difference that its addition of Viognier made in shaping this wine.
We were also walked through samples of other Syrah blends like Domaine Moulinier Les, Sigillaires Saint, Chinian 2020 from Languedoc-Roussillon, France with Grenache. Black Hills Ipso Facto 2021 from Okanagan Valley, BC was a popular one. Apparently it has quite the international reputation with the head wine maker being the former of Phantom Creek, but not enjoying the luxury appeal, literally went across the street to Black Hills. Here he has created this popular blend of 54% Syrah 46% Cabernet Sauvignon. I got soya sauce and roasted sesame on the nose and cassis and black currant fruit on the back of the throat.
For straight 100% Syrah there was Craggy Range’s Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2019 from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. And Wynns Coonawarra, Old Vine Shiraz, 2019 Coonawarra, from South Australia. My favourite was Alain Graillot Syrah, Syrocco 2021 From Zenata, Morocco. It didn’t taste like how it smelled. Iron rich soils gave it a rusty and savoury quality on the nose. With ruby plum, smooth tobacco, and sulphuric cigarette, on the palate.
Our second seminar had us moving on to whisky with Whistler Cornucopia Drink Seminar: A Cocktail Showdown: Old Fashioned vs. Manhattan.
We tasted 6 different bourbons and then made our own Old Fashioned and Manhattan cocktails from our favourites, or in my case, mixing it all together.
The whole premise was to determine if we liked the Old Fashioned with Angostura Bitters, sugar cube, and orange more. Or the Manhattan with Vermouth, Angostura Bitters, and maraschino cherries. I was surprised to learn that it was the latter, and therefore will be ordering them more often as a result.
We tasted our way through our host’s picks of Woodford Reserve – Distillers Select, Elijah Craig Bourbon, Elijah Craig Rye, Yellow Stone Select 93 Proof, Lot 40 – Rye Whisky, and Uncle Nearest 1880. As well as Esquimalt Vermouth as one of our mixing ingredients.
We started with the history of the cocktail, with the original definition as a “Stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and butters”. The first documented recipe for both of today’s featured cocktails was in the 1863 bartender’s guide.
The Old Fashioned originated in Kentucky 1880. 1 sugar cube, 3 dash angostura bitters, 2oz bourbon or rye, 1 spoon water or ice. Garnish with orange twist.
The Manhattan was created in New York in 1860. It consists of 2oz bourbon or rye, 1oz vermouth, 3 dashes of angostura, and Maraschino cherries. There is no ice in a Manhattan, you stir it in shaker with ice to chill, without watering it down.
Fun anecdote, from our host who took the tour. Angostura was first created to fight jungle fever in Trinidad and Tobago. The label doesn’t fit the bottle because the two sons in charge of either didn’t talk to one another, so sourced either independently. By the time they realized this it was too late and they ran with it. A smaller bottle with a label that was too large. And to this day that tradition still stands, making their brand easily identifiable.
The recipe is such a secret that only 3 people knows 1/3 of it each. Therefore each person goes into the workroom and does their piece, adding to the pot to make the whole.
We learned how to properly sniff our tasting spirits by “drive by smelling”. Getting our noses use to it before getting close to it, to reduce any harshness. Taking your glass to your top lip, opening our mouth slowly, and letting the gentle draft take the aroma up and in to your nose.
We made note of the high corn percentage indicative of a bourbon with a minimum of 51% corn. The more corn, the sweeter the spirit. Bourbon also has to be aged in 100% American oak. This was a law created to help the foster the local market. The barrels are always new, adding stronger flavours of oak with a greater toasted char. It smells like new wood and helps to filter out harsh characteristics. Toasted charring does the opposite, it helps to filter like a Brita water purifier, drawing out the char.
We also got a taste of Canadian 100% rye whisky from Lot 40.
Uncle Nearest 1884 is a Tennessee whiskey with a great story. It originated 5-6 years ago with a 90% corn and a proprietary mix of rye and barley for the remaining 10%. I got sweet over ripened banana bread. Uncle Nearest is an actual person, he was a free slave that taught Jack Daniels how to distill. Currently his great granddaughter is the master blender winning, many master blender of the year awards since taking over the mantle.
Our host also spoke to how the still effects the bourbon. A double pot still gets you double the chances of stretching out the bourbon and getting more. The short fat stills creates a characterful and harsh bourbon. The tall and big still makes for more a refined expression.
We noted the consistent scent and flavours of corn bread with a caramelized butter notes. The Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Straight Bourbon was a premium example giving us banana chips and plasticine on the nose and spicy cornbread on the palate.
The Esquimalt sweet vermouth rosso vermouth really made a difference in our Manhattans. It smelled vegetal and nutty with an apricot and blood orange flavour. It had an ABV of 43% with a mead base. I also really enjoyed the Starlino maraschino cherries, and could have eaten a dozen as is. Sweet Italian cherries also used in cakes and ice cream.
We got to make each cocktail or multiples of each and drank our fill, before making our decision on what we liked more. A great introduction to mixing as well.
