Thursday, April 16, 2015
Wine? Wine wouldn’t you?
The RDC Alumni Wine Tasting Festival has a reputation for delighting wine and food enthusiasts and this year, its 11th, is proving to be no exception, with many of central Alberta’s finest restaurants and caterers returning and some wonderful new surprises. Eberhard Tamm’s Enotri Wine Marketing Inc. is the supplier of fine wines to several of Red Deer’s best eating establishments, including Boulevard Restaurant, 50 West and One Eleven. The veteran merchant has been tantalizing enthusiasts palettes all year with great new vintages from around the world and will have ten hand-picked varieties for sampling at the Festival. Enthusiasts will have no trouble finding great foods to pair with a wide selection of wines, select craft beers and, for the first time, a sampling of flavoured tequilas from Don Reynaldo. This year’s event has a decidedly home-grown flavour, in that one of the food vendors that will surely blow people away, is RDC’ Cook Apprentice program. Or as we like to call it, the culinary apprentice program, since calling them cooks seriously underestimates their skills, creativity and great taste. In addition to a delicious selection of samplings in their booth, the program is providing the event’s main raffle prize…but more on that later. A surprising number of the food exhibitors have RDC cooks on their staff and the Wine Tasting Festival might have a bit of reunion flavour to it - which could prove interesting as they try to one-up each other, to the benefit and delight of all our guests. One example of that is Rieley Kay, who launched Cilantro & Chives in Ponoka after studying at RDC and brings that restaurant’s celebrated menu to life with King Cole Braised Duck Wings tossed with an Asian Salt Sauce & Cracked Black Pepper, in addition to Balsamic & Roasted Garlic Bruschetta on a Herb Foccacia with Balsamic Reduction…and more! Chickadee Epicurean is back and will be making guests smile with delight when they tuck into nan Dell’s Lobster Mac & Cheese and nibble on some piquant flavoured popcorn. But really, it’s about the wine. We’re thrilled Celestial Wine is back with more of that Moldovan goodness that will reward the discerning taster with complex and distinguished wines from Purcari, Bostavan, Chateau Vartely, Ciumai and J.S.C. Aroma. Pleased to be welcoming back Ribstone Creek brewery, from Edgerton, a great Alberta craft brewer which will have their Lone Bison IPA and Rangeland Ales on tap. And - as promised, some great new surprises including Red Boar Smokery featuring its Smoked Brisket Peidmontese Beef and Smoked Beef Ribs. Haven’t been to the Ross Street restaurant yet? One taste at the Wine Tasting Festival and they’ll be on your list for next meal out. Unless, of course, you choose Addy’s instead. It’s a best kept secret of the Middle Eastern variety and I swear, serves the freshest food in Red Deer. Simply delightful people, with exquisite taste and an absolute refusal to compromise on quality. Addy’s will be featuring Sfeeha and Fatayer jenbeh. Be prepared to be delighted. But, enough with the spoilers, I know you’re sitting there drooling, so I’m not going to torture you with even more to think about. Well, maybe one more: the music this year is a string quartet, lead by Austin Ericson, (an RDC alum and scholarship winner) that’s going to complete the classy ambiance this event is famous for. We are thrilled. There’s just no other way of putting it. As past guests know, your ticket lets you sample at will; there’s nothing else to buy when you get in the door. Unless, of course, you want to some fabulous raffle prizes (which continue with our RDC theme). First prize is a 9 course dinner for 12, hosted by Garnett Schoetter and his culinary craft student apprentices, in RDC’s fabled dining room, Cornerstone. The winner will sit down with Garnett, pick their date and design an unforgettable evening, with no detail overlooked (and no dishes to wash), valued at over $2,000. Our second prize, again featuring an RDC alumna, is the Chef’s Table, by Eat Catering. An intimate yet educative dining experience, where 8 guests will be seated around the island offering a front row seat to observe as Marrianne Park prepares a 6 course meal, centered around the idea of cooking great tasting food using real, wholesome ingredients. Many secrets will be shared! And served with RDC Alumni’s Alma Mater Select wines, of course ($1000 value). And there will be one case each of Alma Mater Select, the delicious 2013 Pinot Gris and the inimitable über Rouge to be won, as well as the cooler of selected wines courtesy of our vendors and our onset liquor store, Chateau Wine & Spirits. The festival is a great friend-raiser for us, where we welcome the community to an enjoyable evening where they’ll learn a bit about our great restaurants, some terrific local wine retailers and products and treat their palettes to some fine selections, all the while supporting RDC, as all proceeds are invested in alumni programs and scholarships. We’re fast approaching a sellout and with only a week to go, don’t hesitate. Click right here http://bit.ly/1JtDTYc to buy your tickets now. We’ll be delighted if you can join us.
The 11th annual RDC Alumni Wine Tasting Festival is presented by True-Line, Designer-Builder, the generous funder of the True-Line Endowment. Special thanks to Goodkey Show Services, Alsco Linens and Prolific Graphics and our fabulous crew of alumni volunteers!
