Food and Wine (and more) Experiences you should try

 

You know I enjoy wine tastings even though I consider myself to be an entry level taster or a novice wine taster but it wasn’t until I started to discover other events beyond wine tasting that I came to love food and wine (or beverage) events.

 

First it was experiencing Parksville Uncorked. I had heard about Parksville Uncorked’s Swirl event from friends that attend every year but until 2013 I hadn’t attended myself. It sounded like a promising concept – a major grazing event featuring an excellent selection of British Columbia wines paired with small bites.

 

Well right off the bat can you can cross out “small bites” and replace it with an amazing array of culinary delights that never stopped coming. As generous as the array of gourmet delights is,  both evenings the emphasis is definitely on the pairings, with either beers, ciders and ales or wines flowing almost unrestricted throughout. This is first and foremost a tasting event, it just happens to be a tasting event with an extraordinary amount of excellent cuisine.

 

I was fortunate to attend in 2013 the inaugural year of Untapped,  added to the agenda of a weekend of wine tasting paired with a selection of gourmet samplings and wine dinners, Untapped featured a focus on local craft beers, ales and ciders. Like Swirl the concept of Untapped is to introduce you to the pleasures of pairing your beverage with specially created samples of local fare. Untapped features not only the founding partners, Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre and The Beach Club Resort but also dozens of other establishments who present samples of their expertise with pubs, restaurants and caterers from all over the Island

 

Untapped pairs an ever increasing number of great local craft breweries with some of the best “pub” food you have ever tasted. I almost hesitate to refer to what is served at Untapped as pub food unless the average pub is serving Dungeness crab cakes or Duck confit sliders. This year the Beach Club Resort provided a handy “tasting note” sheet complete with logos of each of the 23 brewery or cider makers that made it easier to keep track and not miss a single presenter.

 

Swirl takes place the following evening with the two hosts Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre and The Beach Club Resort alternating the main events between them. In 2013 Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre hosted Untapped and the Road 13 wine dinner, while The Beach Club Resort played host to Friday night’s Swirl and a Burrowing Owl winemakers dinner. Swirl is then hosted by Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre in 2014 and Untapped hosted by the Beach Club Resort in 2014.

 

The gourmet culinary bites offered at Swirl,  pair extraordinarily well with the excellent selection of British Columbia wines, and are a little more fine dining than the night before and all are absolutely wonderful.

 

Shucked on the spot, oysters on the half shell, aha tuna, Vancouver Island scallops, locally raised pork, game, beef, duck, wild salmon and much more is on offer at the numerous tasting stations where you have the opportunity to chat with the purveyors of these offerings. Nor will you be disappointed if you have a sweet tooth. The desserts are innovative and absolutely delicious. For me nothing beats a fresh strawberry dipped in warm chocolate. A nice touch too is the souvenir glass from Untapped and a lovely engraved Reidel wine glass from Swirl to take home.

 

The quality is consistent which is why Parksville Uncorked is worth returning to year after year. Close for locals and an easy 30 minutes from Departure Bay, Nanaimo for those guests who venture over from the Mainland. I highly recommend taking in all three evenings and stay for brunch on Sunday!

 

For more information on Parksville Uncorked please visit their website. Held annually the weekend following Valentine’s Day. A perfect weekend getaway! Both The Beach Club Resort and Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre offer accommodation and special Untapped or Swirl packages. In 2014 Untapped was $49.+tax Swirl $69.+tax

 

In 2014 net proceeds from Uptapped benefit The Parksville AM Branch of Rotary International.

In 2014 net proceeds from Swirl benefit Variety, The Children’s Charity