IVWA 2010 Dinner: Teatro

One of the best perks of being involved in the wine industry is all the great food. At competitions and festivals, everyone shows up for the wine, but the food is often as enjoyable as the wine, if not more. Well, at least in the opinion of this editor, who is not a sommelier.

At Teatro, we enjoyed a lovely three course meal with dessert. 

First Course: Asparagus Velouté with white truffle foam

Second Course: Miso Sablefish with potato pancake and grapefruit salsa

Third Course: Alberta Lamb Rack with soft polenta, king mushroom insalata and grilled sweet pepper

Dessert: Crème Brulée with vahlrona chocolate and brandy

Eavesdropping on various judges, we found that most people really enjoyed the second course, especially the potato pancake with grapefruit salsa. It was a creative and light, yet flavourful.

The weaker part of the meal was definitely the dessert. Comments ranged from a critcism of the thin crust, to the odd inclusion of a chocolate mousse in the dessert.

In terms of wine, it was BYOB, which means, there was a lot of wine. After a day of drinking delicious yet inexpensive value wines, the judges brought out their big guns. We tasted a range of esoteric wines, with everyone enjoying a small taste in their glass.

The night ended with the Wine Access staff going home to sleep - we're old! And several of the judges enjoyed a night cap at other Calgary hot spots before heading back to their hotel.

To see photos from the Teatro dinner, visit the Wine Access flickr page.