There weren’t many high-end wine events in Alberta a couple of decades ago. But Peter Blattman, then the food and beverage director at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, knew what was available in the rest of the wine-loving world, and he wanted to create that experience for Albertans.

Bringing a High-End Wine Event to Alberta

So, he did, and, in 1991, the Fairmont Banff Springs International Festival of Wine and Food was born; it celebrates its 20th anniversary this fall, only skipping one year since its start.

During his tenure, for a month before the festival began, Blattman would train up to 100 servers on how to pour wine like a sommelier. Each had to pour 14 precisely matched servings from one wine bottle, filled, for practice, with coloured water.

Even cleaning the glassware wasn’t easy. “I hired experts who supervised the cleaning of the wineglasses, and the parking lot was transformed into a tent. We rented two huge dishwashers, and the experts supervised everything to be sure the glasses were as odour-free and as spotless as possible.”

Staff work long days during festival time, but as soon as one festival is finished, they’ll be planning for the next. “Being well-prepared leading up to the weekend is the best approach to ensure success,” notes executive sous chef Heinz Nowatschin, who has been with the festival since it began. “The long hours tend to go very quickly.”

A Tradition for Wine Enthusiasts

So do the years. Calgarian Perci Hala and his wife, Sandra Krystalowich will attend their 13th festival this fall; the event has become a tradition for the couple.

“It started out with wanting to expand my knowledge of wine,” says Hala, who has saved every program from past years. “Along the way, it turned into a nice weekend away for my wife and I to enjoy.”

Highlights for Hala include a kitchen tour and the first time he saw the ballroom where the gala is held. “Each place setting had 10 wine glasses or more, and the whole room shone like an upside-down chandelier from the reflections on the glasses,” he says.

These days, Blattman leads international tours through his company, Gourmet Experience. But, this fall, like Hala and others, he’ll be at the Banff Springs when the festivities begin.

“I am extremely proud that, since I quit [the festival], it still runs as smoothly as when I did it,” he says. “The food, the service, it’s perfect. I am so proud of them.”

2011 Fairmont Banff Springs International Festival of Wine and Food

The Fairmont Banff Springs 20th International Festival of Wine and Food will take place Oct. 21 to 23, 2011, and will feature Dom Perignon, Clos Du Val, CedarCreek Estate Winery, Lagarde, Maculan, Miguel Torres Chile, and the scotch whisky distillery Glenmorangie. Email bsh.wineandfood@fairmont.com or call 403-762-1710 for information. 

The winning chef and the two runner-ups from the hit television reality show Top Chef Canada will also be part of this year's festival. Calgary's Connie DeSousa, from Charcut, Vancouver's Dale MacKay (from ensemble, he was the winner of Top Chef Canada) and Toronto's Rob Rossi. All three will host the weekend's cooking demonstration as well as create courses for the Saturday night gala.

The Festival of Wine and Food in Numbers

• 6,000 to 7,000 glasses are used
• 1,500 plates are used during the gala dinner
• About 1,450 bottles of wine are poured throughout the weekend
• About 10,000 people have attended in the past 20 years.