Anthony Gismondi: B.C. wine for the week of Nov. 3, a bottle to cellar and calendar items

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Cornucopia, Whistler’s Celebration of Food & Drink extravaganza, turns 25 this year and continues as a not-for-profit run as a charity to benefit the community.

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Several packages are available to buy, and they are spread across most of the month until Nov. 27. The events include Signature Tastings of wine, beer and spirits; over 40 food and drink seminars led by experts in their fields. In addition, the Culinary Stage Series is back, offering a live cooking show, and you get to enjoy the food, complete with drink pairings.

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Finally, in the village, restaurant and bar events celebrate Whistler’s amazing culinary scene with food and drink with winemaker dinners, cocktail pairings, brunches, multi-course menus and more. For complete information and tickets, go to whistlercornucopia.com.

I’m a big fan of off-season touring in wine regions. When things slow down, visitors are especially welcome, and prices can be a bargain — case in point, the Naramata Inn, located in the village of Naramata in the heart of B.C. wine country.

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All November, you can enjoy a $49 three-course Prix-Fixe “Dine INN” dinner menu featuring a selection of soups, starters, mains and desserts. Guests can mix, match, add and enhance to create a customized dining experience to fit their budget. Best of all, room rates start at $99 through the end of November. All dates and rates are online, but guests are welcome to call the front desk for more details at 778-514-5444. Dinner service and accommodations have moved to five days per week, Thursdays to Mondays.

B.C. wine of the week

Hillside Heritage Series Cabernet Franc 2018, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 

$34 I 91/100

UPC: 626990019237

The Hillside Heriate Series Cabernet Franc has it all together in 2018, beginning with a knockout bouquet that feints franc, St. Emilion, and Naramata in a manner that is almost disarming. Elegance and power are a lovely combination, and this wine has it in spades. Look for a mix of cherries, black raspberries, and the perfect tension of tannins and acidity that seem to assimilate each other in the finish. It is a winner, elegant, graceful, charming and ready to drink. The fruit comes off Cinwick Vineyard below the Naramata Road, on the heavier lacustrine soils. Anything mushroom will take you to paradise. Well done and at a great price.

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Wine for the cellar

Las Moradas de San Martin Senda 2017, Madrid, Spain 

$30.99 I 92/100

UPC: 08437010475108

The picking came three weeks early in 2017 at Pago de los Castillejos on the Madrid side of the Sierra de Gredos. The Senda vineyards sit at 870 meters on mountain granitic soil with a sandy-loam texture. Winemaker Isabel Galindo uses organic and biodynamic practices to obtain high-quality dry-farmed bush vine grapes, faultless acidity and outstanding balance. The ferment is natural, followed by ten months of aging in French oak barrels of varying sizes and ages. This special Garnacha walks the pure fruit lively aromatic line but has all the attributes of powerful mountain wine underneath. The combination ideally yields impressive black plums and Bing cherries flavoured red covered in mineral dust. Established in 1999, Las Moradas de San Martin came into being to resuscitate Garnacha vineyards cultivated since the 12th century.