• Tickets to the 37th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival go on sale Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 9:30am. Australia is this year’s theme country, with a global focus on Syrah/Shiraz. The festival will showcase 170 wineries from 14 countries throughout the 53 events that will take place Feb. 20 through March 1.
• Tacofino Gastown’s new grab-and-go burrito bar, is now open. Taco Bar, the adjoining flagship restaurant will open for dinner service this Friday, with lunch soon to follow.
• Haywire Wine at Okanagan Crush Pad has released a limited amount of purpose-built wine to celebrate Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 and to welcome the Year of the Sheep. Haywire Lunar New Year Red 2012 ($23) and Haywire Lunar New Year White 2013 ($20) are both made from Summerland grapes and available directly from the winery.
• Deacon’s Corner, the popular Gastown diner, is opening a second location in Kitsilano on West Broadway. Stay tuned for opening date soon.
• The Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood has been growing in popularity in recent years, especially when it comes to the food and dining scene. Now joining the likes of Red Wagon, Campagnolo Roma, Mr. Red, et al, is Di Oliva Tasting Bar, an Italian tasting bar for olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sample and choose from more than 50 flavours and buy in bulk in various sizes.
• Scotch and chocolate together…why not? On Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7pm, join Greg Hook, owner of Chocolate Arts, along with Andrew Starritt of Cask Strength, for a special tasting of five single malts paired with five different single origin chocolates, as well as Chocolate Arts’ proprietary blend, Allure. Tickets are $68 per person.
• Craving curry? The second annual Curry Cup, presented by the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, will take place on Tuesday, March 3 at Heritage Hall on Main Street. Come out and taste the creations of eight competing chefs highlighting diverse flavours from around the world. Tickets go on sale soon and sell out quickly, so stay tuned.
