Bordeaux wine gets its delicious complexities from a blend of different grapes. Harry Hertscheg is more like a pinot noir: a wine that gets all of its nuances and surprises from a single vine.
Take his appreciation of the land. It led to a double major in economics and geography at Simon Fraser University. And while those seem like pretty prosaic subjects for someone who has spent nearly his entire career immersed in the theatre world, economics and geography play supporting roles in his job as executive director of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. Making good wines, after all, is all about understanding the value of terroir the earth that feeds the grapes and the festival is in the business of raising money for one of Vancouvers most loved arts institutions.
And its his love of theatre that lends itself so naturally to orchestrating a seven-day extravaganza featuring 30,000 bottles of wine, 3,000 ticket holders and a host of wine producers and experts from around the world. The festival is as ephemeral as a play itself theres the frisson of energy between stage and audience and yet once the curtain closes and the lights come up, its gone. Months of preparation evaporate into the mists of memory.
So why put all that energy into something that disappears, only to be re-enacted a year later? Its the rush, the pure joy of celebrating the wines that dedicate themselves to enhancing our day-to-day lives.
Wine events that are done well are transformative experiences in the same way that Im transformed by theatre, Hertscheg says during a rare break in preparing for the festival, which runs February 27 to March 4.
The Playhouse wine festival not only introduces people to hundreds of wines but it allows them to meet the people who produce it. Wine is poured by the makers and producers who will take the time to explain the whys and hows of what they do. A person who is new to wine can get just as much from the festival as someone who, like Hertscheg, has studied it for years. It is an exploration, a journey that is to be continued; its not about confirming that we already know where were at.
There are always new discoveries, says Hertscheg. Part of our mandate is to inform, educate and entertain. The more information you have, the more engaged you are. And the more you learn, the more you realize you dont know.
Hertscheg sees the festival as an opportunity to open up the senses. Our senses of sight and sound are already strong. We dont need people to tell us what we see or hear. But our senses of smell and taste arent as well developed. Part of it is that, culturally, we dont have the confidence to feel comfortable with smelling and tasting.
To widen your comfort zone, go to PlayhouseWineFest.com.
