I consider myself to be a “social drinker.” I don’t go out to get drunk, and I rarely have any sort of alcoholic beverages by myself, but I enjoy them with company. Beer, scotch, girly-drinks: there’s always something for me to enjoy.

But I’ll admit I’ve never been very knowledgeable about wine. Oh, I like wine – but it’s not my go-to alcohol, and I can’t say I really know much difference between a pinot-noir and a chardonnay. I know that some wine is red, and some is white. And I prefer the white one.

So when Adam and I were invited to a sneak-preview of the Flavours of BC’s Naramata Bench Wine Tasting & Auction, I was quite thrilled! It was a great opportunity to get to know a little more about a beverage I really don’t know too much about.

I brought along the fiancee, Anita, and we met up with Adam at the Winspear… and there was almost no one else there. Around 20 people had been invited out to partake, but due to the insane winter weather we’ve been experiencing, only 5 of us were willing to brave the storm.

The perfect evening for wine.

So it turned into a very cozy evening with a few friends, some of the Winspear staff and three very knowledgeable and awesome wine merchants.

And the wine was really good! We got to enjoy about nine different wine selections from a few different companies; Kettle Valley, La Frenz, Lake Breeze and Laughing Stock. The selections were all very unique, and all quite delicious – even the reds, which I mentioned I’m not usually that fond of.

I also cannot overstate how impressive the wine merchants were. All three of them were experienced, knowledgeable and fun. Valerie Albrecht, Spike Maynard and Tony Kokoroyannis will also all be at the big event on the 28th – seek them out!

Which brings us to the big event, itself. The wine tasting and auction is January 28th at the Winspear Centre. A VIP tasting sold out quickly, but regular tickets for the tasting and auction are available and run about $90.

That 90-bucks gets you a sampling of some 47 wines from a number of BC wineries, as well as an evening of music, mingling and hors d’oeuvres. The auction is also offering a bunch of awesome prizes for bidding. Among the items up for grabs; a five-course meal for eight on the Winspear stage, a year’s worth of professional cello lessons and admission and tuition to the UofA School of Business Executive Program!

And, of course, all the proceeds go to a pretty good cause – it’s in support of our ESO and Winspear Centre.

And I think I can safely speak for Adam and Anita as well when I say if the big event on the 28th is HALF as fun as the preview, it’ll be well worth your time and money to check out.

eso, symphony, wine, winspear