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Taste of BC set for Saturday

Annual Sooke Harbourside Lions wine tasting event at the Prestige
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Sooke Harbourside Lions

Swirling and twirling will be taking place at the fifth annual “A Taste of BC”  taking place this Saturday at the Prestige convention centre. The Sooke Harbourside Lions with the Prestige Oceanfront Resort and the Mix by Rics will host thew popular event on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.

A Taste of BC is a lot about British Columbia wines. Tugwell Creek is represented as are wines from Vancouver Island and the interior of B.C. Ten vineyards will be represented along with local restaurants and eateries. Samples from the Sooke Harbour House to the 17 Mile House will be there for the tasting. It is also a great night out and a time to mingle with friends and acquaintances.

How to be an expert at a wine tasting:

It’s all about the taste and getting to it requires a little knowledge of wine-tasting techniques.

First you swirl. Swirling the wine in the glass allows the wine’s myriad aromas to diffuse and reach your nostrils. This is done with a long stem glass on a flat surface. Wine glasses should be held by the stem, not the bowl, allowing the temperature of the wine to remain just right. It also looks better than having greasy fingerprints on the glass.

Then you taste. Inhale deeply before taking a sip as one of the most beguiling offerings wine has is the aroma. The tongue only taste four flavours, salty, sweet, sour and bitter. It is the nose that does a lot of the work. When drinking, swirl the wine around your mouth to coat all surface. Our taste buds pick up different textures and flavours in different parts of our mouths. You can then try to distinguish the flavours. Do you taste chocolate, fruit, tobacco, leather, roses? These are all flavours which may be detected in wine.

When at a wine tasting, taste the white and lighter wines first then go on to the heavier wine, such as bold reds. Save the sweeter wines for last.

The night will include music by Janet McTavish, a silent auction and a “Bubble Bar” and tequila tasting for a small additional fee.

As this is a fundraiser for Camp Shawnigan and other Sooke Harbourside Lions projects for women and kids, the tickets are $40 per person (19-years and over). Each year the event raises about $4,000 for Camp Shawnigan.