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December 2012: The successful Vinos Wine Film Festival was featured at Whistler’s 16th annual celebration of food and wine, Cornucopia, held November 7 to 11, 2012. “Bringing the Vinos to Whistler during Cornucopia was a total blast and a great way to tie into the high profile of this festival,” says Vinos founder Glenn Fawcett.
Inspired by the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, the annual Vinos Wine Film Festival features films made by amateur and professional filmmakers alike, all about B.C. wine. Compiled from the most exciting videos of the festival’s three year history, Cornucopia hosted The Best of the Vinos on Thursday, November 8 at the Whistler Conference Centre Sea to Sky Ballroom.
Cornucopia is the ideal place for The Best of the Vinos – pairing fun B.C. wine films with an indulgent and exciting wine and food festival. Cornucopia celebrates impeccable wines and Whistler’s culinary scene for every type of bon vivant. With winery dinners, interactive seminars, gala wine tastings and electric after-parties, this high-end five day showcase fulfills its mission to put Whistler on the map as the must-experience wine and food party.
Hosted by Novus TV’s Natalie Langston, The Best of the Vinos screened the best rated film submissions. Judged by audience response, the winning entry was “The Real House Wines of British Columbia,” a riff off of the reality show The Real Housewives of Vancouver.
Produced by Larkyn Statten, the video features personified representations of prominent B.C. wineries such as Red Rooster Winery, Burrowing Owl Vineyards, Laughing Stock Vineyards, and Mission Hill Family Estate Winery. The “house wines” give hilarious accounts of the tasting notes of each winery’s best wines, complete with accusations, backstabbing and rumours – just like the housewives in the television program.
Coming in second was “Vinos, Boxed Wine and Nudes,” by Kent and Jennifer Molgat of The View Winery. Styled as a hardline investigative news segment, the video outlines a faux bribe to Vinos organizer Fawcett to help the video win, a bust-up of supposedly illicit boxed wine, and a new marketing technique that saw the staff wearing nothing but the winery’s signature red shoes. Check out all the Vinos videos on Black Hills Estate Winery’s youtube account: www.youtube.com/user/BlackHillsWinery.
Judged by audience support, the people’s choice award was granted to top submission “The House Wines of British Columbia.” Following the screenings, more than 250 guests enjoyed B.C. VQA wine at the after party, with music by D.J. Ace and entertainment by the Whistler A Go Go Girls. Six wineries brought their wines to the event, featuring The View Winery, Steller’s Jay, Black Hills Estate Winery, Cellarhand, Bounty Cellars, and Ex Nihilio Vineyards.
Fawcett says, “Whistler already has the engagement of the creative community with the annual Whistler Film Festival. We feel that once this group of video and film producers catch wind of the excitement of the Vinos, that it will only serve to raise the bar on the quality of video content that we can attract for the 4th Annual Vinos event in 2013.” Fawcett is hopeful the event will be held again at the 2013 Cornucopia.
“These films showcase the best of B.C. wines and wineries and bring viewers into the vineyards and tasting rooms of British Columbia,” says BC Wine Institute executive director Miles Prodan. “We were happy to bring the wine country experience to all the viewers.” ■
The BC Wine Institute represents 119 winery members and 17 grape growing partners that represent 95% of the province’s total wine production and produce 88% of wine production made from 100% B.C. grapes.
