On May 24th, WineCollective sponsored and took part in the CKE Wine & Whiskey event – a community mingle and fundraiser that our very own Douglas helps put together. This is our second year participating at the CKE event and with the help of our favourite wine importers, we were thrilled that it turned out to be a great success once again.
Apart from the wine tastings, the CKE event had live music, tango dancers and a DJ to keep the party going. Some delicious Calgary restaurants and CKE sponsors such as Original Joes, Big Catch, Vintage and Village Brewery also supplied food tastings.
David from Artisan Wines and R.J. from Fluid Imports
CKE Wine & Whiskey began as a tasting party, where guests got to test out 18 wines and six whiskeys. Here are some of the favourites from each rep that helped pour for the community members. You may recognize some of the wines from the more recent WineCollective packages!
South by Southwest Wine Imports – Smashberry Red
A fruit explosion in your mouth. Keep a lookout for this wine in future packages!
Artisan Wines – Mas Sorrer
A fortified wine made from a blend of Cab Sauv, Grenache and Merlot. This wine blew tasters away with its completely unique cherry and meaty characteristics. It is now available in the online store!
Michelle from International with a bottle of Arele Appassimento
International Cellars – Tolloy
A spectacular Pinot Grigio that holds some weight. This wine was featured in our May packages and seems to be a favourite among CKE members and our own.
Bonvida – Verus Pinot Gris
From Slovenia, this wine is also quite different with its fresh minerality. Completely delicious and a new WineCollective favourite. Find it in the store today.
Amanda Bartier pouring Illegal Curve for CKE community member
Plaid Cap Imports
Amanda, daughter of one of the Bartier Bros. was our special guest and helped to pour her dad’s wines! Among these was the Illegal Curve, a blend of Cab Franc, Syrah and Merlot. This wine won’t be featured anytime soon but it is now available in the WineCollective store!
Fluid Imports – Terri di San Venanzio Fortunato
This Prosecco was the only bubbly poured that night, obviously making it a huge hit! Perfect for any upcoming celebrations, you can also find this in our store.
Gold Medal Marketing
Springbank, Teeling and Longrow whiskeys were some of the delicious scotches that were also poured. We have previously featured Springbank Single Cask on Tannic and look forward to offering it again soon.
Original Joes’ chefs making some delicious pork tacos.
During the event, we made our online store available to all CKE community members so that they could purchase their favourites. Luckily we still have some supply of these great wines that were poured at the event, and they are available to you now. Check out the store, where you can find tastings notes and reviews for these wines and more!
The fundraiser is open to everyone and tickets sell for $100. We look forward to next year’s CKE Wine & Whiskey event, and hope that you will join us!