Sommeliers are trained not to prefer one type of beverage over another. Their job is to distinguish good from bad in many respects so when David Burke is on the job, he might be passing judgment on a new coffee bean mixture, or fresh tea, a newly distilled vodka or testing the brashness of an introductory beer.
But it's difficult for Burke not to sidle up to the wines and he has about 1,000 bottles of vino in his personal wine cellar collection while offering a complete variety at one of the two restaurants he co-owns and operates in Regina, Willow on Wascana. The other eatery, Beer Bros. features exotic beers.
Burke was in Estevan on Saturday evening to assist with the presentations and pairings of wine with food during the fifth annual wine tasting fundraising dinner for the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM).
He also brought a bottle of rare wine, a 2005 Quinta Do Vale Meao to be auctioned or raffled off as part of the event's features.
"At Beer Bros., we feature beers from around the world; at Willow, it's wine and as a sommelier, I get to be an educator for the guild," said Burke, one of just two Saskatchewan-based sommeliers.
How does he view wine as an investment?
"I wouldn't do it. Wine is to be enjoyed, not hoarded," he said with an engaging laugh. "It's meant to be shared. I always say wine makes me think of things I can't remember and no other beverage offers that. Wine is wonderful because of what it does, it brings people together, just like tonight," he said as he glanced at the wine bottles and glasses that were lined up for the evening's presentation that included an American barbecue themed meal at Allie's Dining.
Burke also has a definite opinion about Canadian wines.
"Canada is the most underrated country in the world when it comes to wine. Some of our wineries make the best Chardonnay, top 10, in the world. Our Canadian vines are now getting old enough and mature enough to produce the best. The one thing that holds the industry back is restrictive taxation and subsidies. We overtax wine dramatically in Canada, but the wine here is as good as the great wines found anywhere else," Burke said. "We just don't have the reputation."
Some shams and scams in the now infamous Canadian ice wine marketing circles hasn't helped though.
Burke said being a sommelier means continual upgrading of talent and education since there is always something new going on. He said there is only one master sommelier in Canada, and she lives in Montreal and just recently completed the accreditation to achieve that distinguishing level of expertise.
He said he loves being a sommelier as well as restaurant owner because, "I like to spread myself around. I'm constantly chatting up someone, talking and learning or educating. I can chat for hours about wine," he said. And his business partners let him, for obvious reasons.
Burke said he came to love wine early on.
"The first real house party I attended, at age 15, I asked my sister to get me some booze. I asked her to get me a nice bottle of wine I had heard about. Of course everyone else brought beer, but I guess that tells you something about my love of wine."
Burke said his children, business and wine hold special places in his heart and he gets to enjoy a fine glass or two, that he gets to select, every day if he wants to.
Nothing better than a fine glass of wine and engaging conversation, he figures. He's probably right.
The evening's five-course meal that paired suitable wines with barbecued ribs among other things, attracted the attention of about 50 to 60 guests in the main dining area at Allie's, including the EAGM's chairwoman Joan Phair and several members of the executive.
Burke said he wants to come back in June for the EAGM's annual chili cook off, this time bringing some global beer products to the party.
"The chili cook off, sounds like something we could really rock with," he said with another laugh.
