A Toast to Ten Years of Santé
Posted by Greg Clow in beverages, events, events upcoming, wine on April 27, 2008 at 8:35 pm
When it was launched in 1999, the Santé wine festival was a relatively small affair, with a handful of dinners and tasting events in the Yorkville area, and a subtitle (The Bloor-Yorkville Wine Festival) that reflected its localised nature. In subsequent years, the festival has grown by leaps and bounds, expanding to encompass events throughout the downtown core. And now, as this celebration of the greatness of the grape marks its tenth year, it does so with a new name - Santé: Toronto International Wine Festival - and a line-up of events extending well beyond the official festival dates.
The previews started earlier in April with the Deconstructing Dinner Series, unique events at restaurants including The Fifth Grill, Pangaea, Truffles, Holt’s Cafe and Sopra that featured pre-meal seminars with the chef, sommelier, and hosting wine expert. The festivities continue this coming week through to May 10th with Santé In The City: A Decade of Decadence, a second series of dinners at venues such as Amuse Bouche, Flow, Crush and many others, where the meal will be paired with vintages from partner wineries and import agents.
And then on May 5th through 10th, the main event hits with gala dinners, tutored tastings, seminars and much more. Highlights will include the International Wine Tasting at The Carlu featuring over 200 wines from 74 wineries; the popular Sip, Savour & Shop and Sip, Savour & Learn programs; events focussing on the wines of Australia and California; and dinners prepared by such celebrity chefs as Lynn Crawford, Mark McEwan, Anthony Sedlak, Cat Cora, Anna Olson and many more.
For a full schedule of Santé events, ticket information and more details, visit the Santé website or contact the information line at 416.928.3553 x27.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:07 am
As a point of clarification the Sante wine festival is more than 10 years old. It was launched in 1997 as a fundraising effort for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. I was the chair of the event and we held a wine and food tasting evening at the ROM in cooperation with the Wine Council of Ontario. The event was very well attended and quite successful in raising funds for HSFO. In its second year the HSFO re-aligned some fund raising activities and no longer was able to involve itself in the festival, so I introduce the Wine Council of Ontario Executive Director to the then Executive Director of the Bloor-Yorkville BIA with the intent of continuing the Sante festival. We held the festival again with WCO and BYBIA as the main “owners” of the event supported by many volunteers and sponsors. The initial efforts of the founding volunteers of this event was instrumental in setting the foundation for its longevity. Thanks to all present and past volunteers for keeping the event strong and stable. Sante
May 5th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Thanks for the bit of history, John. It’s interesting to realise that a single fundraising event could grow into the major event that Sante has become.