Several records smashed at 2009 World Wine and Food Expo

Thousands of people were feeling the effects of ‘wine flu’ yesterday after the World Wine and Food Expo concluded Saturday evening, where attendance and sales records were set.

But this flu wasn’t caused by overindulging. Rather, the symptoms can be traced back to the overwhelming amount of wine knowledge absorbed by expo fans, to go along with the fine foods and, new this year, the works of local artists that drew positive reviews from veteran festival-goers.

“The art gallery provided a very nice marriage of the eyes and of the mouth,” expo chairman Bill Vance said yesterday.

“It really brought with it beauty and warmth.”

The gallery featured artists actually creating in the midst of the expo.

A tough economy and H1N1 worries had festival organizers fearing the worst, yet a new standard was set for attendance, at about 6,000 people. Almost 40,000 bottles of 370 different wines were offered, again a record. And wine sales also reached new highs. A record amount of money was reaped by various charities whose efforts are helped by the expo as well.

“It was a unique year,” Vance said.

The expo’s usual black-tie dinner and soirée was not on this year’s agenda but the event is likely to be back in 2010 due to popular demand, with Vance fielding many requests for its return.

“Perhaps we were wrong on that one,” Vance said in hindsight, noting that fears of sagging attendance at this year’s expo due to the flu proved unfounded, with only three people asking for refunds on their tickets due to illness.

“So recession be damned, and as for H1N1, stick your tongue out and wave it at it,” Vance said.

The expo received glowing reviews from exhibitors from around the world, who marvelled at Metro Monctonians’ thirst for wine knowledge, their exceptional comportment and the questions they asked which demonstrated a good grounding in wine information on which they sought to build.

“They just cannot believe how interested these people are in wine,” Vance said.

“It’s an event that makes me proud to be able to share my interest in wine, proud to be a Monctonian and proud to be a New Brunswicker.”

The evening Grand Tastings always sell out, so attendance numbers were static for the two night sessions. However, the two afternoon tastings enjoyed a 20 per cent increase in attendance. More younger people were in evidence this year as well at what Vance describes as a “kitchen party for 6,000 people.”

Next year will be the expo’s 20th anniversary, so wine aficionados can expect more and bigger versions of those expo events that they’ve come to love, a return of the formal banquet complete with music from a full orchestra for dancing and perhaps extending the event to include the exhibition space that will soon be available at Moncton’s new casino, which will be completed in the spring.