For those who enjoy a good glass of wine, the blind tasting hosted by D.J. Bowen at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives was a great way to learn the intricacies of being a sommelier. 

Bowen has been holding the blind tasting for about 14 years, but this is the first time he has held it at the museum. Previously it has been held at local restaurants or the Jasper Liquor Store and Wine Merchants. 

“That’s when things were a lot quieter here,” Bowen said. “Last year I said, ‘Hey, I need to do something different.’”

The 40 guests who attended found the new venue a great choice, as teams were separated around the museum. Between tastings, many people checked out the museum exhibits. Bowen said the majority of the people in attendance had never been to the museum, and only about three to four were already members. Each ticket purchase gave the attendees a membership to the museum. 

The museum staff created a number of dishes and snacks to compliment the wine, including duck, shrimp and cheeses. The attendees were split into groups with a sommelier to help determine the vintage, colour, type, brand and other characteristics. The groups tried white wines first, and then moved onto the main museum floor to taste red wines at four different tables ranging from light to heavy bodied. 

A special guest was on hand to participate in the tasting: Eddie Mio, former goalie of the Edmonton Oilers, and representative from Wayne Gretzky Estates. Two of the Great One’s No. 99 wines were in the tasting, and Mio himself was unable to pick them out of the line up of 25. 

Bowen said Mio was in town to participate in a number of wine events. 

“It’s the first time he’s ever tasted the wines like this,” Bowen said. “Your senses are being challenged.”

The sommeliers were Guillaume Pruneau, Stephan Biletzki and Claude Fourmier from the Jasper Park Lodge and Shivawn Ledrew. The four held a fierce but friendly competition comparing their tasting notes as each bottle was revealed. Bowen said the sommeliers contributed to the success of the event. 

“They’re the key to the whole thing, and they’re very passionate about their wines,” he said.

Karen Byers, manager of the museum, said the membership drive was a great idea spearheaded by Bowen. 

“He wanted to see that the museum benefited from it,” she said. 

Byers was also happy with the venue, saying that each team was separate and couldn’t listen to the notes being taken by the others.