By Times Chronicle Staff
Photos: Sherani Theophilus and Don Urquhart
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Two days of all things wine and pork were celebrated over the weekend with the annual 2024 Pig Out Festival which returned to its original spring dates and single location format for the first time since 2019.
The weekend festivities kicked off on Friday evening with a Wine Makers Dinner at The Bear, the Fish, the Root, and the Berry, located at Spirit Ridge Resort.
Firmly centred around pork, the dinner featured modern vineyard cuisine inspired by the restaurant’s Indigenous roots, with a menu prepared by talented Chef Murray McDonald and his team. The family-style dinner was paired with award-winning wines from the Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country region, presented by the winemaker or winery owner.
The family-style dinner – where food is passed around the table in serving dishes – brought a unique angle to the dinner, creating a more lively atmosphere.
A dizzying selection of three appetizers two starters and seven mains featured everything from blood sausage and pork siu mai to smoked ham hock pea soup to whole roasted suckling pig and chicharrón. Even the desserts got the piggy treatment with maple bacon cheesecake and pecan bacon pie on offer.
The real magic happened, however, with the pairing of wines specially chosen for each course. This included representatives and wineries from the Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country association, Sarah May-Shogan, Road 13 Vineyards; Ted Kane, River Stone Estate Winery; Sheila Whittaker, Nostalgia Wines; Troy Ravndahl, Nk’Mip Cellars; and Val Tait, Gold Hill Winery.
Saturday saw the more casual outdoor event – the Pig Out Fiesta – which took place at the Cellar Door & More, home to Jackson-Triggs and Inniskillin, just north of Oliver.
Under cloudy skies but an otherwise perfect day, the “Fiesta” theme was taken to heart with pork-themed creations from around the globe served up at the wine and food stations that were scattered around the property, all surrounded by grape vines.
This included Rollands Meats showcasing traditional British Bacon; the perennial favourite Paella Guys; Pit Stop Smokery with southern BBQ; Chef Kenny Dia from Nk’Mip Cellars with fusion bites; and Chef Shawn Cheer from Cellar Door and More and See Ya Later Ranch with red wine pork belly.
Some 350 attendees ate, sampled wines from 20 wineries, grooved to live Latin-infused reggae and even stretched out on the grassy field. Oliver’s SOAP Theatre injected some interactive comedy theatre into the afternoon as well.
For those that still didn’t get enough porky delights, there was a Big Porker Breakfast on Sunday back at The Bear, The Fish, the Root & The Berry.
