Vancouver Wine Interviews

Sebastien Le Goff - 

As I sat on the back of the bus passing the MODA Hotel everyday, trying to peer into the darken windows of Uva; I asked myself the same question what was this building before the renovations. I just couldn't remember and then it finally clicked one day, this is where my brother took me to buy off sales on Sunday's - the old Dufferin Hotel!

I didn't want to write this piece like every other writer before me who wrote about Sebastien and Cibo Trattoria. The article's about the original 1908 terra-cotta floors, the sleek dinning room with the century old timber beams, that British Chef (Neil Taylor) from the River Cafe in London, or Sebastien's past affiliation with CinCin and Lumiere, oh yah and that Sommelier of the Year award. But when you live in a city that's constantly rated one of the best places to live in the world, not mentioning a man's Sommelier of the Year award would just be wrong. When talking with Sebastien, you quickly pick up on his honesty and humbleness. He doesn't take himself too serious, in his own words ""I'm not a surgeon, I'm not saving lives."" As we walked through the back corridor of the restaurant he stopped and greeted all the employees with a smile and friendly word or two. Ok lets stop here, I'm not going to tell you how good the food is at Cibo, because - a) I'm not a food critic and - b) I don't think I would be able to give Neil the due credit his food deserves. But wine that is something I can talk about.

Cibo's (Italian for food) opened this July with Italian cuisine that tries to step away from the typical fare you would expect to find in Vancouver. The wine list is a large collection of Italian wines that cover many of Italy's unique wine growing regions, as well as, a smaller selection of BC wines that are only typically found in BC VQA stores and private wine shops. The price range per bottle starts in the low $30's and moves up into the $100 plus range. Cibo shares the wines by the glass list with Uva so a selection of New and Old World wines can be ordered by the glass. The restaurant also has an interesting selection of Italian themed cocktails and a large selection of micro beers from around the world.

The UVA (Italian for grape) wine bar opened a few months before Cibo. The wine list at UVA isn't full of big cult wines or mass marketed wines you would expect to find in a Morton's. Instead, carefully selected New and Old World wines fill the menu, with an impressive list of sweet wines by the glass. The wines by the glass start at the entry price of 6 dollars for the 2006 Feudo d'Elimi Cataratto, (Cataratto-[kah-tahr-RAHT-toh] a white grape native to Sicily where it is found widely grown along the western coast. It is the second most planted single variety planted in Italy).

This is a speck item Sebastien brings in through the wine agency Wine Rhapsody. I was pleased to see that Sebastien had Uva fitted with a state of the art wine preservation system sourced out of France, which gives the open wine a life span of 3 to 4 weeks.

The lounge menu allows diners to create their own tasting plate from a selection of Italian cheeses and charcuterie. Oysters on the half shell, bruschetta and marinated olives are also featured on Uva's menu. For the single traveler who might not want to sit alone in Cibo's, they can still enjoy the dinner menu in the sanctuary of the wine bar. Uva is the type of place I predict will take off when Vancouver's summer turns to fall and the rain begins.

There are also plans for a European sports bar in the works, Red Card which is looking at a January 2009 opening.

The Uva wine bar and Cibo Trattoria are both adjacent to the hotel lobby; open for service from 5 pm daily closed on Sundays.

Questions posed and answers:

CJ: How would you describe the wine program at CIBO TRATTORIA?
SLG: Focused on Italy and BC, affordable, designed to complement chef Neil Taylors food which is clean, simple and rustic. Huge emphasis on Italian bubbles, especially Prosecco.

CJ: What are some of the more unusual pairings you recommend at CIBO TRATTORIA?
SLG: Pelaverga grape from Piedmont with fish or poultry & Beer and cheese

CJ: For your own personal consumption, and entertaining at home, what wines do you always have on hand?
SLG: Sparkling wine, Cava, Prosecco or / and Champagne

CJ: Do you have any under-the-radar wine suggestions?
SLG: Italian whites - delicious, crisp and refreshing and they are very affordable

CJ: How do you emphasize value on CIBO TRATTORIA's wine list?
SLG: The mark-up is very reasonable compared to other places I have worked with in the past

CJ: How did you go about learning wine?
SLG: I tasted a lot, read a lot of books and magazines and did extensive traveling in wine regions

CJ: What is the hardest dish on the dinner menu at CIBO TRATTORIA'S to pair with wine, and what do you pair it with?
SLG: Anything with artichokes, I usually suggest a very dry Prosecco

CJ: What is your favorite wine region?
SLG: Languedoc-roussillon

CJ: What is your dream bottle?
SLG: 1947 Cheval Blanc or 1945 Mouton Rothschild & it is difficult to choose

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