Western Canadian Wine Consultants (WCWC) is a unique creation that is becoming a hot commodity for a fresh approach to hosting corporate wine tasting events this fall.

Stephen Hart, creator of WCWC, started with some help from a friend, Curtis Litun, to create a superb educational wine and spirit company that mixes the passion for wine and creativity, with a top notch experience. With Hart looking after operations and Litun taking care of sales and marketing, the company is booming in its infancy of four months.

“It is catered 100 % to what the guests want in an event,” Hart said. WCWC originally started from the idea of an education program for restaurants, and snowballed into hosting corporate events for up to 500 people.

Hart, currently a corporate Sommelier at Ric’s Grill, has a certificate from the International Sommelier Guild, as well as a certificate to teach through the Society of Wine Educators. Litun has a background in hospitality and marketing, and is also a certified Sommelier.

In September, WCWC put together a Scotch tasting event for a BMW investors group, which has now come to be a monthly event. WCWC has also started up other monthly events, such as hosting events for members of Hockey Night in Canada wives.

WCWC is planning events for companies such as Telus, WestJet and Shell in November, as well as partnering with the Okanagan Wine Festival. WCWC is also looking to partner with DIRTT, a company that creates environmentally friendly interiors.

“The level of creativity incorporated in our events is incomparable with some of the other events held in Calgary.” Hart explained, “It’s because of the staff that I found, who have passion for what they do.”

WCWC focuses on corporate events, wine marketing and app development, all of which help bring people one step closer to understand the complex world of wine.

With the company’s creator coming from some of the most prestigious resorts in Canada such as Relais & Châteaux, it’s bound to have some of the highest standards in the industry.

“The reason I’m doing this is that I’m passionate about wines, events, and education. I believe sharing knowledge and being hospitable is a reflection of me.”

~ Devon Patterson

Pairing Wine With People

It is often thought that wine has to be paired with food, but as a Corporate Sommelier and creator of Western Canadian Wine Consulting (WCWC) I also pair wines with people. It takes a lot of experience dealing with different people and wine to actually pull this off. Factors that are taken into account are how the guests present themselves, attire, profession, age, and gender.

A lot of what I do is based on just having plain old fashion good judgment, education and experience of working with guests. It’s almost a sense you develop to read the guest, and to me it is becoming rather fascinating to see how well some sommeliers can please a guest so much, with only a few questions.

It’s an interesting aspect of selling and psychology. But, like anything you do for a while, you start to notice trends: baby boomers these days are looking for more of a novelist experience and tend to drink a little more interesting wines like Barolo or Chianti. Something that has a good story behind it and isn’t necessarily drank everyday.

The younger ladies these days are into Prosecco or sweeter sparkling wines, or fun bubbly patio wines. As a Sommelier secret, again, not always true but a good indication of people’s budget, are their wedding rings – at least with the ladies. This is one indicator that helps me decide where to start at asking prices. People can change their clothing day-to-day, but wedding rings are pretty consistent.

At the end of the day, there are no laws regarding what people will drink or what they will spend, but with my job, it is fun to do research and understand who is drinking what in what areas of town, and then seeing how accurate I was, and how well I was able to read the guest.

~ Stephen Hart