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By Hanne Armstrong

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Whether you're experienced and wise in the ways of wine or idly curious about the mysterious world of the grape, the 19th annual World Wine and Food Expo, set to run next week from Monday, November 2 through Saturday, November 7, is just the event for you.

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The Wine Expo gives people the opportunity to taste samples while chatting with wine reps.

Some 370 wines from around the world and never before available in New Brunswick will be on hand at the Coliseum Complex for your tasting pleasure. Local and international wine experts will be conducting seminars and offering the benefits of their expertise to Expo-goers, and NB Liquor will have a temporary store set up, well stocked with the wines of the Expo.

Bill Vance is the chairman of the World Wine and Food Expo and a professional sommelier, or wine steward, accredited by the International Sommelier Guild. Bill's passion for wine began years ago, leading him to read all he could about it until he became a self-taught expert. Then he took a challenging six-month course which led to his designation as sommelier in 2001. The title, he feels , adds public credibility to his store of knowledge.

"Part of my job," he says, "is to excite people about wine and to take the snob element out of the event. There's technical excellence versus yummy, but basically if you like a wine, then it's a great wine. The people at the booths aren't here to intimidate but to inform."

The week starts off with seminars and the elite Prestige Tasting. Seminar topics range from an Introduction to Wine Tasting to presentations by Italian, French and Argentinian producers. The Prestige Tasting will be held at La Teraz on Monday evening, and feature some of the most expensive and taste-exceptional wines of the Expo, served at the rate of three or four per course of a magnificent gourmet meal. Bill will be on hand to talk about each wine to the 36 Prestige tasters. Though the price tag of $200 per plate may seem excessive to some, after paying for the wines and food this is a break-even dinner.

The seminars and the Prestige Tasting are sold out already, but there are tickets left for the afternoon sessions of the main event, the Grand Tastings, on Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7, at the Coliseum. This is where you make your way from booth to booth, sit back and watch other tasters, sample gourmet snacks, and just generally let yourself enjoy the world of wine.

"You might have decided to try red wines," says Bill. "Then just go to a booth with red wines, and ask the person there which wine to try first. They'll pour small taste samples in the proper order, telling you a little about each one. You don't need more expertise than what your taste buds provide."

And you don't need to worry about whether or where to spit out the wine you just tasted. Most people at this Expo don't spit, but swallow the small samples of each wine, though spitters are provided for and welcome.

Something else you don't need to worry about is that there will be only very expensive wines at the Expo. The Category Manager for Wines at NB Liquor selects wines from lists provided by vineyard agents based on many criteria, one of which is affordability. There will be great wines in the $10-$20 range which you can taste and buy, though it's always fun to have a sip or two of some of the high-priced products to find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.

Should you prefer not to take part in the tasting, or find that the event is sold out on the day you decide to go, you can still visit the temporary NB Liquor store on site. They'll have cases of every wine in the Expo for sale to ticket-holders and non ticket-holders alike. Read the label, make your choice, and bring home a wine or two.

Last year's World Wine and Food Expo had a total attendance of about 5,500 people. Based on advance ticket sales, Bill is optimistic that this number will be exceeded this year, as more and more people in the Moncton area shift their alcohol preference from spirits and beer to wine. The Expo also attracts tasters from all over New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. The temporary NB Liquor outlet is expected to make sales in the area of $400,000.

For more information about the Expo, go to wineexpo.ca.