The tickets are out for the Vancouver International Wine Festival on January 8. Which events do you attend? Well I’m here to help. BTW, I was told there will be 767 #wine selections in #VanWineFest Tasting Room. 1850 total selections in 55 events. 30,000 bottles to open in all. Wow.
My Number 1 Suggestion
Your number 1 event to attend is the International Festival Tasting. That is the BIG tasting room at the Convention Centre. The International Festival Tasting is open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. If you have never attended before, Saturday night is a zoo. So if you can, I’d recommend that you go on Thursday as it will be the least busy and you may have a better chance at tasting more wines and chatting with a winery principal. My other related suggestion, is to go to the International Festival Tasting on two days, such as Thursday and Friday. There are too many wines to try in one night, so why not go over 2 days and be a little more relaxed in your tasting. Plus you will not burn out your tastebuds, and if there is a wine you liked from the first day, you can go back the second day for a second sip.
My Suggested Lunches and Dinners
Here are my suggestions for sit-down lunches and dinners. Sorry I do not have time to go into detail why I like each one. I will try to write more about them in the future. But they all either have exceptional food, exceptional wine, or both. I hope to be able to attend some of these myself, and see you there.
- Chateau Olivier at Le Gavroche (Bordeaux icon Château Olivier and acclaimed restaurant Le Gavroche team together. What else do I need to say? )
- A Joseph Phelps Celebration (Mike McEvoy, Vice President of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, and West Restaurant. Enjoy iconic Napa Cab plus Sonoma Valley wine)
- Natural Balance: Bonterra and Oru (meet the wine maker, plus drink organic and biodynamic wines)
- Fontodi and Hawksworth (If you enjoy Tuscan wines and one of the top restaurants in Vancouver!)
- Signorello @ Blue Water Cafe (If you cannot attend the Signorello Padrone Vertical, here is another chance to enjoy some top wines plus enjoy great food at Blue Water Cafe)
My Suggested Seminars and Workshops
-
Lanson rose champagne Signorello Padrone Vertical (experience a 10-vintage vertical of Signorello Estate Tête de Cuvée Padrone, Napa. Verticals are always educational)
- Cinq Cepages Vertical Tasting (Sonoma’s Chateau St. Jean vertical tasting of 10 years of one of their top wines.)
- Regional Superstars of California (Interesting to find out the new stars. As our theme region is California, there are more California wineries at the Festival this year. You may not see them again for a long time.)
- A Taste of Tradition: Lanson (Lanson produces very nice Champagne. Who wouldn’t want to attend a champagne workshop?)
