The Vancouver International Wine Festival 2015 is coming upon us quickly, with the Festival starting on February 20. There will be 170 wineries in attendance from 14 different countries in attendance. At the Acura International Festival Tasting Room in the Vancouver Convention Centre, there will be more than 750 wines available for sampling. It is of course not possible to go to one of the evening tastings, and get through all these wines. But perhaps I can help narrow down your search.
Australian Wineries
Each year, there is a theme country and global focus. The country this year being “Australia” and the global focus being “Syrah“. Australia will have 55 wineries from 20 regions pouring 220 wines for you to taste. Sounds more manageable, but still quite daunting. Some regions I like from Australia are the Hunter Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, Barossa, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, and Margaret River. Although Australia is well-known for their full-bodied Shiraz wines, it is not necessarily the grape that is best for all these regions. Hunter Valley produces wonderful, ageable Semillon. The Adelaide Hills is known for Sauvignon Blanc. Clare Valley for Riesling. Margaret River for Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. From my list of regions, Barossa, Coonawarra, and McLaren Vale are prime producers of Syrah. It is also quite interesting to note, that even though Australia is known as a very hot climate, it produces some wonderful white wines, from grapes that don’t necessarily like hot weather. So there are pockets of Australia that do have a cooler climate that can produce quality aromatic wines from Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc.
A Few Australian Winery Recommendations
With this in mind, here is a list of a few Australian wineries that I would recommend that you visit when you are in the Festival Tasting Room. (I really would like to recommend you visit them all, but our time with them is limited.)
You may have picked up that many of the wineries I picked are in the McLaren Vale district, but please give the other regions a try as well.
There may of course be other undiscovered gems from Australia. I have tried to give you some pointers to wineries that I have some knowledge of, and feel confident will be a treat in your glass, but don’t hesitate to try other Australian wineries too. Enjoy. Please say “Hi” if you bump into me in the tasting room.