If you really like wine, chances are you already have a ticket to at least one of the Vancouver International Wine Festival’s (VIWF) 54 events, kicking off Feb. 11. The heart of the festival is the Tasting Room, which gathers together all 180 participating wineries for a freestyle walk-about tasting. Needless to say, it’s impossible to sample all 600-plus wines being poured, so having a strategy is crucial. Mine goes something like this.
Start with bubble. It’ll help acclimate your palate while you figure out the lay of the land. This year’s festival honours Canada’s 150th anniversary, and so features plenty of homegrown juice from BC, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Yes, Nova Scotia makes wine, and six wineries from the distant east coast will be flaunting their wares. The sparklers fromBenjamin Bridge make for an invigorating first sip, and head winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslauriers will be pouring theMéthode Classique Brut NV and 2011 Brut. The former is based on L’Acadie, a hybrid grape that was bred specifically for chilly climes like Nova Scotia, while the latter is made from 100 per cent Chardonnay. If you’re still thirsty for Nova Scotia bubble, check out Blomidon Estate Vineyards and L’Acadie Vineyards.
From there, move west, making sure you spend some time in Ontario before coming home. Though Ontario produces more wine than BC, we don’t see much of it here. Closson Chase demonstrates why people are excited about the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Prince Edward County VQA. In particular, the 2014 Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay is deftly balanced, slender and elegant, with just a hint of oak for added complexity. Stop by Château Des Charmes for its charmingly juicy, berry-laden 2013 Gamay Noir from Niagara-on-the-Lake. I also recommend checking out the range of Pinot Noir at Domaine Queylus; this Niagara Peninsula winery boasts renowned winemaker Thomas Bachelder, who’ll be at the VIWF to speak about the wines.
With 60-plus BC wineries partaking, it’s difficult to narrow down the highlights to just one or two. It’s always worth catching up with the latest releases from CedarCreek, Laughing Stock and Tantalus. There are sure to be interesting wines on offer from Liquidity, Pentâge, Sperling and Stag’s Hollow as well. Just remember to venture beyond the Okanagan Valley. Averill Creek and Unsworth, both from Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley, will be there, while Baillie-Grohman and Harper’s Trail represent the emerging regions of the Kootenays and Kamloops, respectively.
After toasting to the homeland, take some time to explore wines from abroad – it’s an international festival, after all. France, Italy and California all have strong contingents this year, but don’t let these giants completely distract you from the likes of Greece and Croatia. The Alpha Estate table will be a great introduction to fascinating native-Greek whites like Assyrtiko and Malagouzia, along with the savoury, structured red Xinomavro featured in the 2013 Florina Hedgehog Vineyard. From Croatia, Stina is returning to the VIWF for the third year in a row with its top-notch examples of Pošipand Plavac Mali. This year it’s bringing along some new everyday drinking wines: The 2015 Cuvée White (Pošip blended with Vuguva and Chardonnay) simply screams summer, from its scene of the Dalmatia Coast on the label to the fresh, zingy, characterful wine in the bottle.
If you haven’t yet purchased tickets for the VIWF, there are still some available for the Tasting Room on Feb. 16 ($89) and Feb. 17 ($95), 7-10pm both days, as well as Feb. 18 ($79), 2:30-5pm.
