We recently attended the 40th Vancouver International Wine Festival and absolutely fell in love with the plethora of wines on display. With 16 countries, 173 wineries and nearly 1500 wines on display, it was an extravaganza for food and wine lovers alike. For a lot of travellers heading to Vancouver in the late February-early March period, this festival is a must attend and we tell you why so.
Wines of British Columbia
Although Canada has been known for its ice wines worldwide, the wines from British Columbia are slowly but steadily emerging into the world market. The main production regions of British Columbia being the Okanagan Valley and Similkameen valley offer quite a unique environment. Although it is located at the latitude of 49°, the weather here is one of extreme heat and cold with a diurnal variation of 30°C sometimes along with a temperature as low as -20°c in winter and as high as 40°c in summers. This allows the fruit to ripen and develop strong fruity flavours while the cooler nights impart the wines here a typical acidity. The volcanic and glacial soil also plays a part in the flavour profile of the grapes here.
You might not have tried out these wines but at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, you will definitely be able to find quite a few just like we did at the Lunch with Keynote Speaker, Paul Wagner at the Espana Restaurant. The menu featured some scrumptious Spanish food combined with the local wines including the Charme De L’il NV from the Unsworth Vineyards, Free Form White ‘15 from Haywire vineyards, and the Creek Block 3 Premium Reisling ’16.
Winery Dinners at the Vancouver International Wine Festival
The winery dinners are the best way to experience the luxury setting that combines the best of fine wine and fine-dine. We attended two winery dinners and were absolutely blown away by the combinations on offer. As Snigdha headed to her date with Sparkling Wines at ARC Dining at the Fairmont Waterfront, I headed to my passion for Latin Terrior dinner at La Terraza, finally a break from all the Spanish food.
At the dinner at ARC Dining, an entree of mussels along with a Juve y Camps Cinta Purpura Reserva ’14 was served out. The lovely citrus notes of this mixed blend Cava with fresh sea flavours of the Mussels and Charred Tomato was quite a good way to start the dinner. More Cavas flowed from the caves of the Juve y Camps as we chanced upon the Essential Xarel-Lo ’14. The Xarel-Lo forms the backbone of most of the Cavas and the notes on this wine made exclusively from the Xarel-Lo grapes was quite exquisite. It had a few spicy and herbaceous notes including that of Fennel, Rosemary and Thyme which was combined with the Quebec Foie Gras.
Learning about new wines
The Vancouver International Wine Festival offers learning experiences for beginners and Industry experts. There are plenary sessions where you can taste a flight of wines while being presided over by a group of industry professionals. We attended two of these events, the Great Red Grapes and Pinot Noir: California Style.
You can read about the Great Red Grapes session here
Pinot Noir is known as a teenager, impressive many times and downright irritating once in a while. Although all of these wines were from California, we found quite a few impressive ones from the Anderson and Russian River Valley. I specially fell in love with the J Vineyards & Winery Pinot Noir 2015 and the Robert Mondavi Winery Reserve Carneros 2013.
Tasting wines from focus regions
Every Vancouver International Wine Festival focuses on a specific region of wine to promote every year. The focus years for 2018 included Spain and Portugal and we were able to experience quite a few old ones along with some new ones too. Coupled with three wines each from Spain and Portugal, Executive Sous Chef Roger Hildebrant’s team had cooked up a decadent mix of sliders, cold platters and scrumptious paella at the media launch of the festival at Joey’s Wine Room. The wines on display included the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava along with an El Petit Bonhomme Blanco ’16, the Cune Crianza Rioja ’12 and Tio Pepe Palomino Fino sherry from Spain while Portugal was represented with the Sottal Lisboa ‘16 and the Quinto de Crasto Duoro ‘15.
Next year’s focus region is Californian Wines
The International Wine Tasting Room
What is a Wine festival without tasting a plethora of wines? The tasting room at the Vancouver International Wine Festival allowed us to taste nearly all of the 1500 wines on display. As soon as you enter, get yourself a glass and venture around. All the countries have been laid out with signposts just like a highway. Sniff, Sip and Swirl all the way. We tasted quite a few interesting ones including a 20-year-old tawny port from Taylor Fladgate, a Domaine Des Senechaux Chateauneuf-du-Pape ’15 and a Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi ’12.
Do let us know if you have visited any wine festival and if you plan to visit next year’s Vancouver International Wine Festival?
