My Week At The 2019 Vancouver International Wine Festival – Events, Favourites, Tips

A highlight for me this week was attending the Vancouver International Wine Festival. This year marks my 4th festival, and each year I’m just as excited as my first time attending.

I wanted to share a recap of my week of the events I attended and some of my favourite finds this year that I added to my collection 🙂 This year’s theme is California.

For more tips, check out my 2016 review here

Feb 25 – My Wine Fest week started off with a media launch party at Joey Bentall One.

We were treated to some yummy food and California wines!

Feb 26 – Van Wine Fest offers more intimate and smaller events to focus on specific regions, types of wine, and cuisine. I went to the ‘California Crush’ party which focused specifically on California wines. Attendees were offered a variety of food samples to pair with the wines available.

The mini poke bites were my fav! I probably had like 10 by the end of the evening haha!

Some of the notable wines were the bourbon barrel aged Cabernet Sauvignons from Stave and Steel + Beringer Bros. I also loved the Viognier from Smoking Loon.

March 1 – The biggest event of the festival, International Tasting Room. This is the room where all the wine regions congregate. Italy, France, British Columbia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Australia, and California. This event is the perfect time to taste wines from different regions, and the theme region of the year has the most selections – California for 2019.

I’ve included some of my fav picks from the evening.

This Romantica sparkling wine was one of my favs! Unfortunately they did not carry it in the festival store, that means I have to go locate it now 🙂

This Wine-On-Tap was a hit with so many of the attendees!

There is also food samplings in the festival tasting room. The selection is not as vast as the separate events, but a nice little treat in between tastings. They had my favourite Ritter Sport chocolates! I ended up buying full packs of some of the snacks they had – an Italian tomato salsa sauce + crackers. I also came across a de-alcoholised Rotkappchen sparkling white + rosé wine that tasted just like a real bottle of wine!

There was also a station with Iberico ham samples! Ahh…makes me think about my Barcelona trip last year.

Of course the gelato cart is a highlight for me each year 😉

There was a bar-like Napa Valley section that had more premium wines. After tasting some exquisite selections, I think it’s time to make a trip to Napa Valley soon 😉

 

Top Picks From The Gems I added to my collection

The festival offers free shipping to your local B.C. Liquor Store for your cases of wine. I’m still waiting for my box but wanted to share my top favourites from this year in this post.

That feeling when you get the last bottle of your new favourite 😀

Got the last bottle of this vintage Antinori Pian Delle Vigne Brunello Di Montalcino 2013 ! This bottle is best indulged at least after 2023, I look forward to waiting to open this, anyone want to join me then? 😉

Chartron & Trebuchet Bourgogne Brut Chardonnay

This Chardonnay Brut was one of my top 3’s, I loved it so much that I bought a couple bottles! It’s very light and perfect for a seafood night dinner pairing.

Chateau Munch 2009 Lussac Saint Emilion

This Bordeaux merlot + cabernet franc blend has hints of berries and mushrooms, with an acidic and juicy finish. This bottle was also one of my top 3’s. I can already picture myself pairing a nice grilled steak with this bottle.

MINUTY Rosés – M DE MINUTY 2018 & Chateau MINUTY 281 2018

I always go crazy for the sparkling wines and rosés. One winery that caught my attention was MINUTY. This winery only produces rosés, so you know that they’re the best of the best. My top pick is the M De MINUTY 2018, followed by Chateau MINUTY 281 2018.

CALVET CREMANT DE BOARDEAUX ROSÉ

An intense burst of flavours. Fine and persistent bubbles. Pleasant red-fruit notes. HIghly aromatic, with a long and complex finish. I personally would open this bottle during a summer bbq.

Wirra Wirra Catapult Shiraz

Ever since I discovered some hidden gems of McLaren Vale at the festival’s Australia theme a couple years ago, I’ve fallen in love with the Shiraz from that region. I picked up this bottle filled with bright raspberries and red plums. It has this fresh taste that honestly pairs well with many spice-filled dishes.

Magia Fiore Spumante Extra Dry Seccoooo

I bought the sparkling red wine version of this 2 years ago, and tried this one at this year’s tasting. It was a nice light dry sparkling wine.

Thank you so much to Vancouver International Wine Festival and the team for having me at your events this year. This festival is one of my favourite events in the city, so I’m very grateful to be apart of the events and festival tasting. France is the theme region next year, and I have a feeling already it’s going to be a great one!

Did you go to the festival this year too? I would love to hear about the events you went to and your picks that you added to your collection!