Waterfront—(February 26 to March 3, 2018) The 40th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival took over the social calendar last week with 25,000 guests wining and dining all across the city's two-dozen venues anchored by the multi-day and night International Festival Tasting Room inside the Vancouver Convention Centre West ballroom.
seafood paella
Wine lovers celebrated the dual European theme nations of Spain and Portugal with thirty-eight wineries from Spain and twenty from Portugal represented. Other countries with strong lineups included Canada's twenty-six producers (twenty-five from BC and one from Nova Scotia), the USA with twenty-four producers, Italy with twenty-three, and France with sixteen.
There were a plethora of food and wine pairing events and tastings taking place including a mingler party of Spanish wine and tapas at Per se Social Corner in Yaletown.
Two of my personal international highlights recently have been the Schloss Johannisberg's 2015 Gelblack Feinberg riesling (above) from Rheingau wine-growing region of Germany and Michele Chiarlo's Nivole Moscato d'Asti dessert wine from Italy.
VIWF by the numbers:
- 25,100 admissions in 2017 (96% of all available tickets were sold)
- 16 countries, 173 wineries, 26 venues
- 51 events (including tastings, seminars, winery dinners, minglers, lunches, and brunches)
- ~50 participating restaurants, hotels, and caterers
- 1,450+ wines
- 750+ at International Festival Tastings
- 155 additional wines at Trade Tastings
- 540+ at special events (dinners, seminars, etc.)
- 43,000 bottles sampled and/or purchased
- 82,000 wine glasses used
- 450 volunteers
Starting in 1979, VIWF has raised $9-million in support the performing arts. Since 2013, proceeds have gone to benefit the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival—contributing $280,000 in 2017. Until next year.
More | YVArcade / 2014 / 2015 / 2016 / 2017
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