The 36th Vancouver International Wine Festival 2014 uncorks…
The Wine World is Here
DJ Kearney
Here on the west coast we are very proud to host one of Planet Wine’s most-beloved, best-attended, and long-established consumer wine shows. Yes, it’s a big deal in North America, but it is also massively well-known and respected around the globe. We Wine Align critics travel far and wide and often cross paths with winemakers, owners, growers, and export pros who have shared the magic of Vancouver’s ‘Winefest’, as it’s affectionately known. And as our own Anthony Gismondi says, “As always, it’s the visiting principals that set this show apart…”
What draws the wine world’s heavyweights to Lotusland year after year? Well, the mountains and ocean don’t hurt, nor does the vibrant dining scene, relaxed sporty lifestyle, or proximity to California (usually the next stop on producers’ itineraries). But the big appeal is the BC wine lover, the dedicated drinkers who (despite the highest price markups in the country) are respected for their knowledge, discernment, passion and great taste.
France is the show piece in 2014 with 52 top estates in town to share a glass with us. Principals I’m particularly excited to see are Michel Chapoutier, Etienne Hugel, Bernie Sparr, Clovis Taittinger, plus Fritz Hasselbach from Gunderloch, Miguel Roquette from Quinta do Crasto and Susana Balbo from Dominio del Plata. Also in the spotlight are Australia, South Africa, and BC with their own special sections. On the eight-day roster there are wine dinners, grazings, minglers, blind tastings, speed tastings, boardroom tastings in addition to the three grand Festival tasting sessions. A measurement of success: all but a handful of the 54 events have long sold out.
Each year the Festival targets a different grape or style, and this year it‘s “Bubbly!”. There are over 110 different sparklers to sample in the tasting room, from Champagne, to Crémant, Cava, Prosecco, Moscato and a bevy from the new world. I’m proud to have manned the Tasting Room education booth for a decade, and together with my sommelier team will be pouring great examples of sparkling wines, using an interactive sensory display to teach how they’re made and what makes then different. A few other WineAlign critics are on hand too – John Szabo MS, Rhys Pender MW, and Mr. Gismondi are here to share their expertise.
The numbers say it all: Over winefest week 1,750 wines (that’s an astonishing 30,000 bottles) will be deployed and enjoyed from 14 countries and 177 quality wineries at 54 events. The turnstiles to the Festival Tasting room will click 23,000 times, and over 50 restaurants and hotels get in on the action. And the typical Festival attendee? Around 39 years old, university-degreed, over 100K income, a repeat visitor, and not surprisingly (since gals shop for wine more often than guys) women (57.8%) edge men (42.2%) in attendance. As the Festival’s motto says: “The wine world is here”. So is WineAlign’s TEAM BC. Watch for our Festival tips and picks and be sure to subscribe to get them delivered directly to your inbox. It’s valuable insider intel!
Watch this space on Friday, Feb 21 for a special festival-goers edition of BC Best Buys, when all four B.C. WineAlign critics weigh in with strategies for navigating the Festival, which wines to try and who you should meet.