The 42nd annual Vancouver International Wine Festival is getting ready to start pouring February 22-March 1, 2020. The eight-day wine and food extravaganza will showcase 163 wineries from 15 countries, including 42 wineries from France, this festival’s featured country.
Joining the French wineries, 121 more wineries from around the world, will be pouring 1,500+ wines at 57 events with a global spotlight on rosé. Each participating winery will be represented by a winery principal – the festival’s vine stars – who come to Vancouver every year to share and discuss their wines with attendees.
“VIWF 2020 will welcome 163 different producers from 15 countries, 42 of them from the theme country of France,” says David Hopgood, chair of the Winery Selection Committee. “Sparkling wine is well represented with over 75 examples, including many Champagne and Crémant wines from France. Rosé will also be in abundance with about 75 in the Tasting Room, many from Provence. The French section will feature wines from all over the country – Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Southwest, Loire, Rhône, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, and even a Crémant from Jura.”
“Italy is well represented with 24 producers, Germany has four, as does Croatia. Romania returns with two wineries, while the Iberian Peninsula is represented by 15 wineries. The New World also will have a strong presence with 70 wineries participating, plus two Sake makers from Japan. In total, there will be well over 650 wines in the Tasting Room to discover, making for a very exciting festival.”
Vancouver International Wine Festival is based at the Vancouver Convention Centre; as well, more than 25 other venues and restaurants around the city will host winery dinners, lunches, seminars and wine minglers. The annual Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, benefiting Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, kicks off the festival on Saturday, February 22 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The heart of the festival is the Tasting Room, where all 164 wineries will gather for four International Festival Tastings and two Trade Tastings.
Vancouver International Wine Festival runs February 22 to March 1, 2020. For full festival line-up of wineries, and events visit vanwinefest.ca