The Vancouver International Wine Festival is pleased to announce the winery line-up for the 42nd annual festival, which takes place February 22-March 1, 2020. The eight-day wine and food extravaganza will showcase 164 wineries from 15 countries, including 43 wineries from France, this festival’s featured country. Joining France will be 121 wineries from around the world, pouring 1,500+ wines at 57 events with a global spotlight on rosé. Each participating winery will be represented by a winery principal – our vine stars – who come to Vancouver every year to share and discuss their wines with festivalgoers.
“VIWF 2020 will welcome 164 different producers from 15 countries, 43 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.”
The festival is headquartered at the Vancouver Convention Centre; in addition, more than 25 other restaurants and venues around the city will host winery dinners, lunches, seminars and wine minglers. The sumptuous Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, benefiting Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, kicks off the festival on Saturday, February 22 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver; tickets and tables are on sale now. The heart of the festival is the Tasting Room, where all 164 wineries will gather for four International Festival Tastings and two Trade Tastings. Discounted advance tickets for the International Festival Tastings go on sale Wednesday, November 6 at 9:30 a.m. Festivalgoers can get a free ticket if they book a downtown hotel via StayVancouverHotels.com from November 6 to February 13, while supplies last.
Vive la France!
The spotlight shines on France this year with 43 wineries representing the diverse and storied terroirs of France. All French wineries will be featured in a special section of the Tasting Room, with 172 wines poured at the International Festival Tastings plus an additional 41 wines set aside for the Trade Tastings. Festival week will feature 18 French events, including vine star seminars, vintage tastings, nine winery dinners, a wine party to kick off the week, and a spectacular Saturday lunch, Bon Appétit, featuring all 43 wineries.
“Every French citizen is passionate about wine; I am no exception coming from Alsace, so it is with great pleasure for me to see France honoured in this year’s VIWF,” says Philippe Sutter, Consul General of France in Vancouver. “It is also our heritage that is being celebrated. But heritage should not simply be showcased. It should be savoured. France has more than 10,000 tourist-oriented wine cellars that welcome visitors and I am so pleased that some of its best, selected from our 17 different wine-growing regions, will be here for you to discover. I invite everyone to come and join us during this event, in full conviviality and respect for our planet and its resources, two important aspects of French culture. Santé to the red, white, and…rosé!”
Save the Dates
Discounted advance tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 6 at 9:30 a.m.
All public events go on sale Wednesday, January 8 at 9:30 a.m.
All trade events go on sale Wednesday, January 22 at 9:30 a.m.
For more information about the Vancouver International Wine Festival go to VanWineFest.ca
