A great way to try wines from all over the world is by attending local wine festivals. Here in Vancouver the most prominent festival is the annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. There were 153 booths available for tasting and with this many wines the event can become overwhelming. It is a smart idea to arrive prepared. To prepare for a wine festival or a tasting you should try to obtain a program of all participating wineries, before the event . This way you can make a list of the wines you would like to try and where their booths are located. With a large number of wines being poured you are never going to try them all. You might be lucky to successfully taste 20 wines before loosing a little of your palate. Try the whites before the reds, the reds before the ports or desert wines.
Ask questions and don't be nervous or embarrassed. This is your chance to understand what the wine maker was striving for when creating the wine. Ask for the wine makers' description of the wine and then compare; do you taste the flavors the wine maker has described on his tasting sheet. Ask about the grape variety, and if the wine should be put in the cellar and for how long? There are no bad questions.
If you taste a wine you really enjoy remember to take a hand out on the product or write a note in your program. This little note will be monumental when you get home and start trying to remember all the wines you enjoyed. Some people will suggest keeping notes on all the wines you try. Ideally this would be a good thing to do but unfortunately I do not have the time or patience to write about products I do not intend to buy.
The International Wine Festival includes many run-off events that take place in different locations around the city. Two examples are the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner & Auction $225. per person, and the Vintners Brunch $85. per person. Both events are very popular and usually a sell out.
Here is a list of wines I tasted at the festival and truly enjoyed. I recommend you try them. The wine prices are off the event price list and are in Canadian funds.
Les Villages De Jaffelin 1996, Rully Blanc. $23.95
Chardonnay.
Pierre Andre Savigny Les Beaune, Les Champier 1996 $28.85
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