The 38th Annual Vancouver Wine festival starts next month on February 20th and this year the the spotlight is on Italy. Throughout the week, there will be events happening all over Vancouver, from wine tastings, seminars, luncheons and gourmet dinners. This year will be my 30th year attending the festival in one capacity or another. Over the past 8 years, I have had the ability to attend as a media representative through my wine ramblings on a local news website, the AM 1150 radio station where I co-host a weekly wine/food show and through this blog. And as such, I am able to attend seminars, tasting and dinners that I would not normal go to. This year, I am hoping to attend one or two key events.

One of the key events I’m hoping to attend is the Tuscan Trailblazers tasting. Hosted by Tony Gismondi, columnist for The Vancouver Sun, WineAlign, and gismondionwine.com, this spectacular tasting will be showcasing the Super-Tuscan wines of the Antinori family, Tignanello from 6 different vintages along with their Guado al Tasso from 2003-2006 . The legendary Antinori family have been making wine since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori enrolled in the Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri, the Wine Guild of the city of Florence. These wines are some of the most sought-after in the world.  

Another seminar is 1000 Years in Tuscany. Billed as “A landmark tasting featuring the 2nd oldest winery in the world, Barone Ricasoli”, this exceptional tasting will be led by the current Barone, Francesco Ricasoli, 32nd Baron of Brolio. Considered by the Italian Wine Industry to be the inventors of the original Chianti wine, the Ricasoli’s are the largest landowners in Tuscany. This tasting will showcase the very best that Tuscany has to offer with a few single-vineyard Chianti Classico’s dating back to 1997, one of the best Chianti vintages in over 40 years. 

Ticket sales are, as usual, very brisk so if you are considering attend the festival, it is probably best if you do not delay in purchasing your tickets. Info on ticket sales can be found here.