Stir Cheat Sheet: 4 winery dinners at Vancouver International Wine Festival 2023
On the menu are iconic wines from South America, Masi’s 250th winemaking-anniversary celebrations, and more
Vancouver International Wine Festival. Photo by Christine McAvoy.
Vancouver International Wine Festival. Photo by Christine McAvoy.
Vancouver International Wine Festival takes place at various venues from April 22 to 30
IT’S CANADA’S BIGGEST and longest-running wine event: Vancouver International Wine Festival is back for its 44th edition, featuring wines from 17 countries. This year’s focus is on South America, specifically wines from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. At the heart of it all are the signature International Festival Tastings, where some 800 wines are available for sampling. Then there are another 30 special events, from minglers to seminars, where another 550 or so wines are served. The fest raises funds for Bard on the Beach Theatre Society, the 2023 Shakespeare festival at Sen̓ákw/Vanier Park running from June 8 to September 30. Winery dinners are especially hot tickets (which go on sale March 1). Here are a few top 2023 wining-and-dining picks.
Inspired by the Friuli region of Italy, Carlino pays homage the similarities between that country’s north and B.C., with their mountain ranges, coastal waters, forests, and lakes. Chef Omar Hadi is creating a Tuscan-style dinner, with wine pairings by Carpineto’s winemaker and executive vice president Antonio Zaccheo Jr. Founded in 1967 in the enclave of Dudda, just outside of Greve in Chianti, the carbon-neutral winery has five estates over 500 hectares, all sustainably farmed for vegan-friendly wines. The majority of its red wines are aged for three-plus years current figures at over 3 million bottles of wine being sold yearly. Featured dinner wines include Farnito Chardonnay Brut NV, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2007, Vino Nobile di Mont 1995, Farnito Vinsanto del Chianti DOC 1999.
Seña Wines.
Icons of South America
April 25 from 6:30 to 10 pm at Five Sails
Five Sails’ recently appointed executive chef Robert Robinson (formerly of Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe, Toronto’s acclaimed Canoe Restaurant, and Vancouver’s Le Crocodile and West) helms at five-course dinner in celebration of some of South America’s most iconic wines.
In the glass are powerhouse wines from Chile’s Seña (a maker of ultra-premium wine, founded in 1995 by Robert Mondavi and Eduardo Chadwick), Arboleda (one of Chile’s first estates to adopt environmentally conscious production methods), and Vinedo Chadwick. The Chadwick-Errázuriz family known for producing fine wines that showcase the Santiagio region’s Maipo Valley at its highest level.
Hotel Marqués de Riscal.
Dating back to 1858 and located in northern Spain’s Basque Country, in the heart of the Rioja region, Marqués de Riscal is consistently ranked as one of the best wineries in the world. It’s home to the Marqués de Riscal City of Wine where the original bodega was built in 1860 to cellar ancient wines; where the 1883 Bordeaux-style building El Palomar makes the company’s premium wines; and where the 21st-century Hotel Marqués de Riscal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, stands, designed by renowned Canadian architect, Frank O. Gehry.
Marqués de Riscal brand ambassador Jose Luis Maguro Jr. will be on-site pouring wines like its Sauvignon Blanc 2020, XR Reserva 2017, and Baron de Chirel Rioja 2017, paired with a four-course dinner, plus canapés on arrival.
250th Celebration: 250th Celebration: MASI
April 26 from 6:30 to 10 pm at The Vancouver Club
It all started in 1772, when the Boscaini family carried out their first harvest in the prestigious vineyards in Vajo dei Masi, a valley in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica region. MASI is still in family hands, run by the sixth and seventh generations, known for their expertise in the appassimento method, a process of drying harvested grapes, traditionally on bamboo racks or straw mats, for a few weeks up to several months to concentrate sugars and flavours, a practice going back to the ancient Romans. Specializing in Amarone and other premium wines, Masi also owns the organically run estates of Poderi del Bello Ovile in Tuscany and Masi Tupungato in Argentina.
Drying racks for Amarone at Masi. Photo by Tom Hyland
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