Thursday, Friday and Saturday
February 28, March 1 and 2, 2013
7:00-10:00 pm
763 wines • 175 wineries • 15 countries
2013 Participating Wineries
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is widely regarded as the best consumer wine show on the continent, and the International Festival Tasting Room is the heart of it.
The Wine World is Here.
All 175 participating wineries are organized alphabetically within countries, providing a series of regional journeys. Use the free Festival Program handed out at the door or the Wine Festival iPhone app to help you keep track of the wines you like. The Tasting Room offers a unique opportunity to taste rare bottles and discover new treasures as you visit with renowned winery principals from around the globe.
At each table you will find a winery principal, identified by their royal blue lanyard. This person is a senior member of the winery, intimately involved in the wine-production process as a winemaker, proprietor or senior executive. Nowhere else in the world will you find such an amazing gathering of talented women and men pouring wine and answering questions. Take this opportunity to quiz and learn from the experts about your favourite wine.
The Tasting Room plays out over three consecutive nights, with each night being unique. Thursday night’s capacity is guaranteed to be 25 percent lower than the other two evenings, attracting wine collectors and trade professionals who appreciate more room to interact with the winery principals. Friday is great for groups and the after-work crowd looking to kick off the weekend in style. Saturday night is perfect for couples and friends wanting to enjoy a night on the town. Groups of eight or more can save $10 each on Friday and Saturday nights.
Please remember that this is a wine tasting, not a dinner event. We strongly recommend that you enjoy a meal before setting out, as the room is infinitely easier to navigate on a full stomach. However, small food samples will be served throughout the room.

Be sure to visit the Dairy Farmers of Canada cheese
tasting station, "All You Need Is Cheese", to sample many fine
Canadian cheeses.
2013 THEME REGION SPONSOR:
Chardonnay Tasting Station
This year’s Global Focus – Chardonnay – offers a great opportunity for you to take a viticultural tour around the wine world, with a wide range of styles from Old and New World wineries. There are more than 128 different Chardonnays in the Tasting Room, both as a blend and on its own. For a comprehensive comparative tasting of Chardonnays from around the world, head directly to the Chardonnay Tasting Station, where experts from the International Sommelier Guild will be your guides.
2013 Regional Tasting Stations
There will be five Regional Tasting Stations in the International Festival Tasting Room, providing guided flights from their unique terroirs. Grab your glass and prepare to embark on a wine tour of British Columbia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sonoma County and Napa Valley, sampling the specialities of each region at their own tables! More details here.
Sponsored by Wines of British Columbia, Napa Valley Vintners, New Zealand Wine, Sonoma County Vintners, and Wines of South Africa.

BCLDB Onsite Liquor Store
Free bottle check and wine delivery
Tasting room wines may be bought at BC Liquor Stores’ onsite wine shop with a corresponding Tasting Room ticket stub. When you find a wine you like, we suggest you set it aside in the free bottle check. Don’t wait until the end of the evening as some wines sell out early. Repeat as necessary. For added convenience, single bottles and case lots can be shipped free of charge to your local BC Liquor Store.
Get Home Safe
Plan ahead. Do not drink and drive. We
suggest that you leave the car at home, assign a designated driver or
take a taxi or transit home. Or consider staying at one of our partner
hotels - make a night or a weekend of the festival. If you opt for
transit, BC Liquor Stores offers festival-goers a free transit ticket -
pick yours up at the Get Home Safe booth in the concourse as you exit
the festival.
2013 Tasting room sponsors and suppliers


Caffè Umbria
Rubens Chocolate
Terra Breads
Terra Foods
Whistler Water