Bubbly is toasted as global focus
Canada’s premier wine show wrapped up March 3, ending its 35th year by announcing France as the theme for 2014. Next year, flutes are raised to Bubbly as the global focus. Oenophiles eagerly anticipate sips of the world’s finest sparkling wines, with corks popping from rare bottles and vintages during the effervescent week-long festival. With France in the spotlight, 2014 is certain to be an exceptional year, with a tantalizing selection of tastings, winery dinners, wine minglers, lunches and seminars. The 2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival, presented by The Vancouver Sun, runs February 24 to March 2 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West and fine restaurants and select venues throughout the city.
France is well recognized as a leader in the industry and has produced wine for two and a half millennia. One of the world’s most prolific winemaking nations, France’s nearly two million acres of vineyards yield over 7 billion bottles each year. The country is known for grape-growing regions synonymous with wine, including Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Rhône and South of France, and is widely admired for its diverse styles. France was last the theme region of the Vancouver International Wine Festival in 2006.
This year’s theme region of California was represented by 62 wineries and welcomed many of the Golden State’s top wine personalities, including Margrit Mondavi of Robert Mondavi Winery, Walter Schug of Schug Carneros Estate Winery, and Paul Draper of Ridge Vineyards. About 22,000 participants poured into venues around the city to taste the 1850 wines selected for the week-long festival, which saw 175 wineries from 15 countries partake in 54 events.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is a fundraiser for Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival. 2013 marked the first year the two organizations worked together.
“It’s been an outstanding first season together, capped by a magical Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction,” said Bard on the Beach Artistic Director Christopher Gaze. “As we continue to work in partnership with the Wine Festival, we have a unique opportunity to strengthen both our own organization and theirs. We’re excited and respectful of that gift, and the opportunity in turn to make a greater contribution to Vancouver’s arts and cultural community at large.”
Advance tickets for the 2014 festival go on sale November 1, 2013. All public events go on sale Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 9:30am. Tickets to the Trade Days Conference go on sale Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 9:30am.
ABOUT THE VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL WINE FESTIVAL, PRESENTED BY THE VANCOUVER SUN
Canada’s premier wine show will mark its 36th anniversary of pairing wine, food and the performing arts from February 24 to March 2, 2014. Next year, the festival features the wines of France, with a global focus on Bubbly! In 2013, the festival featured 175 wineries from 15 countries pouring 1,850 wines at 54 events over seven days. The Vancouver International Wine Festival is produced by the Vancouver International Wine Festival Society, which has three mandates: provide an informative, educational and entertaining wine experience for public and trade; be a premier marketing opportunity for the wine industry and festival partners; and raise funds for the Bard on the Beach Theatre Society. The presenting sponsor is The Vancouver Sun.
ABOUT BARD ON THE BEACH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Celebrating its 24th season in 2013, Bard on the Beach is one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit, professional Shakespeare Festivals. It is presented on the waterfront in Kitsilano’s Vanier Park, adjacent to Vancouver’s downtown core. The Festival offers Shakespeare plays, related dramas and several special events in tow performance tents every June through September. In 2012, festival attendance was 86,000 and over a million patrons have experienced Bard since its inception. The Festival’s 2013 dates are June 12 to September 14 and the 2013 line-up will feature Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Measure for Measure and Timothy Findley’s Shakespearean-era drama Elizabeth Rex.
