Every Little Sip Counts
Making the Most of a Wine Festival
by Mireille Sauvé for TASTE Magazine – March 2007

It’s easy to walk into the tasting room of Canada’s largest wine festival and feel overwhelmed. The 29th annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival features 180 wineries from 17 different countries pouring a staggering 717 different wines – all in one room!

Fortunately, there is a method to the madness. The experienced crew who organize this event have given two individual focuses to each year’s festival: a theme country and a feature grape. This year’s spotlight shines on Australian Wine: A World of Difference and Rieslings from Around the World.

In attempts to make this year’s wine festival your most memorable ever, we are offering up a few helpful hints to get you the best bang for your buck (and without the pounding headache the next day).

Make a Game Plan
Your tasting programme can be the difference between a life-altering wine tasting experience and a drunken night on the town, so using it would be wise. Divided into two parts, one side lists the Australian wineries and the other lists wines from the rest of the world. Pick your path – will you start out with an Aussie Walkabout or go trekking around the globe? Making this decision right off the bat will cut down considerably on travel time, as the room is laid out according to the programme.

Choose Your Battles
It’s a busy room – there’s no denying that. But some wines are worth the struggle to work your way in for a taste, so read the local papers and magazines in advance of the event and make your list of must-sees. Here are a few notable newcomers from the theme country to get you started: Inland Trading Co., Nepenthe, Pewsey Vale, Plantagenet, Skillogalee.

Ask Questions
What really sets this wine festival apart from all the others is its commitment to the caliber of its presenters. Every winery in the room must have a senior member of its staff present to answer questions about their wines – it’s like a virtual visit to a winery at every tasting table! So if you’ve always wondered why they don’t make Chianti in Canada or how Champagne gets so bubbly then now is the time to ask because you’ll never get a better answer than from the winemaker direct.

Spit
There is a notable difference between tasting wine and drinking wine – the former enables one to remember most of the evening’s conversations and flavours; the latter, not so much. As for technique, spitting wine out after you’ve had a chance to taste it is really no different than spitting out toothpaste once you’ve brushed your teeth, and it is common practice among wine connoisseurs. Whether you choose to sip or spit, never feel obliged to finish a whole sample just because it’s in your wine glass – simply discard leftovers into the ‘spit bucket’ and move on to the next sample.

You Snooze You Lose
Every wine in the tasting room is made available for purchase at the on-site BC Liquor Store toward the exit of the room but in very limited quantities. So when you taste something that you adore, rush over to the liquor store and buy it right away. The friendly folks on staff make it very easy for you to check your purchases until you are ready to leave for the night, or even to pick up your wines at a neighbourhood store, so don’t let these opportunities pass you by. The most exclusive wines in the tasting room will never be sold in liquor stores so snap up your favourites while you can.

This is a world-class festival that can make a wine-lover out of anyone, so follow your heart and taste the wines that most speak to your own personal preferences. And above all else, have fun tasting great wines.

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