On February 24th, media and wine professionals gathered together at Joey’s Wine Room from 4-6pm to celebrate the launch of the 36th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival. Organized and executed by Heth PR, the event was a perfect opportunity for journalists, bloggers, sommeliers, and other industry professionals to socialize and sample a series of wines that so well complemented a light and tasty selection of hors oeuvres (the Tuna Takaki and Lobster Grilled Cheese were personal favorites of mine).
Harry Hertscheg, Executive Director of the festival announced this year’s theme country is France (Note: global focus is Bubbly!) and proudly introduced the special guest of the evening, Consul-General of France, Jean-Christophe Tallard-who jovially led the crowd to do the official 10-0 countdown in French. Glasses filled with bubbly, white, and red were raised as the guests participated in an energetic and social countdown: Dix, Neuf, Huit…deux, un, c’est parti! VIWF 2014 has officially started and we look forward to a fabulous week ahead full of wine and food events from now until March 2nd.
5 wines sampled throughout the evening:
Bubbles
Louis Bouillot “Perle d’Aurore’ Cremant de Bourgogne Rose NV, France”
White
Simonnet Febre Chablis 2012, France
Ogier ‘Heritages’ Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2011, France
Red
Henry Fessy Julienas Cru du Beaujolais 2009. France
Boutinot ‘La Côte Sauvage’ Cairanne Côtes du Rhone Villages 2010, France
Article by new contributor: Lana Bukvic
Originally from Zagreb, Croatia, Lana spent over 20 years living in Toronto and Montreal before making the move to Vancouver in 2010. While working in branding and promotions at a national wine import agency back in 2006 she developed a passion for wine and learning about different wine styles. Stepping into the vines around the world, she has visited some of the most popular wineries located in Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, France, Italy, Peru, Slovenia, and Uruguay. In addition to her university degrees in Marketing and Public Relations, she also completed her Intermediate certification with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and has been a contributing writer for one of India’s top food and drink magazines for over 6 years. When in the city, she loves checking out different events and restaurants, discovering new wines, and sharing her findings with her network of social and professional contacts.
Follow her on Twitter @VanCityWineGirl.
