The Wine Barbarian Guide to the 2025 Vancouver International Wine Festival! SECOND UPDATE March 1!

Booker Wines Ambassador Carson O'Connor
& Bill Tieleman

SECOND UPDATE Saturday March 1 - new wineries added below! Tickets still available! 

It's finally here!  The fabulous Vancouver International Wine Festival is on and the International Festival Tastings start Thursday February 27 through Saturday March 1! 

The good news - you can still buy VIWF tickets for all the IFTs - Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7 - 10 p.m. and Saturday from 2:30 - 5 p.m. - as well as several other public events at the VIWF website.  

Even better news - I have compiled a Wine Barbarian-approved list of some of the best winery tables at the International Festival Tastings! And you can check out online ALL the wines being poured at the VIWF Tasting Room Program! 

A few short notes - any winery omitted here is not by design or to in any way suggest you should not visit them - in fact, I encourage it.  Many wonderful wineries have been discovered because I didn't know them and just tried their wines - and have been buying them ever since. 

Second - this is a list of wineries I know or know of.  I have tasted wines in the past from all of them and recommend them to you based on that.

Third - this is the UPDATED LIST - it was updated as the Festival proceeded!  Thanks to all of those at the Festival who let me know about some other great wines and tables! 

Fourth - kiss don't spit is my motto for the VIWF - you can't possibly taste every wine - even if you go 2 or 3 times - so you have to use your own good judgement and not drink or even sip every single wine poured.  But use your nose and decide - or the wine's price or ratings - and be polite: don't demand the top of the line wine and not taste the winery's other bottles!  You can at least give them a little kiss and smell the bouquet before pouring it in the spit cup or bucket. 

Fifth - for the first time to my knowledge, all the wines being poured at the IFTs are online in the VIWF Tasting Room Program  So you can check them out before heading to the tasting room and make your own plan for where to go. And there is also a VIWF app for your cell phone! 

Bill Tieleman and Inland Trading
Managing Director Greg Corra

Sixth - be strategic!  If there are 50 people lined up for the only Champagne at the Festival - move along to somewhere else without a line. 

Without further commentary, here are the winery tables I can definitely recommend you visit, broken down by country, region and name where possible. 

Cheers and hope to see you there! 

UNITED STATES

California

Beaulieu Vineyard - Napa Valley

Booker Vineyard - Paso Robles

CK Mondavi and Family - Napa Valley

Caymus Vineyards - Napa Valley

Ferrari-Carano - Sonoma County

The Duckhorn Portfolio - Napa Valley 

Justin Vineyards & Winery - California

Orin Swift Cellars/The Prisoner Wine Company

Ridge Vineyards - Santa Clara County/Sonoma County

Robert Mondavi Winery - Napa Valley/California

Rombauer Vineyards - Napa Valley 

Signorello/Edge/Trim/S - Napa Valley/Alexander Valley 

Black Stallion Estate Winery - Napa Valley - great Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2021!

Talbott Vineyards - Monterey County - killer Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir 2021! 

Oregon

Adelsheim Vineyard - Willamette Valley/Oregon

Erath - Willamette Valley

Lingua Franca - Willamette Valley

Citation Wine - Willamette Valley - don't miss their 2006 Pinot Noir - no typo, 2006! 

Washington

Aquilini Wines - Red Mountain

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates - Columbia Valley

AUSTRALIA 

Inland Trading - various 

Majella Wines - Coonawarra 

CANADA

Bench 1775 - Naramata

Jason Parkes Customs - Okanagan Valley

Osoyoos LaRose - Okanagan Valley

Phantom Creek Estates - Okanagan Valley

Poplar Grove Winery - Naramata Bench

Quails' Gate Winery - Okanagan Valley

Unsworth Vineyard - Cowichan Valley

CROATIA

Stina Winery - Dalmatia

FRANCE

Champagne Duval-Leroy - Champagne

GREECE

Alpha Estates - Macedonia

HUNGARY

Grand Tokaj - Tokaj

ITALY

Belguardo - Tuscany

Rocca Delle Macie - Tuscany

Tommasi Family Estates - Veneto

Azienda Agricole Bocale di Valentini - Umbria - fantastic Sagrantino wines

SPAIN

Marques de Riscal - Rioja/Rueda

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Oregon and California Chardonnays to savour - and taste at the 2025 Vancouver International Wine Festival - February 22 - March 2!

If you love Chardonnays - and if not you are really missing out - here are three excellent bottles that you can taste at this week's Vancouver International Wine Festival - or find elsewhere to purchase and enjoy at home. 

I was fortunate enough to be provided with two wonderful Chardonnays from one of Oregon's best wineries - Lingua Franca - and another beauty from California's Unshackled Wines, part of the well-known The Prisoner Wine Company repertoire.

And the good news is that you can still purchase tickets to the VIWF's International Festival Tastings on Thursday February 27, Friday February 28 and Saturday March 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. or Saturday's matinee tasting from 2:30 to 5 p.m.  Prices range from $119 to $139 per person.  And there are still a few other public wine events with tickets still available, as well as trade tasting events for those in the wine, restaurant and hospitality business. Check the VIWF website here for the Festival At A Glance and ticket status. 

But back to Chardonnay - my absolute favourite of white wines, despite a few naysayers with an ABC philosophy - Anything But Chardonnay - they are simply wrong! 

I started with Lingua Franca's flagship 2021 Estate Chardonnay from the Eola-Amity Hills in Oregon's Willamette Valley - what a knockout wine! 

There are lovely citrus and green apple notes along with smooth river stone minerality and honeysuckle, coming in layer upon layer!  Very, very appealing and delicious wine that would be great with shellfish and other seafood or white meat dishes - or just on its own!   The Estate Chardonnay was extremely well-regarded by leading wine publications, with Decanter scoring it 95 points, the Wine Advocate 94 points and the Wine Spectator 93 points - high praise indeed!  Pricing is about $60 U.S. and yes, it is a bit hard to find - try private wine stores. 

It's sister wine - the Lingua Franca 2021 Avni Chardonnay - is also a great one, with layers of minerals, citrus and white flowers, as well as lemon peel, green apple, nuts and spices in the background - in other words, yummy!   

It was also very much appreciated by wine publications, with the Wine Advocate and Decanter scoring it 93 points and the Wine Spectator 92 points - just behind the Estate!  Pricing is a bit lower at $40 U.S. and it can be found at some BC private stores like Marquis Wines in Vancouver. 

I also greatly enjoyed the Unshackled 2021 Chardonnay from California's Central Coast region!  It has white peach, cream and green apple in the bouquet, with some stone fruit and honey notes - very tasty indeed!   Interestingly, there is also some Albarino varietal mixed in with the Chardonnay to make it a bit more complex and delicious.  The Unshackled Chardonnay is available at the VIWF to taste and to buy at the on-site BC Liquor Stores outlet - and I expect it will hit wine store shelves in BC and Canada soon - I hope so!  

So there you have it - three excellent Chardonnays from Oregon and California that are not to be missed at the Vancouver International Wine Festival - I hope to see you there! 

PS:  The Lingua Franca Pinot Noirs and the Unshackled Cabernet Sauvignon are all wonderful wines too!  Try them and buy them if you can! 

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Who are Harvey & Harriet and My Favorite Neighbor? Why, they are wonderful San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles wines!

 

There are many unusual names for wineries around the world - and usually there is a story behind the name - so it is for Harvey & Harriet, some lovely wines out of Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, California - which just happen to be two of my favourite parts of that state!

When Booker Wines founder Eric Jensen decided to put out a line of high quality but approachable wines out of the Paso Robles wine region, he named the new wines after his parents, Harvey & Harriet. 

And when Jensen added a second wine line, he called it My Favorite Neighbor [U.S. spelling, eh?] - in honour of Stefan Asseo, of next door L'Aventure Winery, to show the respect winemakers and vineyard owners in the area have for each other. 

Booker Wines will be attending the fabulous Vancouver International Wine Festival 2025 - running from February 22 to March 2 - and you still have a chance to buy tickets to the International Festival Tastings on Thursday February 27, Friday February 28 and Saturday March 1 from 7 till 10 p.m. or the matinee tasting Saturday March 1 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. 

Harvey & Harriet wines can also be found in some British Columbia private liquor stores, including Marquis Wines, and in other wine stores across Canada. I had an opportunity to taste these wines last year and can testify that they meet the test of providing quality wines at all price points, as former winemaker Kyle Jury told me. 

The standout for me was My Favorite Neighbor 2021 - a delicious blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot, 2% Petit Syrah and 1% Syrah - with black cherry, cassis and spice leading to blackberry, plum and tobacco notes. The wine is from Paso Robles AVA, one of my favourite [Canadian spelling!] places for both wine and wine touring. It retails for about $82 plus tax.  The 2020 vintage was also a knockout, with a 95 point score from the Wine Advocate!

There is also a My Favorite Neighbor Blanc 2022 - a 100% Chardonnay from San Luis Obispo - done in a Burgundian style, with 50% new oak, malolactic fermentation and barrel fermented and aged.  It is also lovely, with citrus, apple and brioche and a long, crisp finish.  It retails for about $75 plus tax. 

Not to be outdone by its big brother, the Harvey & Harriet Red Blend 2021 from San Luis Obispo is extremely tasty - a blend with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 12% Syrah, 7% Petit Syrah, 7% Malbec, 2% Grenache and 2% Cabernet Franc.  You will find blackberry, fig, currant  as well as spice, leather and cocoa notes.  

The Wine Enthusiast magazine agreed, awarding it 94 points. It retails for about $40 plus tax. 

You will also enjoy the Harvey & Harriet White Blend 2022 from San Luis Obispo - with Chardonnay, Albarino, Viognier and Pinot Grigio joining together in a glass that gives you tangerine, pineapple and honeydew with freshness, nice acidity and some new oak as well!

So, don't miss the Vancouver International Wine Festival and be sure to visit the Booker Wines table at the big tastings - you will not be disappointed - nor with Booker's other excellent offerings!