Vancouver International Wine Festival tickets almost sold out for all events - move fast!

Join me, Bill Tieleman - the Wine Barbarian - at the Vancouver International Wine Festival! 

Vancouver International Wine Festival tickets are now almost sold out for all events - so if you want to go, move fast! 

It happens every year - lots of wine drinkers are thinking about attending the fabulous Vancouver International Wine Festival don't buy tickets until it is literally too late - because none are left! 

And that's why I'm posting an early warning - if you want to go to the main International Festival Tastings or any of the other events you have to go online and get tickets now.

Saturday's night's flagship International Festival Tasting from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday March 2nd is already sold out.

The Thursday February 28 and Friday March 1 International Festival Tastings are getting very close to sold out, as is the afternoon event from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Saturday March 2nd.

All wine dinners are sold out or closed off for ticket sales.

There remain a few tickets for only a handful of other wine events, so again - get going!

Here is the full VIWF schedule at a glance, with SOLD OUT events and GOING FAST events highlighted. 

And you don't want to miss the Wine Fest, with a special regional focus on California wines featuring 53 wineries in attendance, as well as a total of 160 wineries from 16 different countries pouring an astonishing 1,450 different wines! 

That means, the Wine Fest folks say, there will be about 42,000 bottles of wine poured during the event, which runs from February 23 to March 3.

See you there!  And watch for my top picks and must-visit wineries in a Wine Barbarian post soon! 

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UPDATED January 15! Vancouver International Wine Festival 2019 tickets selling fast - many events already sold out! Wine fest on from February 23 to March 3

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman, left, with Jim Robertson of Stoneleigh and Babich Wines and fans!

UPDATE!  Yet more events sold out! Hurry! 

Just since this item was posted January 12, several more Vancouver International Wine Festival events tickets have sold out!

I have updated the sold out events below and there are links to what's still available at VIWF in my post:

Tickets are on sale for the fabulous Vancouver International Wine Festival 2019 - and not only selling fast but some events are already sold out! 

So do not delay - head to the Festival At A Glance page to see what's still available and the the Tickets page to make your purchase today - don't miss out on the premier wine event of the year in Vancouver!  Or go to the Available Events page for more info on the event.

This year's focus wine region is California - and it will be great to taste hundreds of wines from 53 wineries in that state, meet winemakers and other winery principals at either pouring tables or seminars and buy some exclusive wines brought in only for the Festival, which runs from February 23 through March 3.  

And of course, there are dozens of wineries from other countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, Portugal, Chile and Japan and even lesser known wine countries like Croatia, Uruguay and Romania!  In total, 160 wineries will participate in 54 different events.

Whether you want to go to one of the four International Festival Tastings - Thursday night 7 to 10 p.m.; Friday night 7 to 10 p.m.; Saturday afternoon 2;30 p.m. to 5 p.m. or the flagship Saturday night tasting from 7 to 10 p.m. or the dozens of winemaker dinners, special seminars on grapes or regions or the minglers, now is the time to quickly make your plan and buy tickets.

If you check my posts from last year you will see that eventually every single Vancouver Wine Festival event sold out - all of them.  So don't make the mistake of thinking you can always pick up a last minute ticket - it just won't happen and you will be losing out.

Already I can report that several dinners, brunches, lunches and a few seminars are sold out - even though tickets only went on sale January 9!

The Hy's Caymus Wine Dinner; the Icons of Italy Cioppino's Dinner; the Discover Robert Mondavi Winery Dinner at Ancora; A Taste of Croatia Dinner at L'Abbatoir; the California In Blue Water Ocean Dinner at Blue Water Cafe; Sordo's Century of Barola Dinner at Boulevard Kitchen; Artisan Evening of Food and Wine Dinner at Elisa; and the Zivjeli and Namaste Dinner at Vij's Rangoli are all sold out as of today!  

Also sold out are seminars: Pinot Noir's Siren Call of Seduction and the Icons of Napa Valley. 

UPDATE: The Next World Chardonnay; Rhone Around The World  seminars are now sold out as of January 15.

But other excellent events are still available, including what sounds like a fantastic seminar with the godfather of Zinfandel - Joel Peterson of Ravenswood fame!

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman, left, with Joel Peterson of Ravenswood Zinfandel fame!

And most lunch/brunches are sold out, including:  The Vintners' Brunch; Dine Italia and Gusto LatinoAmericano.

Whew!!   

But there are still many great dinners and events with tickets left, so rush on over to the website and make your picks - you won't be sorry!

And see you there!  

Fantastic food in Seville, Spain! Abantal - Michelin 1 Star restaurant - delivers the goods!

Abantal - Course 5: Tuna tartar with aubergine [eggplant] black olive crumble and cucumber mayonnaise - a favourite!

Fantastic food in Seville Spain! That's what we enjoyed at Abantal, a 1-star Michelin restaurant we visited in September.

My wife Shirley Ross and I went all-in for the Grand Chef's Daily Tasting Menu - 13 courses for 90 Euros each.

Abantal Chef and co-owner Julio Fernández Quintero takes great pride in being recognized as Best Andulusian Chef in 2005 and winning a Michelin Star in 2008, continuing to hold that honour ever since.  Abantal is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the city - and we were fortunate to get a reservation on fairly short notice.

Abantal is in an unassuming building and nondescript part of Seville just outside the main tourist section of the old town. But what's inside is anything but ordinary! 

Dinner started with 4 amuse bouches: dry onion with black garlic sauce; cookies with leeks and potato jelly; mushroom meringues and sea anemone! All delicious.

Course 1: Clam with cauliflower emulsion and microseaweed;

Course 2: Tomato sponge, codfish drop, black garlic aioli, pepper and potato crisp;

Course 3: Oyster with citrus foam sweet potato puree, fried rice grains and a spiced infusion;

Course 4: Spinach puree with anise, broccoli and white asparagus & artichoke heart, dried peas;

Course 5: Tuna tartar with aubergine [eggplant] black olive crumble and cucumber mayonnaise - a favourite - see above 

Course 6: Red Prawn - very large - steamed with wild rice [from Spain] foam and prawn oil aioli [yes!];

Course 7: Meagre - a fish like sea bass - with tomato, pepper jelly and basil jelly - garlic-aioli like but lighter!;

Course 8: Lamb sweetbreads with chickpea puree and beet puree; [sorry - no photo]

Course 9: Suckling pig, roasted endive slice, black garlic aioli and tomato puree;

Course 10: Foie Gras cream, coffee gelee, sweet and sour quince - another favourite - super light and sweet!;

Course 11: Fennel frappe, apple sorbet and coriander sponge cake with lemon;

Course 12: Passion fruit cream, frappe mint and chocolate;

Course 13: Orange wine zabaglione, anise cookie and cinnamon with orange blossom jelly and orange!

We enjoyed all this with a beautiful Spanish red wine from Ribera del Duero - Pagos de Matanegra Vendimia Seleccionada 2012, rated 93 points by Robert Parker, for 53 Euros. It was dense and rich, with concentrated red cherry flavours - and as lovely as you would expect from over 80 year-old-wines!
I also enjoyed a Malaga sweet dessert wine - Molino Real from Telmo Rodriguez. 

I should add that every serving plate was different - shapes, textures, colours - all fascinating. And service was impeccable, as one would expect.

This was an astonishingly good meal at any price but for 90 Euros - $135 Cdn - it was truly remarkable! I highly recommend a visit - and an earlier reservation than we made - if you are visiting Seville.
This was the first time either of us had been to a Michelin-starred restaurant - most are in Europe - and we hope to be so lucky as to do so again. One of our most memorable meals ever - thank you to Chef Fernández!
Abantal website at: http://www.abantalrestaurante.es/about-us/trajectory