The Wine Barbarian's UPDATED Guide to Top Tasting Tables at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026

Wine Barbarian - UPDATED - Try These Top Tasting Tables at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman on the job at the VIWF!

Good news! I have compiled a Wine Barbarian-approved list of some of the best winery tables at the International Festival Tastings - in fact, more than 46 of them!  

And you can check out online ALL the wines being poured at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 Tasting Room Program! 

And the best news is that there are still tickets available for the VIWF tastings for Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturday afternoon from 2:30 to 5 p.m.  Tickets are from $119 to $129.  There is also an IFT Happy Hour Wine Mingler from 6-7 p.m. plus the Saturday night tasting - a few tickets left! 

A few short notes: First - any winery omitted here is not by design or to in any way suggest you should not visit them - in fact, I encourage it strongly. 

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 have just tasted wines at during Thursday’s Trade Tasting and IFT tasting – or know of from past experiences. I recommend them to you based on that. 

Third - kiss don't spit is my motto for the VIWF - you can't possibly taste every wine - even if you go 2 or 3 days - 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 any of 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. 

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman with Marie Pinceloup of
A. Brumont - Chateau Montus & Bouscasse

FRANCE
Champagne Duval-Leroy - Champagne 

Domaine Boutinot – Rhone 

A. Brumont – Chateau Montus – Madiran 

Chateau de Carles – Bordeaux 

Esterlin Champagne - Champagne 

Famille JM Cazes – Bordeaux 

M. Chapoutier – Rhone 

Dubos Bordeaux – Bordeaux 

Domaine Fourrey - Bourgogne

Castel Freres – Bordeaux, Loire 

Domaine Laroche - Bourgogne, Languedoc-Roussillon

Gabriel Meffre – Rhone, Bourgogne

Chateau Monlot - Bordeaux 

Georges Duboeuf – Beaujolais, Bourgogne 

Gerard Bertrand – Languedoc-Roussillon 

Chateau de Nages - Languedoc-Roussillon, Rhone 

Maison Ogier – Clos de l’Oratoire - Rhone 

Pfaff – Alsace 

Ulysse-Cazabonne - Bordeaux 

AUSTRALIA 

Inland Trading - various 

Majella Wines - Coonawarra 

CANADA 

Black Hills Estate Winery - Okanagan Valley 

Jason Parkes Customs - Okanagan Valley 

JoieFarm Winery – Naramata Bench 

Nk’Mip Cellars - Okanagan Valley 

Osoyoos LaRose - Okanagan Valley 

Phantom Creek Estates - Okanagan Valley 

Poplar Grove Winery - Naramata Bench 

Quails' Gate Winery - Okanagan Valley 

Tightrope Winery – Naramata Bench 

Unsworth Vineyard - Cowichan Valley 

CROATIA 

Korta Katerina Winery - Dalmatia 

Stina Winery - Dalmatia 

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman with Megan Cole of
Domaine Boutinot and Sarah Hirjee of Vintage West Wine & Spirits

ITALY 

Azienda Agricole Bocale di Valentini - Umbria  

Ethica Wines – Tuscany, other 

Azienda Agricola Marziano Abbona – Piedmont 

Tenute Rade – Piedmont 

Rocca Delle Macie - Tuscany 

Ruffino – Tuscany, Friuli Venezia Giulia 

NEW ZEALAND 

Villa Maria – Marlborough 

ROMANIA

Ville Metamorfosis – Dealu Mare 

SPAIN 

Chivite – Navarra

Bodegas Olarra - Rioja 

UNITED STATES 

Robert Mondavi Winery – Napa Valley 

Rombauer – Napa Valley 

Signorello/Edge/Trim – Napa Valley, California 

Trentadue – Sonoma County 

Note – wines only available for tasting – no sales in Liquor Store on site - may be available at private liquor stores or other provinces.

WINE BARS – in Tasting Room 

Beaujolais - Dig Into Diversity

Bordeaux – Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Lynch-Bages, Chateau Quintus, Chateau Petit Village, Chateau Rayne Vigneau & more

Vive la France! – Bordeaux, Chablis, Champagne, Rhone, Languedoc-Roussillon 

Wines of California – Explore The Diversity - Santa Barbara, Napa, Sonoma, Central Coast

Bubbles 'n' Blush - Roses and bubbly wines

One of the French cafes went all in - vintage motorcyle and Paris backdrop

Cheers and hope to see you there!  And follow me - Bill Tieleman - on X, Facebook, Instagram and BlueSky social media for updates and photos! 

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Hurry hard! Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 tickets are almost sold out! March 7-14

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman on the job at VIWF! 

If you're a curling fan you know the term "hurry hard" - and that applies equally to buying fast-selling tickets to the Vancouver International Wine Festival!

So go to their website for tickets today - for tickets to the remaining great wine tasting events!  And you can check the status of all VIWF events at once at the Festival At A Glance website page. 

And there are still some excellent tastings with tickets available - including the three International Festival Tastings on Thursday March 12, Friday March 13, and Saturday March 14 at 7 p.m. and also the Saturday March 14 matinee from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Cheers to France and all wine-making countries! 

With 112 wineries from 14 countries and hundreds of bottles to taste - and the regional focus on the fine wines of France - you cannot fail to get your money's worth in tasting some of the world's best bottle!  Prices range from $110 to $129 per person, with some group discounts. 

Please watch this website and my social media - on X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky - for updates and tips on the best wines to try at the IFT events!

Cheers!  

Vancouver International Wine Festival events at a glance - as of March 10

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All Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 event tickets go on sale Wednesday January 21 at 9:30 a.m.!!

Wine Barbarian Bill Tieleman, right, with Brian Lynn of Majella
Wines of Australia - always a great table to visit! 

Do NOT miss out - All Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 event tickets go on sale Wednesday January 21 at 9:30 a.m.!!

The fabulous Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 ticket sales for all events - from the big International Festival Tastings to seminars to dinners and more - go on sale and many events will sell out quickly - so act fast! 

In fact, several winery dinners at great Vancouver restaurants have already sold out, so if you are hoping for a wine dinner - go even faster! 

You can check out the status of all VIWF event tickets and see the whole festival - which runs from March 7 to 14 - at a glance at this link. 

Making it even more popular, this year's regional theme is France - the holy grail of wine countries - unless you are from Italy, Spain, or all the other big wine producing nations - with 27 French wineries participating, from Champagne to Bordeaux to Burgundy to the Rhone, Alsace and more! 

The Wine Barbarian & friends at an ITF event!

Whether you are a wine collector with years of experience or a complete novice, this 47th annual Festival has everything, with 113 wines from 14 countries being poured!

For those new to wine and wanting to learn more, definitely attend the International Festival Tastings that run 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday March 12, Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14 - or the afternoon matinee on Saturday from 2:30 to 5 p.m.  These tastings give you the opportunity to try dozens of wines from around the world and discover new exciting bottles.  And each table has either a winemaker or other principal player from the winery, making for extremely knowledgable conversations! 

Wine dinner at L'Abattoir 

The wine dinners are extremely special - with a top Vancouver chef wine pairing some of the best wines of one or more producers to create a unique experience!  I've had the good fortune to attend several and they never fail to impress and make lasting memories! 

The wine seminars are an opportunity to taste and compare multiple wines with the winemakers or principals explaining them and their winery - wonderful learning experiences. 

So don't delay - head to the VIWF website and get your tickets ASAP! 

And I hope to see you there - cheers! 

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