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

Wine Barbarian 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, 42 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. 

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. 

FRANCE
Champagne Duval-Leroy - Champagne 

Domaine Boutinot – Rhone 

A. Brumont – Chateau Montus – Madiran 

Chateau Carles – Bordeaux 

Esterlin Champagne - Champagne 

Famille JM Cazes – Bordeaux 

M. Chapoutier – Rhone 

Dubos Bordeaux – Bordeaux 

Castel Freres – Bordeaux, Loire 

Gabriel Meffre – Rhone, Bourgogne 

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 

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 

UNITED STATES 

Robert Mondavi Winery – Napa Valley 

Rombauer – Napa Valley 

Signorello – Napa Valley 

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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