VanWineFest – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

At the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2023 – a world of wine awaits us, with a focus on South America.

It started with a launch at Joey’s and it’s not over yet. A few master classes, the festival tasting itself and about last night…

Up the winding staircase a surprise awaits us

Enologist Mele (l) and Sommelier Jen (r) at Hydra, Vancouver.

If you’re a food/wine lover nothing can beat a wine pairing dinner.

And if you’re the adventurous type, you’ll travel to the ends of the earth to discover a unique wine in a unique location. That’s what we did last night – me and my new friends sitting around a round table at Hydra Estiatorio Mediterranean restaurant downtown Vancouver. And what a magnificent restaurant (more on this later).

Mele & Craig (a wine writer/critic/judge)

Okay, in truth we didn’t travel very far to discover this new finding. However, someone else did so that she could offer around 97 guests an exceptional 7 course dining extravaganza along with award winning wines from what was considered the Southern Hemisphere’s best kept secret – until now. I don’t like to give secrets away but I can’t hold it in any longer: I’m telling you it was the Best of Uruguay: from Bodega Garzón. Who knew? I certainly did not realize how excellent these wines from Uruguay are and in general I was not even aware of what kind of wines they produced, if any. Luckily I’m not alone.

Starter: Seared Diver Scallops with yellow pea puree, picked red onion + capers

Having been to Argentina twice I was familiar with Mendoza wine region and Malbec wine. What a shame that I didn’t travel a little more distance to Uruguay to check this out for myself. I certainly wouldn’t bypass it next time. Not after last night!

Each pairing was thoughtfully curated by Hydra’s Executive Chef Brad Scharien (formerly of Italian Kitchen & Coast) to wow guests. And that he did. It was amazing.

Pistachio Cheesecake with blackberry compote, citrus cream.

Former wine maker and enologist Mele Sosa (born in Uruguay and raised in Uruguay and Chile) was our vivacious, charming, funny and knowledgeable host with the most. She was great with a mic while darting in and around tables explaining about all the fabulous wines we had the privilege of sampling and answering questions.

One of the wines is called Balasto – a 2017 iconic red wine made from Tannat (the national red grape), Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot grapes. This big, beautiful bold wine was paired with braised short rib stifado (which was a tasty dish of short rib with caramelized pearl onion, confit garlic potato puree + pickled mustard seed). As you can guess, it was wonderful. And the whole evening was like one big food and wine fest of its’ very own.

A little more about Mele: Mele’s role entails traveling through the United States and Canada, to champion Tannat (she even sang about it), Albariño and other wines produced by Bodega Garzón through media work, trade and distributor training, winemakers dinners and wine events.

After this evening I can say that my new favourite white is called Albariño and my new favourite reds are called Tannat and Balasto (also I love saying these new to me names). Also I’m quite picky with rosé but I loved their Estate Pinot Noir Rosé de Corte 2021 which was very elegant and expressive – not too sweet, not overly dry – just perfecto!

Here’s a bonus – they’re all available at Legacy liquor store in Olympic Village, Vancouver (link below).

Below is taken from the brochure

About Bodega Garzón; Uruguay:

When Alejandro Bulgheroni and his wife Bettina discovered Garzón, they had a family dream come true: to have the most emblemetic winery of modern viticulture in Uruguay and premium wines with an intense personality and a deep sense of belonging to the land. With the advice of international enologist Alberto Antonini, they apply their philosophy focused on producing wines that are a true expression of their origins. Experts on viticulture, environmental care, gastronomy, hospitality and tourism complete a team committed to this unprecedented project.

Home

Hydra: a dining experience without parallel.

VANCOUVERS FRESHEST FISH

Named after the beautiful culinary Greek Island in the Aegean Sea, World Class Chef-driven Hydra Estiatorio Mediterranean & Bar is a Greek Seafood restaurant. Hydra applies Greece’s time-honored ingredients with traditional cooking styles, focusing on quality Mediterranean dishes such as vine-ripened tomato salad with flat parsley and feta, alongside exquisitely-tender grilled octopus garnished with lemon juice and olive oil, or lamb chops served straight from the grill with hints of garlic and oregano.

https://hydravancouver.com/

Where to buy Bodega Garzón wines in Vancouver:

https://www.legacyliquorstore.com/

Vancouver International Wine Festival (all weekend long) tickets:

https://vanwinefest.ca/

CHEERS!

Wine lovers unite. The International Wine Festival is back!

Outside **JOEY** (Bentall One) at launch party.

Enjoy an amazing selection of world class wines from May 16-22, 2022 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and other venues around the city. See link below for tickets and more info.

Feeling worldly? Not only will you be able to sample wines from all over the world, you can buy your favourite wines at the onsite BC Liquor Store and bottle check them throughout the tasting session. Then pick them up when you’re ready to leave or have your purchases sent to your nearest store. How very convenient of them.

Of course remember never to wine and drive. The festival is providing a free Compass ticket on the way out to take local transport or have someone pick you up. Because let’s face it, even if you taste and spit you’re probably going to be sipping enough to affect you. I’m a bit of a lightweight when it comes to drinking wine and tend to get lightheaded very easily. But I enjoy a lovely glass of wine and a bottle (or two) with friends on occasion so at an event like this you can sample several varietals you might otherwise never get to try.

The festival kicked off with a VanWineFest media launch party at JOEY on Burrard. I met some very nice people.

Christine is the Host + Producer of “The Closing Act” (conducting in-depth interviews with musicians, songwriters, producers and CEOS in the industry) on Arts + Entertainment Channel and “Run with It” (a monthly show on running, fitness and nutrition interviewing experts and celebrities who work out or follow a healthy lifestyle) on Healthy Living Network. We have a few things in common being that she’s half Irish, is from Quebec and she’s also a runner. But I’m not in the same running league because she runs Marathons including the elite Boston Marathon. I’ve run 3 half Marathons and said that’s enough. I admire anyone who runs full marathons as it’s hard on your body and well; a longer run than I have the stamina for. But getting back to our mutual friend JOEY…

Not only was there a selection of delicious participating festival wines, also yummy globally-inspired snacks from executive chef Matthew Stowe. The sliders (both meat + vegetarian) were excellent, along with surprisingly delicious sushi (I say that because I never expected them to serve sushi) and the tastiest dips like hummus and even guacamole – something for everyone.JOEY restaurants are a premium casual family-owned chain created by Jeff Fuller and looking to expand throughout North America. I cannot believe that this was my first time here even though they’ve been around for quite some time. I was impressed by the quality of food and the extensive cocktail list looks tempting – for another time.

**2022 countdown** presented by VIWF Executive Director Harry Hertscheg (L), Bard on the Beach Artistic Director Christopher Gaze (R) and Group Sommelier Jason Yamasaki (middle).

It’s exciting that events like this are opening up again. It’s also a bit overwhelming because there’s all of a sudden so much going on other than wine tasting…in dining, music, art shows, theatre…

After a long hiatus it’s enjoyable to be able to get out there even if we have to ease ourselves into the social scene. Although I must admit as much as I like going to these social events I’m also pretty comfortable being a homebody. How about you?