"The Vancouver International Wine Festival, Canada’s premier food & wine event, has three mandates: to provide an informative, educational and entertaining wine experience for public and trade; to be a premier marketing opportunity for the wine industry and festival partners; and to raise funds for the Bard on the Beach Theatre Society. The 2020 festival runs February 22 to March 1.

VanWineFest is Canada’s premier wine show and widely considered to be the best wine event in North America. With ~25,000 admissions and at 41 years of age, it is one of the biggest and oldest wine events in the world. Its slogan is “The Wine World is Here”. It has been voted the “#1 Food, Wine & Hospitality Event in Canada” the last six years in a row by New York’s BizBash. The Trade Days Conference, which runs February 26 to February 28 in 2020, comprises ~12 of the festival’s ~50 events.

The heart of the festival is the Tasting Room, where the public can choose from ~750 wines at four International Festival Tastings, and industry professionals can sample those plus an additional ~160 wines at two Trade Tastings. There are ~45 special events that orbit the tasting room (seminars, vintage tastings, winery dinners, lunches, brunches, wine minglers and more) at which ~550 other wines are served.

The 2019 festival featured wines from 16 countries. There is a focus on a different region or country every year; the featured region has its own section in the tasting room and offers thematic seminars and food and wine pairings throughout the week. In 2019, the festival celebrated wines from California (with 53 participating Californian wineries). In 2020, the spotlight will be on France." (Promo Copy)