Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival

I sell wine for a living fo a grocery chain here in Oregon. I went to the Vancouver Playhouse festival last month. I got to spend 2 full days of seminars and tastings. This year they had 2 co-sponsers for the event, New Zealand and Argentina. I will certainly admit that I am somewhat biased in favor of New Zealand. There were 40 wineries from New Zealand present and most had someone from the winery behind the tables. I t was a great way for me to catch up on current vintages. I also got to taste my first wines from Waiheke Island, Man 'O War. There are very few wines available in Oregon that are north of Wairarapa/Martinborough. Because of this we see very few bordeaux-style blends or syrahs. For Sauvignon Blanc my favorites were Astrolabe Voyage 2009, Babic Family Cowslip Valley 2009, Mudhouse Marlborough 2009, Wither Hills 2009, Staete Landt 2009, Nautilus 2009, and Jackson Estate Stich 2009. What I always look for in Sauvignon Blanc is that racy acidity and gorgeous fruit. For me I don't see how I would ever get tired of these types of wines. For Pinot Noir my favorites were the Ata Rangi 2007 and 2008, Nautilus Four Barriques 2007, Gladstone Wairarapa 2007, Paddy Borthwick Wairarapa 2008, and Two Paddocks First Paddock 2007. For bordeaux-style reds I was very impressed with Man 'O War White label 2008 and Ironclad 2007, Paritua Vineyards Red 2007, and Ngatawara Alwyn Reserve Merlot Cabernet 2007. Another surprise standout was the Staete Landt Estate grown Syrah 2008. I was not expecting such flavors from such young vines in Marlborough. There were many other very impressive wines as well. I would certainly recomend this as agreat wine venue.

[Jenise]

Michael, not that you weren't plenty busy but you should have sent up a flare. Could have gotten a group together.

So were you up there for this ?

[Jenise]

Admittedly I didn't make it up for any of the events this time (have in the past), but I live right at the border and Vancouver's my big city when it comes to entertainment. Lots of Vancouverites on this board, too.

I'm a regular attendee. Even though the quality of wineries has gone down a little bit over the years, there are still a lot of great wines to try - in two tasting sessions, it's impossible to try more than 30% of the wines. It's always great to try new vintages and most producers bring a wine that isn't usually available here.

The interesting thing about this festival is that at least one 'principal' of the winery - owner, winemaker, export manager, etc. - has to attend. So you often get to talk to some key people and ask lots of questions. For example, this year, Sam Neil came to represent his Two Paddocks winery in NZ.

Next year the focus country is Spain, and the wine focus is on fortified wines. Hopefully Portugal and Spain will combine to create an Iberian focus...

[Jenise]

The interesting thing about this festival is that at least one 'principal' of the winery - owner, winemaker, export manager, etc. - has to attend. So you often get to talk to some key people and ask lots of questions. For example, this year, Sam Neil came to represent his Two Paddocks winery in NZ.

And you didn't tell me. [CRUSHED]

I have a don't ask, don't tell policy!