Wine Events and Tastings in Canada

Wine Fair Emozioni dal Chianti, Florence, ItalyHere is my Top 10 List of Wine Shows in Canada:

1. Vancouver Playhouse Festival: January 2016

2. La Grande Dégustation de Montréal: November 5-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec

3. World Wine & Food Expo: October 30 – November 7, 2015 Moncton

4. Californian Wine Fair (5 cities): April-May 2016

5. Winnipeg Wine Festival

6. Port of Wines Festival: Halifax

 

Dates change, so register online with the event to get alerts on the most current information. You’ll find tips on getting the most from wine shows here.

I find that the larger shows that attract 20,000+ attendees are designed more for partying than learning.

Often shows offer free trade tastings during the day for those who work in the hospitality industry (restaurants, hotels etc who are involved with food and wine) as well as media (writers and bloggers).

These events are usually followed by evening tastings for the public with a ticket charge.

 

Here’s a longer list of shows, festivals and events:

September 2015 Niagara – Niagara Wine Festival: A Vintage Harvest

Various locations, Niagara Region – Kimberly Hundertmark, Niagara Wine Festivals, 905/688-0212, [email protected]

September 2015 NSLC Port of Wines Festival Halifax

September10-13, 2015 Amherstberg: 10th Annual Shores of Erie International Wine Festival

(Venue and Times t.b.a.; Amherstberg) – www.soewinefestival.com

October 2015 Newfoundland Labrador Wine Show

St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland – Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation, 709/724.1100, [email protected], www.nlliquor.com

October 21, 2015 – Toronto: Château Mouton Rothschild – Bordeaux First Growth

Reception and Dinner, Scaramouche Restaurant, 1 Benvenuto Place, Toronto Reception: 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:15 p.m. Price: $ 495 per person Buy Tickets on Line

October Toronto – 9th Annual Chilean Grand Tasting

Trade Seminar, RBC Glass Room, 4th Level; 2-5 p.m., Trade Tasting for registered food and beverage industry professionals and media only; 7-9:30 p.m., Consumer Tasting; Royal Ontario Museum, Peter F. Bronfman Hall, 2nd Level, 100 Queen’s Park Crescent, Toronto; Featuring 30 wineries and 150 wines with food pairings catered by Daniel et Daniel — Lisa Ulrich, Andros Communications, 905/637-2100 or 416/637-2044, Ext. 124, [email protected], www.winesofchile.ca

October Vancouver: 19th Annual Italian Wine Tasting

(Time/Venue t.b.a.; Vancouver) — Piero Titone and Benedetta Marassi, Italian Trade Commission, 416/598-1566, Ext. 108, [email protected]

October 30 – November Moncton 7: World Wine & Food Expo

Moncton Coliseum Complex, Moncton, New Brunswick; Atlantic Canada’s #1 Wine and Food Event” — 506/532-5333, [email protected], www.wineexpo.ca

October 26, 2015 Toronto, Ontario – One Night in Napa Valley Walk Around Tasting

Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. Walk-around: 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. See more at: http://www.vintages.com/events

November 2, 2015 Montreal, Quebec – APVSA Wine Tasting Events

The APVSA hits the road again in an unmissable wine tasting tour to meet  North American buyers and leave your mark on them. [email protected] http://apvsa.ca/en/tasting-events

November 3, 2015 Toronto, Ontario – APVSA Wine Tasting Events

The APVSA hits the road again in an unmissable wine tasting tour to meet  North American buyers and leave your mark on them. [email protected] http://apvsa.ca/en/tasting-events

November 5-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec La Grande Dégustation de Montréal

Place Bonaventure, 800, De La Gauchetière Street, West, Montreal – Catherine Lessard, Association Québécoise des Agences de Vins, Bières et Spiritueux Inc., [email protected], www.lagrandedegustation.com

November 6-7, 2015 Montreal, Quebec La Grande Dégustation Wines of Spain

Place Bonaventure : 800 Gauchetière St. West, Montreal Catherine Lessard | [email protected], www.lagrandedegustation.com

November 19 – 22, 2015 Toronto, Ontario: Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

November 19, VIP Night, 6-10 p.m.; November 20, 2-10 p.m.; November 21, 12-10 p.m.; November 22, 12-6 p.m.; Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front Street West. Toronto – Melanie Klie, Town Media, 905/522-6117, Ext. 545334, [email protected], www.foodandwineexpo.ca

December 4, 2015 Toronto, Ontario Christmas Dinner

Venue and Time t.b.a., Toronto — Eleanor Cosman, South African Wine Society, 289/597-9261, [email protected],  ww.southafricanwinesociety.ca

January 22, 2016 Toronto, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Vintage 2013 Taste & Buy

Friday, January 22, 2016, The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street, 7th Floor,Toronto – Walk-around Tasting

See more at: http://www.vintages.com/events/ugc_event.shtml#sthash.Lgd5ZLIa.dpuf

Ongoing Events by City

Ottawa, Ontario

Join the National Capital Sommelier Guild. Don’t let the name scare you, they’re a group of wine enthusiasts that make learning and tasting fun! In fact, you don’t have to be a sommelier or work in a restaurant to join. The Guild hosts many wine tastings and dinner events throughout the year that are educational, unpretentious and all about having a good time. Visit the website at sommelierguild.com for more information.

Toronto and Ottawa

The LCBO Vintages division hosts regular wine events that sell out quickly, often before I can post them here. Bookmark this page and/or sign-up for their newsletter to be first in line to know about them.

International Wine Events

March    15-17, 2015 ProWein 2015 Düsseldorf Fairgrounds, Düsseldorf, Germany. Featuring more than 40,000 trade visitors from 50 countries, 4,000+ exhibitors from the retail and restaurant industries and 1,000 wines — Corinna Kuhn, +49(0)211/45 60 –01, [email protected], www.prowein.de

March 22-25, 2015 Vinitaly 2015 (Verona, Italy; Billed as the world’s top exhibition in the wine sector with more than 4,000 exhibitors and 140,000 visitors) — www.vinitaly.com

 

April 29    Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour (7-10 p.m.; New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway Avenue, New York) – M. Shanken Communications, 212/684-4224, [email protected]

May    1    Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour (7-10 p.m.; Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.) – M. Shanken Communications, 212/684-4224, [email protected]

3    Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour (7-10 p.m.; The Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Boulevard Suth, Las Vegas, Nevada) — M. Shanken Communications, 212/684-4224, [email protected]

11-19    Portugal Wine Tour (Tour of the Bairrada and Dao areas) — AnaBela Torboda, Portugal Wine Club, [email protected], www.portugalwineclub.ca; José Duarte, VistaSol Tours, 416/598-3999, [email protected]
27-29    Vinexpo Asia Pacific (Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong) – Anne Cusson, Vixexpo, +33 (0)5 56 56 01 68, [email protected], www.asiapacific.vinexpo.com

June     2-4    34th London Wine Fair (Olympia Conference Centre, London; Featuring 10,000 wines; Attended by 15, 000 wine trade professionals from 79 countries) – www.londonwinefair.com

14-16    VieVinum International Wine Festival (Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria; Bi-annual wine fair featuring 14,500 visitors and 500 winegrowers from 40 countries) – Dagmar Gross, +43 1 236 26 64, +43 676 319 31 89, [email protected]

June 14-18, 2015  France: Vinexpo 2015

Bordeaux “Parc des Expositions” Exhibition Centre, France; Featuring more than 2,400 exhibitors from 47 countries and more than 48,000+ visitors from 148 countries; An unrivalled range and quality of products under one roof – [email protected], + 33 5 56 56 00 22, www.vinexpo.com

June 16th, 17th, and 18th Toronto, Ontario Wine & Spirit Festival

Sugar Beach, located at Jarvis and Queen’s Quay. Thursday 6pm – 11pm, Friday 6pm – 11pm, Saturday 2pm – 10pm. This event is rain or shine as all pavilions are tented. Advance tickets are $25.00 and include an official Wine & Spirit Festival Sampling Glass and 5 food/drink vouchers. Tickets can also be purchased on-site for $35 (subject to availability) cash only.  Visit us online at: www.wineandspiritfestival.ca for advanced tickets and further information

22-24    Food & Wine Classic in Aspen (Grand Tasting Pavilion, Aspen, Colorado) — Lori Lefevre, 914/630.0961, [email protected], www.foodandwine.com

16-18    Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience (New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway Avenue, New York) – M. Shanken Communications, 212/684-4224, [email protected]

December     4-6    13th Shanghai International Wine & Spirits Exhibition (Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China) – Mr. Yangpeng, (86-21)6439 -6190, 5013-1760, [email protected], www.winefair.com.cn

March    2015 ProWein 2014 (Dusseldorf, Germany; Featuring 4,700 exhibitors from 48 countries, 45,000 trade visitors and 950 journalists from 34 countries; LCBO’s Igor Ryjenkov and Greg MacDonald attending) – Messe Dusseldorf, +49 (0) 211- 4560-7613, [email protected]

April    2015 Taste of Vail (Various events and venues; Vail, Colorado) — Kristin Yantis, Malen Yantis Public Relations, 970/949-7919, [email protected], www.tasteofvail.com

April 2015 Vinitaly 2014 (Verona, Italy; 48th edition; Billed as the world’s top exhibition in the wine sector with more than 4,000 exhibitors and 140,000 visitors) – Gianni Bruno, [email protected], www.vinitaly.com

Leave a Reply