Standing ovation to Spanish wines at Vancouver Playhouse International wine festival

The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, which held its 33rd edition from 28th March till 3rd April in the Canadian city, gave a staring role to Spanish wines, which were the focus of numerous marketing and dissemination activities organised by Wines from Spain Canada. During the five-day event, the festival brought together close to 25,000 individuals including trade professionals and wine enthusiasts, making it one of the most important wine events in the North American country.

In total, 33 Spanish bodegas showcased their products at the fair and took part in some of the ten events organised by Wines from Spain Canada. Worth mentioning is the special attention given to Sherry, the ‘Global Focus’ of this edition of the festival, and star of the seminar master-class, Unveiling Their Secrets. The seminar was held on 30th March and led by the Chairman of DO Jerez’s Regulating Council, César Saldaña, in addition to boasting the presence of Fernando Giménez Alvear, chairman of Bodegas Alvear, and Felipe González-Gordon, chairman of González Byass USA, and showcasing wines from bodegas Hidalgo, Lustau and Osborne.

Sherry was also the star of the ‘A Whammy of Umami’ event, which, this time, focused on the fortified wine’s food matching possibilities, which was again led by César Saldaña together with Allison Spurrell, owner of Les Amis du Fromage. The event offered a tasting of a range of Spanish cheeses with a selection of Sherries.

Another one of the main events which took place during the festival in Vancouver was the Caballeros del Vino round-table, which brought together several high-status figures from the Spanish wine sector who talked about their experiences and their products. The event, moderated by Wines from Spain’s Ambassador, Roger Randolph, boasted the participation of Álvaro Palacios (Bodegas Alvaro Palacios), Fernando Giménez Alvear (Bodegas Alvear), Juan Pablo Bonete (Bodegas Piqueras), Joan Cusiné (Cavas Parés Baltà), Pedro Ferrer (Freixenet), Felipe González-Gordon (González Byass), Federico Vázquez (Hijos de Antonio Barceló), Javier Delgado (Iberwine) and Telmo Rodríguez (Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez). The talk, which was followed by more than a hundred people, focused on different aspects of the winemaking process from the point of view of the speakers and helped the public to understand the idiosyncrasies of Spanish wine, a little better.