RAISE A GLASS TO PAST WINE FEST MOMENTS
The Vancouver International Wine Festival turns 40 this week boasting a rich history of wine events and personalities that dates to 1979.
You remember 1979: Granville Island opened it doors to the public, the Whitecaps went from red and white to blue and white and won the NASL Soccer Bowl championship causing ABC broadcaster Jim McKay to famously tag our city saying, “Vancouver must be like the deserted village right now,” with so many people watching the game on TV.
The village of Vancouver went on to far bigger things — and that includes one of the finest, and best organized, consumer wine festivals in the world.
The inaugural festival did not feature any B.C. wineries, nor were they invited until year five. They weren’t banned, but rather considered less than competitive to the many wineries clamouring to get into the Vancouver market.
Looking back on the first decade of the winefest, there were many seminal festival moments. Keep in mind wine in North America was a curiosity to all but a few in 1979, and photo ops of politicians drinking wine were practically taboo.
In year one Napa Valley vintner, Robert Mondavi was the festival and the event was a “component tasting,” designed for a neophyte audience. Attendees sipped adulterated samples of acid, water and fruit from tiny plastic cups while listening to Michael Mondavi talk about the major components of wine. It was a highly successful two-day event, with two tasting sessions each evening.
In 1980, Chateau St. Jean hosted two nights of formal seated tastings at The Hyatt Regency Hotel, headquarters for the next seven years. About 1,000 people attended. Trained volunteers were in short supply so The Vancouver American (née California) Wine Society was born and its members became the famed volunteer base of The Vancouver Festival of Wines.
Twenty-two California wineries came to town in 1983 and seminars were added.
In year four, 46 wineries attended. Featured speakers included the great British wine writer Harry Waugh and legendary Napa vintners Joe Heitz and Brother Timothy. The plan was to include B.C. wineries the following year. Chairman John Levine got some “friendly advice” from a Golden State winery to keep it exclusively California or “we wouldn’t see a single California winery here ever again.”
Thankfully, he did not take that advice.
In 1983, the Hyatt space reached its capacity. The BCLDB opened it first on-site wine store.
In 1985, the wine police caught up with the festival for selling tickets to wines brought in under consular cover.
In 1986, the printer screwed up and 46 wineries and 200 wines could only be identified at the table. In 1988, the festival moved under the sails of the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre and shared the barbecue smoked air of the neighbouring VIVA, a local food and drink show.
In 1996, the festival had its own website, while Mommessin marked its 10 festival appearances with a vertical tasting of Clos du Tart.
Today at 40, the festival is under siege by large commercial interests. It could be the right time to consider a reset of the show’s content to stay relevant and aspirational, the way it was imagined from the start.