Tickets set to go on sale next month for the Feb. 24 through March 3 event

VIWF attendees listen to panellists speak at a wine seminar in April. Glen Korstrom/BIV photo

Vancouver International Wine Festival (VIWF) staff are readying to welcome Italy as the extravaganza’s theme country during its Feb. 24 through March 3 run.

Pre-pandemic, the VIWF tended to operate in late February and early March, and the festival’s executive director Harry Hertscheg told BIV earlier this year that he wanted to get the spectacle back to that time of year so winery principals would know in advance when to plan their trips to Vancouver.

COVID-19 restrictions kept the VIWF from taking place in 2021. It then relaunched in May 2022, and followed that up with an April exhibition earlier this year.

Festival organizers expect 149 wineries from 12 countries to take part in this year’s event, with that including 71 wineries from 13 Italian wine regions. Consumers will get a chance to taste more than 1,150 wines at 43 events over eight days, according to organizers. Of those events, more than 20 are set to be Italian themed.The VIWF is set to again feature winery-presented dinners, seminars, lunches, minglers and main tastings.

After a reversion back to the older Vancouver Convention Centre East building this year, the 2024 event will return to the busy Vancouver Convention Centre West building. Hertcheg told BIV that his festival’s main tastings were at the older convention centre building this year because the newer convention centre building was unavailable.

Tickets for the main festival tastings are set to go on sale on Nov. 15. VIWF proceeds go to the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival.

—This story by Glen Korstrom originally appeared on BIV.com

gkorstrom@biv.com | twitter.com/glenkorstrom

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