Wine connoisseurs and those curious about wine will be able to tour the world of wine right in their own backyard.
The first-ever Victoria Wine Festival, featuring an extensive selection of international wines, will present tastings and seminars focused on enhancing wine enjoyment for everyone ranging from the wine novice to the avid enthusiast.
Held at the Parkside Resort on Sept. 26, the wine festival will present more than 200 wines from around the world.
Wines have been selected by a board of sommeliers to appeal to a range of tastes and preferences, offering opportunities to taste new wines, learn about the art of winemaking and discover more about the flavours and aromas that make each wine unique.
“We have worked to create a dedicated wine festival that offers an array of international wines that consumers do not normally have the opportunity to taste here at home,” said David Bain, event manager and founder of the Victoria Wine Festival.
“We are enthusiastic about building the knowledge of the average wine consumer, unveiling new wines and showcasing beloved standard wineries to veteran consumers.”
Tastings run 3:30 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m. During tastings, participants will sample a variety of wines.
Seminars about wine and winemaking will be held between the tastings. Tickets include wine samples, palate cleansing tapas and coffee. Guests will also enjoy live classical music during the event.
“It is important to us that most of the wines at the festival represent what the majority of people are buying most of the time,” said Bain.
“It’s wonderful to taste very expensive bottles of wine and experience exclusive vintages, and we have those at the festival. It is more important to us to broaden people’s experience and hopefully inspire them to try something different the next time they are shopping for a bottle.”
Festival participants will be able to purchase some of the vintages at an onsite liquor store set up exclusively for the event.
Early-bird tickets are on sale until Sept. 1 at $65 per tasting. From Sept. 1 to 26 tickets are $75. Parkside Resort is also offering wine festival weekend packages.
Tickets are available online at www.vicwf.com or in person at any Discovery Coffee.
editor@vicnews.com