Vancouver Wine Festival

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is a major food and wine event. It features wineries from around the world at various Vancouver venues in the spring.

In 2026 the Vancouver International Wine Festival celebrates its 47th year. The festival runs from March 7th to March 14th and features France as its theme country.

The 2026 edition showcases 114 wineries from 14 countries, including a strong showing from Canadian producers, mainly from British Columbia. As one of Vancouver’s landmark food and drink events, the festival attracts wine lovers from across Metro Vancouver and beyond.

Visit vanwinefest.ca for the event’s official website.

(TIP: If you want to stay at a hotel in downtown Vancouver and get a pair of free tickets to one of the wine festival’s main events, click Wine Deal with StayVancouverHotels.com.)

This article features information about the following topics:

Click on any of the above topic links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about the festival.

France at Vancouver Wine Festival

The Vancouver Wine Festival

The Vancouver International Wine Festival takes place each spring. It typically features over 1,000 wines from around 15 countries. As many as 25,000 attendees participate in the dozens of events throughout the festival!

Each year, the festival focuses on a different wine-growing region of the world. The festival’s theme in 2026 is France.

Click Vancouver International Wine Festival for the event’s official website.

Wine Sampling at the Festival

Festival Wines & Wineries

For the 2026 edition, 114 wineries from 14 countries are participating. Participating countries and the number of wineries in each are listed below (exact numbers are subject to change).

France (27)
Canada (34)
Italy (13)
USA (7)
Croatia (7)
Japan (7)
Spain (4)
Chile (4)
Australia (3)
Argentina (2)
Portugal (2)
Romania (2)
New Zealand (1)
Uruguay (1)

TIP: Make a night out of your Vancouver International Wine Festival experience and spend a night at a downtown hotel. StayVancouverHotels.com has been a proud sponsor of the wine festival and offers exceptional deals.

About the Wine Festival

The Vancouver International Wine Festival has three objectives. The first is to educate and entertain the public with wine experiences. The second is to promote the wine industry. The third is to financially support the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival.

The wine festival is an impressive event. From humble beginnings in 1979, it has grown into arguably Canada’s best and most prestigious wine show. It’s also one of the largest and oldest wine festivals in the world.

The festival features about 50 events each year, of which about 40 are open to the public. Another 12 are for people in the wine, wine-related, and hospitality industries.

Dozens of hotels and restaurants participate each year, and 120+ wineries serve over 1,000 wines. Tens of thousands of bottles of wine are typically opened and/or purchased annually at the festival.

Click Festival Participants for a full list of wineries participating in 2026.

Sampling Wines at the Festival — Wine Samples at the Festival

Admission Prices

Ticket prices to events at the Vancouver International Wine Festival vary by experience. For 2026, prices range from $109 for International Festival Tasting sessions to $545 and up for premium events such as the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction. Some of the full-table gala options reach several thousand dollars.

Ticket prices include wine tastings, and food is included for designated dining events. All prices already include taxes and service charges.

Most tickets are sold for individual events, though multi-event options such as the International Festival Tasting (IFT) Pass are also available. The 2026 IFT Pass is priced at $299 and provides access to all four International Festival Tasting sessions held March 12th to 14th, 2026.

Tickets for the general public go on sale well in advance each year. For the 2026 festival, advance tickets for International Festival Tastings went on sale in 2025, while winery dinners, additional public events, and trade events are released on staggered dates during January.

Popular events sell out early, so get your tickets in advance. Click Wine Festival Tickets for further details.

Click Vancouver International Wine Festival for the event’s official website.

Vancouver Wine Festival Video

Check out the following video to get an idea of what to expect at the festival. The video features scenes from the Festival Tasting event (2020) and the Wine Seminar (2019) at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It also shows people socializing at the auction event just before the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner (from 2019).

Wine Festival Events

The wine Festival features a wide range of events and runs for approximately eight days in 2026. Events include the Bacchanalia Gala Dinner, International Festival Tastings, wine seminars, winery dinners, wine parties, and more. While not every event sells out each year, many of the most popular experiences do.

The festival includes both public and trade-focused events. Most days feature public events, while the early part of the festival is dedicated to Trade Days for wine and hospitality industry professionals.

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is best known for its food–and wine-focused events. Some of the most popular events are listed below. See our article about the Wine Festival Events or visit the official VIWF website at vanwinefest.ca for more details.

Vancouver Wine Festival at the Pipe Shop

Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction

The Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction is the Vancouver International Wine Festival’s signature fundraising event. This Gala consistently sells out each year well in advance. In 2026, the black-tie affair takes place on Saturday, March 7th, at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, located at 900 West Georgia Street.

Single tickets and tables of eight are available, with ticket prices ranging from around $545 per person to premium table packages of up to $6,600. Early-bird pricing offers savings for tickets purchased before mid-December (subject to availability).

Widely regarded as one of Vancouver’s premier social evenings of the year. The event features a fancy multi-course dinner paired with wines, alongside live entertainment, dancing, and auctions.

The Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction raises money annually to support Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, helping to sustain the arts in Vancouver. In 2023, the festival raised almost $130,000. Including individual donations, the total that year was $160,000, with net proceeds benefiting the Shakespeare Festival.

Click Bacchanalia Gala Dinner for more information about the event.

Click Vancouver International Wine Festival for the event’s official website.

Christopher Gaze at Bacchanalia Reception — Bard Founder Christopher Gaze at Bacchanalia Gala

Trade Days Conference

The Trade Days Conference is a two-day professional program happening during the Vancouver International Wine Festival on March 12th and 13th, 2026. It is designed for people working in the wine, hospitality, restaurant, retail, and beverage industries. The conference offers a more business-focused festival experience compared to the public festival.

Trade Days features tastings, seminars, lunches, and networking events. There are opportunities to sample wines that are not available to the public. The conference also hosts the Wine Program Excellence Awards and other industry recognition events.

Attendance typically reaches thousands of industry professionals from across Canada and beyond. The 2026 Trade Pass costs $335. Individual event tickets are also available for purchase separately.

The Tasting Room

The main attraction at the Vancouver International Wine Festival is the Tasting Room. In 2026, it takes place from March 12th to 14th. Tasting features hundreds of wines at four International Festival Tasting events. The sessions take place on the dates and times listed below (subject to change).

Thursday, March 12th, 2026: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Friday, March 13th, 2026: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Saturday, March 14th, 2026: 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 14th, 2026: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm

The Tasting Room events take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre located at 1055 Canada Place. The International Festival Tastings are usually very similar across all sessions, although the Thursday evening tasting is typically the least crowded.

Tickets cost around $109 for the Thursday evening event and the Saturday afternoon tasting. Friday and Saturday evening tastings cost around $119.

Click International Festival Tastings for tickets and more information.

Wine Glass and Festival Crowds — Wine at Festival Tasting Event

Other Events at the Festival

In addition to the gala and tastings, the 2026 festival offers a wide range of food and wine events for every level of wine lover. Keep reading below for an overview of other events offered at the wine festival, or see our more in-depth article on Vancouver Wine Festival Events.

Winery Dinners

Winery Dinners are sit-down dinners focused on a single winery or region. Chefs create menus to match the wines being poured. The Vancouver International Wine Festival features more than a dozen winery dinners in 2026. Prices range from about $175 to $255 per person. Tickets include all food, wine, gratuity, service charges, and taxes.

A few of the dinners are listed below (details are subject to change). See our full article on Vancouver Wine Festival Events for the full list of dinners at the Wine Festival in 2026.

The Soul of Napa Valley: Monday, March 9th, 2026, 6:30 – 10:00 pm ($225). A fancy dinner highlighting premium Napa Valley wines. This dinner takes place at Riley’s Steakhouse in Coal Harbour.
A Night in Rioja: Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, 6:30 – 10:00 pm ($175). An evening focused on Spanish wines from Rioja, featuring wines paired with a Spanish-inspired menu. This dinner takes place at Espana Restaurant in the West End.
Taste of Tuscany: Tuesday, March 10th, 2026, 6:30 – 10:00 pm ($200). A Tuscan-themed winery dinner with Italian wines matched to regional dishes is happening at Italian Kitchen on Burrard Street.

Wine Seminars

Wine Seminars take place during the festival, offering guided tastings led by experts. These sessions focus on regions and trends. They are great for anyone looking to learn more about wine. In 2026, there are 3 wine seminars listed below. Times and prices are subject to change.

The Shape of Wine: Thursday, March 12th, 2026, 5:15 – 6:45 pm at The Vancouver Club ($125). This seminar looks at how glass shape affects aroma, flavour, and texture, with guided tastings to compare the differences.
A Tour de France in Your Glass: Thursday, March 12th, 2026, 5:15 – 6:45 pm at Vancouver Convention Centre ($95). This seminar gives a tasting journey through several French wine regions, highlighting styles, grapes, and traditions.
Passport to Global Wines: Friday, March 13th, 2026, 5:15 – 6:45 pm at Vancouver Convention Centre ($75). An introduction to wines from around the world, focusing on emerging regions and diverse wine styles.

Lively Lunches & Wine Parties

Lively Lunches are daytime lunches highlighting a specific country or region. Wine Parties, which are more casual tastings where guests move from station to station. They are social, fun, and easygoing. Some of them include light food. At the 2026 festival, there are 3 lively lunches and 1 wine party. Details are listed below (subject to change).

9th Annual PICA Kitchen Brunch: Saturday, March 14th, 2026, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at PICA Kitchen ($139). A lively multi-winery lunch featuring food dishes paired with a wide range of international wines.
Taste of France at LaSalle Brunch: Saturday, March 14th, 2026, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at LaSalle College ($109). A French-themed lunch with classic dishes and French wines.
Think Pink! A Rose Brunch: Saturday, March 14th, 2026, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at The Farmhouse ($119). A rose-focused lunch showcasing different styles of rose paired with light food.
Cruising California Wine Party: Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, 7:30 – 9:30 pm at The Loft at Earl’s Yaletown ($75). A relaxed walk-around tasting featuring a range of California wines, with light bites and a red carpet.

Tickets for all the above festival events go on sale on staggered dates in January 2026. They often sell out very quickly, so planning to buy them early is a good idea.

Click Vancouver International Wine Festival for the event’s official website.

Vancouver Wine Workshop Attendees — Wine Tasting Seminar

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of your experience at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.

TIP #1: If you’re a wine enthusiast and can afford the tickets, go! It’s not every city that hosts one of the continent’s most prestigious wine festivals! It’s a great event.

TIP #2: Reserve your tickets early. Popular events can sell out weeks in advance.

TIP #3: Make a note of which wines you like so you can remember them for another time. You’ll get to sample many, so don’t forget which ones are your favourites.

TIP #4: The International Festival Tastings at the Convention Centre are the festival’s biggest events. If you can, go to the one on Thursday evening. It’s the least crowded and offers the best opportunity to chat with the vendors.

TIP #5: Wines are available for sale at the Wine Shop at the four International Festival Tastings events. Just don’t forget to plan in advance how you’ll carry all your purchases home.

TIP #6: Consider turning your wine festival experience into a mini vacation. If you do that, and you book your hotel through the website StayVancouverHotels.com, you can usually get a free ticket to one of the Festival Tasting Room events. To get this deal, however, you usually have to book a week or so before the festival starts. See the VIWF website for details.