[Van Wine Fest 2025] West Coast Wine Allstars

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is back for its 46th year. Every year they feature a wine region/country, and a lot of their wine seminars and events would be centred around the featured wine region/country. This year’s theme was West Coast U.S. Did you know that those three states—Washington, Oregon and California—make up 87% of wines produced in the U.S.? I attended a wine seminar that showcased ten top-tiered wines from the featured region, with winery representatives offering insight into their growing and/or wine-making process. So let me share some of my own tasting notes here, and I’m going to label my favourites with 💚🧡. No politics, just wines.

1. Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvée 2014 — Fun fact: The 40-year-old winery served the first vintage of this sparkling wine to the King and Queen of Spain on the fly back in 1987, hence the namesake. The 2014 vintage was made with 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay. It had a creamy mouthfeel. The extended triage (8 years) gave it a brioche note on the nose, and a fruity taste.
   
2. Robert Mondavi Winery Estates Fumé Blanc Oakville 2021 💚🧡 — This is 87% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Sémillon. The use of Sémillon adds a creamier mouthfeel and balances out the minerality. I smelled tropical fruit, and tasted papaya and pineapple. I’m usually not a Sauv Blanc girl but I really liked this one.
   
3. Lingua Franca AVNI Chardonnay 2022 — Oregon Chardonnay has become more popular recently, and this one is from Oregon. Made traditionally the Burgundy way, the cooling winds in the evening have added acidity to the taste, akin to lemon peel and green apple. It’s funky on the nose, and the texture is not buttery like a typical Californian Chardonnay.
   
4. Black Stallion Estate Winery Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir 2018 — The Los Carneros locale is the best of both worlds—the cool Sonoma climate mixes with the warm Napa Valley. This 100% Pinot Noir is peppery on the nose. It’s balanced, medium bodied, juicy with a tart raspberry and rhubarb taste.
   
5. Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles 2019 💚🧡 — 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot. Surprisingly, there was not a lot on the nose for me. It tasted jammy, very fruity, which to me, tasted more like a Cab Franc/Merlot than a Cab Sauv dominant wine. It’s a bit on the sweet side, which makes it super easy drinking. It has very smooth tannins but I think it can still stay in the cellar for a bit. It’s my favourite wine at the seminar.

6. Orin Swift Cellars Papillon 2020 — Classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It smells and tastes a bit smokey, reminding me of Asian sour plum juice. It also has the taste of red berries, with lots of tannins. Fun fact: The wine bottle is custom made with a butterfly (aka papillon) in the punt.
   
7. Ridge Vineyards Estate Monte Bello Cabernet 2021 — This is the wine’s 60th vintage! 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. It tasted young, a bit acidic with the note of cassis, and lots of tannins. It has a beautiful deep ruby colour and it’s a bit funky on the nose. This is the most expensive bottle out of the 10, with a suggested retail price of $399.99.
   
8. Aquilini Wines A56 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 — 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. The wine had spent 20 months in French oak and stainless steel barrels. I didn’t catch a lot on the note, but I tasted blackberry with quite a bit of tannins. Given it’s only a 2021 vintage, it can definitely age for a few years. Aquilini Wines, with the Aquilini connection to the Canucks, is supplying 1,000 tonnes of grapes to Canadian wineries to relieve us of the terrible growing season we had in 2024.
   
9. S by Signorello Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 💚🧡 — 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. It’s fruity on the nose, full bodied, with the tasting note of berries. Even though it’s a young 2021 vintage, the wine has rather soft tannins. I also quite enjoyed this wine.
   
10. McPrice Myers M Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 — 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This smells briney like olives and my tablemate agreed with me. It’s so strange! It has soft tannins and it’s quite easy drinking. It has a suggested retail price of $40 and it’s the cheapest bottle out of the 10.

I do appreciate wine seminars like this one, where we get to try unique and top-tiered wines without breaking the bank. I also went to the Grand Tasting Room and I noticed that some of these wines weren’t being poured at the tasting room, so I’d say that’s a win as well. I will tell you more about the Grand Tasting Room in my next post. Did you go to any of the Wine Fest events this year?