A Preview of France at the Vancouver International Wine Awards

Today we begin a series of columns on one of the best consumer wine events on the continent and one that has long put Canada on the world wine map, at least from the standpoint of import producers.

Fair notice, The Vancouver Sun is now a presenting sponsor of the event. But that won't affect our normal preparation for the show in this column.

In 2014, France returns as the theme country and as the wine nation that invented the concept of terroir and all its classifications. They will arrive with a handful of regional marketing arms to help spread the word.

I'm a huge fan of regions and sub-regions, in fact I believe the future of the festival, a super expensive proposition for any winery to consider attending, hinges on its ability to adapt its format to accept the participation of the world's many wine regions -- great and emerging -- and move off the larger country themes.

The solo country theme won't diminish the aura of the French delegation. But what really excites most wine people asked to fork out close to $100 per person to get inside the tasting room, is the variety and quality of the participating wineries. Smaller regions can pool their resources once a decade to be at the show and create tasting rooms that could celebrate the wines of Stellenbosch, South Africa, with Central Otago, New Zealand, Prince Edward County, Ontario and say Colchagua, Chile. But that's for another year.

In late February there will be 178 wineries in the room and 52 producers will be representing the French flag. The French contingent will break into sub-regions or appellations, each operating under a separate set of rules and guidelines to promote diversity and the authenticity of their wines. All nine distinct areas will be in the room: Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Champagne, Loire, Rhône, South of France and Southwest France. There will also be three regional tasting stations -- Alsace, Rhône and the Languedoc-Roussillon -- where you can taste a series of wines by appellation or grape or blend.

The French invented food and wine, and that will be a big part of the entertainment outside of the tasting room. The France Bubbly Party goes at Ginger 62 on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The mingler-style bubbly bash will present a wide array of French bubblies including Champagne and Crémant at the late night party. Bits and bites including a raw bar and DJ should make it great fun. Think of it as a night at a Champagne bar, something you currently cannot do in Vancouver.

The big Saturday lunch, Mediterranean Mingle, takes place overlooking Burrard Inlet inside the tasting room at VCC West. The theme is a wine journey through the premium wines of Languedoc-Roussillon and food from the South of France, with live entertainment adding to the fun. It's a great way to focus on the south of France and learn about grenache, carignan, cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre and what is a spectacular setting seldom seen by Vancouverites.

Better wines and no work the next morning should make Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction, rescheduled to the Saturday night before festival week (Feb. 22) a much more attractive ticket. It may, for the first time in years, justify its ticket price of $395. There will be a sparkling reception hosted by Taittinger, Charles de Cazanove and Laurent-Perrier champagne houses followed by a five-course dinner paired with wines from Louis Jadot, Domaine Zinck, Miguel Torres, Peter Lehmann, Gérard Bertrand, Monte del Frá and José Maria da Fonseca.

Finally on Sunday night, superstar Rhone producer Michel Chapoutier and chef David Hawksworth will host a glittering evening of food and wine at Hawksworth. Insatiable Rhône will feature four 100-point Chapoutier wines.

Cuvée du Haut-Censy Muscadet Sèvre et Main Sur Lie 2012, Loire, France

Price: $16 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 5023438123498

Super fresh floral, white flowers pear skin, Granny Smith apple, citrus aromas. The attack is equally fresh and bright with a delicate, juicy mix of lemon, Granny Smith apple and mineral finish. Finesse and delicacy with razor freshness. Oysters anyone?

M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut Blanc 2012, Côtes du Roussillon, France

Price: $16 | Score: 89/100

UPC: 03391182411034

Seemingly consistent each year, the latest Bila Haut has the customary citrus aromas of grapefruit and lemons flecked with honey, baked pear and quince. The attack is round with juicy, fruity citrus, ginger notes mixed with a touch of the sea -- wet stone and saltiness. Grilled squid would be a great match for this blend of grenache blanc, grenache gris and macabeu.

Brotte Les Eglantiers Tavel Rosé 2012, Rhone Valley, France

Price: $23 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 3217661029906

Bright pinkish red colour. Lovely open fresh fruit nose with hints of cherries and other lighter stone fruits. The palate is just rich enough to work with most menus items but there is a sweetness and roundness that will appeal to anyone sipping it solo. Seriously fun.

Gérard Bertrand Chateau L'Hospitalet La Reserve La Clape 2010, Coteaux du Languedoc, France

Price: $26.50 | Score: 89/100

UPC: 3514123101652

Another success from the producer. We love the savoury, garrigue, smoked pepper nose flecked with blackberry, black plum, licorice and floral, meaty, tapenade notes. Ripe and supple with a juicy palate of meaty, smoky red pepper, resin and mesquite flavours with plum, black cherry, tobacco and saddle leather notes. Very southern Rhone-like but fresh and balanced for near term consumption. Fine value here.

Domaine Faiveley Mercurey 2010, Mercurey, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France

Pric: $29 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 003351002890913

Faiveley has been a vineyard owner in Mercurey since the late 1960s but changed the entire management of the appellation in 2007, resulting in clearly better wines. Not quite as fruity or exuberant as 2009 this is more rustic but with solid pinot fruit over compost and floral tobacco tones. There is excellent tension between the sweet and slightly sour fruit flavours mixing raspberries and strawberries. The straight Mercurey is a blend of sites.

Dom Pérignon 2004, Champagne, France

Price: $217 | Score: 97/100

UPC: 03185370041710

Winemaker Richard Geoffrey, never at a loss for the perfect words to describe his wine, has called the 2004 Dom Pérignon "tactile, dark and chiselled." The nose is an exquisite mix of fragrant brioche, seashells and minerality that is as dense as it is intense. In the glass this wine is all serious a brooding sparkler whose lees and sparkle have yet to fully knit into what will surely be one of the great seamless Doms of the decade if not the first half of the decade. Great stuff and a bargain given the ridiculous price of top Bordeaux and Burgundy.