Ciao Italia at the 30th Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival

Well, fuggedaboutit. The 29th ode to wine, which can't seem to get a permanent date with trade and exhibition officials (odd in a city that owes much of its tourism glamour to a burgeoning wine and food culture), is a mere five weeks away.

Italy is the theme country in 2008, so the short run up to the event and the Italians' penchant for organizing most everything at the last second should make for an interesting time for festival organizers. Tickets to all events go on sale Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., which means you may be able to get some if you move quickly.

With that in mind we are highlighting some of the more interesting wine and food dinners involving the Italians, at this year's fete, that will no doubt sell out quickly no matter what the price. In the coming weeks I'll look at more of the festival, which looks dangerously close to becoming a buttoned-down commercial enterprise, run by the distributors and theme countries.

Ciao Italia! kicks off the festival in a thankfully informal way at Earls Paramount on Feb. 25. You are invited to mingle with Earls' head chef Reuben Major and several Antinori winery principals from Tuscany, Puglia and Piedmont. Think of this as a late afternoon stroll in a small town piazza. Dress for style and food, wine and politics. $69.

The moneyed crowd will catch up with the Antinori clan at Six Centuries of History, Tradition and Passion at Cioppino's later the same night. Here the ticket is $228 for a sit-down dinner based on some of Antinori's famed labels. Chef Pino Posteraro will work his magic alongside Tignanello, Solaia, Pian dell Vigne and more labels from the famed estates of Piero Antinori.

An Evening with Frescobaldi at Umberto's Il Giardino ($183) runs Feb. 26. Maestro Menghi and Marchese Leonardo Frescobaldi are planning a Tuscan evening of Florentine proportions that is not to be missed.

That goes ditto for Tuscan Gold at CinCin, also on Feb. 26, and tagged at $153. Proprietor Adolfo Folonari headlines this evening along with Ruffino's flagship single vineyard estates and Tuscan treasure Riserva Ducale Oro. It will be a quick sellout.

On March 2, Kitsilano inhabitants can catch the Antinori crowd at Piemonte to Puglia at Quattro on Fourth ($178). Nebbiolo versus néro d'Avola in the theme of this tasting of classic northern wines versus New Wave southern labels.

Your best bet, and most economical, to cover it all is Gusto Italiano at the Parkview Terrace room at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, March 1 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Your $90 ticket allows you to check out all 29 Italian producers and a full-blown Italian-inspired buffet designed by VCEC executive chef Blair Rasmussen.

Now it's time to brush up on your Italian wine knowledge with a few homework wines.

The latest Antinori Solaia 2003 is impressive. The 80/15/5 cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and cabernet franc is round and supple with fine-grained tannins and rich peppery, meaty, smoky, black cherry, eucalyptus, floral, mineral flavours. It should improve with five to seven years' bottle aging, or drink it now with beef or veal steak.

Don't miss the Frescobaldi Castello di Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina 2003 and its ripe black cherry, orange peel, spicy, peppery, coffee, licorice and cardamom flavours. Great fruit and ripeness with finesse. A fine value, especially from a good vintage. Drink or hold.

Ruffino Reserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2003 is almost always an elegant red wine but it sometimes leaves you looking for a bit more heft and weight. Not in 2003. The entry is supple, the fruit dense and balanced.

Smoke and pepper fleck the rich fragrant red fruit that is the hallmark of this wine. Tormaresca Masseria Maime 2003 is a Puglia estate selection of negroamaro that is aged 14 months in barrique and another 10 months in bottle before release.

We love its spicy, black fruit nose, with the smoked meat and almond undercurrents. It is rich and weighty on the palate with concentrated, black cherry and plum pudding flavours with attractive spice and finesse in the finish.

Look for a fragrant, floral, spicy nose in the Rocca della Macìe Chianti Classico 2005. The entry is dry and supple with tobacco, earthy, cherry, herbal, mineral flavours. For the moment. any piece of roasted or grilled meat will tame this red.

Tormaresca Chardonnay 2005 blends fruit from key Tormaresca estates: Bocca di Lupo in Murgia, and Masseria Maime in Salento.

It's partially barrel fermented which accounts for its buttery peach aromas and flavours, but you can also taste the minerals and the nearby sea influence on the nose and palate. Try with sole or other light, simply prepared fish dishes.

Tickets for all events this year will be sold through the Playhouse Theatre Company Box Office. Call 604-873-3311 or go to www.playhousewinefest.com.

Price: $169

UPC: 8001935144502

Score: 94/100

Remarks: Rich smoky, cassis, black cherry, eucalyptus, floral, mineral flavours.

FRESCOBALDI CASTELLO DI NIPOZZANO RISERVA CHIANTI RUFINA 2003,TUSCANY

Price: $24

UPC: 8007425000181

Score: 90/100

Remarks: Great fruit and ripeness with finesse. A fine value.

RUFFINO RESERVA DUCALE ORO CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2003, TUSCANY

Price: $50

UPC: 8001660130054

Score: 94/100

Remarks: Smoke and pepper fleck the rich fragrant red fruit.

TORMARESCA MASSERIA MAIME 2003, APULIA

Price: $40

UPC: 08026530000152

Score: 91/100

Remarks: Rich, weighty concentrated black cherry and plum pudding flavours.

ROCCA DELLA MACÌE CHIANTI CLASSICO 2005, TUSCANY

Price: $19.99

UPC: 8002305008271

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Fragrant, dry, supple red for roasted or grilled meats.

TORMARESCA CHARDONNAY 2005, APULIA

Price: $13.99

UPC: 8026530000015

Score: 87/100

Remarks: A soft, fresh, ripe apple-citrus chardonnay with an elegant demeanour.