The Festival is Canada’s premier food and wine event. As a not-for-profit society, the festival has three mandates: to provide an informative, educational and entertaining wine experience for public and trade; to be a premier marketing opportunity for the wine industry and festival partners; and to raise funds for the Bard on the Beach Theatre Society.
The heart of the festival is the Tasting Room, where the public can choose from ~700 wines at four International Festival Tastings and industry professionals can sample those at two Trade tastings. There are ~35 special events that orbit the tasting room (seminars, vintage tastings, winery dinners, lunches, brunches, wine minglers and more) at which ~550 other wines are served.
The 2025 festival featured 120 wineries from 15 countries. There is a focus on a different region or country every year; the featured region has its own section in the tasting room and offers thematic seminars and food and wine pairings throughout the week. In 2026, the festival will showcase the wines of France across 43 events within.
March 7 – 14, 2026
Various locations
vanwinefest.ca
