Summary: <a class="a2a_button_facebook a2a_counter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tastingroomradio.com%2Ffebruary-3rd-2018-the-victoria-whisky-festival%2F&linkname=February%203rd%2C%202018%20%E2%80%93%20%20The%20Victoria%20Whisky%20Festival%21" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tastingroomradio.com%2Ffebruary-3rd-2018-the-victoria-whisky-festival%2F&linkname=February%203rd%2C%202018%20%E2%80%93%20%20The%20Victoria%20Whisky%20Festival%21" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tastingroomradio.com%2Ffebruary-3rd-2018-the-victoria-whisky-festival%2F&title=February%203rd%2C%202018%20%E2%80%93%20%20The%20Victoria%20Whisky%20Festival%21"></a><br> The 13th Victoria Whisky Festival. Have a Wee Dram.<br> <br> also…<br> Harry Hertscheg on wines at VanWineFest<br> And pairing Cheese and Wine at The Savvy Series with Pam Cohen/Allison Spurrell (The Cheese Queen)<br> And Bill Jones from Deerholme Farm on his Foraging Classes.<br> THE SHOW<br> <br> Harry Hertscheg – Executive Director VanWineFest<br> <br> Harry Hertscheg The 40th annual Vancouver Wine Festival is mere days from now Feb 24 – March 4. <br> 173 Wineries from 15 countries Featured regions are Spain and Portugal. <br> Harry Hertscheg organized a media tasting of some of the participants..more like a serious tease.<br> I am of course, never without my trusty recorder and fresh batteries.<br> Our starting point was over Steely Dan’s Aja Album which I had played on Mulligan Stew that weekend.<br> I was amazed that it was over 40 years since they released those outstanding tunes. Harry says “that’s about the same age as this festival – 40 years” and off we went. We touch on the wines of Portugal and Spain, some of the many highlights of the festival and as always I ask Harry about his single best tip for the first timer at the consumer tastings which can be daunting.<br> <br> FYI – Tasting Room radio will have a roundtable studio set up where the Spanish wines are being poured.<br> Our March 3rd show will be hour one and March 11 show will be hour two.<br> Guest list next week.<br> <a href="http://www.vanwinefest.ca">www.vanwinefest.ca</a><br> The 13th annual Victoria Whisky Festival<br> <br> Speaking of daunting, I have very little history with whisky.<br> At the 13th Victoria Whisky fest I was well out of my element but eager to learn and discover.<br> I thank Heather Leary the media contact and thanks as well to David de Kergommeaux for steering me in the right direction and of course for his invaluable book Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert.<br> <br> I set up shop in the lobby of Victoria’s Grand Hotel. It was filled with whisky experts and fans. Perfect!<br> The festival ran from the 18th to 21st of January and just a heads up – it sells out as soon as the tickets are released. For some, it means sleeping out overnight to be first in line.<br> Tickets for 2019 will go on sale this November.<br> How popular is this festival? This year for the first time anywhere all 11 brand ambassadors from around the World for Balvenie attended, taught and poured in Victoria.<br> Guests include:<br> Davin De Kergommeaux – Author and host of the Thursday Night Awards Event.<br> <br> Davin de Kergommeaux describes himself as “a certified Malt Maniac and trained sommelier who has been analyzing, writing, and talking about whisky, as an independent commentator, for nearly two decades.”<br>
