This Monday Will Be The Greatest Night For Wine Lovers All Year

Each year when the Top Drop festival comes to town (be it Vancouver or Calgary or sometimes Victoria), we trot our superlatives thesaurus to wax on about how much fun it is. It’s small, it’s nimble and features a fantastic selection of usually smaller scale producers who actually show up themselves to talk about their passion for wine.

It’s the type of festival that pays dividends all year when you find yourself at the cool new restaurant and spy a few of the producers on the wine list and proceed order like a pro. So if you’re in Vancouver on May 13th or Calgary on May 15th you should 100 percent go if you like thoughtful wine producers.

But there’s another option if either you can’t get enough vino (I hear you) or you don’t like the bustle of wine festival with the occasional lineups because some know-it-all in front wants to talk about PH levels non-stop (I also hear you). This year Vancouverites have the option on a series of four “wine parties” that will be set up at a number of Yaletown restaurants (Capo and the Spritz, the Flying Pig, Hapa Izikaya, the Stock Room). Each event will see 10 or more producers pouring their wine in a much more relaxed setting, with accompanying food and small bites. And each event is themed—Capo and The Spritz goes full Big Night with 13 Italian producers pouring everything from Prosecco to Barolo with endless pizza and arancini. The Flying Pig goes for “Wine and Swine,” etc. And teh best part? These parties are just $70 each. Get serious—nothing is $70 anymore. It’s just an amazing deal and it really changes the typically tasting room dynamic where there’s an ever-present table between you and the producers into something much more relaxed and casual.

Plus, for a $20 add-on you can also access a B.C. wine tasting lounge set up at Earl’s Yaletown anytime between 3:30 and 11, so you could hit it before and after (again, I hear you). There’s 16 really cool local producers and they down to chat about all thing B.C. with willing fans.

So a final superlative: this is the best wine deal in the city, full stop. At many restaurants these days, it’s tough to get a bottle of anything for $70, and this Monday that amount can open up an entire world of cool producers. It’s a no brainer. Tickets are available here.