JUNE 2014 BCBusiness 73
This year's "theme country" at
the Vancouver International
Wine Festival marked a return
to what executive director Harry
Hertscheg calls the homeland of
wine: France. "A lot of grapes that
grow internationally—like Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay—all
those grapes originally come from
France," says Hertscheg. "They
have a very codified system of
grape-growing and winemaking
that has been developed over
hundreds and hundreds of
years." French wine styles are
influenced by each region's distinct
temperatures and terroir.
France's storied past and its
regional distinctions can make its
wines intimidating for neophytes in
this cult-like world, so to make the
wines at this year's festival more
accessible, the French producers
categorized them by style: wines
of character, surprising wines,
subtle wines, lively wines, sensual
wines and party wines. "What's
probably changing, in the case of
France, is more how they market
the wines than the styles of wine,"
says Hertscheg. Drawing from the
list of styles, Hertscheg shares his
top French wine choices from this
year's festival.
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Vancouver Wine Fest
executive director Harry
Hertscheg shares his top
French wine picks for 2014
by Kristen Hilderman
The Fields
of France
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W
7 7 F O O D
8 1 s O C I E T Y
W I N E
ISTOCK
field of dreams
The terroir and
temperatures in
France's varied wine
regions dictate the
grape varietals.
p73-81-OOO_june.indd 73 2014-05-01 1:35 PM
