With tickets going fast, here are four Vancouver Int’l Wine Fest events you can still catch

This year, Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary. So it makes sense that the featured country at this year’s Vancouver International Wine Festival should be, well, Canada.

Over 70 Canadian wineries will be featured at this year’s fest, including many from B.C. (of course), but also from Ontario and the East Coast. According to the wine fest, “This marks the largest gathering of Canadian wineries ever at an international festival.”

Other numbers to keep in mind are the dates of the festival, Feb. 11-19; the number of events, 58; and how many, as of this posting, have sold out since tickets went on sale last week, 15 – an amount that reflects the festival’s ever-growing popularity among oenophiles.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few of the events that still have tickets left.

Bacchanalia Dinner and Auction – An always-popular kick-off gala (as in, black tie) that pairs wine, food (a five-course menu), dancing, and live and silent auctions, with proceeds going to Bard on the Beach. At the Fairmont Vancouver Feb. 11.

Red Seduction Dinner – This year’s festival coincides with that most romantic of dates, Feb. 14. The Red Seduction Dinner at the ARC Restaurant (at the Fairmont Waterfront) features a six-course menu of “sinful temptations, all passionately entwined with Winemaker Elaine Vickers’ heavenly Blasted Church wines.”

Wines of Canada Party – Billed as a casual and fun wine-and-food-grazing night out, the Wines of Canada Party features selections from 31 B.C., Ontario and East Coast wineries. At The Permanent (330 W. Pender St.) Feb. 15.

International Festival Tasting – Wet your whistle with samples of as many festival wines as you can fit into a few hours. There are four chances to indulge at the Int’l Festival Tasting, including the evenings of Feb. 16, 17 and 18, and a matinee event Feb. 18. At the Vancouver Convention Centre.

For more info and tickets, visit vanwinefest.ca.