Feature: Wine lovers, salesmen flock to Vancouver festival for business and fun

The annual Vancouver International Wine Festival comes again this week with wine experts and wine beginners swirling, sniffing and sipping wines at the nine-day festival.

As one of North America's largest wine expos, the 37th festival, which opens from Feb. 20 to March 1, has brought 170 wineries representing 14 countries with more than 1,750 wines together with people interested in discovering new wines. With so many choice, there may not be a better place in the world to get educated about wine like this one in Vancouver.

The key to discover and learn about wine is to approach tastings with an open mind, said David LeMire, who works for Shaw + Smith winery and came to Vancouver to showcase his Australian reds and whites.

"Ultimately, everyone has different tastes and eats different types of food and they need to have the confidence to find their own way. So we need to make it easy, make it fun. You know, it's just a drink. Let's not make it hard," LeMire told Xinhua at the wine festival on Thursday.

He encouraged people to sample wine by holding the glass by the stem. Give it a swirl, bring air into the glass while checking the body and color of the wine. Next, breathe in the wine's bouquet and then sip, swirling the wine across your tongue, he told the festival visitors.

LeMire said it was important to pay attention to the flavor and the sensation in the mouth.

Vancouver's wine festival is also a good place for new wine companies from around the world to introduce their products to the North American market, such as Ivan Kovaevic from Croatia's Stina winery.

Kovaevic said they decided to come to this festival because they entered this market just less than one year and their main idea was to show the people that Croatia is producing wine. "We are first winery from Croatia which is on this show in Vancouver and the first winery in B.C. liquor board for sale," he said.

While the world of wine can often appear exclusive and complicated, the best way to enjoy it is to let the senses guide the wine lovers, said Harry Hertscheg, the festival executive director.

"A wine, whether it's like music or art, it's something that you connect with, a sense of smell, a sense of taste. And also, it 's about the people, connecting with people and that's what makes it special," he said. Endite