These B.C. restaurants have been honoured for their excellent wine lists
A well-chosen wine list can elevate a dining experience to sublime magic. To recognize restaurants that enhance this region’s
exceptional wine and food culture
, the 2026 Vancouver International Wine Festival has announced the winners of its Wine Program Excellence awards.
Here are just a few of the honourees. For the complete list of winners in 16 categories, visit
. All are in Vancouver, unless otherwise noted.
Also, congrats to Michael Littleford, who has worked at Nightingale, CinCin and Published on Main, who was named
of the Year.
Best Wine Program in an Upscale Restaurant
Gold:
Elisa
Silver:
Blue Water Cafe
Bronze:
Marilena Café + Raw Bar (Victoria)
Best Wine Program in a Contemporary Restaurant
Gold:
Nightingale
Silver:
Major Tom (Calgary)
Bronze:
L’Abattoir
Best Food & Wine Pairing Experience
Gold:
Mott 32
Silver:
AnnaLena
Bronze:
L’Abattoir
Best Wine Service
Gold:
AnnaLena
Silver:
Kissa Tanto
Bronze:
L’Abattoir
Best Micro Wine List
Gold:
Burdock & Co
Silver:
Yuwa Japanese Cuisine
Bronze:
Bistro Lapin Perdu (Naramata)
Best B.C. Wine List
Gold:
Waterfront Wines Restaurant (Kelowna)
Silver:
Sonora Resort (Sonora Island)
Bronze:
The Arbutus Room & Bar (Brentwood Bay)
Best Regional Wine Lists
Best Italian:
CinCin
Best French:
L’Abattoir
Best Sake:
Yuwa Japanese Cuisine
Best Spain:
Bar Oso (Whistler)
Best Value Wine Program
Gold:
H Tasting Lounge
Silver:
The Arbutus Room & Bar (Brentwood Bay)
Bronze:
Pizzeria Tratto (Penticton)
Recommendations from across the pond
I recently had lunch with Ireland’s minister of state for agriculture, food, and marine, the Irish consul general in Vancouver and the founder of an organization they wish to promote — and now, after learning about it, so do I. Good Food Ireland, started by Margaret Jeffares, a farmer, 20 years ago, promotes Irish farmers, fishers, artisans, chefs and works to change the perception of Irish food, which has always been local, sustainable, and artisanal thanks to a land of small, local producers.
So now, should you find yourself on the Emerald Isle, Good Food Ireland has launched a website connecting you to curated experiences with these food producers. You can book tours, cooking classes, tastings through https://goodfoodirelandexperiences.com.
They include afternoon teas, tours and tastings at distilleries, cheesemakers, beekeeping facilities, oyster farms, chocolate makers, and Irish soda bread classes. Longer tours include three-days of discovering distilleries, including Jameson, and the one I would certainly join — a private tour of the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School Gardens and Organic Farm in Cork.
A meal in good company
Suyo Modern Peruvian restaurant on Main Street has brought back its popular ‘Suyo con Amigos’ dinner series for a third year.
Chef Ricardo Valverde hosts these collaborative feasts with a little help from his friends, who just happen to be some of the city and province’s top chefs. The first of these one-night-only dinners at Suyo will be on April 7 when Valverde and his team welcomes Chef Warren Barr of Pluvio, the acclaimed eatery that turned the sleepy town of Ucluelet into a foodie destination.
If you miss that dinner, fear not. The series continues June 18 when Suyo hosts Chef Billy Nguyen from Victoria’s buzzy wine bar and restaurant Rabbit Rabbit (which I, unfortunately didn’t get to on my last visit to Victoria). On September 10, Chef Bobby Milheron (Folietta, Homer Street Cafe, Tableau, Maxine’s) joins Valverde in the kitchen. The Suyo con Amigos series comes to a close on November 2 with Chef Pete Ho of the Michelin-starred Sumibiyaki Arashi.
Each Suyo con Amigos event will have two seatings, at 5 pm and 8 pm, with only 40 seats available at each seating. Tickets are $269 per person, including wine and cocktail pairings. Tickets are available for purchase via OpenTable.
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Source: vancouversun.com