Fairmont Hotel Vancouver collaborates with new virtual wine tasting series

Has anyone else reached that level of cabin fever where the fantasy of sleeping on a friend’s couch after one too many glasses of vino sounds extremely appealing? Same with us.

Since we clearly can’t be intermingling and cheers-ing IRL with our buddies and loved ones as per COVID-19 restrictions, we have the next best thing for you, and it’s actually much better than couch surfing.

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has partnered with Iconic Wineries of British Columbia, a new organization bringing folks what they’re calling ‘Next World’ bottles from the Okanagan Valley, to create the ultimate staycation for Vancouverites in their own backyard.

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The notable downtown Vancouver hotel is inviting guests to check-in with special room rates and then check out the exquisite wines of Martin’s Lane Winery and CheckMate Artisanal Winery in February and March, respectively, via virtual wine tastings with the pros.

Each winery will have three distinctly different events highlighting a particular bottle from their collection, which will be sent to attendees in time for the tasting at home or left in their room at the Fairmont beforehand if they choose to stay overnight.

In addition to enjoying the wine, people who tune into the tasting will get to hear from rarely accessible expert guest speakers, as well as have the chance to ask any burning questions they may about the winery or wine world in general. The whole Zoom experience will be guided by host and certified sommelier, Andrew Cornell.

Staying at the hotel means wines for tasting, a chef-crafted cheese board, and a big fluffy bed will all be at your fingertips. It’s a night out without really going out.

The optional hotel stay is an additional $229 for the night with self-parking and the aforementioned eats included. You can also opt to overnight without the charcuterie board, but really, cheese and wine just go together so we support the pairing, just saying.

If you’re not keen on a slumber party, it’s all good, as mentioned before, these tastings are also being offered for those who want to turn their kitchens or living rooms into a winery tasting room.

Each ticket for the general virtual tasting is $100 including the cost of one bottle of wine and shipping.