The Ultimate Vancouver Wine Guide: The Best Bottles to Give—and Open in 15 Years

We asked a dozen-plus of the city’s top sommeliers to share their picks with us for some very specific scenarios…including which bottles you should give your niece to open when she turns 19.

The Scenario

A friend has cobbled $75 together and wants to buy his five-year-old niece a bottle of wine that will be showing well on her 19th birthday. What do you recommend?

Sommeliers Say…

Villa Bucci Verdicchio Classico Riserva ($65)

Bucci is the undisputed king of the verdicchio grape, and I recently had the opportunity to taste several bottles of this wine from the mid-1990s. Unicorn tears.—Kelcie Jones, Chambar

Trimbach “Cuvée Frédéric Émile” 2008 ($77)

A cheat! One of the truly great white wines of the world—the fact that this is still under $100 at the current rate of wine commodification is absurd to me. I once asked an internationally renowned riesling producer, “When should I drink this?” The reply? “Before you die.”—Keiran Fanning, Pepino’s

Cagliero Ravera 2012 ($65) and Aldo Conterno Barolo “Bussia” 2013 ($139)

Barolo is a great bet that stands the test of time and rewards patience, so Cagliero Ravera 2012. He’d also be my favourite uncle if he doubled his budget and stashed away a bottle of Aldo Conterno Barolo “Bussia” 2013 (worth every penny).—Mireille Sauvé, Wine Umbrella

We’ll be adding to our Ultimate Vancouver Wine Guide over the next few months… follow along with somms’ top picks here!