Top Drop has taken the guesswork out of wine tasting by selecting a slate of interesting winemakers (who do things a little differently) from around the world.

Full disclosure—Kurtis Kolt, who’s the co-founder of Top Drop— is a WL contributor and he and I are both judges at the Vancouver Magazine International Wine Awards and as such I’m in as good a position as any to say that the dude knows wine. More importantly the dude loves wine—from a $10 Portuguese red he discovers off the beaten path to a dusty bottle of Cheval Blanc, he’s the sort of guy whose passion is infectious. And it’s that passion that makes Top Drop different. There’s no corporate behemoths here (not that there’s anything wrong with that), not because they wouldn’t love the exposure, but because Kurtis and his team really do curate who can come in. There’s a dozen tastings where you can try Beringer’s latest wine, but Top Drop is all about either finally tasting a wine you’ve heard so much about (like the tricky-to-find wines from WL Foodie of the Year Tyler Harlton) or uncovering labels that’ll make you look like an insider when you bring them to your next dinner party (like Frank Cornelissen from Sicily).In between there’s craft beer producers and cider producers (including the amazing new Naramata Cider Company from Elephant Island’s Del and Miranda Halliday, who were WL Foodies of the Year in 2009). In addition to the main event there are dinners (at Wildebeest, Alta Bistro, Cinara and Edible Canada) and a portion of the proceeds goes to the deserving BC Hospitality Foundation. What’s to decide? Just go.Top Drop Vancouver, September 10 to 11. For more information on tickets click here.