Tag: okanagan

2023 was a little challenging for BC wineries with reduced yields (~34 to 56 percent loss) coming from a winter cold snap.  Harvest was a little later as the growing season was a bit cooler, with a dry Fall.  How did that affect the wines in the Okanagan?  I have a small sample size of two wines to review for…

It will soon be New Year’s eve and many of us will open a bottle of sparkling wine.  I have two bottles of sparkling wine from BC’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars for you to consider.  I received their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Gold Label Brut 2022 and their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Brut Rosé R.D. 2022.  R.D….

Today I have two wines for you from south Okanagan’s Gold Hill Winery; their Gold Hill Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2022 and Charisma Cabernet Merlot 2021.  Charisma is their second label.  Charisma wines curates charming approachable everyday drinking wines.  There were scattered forest fires in the BC interior in 2021, but the winemakers at that time did not notice any smoke taint…

You may have noticed that I had not posted anything wine related for the last 2 weeks, as I was away, but now I’m back, and have my first two wines to tell you about from BC’s Township 7 Vineyards & Winery.  I opened their Interlude Select Sauvignon Blanc 2024 and  their Provenance Series Cabernet Merlot 2022.  The Interlude Select…

In case you haven’t heard, Okanagan’s Blasted Church Vineyards is having a case sale on their Renaissance wines from now till Dec 14.  I’m tasting two of their Renaissance series wines I received.  Hatfield’s Fuse 2024 and Pinot Gris 2024.  Both wines are made in BC, but use grapes that come from Washington state, to cover our cold winter snap in…

With the upcoming holiday season, you, or your guests, may not want a glass of wine, beer, or cocktail.  Maybe something lower in alcohol, but still has nice fruit flavours.  Orchard + Field is just that.  Wine made using fruit from  orchard and berries from the fields and crafted at Garnet Valley Ranch in Summerland, BC.  I received two bottles…

We are well into the colder, winter weather now here in BC.  So it is time to venture into deeper, red wines.  I have two red wines from Oliver’s Gold Hill Winery. I have their Gold Hill Oxbow Reach Merlot 2019 and Oxbow Reach Cabernet Franc 2019. Both are interestingly from the 2019 vintage, with now 6 years of aging. …

I saved my last two wines from Domaine Artema Winery to be their Village Sparkling Rosé 2024 and their La Petite Mort (port style), NV, dessert wine.  These two wines can cover the start and end of a delicious dinner.  I did not decant either wine.  In the first case, you don’t want the delicious bubbles in your sparkling wine…

Today, I’m easing us into the colder weather with a 2024 Rosé and a Gamay wine made by Oliver’s Domaine Artema Winery.  Gamay is a red wine grape with less tannins and more acidity, making it easier to sip on its own as well as being food friendly.  The Rosé wine uses Pinot Noir primarily with a substantial amount of…

The 2025 BC harvest was one of hope and a bounty of grapes. I travelled to Osoyoos at the beginning of October and all the winery principles I spoke to mentioned how their grape vines were supplying an overabundance of grapes this year, to make up for the devastation last year.   Now that it is late November and the wines…