Month: September 2020

Do you like artwork about wine?  Artist, Cecilia Anastos, contacted me and asked if I could let my readers know about her wine bottle series. Some of the paintings reflect her Italian sense of humour.   Cecilia is a self-taught artist located in the San Diego, California area. If you enjoy her paintings, she created a 20% discount coupon till Oct…

It’s Fall now.  We can’t hide from it, so time to embrace it with red wines.  I’m tasting Church & State Wines, Cabernet Franc and Merlot 2017, with the grapes coming from the Okanagan Valley.  2017 had a hot summer with smoke from forest fires starting in July.  Fortunately the smoke did not affect the grapes as it was early…

Candy Mountain is the second new AVA in Washington State recently.  It is near the Red Mountain area in WA that produces wines that I really think are great quality.  Here is the Press Release. ~~~ Candy Mountain Becomes Washington’s 16th American Viticultural Area Candy Mountain is smallest AVA in state, with well-drained soils on south-facing slopes SEATTLE (September 25,…

What do you know about Chardonnay Clone 95? It is originally from Burgundy, and is grown by Spearhead Winery in Kelowna, BC. Clone 95 makes full-bodied, intensely flavoured, medium yield Chardonnay clusters. Spearhead Winery barrel ferments this wine in 100% French oak, 40% new, and ages it on it’s lees for 10 months and undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation. You…

Our hospitality workers are having an even tougher life with the risks of COVID and their interaction with the public as part of their job.  Getting sick from COVID, plus having other underlying health conditions, or being diagnosed with an issue that requires hospitalization is terrible.  We do have hospitality workers who do get sick and need our help so…

Why 2 Reviews of 4 Wines? I received a shipment of wines from Gold Hill Winery in Oliver, BC, over the summer and I’ve been tasting them two wines at a time and writing my tasting notes for you.  Twice during my tasting, one of the two bottles had a defect, so the wine was not review-able.  When you are…

You may say that 1990 was when South African wine came on the international scene.  That is the year that Nelson Mandela was released and sanctions against South Africa were subsequently lifted.  Before that time South African wines were made in a style that pleased the South Africa palate.  But opening their wines up to the world and a more…

Main Divide Waipara Pinot Noir 2018 (NZ $24) I’m going to make a call right now and suggest this is one of THE BEST VALUE pinot noirs available in the country (New Zealand) right now. Incredibly plush, plucky and packed solid with cherry, raspberry, rhubarb flavours, buckets of spice, tantalising tannins, sneaky black tea layers and fabulous length of flavour,…

If you need some incentive to go out for a meal during pandemic and to enjoy BC VQA wine, Provence Marinaside has the answer.  The first BC VQA wine with food pairing for October looks delicious.  Here is their press release. ~~~ (Vancouver, BC) – Fall is in the air and the grape harvest is underway in BC wine country….

Here are two more white Rhone Valley grape varieties that are made by Church & State Wines.  The Viognier and Roussanne grapes come from their Coyote Bowl and Bella vineyards in the south Okanagan.  The soils in these vineyards consist of sand and gravel.  How do these soil types affect wine’s aromas and flavours?  Sand gives fruitiness, elegance, less colour,…