Category: 4.5 – 5 stars

Here are two more delicious wines that you should buy and enjoy right now while we are drowning in our winter rains, or snow, in BC.  The two wines from the Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery are their Columbia Valley Collection  Viognier 2024 (grapes coming from WA state), and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (grapes coming from estate fruit).  I bought…

Here are my last two Interlude wines from Township 7 Vineyards & Winery.  In case you don’t remember, Interlude, is their wines, crafted in BC, but coming from grapes outside the province, due to our cold winter snap that killed most grape vines in the Okanagan.  The first wine, their Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Pinot Noir 2024, is…

The Italian Trade Commission had their 19th Annual Italian Wine Tasting in Vancouver.  There was the opportunity to meet the principals of 40 distinguished Italian wine estates.  I tasted mainly white and sparkling wines at this tasting and at the very end tried a few Italian red wines.  What I like about Italian wines is that many of the grapes are…

This week we had a trade event featuring the latest BC white wines, many from 2024, as well as some red wines.  In 2024 we had a terrible winter freeze that killed most of the grape vines in the interior of BC, so BC wineries were given permission from the BC government to source grapes from outside BC.  Many winemakers…

Here are my next two red wines from Osoyoos’ Bordertown Vineyards & Estate Winery to review for you.  I previously tasted their Bordertown Merlot 2020 and Bordertown Cabernet Franc 2021.  I now have their Bordertown Reserve Malbec 2020 and Reserve Cabernet Franc 2019; a step up in quality.  It will be interesting to see how their entry level Cabernet Franc compares to this…

Today I tasted the battle of the blends.  An epic battle royale between two iconic red wines made by Hester Creek Estate Winery.  Wines of phenomenal origin and destiny, The Judge and Garland are crafted from the best barrels in their cellar, and are an authentic expression of our South Okanagan terroir.  These are heavy bottles with solid corks. Their…

TIME Family of Wines has evolved since 2020 when Ron and Shelley Mayert became the owners.  Evolve Sparkling House is one of the labels under the TIME Family of Wines umbrella. Their aim is to ensure growth of the established business and reputation which has been carried by the McWatters family for decades. I received three sparkling and one still…

Today, I paired my third dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine.  The dish was the Marsala Braised Chicken with seasoned long grained rice.  The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Chardonnay 2024, and the red wine was the Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020 (85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot)…

Today I paired my second dish from Sous Chef by Cardinal™ with a red and a white wine.  The dish was Szechuan Braised Beef with seasoned long grained rice.  The white wine was the Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Interlude Pinot Gris 2024, which I tasted with the Chicken Tikka Masala.  I thought that this wine with its fruit flavour…

Benjamin Mitarakis, Director of Trade Development for Viña Concha y Toro discussing Viña Don Melchor I was recently honoured with the opportunity to sample iconic Cabernet wines by Chile’s Viña Don Melchor with food pairings at Riley’s Fish & Steak in downtown Vancouver. It was a fantastic evening with Benjamin Mitarakis, Director of Trade Development for Viña Concha y Toro,…