Category: bc

Did you know that Vina Carmen is Chile’s oldest winery, founded in 1850 by Christian Lanz, who named the winery after his wife, Carmen? The Carmenere grape variety was rediscovered at Carmen in 1994. In 1997 Carmen launched the first Chilean organic wine under the Nativa brand.  I remember buying the wine in WA state as it was not yet…

Today I was looking forward to the latest wine releases from Le Vieux Pin and La Stella wineries. In case you haven’t heard or tried wines from these two wineries, Le Vieux Pin makes wine in a French style, while La Stella takes the Italian route.  What do eggs have to do with this?  Read on about the wines first….

Emiliana Vineyards has become very well-known for their organic and biodynamic wines that they produce in the Colchagua Valley, Chile. I speak briefly with Fernando Pavon, Export Director about the winery and their wines.  Enjoy.

My last event at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival was “Speaking Frankly About Franc“. I was eagerly waiting for this seminar as I really enjoy drinking Cabernet Franc. A grape that is at home in Bordeaux and in the Loire Valley. It is used as a blending grape in Bordeaux, as a minor partner to Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot….

This evening was a night out with guy friends. One of my friends, of British origin, was interested to try out Bitter Tasting Room to see what interesting beers we could sample. The location is located on the western outskirts of Chinatown.  Hip industrial looking inside with ceiling to floor windows on the two outer walls. Their beer menu is…

I was very excited when I received two bottles of the latest releases from Painted Rock recently to review.  The two bottles being Painted Rock’s Syrah 2009 and their Merlot 2009.  Every year, I hear great things about Painted Rock’s wines and read about awards they have won.  Did you know that Painted Rock Estate Winery was ranked as the…

Even with the busy holiday season taking up our time, I was able to make a quick trip to Vancouver Island, and one of the things I did was visit the Chase & Warren Winery located in Port Alberni, BC.  I bet you didn’t know there were any wineries in Port Alberni, a place better known as a forestry town. …

David Scholefield and Michael Bartier are not new to wine in BC.  Michael Bartier was born and raised in the Okanagan and worked in the past for Hawthorne Mountain (See Ya Later Ranch), Township 7, Stag’s Hollow and most recently Road 13 Vineyards. He joins the team at Okanagan Crush Pad Winery as winemaker, where he and David produce their…

Meyer Family Vineyards goal is”crafting single vineyard wines of excellence“. This is my fourth review of their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines and each year their wines get better.  More complexity, more balance. For this review I received a bottle of the following wines: Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay, McLean Creek Road Vineyard, Okanagan Falls, 2010 Meyer Family Vineyards Tribute Series…

When people hear Napa Valley, they think big Cabernets.  Which is true, you can get some huge Cabernet Sauvignons there, but they also produce other wines, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.  Did you know that the Napa Valley is one-eighth the size of Bordeaux and produces just 4% of California’s wine grape harvest, and 95% of its wineries…