Category: bc

Bench 1775 Winery, located on the Naramata Bench north of Penticton, had GM and winemaker Val Tait, join in the winter of 2012.  Her goal is to make pure, varietal-specific wines that reflect the planted clone varieties, the vineyard sites, and the microclimates of the fruit’s origin.   Val has a great resume, making wines at Poplar Grove, Painted Rock, and…

This is the fourth year that Wines of British Columbia have held a competition of two types of wines, e.g. Riesling and Syrah, from BC and blind judged them against other Riesling and Syrah from around the world to see how well our wines rate.  We have been doing very well scoring in the top 10 always.  Sometimes first place.  This…

Have you ever tried any BC wines from the Fraser Valley?  Have you ever tried the cuisine from Forage Restaurant in downtown Vancouver?  If you have said “no” to one or both questions, I have a way you can experience both at the same time.  Singletree Winery in Abbotsford is having a Long Table Dinner featuring dishes prepared by Forage…

BC VQA wines are released twice a year; once in the Fall and then in the Spring.  The Fall wines tend to show more white wines, as well as Pinot Noir, while the Spring event has more red wines.  This tasting I was able to taste many fine white wines as well as some surprising reds.  The Okanagan Valley is…

If you have never tasted the wines from Blue Grouse Estate Winery, now is your chance.  I have reviewed this winery several times and quite enjoy their wines (my past reviews), in particular their Pinot Noir. This winery is located in the Duncan area of Vancouver Island.  Come and try their wines for free at Marquis Wine Cellars on Sept…

It is the time of the season for wild salmon to start arriving at our BC rivers.  To celebrate this event, the Chefs’ Table Society of BC is putting on a special dinner, featuring our super natural, fresh salmon.  I love to pair my salmon with Pinot Noir.  Below is the press release about the event.  It sounds delicious.  Get…

Kamloops is a hot place in the summer, where grapes can grow and excellent wine can be made.  But it also can have very cold winters which can harm the grape vines.  It is a gamble to have a winery here, but sometimes the rewards outweigh the risk.  I have been told that at the edge of possibility is where…

Winemaker’s CUT is a boutique winery south of Oliver, BC owned by Michal and Martina Mosny.  They undertake sustainable farming, hand harvest their grapes, adhere to zero pesticides, low sulphur use, and let the wines develop naturally to express the characteristics indicative of their Deadman Lake Vineyard.  Michal and Martina are originally from Slovakia and have set their roots here in…

The Monte Creek Ranch Winery is located just east of Kamloops in the new GI of the Thompson Valley.  A region with cold winters, requires hardy grapes.  Monte Creek Ranch has a variety of red and white hybrid grapes that can stand these winters.  I talk about these grapes in the tasting notes for the wines.  And they also grow…

This was my first portfolio tasting for Amo Vino Distributors, a small boutique wine agency co-founded by Marisa Varas and Jessica Luongo.  Their wines are primarily from Europe, but there are also some California and BC wines to be found.  The wines from Greece and Portugal figure prominently, along with their country’s indigenous grapes.  You won’t find a huge list…