Category: bc

Finally, the sunny, warm weather is with us here in BC. Winter was dreadful, but now we can get out on the patio and enjoy some freshly vinified BC white wine. The 2016 harvest was very good in BC and produced wines with good flavour character and acidity. Recently I attended the Bloom BC VQA Spring Release Tasting and tasted…

This is my second year attending Top Drop Vancouver, where small-scale producers from around the world show us their hand crafted wines. According to Top Drop, “Our focus is terroir-influenced, handcrafted wines, and the people behind them. W e believe in the importance in farming one’s own fruit and/or being constantly engaged with grape-growers to ensure sustainability and a high…

The Victoria Day long weekend is underway, and the weather reports are sun for Vancouver.  Hurray!  That means you can get out on your patio, fire up the bbq, and enjoy a glass or two of wine.  But which wine would give a nod to our past Queen Victoria?  You could purchase some expensive sparkling wine from Great Britain, such…

Should you stock up on the red and white wines from BC’s 2016 vintage?  BC wines are known for their fruit flavours and their accompanying natural acidity.  But the 2016 started very early and hot in the Spring, with bud break being the earliest on record.  In the Okanagan bud break was as much as six weeks early. Would this…

As Spring has sprung, Road 13 Vineyards and other wineries in BC will be opening their tasting rooms to the public.  Below is a press release from Road 13 Vineyards about their various tastings and other upcoming events.  Enjoy! ~~~     Spring has Arrived at Road 13 Vineyards Enjoy New Vintages, Extended Hours, an Early Start Wine Experience and Preview to…

Who doesn’t like a bottle of bubbles?  BC makes some very nice bubble; thinking about Summerhill, Blue Mountain, Stoneboat, Bella, and many others.  But besides BC, there is lots of bubble from around the world to appreciate.  We all think of Champagne for example, but many people may think that they cannot afford it, but they can now.  Read on!…

Canada should be proud of its recent wine history.  We started getting serious about vitis vinifera in the 1970s.  BC and Ontario started growing wine grapes and producing wines.  Nova Scotia and Quebec have followed, and I heard, but have not seen, that there are also wines being produced in New Brunswick.  Our climate since the 1970s has warmed up…

Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley (Image courtesy https://winebc.smugmug.com/Other/Okanagan-Valley/) We all can agree that BC’s Okanagan Valley is a special place.  Some of the things noted by winebc.org about the Okanagan Valley is “The Okanagan Valley lies in a rain shadow, between the Coastal and Monashee mountain ranges. This results in very low annual average rainfall. The area between Oliver…

Did you know that Upper Bench Estate Winery in Penticton, BC also makes their own cheese?  A match made for any wine lover.  I knew, but hadn’t had the chance to try their cheese together with their wines. I was fortunate to have them send me some of their King Cole Blue cheese, which I dutifully tried with each one…

Who is Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond from Evolve Cellars? From the Evolve Cellars website, “Christa-Lee has been part of the BC wine industry since birth. Growing up as the daughter of BC wine ambassador Harry McWatters instilled in her a true appreciation for and love of wine – which included her making wine when she was 9 years old (not for public consumption, of course). She…