Category: chardonnay

Sometimes two different wineries or wine families get together in partnership to form a new winery, such as Almaviva, which is a joint venture established in the late 1990s between Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and the Guilisasti/Larrain family, theowners of Concha y Toro.  Another example is Chateau Ste. Michelle of Washington state and Ernst Loosen of Germany, creating Eroica Riesling. …

If you enjoy BC sparkling wine, you may be interested to find out which wine was named the best sparkling wine at the All Canadian Wine Championships this year.  It is Noble Ridge’s 2019 The One.  Here is the press release about their win, as written by the winery. Okanagan Falls, BC [July 7, 2026] Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery…

This is the final article for my Ontario Chardonnay Review.  I’ve reviewed the wines, compiled tasting notes, identified soils associated with the participating wineries, and identified the weather conditions for each vintage.  Are there any similarities between wines produced on the same soil type, and are there any similarities between wines produced in the same year, and finally are there…

I have been interviewing Ontario winery principals for many years about their harvest and the growing season.  Weather and growing conditions can vary widely from year to year.  For my Ontario Chardonnay Review I tried to get wines that were from one or two growing seasons.  Most of the wines I received came from 2023 and 2024, with a few…

Soil is one of the important factors influencing the aromas and flavours produced by wine grapes.  For my Ontario Chardonnay Review, I checked with the Government of Canada National Soil Database (NSDB) Soils of Ontario to determine the soil types associated with each of the Ontario wineries that provided their bottle(s) of Chardonnay.  Using the free, open source, computer mapping…

The last Chardonnay to review for my Ontario Chardonnay Review is a sparkling wine made by  Drea’s Wine Co. which produces small batch, single vineyard, low intervention wines.  Drea’s wines are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario.  I really enjoyed tasting Drea’s Cabernet Franc wines when I undertook my Ontario Cabernet Franc Review last year.  Let me tell you about the latest…

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received four bottles of different Chardonnay produced by Ontario’s Henry of Pelham winery.  I previously tasted their more entry level wines: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023.  These wines were under screwcap.  The next two wines that I just tasted…

The FIFA World Cup starts June 11, 2026, with Canada’s first game on June 12th against Bosnia and Herzegovina.  As we play and win games, which sparkling wine will you be drinking to celebrate our wins? Champagne Taittinger has been awarded the Official Champagne of the FIFA World Cup 2026.  Their special edition FIFA Brut Reserve Champagne is available across…

Created through a collaboration between Provence Marinaside and Haywire Winery, this newly released, limited edition, Brut Nature Sparkling wine is all about purity, precision, and place. Crafted from 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay grown at Haywire’s organically farmed Garden Valley Ranch estate vineyard in the high-altitude Okanagan, the wine carries a subtle shade of pink in the glass. Bottled…

Ontario’s Dobbin Estate Winery does not talk a lot about itself.  It lets their wines do the talking.   Last year I tasted their Dobbin Estate Cabernet Blend 2020, which I rated as one of my top wines for 2025.  They are located on the highly acclaimed Twenty Mile Bench, and they note their calcium-rich soils are ideal for producing Chardonnay,…