Category: chardonnay

Blue Grouse Estate Winery from Vancouver Island has changed hands a few times.  The latest owners are the second and third-generation Jackson family (California) members Katie Jackson, Julia Jackson, Chris Jackson, Hailey Jackson-Hartford Murray, and MacLean Hartford.  The family sees tremendous potential in Cowichan’s cool-climate maritime winegrowing region and plans to embolden the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.  I have…

Last year I was tasting through Ontario Cabernet Franc wines, and I adored the wines from Wending Home Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Vineyard, so I had great expectations when I received Chardonnay wines to review as part of my Ontario Chardonnay Review study.  I was not disappointed.  These are excellent wines.  In case you wanted to know about the…

I’ve been tasting and writing about Chardonnay recently, so I thought I would change things up and write about some other wines.  I received several wines from Vancouver Island’s Blue Grouse Estate Winery and decided to start with their Rosé 2024 and their Pinot Gris 2024.  These are from estate grown grapes and select partner vineyards.  Vancouver Island is really…

The next Chardonnay that I am tasting for my Ontario Chardonnay Review comes from Henry of Pelham.  I received four bottles of their Chardonnay wines.  Today I am tasting two of them: Henry of Pelham Family Estate Classic Chardonnay 2025 and the Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay 2023.  The winery follows Sustainable Winemaking Ontario’s world-leading standards in their farming…

I started my wine tasting at the International Festival Tasting Room during VanWineFest 2026 with French white and sparkling wines.  Below are my favourite white and sparkling wines.  I noticed after making my list that almost all the wines are made from the Chardonnay grape.  I am not sure how many of these wines are still available for purchase, but…

For my Ontario Chardonnay Review, Cave Spring Vineyard sent me four bottles of their various Chardonnay wines.  In my previous article I reviewed two of the wines and I am now reviewing the remaining two wines.  This winery is one of the pioneers in the area, having been around for four decades.  They are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario and…

Many people imagine Champagne as a pale lemon-coloured wine with fine bubbles and some combination of aromas and flavours of citrus, apple, nuts, oak, and brioche. But, Champagne is also available as a Rosé wine, giving it a different flavour profile, typically of red fruits, a little more body, and larger bubbles, from the use of Pinot Noir as the…

My next set of Ontario Chardonnay wines to review comes from Cave Spring Vineyard.  This winery is one of the pioneers in the area, having been around for four decades.  They are certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario and their wines are also vegan-friendly.  The two wines I received to review are Cave Spring Vineyard Chardonnay 2024 (coming from a selection…

On a lighter tone, at VanWineFest 2026, I had a chance to attend a walk-about lunch at LaSalle College Vancouver; French bistro fare prepared and served by LaSalle students, while sampling a selection of French wines representing seven French wine regions.  Below is a list of the French wines followed by the menu.  No wine reviews here, just some general…

Do you know about the long history of Domaine Laroche in Chablis, France?  I interviewed Romain Chevrolat from Domaine Laroche in the International Festival Tasting Room during the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026.  Listen in as Romain tells us about their winery.  He makes fantastic wines, BTW.