Category: france

January 29th, 2025 is the Chinese (Lunar) New Year of the Earth Snake. In the Chinese zodiac, the snake is associated with wisdom, charm, elegance, and transformation. Snakes represent the symbol of wisdom. They are intelligent and wise. They are good at communication but say little. Snakes are usually regarded as great thinkers. Some famous people born in the Year…

The holidays are a time when many of us get together with family or friends to enjoy a meal together; hopefully with a glass of wine.  Here are a few last-minute suggestions of wines you can pair with traditional dishes for the holidays.  Enjoy. Wine Pairings for Roast Turkey – Chardonnay: A lightly oaked Chardonnay complements the rich flavours of…

When you buy wine in a BC Liquor store, you don’t think about how the wine was selected for the shelves.  Behind the scenes are many wine agencies that search for wines from around the world, to build their portfolio, and have some of their portfolio sold through BC Liquor stores with the remaining wines, usually specialty wines, sold in…

Hervé Martin, the celebrated chef and owner of The French Table bistro on Main Street, is welcoming lovers of French cuisine back to his beloved restaurant after an unexpected twist in his retirement journey.  He trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in France and then went on to work in the elite kitchens of three Michelin-starred establishments in Switzerland and France. Hervé…

You may not have heard of Jean-Claude Mas but his family began growing grapes in the south of France in 1892.  Jean-Claude gained experience in the wine business and education around the world, coming back to the family business when he inherited his father’s vineyards in Pézénas of 35 hectares.  In 2000 he created Les Domaines Paul Mas from these…

Recently VinsAlsace visited Vancouver and brought a range of their Alsatian wines from sparkling, light-bodied and dry wines to full-body, thicker, rich-flavoured wines. They wanted to let us know in this Trade tasting that the variation in the rocks and soil brings different personalities to their wines.  The soils are quite varied with granite, limestone, marl-limestone, clay-marl, marl-limestone-sandstone, sandstone, volcanic,…

It is Aug-uary in Vancouver.  I cannot see the north shore mountains and the clouds are covering the tops of the concrete towers that are spread across the lower mainland.  Red wines are on my horizon. So I dipped into my wine cellar and decided to open two red wines from Europe.  The first wine is CVNE Viña Real Crianza…

It is not often that I have a chance to taste aged red Bordeaux wines.  I purchased 5 wines in the past during the Bordeaux releases.  Four wines are from the Right Bank of Bordeaux and one is from the Left Bank.  The wines’ vintages are either 2005 or 2008, which makes the wines, 16 and 19 years old.  I’ve…

Crémant is a category of sparkling wines in France made using the same traditional method as Champagne but produced outside the Champagne region. This delightful bubbly offers a high-quality, often more affordable alternative to its famous counterpart while showcasing the unique characteristics of various French wine regions. Like Champagne, Crémant can also be white or rosé in colour. What is…

Gérard Bertrand‘s Le Chouchou 2023 is the winery’s answer to new consumer trends, producing a light, fresh red wine.  It has low alcohol content and can be enjoyed at a cooler temperature.  It sits somewhere between a rosé and a fuller-bodied red wine, IMHO.  This wine is a blend of organic Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault grapes coming from Cevennes, Limoux,…