Category: france

It’s been two years since we last tasted wines from around the world at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  During COVID grapevines produced grapes and wine was made but may have been a little harder than normal to get workers in the vineyard and in the winery.  Below are my Old World wine selections.  Most of the vintages are 2020…

Sparkling wine is very versatile to pair with many foods.  But some people may not think that applies to Champagne.  But it does.  Champagne comes in many different styles giving you many opportunities to try a bottle with something that you have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or with snacks on your patio.  Here are a few suggestions from Comité…

Top Drop Vancouver 2022 was on May 10 and 11.  Part of the event was a large tasting room, with 40 wineries presenting a selection of their wines.  There was also to my great happiness, cider as well, which I will get to later in this article.  Top Drop Canada puts on this event yearly (except during the COVID shutdown),…

Have you ever heard of Top Drop Vancouver?  It is a festival where 40 hand-selected wineries from around the world come to Vancouver and pour their wines for you.  These wineries have to have a certain level of quality and status in order for them to be invited so that you know you are going to enjoy premium wines. Yes,…

Winemaking has been around for hundreds of years.  We are very familiar with wines coming from Europe, in particular France, where we talk about Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne.  We typically call Europe the “Old World” wine region, while wines made from the southern hemisphere, are known as the “New World“, plus North America.  But where did the grapes come from…

Do you know how wine producers in Champagne, France are working to combat climate change and be more sustainable? See below for some key highlights and initiatives from the region: Champagne was the first wine-growing region in the world to implement a carbon footprint assessment and identify the main sources of emissions. Since the region’s carbon footprint plan was enacted…

Anthony Rose writes a weekly column on wine for The Independent and teaches wine in schools for the Leiths School of Food & Wine, along with writing for Decanter magazine and much more.  The goal in his book, FIZZ! Champagne and Sparkling Wines of the World has been to “…shine a light on this new sparkling wine phenomenon beyond the…

It is hard to believe that Provence Marinaside will be open for 20 years, on Feb 20, 2022.  It does not seem that long, plus to have that longevity shows how much they care about their food and guests, and guests care about Provence Marinaside.  I’ve read that 70% of independent restaurants close at the end of their first year,…

Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, is quickly approaching, and with it, expectations, such as having a nice meal, whether at home (due to COVID), or out at a restaurant.  Wine is always appreciated with a meal.  Some wines though are viewed more on the romantic side.  I have a few wines for you that I think would be very nice to…

In 2021 we stayed at home mostly, with little travel, usually local, due to COVID.  I’ve read that sales of wine, beer and spirits had increased in 2021.  I wondered a bit more about the wines we were drinking across Canada.  For example, was Chardonnay the top white wine in BC or Nova Scotia?  Was Ontario the top consumer of…