Category: france

The Wines of British Columbia shone at The Judgment of BC Wine Tasting with Steven Spurrier and DJ Kearney today.  Steven Spurrier, the Consultant Editor at Decanter magazine, headed the famous Judgement of Paris in 1976 (which was made into the movie “Bottle Shock”).  The Judgement of Paris carried out two blind tasting comparisons: one of Chardonnays and another of…

Trying to think of an exceptional quality wine to buy for someone in your family or a special friend?  I have a few suggestions from the wines that I tasted over this past year.  These wines cover all regions of the world, and have different price points.  There should be something for everyone to love.  16 white and sparkling wines,…

I am privileged to try so many wines from around the world each year, here in Vancouver.  Sparkling, rose, red, white, and fortified wines have all passed my lips.  And for some instances there is a wine that stops you in your tracks, all your senses become heightened as they focus on the spectacular wine in your glass.  I would…

The Christmas holidays and New Years Eve are fast approaching, and with that, you will probably be invited to parties, or invite people over to your party.  But what wines to serve?  I always like to have at least one sparkling wine at my parties, usually served at the start of the evening.  There are a ton of choices of…

I had not heard of Domaine Saint Jean du Barroux until recently;  a winery located between the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux in the Southern Rhone, owned by Oenologist, winemaker/grower, Philippe Gimel. A tiny vineyard with 4 of 16 hectares covered with fruit trees and shrubbery.  The remaining 12 hectares of vineyards are planted along an eroded fault line…

“The Hart House Restaurant really cares about their food and user experience”, I thought as I sat there on a Saturday night with my dining companion.  The white cotton patterned table-cloth, the beautifully decorated rooms, the knowledgeable servers, the beautifully plated food, all caught my attention. I came as a guest to try their Seafood Celebration Prix Fixe menu, which…

A portfolio tasting is a great place for a restaurateur, liquor store staff, and wine media, like me, to find out about the latest vintages of wines, and brand new wines, for a wine agent’s portfolio.  With a change in season, for example, restaurants may want to change their cooked dishes, and to these dishes they should match up /…

At a certain quality level of wine, which typically comes from wineries that have decided to spend the extra effort on selecting grapes from the best vineyard plots, hand picking and sorting the grapes, and letting the grapes express themselves in the wine without an over agressive human hand, you get shades of perfection (note that I am not talking…

One of the definitions in The Free Dictionary of “portfolio” is “A group of investments held by an investor, investment company, or financial institution.” I thought that for a wine & spirits agency those bottles of wines and spirits are an investment to them.  They search out and try to find value, and then share these gems with the public. …

Everyone probably knows what is Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay wine if it is mentioned.  But there are many grape varieties that maybe not that well known, outside of the wine geeks like me.  Time for that to change.  Mt. Boucherie Family Estate Winery, located in West Kelowna, near Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, has been producing wines from well-known as…