Category: france

Burgundy and Bordeaux; two famous wine regions in France with different grapes, red and white.  Back here in BC, you can grow the grapes from both regions and produce wine.  Burgundy is famous for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while Bordeaux for their blends, which may contain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere.  SpierHead Winery recently sent…

Portfolio tastings with a wine agency is always very fun and interesting as you get to taste the range of their wines and spirits at one time.  This was my first Charton Hobbs Portfolio tasting, so I was not aware of all the wines and spirits that they handled.  I was quite impressed.  They arranged the wines by table, with…

Have you ever heard of a portfolio tasting?  Most people probably have not, unless you attend wine tastings on a fairly regular basis.  A portfolio tasting is when a wine agency, like Select Wines & Spirits, pours their selection of wine (and spirits) in a casual (usually) walk-about fashion, where you can taste the wines and talk with the rep…

This is the second year of the Wine Campus at Okanagan Crush Pad.  The wine campus is a program to foster the education of professionals in the wine industry. Okanagan Crush Pad makes an annual donation of $5,000 to the BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF) which goes toward a scholarship for students enrolled in a recognized and accredited wine program with…

This past week, the Seacove Group, a wine agency located in Vancouver, brought over 5 winery principals from Europe to show us a range of their wines.  Strolling through the cobbled Gastown streets, between restaurants, one could imagine you were in Europe.  The winery principals and the participating restaurants, hosting the principals are: Champagne de Vonage, Epernay, France,  Mr. Gilles…

With every season, there is either grape growing, harvesting, vinification, aging, or bottling of wine. Recently I was happy to do some tasting in Vancouver of recently bottled wines from Le Vieux Pin and La Stella wineries.  These two wineries from South Okanagan offer different styles of wines; Le Vieux Pin being produced in a more restrained French style, while…

I look forward to the Import Vintners & Spirits Association (IVSA) Trade tasting.  You get to try the new wines, liquor, and beer coming into the BC market, and be the first to tell you what to search out in your local wine shop, or BC government liquor store.  With the latest IVSA, here are my picks.  I hope you…

Chardonnay, a grape variety that can cause great disparity in wine drinkers.  There are many that fall into the “Anything But Chardonnay” camp, and others that love that it can have many different expressions; depending on the climate, soil, and the hands of the winemaker.  Some people do not even know they are drinking Chardonnay, but really enjoy French Chablis or…

The first time you walk into the International Festival Tasting Room can be intimidating, with 175 wineries pouring 3 or more wines each, you have at least 525 wines to try.  But over time, you become a wine tasting veteran like me, setting up a strategy, checking out the background of some wineries you may not have heard of before,…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival has come and gone, but memories of the event still run through my head.  One event that I think about was the Chateau Olivier dinner at Le Gavroche downtown.  If you have not been to Le Gavroche, it is a small 2 story building located at 1616 Alberni St.  It has that small restaurant charm.  I…