Category: Kamloops

I met Ed and Vicki Collett from Harper’s Trail Winery at the Vancouver International Wine Festival before the winery officially opened.  That was 16 years ago.  I’ve been a fan of their wines, especially their Rieslings, and have been telling you, my readers, to try their wines and the wines from the Kamloops area.  It is with a sad heart…

In BC we relatively quickly learned that cooler climate grapes, like Riesling, did better in the north Okanagan, and warmer climate grapes, like Syrah, did better in the south Okanagan.  Similarly cooler climate grape varieties in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island.  And more.  But we have had a few decades now to further refine these generalized grape growing regions…

At the Vancouver International Wine Festival, in the Tasting Room, I did have a chance to go through a flight of Monte Creek Winery wines with Winemaker Galen Barnhardt.  Below is a discussion of the wines with Galen.  Mostly Galen speaking, which is how an interview should be.  Enjoy. Galen:  Here we have our sparkling Rosé.  It is 2020, from the…

At the Vancouver International Wine Festival, I spent time at the International Festival Tasting room on Thursday and Friday to taste as many wines as possible.  I published my Old World wine selections a few days ago and now it is time to give you my New World wine selections.  New World wines are typically categorized as being from the…

Every now and then everyone likes to have a make-over.  You do change over time and what fit once before no longer seems valid.  You may have new values and ideas that you want to bring forth.  I received this press release from Monte Creek Winery (was Monte Creek Ranch Winery) on their update.  A clean new logo.  I also…

On my way back to Vancouver from my trip around the interior of BC, I stopped by Monte Creek Ranch Winery, just east of Kamloops to get an updated tasting of some of their wines.  Wines do change in the bottle over time.  They have a nice tasting room that looks northward.  Across the highway, you can see some of…

The 2020 harvest and the days and months leading up to it will surely be marked in our minds. Starting in March we had the shutdown of our economy and quarantining to keep us safe from COVID.  In the summer there were major fires in California and Oregon, with the smoke travelling up to British Columbia.  Then in October the…

Now that the 2020 Harvest is finished for many wineries, it is time for winemakers to start moving around.  Today’s announcement comes from Harper’s Trail in Kamloops about their new winemaker, Sébastien Hotte, who joined at the start of the 2020 Harvest. ~~~ [Kamloops, BC] Just in time for the 2020 Harvest, Sébastien Hotte joined the team at Harper’s Trail…

In BC we love to celebrate the success of our wineries both locally and abroad.  Monte Creek Winery in Kamloops is one winery in our newer wine regions, the Thompson Valley, that is having success and would like to share that wine experience with you.  Here is the announcement of their latest wine awards, and how you can purchase their…

Canadian Thanksgiving is going to be very different this year for many of us who are accustomed to getting together with our parents, brothers and sister, and maybe aunts and uncles for dinner.  It will be smaller, and may be just you, but you can still enjoy your turkey, ham, or vegan Thanksgiving meal with a glass or two of…