Category: merlot

Founded in 1981 by proprietor Anthony von Mandl, Mission Hill Family Estate has a solid reputation as a leader within the wine community that helped define the Okanagan Valley.  His winery won the Avery Trophy in 1994 for ‘Best Chardonnay in the World’ at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the United Kingdom and made the world take note…

In 2015, I only rated 7 wines with 5 stars.  There were many wines that came close to my idea of perfection in a glass, and many of these I gave 4.5 stars.  These are amazing wines still and I highly recommend purchasing any of them.  There are 77 wines that I classified as 4.5 stars.  All of these wines…

This is the second chance that I have had to taste and write about the wines from Serendipity Winery, in the Naramata Bench.  My previous review of Serendipity Winery’s wines is at this link.  The winery is managed and owned by Judy Kingston and her daughter Katie O’Kell.  They have 2 winery dogs, Toby and Whiskey, to greet you if…

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is one of the wineries from BC that both locals and visitors to our province know about.  I had guests once from New York state want to try Burrowing Owl wine.  Burrowing Owl has been a consistent producer and I was happy to try out the latest wines that they sent me to review. In 1993…

Who is Calliope Wines? The Wyse Family, founders of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, has a second label called Calliope, which pays homage to a tiny hummingbird found in southern British Columbia. The grapes for Calliope wines are sourced from local vineyards in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Their goal is to create expressive, fresh wines from each grape variety…

Sometimes you get some free time and can take a quick trip to the Okanagan.  That recently happened to me.  I wanted to visit at least 2 new wineries to me on this trip. I stayed in Kelowna, and checking the latest winery map, I saw that I have been to all in the area before, so I fixed my…

Which side of the Dordogne River do you sit?  Left Bank or Right Bank?  I ask this as I was presented with two bottles of Meritage; one from Time Estate and the other from McWatters Collection.  Both BC wines from the Okanagan Valley, and both Bordeaux blends, (but blends represented by styles from different sides of the Dordogne River). What is…

It is always a treat to sit down for a meal with a wine maker and have them tell you about their wines they are drinking with you, and enjoying with paired dishes.  Such was the case recently when I, and a few other media people, sat down with Grant Edmonds, winemaker of Sileni Estates from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand…

Definition of Impossible: Tasting all the great wines at Taste Washington.  With 232 wineries attending, according to my count, and 4 hours to taste, it is a daunting task.  I tried to divide my time about 40% tasting white wines, and 60% of the time tasting red wines, hoping that I would find some gems, which I did.  Below is…

Two curious red wines passed by my lips recently.  One, the Curious Beasts Blood Red Wine 2011 and the other the California Square Three Red Blend 2012.  Rarely do I see a bottle wrapped in paper or other material, other than some Riojas from Spain.  The Curious Beasts Blood Red wine comes in a very Halloween thought-provoking blood red and…