Category: Muscat

It has been four years since I last attended Taste Washington in Seattle.  COVID shut down the event, but now Taste Washington is back and maybe even better.  This is the event where you can taste the wide variety of wines made across Washington state, without having to drive yourself.  Winery focus seems to have changed.  During my tasting time,…

Have you ever tried an “orange wine” before?  An orange wine is a wine made with white grapes that have extended skin contact like is done for red grapes to extract colour and tannins from those grapes.  While white grape skin does not have much colour to extract, you do get some orange colour plus tannins from the skins.  At…

François Schmitt took over the family winery in Alsace, Domaine François Schmitt, joined by his son, Frédéric, in 1998, and his wife, Myriam in 2010. I spoke with Frédéric and Myriam about their wines.  Frédéric views their wines as gastronomic, built for food.  Today I tasted all still wines, but they also make a significant amount of cremant wines.  One…

Summer is coming, although it may not feel like that at the moment.  Many of you will flock to a beach or park and enjoy wine in a glass or an insulated glass as I showed in my picture.  Canned wines seem to be the go-to beverage to take on these outings, and many BC wineries are canning their VQA…

With all the seriousness in the world happening, it is nice to be able to step away for a few minutes to enjoy life.  I have two bottles of wine from Blasted Church Vineyards in the Okanagan from their Renaissance series, their best sellers, that are easy to sip and help you relax a bit.  One is a white blend…

How would you like a fresh white sipping wine that reminds you of ripe fruits from the Okanagan and elsewhere? I have that for you with Valley Commons 2020 Harvest Table Wine. A blend of 56% Muscat, 22% Viognier, and 22% Chardonnay grapes. I can see this wine being enjoyed with some soft cheeses and bread with friends. I also…

I have two interesting finesse wines from Gerard Bertrand from the sunny south of France.  Gerard Bertrand’s Orange Gold 2020 is an organic wine made with a blend of Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Mauzac, Muscat, and Clairette with skin contact.  The other wine is the Gerard Bertrand An 806 AOP Corbieres 2017 a Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre red blend.  One…

It was about 18 months ago since I, and other wine trade people, were able to get together and taste BC wines.  We all arrived wearing masks. Some of us with different haircuts, glasses, etc., so you may have to guess who some of the people are.  Luckily we were able to connect and share a few stories before we…

By Chadsey Cairns Rubenesque Rosé 2019 (ON $) Another VQA beauty here By Chadsey Cairns Rubenesque Rosé 2019 – perfect with spicy foods, insightful yoga books, or a patio – take your pick! First off, the colour on this is striking. Made from Gamay Noir and Muscat Ottonel, this rosé has aromas of strawberries, rhubarb and lilacs. It has a…

Do you like white wines with skin contact? These “natural” style wines are becoming more common. I have two wines from Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery and their Modest Wines line. One is “the elder vicar 2019” which is a blend of Muscat, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling co-fermented, while the other is “no. 4 orange 2020” from Pinot Gris grapes…