Category: Napa Valley

What is meant by a “Cru” in wine?  The term “Cru” is most often used for the French classification system, but the “Cru” concept can apply to any vineyard region recognized for their superior wine quality. My last seminar during the Vancouver International Wine Festival was on the topic of “cru”.  What it is and how it is expressed.  We…

While busily moving through the swell of people interested in tasting big Napa Cabs at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, I wedged myself into tables, and indeed tasted Napa Cabs, but also Pinot Noir, Merlot, Petite Sirah, etc. from various regions in California.  With the short amount of time I’m able to spend at each table, my tasting notes are…

As California was the theme region for VanWineFest 2019, you would expect Chardonnay to be prominent in my list of favourite white wines, and you would be right.  But there is also Viognier, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.  I put the region in California with the wine name if the winery shows a specific area.  If you like any of these…

As stated by the Vancouver International Wine Festival, “Cabernet Sauvignon is king in Napa Valley. Explore the quality and ageability of the region’s signature grape variety while savouring a 10-year retrospective from Napa’s finest. Taste for yourself why these wines are considered to be among the most coveted wines in the world.” Our Moderator was Anthony Gismondi.  We had a winery…

As you may know, the Vancouver International Wine Festival theme region is California, and the most well-known region within California is Napa Valley.  After you attend the Festival and taste some of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay that come from Napa, you may want to go there to visit the tasting rooms and experience more of what Napa has to…

What do you know about California wines?  Most people probably think of it as a place for high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines.  But that is not all there is to California wines.  There are many other wines available from California that are very enjoyable; some cool-climate wines like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. To help prepare you for the California wineries attending the…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival 2019 starts February 23.  A big part of the festival is attending the International Festival Tasting Room that has 160 wineries attending, pouring a total of 1450 wines.  How do you know which wineries you want to make sure you try?  California is the theme region, so there will be more wineries from there, compared…

This is Part 2 of my top rated wines for 2018.  I earlier released my list of 40 white and sparkling wines for 2018, which you can read at this link.  This red wine list came from Trade tastings with agents and BC VQA wineries, the Vancouver International Wine Festival, visits to wineries, and personal purchases.  I categorized the wines below to…

I tasted through many years this year through Trade tastings with agents and BC VQA wineries, the Vancouver International Wine Festival, visits to wineries, and personal purchases.  I rate all the wines I taste from 1 to 5 stars.  Fortunately, the quality of many wines is quite good, giving them at least a 3 out of 5-star rating.  At the…

We are very lucky to have Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars visit us at the VanWineFest 2019 and pour their wines for us.  Read about their achievements and wines they will be pouring in their own words. The New World Wine That Made the Wine World Notice Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, notably known for being the winery that won the Cabernet…