Category: Okanagan

Here is my last wine review for 2015.  It has been an amazing year of trying wines from around the world, and meeting with wine makers from around the world.  BC’s winery list continues to grow, and winery regions as well.  I look forward to what surprises 2016 will offer us.  Happy New Year with much prosperity to all my…

Harry McWatters is a leader in the British Columbia wine industry for the past 40+ years. In 1980, he founded BC’s first estate winery, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, and later started See Ya Later Ranch Estate Winery in 1995.  He purchased and planted vines on his Sundial Vineyard on Black Sage Road in 1993. Harry is the owner of TIME Estate…

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…

Cornucopia weekends are chock full of activities; tasting room events, like Cellar Door Grand Tasting, and seminars like “Stars of South Africa“.  I was able to attend these two events, and would like to share my experience with you, and maybe get you interested to sign up for this upcoming weekend at Cornucopia in Whistler. Cellar Door Grand Tasting What…

We all want to age gracefully.  The exuberance of fruit in young wines, while very enjoyable, can lead to more interesting flavours and aromas over time.  Riesling is one of the white wines that is known to be able to age well and improve with time.  It was with great appreciation that I received a vertical of Old Vines Riesling…

What is Soil? Isn’t that a strange question?  We walk on it, build things on it, grow vegetables in it, but what is soil? Soil is a very important part of the BC Riesling Review as this is where the nutrients for the Riesling grapes come from.  I will try to keep this article interesting without being too dry and…

The hard part of the BC Riesling Review is done.  I tasted through 35 wines over a period of 3 months.  I can say that it has been a very interesting experience.  Below are the notes.  I tasted each wine two times.  The first time was as soon as I poured the wine in my glass.  The second time was…