Category: organic

Farm Friends was a stand-up grazing event, organized by several BC wineries in response to the recent boycott on the importation of BC wine to Alberta.  The day of the event, held at Edible Canada, the Alberta government dropped the ban so that the event became more of a celebration of BC wine and pairing with Alberta products, like beef and bison. A Farmer’s…

40 Knots Vineyard & Estate Winery is a short sailing trip if you want from Vancouver to Comox on Vancouver Island.  Once there you can meet Layne Robert Craig and Brenda Hetman, a husband and wife couple, who have started this winery, and done so with very specific goals.  They want to craft wines following biodynamic farming methods.  They do…

Quinta de Soalheiro, a pioneer in the creation of Alvarinho wine in Melgaço, is an international benchmark for the wines of this grape variety, blending perfectly into the distinctive Minho landscape surrounding it. Located in Melgaço (Portugal’s northernmost point) it is protected by a range of mountains that create the conditions necessary for the best ripening of the Alvarinho grapes. History of the Family and the Brand…

Prosecco is the hot sparkling wine in the world.  According to Vinexpo CEO, Guillaume Deglise, “Prosecco sales would outgrow all other types of sparkling wine, increasing by over 36% over the next five years from 25.2m cases to 34.4m cases (or 412.8m bottles), giving the Italian fizz a 9.2% share of the global sparkling wine market.” Where is Prosecco Made?…

Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley (Image courtesy https://winebc.smugmug.com/Other/Okanagan-Valley/) We all can agree that BC’s Okanagan Valley is a special place.  Some of the things noted by winebc.org about the Okanagan Valley is “The Okanagan Valley lies in a rain shadow, between the Coastal and Monashee mountain ranges. This results in very low annual average rainfall. The area between Oliver…

Have you ever read the winemaker’s notes that is sometimes on the back label of a wine bottle or from the winery’s website then try to see if you can pick up the same aromas and flavours?  Or even more challenging, to taste the wine first on your own; making your own notes, then reading what the winemaker says about…

South African wines are well-known for going great with food.  The wines are a mix of the Old World and the New World styles.  Fruit forward, yet still restrained, plus enough structure and acidity to give you wines elegance. If you have not tried South African wines before you may want to try some for free, courtesy of the BCLDB. …

February 20, 2016 is the first day for the Vancouver International Wine Festival this year.  We are just about a month away.  Did you know that the tickets for events are open to the public?  Many events are sold out already, but if you buy sooner rather than later, you still have a chance at other events. One event that…

Natural wine is a hot topic in the wine world. Maybe you have not heard of it. There is some range of what is a “Natural” wine. It could fall into the organic, or biodynamic, or sustainable categories for some people.  During this seminar at Cornucopia, we had DJ Kearney, wine educator, writing and judge, give her perspective on Natural…

Do you remember reading your science books in school?  How dry the material could be and uninteresting?  Well sometimes, reading a book about the science and legislation about some topic in the world can be interesting.  Case in point, is this book, “Biodynamic, organic and Natural Winemaking: Sustainable Viticulture and Viniculture” by Britt & Per Karlsson.  I received a complementary…