Category: pinot noir

We have had some turmoil in Canada and in BC for wines in 2025.  Many BC interior wineries suffered from the 2024 cold snap causing them to either not produce any wine in 2024, or importing grapes from across the border, or from Ontario.  We also had the removal of USA wines from BC government liquor stores.  Overall, we had…

It will soon be New Year’s eve and many of us will open a bottle of sparkling wine.  I have two bottles of sparkling wine from BC’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars for you to consider.  I received their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Gold Label Brut 2022 and their Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Brut Rosé R.D. 2022.  R.D….

I saved my last two wines from Domaine Artema Winery to be their Village Sparkling Rosé 2024 and their La Petite Mort (port style), NV, dessert wine.  These two wines can cover the start and end of a delicious dinner.  I did not decant either wine.  In the first case, you don’t want the delicious bubbles in your sparkling wine…

Today, I’m easing us into the colder weather with a 2024 Rosé and a Gamay wine made by Oliver’s Domaine Artema Winery.  Gamay is a red wine grape with less tannins and more acidity, making it easier to sip on its own as well as being food friendly.  The Rosé wine uses Pinot Noir primarily with a substantial amount of…

I was privileged to be invited to attend the “Iconic Wineries of British Columbia” Holiday Preview this week, held at the Holt Renfrew, in downtown Vancouver.  We sampled selections from Mission Hill Family Estate, Martin’s Lane, CheckMate Artisanal Winery, CedarCreek Estate Winery, Liquidity Wines, and Road 13 Vineyards.  There were red, white, rose, and sparkling wines, along with canapes, made by the chefs from…

Earlier this summer, I had a chance to visit Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, BC.  I have admired their wines since they started, and I’ve been letting wine lovers know that they are producing excellent wines in Lillooet.  There are two wines that I did not have a chance to try on my visit.  Luckily, co-owner, Heleen Pannekoek, gave…

Here in British Columbia, we love our local wines. But a question always lingers in the minds of serious wine lovers: how do our favourites truly stack up against the world’s established benchmarks? To try to answer that question, I attended the seven stars Masterclass hosted by Township 7 Vineyards & Winery who are celebrating 25 years of producing sparkling…

Did you know that Nk’Mip Cellars is North America’s first Indigenous-owned winery?  An enterprise of the Osoyoos Indian Band, the winery’s core identity is linked to the land, its Syilx heritage, and a mission to express its culture through internationally award-winning wines. The winery’s mission is to express its cultural identity and history in every aspect of its operation and…

This article follows my previous article where I covered the topics of the South Australian wine masterclass where we learned about a land where some of the oldest vines and soils on earth provide the foundation for modern innovation, collaborative energy, and a profound respect for the environment. As part of the masterclass we tasted seven wines from this region;…

This week we had a trade event featuring the latest BC white wines, many from 2024, as well as some red wines.  In 2024 we had a terrible winter freeze that killed most of the grape vines in the interior of BC, so BC wineries were given permission from the BC government to source grapes from outside BC.  Many winemakers…