Category: pinot noir

Privato Vineyard & Winery is about as far north as you can get in BC for growing vitis vinifera.  In an earlier visit to Kamloops, I was told by owners John and Debbie Woodward that the hills to the north of them cannot successfully grow grapes.  Their vineyard is right at the limit of what is possible.  But what is…

Harper’s Trail Estate Winery was the first to produce wine in the Kamloops area using grapes from their Thadd Springs estate vineyard. A vineyard that has a vein of limestone running through it.  Limestone which offers calcium to the vines which aids in water retention in the soil plus easier nutrient uptake, and help maintain acidity in grapes late in…

Taking a last-minute trip to Kamloops before summer holidays was a great idea.  Over two days you can very pleasantly visit the four wineries that are in the area, plus do some sightseeing and enjoy a few meals at the variety of restaurants in the city.  My first stop was to Monte Creek Ranch Winery which is located about a…

I keep mentioning about wineries on Vancouver Island as they give you a different profile of wine compared to what we are more familiar with coming from the Okanagan.  You are not going to find a big Cabernet Sauvignon produced on Vancouver Island, at least under the current cool climate.  Aromatic white wines and Pinot Noir are the stars on…

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery is located in West Kelowna, not too far away from Mission Hill Family Estate Winery.  It has been around for many years (winery started in 2001 with the vineyards in 1968) and I have recommended their wines in the past.  I still have a bottle of their 2003 Summit Reserve Semillon, which was aged in oak…

I am always interested to hear about the growing season and grape harvest for wine regions around the world.  Earlier this week I received a press release from the Napa Valley Grapegrowers letting us all know that harvest is underway and I post it for you below to read.  I look forward to trying some of their white wines next…

This is the third release from Winemaker’s CUT from Oliver, BC by Michal and Martina Mosny.  I congratulate them on their dedication to these small production wines and the quality that they deliver in the bottle.  They undertake sustainable farming, hand harvest their grapes, adhere to zero pesticides, low sulphur use, and let the wines develop naturally to express the characteristics of…

The Canada Day long weekend celebration is this weekend.  Picnics and bbq and generally getting together with friends and family will happen.  Enjoying this scene with Canadian wine would make it even better in my opinion.  Below is a list of Canadian wines I tasted over the past year that I think would be fun to have this long weekend. …

Trying to figure out something to do for your dad, husband, or significant other for Father’s Day this weekend?  How about a day trip to the Fraser Valley, to visit Singletree Winery near Abbotsford?  They just announced the release of their first traditional method sparkling wine.  The wine is made in a very limited quantity, so take the short trip…

The Monte Creek Ranch Winery may not be familiar to you as it is not in one of the more well-known grape growing regions of BC, like the Okanagan.  It is in the Thompson Valley, just east of Kamloops.  It is a ranch with cattle, but it primarily grows grapes and produces wines.  The Thompson Valley does have to deal…