Category: pinot noir

We all love drinking our BC wines.  Although we do have a hotter climate in the South Okanagan, we still are overall a fairly cool climate region, doing well with aromatic white varieties, along with Pinot Noir and Gamay, as you move north or along the coast.  Our mountainous interior limits the extent of our vineyards but if you cross the…

Have you ever tried tasting wines from differently shaped glasses?  There is a difference in aroma intensity and flavour.  RIEDEL in association with Atkinson’s is having a special wine tasting event where you can sample some wines using a new line of wine glasses.  As a bonus, you get to take 4 glasses home with you.  The details of the…

If you have never tasted the wines from Blue Grouse Estate Winery, now is your chance.  I have reviewed this winery several times and quite enjoy their wines (my past reviews), in particular their Pinot Noir. This winery is located in the Duncan area of Vancouver Island.  Come and try their wines for free at Marquis Wine Cellars on Sept…

Kamloops is a hot place in the summer, where grapes can grow and excellent wine can be made.  But it also can have very cold winters which can harm the grape vines.  It is a gamble to have a winery here, but sometimes the rewards outweigh the risk.  I have been told that at the edge of possibility is where…

The Monte Creek Ranch Winery is located just east of Kamloops in the new GI of the Thompson Valley.  A region with cold winters, requires hardy grapes.  Monte Creek Ranch has a variety of red and white hybrid grapes that can stand these winters.  I talk about these grapes in the tasting notes for the wines.  And they also grow…

This was my first portfolio tasting for Amo Vino Distributors, a small boutique wine agency co-founded by Marisa Varas and Jessica Luongo.  Their wines are primarily from Europe, but there are also some California and BC wines to be found.  The wines from Greece and Portugal figure prominently, along with their country’s indigenous grapes.  You won’t find a huge list…

Creston, BC is probably not what you first think of when someone mentions a grape growing and wine-producing region in BC. But it is. And it has a long history of orchard fruit production.  I found this out on my recent trip to the interior.  I knew that the Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery is located in Creston, and I know they produce very good…

Did you know the first recorded planting of grapevines in New Zealand was at the Bay of Islands in 1819?  Wine was being made by Scottish, French, and Croatians making a new life in New Zealand.  But powdery mildew, phylloxera, and prohibitionists together brought a halt to wine production.  In the early and mid-1900’s wine production grew very slowly, but the…

What do you know about the current (2017) statistics about Australian wine?  Did you know that the total vineyard area in Australia is 135,133 ha, of which Shiraz accounts for 39,893 ha (30%) and Chardonnay (the largest white variety) cover 21,442 ha (16%)? There are estimated to be 2468 wineries and 6251 grape growers in Australia. Compare that to Canada…

Did you know that during the ice age, glaciers up to 3 km thick covered the Okanagan and carved out the valley we love?  The retreat of the glaciers left benches covered with fertile soil where many wineries grow their vines.  Okanagan Falls, between Penticton and Oliver, I think holds a sweet spot for growing grapes and making wine.  It has…