Category: Sonoma

Cabernet Sauvignon is the “King” in California. In our Celebrating California Cabs seminar we had a chance to experience the “Dream Vintages” of 2012, 2013 and 2014. And as you will see, I have rated all these wines very highly.  When you have wines of such quality, it is more a matter of style that you prefer.  The winery principals noted that 2011 was…

California and Argentina.  What does this US State and South American country have in common?  Answer: Paul Hobbs.  Through my interview with Paul, I learned about his love of wine and interest in making interesting wines from interesting regions around the world.  Having a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere harvest each year gives Paul the chance to refine his…

Where in Vancouver can you taste wines from 114 different wineries across California?  At the California Wine Fair.  The 2014 Fair was last week and it did not disappoint, with sparkling, still and dessert wines for us to savour. And as an added benefit, proceeds to this event went to support the Arts Club Theatre, which is celebrating it’s 50th…

Part of the Vancouver International Wine Festival are seminars; Seminars to make you more informed about wine. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages Vertical tasting seminar. And now, you can share in some of my knowledge. What is Cinq Cepages? Cinq Cepages is a blend of five Bordeaux red varietals and is the…

Sonoma County in California is not as well known as the county next door, Napa, but it should be better known due to it’s quality wines.  Sonoma has a cooler climate than Napa, which is more inland, plus has the Mayacamas Mountains to block the cool maritime air. The unique climates of Sonoma County allow a wide range of red…

Tuesday evening, the rain fell, but it could not dampen my spirits as I entered The Flying Pig Restaurant in Yaletown to taste the wines from Ravenswood Winery, listen to winemaker Joel Peterson, and enjoy the entrees prepared to pair with the wines.  Ravenswood’s motto is “No Wimpy Wines” and I may add that this could also apply to the…

I’m so excited because tomorrow I will be attending a media dinner to try a flight of wines by Ravenswood Winery wine maker Joel Peterson at the Flying Pig in Yaletown.  The wines I will be sampling, and tweeting live to you will be: Ravenswood VB Chardonnay 2010 Ravenswood VB Zinfandel 2009 Sangiacomo Chardonnay Lodi Zinfandel 2009 Sonoma Zinfandel County…