Category: South Africa

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…

Two years ago I was fortunate to meet wine maker Izele van Blerk from KWV, the largest winery in South Africa, at a Trade tasting in Vancouver 2 years ago.  I talked about my experience with South African wine through the South World Wine Society, where I was the President and cellar master at some time.  I’ve continued to watch…

South Africa is a country that has a long history of wine making, yet is not viewed as Old World.  It produces more fruit forward wines than the Old World, but more restrained than the New World, so it is also not viewed as New World either.  It straddles both worlds, and I think that it does have an advantage….

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. …

Cornucopia weekends are chock full of activities; tasting room events, like Cellar Door Grand Tasting, and seminars like “Stars of South Africa“.  I was able to attend these two events, and would like to share my experience with you, and maybe get you interested to sign up for this upcoming weekend at Cornucopia in Whistler. Cellar Door Grand Tasting What…

The Wines of British Columbia shone at The Judgment of BC Wine Tasting with Steven Spurrier and DJ Kearney today.  Steven Spurrier, the Consultant Editor at Decanter magazine, headed the famous Judgement of Paris in 1976 (which was made into the movie “Bottle Shock”).  The Judgement of Paris carried out two blind tasting comparisons: one of Chardonnays and another of…

Chinese Year of the Wooden Sheep According to chinesefortunecalendar.com, “…Sheep is one of Chinese favorite animals…2013 is Snake year; 2014 is Horse year. Both of them are in Fire group. 2015 is the last year of Fire cycle. Sheep is the animal on the farmland. Sheep is herbivore. It likes to eat grass. Therefore, in Chinese horoscopes, Sheep contains  Fire, Earth…

Trying to think of an exceptional quality wine to buy for someone in your family or a special friend?  I have a few suggestions from the wines that I tasted over this past year.  These wines cover all regions of the world, and have different price points.  There should be something for everyone to love.  16 white and sparkling wines,…

The Christmas holidays and New Years Eve are fast approaching, and with that, you will probably be invited to parties, or invite people over to your party.  But what wines to serve?  I always like to have at least one sparkling wine at my parties, usually served at the start of the evening.  There are a ton of choices of…

With September, comes the new season of tasting wines which have arrived in British Columbia, through the IVSA.  There can always be found wines from every corner of the world, and also beer and spirits too.  My wine picks come from across the world, and I hope you have a chance to try them sometime soon. Where I had the…