Category: sparkling

When you visit Da Silva Vineyards & Winery on the Naramata Bench, it feels like you are transported to Portugal.  The tasting room is beautiful, with bone-white walls and chandeliers, giving off a European feel.  The wines are equally special.  Richard and Twylla da Silva own the winery, with Richard coming from a Portuguese background. The names of some of…

To finish off my second day of wine tasting on the Naramata Bench, I stopped in at TIME Family of Wines in Penticton, where I sampled their Chronos and McWatters Collection wines.  The winery was originally owned and managed by the McWatters family, but in 2020 was purchased by Ron and Shelley Mayer who are both native BC’ers.  Chronos is…

The second winery on the Naramata Bench I visited was Howling Bluff Estate Winery.  This is a small family-run winery, starting with the land purchase in 2003, that specializes in Pinot Noir wines, although they also produce other quality wines. I met with co-owner and winemaker, Luke Smith, sitting at the tasting room patio, where we chatted about the latest…

My last winery visit in Okanagan Falls, before getting back to my visit to the Naramata Bench, is Blasted Church Vineyards. They have very colourful and expressive labels, with a religious bent or Renaissance theme to them, as the winery is located on Parson’s Road.   All their wines are unfined and unfiltered, so some wines may have a dull appearance…

Across the vineyard from Meyer Family Vineyards in Okanagan Falls, is their sister winery, Mayhem Wines created by JAK Meyer and his sister, Terry. The grapes come from the Anarchist Mountain Vineyard in Osoyoos as well as vineyards on the Naramata Bench and Oliver.   While tasting the wines below, winemaker Ajay Chavan came out to talk about his wines. He…

The Fall release of BC VQA wines was in late September.  Due to skytrain issues getting to the venue, I did not have as much time to taste the new wine releases, so I concentrated on white wines.  There were also red wines, but not enough time to taste.  There are a few sparkling wines on this list, which you…

When we talk about BC wine, many people think about the Okanagan, which does have a majority of our vineyards and wineries.  But, there are other regions across BC with wineries.  The Fraser Valley around Abbotsford is one of those areas.  Tourism Abbotsford helped organize a trip for me to visit a few wineries and a cidery so that I…

Coolshanagh is a BC winery located on the Naramata Bench is owned by husband and wife team, Skip and Judy Stothert.  They are passionate about Chardonnay and Pinot Noir so they only grow these varieties for wine production. I received two bottles of their Chardonnay to review.  One is their Coolshanagh Chardonnay 2019 while the other is the first release…

It’s time for a short vacation to visit my family in Alberta.  I decided to bring along two bottles of BC wine to share with them and also spread the word about our wonderful wines.  The two wines I brought were: Okanagan Crush Pad’s Narrative XC Sparkling 2022 and Township 7’s Blue Terrace Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2023.  Let me tell…

Crémant is a category of sparkling wines in France made using the same traditional method as Champagne but produced outside the Champagne region. This delightful bubbly offers a high-quality, often more affordable alternative to its famous counterpart while showcasing the unique characteristics of various French wine regions. Like Champagne, Crémant can also be white or rosé in colour. What is…