Category: sparkling

My one and only video interview with a BC winery at VanWineFest 2024 was with Evan Saunders, winemaker, at Blasted Church Vineyards. Blasted Church is located in the Okanagan Falls area if you decide to visit this summer.  Evan talked to me about their sparkling wine, OMG 2016.  Have you ever tried this wine?  Did you know that it is…

Although Italy contributes approximately 20% of the world’s wine, it remains a relative mystery to many people, due to unfamiliar grape varieties and wine region names.  Wine journalist and educator Filippo Bartolotta led us exploring the rich history, modern innovation, and the renaissance of Italian classic wine styles shaping the current identity of this historical wine region.  The winery principals…

71 Italian wineries presented their wines at VanWineFest 2024.  With each winery pouring 5 different wines, we had 355 wines to sip and savour in the International Festival Tasting Room.  I spent my Thursday tasting white and sparkling wines and Friday tasting the red wines.  In this article, I cover my favourite white and sparkling wines.  In some cases, there…

Yesterday, Feb 26, 2024, was the official kickoff for the 45th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival (VanWineFest).  It was a small event with various media and a sampling of the wines that we can expect from the theme country, Italy.  I had a chance to catch up with some of my wine media friends to discuss the events we were…

Sparkling wine is made in both the northern and southern hemispheres, but the ones made in the southern hemisphere may be a bit more special. The grapes for sparkling wines are harvested around Valentine’s Day, so maybe there is more love in those wines? I have a bottle of sparkling Jansz Tasmania Premium Rosé to taste for you made with…

There will be several wineries from the Veneto region that produce Prosecco wines attending VanWineFest 2024.  Prosecco has been a growing segment of sparkling wine and wine in general. But what do you know about Prosecco?  I have some background information for you, followed by a list of wineries from the Venteo region producing Prosecco that you can visit at the…

Celebrate love this Valentine’s Day by indulging in a delightful experience of sharing sparkling or rosé wines with your significant other. The effervescence of sparkling wines mirrors the joy and excitement of love, making it an ideal choice for a romantic evening.  The light and refreshing nature of sparkling wine and the delicate bubbles on your palate will enhance the…

January 7, 2024, was Ukrainian Christmas Day.  I know that Volodymyr Zelensky passed a law to make December 25 the new Christmas Day in Ukraine, but many people still like to also celebrate on January 7.  Double the celebration.  So, I opened a bottle of BC’s Church & State Wines sparkling Blanc de Gris Brut 2019 and shared it with…

I enjoy tasting wines and writing about them.  I don’t consider writing the articles as stressful.  I love telling other people about wines from near and far.  But I thought I could check to see how many articles I did publish in 2023 and I was surprised.  I wrote 238 articles in 2023. That works out to 20 articles per month…

It is New Year’s Eve today, December 31, 2023.  Have you still not picked a sparkling BC wine to celebrate?  In case you have not, I have two sparkling wines from Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars.  One is their Gold Label Brut and the other is their Brut Rosé wine.  Both wines are listed as Recently Disgorged 2019. Let me…