Category: Syrah

On a lighter tone, at VanWineFest 2026, I had a chance to attend a walk-about lunch at LaSalle College Vancouver; French bistro fare prepared and served by LaSalle students, while sampling a selection of French wines representing seven French wine regions.  Below is a list of the French wines followed by the menu.  No wine reviews here, just some general…

Easter is this weekend and you are wondering what wines to pair with your holiday meal.  I would like to suggest that a rosé wine pairs well with everything.  Rosé wines typically have high acidity and nice red fruit flavours that are very complimentary for many dishes.  I also recommend an aromatic white wine.  These wines usually have higher acidity…

I attended one dinner during the Vancouver International Wine Festival this year, courtesy of the Festival.  It was with Maison Chapoutier at  L’Abattoir.  It was a truly spectacular evening with Mr. James Leonardo De Sá from M. Chapoutier telling us about the winery and the wines we enjoyed that evening.  Did you know that Canada represents Chapoutier’s largest market outside…

We have had some turmoil in Canada and in BC for wines in 2025.  Many BC interior wineries suffered from the 2024 cold snap causing them to either not produce any wine in 2024, or importing grapes from across the border, or from Ontario.  We also had the removal of USA wines from BC government liquor stores.  Overall, we had…

Gate 22 Winery in Surrey, BC, is probably new to many people.  I know it only came on my radar later this year.  It has an interesting name, which made me think of a gate at an airport, plus their logo shows an airplane propeller.  When I checked with the winery, I was told the ownership group manages the Boundary…

Vanessa Vineyard, located in the Similkameen Valley, may not be a well-known winery to many, but it should.  Winemaker, Howard Soon, joined Vanessa in 2017 after retiring from Sandhill Wines.  He has won over 100 awards for the wines he has crafted and has received the Order of Canada.  Recently there was the 2025 Top 50 BC Wine awards and…

If you visit Osoyoos and stay at the Spirit Ridge Resort or visit the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, you will drive past Adega on 45th Estate Winery.  The winery and tasting room is at the top of a hill slope and gives you a wonderful view of Osoyoos.  The winery was recently taken over by Gate 22 Winery, which has…

Did you know that Nk’Mip Cellars is North America’s first Indigenous-owned winery?  An enterprise of the Osoyoos Indian Band, the winery’s core identity is linked to the land, its Syilx heritage, and a mission to express its culture through internationally award-winning wines. The winery’s mission is to express its cultural identity and history in every aspect of its operation and…

Moon Curser Vineyards in the south Okanagan, Osoyoos specifically, is well-known for their big red wines.  I recently visited the winery and tried four red wines and one white wine.  Moon Curser was unfortunately affected by the 2024 winter cold snap, so lost some of their vines.  As such, they brought in some grapes from Washington state to help make…

This week we had a trade event featuring the latest BC white wines, many from 2024, as well as some red wines.  In 2024 we had a terrible winter freeze that killed most of the grape vines in the interior of BC, so BC wineries were given permission from the BC government to source grapes from outside BC.  Many winemakers…