Category: Syrah

I am privileged to try so many wines from around the world each year, here in Vancouver.  Sparkling, rose, red, white, and fortified wines have all passed my lips.  And for some instances there is a wine that stops you in your tracks, all your senses become heightened as they focus on the spectacular wine in your glass.  I would…

Okanagan Crush Pad seems to be coming up with lots of small production wines, trying different things with different grapes, people, and inspiration.  This article is about two of their latest wines; Haywire Free Form and Samantha Syrah. About Haywire Free Form I was immediately intrigued when I read about this wine as the wine maker’s rolled the dice and…

Okanagan Crush Pad keeps telling us that “Wine is Narrative“.  Every wine tells a story.  Some stories though are more interesting than others.  I think the more specific a place, the more the terroir can speak through the wine.  While there is nothing wrong with wines where the grapes are sourced from widely separated areas, maybe the story is harder…

Sitting down in a private room at Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop Shop, myself and a few other wine media had a chance to try some fantastic Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Hahn Family Wines, a California-based winery, with vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County.  I pulled wine maker Paul Clifton aside for a few minutes to…

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, was Natonal Zinfandel Day.  On that day, I did enjoy a glass of Zinfandel from the Renwood Winery from Amador County in California, and was making notes so that I could let you know about this wine, and another Zinfandel wine that they produce.  Zinfandel in California is characteristically a big red wine, with lots of…

I had not heard of Domaine Saint Jean du Barroux until recently;  a winery located between the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux in the Southern Rhone, owned by Oenologist, winemaker/grower, Philippe Gimel. A tiny vineyard with 4 of 16 hectares covered with fruit trees and shrubbery.  The remaining 12 hectares of vineyards are planted along an eroded fault line…

“Are ravens circling a good or a bad omen?”, Joel thought, as the black winged birds, about the size of a football, with long wingspan, and tapered wings, and each feather, like so many shiny throwing daggers silently glided above his head, this dark and gloomy evening, the copper Autumn moon just half exposed, peaking behind the gathering storm clouds…

Serendipity Winery is located along the Naramata Bench just north of Penticton.  It  is owned by Judy Kingston and her daughter Katie O’Kell, and vineyard manager Craig MacKenzie. The winery started in the fall of 2005 when Judy embarked on a wine tour of the Okanagan, which also was meant as a peek into retirement properties as well.  As serendipity…

Whenever I travel, I always keep an eye open for wineries in the area.  Recently I visited the very southwestern corner of Washington State, around Aberdeen.  I read in a tourist brochure about Westport Winery which was close by, a little south of Aberdeen, so dropped by.  The winery tries to be a destination for more than just wine.  They…

Can you match the French wine region with the following grape varieties? Region:  Bordeaux, Alsace, Rhone Valley Variety:  Pinot Gris, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah If you can’t figure it out, scroll to the bottom of this article for the answer.  Assuming you guessed correctly, or checked with the answer below, All four grape varieties are grown at Perseus Winery, located…