Category: Tuscany

In June 2023 Rocca delle Macìe celebrated their winery’s 50th Anniversary.  Winery principals have attended VanWineFest in the past as well as other Italian wine events here in Vancouver.  I am looking forward to seeing them at VanWineFest 2024 and clinking a glass to celebrate their 50th Anniversary.  Here is some information by Rocca delle Macìe about their 50 years…

Did you know that there will be a selection of great-value Chianti Classico wines will be featured in BC Liquor stores throughout the month of August?  There will also be a FREE consumer tasting at the 39th and Cambie Signature BCL Liquor Store on Friday, August 18th from 2:30 – 6:30pm.  As a peek into the aromas and flavours of…

This August, the BC Liquor (BCL) stores will celebrate Tuscany with displays of Chianti Classico wines in 30 BCL locations, as well as a consumer tasting at the 39th & Cambie Signature Liquor Store on Thursday, August 17th, 2023. In the meantime, I received a few Chianti Classico wines to taste and review for you. Today I opened two wines…

Recently I arranged to get family and friends together to taste four Chianti Classico wines and try them with different flavours of pizza. At the end of tasting through the wines and enjoying the pizzas, I had the group of us, pick their favourite wine of the evening. Following are my tasting notes for the wines, sans decanting, followed by…

A whole year has passed since my 2021 Wine Quiz, which was related to wines, wineries, and winemakers I was able to interact with and write about on mywinepal.com.  Here is my 3rd Annual 2022 Wine Quiz.  There are 10 questions gleaned from my articles this year. I hope you enjoy it!

It is not every day that you get invited to a portfolio tasting of wines from Italy’s Antinori Estates.  Many of you have probably heard of their most famous wine, Marchesi Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT, a Super Tuscan, that helped lead the way to blend in International grape varieties, e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with Italy’s Sangiovese grape in Tuscany….

While the term “Cru” is most often used for the French classification system, the “Cru” concept can apply to any vineyard or group of vineyards recognized for their superior quality. This seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival took us on a global journey to some of the wine world’s greatest vineyards to discover what makes their terroir and wines…

It’s been two years since we last tasted wines from around the world at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  During COVID grapevines produced grapes and wine was made but may have been a little harder than normal to get workers in the vineyard and in the winery.  Below are my Old World wine selections.  Most of the vintages are 2020…

In North America we are accustomed to see one or more grape varieties on the wine bottle label.  But this is not the case everywhere in the world.  Take in case, the Tuscany region of Italy.  I received this press release that noted that the DOC Maremma Toscana is the first to be permitted to use a bi-varietal label on…

What is meant by a “Cru” in wine?  The term “Cru” is most often used for the French classification system, but the “Cru” concept can apply to any vineyard region recognized for their superior wine quality. My last seminar during the Vancouver International Wine Festival was on the topic of “cru”.  What it is and how it is expressed.  We…