Category: Vermentino

I recently attended a walkabout wine tasting of the wines from the state of Victoria, which is in the southeastern corner of Australia.  Its capital city is Melbourne, where the Australian Open is held in January, kicking off the first of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments.  Within Victoria there are 21 wine regions that range from cooler climates, for…

Recently I attended a dinner at Sopra Sotto on Commercial Drive that hosted the wines from Tenuta Cali in Italy.  Angelo Dalbello, the export manager, attended and talked to us about the wines we were about to enjoy with our Italian dinner.  There are actually two wineries, Tenuta di Capraia in Tuscany and Graffetta in Sicily, that together form Tenuta…

I recently attended a lunch at Social Corner in downtown Vancouver paired with a selection of Côté Mas wines from Domaines Paul Mas in the Languedoc in southern France.  Two years ago I had a wine pairing dinner in Vancouver with Jean-Claude Mas, introducing me to several of their range of wines.  In this lunch, I met with Jean-Claude Mas’…

I and other Trade individuals were invited to Discover Extraordinary Italian Wines.  Some of the wineries at the event were searching for local representation, while other wineries already have an agent and their wines are in BC Liquor stores or private wine shops and restaurants.  I’ve put a “*” beside those wineries that have local representation, so you should be…

New Australian wine has arrived on our shores after a hiatus, in part due to COVID.  I attended a tasting of these new arrivals.  Some are new to BC while other wines are new vintages of wines that we already enjoy.  I missed out on a seminar, so have no additional pearls of wisdom for you, but here are my…

Here are two Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses wines for you to try. The Grenache-Vermentino-Viognier 2020 and the Grenache-Syrah-Cinsault 2021 Rosé. The Rosé has been around for a while and has been a favourite of many people.  Both wines come in a very distinctive and beautiful bottle with a rose petal-shaped base.  Instead of cork, Gérard Bertrand is using a glass stopper to…

Did you know that Gérard Bertrand has a Côte des Roses Collection?  I only knew of his Rose wine, but there are 4 from that Collection that are coming or already are in BC.  Today I am tasting the Grenache-Vermentino-Viognier 2019 and Chardonnay 2020.  Both wines come in a very distinctive and beautiful bottle with a rose petal-shaped base.  In…

My first Masterclass at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2020 was about the wines from the Languedoc region produced by Gérard Bertrand and moderated by Anthony Gismondi.  Gérard Bertrand is the ambassador of the fine wines of Languedoc-Roussillon around the world and owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region.  The Languedoc has, in general, had a poor…

Welcome to Jean-Claude Mas and Château Paul Mas who will be at the VanWineFest 2020.  Read about their history and wines in their own words. About Jean-Claude Mas Jean-Claude Mas is a man who relishes a challenge. His story illustrates this perfectly: a 4th generation winegrower but a 1st generation winemaker, he built a business from 17 hectares of inherited vines…

Italy has been making a big push into Vancouver, and Canada, over the past few years.  Over the past 2 weeks, there have been 3 different Italian wine delegations come to Vancouver to show us their wines.  In some cases the wineries already have representation, but there are many other wineries that are looking for representation.  So this article is…