Category: VQA

Some wines are crafted to be aged years or decades before you can enjoy them, while others are made to be enjoyed now.  Especially when it is summertime and you can get outside and enjoy the fresh air.  I have two wines from BC’s Haywire Winery that fit the bill to enjoy now.  I have their Haywire Winery Gamay 2022…

At one time when we thought of quality sparkling wine, our thoughts would go to Europe; Champagne, Cava, Cremant, Franciacorta.  But that is no longer the case.  Quality sparkling wine can be found in BC as well as many southern hemisphere countries like Australia and the state of Tasmania, in particular.  I have a Tasmanian and a BC sparkling wine…

These are the first wines that I’ve tasted from BC’s Garnet Valley Ranch, made by Okanagan Crush Pad, and I am greatly impressed with the quality. Garnet Valley Ranch is a certified organic site, home to vineyards, field crops, a lavender farm, a bustling beehive and a small winery and The Outlook visitor center.  The area is planted primarily with…

It’s hot! Darn out outside.  No time to spend cooking inside.  Time for the BBQ.  I was thinking of grilling some prime rib beef burgers I recently purchased and enjoyed them with BC’s Mayhem Wines Cabernet Merlot 2022.  Let me tell you about the wine and then the pairing. My Wine Tasting Notes Mayhem Wines Cabernet Merlot 2022 (BC $24.44)…

With the Canada Day long weekend, it was fitting to enjoy some BC wine.  I have two bottles of white wine from Mayhem Wines to tell you about; the Mayhem Wines Pinot Gris 2023 and Sauvignon Blanc 2023.    2023 was a challenging year in the Okanagan due to the cold winter snap that adversely affected the grape vines and…

I’ve been talking about white and rosé wines lately, but we should not forget about enjoying red wines over the summary.  I have two Okanagan red wines from Haywire Wines to tell you about.  I received their Haywire Wines Pinot Noir 2022 and Haywire Wines Naramata Bench King Family Vineyard Merlot 2022 to review.  The grapes are organically grown and…

In two previous articles, I covered two red grape varieties that are grown in BC, but are not well-known; Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt.  We also do make some interesting white wines with relatively unknown varieties. I would like to introduce you to the Kerner grape. Let’s delve into the story behind the Kerner grape, and its aromatic profile, and discover the…

If you are searching for a BC wine that is vegan-friendly, made using organically-grown grapes, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in neutral vessels like stainless steel, amphora, and concrete, then you should try Okanagan’s Haywire Winery‘s wines.  I have two white wines to tell you about today from Haywire.  Their Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, are both 2022 vintage, made by…

Zweigelt is a red grape that while not as obscure as the Blaufränkisch grape I wrote about earlier, is still relatively unknown in BC.  Only 0.7% of red grapes grown in BC are from Zweigelt.  This is a versatile and vibrant red grape variety, that is a cornerstone of Austrian viticulture. Named after its creator, Dr. Fritz Zweigelt, this grape…

Nestled among the vineyards of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley lies a grape variety quietly making waves in the wine world – Blaufränkisch. Blaufränkisch, also known as Lemberger, traces its roots back to Central Europe, particularly Austria and Hungary. The grape is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Styria, now part of Slovenia, before spreading to neighbouring countries….