Category: VQA

If you have not had a chance to try the wines from Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, now is your chance.  Did you know that the climate in Lillooet is very similar to Oliver, in the south Okanagan?  You get ripe grapes with excellent flavour for wine.  You can try their wines at a winery dinner at Burnaby’s Hart…

As UB40’s lyrics go, “Red, red wineGoes to my head…” I opened two bottles of big bold red wines today from Chaberton Estate Winery.  A Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon from grapes in the Okanagan Valley.  They certainly made me happy.  These wines are vegan-friendly. They both come in at 14.7% alcohol, but don’t taste hot.  The alcohol is well-integrated…

I have two aromatic white wines from St. Hubertus Family Estate Winery and their associated Oak Bay Vineyard, which I can see going very well with an assorted cheese plate over the holidays.  The first wine is the St. Hubertus Family Estate Winery Riesling 2019 and the other wine is the Oak Bay Vineyard Gebert Family Reserve Gewurztraminer 2019. The…

BC’s Winemaker’s CUT Bohemian wines exemplify the uniqueness of single vineyard blends from the Okanagan Valley made in small volumes.  The wines come from their finest barrels and only are produced when the vintage is appropriate. I really enjoyed tasting their 2020 Bohemian Riesling.  The grapes from the Chahal vineyard north of Oliver.  The wine is fermented with a mix…

Sparkling wines are always appreciated.  They pair with many dishes and can be enjoyed on their own.  I have two traditional method sparkling wines from Church & State Wines.  A Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 2018 made with Chardonnay grapes from their Black Sage Bench vineyard and a Gris de Noirs Brut 2019 made with Pinot Noir grapes from their…

Do you prefer a softer, less tannic, red wine?  I usually think of Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir, but the two wines I recently tasted fit into that category from Stag’s Hollow Winery, a Dolcetto and a Merlot.  Dolcetto is known as a recommended pairing with pizza.  I think pasta in a tomato sauce would work.  Merlot typically has medium…

Bordeaux blends are popular around the world.  Many wineries make Bordeaux blends in BC, but few have a winemaker from Bordeaux!  One such winery is French Door Estate Winery, a family-run winery founded in 2019 just south of Oliver, BC, on the Black Sage Bench.  They are extremely fortunate to have Pascal Madevon as its winemaker.  As I mentioned Pascal…

It has taken me a while to get out to Penticton and visit TIME Family of Wines at their urban winery downtown, but happy to have visited now.  The winery has combined a tasting room bar and a restaurant so you can enjoy their wines on premise.  I started off my visit with a tour by Peter who told me…

The BC wine harvest was just starting as I was on vacation in the Okanagan the second last week of September.  The winemakers I spoke to noted that they are about a month behind for the start of harvest.  Wines of BC sent me this press release with more information about this year’s grape harvest in BC.  Give it a…

Canadian Thanksgiving is on Oct 10, 2022.  Have you considered what BC wine you will be pouring to go with your turkey or ham dinner?  If not, this Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Estate Cuvée Chardonnay 2020 is in my opinion, an excellent choice.  The quality is outstanding and tastes delicious!  Buy it before it sells out.   Check out the…