Category: VQA

We are set for a mini-heatwave, Friday – Sunday, this week. So get out and enjoy the sun on your patio, and maybe these two bright, fresh wines from Gold Hill Winery in Oliver, BC. I have their Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc Rosé, both from the 2021 vintage. Let me tell you about them. My Wine Tasting Notes Gold…

Chaberton Estate Winery, one of our long-time established wineries, is located in the Fraser Valley. That does limit the grape varieties they can grow there, but they also have access to grapes in the Okanagan so that they can produce big red wines which we love. I have two wines, the Chaberton Estate Winery Merlot 2017 and their Chaberton Estate…

Well, it’s September. But not to fret. We know the rainy days will come, but now we still have sunny days where we can sit on our patio with friends and sip sparkling wine. I shared two BC sparkling wines with friends. I picked these two as it shows some of the differences that you can get with sparkling wine…

Winemakers, besides making the wines their wineries are known for, also like to take on smaller projects. Testing out new methods or grape varieties. TERRE lab Winemakers Series wines are where Gold Hill Winery’s Val Tait gets to have some fun. These wines are made in very small lots (e.g. 70-80 cases or less). Bottled under the label TerreLab, they…

2020 was a challenging vintage in the Okanagan, with a wet, cool Spring that resulted in fewer blossoms set to form grapes.  The Summer had average temperatures, not too hot, and a later veraison.  And then the Fall was a great surprise with warm weather and no rain so that the small number of grapes that did form, ripened perfectly…

Sandhill Wines announces that they hired a new winemaker.  Please welcome Stephanie Van Dyk.  She is not new to BC, having been making wines at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Kalala Organic Estate Winery, and more in the Okanagan.  I am looking forward to trying her wines from the upcoming 2022 vintage, next year.  Here is the press release from Sandhill Wines….

Have you tried the Charisma line of wines from Gold Hill Winery in Oliver, BC? I commented on how I really liked their distinctive labels with floral design which I think gives the buyer an idea of what to expect from a bottle. I recently tried their Pinot Gris 2021 and Pinot Noir Rose 2021. Let me tell you about…

With the hot summer weather, it was time for me to get out and enjoy it with a day trip to Chaberton Estate Winery in Langley where I met with GM Brian Ensor.  He gave me a guided tour, first bringing me out to the vineyards where the first vines I saw were their 40-year-old Bacchus grapes.  It is hard…

Beautiful and elegant are two words that I would use to describe the two Chardonnay wines that I received from Spearhead Winery in the Okanagan. Winemaker, Grant Stanley, has outdone himself with such excellent wines. One wine is from grapes from their Saddle Block estate vineyard, with a mix of Chardonnay clones 76, 95, and 548, and the other is…

Do you like full-bodied red wines? I have 2 for you from Moon Curser Vineyards in Osoyoos. Their Malbec 2020 and Petit Verdot 2020. You don’t see much Petit Verdot in the Okanagan. Malbec is planted more widely but still tiny compared to Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. According to the 2019 BC Wine Grape Acerage Report, Malbec is in #7…