Category: VQA

BC has a favourable climate for aromatic white grapes, such as Gewurztraminer and Viognier. I received a sample of Hillside Winery‘s Heritage Series wines to review, with two of them being from these aromatic varieties.  Their Heritage series wines are meant to showcase the nuanced flavours and elegant styles of the Naramata Bench. I see a label refresh for the…

Have you tasted wines made from the Cabernet Libre grape? If not, you can have a chance if you buy a bottle from Enrico Winery on south Vancouver Island. Cabernet Libre is a hybrid developed by Valentin Blattner in Germany by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. This hybrid, and Blattner’s other hybrids, are developed to be disease resistant for…

I have two possibly new white grape varieties to introduce you to today. I am tasting 2 wines from Enrico Winery located on southern Vancouver Island. One is their Coronet Reserve Petite Milo 2017 and the other is their Tempest Ortega 2019. Of the two grapes, you probably have heard of and tried Ortega as it is grown on Vancouver…

I thought I’d write this article about BC Rosé wines as rosé wines have been on a growth tear for several years.  Plus checking my website stats for the last 4 weeks, the top query was “Mateus Rosé Wine“.  Mateus, from Portugal, has been around for many years, enjoyed by my parents, and is now updated and reaching out to…

Just like Malbec, the white Semillon grape is not that well-known in BC wine production.  Semillon is a blending grape in Bordeaux with Sauvignon Blanc to make White Bordeaux blends as well as it is used as one of the grapes to produce the sweet Sauternes wines.  Semillon is a fuller bodied grape, and offers a waxy texture to the wine. …

When we think about red wines of BC we think of wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah grapes.  But what about lesser known grapes such as Malbec?  How much single varietal Malbec wines are made in BC, or is blended with other grape varieties to make a “Meritage” wine? Malbec is a Bordeaux grape that needs…

Thank goodness that 2020 is over.  Hopefully we will have a much better 2021 experience.  One experience would be enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant, but still socially distanced.  Provence Marinaside has a special menu for January paired with wonderful CedarCreek Estate Winery wines.  Here is their press release. ~~~ (Vancouver, BC) – Phew! We all survived 2020 and…

This was a crazy year due to COVID, which limited my usual number of wine tastings, but when I checked through the wines, I realized that of the wines I did taste, many almost made my 5-star category.  These wines I rated as 4.5-5 stars.  They are fantastic to drink now and would be OK to cellar for a short…

Wine and cheese pairings are great for holiday entertaining and when you want to enjoy by yourself. Today I have two VQA wines, one from BC, and one from Ontario, that I am pairing with a limited edition collectable box containing 3 artisinal “Entertaining Cheeses” provided to me by Saputo.  The two wines are the Gold Hill Winery Syrah 2016…

One of my favourite certified organic wineries from BC is Kalala Organic Estate Winery, in West Kelowna. Making wine, starting in 2006, I’d say that they were one of the pioneer wineries showing that you can produce excellent organic wine at a reasonable price alongside Summerhill Pyramid Winery.  They note that “Kalala, meaning “Miracle Place”, is the symbol of our…