Category: VQA

My third Dine Out Vancouver dinner was with good friends at Provence Marinaside in Yaletown.  Provence offers a $45 food menu plus $25 wine pairing, and it is totally worth it.  The food from Provence is top quality and a large portion.  I was very full and very happy at the end of my meal. We were treated with a glass…

Icewine from Canada is famous around the world. While we did not invent Icewine, we are recognized as a world leader in Icewine production.  It is amazing that you are able to get juice out of frozen grapes and the resulting nectar in your glass. Test your BC Icewine knowledge with these 4 questions.  No googling! If you like quizzes,…

Copper Chimney Indian Grill & Bar has been serving up tasty Indian food in downtown Vancouver for several years.  I have had the pleasure of eating at Copper Chimney before and was recently invited to a food and wine pairing event.  This event though was extra special as the dishes being served are dishes that Chef has created for their…

Do you know what a Geographical Indication (GI) means in the BC wine industry? According to a BC Ministry of Agriculture press release, a GI is “…a standard element of appellation systems used around the world that help people identify wines in the marketplace, provide assurance as to the origin and quality of the wine, and promote agri-tourism. British Columbia…

It was truly a sad day in the BC wine community yesterday, July 23, 2019, when we were all shocked by the sudden passing of Harry McWatters.  A pioneer who helped lead the wine for quality BC wine.  I met with Harry casually during the Vancouver International Wine Festivals, where he was always busy, but always smiling.  I had a…

Riesling, Pinot Gris and Viognier were prominent in this BC VQA Spring wine release tasting.  It is not surprising as white wine releases are more common in the Spring while more red wines are released in the Fall.  Viognier though I think made a bigger showing this year than in past years, and showed well.  Lots of fruit flavour and…

As BC is large with a cooler coastal climate and a hotter, drier interior, our yearly vintages can cover a range from marginal to exceptional.  Luckily we have been closer to the exceptional end of the vintage spectrum these last years.  How was the 2018 vintage?  I attended a media preview of the 2018 vintage and had 4 winemakers from…

It is the Easter weekend for many people around the world, and besides the religious celebrations, enjoying meals with family and friends is also a big part.  The BC VQA Spring wine release kicked off this week, but the wines may not yet be at your local bottle shop or BC Liquor Store.  Here are 5 BC VQA wines that…

If you have never been to the Hart House Restaurant in Burnaby, you are missing a treat; excellent food, wine, and beautiful scenery.  But here is your chance to come to Hart House and celebrate dinner with icon Harry McWatters for his 50th anniversary in the wine industry in BC.  I had a chance to interview Harry in 2016.  Here…

Dine Out Vancouver is well underway.  I went to a restaurant to enjoy their special Dine Out meal, paired with a red BC VQA wine.  The food was very good, but the wine was served warm to me.  Not the right temperature at all for this wine.  The fruit flavours did not come through.  And this dampened my enthusiasm for the…