Tag: Bacchus

Did you know that Blue Grouse Estate Winery and Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island are owned by the Sonoma-based Jackson Family from California?  The acquisitions, in 2022 and 2020, respectively, allow the family to grow their global portfolio, which includes vineyards in California, Oregon, Washington, Italy, France, Chile, South Africa, and Australia.  They see tremendous potential…

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with winemaker Patrick Murphy at 1909 Estate Winery in Langley.  Patrick has been making wines for many years.  You may recognize his name as one of the owners of Vista D’oro Farms & Winery in the Fraser Valley.  He and his wife sold the winery in 2024, and he has been hired by…

Have you ever heard of a sparkling wine called Charme de l’ile, Island Charm in English?  It is not a wine from France.  It is from Vancouver Island and can only be made on Vancouver Island using Island grapes.  Just like Champagne can only be made in the Champagne region of France.  Charme is also a nod to the method…

The wines of BC and the rest of the world, excluding the USA, were the last of the wines I tasted at the International Festival Tasting Room during VanWineFest 2025.     Read through my wine tasting notes below and if you find some wines that spark your interest, check out your local BC Liquor store, some private wine shops,…

The Heart of Wine Country encompasses Okanagan Falls and Skaha Lake.  This area I feel does exceptionally well with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.  I look forward to tasting wines from these two places in the Okanagan and having a chance at their The Heart of Wine Country Spring Wine Release.  Here are some of the wines I quite enjoyed….

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…

Backyard Vineyards is a winery that you may not have heard about, but they are located so close by if you live in the Vancouver lower mainland.  Their winery and tasting room is in Langley.  I’ve visited them for many years and I recently touched base with them again to find out what is new at the winery.  They sent…

Everyone knows about the Okanagan Valley as a wine region, and some may also know about the Similkameen which is on the southwestern edge of the Okanagan, but what about BC’s emerging wine regions, covering the Kootenays, Lillooet and Thompson Shuswap?  I had a chance to go on a trip hosted by the Wines of BC to visit Lillooet and…

You may not have heard of Blue Grouse Estate Winery from Duncan before, but the winery has quite a history.  In 2012 the Brunner family took over the winery but it was owned for many years by Dr. Hans Kiltz and his wife Evangeline in the late 1980s, where they discovered several grape vines planted on their land.  The grapes…

Where is Tappen, BC?  I have not heard of Tappen either until I visited Recline Ridge Vineyards and Winery.  Tappen is a small town a few minutes drive west of Salmon Arm, BC.  It is not in the hotter, drier climate of the Okanagan.  The area is lush with forest, rolling hills, farmland, and the large water body, Shuswap Lake….