Tag: BCWine

We are back to estate grown BC grapes for the 2025 vintage.  It was a great year for our wine grapes, producing a bumper crop for all vineyards.  I have two white wines from Okanagan’s Hester Creek Estate Winery; their Hester Creek Estate Winery Character White 2025, a white blend containing Gewürztraminer, Viognier, and Pinot Gris, and Hester Creek Estate…

Easter is this weekend and you are wondering what wines to pair with your holiday meal.  I would like to suggest that a rosé wine pairs well with everything.  Rosé wines typically have high acidity and nice red fruit flavours that are very complimentary for many dishes.  I also recommend an aromatic white wine.  These wines usually have higher acidity…

Have you heard about the Fraser Valley‘s latest winery opening?  I attended the soft opening of Chapter Estates Winery, located in the Langley area.  They have a vineyard at the winery, plus a restaurant so you can enjoy wine and food.  A great way to have a weekday or weekend escape.  Here is some background information about the winery, my…

Passport to Global Wines flight of wines The 47th Vancouver International Wine Festival seminar, “Passport to Global Wines,” was a strategic exploration of the global viticultural map through the lens of cultural identity. Moderators Christine Campbell, Lisa Giovanella, and James Nevison established a “Passport” metaphor as a vehicle to navigate international “ports of entry,” moving beyond the standard technical data…

Amidst the clamour of the Vancouver International Wine Festival, I had a conversation with Evan Saunders, winemaker for Blasted Church Vineyards, to discuss the last two years vintages; one made with WA state grapes in 2024, and the latest vintage with estate BC grapes.  The 2024 Washington Intervention Following a 2023 season that already saw significantly diminished yields, 2024 arrived…

Wine lovers often talk about “Old World vs. New World,” but the comparison becomes far more interesting when you look at two regions that share a deep respect for terroir while expressing it in completely different ways. British Columbia and France may be separated by an ocean and centuries of winemaking history, yet they meet at the intersection of climate,…

Winemaking in the past has been dominated by men around the world, but times are changing.  British Columbia is a great example.  If you’ve ever cracked open a bottle of BC wine, there is a high probability that it was made by a female winemaker and/or the winery is female owned. Estimates suggest about 20% of lead winemakers in the…

Six months ago, in August 2025, I tasted BC’s Hester Creek Estate Vineyard Garland 2022 and The Judge 2022 Bordeaux-style red blends.  These are their top tier Origin wines.  Both wines were made in the epic year of 2022 when weather conditions and the harvest was perfect.  At that time I first tasted these wines, both tied in my wine…

Once prized in the courts of Europe and poured for royalty, Riesling was long considered one of the continent’s most noble wines, especially in regions along the Rhine River. In the 19th century, top bottles from Germany often commanded prices rivalling the great growths of Bordeaux. Today, Riesling is revered by knowledgeable wine drinkers for its remarkable range, from bone-dry…

Chardonnay wines can vary in style and in intensity.  Many people avoid Chardonnay as they were exposed to heavily oaked versions in the past.  But there are many unoaked Chardonnay that you can enjoy.  I received this bottle from the south Okanagan’s Gold Hill Winery of their Charisma Un-Oaked Chardonnay 2022 to review for you.  It has four years of…