Tag: cabernet franc

Wines from Uruguay are rare to find in British Columbia.  I recently discovered the wines from Los Cerros de San Juan and their Cuna de Piedra Estate wine label.  I read that the winery was founded in 1854 by the Lahusen family (from Germany) when they acquired four estates located between the San Juan and Río de La Plata rivers….

British Columbia’s wine industry continues to show just how much can be achieved in a relatively young wine region. The 2026 National Wine Awards of Canada provided a good reminder of that, with BC wineries earning an impressive 640 medals, representing 51% of all medals awarded at the competition. Beyond the medals, the results also point to the diversity of…

We are in the last few weeks of summer.  Children are in school and parents are enjoying some quiet time.  To celebrate the last days of summer and quiet time, I think some red wine is in order.  I tasted two bottles of red wine from Osoyoos’ Adega on 45th Estate Winery.  One is their Adega on 45th Estate Winery…

Rosé wines are quite enjoyable in the summer while you are on your patio, enjoying a meal, but these wines fit in throughout the year with their red fruit flavours and bright acidity.  In BC we are familiar with the rose wines made here and maybe with rosé wines from Provence, but we should also be considering Ontario rosé wines. …

Chaberton Estate Winery is the pioneer winery of the Fraser Valley. It grows 44 acres of estate-grown fruit with other parcels from across the Okanagan Valley. Claude and Inge Violet sold their winery and vineyard in France and moved to the Fraser Valley in the 1970’s.  They experimented with different grape varieties to see which grew well here, selected the…

We are having wonderful summertime sunny weather, and it is a great time to review two BC rosé wines for you.  I have Hester Creek Estate Winery’s Rosé Pinot Noir 2025 and Rosé Cabernet Franc 2025.  Many people know about rosé wine being made from Pinot Noir grapes, but not too many know that Cabernet Franc also makes an excellent…

I recently decided to review two French red wines that are blends.  Blends have the benefit that two or more grape varieties together fill in the weakness of the other grape.  For example, one grape may be fruity but lack tannins, while another grape has plenty of tannins but lacks much fruit character.  Putting the two grape varieties together makes…

BC’s Township 7 Vineyards & Winery has two elegant red wines that should go well with our beautiful summer plans of a BBQ with family or friends.  The wines I received to review are their Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Benchmark Series NBO 2022 and Township 7 Vineyards & Winery Benchmark Series Reserve 7 2022.  Both wines are blends.  The…

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…

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…