Tag: cabernet franc

Are you on a Quest or a Chase for something?  For wineries, it may be for the best expression of the grapes in the glass, showing off their terroir.  A light hand by the wine maker.  To me the light hand of the wine maker really comes out in the red wines from C. C. Jentsch Cellars. C. C. Jentsch…

In the wine world, cool climate areas are making exciting wines.  Canada is viewed as cool climate, and I was wondering where we fall in the extreme north or south latitudes compared to other cool climate regions.  Here is what I found through a search on the web: Argentina‘s Patagonia wine region extends between 33.3° and 33.8° South. Osorno Valley…

Bench 1775 Winery is located in on 1775 Naramata Road, on the Naramata Bench.  They believe that great wines start in the vineyard, so all of their vineyard sites were analyzed in detail before being planted with clones and rootstocks best adapted to their soils and site climate. Val Tait, the viticulturist, wine maker and GM of Bench 1775, tries to…

Italian wines can make any day feel like a holiday. But we do have holidays upcoming so here are a few Italian wines that I recently tasted in downtown Vancouver that you may want to consider purchasing.  Of particular note are the white wines made with indigenous grapes you may not have heard of; Carricante and Grillo exclusively grown in…

It’s Fall and the rains will soon be starting according to the weather forecast.  How to keep yourself happy and fortified during our rainy season?  Big red BC wines.  I received 3 bottles recently: TIME Estate Winery Syrah 2013 TIME Estate Winery Meritage 2013 McWatters Collection Meritage 2013 Two Bordeaux blends and one single varietal bottle of big BC red wines….

Black Hills Estate Winery on the Black Sage Road in the Okanagan is best known for their “Nota Bene” Bordeaux blend red wine.  When I was taking my WSET classes downtown many years ago, it was extremely difficult to get a bottle of Nota Bene.  It sold out very quickly upon release.  One class mate lucky had purchased a bottle a few…

Time flies.  It does not seem to go in a linear fashion.  Things that have happened long ago, seem like yesterday.  Time compresses to me, the further things have happened in the past.  One such point to note is that the LaStella Winery in the Okanagan started in 2006; 10 years ago.  Yet to me, building my relationship with this…

Perhaps, before I answer this question, I should define what is a cutting edge wine?  In the past, it could have been the use of stainless steel tanks, when none were used before, or the use of cultured yeasts specifically bred to impart particular flavours and aromas in a wine.  But now, these things are mainstream.  What is new and…

Black Market Wine Company that is, not the other kind. Black Market is one of our new wineries here in BC; located in Okanagan Falls, it consists of 3 people: Rob Hammersley, Michelle Shewchuk, and Mark Simpson. Mark is also the owner and wine maker for BC Wine Studio.  Rob and Michelle have some training in either viticulture or WSET education and look like they…

Buying French wine can be daunting.  The name of the grape is not seen on the bottle.  There could be the name of the village or vineyard on the bottle.  None of which probably helps many people here in Canada.  But with perseverance and a bit of knowledge you can learn a bit about a wine region, such as the…