Tag: cabernet

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is almost here.  The last time we had the Festival was two years ago and closed during our COVID crisis, but now it is back and runs from May 16-22.  One of the big attractions for us all is the International Festival Tasting room where wineries from around the world will have tables set up…

On Saturday, May 29, 2021, BC Liquor Stores will release an exciting selection of California wines. The outstanding collection features iconic names from Napa Valley including Hillside Reds as well as a focus on the new California with Rhône-style gems from Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, exquisite Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Santa Maria, Sta. Rita Hills and Sonoma Coast….

Soljans Hawke’s Bay Merlot Cabernet Malbec 2016 (NZ $22) In 1927, Bartul Soljan and his wife Rakelina sailed to New Zealand with their children, found land out in Henderson, broke it in, planted vines, and in 1932 established Soljan’s Family Vineyard. Fast-forward 86 years and their winemaker out west has stitched together a classic Bordeaux-style blend from Hawke’s Bay for…

I can’t keep hushed for long.  It is beautiful summer weather and it is time for us to get out onto our patio and enjoy ourselves and air our Dirty Laundry wines.  I received several bottles of Dirty Laundry’s latest wines to taste.  The first two are their Hush blends.  Dirty Laundry Vineyard is located in Summerland, BC and love…

Let’s welcome Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA and their branded Mouton Cadet wines to the Vancouver International Wine Festival.  Here is their introduction to you in their own words. Enter Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA Since 1933, the family-owned company Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, headed by Chairman and CEO Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and located in the heart of the…

Wine Align’s National Wine Awards were recently released and one winery, Road 13 Vineyards, in Oliver, BC, took away a major load of awards for their wines, and in the process were named Wine Align’s Top Canadian Winery.  Congratulations to Road 13 Vineyards.  I was lucky to visit Road 13 Vineyards in June and tasted through most of their wines…

BC’s father daughter team of Harry McWatters and Christa-Lee McWatters-Bond have collaborated to produce two lines of wine lately; Evolve Cellars and McWatters Collection.  For me Evolve Cellar’s wines are meant to be young and fresh and easy to drink, while McWatters Collection has more structured wines that you can put in your cellar for many years and enjoy. I…

Big deals seem to be happening often this year.  The latest deal was the purchase of a 63-acre vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench owned by C. C. Jentsch Cellars by Phantom Creek Estates. The vineyard was planted to Cabernet family varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec), Viognier, and Syrah. C.C. Jentsch Cellars, a family-owned winery, will continue to farm three estate…

Canada is a big country, with our wine grape growing areas on the limit of possibility, but at the edges of possibility is where you can make exciting wines, I’ve been told.  In the Festival Tasting Room I spent many hours tasting wines from BC, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, and speaking with the winery principals in attendance.  Below are the…

Cabernet Sauvignon is the “King” in California. In our Celebrating California Cabs seminar we had a chance to experience the “Dream Vintages” of 2012, 2013 and 2014. And as you will see, I have rated all these wines very highly.  When you have wines of such quality, it is more a matter of style that you prefer.  The winery principals noted that 2011 was…