Tag: chardonnay

The Swirl Around BC Wine Expo was held this week for people in the wine trade to show off the latest vintages from BC wineries across the province.  I decided to start by tasting white wines only, and then as time and my back permitted, I would try a few red wines.  Most of the white wines are from our…

I recently attended a walkabout wine tasting of the wines from the state of Victoria, which is in the southeastern corner of Australia.  Its capital city is Melbourne, where the Australian Open is held in January, kicking off the first of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments.  Within Victoria there are 21 wine regions that range from cooler climates, for…

Gérard Bertrand, coming from the south of France, in the Languedoc, took over his father’s winery in 1987, although he started off as a professional rugby player in France.  Gérard Bertrand currently owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region. The Languedoc has been growing grapes for wines for 24 centuries (Greeks planted grapes around 550 BC) and…

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…

BC’s Sandhill Wines is introducing Secco, a fresh, fruit-forward BC VQA sparkling wine made using the Charmat method, made from 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.  I received a bottle to try.  It is a test release, so not widely available; it is just at a few private liquor stores. I thought I would let you read the winemaker’s notes…

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…

I finally had a chance on a recent trip to Victoria to make a side trip to the Cowichan Valley to visit Unsworth Vineyards and Blue Grouse Estate Winery.  Unsworth is a bit closer to Victoria, so it was the first stop on my wine tasting day.  The winery grounds look beautiful with a modern-designed tasting room with lots of…

Here are two fresh wines for the summertime from the Okanagan’s Blasted Church Vineyards: a Chardonnay and a Rosé wine.  The rosé is made with a red grape you may not know, Blaufränkisch, but it is in the Valley and is originally from Austria and is also in Germany, where it is known as Lemberger (an unfortunate name in my opinion)…

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…

What BC wine would you have with a sechetti (parachute) pasta stuffed with ground chicken and bacon, served in a creamy rosé sauce?  One option is a Rose wine, but another valid option would be a Chardonnay.  Today I had this pasta dish with a glass of Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery Chardonnay 2025.  Fort Beren’s wines are now certified…