Tag: Chianti Classico

While I was Grinch-like in awarding 5 stars to only three wines I tasted in 2024, I was more Oprah-like with the 4.5-5 -star wines.  Plus, there are many quality wines, so it should not be a surprise.  This year there were 13 BC wines, 18 Italian wines, 4 French wines, 2 Californian wines, and 4 wines from New Zealand…

Here are two big red wines.  One from a grape you may not know too well, Tannat, and the other wine is a Chianti Classico, but at the top tier, Gran Selezione.  The Tannat wine comes from Argentina, which is uncommon, as Argentina is best known for Malbec.  But this Tannat shows that it also does well in Argentina.  Let…

When you buy wine in a BC Liquor store, you don’t think about how the wine was selected for the shelves.  Behind the scenes are many wine agencies that search for wines from around the world, to build their portfolio, and have some of their portfolio sold through BC Liquor stores with the remaining wines, usually specialty wines, sold in…

I and other Trade individuals were invited to Discover Extraordinary Italian Wines.  Some of the wineries at the event were searching for local representation, while other wineries already have an agent and their wines are in BC Liquor stores or private wine shops and restaurants.  I’ve put a “*” beside those wineries that have local representation, so you should be…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival 2024 had lots of wonderful wines and events to attend.  I spent most of my time in the Festival Tasting Room sipping Italian wines and speaking with the Italian winery principals.  I did also attend some seminars and dinners.  Below is a list of all the articles that I wrote for VanWineFest 2024.  Have fun…

This seminar, Challenge of the Red Titans, was fun.  It was held Friday afternoon and we had spent the week preceding with serious discussions of Italian wines.  We deserved a dash of fun, but the seminar still provided us with valuable information about Italian red wines.  We learned a bit about how the big Italian blockbuster wineries are reshaping themselves…

While Italy has been known to produce robust, hearty reds, many of the country’s greatest wines offer a lighter touch without sacrificing flavour. This seminar, “Italy’s Lightness of Being”, led by Filippo Bartolotta and Michaela Morris, took us through sparkling wines, white wines with texture, and much more.  Winery principals, Fabio Bosio, Tommaso Chiarli, Daniel Grace, Stefano Inama, Nicola Mazzella,…

Although Italy contributes approximately 20% of the world’s wine, it remains a relative mystery to many people, due to unfamiliar grape varieties and wine region names.  Wine journalist and educator Filippo Bartolotta led us exploring the rich history, modern innovation, and the renaissance of Italian classic wine styles shaping the current identity of this historical wine region.  The winery principals…

I was invited to sit down with Mr. Beppe d’Andrea, Ruffino‘s Senior Global Brand Ambassador, to taste a selection of their wines and talk about the winery and other wine topics while Beppe was attending VanWineFest 2024. In 1987, Beppe began his career with Ruffino and has never looked back. Initially working in the vineyards, he soon joined the winemaking…

For VanWineFest 2024, I joined Barone Francesco Ricasoli from Tuscany for an unforgettable dinner featuring his Chianti Classico wines paired with traditional Tuscan fare prepared by the culinary team at Italian Kitchen.  The Barone provided us with background to his family winery as well as information about each wine.  He is the 32nd Barone of the family, living in the…