Tag: france

This is my second year attending Top Drop Vancouver, where small-scale producers from around the world show us their hand crafted wines. According to Top Drop, “Our focus is terroir-influenced, handcrafted wines, and the people behind them. W e believe in the importance in farming one’s own fruit and/or being constantly engaged with grape-growers to ensure sustainability and a high…

It’s Spring.  We should be putting on our shorts, getting out on the patio and enjoying some wine, cheese, fresh seafood, and some grilled lamb chops.  These wines from the latest IVSA should fit the bill. White and Sparkling Wines Beau Joie Champagne Brut NV, France (~$120) – Nice strawberries and lees on the nose; medium intensity.  Dry, high acidity…

Sometimes the best wines around are the ones that are not generally listed in BC Liquor stores.  They are known as Spec or Special Order wines.  You can find these wines through some private wine shops, or you could order them through these shops, but you may need a minimum order size. I attended Select Wines‘ portfolio tasting and enjoyed…

Sparkling wine is always fun to drink; and even better enjoyed with friends or family.  But sometimes you don’t want to open an entire bottle, or maybe you want to try a few different types of bubbles; prosecco and cremant perhaps?  Or how about an expensive bottle of Cristal and live like a rock star?  Whatever your reasons, I have…

According to Wikipedia, “Malbec World Day is celebrated on April 17, to commemorate the day when president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina officially made it his mission to transform Argentina’s wine industry. On that day, back in 1853, he tasked Michel Aimé Pouget, a French soil expert, to bring over new vines. Amongst his selection, was Malbec.” Did you know…

Beside the theme country every year in the Festival Tasting room of the Vancouver International Wine Festival, there are all the other wineries from countries around the world offering their wines for you to try.  Below are 15 wines that I thought were excellent.  Some may be in BC liquor stores and others may have only been available during the Festival….

The Tulalip Resort Casino always has served me top quality dishes and wines.  I was invited to a wine dinner at the Tulalip Resort Casino, and have below the fantastic hand-selected wines by Sommelier Tom Thomson to pair with the dishes that I, and some other food, wine, and travel writers from WA, had the chance to enjoy together. The…

Rhone, there is so much to discover, from scintillating Syrah, to ripe summer fruits from Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne, to full-bodied, ripe red and black fruit blends from Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  I’ve travelled twice to France and both times I stopped in the Rhone Valley.  To see the Tain Hermitage hill, to get a chance to walk the hill and overlook Cornas…

Valentine’s Day is a special day, and enjoying a glass of sparkling wine with your significant other is a great way to cap, or start, the evening together.  Below are 6 different sparkling wines that I tried last year, from BC and overseas, that I think are exceptional.  Enjoy these wines on their own, with an appetizer, your main course…

One of the great things about the Vancouver International Wine Festival is that in the big Festival Tasting Room at the Conference Centre is that you can meet a winery principal and talk to him or her about their wines.  You can often find out info that is not widely known, such as how they decided to plant an obscure…