Tag: Gabriel Meffre

I spent Friday afternoon at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026 tasting French red wines.  Here are my favourite French wines from the International Festival Tasting Room.  There is a fairly even distribution of red wines from different regions of France (and therefore different varietals) in my picks below.  Enjoy. My French Red Wine Selections Castel Frères Exclusive Aspirant de…

Wine lovers often talk about “Old World vs. New World,” but the comparison becomes far more interesting when you look at two regions that share a deep respect for terroir while expressing it in completely different ways. British Columbia and France may be separated by an ocean and centuries of winemaking history, yet they meet at the intersection of climate,…

Our climate is changing.  That is not up to debate.  Wineries from around the world have been looking into ways to make their vineyards more resilient to these changes.  One of those regions is the AOC Côtes du Rhône within the Rhône Valley in France.  I received three wines from the region, along with information about how the Côtes du…

One of the coolest things about VanWineFest is that each winery represented at the Festival has to bring a winery principal, who could be the owner or a family member, or their winemaker.  When you ask them to pour you a glass of their wine at the Festival tasting room, you can ask them about that wine:  How was it…

It’s Spring!  I have at least 5 tulips blooming in my front yard, the sun is out, and I’m looking to find some new and exciting white wines for the patio for me and for you.  Last week was the latest Import Vintners & Spirits Association (IVSA) Trade tasting to introduce the wine & spirits trade to the new libations…

Iconic wines from France.  Your mind probably jumped to Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne.  But there are iconic wines across each of the wine regions of France.  During this seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, we were introduced to an iconic wine from each region.  The wines and their regions are: Champagne Taittinger. ($163.99) Champagne. Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de…