Tag: Gewurztraminer

Did you know that during the ice age, glaciers up to 3 km thick covered the Okanagan and carved out the valley we love?  The retreat of the glaciers left benches covered with fertile soil where many wineries grow their vines.  Okanagan Falls, between Penticton and Oliver, I think holds a sweet spot for growing grapes and making wine.  It has…

This past year I tasted a tremendous number of wines from around the world, but some wines really resonated with me.  It may have been the great balance of fruit, sugar, acidity for a white wine, or the fruit, tannins and minerality in a red wine, or something else. Something that made the wine stand above the other wines.  Could…

Last week the BC wineries who are part of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) presented their latest releases of red, white, and sparkling wines.  74 wineries had tables and each poured around 4 wines on average.  So 296 new releases hit our market, with some wines available at BC liquor stores, while others only available a private wine shops, or…

BC’s emerging wine regions is rather large and encompasses different climates and terroir.  From my tour to the region, the places that I visited I think can be divided into two sub-regions: the hot west, and the cooler northeast.  There is still an area to the southeast that I did not visit on this trip, so cannot comment on its…

Everyone knows about the Okanagan Valley as a wine region, and some may also know about the Similkameen which is on the southwestern edge of the Okanagan, but what about BC’s emerging wine regions, covering the Kootenays, Lillooet and Thompson Shuswap?  I had a chance to go on a trip hosted by the Wines of BC to visit Lillooet and…

In my previous article, Lunessence Winery Winemaker’s Cut and More, I introduced you to one of our newer wineries Lunessence Winery & Vineyard.  They sent me 9 wines in total to try.  I wrote about 5 of their wines in the first article, and now the remaining 4 wines here for you to enjoy. I am amazed that there is…

Finally, the sunny, warm weather is with us here in BC. Winter was dreadful, but now we can get out on the patio and enjoy some freshly vinified BC white wine. The 2016 harvest was very good in BC and produced wines with good flavour character and acidity. Recently I attended the Bloom BC VQA Spring Release Tasting and tasted…

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…

A wine agent’s portfolio tasting typically gives you the chance to try both listed as well as spec wines; wines that may only show up in specialty wine shops or restaurants, in limited quantities.  I have been to Mark Anthony Wine and Spirits‘ portfolio tasting now for a few years, and I am always very impressed by the wineries that…

Wines come in many different styles, and associated price points. A winery is typically set up with a goal in mind, whether it is to be the next Chateau Petrus or Yellow Tail, or somewhere in between.  Evolve Cellars in Summerland is a still a young winery in the Okanagan, but they have set their sights “…to craft friendly and…