Tag: grenache

After summer holidays are over and you are all relaxed from the sun, food, and wine with family and friends, September comes around.  For the wine trade, this is the start of the busy season leading up to Christmas, and with this there are many agency portfolio tastings.  I attended two portfolio tastings this past week, and I’m here to…

Walla Walla has quite an interesting name.  You may know it for two things: it’s sweet onions and fabulous wines. I recently made a trip out to Walla Walla, not for the onions, but for the wines. Where is Walla Walla, Washington? From Vancouver, it is a long 1 day trip.  Excluding time to cross the border and time for…

Did you know that Australia’s Barossa Valley contains some of the oldest vineyards in the world?  There is some vineyards dating back to 1843.  To help recognize these, and other aged vines in Australia, in 2009 the Barossa Old Vine Charter was instituted. The Charter groups vineyards into 4 categories by age: Old (vines greater than or equal to 35…

Sitting down in a private room at Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop Shop, myself and a few other wine media had a chance to try some fantastic Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Hahn Family Wines, a California-based winery, with vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County.  I pulled wine maker Paul Clifton aside for a few minutes to…

Thistledown Wines draws on its Celtic links for their logo. Established in 2010 by Giles Cooke MW, “The Pom”, Fergal Tynan MW “The Irishman” and Peter Leske “The Australian of German Descent”. Giles Cooke passed his MW first time around and has since had wine making experience in Spain, Australia and California. Fergal Tynan has extensively travelled the world and…

I had not heard of Domaine Saint Jean du Barroux until recently;  a winery located between the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux in the Southern Rhone, owned by Oenologist, winemaker/grower, Philippe Gimel. A tiny vineyard with 4 of 16 hectares covered with fruit trees and shrubbery.  The remaining 12 hectares of vineyards are planted along an eroded fault line…

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…

This past week has been Spring Break vacation for me, and the Vancouver weather has been a bit rainy and dull.  So what is a Canuck to do, other than pack his bags and fly down to Arizona to get a dose of sunshine and warm weather, which I really enjoyed. I have heard and read that there are wineries…

When did you last try a bottle of Australian wine? For some of you, maybe today, but for others maybe quite a while.  People find favorite countries or types of grape and stay with that for a while. Sometimes it is nice to break out of your pattern and retaste wines from other countries.  It has been a while since…

Leavenworth, Washington, located just east of Stevens Pass, a mere 4 hrs from the BC/WA border is well known for their Oktoberfest activities, which happen over 3 weekends every October.  This past weekend, I went to try the beer, brats and pretzels for Oktoberfest, but I also wanted to try the wines produced by the wineries in the area.  (My…