Tag: Lake Country

To start off the Vancouver International Wine Festival, I attended this masterclass which featured 11 British Columbia wines from across the province, “Defining the Root of BC Terroir“.  Our panellists, the winemakers at the wineries, discussed the unique growing conditions of their vineyard and terroir of the area. There was also some discussion on what BC winegrowers are doing in…

In BC we relatively quickly learned that cooler climate grapes, like Riesling, did better in the north Okanagan, and warmer climate grapes, like Syrah, did better in the south Okanagan.  Similarly cooler climate grape varieties in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island.  And more.  But we have had a few decades now to further refine these generalized grape growing regions…

Please welcome and come visit Lake Country’s O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars at VanWineFest 2022.  Here is info from the winery for you. ~~~ Peak Cellars Owned by local entrepreneur Dennis O’Rourke. Dennis is long-time resident of the Okanagan Valley, having bought property on Juniper Cove Road in Lake Country in 1979. Before building a home on this land, Dennis spent many…

The Chinese New Year 2022 is celebrated on February 1, 2022, with this year being the Year of the Water Tiger, plus it is predicted to be a lucky year!  Goodbye COVID, I hope. The tiger is portrayed as the king of the animals and represents strength and courage.  A few past tiger years were 2010 (when we had the Winter…

I thought I’d write this article about BC Rosé wines as rosé wines have been on a growth tear for several years.  Plus checking my website stats for the last 4 weeks, the top query was “Mateus Rosé Wine“.  Mateus, from Portugal, has been around for many years, enjoyed by my parents, and is now updated and reaching out to…

My last 2 wines from 50th Parallel Estate Winery in Lake Country are from the Pinot Noir grape.  The first is their 2017 Pinot Noir and the other is their Blanc de Noir Methode Traditionnelle 2017 sparkling wine.  With the COVID situation keeping us all at home, why not use some of your stored vacation money that you would have…

Do you ever drink white wine with BBQ?  If not, try a big, buttery, oaked Chardonnay like this one from 50th Parallel Estate Winery.  If you are still enjoying the Rosé revolution I also have a Rosé from 50th Parallel Estate to tell you about. My Tasting Notes 50th Parallel Estate Winery Chardonnay 2018 (BC $39) – this wine after…

The first two wines from 50th Parallel Estates Winery for me to taste are aromatic whites that you would find in the Alsace region of France, but of course these wines are located in Lake Country.  The two wines I am tasting are their Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer 2019. Where is Lake Country? You may not be familiar with the…

BC’s wine regions, in my opinion, can be categorized as either a very cool, cool, warm, or hot climate.  Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley I’d put into the very cool category.  Lake Country would be cool.  North Okanagan and the Kootenays, I’d regard as cool to warm.  South Okanagan, Similkameen, and Kamloops to Lillooet as hot.  These regions can…

In my previous article, I divided BC’s emerging wine regions into a warmer and a cooler side.  In this article I would like to concentrate on the cooler side, which for me covers the Salmon Arm and Lake Country areas to the north of the Okanagan Valley.  Lake Country is warmer than Salmon Arm, which is to the north of…