Tag: Masterclass

I was fortunate to be able to attend the Portugal Wine Experience masterclass led by Eugénio Jardim, US Brand Ambassador for Wines of Portugal. Following is what we covered with Eugénio followed by my wine-tasting notes for the flight of wines he had prepared for us. Eugénio Jardim’s Masterclass Did you know that Portugal is the closest European country to…

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…

Wines evolve with time in the bottle.  People talk about how they drink their aged Bordeaux and Burgundy wines.  Never drinking them young.  In BC many people think that our wines are best enjoyed young.  Not thinking about ageing them for a few years, or longer. This masterclass by the Wines of British Columbia had us taste a young and…

This is Part Two of my article covering the Chianti Classico Masterclass led by Jason Yamasaki.  In Part One I covered the history, and grape varieties used for Chianti Classico, touched on the DOCG quality pyramid, and reviewed a basic Annata tier of Chianti Classico wines.  In Part Two I am covering the Chianti Classico Riserva and Gran Selezione tiers…

I was fortunate to be invited to a Chianti Classico Masterclass led by Jason Yamasaki, the Chianti Classico Ambassador in BC.  Jason spoke to us about the history of the Chianti Classico region, the grape used and the different quality levels of Chianti Classico.  As this was such a wide-ranging masterclass, I am dividing it up into two sections.  In…

I had an educational and fun tasting experience at the 2022 Northwest Wine Expedition Masterclass: Sustainability. We had Barbara Philip MW host the event with Alex Sokol Blosser, co-owner and winemaker, from Sokol Blosser Winery from Oregon, and Cam Matches, Sr Director of Sales, from Aquilini Beverage Group (Vancouver) from Washington to give us information about each state as it…

Today was the best way to start my first Trade Tasting for 2022; a Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Masterclass led by wine writer, educator, judge and speaker Michaela Morris, DipWSET, VIA Certified Italian Wine Expert.  We had 8 Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. to taste at different levels of dryness.  But before we tasted these wines Michaela provided us with some…

Do you love Chablis but not like Chardonnay?  Did you know that Chablis is made from Chardonnay?  Chardonnay is a very versatile grape, with both unoaked and oaked versions.  One reason that some people adore Chablis is the acidity and minerality from these wines, which in part comes from the climate and the other coming from the special limestone soils…

My first Masterclass at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2020 was about the wines from the Languedoc region produced by Gérard Bertrand and moderated by Anthony Gismondi.  Gérard Bertrand is the ambassador of the fine wines of Languedoc-Roussillon around the world and owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region.  The Languedoc has, in general, had a poor…

From pale and dry to dark and syrupy, there’s a Sherry for every occasion.  But, Sherry is a very misunderstood wine style.  To provide us with more clarity and experience with Sherry we had Lara Victoria, DipWSET of Cru Classe Hospitality Corp to lead us through a WSET Masterclass at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. Lara, besides being a WSET…