Tag: merlot

My last visit to Lotusland Vineyard in the Abbotsford area, Fraser Valley, was September 2010. I thought coming up to September 2012 that I should make another visit and see what is new at Lotusland.  The lady at the winery I met today poured me their Enigma 2004, Merlot 2003, and 2 Cabs. All wines are under screwcap. When I…

Last night was a Media preview of the new food menu at the Establishment Lounge in Kitsilano, 3162 W. Broadway (at Trutch).  The Establishment Lounge food is created by Executive Chef Victor Bongo.  Chef Bongo is the author of a cookbook titled: “The Excellence of Chef Victor Bongo“, which was published in March of 2009 by Xlibris Corporation.  The international…

I recently stopped in to visit Ed and Vicki Collett from Harper’s Trail Estate Winery in Kamloops, BC. Yes Kamloops!  I first met Ed and Vicki at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, and then at a recent Media Trip to Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, where Harper’s Trail wines are being vinified.  I was excited to see their vineyard…

Pulling into Bill and Darlene Freding’s Ranch, in Oliver, BC, we were greeted by cowboys and cowgirls on horseback.  This would be the start of our cowboy welcome to one of the newest wineries in BC.  Bill and Dar, have been cattle ranching together since the late 1970’s in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.  Fast forward to 1998, they had purchased some land…

This past week was very busy with wine events, but one event that I made sure to attend was the Bloom Vancouver, BC VQA Spring Release Tasting.  This was a Trade only event, so people like media, restaurant owners, sommeliers, and other wine buyers for consumers were only in attendance.  With spring you get the current release of the white…

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go down to Woodinville, WA and try the wines from 4 different wineries. I’ve been travelling down to Woodinville every few months and going to a different set of wineries’ tasting rooms. I think I’ve counted about 96 tasting rooms, so going to 4 per trip will take me 24 trips. Where is…

The New West Quay, overlooking the Fraser River, was the venue for the latest Naramata Bench wine release in the Vancouver area.  The number of wineries has increased each year that I have attended this event.  I did not count, but there was probably somewhere around 24 wineries in attendance. Where and what is the Naramata Bench?  This is a…

Today I was looking forward to the latest wine releases from Le Vieux Pin and La Stella wineries. In case you haven’t heard or tried wines from these two wineries, Le Vieux Pin makes wine in a French style, while La Stella takes the Italian route.  What do eggs have to do with this?  Read on about the wines first….

I admit that I do not know much about the wineries in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, but I decided to make a trip out there to find out more about these wineries. One winery that I visited, and had a very interesting and informative time was Camaraderie Cellars in Port Angeles, WA. I spent part of an afternoon with…

January 23, 2012, arrived full of promise, dragon-sized.  With that in mind, I checked out the New Product Salon for the Import Vintners & Spirits Association (IVSA) in downtown Vancouver.  There was a wide range of wines; sparkling, still, red, white, and fortified.  A few stars from the tasting that I would like to share with you.    Italian Prosecco…