Tag: Oliver

Chinese (Lunar) New Year 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, starting on February 17, 2026 until February 5, 2027.  The Horse embodies enthusiasm, speed and fieriness, bringing a year focused on bold moves and exploration.  The Year of the Horse brings themes of freedom, action, and momentum, encouraging bold moves, new projects, travel, and social connection, fuelled by…

We are well into the colder, winter weather now here in BC.  So it is time to venture into deeper, red wines.  I have two red wines from Oliver’s Gold Hill Winery. I have their Gold Hill Oxbow Reach Merlot 2019 and Oxbow Reach Cabernet Franc 2019. Both are interestingly from the 2019 vintage, with now 6 years of aging. …

I saved my last two wines from Domaine Artema Winery to be their Village Sparkling Rosé 2024 and their La Petite Mort (port style), NV, dessert wine.  These two wines can cover the start and end of a delicious dinner.  I did not decant either wine.  In the first case, you don’t want the delicious bubbles in your sparkling wine…

Today, I’m easing us into the colder weather with a 2024 Rosé and a Gamay wine made by Oliver’s Domaine Artema Winery.  Gamay is a red wine grape with less tannins and more acidity, making it easier to sip on its own as well as being food friendly.  The Rosé wine uses Pinot Noir primarily with a substantial amount of…

Have you heard of one of our newest BC wineries, Domaine Artema Winery?   The winery is located on Black Sage Road in Oliver, just down the road from Burrowing Owl. They opened their doors to the public earlier this year.  This winery notes that it specializes in Chardonnay and Gamay Noir wines.  Gamay Noir is the grape grown primarily in…

I had a wonderful visit at Hester Creek Estate Winery in Oliver, where head winemaker, Mark Hopley, took me behind the scenes to view the working harvest in the winery, to try tank samples, as well as a few finished wines.  Here are a few of the things that Mark and I spoke about. The 2025 Harvest: A Year of…

These are probably my last two BC red wines for me to taste in 2023.  The wines come from the Church & State Wines.  I have their Church & State Wines Cabernet Franc 2019 and Syrah 2019. While the winery started on Vancouver Island, they do make wines from Okanagan-sourced grapes as well.  The Cabernet Franc comes from the terraces…

These two big red wines from Oliver, BC’s Winemaker’s CUT are wonderful examples of wines that can be made in BC to drink now, has softer tannins, but can still age a few years in your cellar for your enjoyment.  The two wines are the Winemaker’s CUT Bohemian Petit Verdot 2020 and the Bohemian Cuvée Rouge 2020.  Both are vegan-friendly…

I have two top quality, vegan-friendly red wines to tell you about from Winemaker’s CUT.  I opened their Winemaker’s CUT Bohemian Syrah 2020 and Bohemian Pinot Noir 2020.  Why Bohemian?   Bohemian wines are single vineyard blends made in extremely small volumes. The wines come from their finest barrels and only are produced when the vintage is appropriate.  They also play…

I visited TIME Family of Wines winery, tasting room, and restaurant in September.  And had a great time.  Lots of delicious wines for you to enjoy and the chef is on-point.  I received this press release from TIME Family of Wines about what is new and I’d like to share it with you.  Enjoy. ~~~As autumn is upon us, the…