Tag: pinot gris

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…

In Part 1 of my Review of the New Zealand Wine Fair 2012, I talked about New Zealand’s sustainability goals, and provided tasting notes on the New Zealand wine makers’ upcoming varietals to the rest of the world of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Syrah. But there is also Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and more to try during this tasting. …

New Zealand is well known for its clean air, temperate climate, and dare I say, super natural environment?  New Zealand’s wine industry goal is to be 100% sustainable, organic, or biodynamic by 2012. I read that over 95% of their vineyards are operating under an independently audited sustainability programme and over 90% of their wine production is also under an…

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…

In case you are unfamiliar with Harbinger Winery, they are located in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State in the town of Port Angeles. They have a wide range of wines, both grape-based and other fruits. The grapes for Harbinger’s wines comes from Eastern Washington. Their goal is to produce premium quality wines that are easy to drink.  They do not…

Even with the busy holiday season taking up our time, I was able to make a quick trip to Vancouver Island, and one of the things I did was visit the Chase & Warren Winery located in Port Alberni, BC.  I bet you didn’t know there were any wineries in Port Alberni, a place better known as a forestry town. …

David Scholefield and Michael Bartier are not new to wine in BC.  Michael Bartier was born and raised in the Okanagan and worked in the past for Hawthorne Mountain (See Ya Later Ranch), Township 7, Stag’s Hollow and most recently Road 13 Vineyards. He joins the team at Okanagan Crush Pad Winery as winemaker, where he and David produce their…

What is a Portfolio Tasting? If you have never been before, it is a wine tasting held by a wine agent of all, or many of, the wines that they represent.  It is a great place to taste many different wines, typically from different countries, and learn a bit about the style of wines that they carry.  Are they focused…

This week I was invited to some major announcements from Okanagan Crush Pad. OCP was established in 2010 by Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie. The Crush Pad is located on Switchback Road in Summerland, BC. Their head wine maker is Mr. Michael Bartier. Mr. Alberto Antonini is their consulting viticulturist and wine maker from Italy, and David Scholefield is their…

This Part 2 of my review of my picks from the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.  Part 1 covered the wines of Spain.  Part 2 is the rest of the world. Again, there are so many wines at the tasting, and so little time, I’m sure I missed many great wines.  If you tasted some that I didn’t list, please…