Tag: port

During the holidays many of us like to make, give and/or receive pastries and chocolates.  But what do we pair them with?  Tea or coffee?  Yes those are what most people do, but how about wine?  I took up that idea and visited Chef Hodge at Temper Chocolate & Pastry to get a sample of pastries and chocolates for me…

It’s like Carly Simon says if you are willing to play the game, its “Coming Around Again”. This time I’m talking about Mateus sparkling wine from Portugal. The oval dark green Mateus Rosé sparkling wine bottle is probably very familiar to my parent’s generation, and to me by assimilation.  But for the younger people, GenX and Millennials, Mateus may not be on their…

The 39th Vancouver International Wine Festival starts on Feb 24, 2018.  What an amazing success, for the Festival to be bringing us wines from around the world to our doorstep, along with a winery principal!  There will be 1400+ wines to taste through all events, and more than 700 wines in the Festival Tasting Room.  Our theme countries for this…

The History of the House of Ramos Pinto The House Ramos Pinto, in Portugal, was founded in 1880 and for several decades, its history has been marked by a balance between innovation and respect for tradition. In the production and selection of the best grapes, in the systematic knowledge of the terroir and being the pioneer in the launching of…

What would you do if you owned a port house and it was celebrating its 325th birthday? Make a special 325 Special Edition Tawny Port of course!  And that is what Taylor Fladgate has done.  This special port has arrived in the Vancouver area and is available in 39 BC Liquor stores.  It comes in a special bottle as well,…

When someone asks you about your favourite wines from Europe, probably most people would say France or Italy, but there are other countries you should consider like Portugal.  There are more than 250 grape varieties in Portugal, giving the wine maker quite a selection when they make their red or white wines.  Some of these grapes, like Touriga Nacional can…

Are you tired of drinking Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay from around the world?  Are you excited by trying a wine from a grape that you have never heard of before?  If you said YES, then you should be trying the wines from Portugal.  It has over 250 different indigenous grape varieties and produces some very flavourful wines.  Plus the wines…

Leavenworth, Washington, located just east of Stevens Pass, a mere 4 hrs from the BC/WA border is well known for their Oktoberfest activities, which happen over 3 weekends every October.  This past weekend, I went to try the beer, brats and pretzels for Oktoberfest, but I also wanted to try the wines produced by the wineries in the area.  (My…

I posted this article for all the star-crossed lovers 2 years ago.  I thought I’d check out the wines, and I’d stand by them all, but in addition, new wines have come to the BC market, so I thought I’d add those ones in too, so enjoy this Valentine’s Day with an even greater range of wine.  And don’t forget…

This is not a New Years Resolution. It is too late in January for that.  What this is, is a suggested list of wines, or styles of wines, that you may want to consider trying.  Maybe you have never tried wines from Argentina? Why not?  With my list below, I give some reasons you may want to try these wines. …