Tag: riesling

For those of you looking for organic-certified BC wines, here are two from the Similkameen Valley’s Robin Ridge Winery.  It is a small, family-operated winery located in Keremeos.  They keep to minimal intervention in winemaking, using indigenous yeasts for fermentation.  The two wines I recently received to review are the Robin Ridge Winery Riesling 2022 and Robin Ridge Winery Gamay…

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with winemaker Patrick Murphy at 1909 Estate Winery in Langley.  Patrick has been making wines for many years.  You may recognize his name as one of the owners of Vista D’oro Farms & Winery in the Fraser Valley.  He and his wife sold the winery in 2024, and he has been hired by…

We all need R&R sometime.  I have two for you today from Osoyoos’ Adega on 45th Estate Winery.  I received their Adega on 45th Estate Winery Riesling 2025 and Rosé 2025.  Both wines come from our terrific and well-deserved 2025 vintage.   The winery founded by siblings Maria Nunes and Fred Farinha, alongside their spouses, the European-inspired property was named “Adega”…

BC is well-known for producing quality sparkling wines.  Township 7 Vineyards & Winery has dedicated a significant portion of their wine production to making top-quality sparkling wines, under the “seven stars” label, for over 25 years.  These wines are small lot cuvées, crafted with passion in the méthode champenoise style and made by Township 7’s winemaker, Mary McDermott. Grape varieties…

My last article was on two aromatic wines from Blasted Church Vineyards.  I tasted their Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc.  Today I tasted two more aromatic BC white wines, but this time from Hester Creek Estate Winery.  I tasted their Hester Creek Estate Winery Viognier 2025 and Hester Creek Estate Winery Riesling 2025.  It will be interesting to compare the styles…

In BC we welcomed the bountiful grape harvest of 2025, after we had two terrible years with cold winter weather that devastated our grape vines.  White wines are usually the first to be released after a harvest.  I received several bottles of the 2025 vintage wines from Lillooet’s Fort Berens Estate Winery, and today I tasted two of those wines: …

Many people have taken an ocean cruise travelling up to Alaska or around the Caribbean, or maybe the Mediterranean Sea, but fewer people have taken a river cruise, as far as I know.  I decided to go on a Rhine River cruise hosted by Avalon Waterways, travelling from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland.  It was an eight day trip and included…

Once prized in the courts of Europe and poured for royalty, Riesling was long considered one of the continent’s most noble wines, especially in regions along the Rhine River. In the 19th century, top bottles from Germany often commanded prices rivalling the great growths of Bordeaux. Today, Riesling is revered by knowledgeable wine drinkers for its remarkable range, from bone-dry…

It is always a treat at a winemaker’s dinner to be able to talk with the winemaker who gives us some insight into how the wines we are drinking together were made and any challenges they encountered.  I recently attended a winemaker dinner at Provence Marinaside, featuring Jessica Otting from the Niagara region’s Tawse Winery, who gave us those insights. …

Every year in the deep, darkness and pouring rain of winter in Vancouver, we have Dine Out Vancouver, to try to get us out and excited about food, wine, and hopefully life.  I booked a dine out experience at Provence Marinaside.  A top notch restaurant in Vancouver, serving excellent French cuisine.  Here are a few pictures of what I enjoyed…