Tag: seminar

This seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival helped us learn how California’s landscape and climate shape the Golden State and its wines. Each wine we tasted explored a different aspect of California from the coastline to the mountains, with a winery principal talking to us about the wine and the region.  Our Moderator was DJ Kearney while our panelists…

I have a few Riedel glasses at home that I use for red Bordeaux blends, Pinot Noir, oaked Chardonnay, and aromatic white wines, but have not tested the theory that the shape of a glass can really positively or negatively affect the taste of the wine, until I attended this seminar at the Vancouver International Wine Festival, hosted by Alysha…

To start off the Vancouver International Wine Festival, I attended this masterclass which featured 11 British Columbia wines from across the province, “Defining the Root of BC Terroir“.  Our panellists, the winemakers at the wineries, discussed the unique growing conditions of their vineyard and terroir of the area. There was also some discussion on what BC winegrowers are doing in…

This is Part Two of my article covering the Chianti Classico Masterclass led by Jason Yamasaki.  In Part One I covered the history, and grape varieties used for Chianti Classico, touched on the DOCG quality pyramid, and reviewed a basic Annata tier of Chianti Classico wines.  In Part Two I am covering the Chianti Classico Riserva and Gran Selezione tiers…

2021 was a year of extreme weather conditions in BC, which had an impact on BC grapes and wine production.  Temperature records were shattered in many regions.  I’ve been told that Kelowna, Kamloops, Osoyoos, and Lillooet were among 60 cities that broke temperature records.  The heat dome in the summer causes grapevines to shut down until the weather cools off. …

The Vancouver International Wine Festival is almost here.  The last time we had the Festival was two years ago and closed during our COVID crisis, but now it is back and runs from May 16-22.  One of the big attractions for us all is the International Festival Tasting room where wineries from around the world will have tables set up…

Do you love Chablis but not like Chardonnay?  Did you know that Chablis is made from Chardonnay?  Chardonnay is a very versatile grape, with both unoaked and oaked versions.  One reason that some people adore Chablis is the acidity and minerality from these wines, which in part comes from the climate and the other coming from the special limestone soils…

The Vancouver International Wine Festival in 2021 host countries were slated to be from South America.  One of the countries, Brasil, is one that I have heard makes wine, but never had a chance to try.  With COVID, I understand why VanWineFest cancelled the 2021 Festival, but my interest in finding out about Brasilian wine did not diminish. Fortunately, Vinexpo New…

My first Masterclass at the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2020 was about the wines from the Languedoc region produced by Gérard Bertrand and moderated by Anthony Gismondi.  Gérard Bertrand is the ambassador of the fine wines of Languedoc-Roussillon around the world and owns 16 estates with their unique terroirs in the region.  The Languedoc has, in general, had a poor…

It’s official.  I’ve received my Media accreditation for the Vancouver International Wine Festival 2020.  As part of the accreditation, I will be attending various events.  Besides meeting winery principals and tasting their wines, I’m always happy to chat with anyone that has an interest in wine.  So if you are going to attend some events this year, remember France is…