Tag: VQA

When getting ready for the holiday season, wine is a celebratory drink.  And we all enjoy having something to eat during the holidays, so I would like to offer you some wine and cheese pairings recommendations.  Here is the first of my wine and cheese pairings with two BC wines from Evolve Cellars. The two white wines I have are…

Do you like sparkling wine? This one from Evolve Cellars in Penticton is a delight to sip.  It is made with the Charmat method (think Prosecco) and has nice fresh fruit flavours. A blend of 70% Pinot Blanc and 30% Chardonnay grapes. Let’s get to my tasting notes. My Tasting Notes Evolve Cellars Effervescence NV (BC $19.99) – This wine…

Here are two more vegan wines for you from Blue Grouse Estate Winery.  Their Quill Gamay Noir 2018 and their Quill Q Red 2018. The Quill Q Red is a blend of Merlot 75%, Cabernet Franc 11.5%, and Marechal Foch 13.5%.  The grapes for the Gamay Noir come from the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island while the Q Red grapes…

Have you ever heard of the Ortega grape? Did you know that Ortega is a cross between Siegerrebe and Müller-Thurgau?  And did you know that you can try Ortega wine from Blue Grouse Estate Winery from Duncan, BC?  Vancouver Island is a very cool climate region and as such many of the wineries produce wines from aromatic white grapes such…

Do you know the meaning of the term “Meritage” for wines? It is a term developed by the California-based Meritage Alliance, that means a Bordeaux blend of grapes, without infringing on the term Bordeaux. Just like wineries around the world cannot say that their sparkling wine is Champagne. It is a term restricted to the region where that style of…

Here are my last two wines to review for you from Church & State Wines.  They grow grapes and produce wines from both their Vancouver Island and their Okanagan vineyard/winery sites.  The two wines I tasted for this article are their Sauvignon Blanc 2018 and Coyote Bowl Series Chardonnay 2017, both coming from the Okanagan.  Their wines, starting in 2017…

How would you like to impress your family and friends with two little known white wines from BC?  You can with a Viognier and a white Bordeaux blend from TIME Winery.  I was impressed with the quality of these two wines.  Did you know that Bordeaux makes white wines?  They do.  They are typically a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and…

Pinot Noir and Riesling are probably my favourite red and white grapes respectively.  Both are very transparent to their terroir.  Pinot Noir shows different aromas and flavours with the growing season weather for the year, and can be made as a still wine or into sparkling wine, e.g. Champagne.  Riesling can be made anywhere from bone dry to very sweet…

Spearhead Winery produces very nice Pinot Noir wines that I have had the pleasure of reviewing over many years.  I received a bottle of their latest release the Spearhead Pinot Noir Cuvée 2018 to review.  They used Pinot Noir clones Pommard, Dijon Clones 777, 828, 667, and 115, and Mt Eden in the production of their Cuvée blend.  The exact…

Canadian Thanksgiving is going to be very different this year for many of us who are accustomed to getting together with our parents, brothers and sister, and maybe aunts and uncles for dinner.  It will be smaller, and may be just you, but you can still enjoy your turkey, ham, or vegan Thanksgiving meal with a glass or two of…