I used to get corked - now I'm screwed! Gray Monk's ingenious expansion brings a whole new dimension - Tim Pawsey photo (Updated, see below) We weren't there at the very beginning, when, in 1972, George and Trudy Heiss were among the first to envision the Okanagan Valley's potential as a serious wine [...]
Similkameen Valley and Cawston from the Fairview Road, Tim Pawsey photo CAWSTON, B.C.--A sleepy backwater defined by its namesake river and towering peaks, the Similkameen Valley delights in its quiet, rural character that sets it apart from the Okanagan at large. At least since the last gold rush, farming is a mainstay. What's [...]
New owner Curt Garland and his team have transformed Hester Creek from a winery on the brink of oblivion to one of the Okanagan Valley’s up-and-comers Curt Garland says he wasn’t really looking to buy a winery. The Prince George entrepreneur was thinking of an Okanagan Valley escape, maybe a five acre lot. [...]
On the judging panel at Vintners Brunch: a slam dunk winner! Every year one of the first Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival events to sell out is the Vintner’s Brunch, held on the final day. Lots of folks get a group together and buy a table, to sample tastes from some of the city’s [...]
30+ Kiwi wines you won't want to spit Wine tastings can be a gruelling affair—especially when there are several hundred wines in the room. Spitting is a necessity—though not always easy. In November we visited almost all of the wineries who've come to Vancouver and were impressed above all by the consistency and [...]
Could the Golden Mile sub-appellation be in place in time for the 2011 harvest? Winemaker Bill Eggert from Fairview Cellars Winery in the (potential) Golden Mile sub-appellation – photo by Tim Pawsey As it turned, the answer was "no." But it turned out to be only a matter of time before Golden Mile [...]
Oyster Bay's new winery is just visible - photo by Tim Pawsey Why Kiwis are closer to home than you think ... With the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival upon us, the city’s wine focus will be firmly on New Zealand (along with co-theme region Argentina). Vancouverites might ponder a few salient facts and [...]
—John Schreiner’s latest Okanagan wine guide If anyone’s even thinking about opening a new winery in BC, chances are John Schreiner knows about it. Schreiner’s Okanagan Wine Tour Guide—edition no. 3—comes out May 1 (Whitecap $19.99). If you’re serious about keeping up with BC’s ever changing wine scene, it’s a ‘must have.’ We’ve known and [...]