Around this time of year, wine tastings happen with increasing velocity, as every country-winery-region-producer-importer wants to pour their prized elixir for media—or even for real wine buyers—during the crucial pre-holiday buying period. Every now and then, one comes along that leaves a lasting impression, such as this past week’s Wine Australia extravaganza in [...]
As executive director of the BC Wine Institute (1992-2001), Coletta also introduced BC wines to the London International Wine Fair
Riedel’s supremacy as a stemware producer is no surprise: we’ve been a convert for years, and have a not too shabby lineup of their glasses for everyday tasting at home.
And the winners are ... The moment of truth at Government House comes when the wraps are pulled off the winning wines. That’s the challenge of tasting blind: you just hope that the winners span an appropriate range of style, producer and price. It’s no small coincidence that the actual judging is run by Marjorie [...]
The Hired Belly has just finished participating in one of the more interesting competitions on the Canadian judging calendar. The Lieutenant Governor's Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines were introduced by former Lieutenant Governor the Honourable Iona Campagnolo in 2003. The judging is different from many for a number of reasons, none [...]
(Besides the fact they’re just darn tasty drops...) The Paarl Valley is just one of many breathtaking spots in South Africa's scenic and varied winelands, Tim Pawsey photo By the time June is over, you’ll know two things, for sure. 1. Soccer is the world’s game—played by more [...]
Clean and Lean, New Winery is Really ‘Very Riesling’ Tantalus Vineyards has emerged as the Okanagan’s de facto flagship Riesling producer—and rightly so. For the last few years the winery operated out of the former Pinot Reach facility—a delightful, if somewhat rustic arrangement not entirely conducive to the [...]
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 [...]
