Sam The Wine Teacher 
The 2018 Vancouver International Wine Festival has begun. Now in its 40th year, this weeklong celebration begins with a series of wine related dinners spread across the city. Portugal and Spain are this year’s featured countries, but with sixteen countries represented and 173 wineries pouring a combined 1,450 wines at 50 events, no matter what … Read more
What do you think of when you hear the name Giant Head? For me, it has always conjured up summer road trips to the Okanagan. Often it reminds me of days spent camping at the provincial park campsites between Summerland and Peachland. Warm days, fun at the beach and always bringing home lots of fresh … Read more
2015 Chardonnay (Qwam Qwmt) Nk’Mip Osoyoos, BC $25.00 Golden straw in colour with medium intensity. Well-integrated oak and fruit on the nose with notes of delicate butter and tropical fruit, especially pineapple. Well balanced with a creamy texture. The flavours follow the nose along with fresh cream. A medium-plus finish. 2012 Syrah … Read more
2016 Verdicchio Classico Superiore Umani Ronchi Casal di Serra Osimo, Italy $17.99 This impressive Italian white is golden straw in colour with medium intensity. Jasmine blossoms, ginger and melon on the nose. Well balanced. The flavour packs a bigger punch than the nose with the addition of orange peel, pear and almond flavours followed … Read more
2012 Chardonnay Reserve Noble Ridge Okanagan Falls, BC $29.90 Golden yellow colour with medium intensity. Buttered toast, apple, pear and tropical fruit on the nose. Good balance with unctuous texture. Rich butter and tropical fruit on the palate, followed by a medium-plus finish. This wine paired nicely with creamy garlic Parmesan pasta. 2014 … Read more
Liberty Wine Merchants’ annual event is a great opportunity to showcase the amazing craft beers, spirits and wines that BC is becoming famous for. Here are some brief notes on wines I was able to taste. Road 13 I have heard a lot of buzz about this BC bubble and after tasting … Read more
When changes happen in the hospitality industry, say patio seating, live entertainment or Sunday pub openings for example (those things didn’t always exist, believe it or not), or more recently, permitting minors in certain licenced premises when accompanied with a parent or guardian, no restriction on the size of kegs (beer/cider) sold by private … Read more
The BC chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, or CAPS recently hosted a seminar titled, “Terroir of Rheingau: The Region of Riesling”, and featured four wines from the prestigious Weingut Robert Weil. ‘Weingut’ can be translated as vineyard, wine growing estate or winery. Export Manager Nicolas Pfaff was on hand to lead … Read more
The Blue Water Café’s Oceans Room was the site of a recent media tasting event for the upcoming Vancouver International Wine Festival (VIWF). Over thirty wines were featured, representing the hundreds that with be poured at the weeklong event that runs February 24th to March 4th. The 2018 VIWF is in its 40th year … Read more
After tasting several amazing BC chardonnays, I decided I wanted to compare them to a top end white Burgundy (Chardonnay). I discussed the idea with a wine-loving friend and she mentioned that she had a very good bottle of Montrachet that was highly rated. The idea started out as comparing two BC chardonnays against … Read more