Sam The Wine Teacher 
Matt Dumayne, winemaker at the Okanagan Crush Pad, was in town recently for a winemaker’s dinner at Swirl Wine Store in White Rock. Matt has spent sixteen years as a winemaker and has twenty-eight vintages under his belt including several in his former home in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. Swirl owner Jeff … Read more
2013 Bacchus (Dry Reserve) Chaberton Langley, BC $17.25 Tasted 2014 11 Straw coloured with medium-light intensity. An inviting Muscat like nose showing aromas of peach, mineral, apple and citrus. Good balance, clean and crisp. Stone fruit (peach and nectarine), lemon and elderberry flavours on the palate. A medium finish. This lip smacking social wine will … Read more
2009 Malbec/Cabernet Silkscarf Summerland, BC $29.90 Bronze Medal Tasted 2014 11 Garnet red colour with medium-plus intensity. Cherry, raspberry, spice and chocolate aromas on the nose. Good balance with medium body. Red fruit flavours on the palate with a medium finish. 2010 Syrah Thornhaven Summerland, BC $24.90 Silver Medal Tasted 2014 11 The colour is … Read more
A juicy steak calls out for a big red and Cabernet Sauvignon is the classic match. Cabernets tend to be full bodied and have the tannin structure necessary for the steak’s protein. California Cabernets tend to be fruit forward with a slightly sweet edge and higher alcohol level. The French tend to blend their Cabernet … Read more
2011 Naughty Chardonnay Dirty Laundry Summerland, BC $24.99 Silver Medal Tasted 2014 11 This is Dirty Laundry’s oaked chardonnay. They also make an un-oaked one (Not So Knotty Chardonnay). Straw coloured with medium-light intensity. Aromas of apple, pear, citrus and mineral on the nose. Good balance with medium body. Citrus and mineral on the … Read more
What is the IVSA? Most likely, you’ve never heard of them before, but you should be very glad they exist. When was the last time you were introduced to an interesting new beer, wine or liquor? Was it at a pub, a lounge, a restaurant or in a liquor store? Then you can thank the … Read more
Every fall, winemakers from BC travel to the Vancouver Convention Centre at Canada Place to pour their latest wines. From 2:00 until 5:00 people who work in the industry, in wine stores, liquor stores, restaurants, hotels and pubs come to sample wine and find out about the new offerings. This year marked the … Read more
2012 Minervois Chateau Millegrand Languedoc, France $17.99 Silver Medal Tasted 2014 10 This wine is a blend of syrah, carignan, grenache and mourvedre. Garnet-black in colour with medium-deep intensity. Aromas of black fruit, black pepper and a hint of dark chocolate on the nose. Well balanced with firm ripe tannins. The flavours echo the … Read more
I dropped into Pacific Breeze Winery in New Westminster recently to pick up more of their outstanding Reserve Chardonnay, one of my absolute favourites, as well as some excellent Big Red, their Rhone styled blend. I left with a mixed case. When I stopped by last summer to do a barrel sampling of … Read more
2012 Pinot Gris (Switchback Vineyard) Haywire Summerland, BC $22.90 Silver Medal Tasted 2014 08 This wine was fermented with wild ambient yeasts and was aged in concrete eggs. Pale straw in colour and a hint of green with medium-light intensity. Stone fruit, ripe mango and citrus on the nose. Well balanced with good mouth feel. … Read more