Summerhill’s Cipes Brut Is Canada’s Top Sparkling Wine Award Continues a Sparkling Success Story

Summerhill Pyramid Winery’s flagship sparkling wine Cipes Brut has won the trophy for Best Sparkling Wine of the Year at the 2014 All Canadian Wine Championships.     Cipes Brut is Canada’s single most awarded wine, having won gold medals and accolades from top writers around the world every year since its introduction in 1991. This lastest award follows a string … Read more

Vancouver Sommeliers Celebrate Chablis

Crisp, Rich Chardonnay Wines are on Trend for Summer Vancouver’s leading sommeliers are keen to share that the wines from Chablis are a rising trend for wine lovers; perfect for summer, and the local foods we love.   This promotion of Chablis wines has been percolating among the sommelier set for a long time, but … Read more

Golden Mile Bench Proposes to become Okanagan Valley’s First Sub-Appellation

Wineries located on the Golden Mile Bench wine growing area near Oliver in British Columbia have submitted a proposal to become the first official sub-DVA “Designated Viticultural Area” of the Okanagan Valley DVA. An in-depth scientific analysis by scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre – Summerland (AAFC-PARC Summerland) has shown the … Read more

California Wine Fair: April 22 Vancouver Convention Center

I love California and I love their wines! This event was packed with great examples of what makes their wines so enjoyable. Whether you are looking for crisp, light Sauvignon Blanc, creamy Chardonnay, silky Pinot Noir, or bold Cabs, you will not be disappointed with some of the new offerings about to hit our shelves. … Read more

What’s your pairing for Oysters?

  This year at the Osoyoos Oyster Festival the question of what pairs best with oysters will be addressed in the second annual Oyster Wine Competition and the first Canadian Craft Beer & Oyster Pairing Competition. Winemakers and brewmasters have until April 17 to submit entries into the respective competitions that will be held at … Read more

TASTE WASHINGTON! – so worth the trip!

On Sunday March 30 I was Seattle bound for TASTE WASHINGTON! My first trip down to a wine tasting event that has been running for 17 years. Taste Washington! is the largest single region wine and food event in the United States. Featuring more than 225 Washington State wineries and over 65 Pacific Northwest Restaurants. … Read more

Rollingdale Ten Year Vertical Tasting

I attended “10 Years on: A Rollingdale Tasting 2004 – 2013” at The Hamilton Street Grill last week.  Rollingdale is an unassuming farm gate organic winery in West Kelowna owned by Steve and Kirsty Dale.  It lies on the western shore of Lake Okanagan just a short drive from downtown Kelowna.  They use organic practices … Read more

Santa Barbara’s Wine Country; Part 1: Los Olivos

  Its always wonderful and refreshing to get away from it all – the rain, job, stress, and head off to someplace warm; for me it was a trip to sunny California. I started off in LA driving up the coastal highway through Malibu, Ventura,  eventually stopping in the gorgeous town of Santa Barbara. In … Read more

Spring Flavours & Innovations

  My afternoon this past week was an introduction to new beverages that are either speculative or recently listed in the government liquor stores presented at a New Product Salon. Here is what I sampled, in random order, which is only a fraction of what was being poured. The majority are speculative beverages and I … Read more