The death of Cellared in Canada or (CiC) wines was a long time coming. After grabbing hundreds of millions of dollars in income for producers while causing even more damage to the image of Canadian wine, the wine that never had anything to do with authentic
If you are a follower of British Columbian wines you’ve likely noticed a growing number of producers and winemakers wanting to get up close and personal with their vineyards, focusing in on individual blocks and even rows of vines. What’s
Garnet Valley is 320-acres of magic uncovered by the Okanagan Crush Pad team, who have been chasing the dream of making wine that shouts the Okanagan for years. Ten minutes north of Summerland, British Columbia, off a non-descript dirt road, on a hillside
Hillside made a brilliant tactical decision to focus on Naramata fruit about seven or eight years ago, long before anyone in the Okanagan was seriously talking about sub-regions. Winemaker Kathy Malone proposed the idea after experiencing the commonality
Doug and Dawn Reimer turned their love of wine and food into a reality that many dream of, but seldom ever attain. After patiently tending their cool-climate vineyard in East Kelowna and watching the grapes they sold win praise at home and abroad (formerly
The 20 kilometer-long Naramata Bench begins at Penticton, British Columbia, and runs north along the east side bluffs above Okanagan Lake. The narrow strip of precious vineland sits in the center of B.C.'s largest wine region, the Okanagan Valley. The
There’s little doubt winemaker Jason Parkes marches to the beat of his own drum but then so does the off-beat, tattooed, back-of-the-house Hatch team who don’t look anything like your typical assistant winemakers. From the day it opened, the
I enjoyed Vancouver lawyer, Al Hudec's Facebook post (pasted below) on the recent sale of Tinhorn Creek, Black Hills and Gray Monk three well known, and for many consumers, beloved BC wineries. Here are some of my thoughts. First, if your exit strategy
There’s a three-pronged fork in the road just past the town of Hope, about an hour and half east of Vancouver, where knowing wine lovers lean right to travel the historic Crowsnest Highway. As the road winds its way upward, and farther east, toward
The 3rd Judgment of BC, held last August 13, featured British Columbia’s two most planted varieties, Pinot Gris and Merlot. The two flights of wines, tasted blind, each contained six BC wines and six imported labels. The annual event is hosted
Take a first look at a new winery literally emerging from the historic Black Sage Bench in the South Okanagan. The team at Phantom Creek Estates has set the bar high for themselves and their wines but they seem willing to put in the time and hard work
It’s been said to be successful in chess, or wine for that matter, you must constantly be thinking several steps ahead in tactics and decision making. From deciding where a pawn can be sacrificed to gain better position, to pitching single vineyard
Sideways, Bottle Shock, Mondovino, SOMM 1 and 2, A Year In Burgundy, and now Sour Grapes - wine movies have clearly moved into the mainstream. Never has there been so much interest in the machinations of the wine world, and especially the seemingly cloaked
It’s that time of the year when hope springs eternal inside wineries. The 2016 harvest is well underway thanks to another early spring and a mostly warm growing season, especially in the Okanagan Valley. There is no way to know how it will
Our first 2016 report from the Okanagan Valley is nothing but good news. All across the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valley bud burst is underway. The unfurling of the leaves signals the start of the growing season, one that now looks as if it will
April Fools’ Day, 2015. It would have been easy to think that British Columbia’s main beverage alcohol retailer – the government-owned and operated BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) – was playing a joke, by fundamentally shifting
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