Coming off a successful wine festival where numerous Italian grape varieties and the many regions where they grow were in the spotlight, it’s becoming painfully obvious it is time to move to another level in British Columbia as we regulate our wines
There’s only one wine that matters in the premium wine business and that is a wine of place. After a spring and summer of study, a B.C. wine industry task force wound up its investigations by proposing sweeping changes to British Columbia’s
In the second of six videos that make up the 2015 BC Winegrowers Series, I visit The Hatch, a new, unique winery project in the Okanagan. GM Jessie Harnden and winemaker Jason Parkes have hatched a series of single-vineyard wines from across the Okanagan
In the first of six videos that makeup the 2015 BC Winegrowers Series, I visit George and Trudy Heiss, the founders of Gray Monk Estate Winery and modern BC wine pioneers. After giving up their hair-dressing business in Edmonton in 1972, they purchased
The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society has announced the results from their annual British Columbia Wine Awards competition. The awards ceremony is the official celebratory start to this year’s 35th Fall Okanagan Wine Festival. The popular Festival
Earlier this summer I filmed a six part BC winegrowers series in the Okanagan Valley for the The Vancouver Sun. BC Winegrowers takes viewers on a ride while we visit with six wineries in this travelogue of one of North America’s premium wine regions,
On May 24, 1976, a youthful Steven Spurrier held a seminal tasting of French and American wine known as The Judgment of Paris. On August 25, 2015, Mr. Spurrier, now a consulting editor at Decanter Magazine and Chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards,
On July 1st, 2015 CedarCreek’s 2012 Platinum Block 2 Pinot Noir was awarded the Trophy for ‘Best Red Wine in Canada’ at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards, in London, UK. That same day, the winery also announced the appointment
I love drinking rosé wines any time of year, though there is little better than sitting in the warm summer sunlight enjoying a refreshing glass of crisp, dry rosé. Think Pink. Rosés really are the best of both wine worlds, especially
Big news from Mission Hill, after 23 years John Simes will transition from chief winemaker at Mission Hill Family Estate to focus on the von Mandl Family Estates diverse collection of Okanagan vineyards. Said Simes: “I see our vineyards as
VICTORIA – A task group including 11 leading British Columbia wine producers has been established with an industry mandate to make recommendations on ways to improve the appellation system for wine produced from 100% BC grapes, Agriculture Minister
A number of unrelated topics comprise this week’s column although it doesn’t take much to connect the dots to see just how inter-related the business of wine is unless you are in government. There will be a new pricing landscape in British
If you haven't yet heard, grocery stores will be selling wine beginning April Fool's Day, and given the way government has handled the entire affair officials couldn't have picked a more meaningful day to launch the initiative. I won't bore you with
“Oculus is the fulfillment of years of relentless toil to realize a Bordeaux-style wine that could stand next to the best anywhere. We took desert land, great chances and bold investment, including bringing aboard world-renowned Bordeaux winemaking
Continuing our look back at some 2014 Okanagan Valley highlights hopefully inspires you to visit a winery or two in 2015, check out some restaurants, or simply enjoy some of our wine recommendations. Regular readers will know I’m crazy about
Before 2014 completely fades from memory, I wanted to summarize more than a dozen forays into the Okanagan Valley and recognize a number of people places and wines. It’s the kind of information you can tuck away and use in 2015 if you are planning