Category Archives: Wine Columns

Chivite Gran Feudo Rosado 2010 $17 This has got to be one of the best Rose’s I’ve tried in awhile.  A beautiful dark salmon colour, the aromas are very intense with vibrant red cherry, plum and ripe strawberry aromas with … Continue reading →

A great way to welcome guests to your home over the holidays is with a glass of bubbly.  The SYL Brut is a produced in the traditional style of sparkling wine, fermented in the bottle much like the wines of … Continue reading →

Whenever the Rhone Valley is talked about as a wine region, the most obvious reference is to the area south of the city of Valence and the Drôme River, commonly called the Southern Rhône.  One of the reasons for this … Continue reading →

During the cooler winter months, the types of wine we buy tend to shift.  Gone is the crisp, mouth watering whites or the juicy reds that we enjoyed when the temperature was warmer.  When the weather is cooler, it gives … Continue reading →

The opportunities to spend a pile of money on a bottle of wine are plentiful and nowhere is this more evident than in our own backyard where we are seeing the price of a bottle of BC wine reach $60 … Continue reading →

Located on the borders of Switzerland and France, Piedmont produces a couple of Italy’s and of the world’s finest red wines, Barolo and Barbaresco. The chief grape variety here is Nebbiolo, which takes its name from the word “Nebbia” meaning … Continue reading →

Stretching from the northeast border of Spain along the Mediterranean to Cannes and Nice to the Italian border, the diverse viticultural area of the south of France produces some of the tastiest and least inexpensive wines in France. Totalling around … Continue reading →

“You’re a member of the ‘Rhône Ranger’ band.  Your groupies think you’re ‘hot’, even when you’re boozy and “strung out”.  You’re hairy, yet they want you, and you’re always a willing partner.  Is it your Spanish heritage that makes them … Continue reading →

“What’s in a name?  That which we call a Syrah/Shiraz by any other name would smell as sweet”. With apologies to William Shakespeare for destroying his much-revered quote from Romeo and Juliet, Syrah/Shiraz has caused some confusion over the past … Continue reading →

Last week was something a little special.  Actually, it is a lot more special than usual.  I was holed up for three days at the Manteo Resort in Kelowna judging the 2011 BC Wine Awards.  An annual wine competition, a … Continue reading →