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Class of 2015: vinPerdu Cellars
Photo: Catherine Coulombe and father Ray CoulombevinPerdu Cellars5381 Highway 97,Oliver, BC, V0H 1T0T 250.498.2234When to visit: 11 am – 6 pm dailyDespite its name, this new family-operated winery is...
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Corcelettes begins to increase its portfolio
Photo: winemaker Charlie BaesslerOne of the rarest white grape varieties in British Columbia is Chasselas, which happens to be the major white in Switzerland.Quails’ Gate Estate Winery has an old...
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Blasted Church may be leading you astray
Photo: This might offend you if you have a religious thin skin.A few weeks ago, a man who only identified himself as a “Christian” called me to complain about a BlastedChurch wine called Jesus...
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Saxon Winery hires Tom DiBello
Photo: Saxon Winery owners Jayne and Paul GraydonThe big news at Summerland’s Saxon Estate Winery this vintage is that Tom DiBello has agreed to make the wines.Tom is also the winemaker at Sage Hills...
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Stags Hollow releases 2014 Grenache
By coincidence, Stag’s Hollow Winery released its third Grenache on the same weekend that Pope Francis arrived in Cuba.What’s the connection?Tasting this fantastic wine immediately reminded me of some...
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Hester Creek releases The Judge
There seems to be a growing trend for wineries to restrict the distribution of their special wines to their wine clubs and/or the winery tasting rooms – perhaps with an allocation to favoured...
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Small Guys wineries pack a punch
Photo: Small Guys vintners Jay Drysdale and Wendy RoseSome time ago, I heard the scary statistic that 80% of the sales of British Columbiawines are made by the three largest wine producers.That leaves...
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Bartier Brothers opens for business
Photo: Bartier Brothers wine shop (courtesy of the winery)Bartier Brothers Vineyards & Winery has now opened its tasting room and visitors centre on its Black Sage Road vineyard.The winery started...
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Class of 2015: Black Market Wine Co.
Black Market's Rob Hammersley and Michelle ShewchukThe name of this winery describes the relationship that the owners, Calgarians Rob Hammersley and Michelle Shewchuk, have with Okanagan wines.“We...
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Maverick adds a sparkling wine
Winemaker Bertus AlbertynThe best day for visiting Maverick Estate Winery’s tasting room is Friday.The reason: that is the only day when Ella, the winery’s excellent new sparkling wine, is open for...
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Cassini's jeroboam is a really big wine
Photo: a six-litre jeroboam of Maximus The wines of Cassini Cellars, which only opened in 2009, have developed a distinctive house style. The wines are bold and ripe, usually with alcohol of 14% or...
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Dead End Cellars spawned by Forbidden Fruit
Photo: Steve and Nathan Venables and Kim Brind'AmourSince opening in 2005, the Similkameen’s Forbidden Fruit Winery has earned a reputation for high quality fruit wines.However, the winery has quietly...
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Wines of Conviction from Calona
Conviction winemaker Sydney ValentinoCalona Vineyards, the oldest B.C. winery name still on a label, is beginning a slow fade to black.In its place, Andrew Peller Ltd. – which has owned Calona since...
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Blue Mountain takes Gamay seriously
Blue Mountain winemaker Matt MavetyConversations with the Mavety family, owners of Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars, always run the gamut from entertaining and enlightening to provocative.Last fall...
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Brooke Blair returns to Australia
Photo: Winemaker Brooke Blair (credit Stuart Bish)Brooke Blair, the red winemaker at the Jackson-Triggs Okanagan winery since 2004, has returned to her native Australia.“It's time to get nearer to our...
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Tinhorn Creek shows off good vintages
Winemaker Andrew WindsorWith the release of these four reds, Tinhorn Creek and its fans are getting into the string of strong vintages that began in 2012 and has continued through 2015.A lot has been...
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Laughing Stock releases Portfolio 2013
Photo: Smoke from the Testalinden fire in AugustThis blog post repeats information posted in early September, along with reviews of Portfolio 2013 and Chardonnay 2014.The reasons for the repeat:The...
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Intrigue's "I Do" when the polls closed
Photo: Intrigue's Roger Wong with his stash of Riesling winesBeing among the 70% of Canadians who wanted a change in the recent election, I went looking in the cellar for a bottle of bubble to toast...
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Class of 2015: Coolshanagh Vineyard
Photo: Coolshanagh owners Skip and Judy Stothert Coolshanagh VineyardRR1, S16, C47 Naramata, BC V0H 1N0 250-809-4695 Whether or not there is minerality in wine was at the centre of the most contentious...
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Road 13's Old VInes Chenin and friends
Photo: Winemaker J-M BouchardIn an interview last fall, I asked Road 13 Vineyards winemaker J-M Bouchard which of his wines was an icon wine.Most would say that the winery’s flagship red, a blend...
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