Author: pxlv_adm

Photo: Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie At Penticton’s Pentâge Winery, Paul Gardner and Julie Rennie grow 19 varietals in the 15 acres of their two vineyards on a bench overlooking Skaha Lake. It enables them to offer quite interesting blends alongside distinctive single varietal wines. Over the years, the winery, which opened in 2003, has…

By Rick VanSickle We’re sitting at a table under a giant canopy, birds are chirping and the view looking out to the gently sloped, perfectly manicured Mason Vineyard is breath-taking. We’re smack dab in the middle of this summer’s punishing heat dome, yet a cooling breeze is cascading down the escarpment making it quite comfortable…

Reading Time: 4 minutes Summer in the Okanagan just got a little more effervescent. Time Family of Wines has officially opened the Evolve Sparkling House on the Naramata Bench near Penticton—an inviting space dedicated to sparkling wine. Visitors can taste five carefully crafted BC sparklers, each made to capture life’s celebratory moments. Evolve Rosé Brut…

How elevation shapes flavour, style, and identity in two distinct wine regions As a wine educator who’s tasted and taught with bottles from across the globe, I can confidently say that altitude plays a more important role in wine than many realize. Whether leading a tasting in Toronto or El Salvador, one of my favourite…

Photo: Hester Creek winemaker Mark Hopley (courtesy of Hester Creek) Hester Creek has nicknamed the Okanagan’s 2022 vintage as Epic 22, underlining the splendid quality of one of the best growing seasons ever in the valley. Most wineries and most commentators agree with that ranking. 2022 “will go down in history as one of the…

Wednesday, August 6th: A tasting at home with Jill Troyer, author of the upcoming biography of Paul Bosc Sr., founder of Château des Charmes, The Winemaker’s Gamble (to be published by Mosaic Press). Palatine Hills Skin Fermented Orange Viognier 2024 (Niagara Lakeshore) Lemon colour; earth, lightly floral, peach pit bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, orange peel flavour…

Tonight’s red wine review is a delicious, certified sustainable, and vegan-friendly blend of Cab Franc and Merlot from Niagara that made its debut at the LCBO last month in the July 19th LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection. It is produced by the eco-friendly Featherstone Estate Winery that is situated in the Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation…

Nice dark berry nose, on the mid palate the wine packs a punch firm firm black cherries, along with some earthy notes. On the medium length finish the wine displays some black peppery notes that stick to the tongue along with some lively acidity, and tannins … nice and dry. This is definitely not a…

By Rick VanSickle The most coveted wine party of year has come and gone at Niagara’s The Farm but we’ve got a surprise. You can still get the wines! Note, also in the Niagara Wine Report, we have new wines from MW Cellars and Wending Home, plus Niagara wines coming to Vintages stores Saturday, including…

Why colour no longer matters, tradition needs a rethink, and Champagne still wins the night Maybe I’m getting impatient or maybe I’m just too bored with wading through all the literature on the intricacies of matching food and wine — a minor portion of which, I confess, I have contributed over the years in several books and many articles. But I…