Category: Uncategorized


  • Quinta do Noval Naçional Port Tasting

    In addition to Naçional’s uniqueness, is its scarcity. The post Quinta do Noval Naçional Port Tasting first appeared on My VanCity. Read Quinta do Noval Naçional Port Tasting at MyVanCity

  • Wednesday Wine Reviews

    2021 Gewürztraminer Upper Bench Penticton, BC $25.00 Lemon yellow with medium-light intensity.  This aromatic nose offers lychee, mango, red apple peel, delicate lime zest, and floral notes.  Nicely balanced acidity and sugar.  Pleasing fruit on the palate with flavours mirroring the nose, followed by a medium-plus finish.  Interestingly, this wine improved significantly with time to…

  • A Visit to Evolve Sparkling House in Penticton

      My wife, Anita, had a meeting in Penticton recently, so I decided to make the most of the trip and take her to Evolve Sparkling House. I’d attended a media launch there in September and knew she’d be impressed by what this new winery has to offer. A quick call to Shelley, Evolves Wine…

  • Drea’s Wine shines a spotlight on her father Karl Kaiser’s rich legacy

    By Rick VanSickle Karl Kaiser’s legacy is already cemented in Canadian wine history, but his daughter Andrea wants to make sure it stays that way. In 1974, Kaiser and his partner Donald Ziraldo co-founded Inniskillin Wines, Canada’s first estate winery, and then went on to acquire the first winery license since Prohibition in 1975. Sadly,…

  • A Wine Lover’s Diary, part 996: Bucharest, “the Paris of the East”

    Arriving in Bucharest Thursday, October 16th: Flew from Toronto Pearson Airport to Heathrow and then on to Bucharest for the start of our two-week Danube River cruise on Ama Waterway’s ship, Amabella. Booked into the Grand Hotel Continental (56 Calea Victorei) and explored the neighbourhood. Our first impression was the amount of graffiti on public…

  • Do you have $5M+ to buy a BC Winery?

    Reading Time: 3 minutes Here’s What’s Actually on the Market in 2025 The market for buying a fully operational BC winery remains tight in 2025, but the landscape is shifting. Several high-profile listings from the past few years have been sold or withdrawn, while a new set of quiet, boutique, and often confidential winery opportunities…

  • BC Wineries Warn Olympic Average Policy Is Punishing Growth

    Reading Time: 3 minutes Industry leaders say the BCLDB’s misinterpretation of the Vintage Replacement Program is adding an 89% markup to fully BC-grown wines, threatening small and mid-sized producers already hit hard by the 2024 freeze. The freeze wiped out large tracts of the Okanagan Valley crop, forcing many producers to rely on imported grapes…

  • Blasted Church Rolls Out Three Standout 2024 Wines

    Reading Time: 5 minutes Blasted Church Big Bang Theory, Hatfield’s Fuse & Pinot Gris Blasted Church has never been shy about breaking a few commandments, and their latest trio of 2024 wines follows suit. Big Bang Theory, Hatfield’s Fuse, and Pinot Gris roll out with the same playful irreverence the winery is known for—yet behind…

  • The wine cocktail comeback: 5 classic drinks to rediscover

    Low-alcohol trends, nostalgia, and TikTok flair are bringing wine cocktails back to the bar The comeback of classic wine cocktails is in full swing as more consumers are reaching for lower alcohol pours. Simple, no fuss recipes are also gaining traction pointing to convenience and affordability as key factors in drinking trends today. This has…

  • From the Cellar with @Sam_WineTeacher

    In addition to the weekly wine review and the various other, usually wine-related, articles I write for My Van City, I am going to include a new one that will appear from time to time.  I’m calling it, ‘From the Cellar’. It will be similar to the wine reviews, except that it will feature wines…