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Ramification Cellars is a family owned winery located on the shores of Vaseux Lake, in Oliver, British Columbia. Don Lloyd and his daughter, Rachel, purchased the property in the late 2000’s and began planting Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir in 2013. Since the original planting, both Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc vines have been added. This…
Continue reading Ramification Cellars: Verification Pinot Noir
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Ever since Laurent Fadanni and Melissa Giesbrecht released their first vintage of wine from Whispering Horse in 2017, they have attracted quite a devoted fan base, often selling out of their small lot wines very quickly. This Saturday, June 26th, Whispering Horse will be releasing two new wines, their first vintage of La Crescent WILD…
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Lone Tree Cellars, founded in 2005, is an importer and distributor, sourcing wine and spirits from around the world and bringing the best ones to Western Canada. In 2019 they moved their offices to North Vancouver where they acquired a brewery. They named the brewery La Cerveceria Astilleros and when it opens it will offer…
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The grapes for the 2019 Tumble Wines Riesling were sourced from the Sandbar Vineyard in southeast Kelowna. Grapes were whole cluster pressed before the clean juice was transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Fermentation was halted early resulting in 11.8% alcohol and residual sugar. With 23 g/L residual sugar, this off-dry Riesling is perfect…
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How do you feel about oak influence in your wine? I’ve had several wines recently that I feel were overly oaked, which made this Cabernet Franc from the Okanagan Crush Pad a welcomed pour. The 2016 Narrative Cabernet Franc ($29.90) is a blend of Cab Franc grapes sourced from the Black Sage and Golden Mile…
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Everyone, without exception, is experiencing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am inspired by people’s drive to stay connected to each other and survive these strange days. The wine community is of course not exempt from the negative impact of the virus. In British Columbia many of our wineries are small, family-owned businesses…
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It was recently brought to my attention that Riesling celebrated a Birthday on Friday. March 13th, 1435 is designated as Riesling’s Birthday. This is the earliest recording of Riesling vines and the documentation took place in Germany. One of my favourite Rieslings is the Old Vines Riesling from Tantalus, which is produced from vines that…
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Are you a Merlot fan, or do you find Merlot to be mundane? If you fall into the latter category, I think this Merlot might just change your perception. After two hours in the decanter, the 2016 Upper Bench Estate Merlot offers aromas of ripe blackberries, cassis, cherries, black liquorice and clove. The body is…
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What wine releases do you wait for each year? Each fall I keep an eye-out for the release of the Syrah and Portfolio from Laughing Stock Vineyards – ensuring that I acquire some to cellar. The founders of Laughing Stock Vineyards, David and Cynthia Enns, vicariously fulfilled many wine-lover’s dreams when they left the financial…
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I have been waiting, for what feels like ages, to take this photo. Our home has been undergoing repairs since mid-October, and we are finally at the point where we have flooring. Definitely an occasion worthy of an extra-special bottle of wine, and the 2016 CheckMate Queen’s Advantage certainly fits that bill. I first tried…
Continue reading 2016 CheckMate Queen’s Advantage Chardonnay