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Tis the season to open those special bottles of wine, even if you are only allowed to share them with those in your own household. What special bottles are you planning on opening during the holiday season? We recently opened a bottle of the 2013 Black Rook Merlot from CheckMate Artisanal Winery, and it was…
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Are you a fan of meatloaf? If you aren’t, this recipe may just win you over. I’ve made this recipe more than a dozen times over the years and it has converted at least two skeptics. Dressed-up with chili flakes, sundried tomatoes, maple syrup and fennel seed, this meatloaf is pretty tasty. I bake the…
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Upper Bench Winery & Creamery recently released the second vintage of Altitude, which is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyards were cropped low for this vintage, at just over three tons per acre. The wine spent 20 months in French oak barrels (30% new) and only 320 cases of this…
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I love trying new food and wine pairings, especially when they come in the form of great recipes. This recipe for Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto is from Chef Gene Archambault at Hillside Winery’s The Bistro. Although not the most conventional pairing, Chef Gene feels this Merlot from Gjoa’s Vineyard lends itself to savoury, umami flavours, making…
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Have you tried Sangiovese from the Okanagan yet? At LaStella, some of the Sangiovese that they produce goes into a blend called Fortissimo, which is a beautiful nod to Super Tuscan wines. Fortissimo is composed of 60% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 9% Sangiovese. This wine was aged for 15 months in…
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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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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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I recently re-watched Sideways, a movie attributed with spiking the popularity of Pinot Noir while massacring Merlot. According to a study led by Steven Cuellar, professor at Sonoma State University, the positive impact of Sideways on Pinot Noir sales was greater than the negative impact of the movie on Merlot sales, which primarily affected Merlot…
Continue reading CheckMate Artisanal Winery: You had me at Merlot
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Adrian Cassini was born in Romania in 1960. His family owned a vineyard and sold their grapes to a government winemaking facility; thus Adrian’s relationship with wine began at an early age, working in his family’s vineyard. His appreciation for wine was later furthered through his work in the restaurant industry. In 1990, following the…
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Shana Miller, who was born and raised in Nova Scotia, is one of the founders of Upper Bench Winery and Creamery. At the age of 25 she found herself working in a stressful accounting job in Quebec. Motivated to make a change, Shana moved to the Okanagan in 1995. At the time, Shanna also had…
Continue reading Upper Bench Winery and Creamery: A Series of Fortunate Events