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April is BC Wine Month and I am celebrating five years of writing this blog and 400 Instagram posts. A celebration calls for a special wine so I pulled out the 2017 McWatters Collection Brut. I met Harry McWatters in 2017, at the beginning of my wine journey. That year, I was fortunate to attend…
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When a winery sends me wines for review, it’s not often that I enjoy all of the wines they send me, but Monte Creek Winery is three-for-three. Monte Creek began planting their vineyards in 2009 and the winery itself opened to the public in June 2015. The winery features a greenhouse which provides a local…
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On the weekend I paired two TIME Family Chardonnays with a couple of delicious dishes. I partnered the 2020 Chronos Chardonnay with Whipped Feta with Roasted Tomatoes. The 2020 McWatters Collection Chardonnay was paired with velvety Butternut Squash Soup and Flaky Buttermilk-Bacon Biscuits. Lynzee Schatz is the winemaker at TIME Wines and she joined the…
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On New Year’s Eve, do you save the sparkling wine until midnight? I have often thought that it doesn’t make sense to save the good stuff until the end of the night when everyone is tired and your palate is exhausted. Therefore, this year we began New Year’s Eve Day with a Pol Roger 2013…
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Shortly after our very first COVID lockdown began in 2020, I was sent a vertical of Fool’s Mate Chardonnay from CheckMate Artisanal Winery. I have been holding onto this vertical ever since, patiently waiting for the day that we could once again host our friends for an indoor dinner and enjoy these special wines together.…
Continue reading CheckMate: Fool’s Mate Chardonnay Vertical Tasting
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What was the last wine from Portugal that you enjoyed? I recently had the opportunity to try a white and a red blend from Premium Portugal Wines. I paired the wines with a recipe for Pastéis de Bacalhau (Salt Cod Fritters) from Portuguese Recipes. They may not have been up to my Mother-in-law’s standards, and…
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If, like me, you are unable to visit the Okanagan this year, there are some wineries that are offering virtual tastings that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. Little Engine offers two virtual tastings: a Silver Level Tasting and a Gold Level Tasting. I recently experienced the Gold Tasting and enjoyed…
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I love being introduced to new wines that offer good quality-to-price-ratio; the Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé Perle d’Aurore is one such wine. It is currently on sale at BC Liquor Stores for $24.99 until June 5th, 2021. This traditional method sparkling wine would make a great addition to brunch or pair with a…
Continue reading Louis Bouillot – Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé Perle d’Aurore
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On Saturday I had the chance to make Florence’s Tarragon Chicken; a recipe from Jennifer Schell’s The BC Wine Lover’s Cookbook. This recipe comes from Phil McGahan, the winemaker at CheckMate Artisanal Winery. “Phil McGahan grew up in Western Queensland, Australia, as the youngest of 10 children. His parents, Jack and Florence, supported their large…
Continue reading CheckMate Artisanal Winery: Little Pawn and Tarragon
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I am loving the fact that wineries are collaborating with restaurants to offer recipes that we can make at home to pair with their wines. This is the second recipe that I’ve tried from a winery and both pairings have been spot-on. The first recipe from CheckMate Artisanal Winery pairs Fool’s Mate Chardonnay with Flaky…
Continue reading CheckMate 2014 Fool’s Mate: Food and Wine Pairing