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Posts Tagged ‘Merlot’

Postmark Brewing & Vancouver Urban Winery + Giveaway

Posted in Beer, Contests, Drinks, Joyce, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2018| 4 Comments »

Have you been to the Settlement Building in Railtown? Did you know you could find wine, beer AND food in that one place?

The Settlement Building is home to the Vancouver Urban Winery, Postmark Brewing, and Belgard Kitchen. The Vancouver Urban Winery (VUW) produces wines from 100% BC grapes. For example, the VUW 2014 Merlot was made with 100% Merlot grapes from Osoyoos and Naramata. You would taste dark cherry fruit and sweet spice. Not only do they source grapes from a number of Okanagan vineyards and produce their own labels, but they also collaborate with other wineries such as Road 13, Seredipity, and Backyard Vineyard.

Vancouver Urban Winery Merlot 2014

Vancouver Urban Winery Merlot 2014

Postmark Brewing mixes west coast lifestyle with the love for one (or two) great pint. Postmark Brewing was also the winner of the SMaSH Brewers Challenge at the 2017 BC Beer Awards event. Postmark makes some interesting beers; recently they just launched the Ginger Wit – it’s a Winter Ale balancing North West hops with the warmth of dark, rich malts. It’s hazy yellow, with a subtle ginger note.

Postmark Ginger Wit

Postmark Ginger Wit

Giveaway

Now is your chance to try some wine & beer from Vancouver Urban Winery and Postmark Brewing. (more…)

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[Wines] Discovering Californian Zinfandel & Chardonnay at the Wine Festival

Posted in Culinary Events, Drinks, Joyce, Product Reviews, Vancouver, Vancouver International Wine Festival, Wine Series, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 3, 2016| 9 Comments »

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At the California Cruisin’ event of the 2016 Vancouver International Wine Festival, vineyards of the Golden State were showcased at the beautiful Waterview by the False Creek.

California Cruisin', Vancouver International Wine Festival

In California, Zinfandel is considered the state’s signature red, and Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape, so naturally, my tasting focused on these two varietals.

California Cruisin', Vancouver International Wine Festival

Chardonnay

Around the room, the chardonnays weren’t the typical chardonnay I would have expected. Most of them were light, crisp, some of them refreshing, which frankly I didn’t mind. I’m not a huge chardonnay drinker because of its rich, buttery mouthfeel, so I actually quite enjoyed this selection of chardonnays. Here are my favourites:

Bonterra Organic Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 ($16.99 at BC Liquor Stores) – This was aged in 50/50 stainless steel and American oak, this has more of a citrusy flavour. It kind of reminded me of Pinot Gris.

Bonterra Organic Vineyards Chardonnay & Cabernet Sauvignon

Concannon Vineyard Founders Chardonnay 2013 – It’s from the Monterey County. Oaked in American oak, it has apple, pear and some tropical fruit note.
(more…)

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2013 Advanced #Bordeaux Wine Tasting with Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux

Posted in Culinary Events, Drinks, Joyce, News, Product Reviews, Vancouver, Wine Series, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

For the first time, the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, an association of 133 grand crus estates in the Bordeaux area of France, has made a stop in Vancouver for their North America wine tour. Held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, this ticketed event gave participants an opportunity to have an advanced tasting of the 2013 Bordeaux release that will be available at BC Liquor Stores this October.

Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux - Special Event Wine Tasting

Speaking with the winemakers at the event, 2013 wasn’t a typical year for the Bordeaux region. Winter 2012/2013 was cold and wet, bud-break was delayed, and it wasn’t until July when it really started to warm up. The summer was short-lived, only resulting in perhaps just two-thirds of usual yield at the end. The reds were the most impacted. That being said, years and years of experience combined with careful technique, the winemakers were able to make a decent lineup, producing fruitier reds with softer tannins. It was pretty apparent as each estate was pouring its 2013 vintage as well as an earlier vintage. The mouthfeel was quite different.

In contrary to the red wine production, 2013 was a great year for whites. The Graves and Pessac-Leognan areas are known for their whites. 2013 whites should have intense fruit flavours and would be great for aging.

Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux - Special Event Wine Tasting

2013 Bordeaux Reds

Here are a few that I quite liked from the tasting:

Chateau La Dominique (Saint-Emilion): 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chateau La Dominique Rouge 2010 & 2013

Chateau de Lamarque (Haut-Medoc): 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot. The 2010 vintage is more round, and has a deeper red hue. (more…)

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[Wines] Affordable Wine Tasting Party

Posted in Drinks, Kathryn, Product Reviews, Wine Series, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2015|

Friends and I (including Joyce and Bryan) have formed a beer club called Garibaldi Club. To date our Garibaldi Club has had 13 beer nights, so it was about time we had a wine night. Plus it was good timing for not one, but two couples in our club, who are getting married this year, to obtain some feedback/ideas on potential wines for their nuptial-day shenanigans. Please note: Prices listed below are mostly based on the BC Liquor Stores website and may vary depending on monthly promotion, and it will be priced differently at private, independent liquor stores as well.

Wine Tasting Party

Whites

Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Gewurztraminer (2012/2013)
Canada – Alc 12% – Sweetness 02

If you are looking for something light and crisp to go with a spicy meal (or samosas, which we just so happened to have whilst sipping on this semi-sweet Gewurz) then this is a great choice. It’s got a lovely balance of flavour and sweetness without being too much. Out of 11 people there was only one or two people who said it wouldn’t be their choice, but overall it was quite enjoyable. BC Liquor Stores: $13.29 – good price for a VQA

Saint & Sinner Pinot Grigio (Vintage Not Specified)
Canada – Alc 12% – Sweetness 00

Now for someone who isn’t usually a Pinot Grigio fan I actually really enjoyed this white. It’s sweetness rating is 00 yet in my palate’s opinion it was closer to a 01 – not super dry as a 00 rating may suggest. Overall there wasn’t a negative comment in the house – it was easy drinking and quite refreshing – this may very well be seen at one (or both) of the weddings! BC Liquor Stores: $11.29

Gazela Vinho Verde (Vintage Not Specified)
Portugal – Alc 9% – Sweetness 00

I’m not going to lie, this was just not my style. (more…)

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[Wines] A Tour Along the Langley Passport Wine Route

Posted in Drinks, Food Bloggers, Joyce, Langley, Media Events, Travel, Wine Pairing, Wine Series, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

Before we took a brief break for our holiday in the Mediterranean, I was invited by Jelly Marketing to experience the Langley Passport Wine Route. It is a new program that encourages visitors to check out the seven wineries in Langley. Yes, there are indeed 7 wineries in Langley. I knew about 5 of them prior to this tour — in fact, I visited 3 of them just three years ago — so some were new to me and I was quite excited about visiting them. Especially after our wine getaway in Oliver this summer (see Part 1 and Part 2 here), I was keen to find out what’s available much closer to home.

Beginning of the Langley Passport tour

Beginning of the Langley Passport tour

The premise of the program is quite straightforward. You pick up a copy of the passport at any of the participating wineries or partner hotels in Langley, then you take your time to visit each winery, get a stamp after each visit, and then you will be entered into a draw for some great prizes. Don’t worry, you don’t have to visit them all on the same day, because that would be quite irresponsible to ask you to drink that much in one day. Well, we did on the tour, but we had the luxury of travelling on a coach bus.

First stop, Township 7. Manager Jason gave us a background on Township and explained each wine in detail. We tried 2 whites and 4 reds, including a barrel sample of the Black Dog, which is a wine club exclusive with limited availability (only 118 cases).

Wine tasting at Township 7

Wine tasting at Township 7

We also took a sneak peek at the new wine tasting room and new wine labels. (more…)

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