Madeira renewal

Portugal’s other great fortified wine, Madeira is making a comeback after a long period of decline. The product of the verdant, steeply-terraced island 600 km off the coast of Morocco, early merchants took advantage of Madeira’s location on major trade routes and shipped the wine to the Americas and beyond. The heat of the sun and motion of the ship on long sea voyages gave Madeira wine a special tangy, burnt caramel...

Summerhill toasts 2014 harvest

On October 21, 2014 at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Kelowna, B.C: Toasting the 2014 harvest with newly fermented wine. known in the Rhine and Mosel regions of Germany as “federweisser”, a gathering of folks at Summerhill Pyramid Winery plus guests and media celebrated an inviting Old World tradition in fine style out in the vineyard overlooking Okanagan Lake. “Pouring a little back on the vines is a symbolic...

Rover wins first ever Premier`s Wine Award

Let the 34th Annual Fall Okanagan Wine Festival begin! Held last night at the historic Laurel Packinghouse in downtown Kelowna, the British Columbia Wine Awards and Reception marks the launch of the Fall Wine Festival (October 3-13). Of 540 wines tasted by a distinguished panel, 268 were awarded medals – bronze, silver and gold. Winemakers like See Ya Later Ranch  senior winemaker Dave Carson, Stoneboat Vineyards...

Grand opening bash at Fort Berens

  The trade turned out by the bus load to cheer the grand opening of Fort Berens’ sleek, new winery on September 18. Proud flag raisers included founding partners Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek, and Fort Berens’ largest shareholder, Hugh Agro. The first and only commercial winery in Lillooet, Fort Berens Estate Winery came into being in 2009 when the founding partners, Rolf and Heleen, purchased a 65 acre...

“Bee joyful” with Ostara Honey Wine

Ever since establishing Meadow Vista Honey Wines in West Kelowna in 2009, Queen Bee Judie Barta has been on a mission to create a line-up of meads with a “modern taste profile that appeal to contemporary wine drinkers and eco-foodies.” Moving to new digs on June Spring Road in Kelowna in early 2014 has been a big plus for Meadow Vista, previously ensconced in the most basic of premises in a commercial district of West...