On the Road with the Grape Guy

All Canadian Wine Championships – The BC Wines

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

During the ACWC I get a chance to try wines from all across Canada (blind of course) but after the judging is completed I consult my list of the best wines I tried (I don't try them all) and ask the organizers to tell me which wines they are … this is a list of the wine I was wowed by. 

Click on the wine name to be linked to the full review: 

Bench 1775 Winery 2016 Viognier ... (*** ½+)
Cedar Creek 2016 Rosé, Platinum Block 1 ... (****)
Church & State Wines 2015 Trebella ... (****)
Clos du Soleil 2015 Capella ... (*** ½)
Daydreamer Wines 2016 Riesling ... (*** ½+)
Desert Hills 2016 Gamay ... (*** ½+)

Enrico Winery 2014 King’s Council ... (****+)
Forbidden Fruit Winery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Earth Series ... (****)
Gold Hill Winery 2013 Merlot ... (****)
Gold Hill Winery 2014 Meritage ... (****+)
Harper’s Trail Estate 2016 Riesling, Pioneer Block ... (*** ½+)
Hillside Winery 2016 Viognier Reserve ... (****)

Intrigue Wines 2016 Pinot Gris ... (*** ½+)
Monte Creek Ranch 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ... (****+)
Nk’Mip Cellars 2016 Riesling, Qwam Qwmt ... (****)
Oliver Twist Estate 2016 Viognier ... (****)
Perseus Winery 2015 Cabernet-Merlot ... (*** ½+)
River Stone 2014 Merlot ... (*** ½+)

Ruby Blues Winery 2016 Viognier ... (*** ½+)
Sandhill Estate 2014 Howard Soon Red ... (****)
Savard Vines 2015 5 Turns ... (*** ½+)
See Ya Later Ranch 2014 Ping ... (*** ½+)
Stag’s Hollow 2014 Merlot ... (*** ½+)
Volcanic Hills 2013 Merlot ... (*** ½+)

Mark Anthony: Trail Blazers & Terroirs

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

I had no idea that Anthony von Mandl now has four properties in British Columbia; in fact at the time of this tasting (mid-August, 2017) the Mission Hill owner was the largest landowner in Canada and cornering the market on terroir and high priced wines in B.C. … but saying that is not meant to belittle the fact that he has also amassed a very impressive team of winemakers who are making some very impressive wines on some very interesting site (33 in total). Is price a factor? Only the consumer can decide that, but there is no denying the pedigree of these wines or the passion behind their making.  

Two Guys Talking Wine spoke with the foursome, so I won’t bore you with repetition (you can instead listen here).

Let’s look at some of those wines that impressed:

Martin’s Lane
winemaker: Shane Munn (born: New Zealand)
2014 Nararmata Ranch Riesling (****)
2014 Naramata Ranch Pinot Noir (*** ½+)

Mission Hill
winemaker: Darryl Brooker (born: Australia)
2015 Perpetua Chardonnay (*** ½+)

CedarCreek
winemaker: Taylor Whelan (born: British Columbia, Canada)
2013 “The Last Word” (****+)
2016 Haynes Creek Platinum Viognier (****)

CheckMate
winemaker: Philip McGahan (born: Australia)
2013 Black Rook Merlot (****+)
2014 Attack Chardonnay (****+)
2014 Little Pawn Chardonnay (****)
2014 Knight’s Challenge Chardonnay (*** ½+)

Click on the name of the wine to link to the full review.