Writing on Canadian Wine by the MWC team Kurtis Kolt (BC), Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson (MB) Jake Skakun (ON), Michelle Bouffard (QB) and various national guest contributors.
We are thrilled to work with award-winning winery, The Hatch, on our featured wine packs for September. Sign up for the Wine Club today to get a selection of their marvelous wines shipped right to your door with tasting notes and pairing recommendations. This month's wine club package is certain to please more than just your taste buds!
This month, our wine club members will receive a selection of beautifully crafted wines from Marynissen Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. Keep reading to learn more about the winery's rich history and a few of our favourite bottles – then sign up for our wine club by Tuesday, August 15th to taste them for yourself!
John Marynissen came to Canada from the Netherlands in 1952, and found a job picking fruit in Niagara Falls. By 2009, at the end of his career, he was recognized as a pioneer and unsung hero of Canada's burgeoning wine industry. Continue reading
This month, our wine club members will receive a selection of fabulous wines from Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery in the Okanagan Valley, BC. Keep reading to learn more about this great family winery and some of our favourite bottles – then sign up for our wine club by July 15th to taste them for yourself!
Quinta Ferreira's story began in 1979 when John and Maria Ferreira purchased an orchard. Both were born in Portugal and had immigrated to Canada at a young age, and for 20 years they produced apples, peaches and cherries on their Black Sage Bench estate. Meanwhile, their son Michael worked as a cellar hand. Through years of hard work under some of the Okanagan's top winemakers, he learned what goes into making premium wine, from vineyard to vino. John and Maria saw his enthusiasm, and shared a passion for wine themselves. They took a big leap, and began the 3-year process of converting the orchard to a vineyard, planting their first grapes in 1999. Ever since, their award-winning wines have reflected both their Portuguese heritage and the beautiful desert terroir of the Black Sage Bench. Continue reading
Located on the picturesque Naramata Bench, Black Widow Winery, led by Dick and Shona Lancaster, has carefully crafted a winery focused on small-production whites, reds, rosés and sparkling wines. These are primarily made as single-vineyard offerings from their own property or three nearby Naramata vineyards. Over the last 17 years they’ve been joined by family and close friends in gradually creating a boutique winery, tasting room and patio that strives whenever possible to make wines that emphasize sustainable production and organic practices.
The result is wines that consistently fare well in competitions and with critics, but that remain completely accessible to the average palate. These are must-taste Naramata wines that emphasize quality. Act now and get FREE SHIPPING on Black Widow Winery wines when you buy six bottles or more!
Diamond Estates Winery is an umbrella company for many different brands including Lakeview Cellars & EastDell Estates. Contracts with 25 different growers allows them to produce lines of wine where each brand has a unique focus. Located on the highly regarded Niagara escarpment, the sites benefit from the lake's influence. Lakeview Cellars was originally founded by Eddy Gurinska and his wife Lorraine in 1991 and then purchased by Diamond Estates Winery in 2005.
Winemakers Scott McGregor and Tom Green craft wine in one of the largest wineries in Ontario. Sustainability is part of Diamond Estates' philosophy. Steps such as using solar panels and insulated tanks have been taken to save energy, and water usage is also carefully controlled.
This month, Diamond Estates Winery is proud to be the featured winery for our lucky wine club members. Check out which wines you'll receive this month and subscribe by April 13! Continue reading
Down in the desert country of Osoyoos, at the very southern end of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, the mercury has been hovering around the zero-degree mark for a while now, but that shouldn’t last much longer. Soon enough, buds will burst on the area’s grapevines, and as vineyards bloom under the sun, those temperatures will climb into the thirties and forties. It’s as we get into vintage when the region’s desert classification becomes a lot more obvious. Not only is it ‘hot enough for ya’ more often than not, but while toddling around the area’s landscape, cacti and rattlesnakes aren’t exactly uncommon sights.
It is here where the Okanagan Valley excels at ripening the grapes for rich red and white wines, while sandy soils with pockets of clay, limestone and granite add distinct minerality and the cool nights allow natural acidity to be preserved.
These conditions make it possible for quite the variety of, er, varieties to be grown, and when it comes to Osoyoos wineries, this writer can’t think of anyone taking advantage of this scenario as much Beata and Chris Tolley, the owners of Moon Curser Vineyards.
Here in Vancouver, it’s the week of the annual Vancouver International Wine Festival. This year is particularly exciting, because among the 180 participating wineries from 16 countries, there’s a strong Canadian contingent, as our home and native land is this year’s theme country.
Yup, to celebrate our nation’s 150th birthday, wineries from coast to coast (many of them My Wine Canada partners) are gathering to pour their best and brightest for thousands of attendees.
One of the wineries I’m particularly looking forward to catching up with is Sperling Vineyards from Kelowna in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Not only are the wines from winemaker Ann Sperling some of the best from the region, but there’s a notable heritage associated with them. This month, Sperling Vineyards is proud to be featured in My Wine Canada's Valentine's Wine Package. Check out this great deal and order by February 15th at midnight!
Hillside Winery may be new as a My Wine Canada partner winery, but they’re certainly no spring chicken when it comes to producing great-quality whites and reds in the Okanagan Valley.
Winemaker Kathy Malone and her team have been producing top-shelf wines on the Naramata bench for years, taking advantage of the southwest-facing vineyards and the area’s glacial soils to Continue reading