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CheckMate Winery Review. All You Need To Know If You Are Planning A Visit
We always meant to visit Antelope Ridge Winery. But as the famous adage goes: so many wineries, so little time. Sadly, the place remained on our backup list until it was gone, as in sold, lock, stock and barrel to British Columbia’s own, von Mandl. Some say that Antelope Ridge was rescued from obscurity. We… [Read more]
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Tantalus Winery visit: What to expect & is it worth your time.
When someone names a business venture after God, more likely than not, they want to signal that the business possesses differentiating qualities of a particular deity. But what if the deity in question has more than one “thing” going for them? Take, for example, Tantalus, a Greek Demigod. It is said that Tantalus stole the… [Read more]
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Sandhill Wines winery visit: is it worth your time?
We have opined in the past on how difficult it can be to find honest feedback about the BC wineries from either the wine writers or industry insiders. It seems that if the winery is no good, they would rather say nothing about it. On occasion, you may find a review so divorced from reality… [Read more]
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Stumbling upon the Elephant: Elephant Island Winery of Naramata Bench
Let’s spice things up a bit. Shall we? Let’s start with a riddle. What do Agatha Christie’s fictional but famed detective Hercule Poirot and an elephant have in common? Don’t know? Here’s a hint. It is related to an alcoholic beverage. Still not sure? Okay… All right… We’ll tell you. The answer is… Cassis! Cassis,… [Read more]
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Like Madeira Wine and Visiting the Madeira Island? All You Need to Know about the Madeira Winemakers and their wines
What do you do when you have no way around hot storage and transport for your wine? If you are a 17th-century wine producer from the Portuguese island of Madeira, you elevate it to the status of art and make it into a masterpiece. And you do it so well that it becomes an alcoholic… [Read more]
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Phantom Creek Winery visit and the bizarre case of mistaken identity
Oliver and Osoyoos wine country is sprouting brand-new wineries nonstop! Have you been to the area recently? If you haven’t, we guarantee you will find a few new wineries on Black Sage Road. Noteworthy arrivals are “French Door”, “Rainmaker”, “Red Barn”, “Here’s the Thing Vineyards”, and, finally completed, “Phantom Creek”. Quite seriously, they will soon… [Read more]
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H. M. Borges Madeira Wine Lodge: All you need to know if you are planning a visit
H.M. Borges winery was on our fallback list-to-go-to for when things do not work out as planned. The plan was to go to Barbeito winery. After our rental car refused to climb what seemed to be a vertically ascending road on our way there, that is what we did. Well. Not exactly. [Read more]
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Henriques & Henriques Madeira Wine Lodge: All you need to know if you are planning a visit
In July of 2017, the UK rolled out the red carpet for the state visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. “The evening saw a spectacular State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. Guests were treated to a 3 course paired menu, including Henriques & Henriques 15 Year Old Bual Madeira served with the… [Read more]
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A visit to Blandy’s Madeira Wine Lodge: All you need to know if you are planning to go
Operating out of the former St. Francis convent, Blandy’s Wine Lodge works like a well-oiled machine. So why did it make us feel like the little widgets waiting to be moved from the conveyor belt? [Read more]