Come enjoy some pictures from our Summer Solstice this year. We will be posting our 2009-10 tasting season information in August. Enjoy your summer!

Thank you to the agents that have supported us this season, along with the Vancouver Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club and to our executive.

Los Vinos Merchants' wines.


Rocky Mountain Wines' wines.


Marfful Consultants' wines.


Stile Wines' wines.

AnaRona Wines' wines.

People trying Patagonia Imports wines.

An array of food to eat.

People trying Marfful's wines.

Carving a slice of beef for a bun.

Grape Harvest in South World

Have you ever wanted to travel to the southern hemisphere but might not have the finances to allow you to have a long trip? Maybe working during a grape harvest could be an idea. Vineyards are always looking for people to help bring in the grape harvest. Some vineyards offer accomodations or other perks in addition to getting paid. The harvest is well underway right now in the southern hemisphere. For some examples of jobs in New Zealand. www.kiwibunkhouse.co.nz for example is advertising for help. The hostel where you would stay is 5 mintues from the Marlborough town centre. Minimum stay is 10 weeks. Note that you would need a work permit.

The biggest year for Australian wine production was 2003-04, when they produced 1,471,228,000 litres, with the South Australia region producing 733,683,000 litres (49.9% of total production).

2008 vintage report for red and white wines. Red wine first.

Shiraz intake increased by 152,000 tonnes or 53% in 2008 over the 2007 intake, again taking second place to Chardonnay as Australia’s most popular winegrape. The
estimated intake was 436,000 tonnes and accounted for 24% of total estimated crush.

Cabernet Sauvignon intake increased by 40% or 73,000 tonnes, making up around 14% of the total crush.

Merlot intake increased to 129,000 tonnes from 93,000 tonnes or 7% of the total, an increase of 39%, after decreasing by 31% between 2006 and 2007.

Pinot Noir, while representing only 2.6% of the total crush has increased by 63% or by 18,000 tonnes after decreasing by 6,500 tonnes between 2006 and 2007.

Petit Verdot, had an estimated crush of around 24,000 tonnes, or 1.3% of total crush and 2.5% of red intake.


White wine stats next.

Chardonnay remains the variety with the highest crush level in Australia, accounting for over 24% of total crush and 51% of the white winegrape crush. Tonnage came in at 444,000 compared with levels of 392,000 in 2007 and 428,500 in 2006.

Semillon intake of 99,000 tonnes accounted for 5.4% of total crush and 11.5% of white crush, an increase of 31% over the 2007 intake of 76,000 tonnes.

Sauvignon Blanc intake came in at over 66,000 tonnes in 2008, representing a large increase over both 42,500 tonnes in 2006 and 38,000 tonnes in 2007. The
percentage growth of 74% over 2007 represented 3.6% of total 2008 intake and 7.7% of white winegrape intake.

Colombard tonnes remained relatively static, only increasing this year by 2% or 1,000 tonnes.

Riesling accounted for just 4.3% of white winegrape crush (2% of the total grape intake), but increased 17% between 2007 and 2008 from 31,700 tonnes to just over
37,000 tonnes.

Other white grape varieties that recorded increases were Pinot Gris & Pinot Grigio together increasing by 130% from 13,000 tonnes to just under 30,000 tonnes. They
accounted for 3.4% of white winegrapes crushed.

Vineyards surround Chile's capital of Santiago. In the 19th century, Santiago's rich moved to the valley around Santiago to try their hand as a landowner. They planted vineyards and built large estates. Despite Santiago's growth and rapid consumption of arable land the Mapio Valley still thrives. It lies between the Andes and the coastal mountains, which keep the climate dry and sunny. Some of the best vineyards are planted at elevations above 2,000 feet at the foothills of the Andes which gives hot days and cool nights, which helps build rich, complex, balanced wines. This region is regarded with great respect as it is considered the heart of Chile's wine-making tradition. Fine Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on over 60% of over 10,500 hectares (25,200 acres) here. Others varieties include Merlot and the exquisite Camenère, as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Some wines from the Maipo Valley that you may have enjoyed at one of our tastings:
- Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon
- Carmen Carmenere
- Cousino Macul Cabernet Sauvignon
- Gran Tarapaca Merlot
- Santa Rita Medalla Real
- Undurraga Merlot
- Arboleda NV Cabernet Sauvignon
- Concha y Toro Chardonnay

The 2008 / 2009 Tasting Calendar is now taking shape and the event topics are listed below. More details to follow. Dates and events are subject to change.

Sep 16 Wine and Cheese
Oct 15 New Zealand
Nov 18 Portfolio Tasting
Jan 14 5 Nations Cup
Feb 11 Aphrodisiacs & Wine
March 17 Pinot Noir
April 14 Premium Reds
May 21 Planning a New Zealand Vacation
June 18 Summer Solstice Festival

Wine About Town

Recent Events of The Last Season