Recession or slow recovery, there will be no escaping the coming holiday season. And frankly, given the year that's been, it may well be worth celebrating something, even if it's only the end of 2010. I know one thing -- many of you will be celebrating
Two weeks in South America have convinced me that both Chile and Argentina will see sales of their wines in B.C. jump a considerable notch or two in 2011. Current projections have the Argentinians surpassing the Chileans in volume and money (we will see)
If you want to know which of your friends is really into wine, check their refrigerator. If you find a chilled bottle of sparkling wine just waiting to be opened for no particular reason, chances are they are wine freaks. Some 30 years down the
November 6 Over a decade ago I wrote that you could be forgiven for thinking Chablis was one of those old-fashioned white wines your parents drank, if only because it had taken a back seat to so many New World Chardonnays during the 1980s and
The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival is in full motion as it prepares for year No. 33. The wines of Spain will be the country theme while a focus on fortified wines from around the world should help keep 2011 at least as entertaining as
Last week I spent a productive 60 minutes at Fiamo, a cosy Tuscan-inspired wine bar/restaurant at 515 Yates St. in downtown Victoria. No, I'm not getting into the restaurant review game, but I did have the opportunity to check out Fiamo's innovative KeyKeg
Chile has been on the minds of Vancouverites this week with the successful rescue of all 33 miners trapped underground for over two months and a coincidental visit from more than 30 wineries active in the Canadian export market. The annual visit triggered
The latest issue of Canada's Wine Access magazine features the winners of the 2010 International Value Wine Awards (IVWA), an annual look at the best wines selling somewhere in the country under $25. As the editor-in chief of the magazine and head judge
The BC Restaurant Association honoured some of its members this week at its annual Hall of Fame Induction. Typically the focus of the evening is on the new inductees and while that indeed happened, there was probably more discussion behind the scenes
Big, fat, oaky, tannic, acidified, clumsy wines, both red and white, are no longer "in." Don't worry if you own a winery. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's coming. Remember screw caps and the naysayers? Won't use them, can't sell them, will
It's been a crazy week, beginning at April Point Lodge on Quadra Island, where executive chef Stephanie Dykes, a mere 24 years of age, blew away 120 dinner guests attending The Vancouver Sun's inaugural, and completely sold out, Wine Weekend. Most
One of British Columbia's original cult wineries, Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars, owned by the Mavety family -- Jane and Ian, son Matt, and daughter Christie -- celebrates its 20th harvest this fall on that gorgeous piece of rolling benchland just
Sonoma County wine producers are doing something almost unheard of in modern wine. They are pulling together as a group to reinforce their Sonoma wine brand. There is no travel involved. There are no meetings. They do not have to praise each other's wines
Today, some late summer musings on the world of wine as most people in the business prepare for the busiest and most profitable time of the year. We begin in the Okanagan, where I spent the last week assessing nearly 1,000 Canadian wines. Up
Not to beat a dead horse, but the wine world continues to adjust as a result of the continuing worldwide recession. In short, luxury wine remains in a slump. I don't mean the $10 brands the hucksters term "premium" or the $15 bottles they designate "super-premium,"
British Columbia's Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) issues licences in B.C. for making and selling liquor (either by the glass, or bottle) and supervises and enforces the laws regarding liquor service in licensed establishments. Theoretically,
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