Long before the British Columbia wine industry established its own identity, I often pondered who it might imitate. California was an obvious West Coast choice, but our cool climate environment has little to do with its warm sun-drenched vineyards. Washington
BC Liquor Stores (aka the government) are touting a small but growing selection of organic products available in stores this month and they are asking you to "Think Green, Shop Smart" by carrying out your purchases without a bag or, at the very least,
My, my, my, the price of wine continues to spark conversation all over town. Last week I suggested European prices couldn't go up any faster than U.S. prices were coming down (which isn't much) but I did say, don't bet against it. This week comes
I was warned this week that the rising Euro is about to wreak havoc with the price of European wine exports, namely those coming out of Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal et al. If I didn't know better I would think it's just a smoke screen
The oft-repeated wine axiom -- delivered with a certain smugness by some French producers -- that all champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne, lost a lot of its lustre last month with the news that the French government has
The 28th California Wine Fair is in town this week and, by rights, I should be writing about California wines today -- but I'm going to wait another week or two to see what's new from the Golden State. I'm particularly interested in trying to understand
Last month, a regular reader of this column came up to me at the wine festival and demanded to know whether the wine scores that appear with the notes in this column are based on the six wines in the tasting, or whether they stem from a wider picture,
Piero Antinori, the man who made the term "super Tuscan" global, was one of the stars of last month's 30th Playhouse wine fest. The soft-spoken, clear-thinking Tuscan wowed an audience of nearly 200 consumers with a wide range of wine that took tasters
Every once in a while when all the stars align, clever people make good wine and somehow it gets to British Columbia. Espelt is just such a winery that has quietly arrived in B.C. Liquor stores -- at least, one of its labels has, with another expected
The festival got off to a quick start this week with a casual kickoff at Earl's Paramount featuring the wines of Piero Antinori and export director Stefano Leone. Leone is one of 175 winery principals in Vancouver this week to attend the Vancouver Playhouse
Later this month the Playhouse wine fest welcomes 176 wineries from around the world. Despite an obvious bounty of selection it's going to take some effort to uncover the gems hidden in the tasting room. The sheer numbers of wineries and wines
The trendy Canvas Lounge and Gallery at 99 Powell Street will again play backdrop to California Wine Rush one of many satellite events surrounding the upcoming 30th Playhouse International Wine Festival. Fifty-five dollars will get you a ticket to the
It's been one of those weeks on the wandering wine trail. Deadlines, tastings, more deadlines, more tastings, a couple of dinners and a fast trip to the south Okanagan to dine with Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean and her husband, Quebec filmmaker Jean-Daniel
Every year around this time, the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival starts to gear up for its annual wine bash that usually marks the arrival of warmer weather in late March or early April. Well, fuggedaboutit. The 29th ode to wine,
French wines are quietly making a comeback thanks to a New World market that is exhibiting the kind of smugness that first had the French on the run. Drought, consolidation, the dumb-it-down factor and sweet-tasting, high-alcohol wines are tiring out
Wine doesn't lend itself to fads, mostly because it takes too long to implement change. You can't switch grapes in the vineyard overnight and even if you change key personnel, it often takes a year or two for any change to show up in the bottle. Yet,
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