April Fools’ Day, 2015. It would have been easy to think that British Columbia’s main beverage alcohol retailer – the government-owned and operated BC Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) – was playing a joke, by fundamentally shifting
Coming off a successful wine festival where numerous Italian grape varieties and the many regions where they grow were in the spotlight, it’s becoming painfully obvious it is time to move to another level in British Columbia as we regulate our wines
Marking its sixth instalment in 2016, Malbec World Day will be celebrated April 17th. While malbec is grown the world over, the day was established by Wines of Argentina to celebrate the country's flagship grape, as well as to raise global awareness
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grapes on the planet. That explains its many number of synonyms - Garnacha, Alicante, Nieddu, Cannonau, Lladoner and Uva di Spagna among them. An early budder / late ripener, grenache is a heat seeking
Every once in a while a cheese miracle happens. Sometimes, it's as special as a supplier offering us something great that we didn’t have to pre-order eight weeks before its arrival. This week one of these cheese miracles happened. One of my cheese
We haven’t experienced a year of such high temperatures for a long time. The last ones were 2005 and 2003, but there is now 2015 to be reckoned with: a year destined to become legendary and an exceptional vintage in the making. Unlike in these other
It's not easy being green. ~ Kermit the Frog Sorry Kermit. The times have changed. There are numerous shades of green in the wine world nowadays, and consumers don’t have to sacrifice quality to taste them. Green generally isn’t usually
A report by Andrew Spence. The rare combination of high quality grapes and above average yields in several of Australia’s premier wine regions have growers and winemakers confident the 2016 vintage will be one to remember. The vintage is in full
If any grape has the right to an identity crisis, it’s Pinot Gris. This white wine grape is actually a mutation clone of the black Pinot Noir grape. The grape’s skin colour varies wildly, sometimes even within the same bunch. Gris, French
With hundreds of autochthonous (native) grapes in Italy, it’s impossible to know them all. We all know pinot grigio and sangiovese, but there is a lot more to discover. Here are 10 indigenous grapes, and wines, we recommend you seek out this week
It’s a grande tasting room this year at Vancouver International Wine Festival, and out of the 156 wineries present, 60 are from the theme country of Italy. Even the most dedicated taster most likely won’t make it to every booths
In the realm of the cheese store, triple creams seem to be the most sought after gems. The lush, silky texture of the cheese and the milky, slightly tangy taste seems to bedazzle people into forgetting all other cheese varieties. Who needs contrasting
Valentine’s Day is dividing. You either adore it, or you abhor it. I will reserve my vote for the purposes of peace, love and harmony, and this column, but I will forever admit my unabashed love for Rosé. What’s not to love? Rosé
When we muse about carrying on the family business in North America, we generally collectively refer to the second or third generation. “My dad was a farmer and I’ve taken over the family farm.” If you’re tracing your inherited
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