I still remember my entry-level wine class all those years ago, working through basic characteristics of key grapes. I knew next to nothing, and felt overwhelmed by all the material: new terms, foreign words, spitting in public. I recall how my ears perked
There is very little good news on the price front for wine. Good wine has become prohibitively expensive, and poor wine has become prohibitively expensive. High wine prices are particularly acute in BC, where our ad valorem, markup/tax system only adds
Our latest Top Ten celebrates the art of celebrating, something we haven’t done much of this year across British Columbia, and for good reason. From Covid to heat domes to wildfires to floods to Arctic outflows, no year has been more challenging
Let's keep it short today and get shopping. Supplies are tight for many wines. If it's not sitting in the port or on the high seas in a container, it is likely awaiting a highway to reopen to complete its journey, which means there is a good chance it
The simple hashtag GoGamayGo has become a rallying digital cry for this humble, characterful and somewhat idiosyncratic grape. Its full name, gamay noir à jus blanc, refers to the eccentricities that its skin is black, its juice is white, but the
Though well known for its classic and historic wine regions, such as Rioja, and Jerez, Spain is a hotbed for adventuresome and innovative producers, pushing the boundaries of viticulture and viniculture. These viñateros, winegrowers who focus on
A friendly top ten this week features wines that cost $20 something. It's getting tougher and tougher to find quality wines in the twenty-dollar range that we highly recommend and that are widely distributed. So this week, we pulled together some favourites
Today’s Portuguese wines are amongst the most interesting and exciting on the planet. Partner the country’s 250+ autochthonous grape varieties with keen and educated winemakers, viticulturists who care about place and sustainability, and a
Pinot noir has the reputation of being a finicky grape, which can be just as alluring as it is elusive. But cabernet sauvignon can be equally frustrating, if not more so. There’s no doubt that it’s responsible, in whole or in part, for some
You’ve no doubt heard about orange wine, and most likely tried some of these characterful wines yourself. But do you know what you're drinking, or why they’re called orange? First off, not the hue, which really is more amber, and ranges from
It hasn’t been an easy summer for Okanagan wine producers. After more than a year or more of coronavirus challenges, they have had a summer of wildfire outbreaks in and around wine country and a fair number of less than gracious visitors who want
Vinho Verde is not Green Wine. Now that I’ve dispelled that myth let’s reset your compass. Earlier this year, Vinho Verde Wines asked me to hold some educational sessions for the trade across Canada, since not too many folks are travelling
People often ask what is Canada’s most successful wine type. I reply, without hesitation, chardonnay. You might think with a country the size of ours, and distances spanning thousands of kilometres from BC’s Pacific lashed Wine Islands to
First-time pinot noir drinkers usually succumb to its silky, juicy fruit, while veteran swillers admire its concentration and depth of flavour. But, even then, the mysterious, light red wine can be as fickle as the wind. Few would argue Burgundy is the
2020 is a year that will conjure a lot of strong memories and emotions. At one point, I recall chatter on social media about whether producers should nix the vintage from their label because of the visceral reaction it could evoke. Fortunately, that