Howard Soon, in Canadian wine terms, is ‘a living legend.’ Yes, I know. He’ll hate me for saying that. But it’s true. And this week it was confirmed by Howard being recognized with one of the highest awards in the country: the Order of Canada. That had me digging back to 2017, for a story [...]
The All Canadian Wine Championships are the country’s longest running national wine competition, since 1981. Just out are the results for 2019. And, once more, BC has come away with a very strong showing. This year's awards were held adjacent to the historic Waring House and cozy Barley Room Pub, in Prince Edward County [...]
Stag's Hollow News Release (Edited) Okanagan Falls, BC (April 22, 2019): Stag’s Hollow Winery & Vineyard has been purchased by a local, private investor. This person is well vested in the Okanagan and in the BC wine industry. They own vineyards in Summerland, the Similkameen and Bench 1775 Winery on the Naramata Bench. As a [...]
Malbec is on a roll. Still. And Malbec World Day (April 17th) is again almost here. Argentina founded its reputation on Malbec, which has become immensely popular. Yet that love affair is actually quite a recent phenomenon. Historically, in France, Malbec was used mainly as a blending wine. The exception is in Cahors, where it’s [...]
Why would over 200 people patiently line up outside the Vancouver Aquarium on a near freezing winter's night? To taste chowder. That's why. And not just any chowder but 14, truly unique, BC recipes. And all OceanWise at that. Thursday night's 2019 Chowder Chowdown, as usual, was an unqualified success. Fourteen leading restaurants, resorts and [...]
Quails’ Gate is celebrating 30 years. Time flies. It seems like only yesterday that Ben Stewart poured us a taste of the first Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir. We were sitting on a picnic table outside a then much smaller winery. And we almost fell off when Ben told us the price. “You’re going to [...]
Ancora arrives Recently opened (on January 8th), Ancora is already a going concern. That should come as no surprise. ‘Mainland’ Vancouverites have already embraced chef Ricardo Valverde’s Nikkei cuisine. A marriage of Peruvian and Japanese styles, the origins of Nikkei date from the late 19th century. Around this time several thousand Japanese people came to [...]
A sure sign this year’s Vancouver International Wine Festival is right around the corner is the media preview. Last week's tasting of wines to be featured at various events was the perfect warm-up for the Feb 23 to March 3 festival. The 37 globe trotting offerings, poured in Blue Water Cafe’s beautifully appointed cellar room, [...]
Prosecco DOC wines come from the broader regions of the Veneto and Friuli at large. But Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines can come only from a smaller region that includes vineyards in and around Valdobbiadene and Conegliano.
So, the other day a bottle of Mateus Rosé showed up. Now before the wine geek in you gets all dismissive, consider this: everyone took their first sip of wine somewhere. And chances are it was a big name like Mateus. In fact more people report Mateus as their first wine encounter than with any other brand. [...]
