Fattoria Colmone della Marca : A Passion for White from Red

By |2023-03-01T17:37:41-08:00March 1st, 2023|Latest Posts, Top Drops, Wine, Wine Reviews|

Recently I was delighted to meet Giovanni Meschini, charming proprietor of Fattoria Colmone della Marca, for a tasting of some unique wines. They come from one of Italy’s smallest DOC’s—I Terrini di San Severino Moro, in the heart of the Marche. Fattoria Colmone is the sole producer.  They make only [...]

The Ultimate Customized Wine Tour: Striking Gold in Burgundy

By |2023-03-03T15:18:49-08:00August 24th, 2021|Latest Posts, Top Drops, Travel, Wine|

Updated August 25th, 2021... I recently caught up with Youri Lebault, by phone. During the pandemic the owner of Bourgogne Gold Tour has been rethinking what he’s been doing since he started in 1999. In June he purchased a Mercedes Marco Polo luxury camper van, to offer a truly unique kind of tour. Youri [...]

1 Mill Road: It’s All About Pinot

By |2022-04-16T18:16:02-07:00July 8th, 2021|Latest Posts, Top Drops, Wine, Wine Reviews|

Updated: July 8th, 2021 1 Mill Road Pinot Noir 2019 Naramata Bench The current release invites with cherry, leather and some earthy aromas, bright red berry notes followed by a plush but precise palate of dark cherry and strawberry. Wrapped in silky and beautifully integrated tannins with a touch of spice and a definite savoury [...]

Rejoicing in Red: A Clutch of Good Value BC Wines

By |2022-06-18T15:00:28-07:00December 6th, 2014|Hired Belly's Best Wines, Top Drops, Wine|

Spierhead: an emerging, consistent contender ©Tim Pawsey Looking to to buy for the BC wine lover in your life? Here’s a clutch of more interesting but not that hard to find wines, which individually and collectively show just how much the bar has been raised in the last few years. These bottles, beyond [...]

(Bending the) Riesling Rules with Martin Tesch

By |2018-01-21T15:05:16-08:00July 6th, 2014|Top Drops, Wine|

Dr. Martin Tesch   A multi dimensional tasting They say that wine always tastes better with the winemaker. I’m inclined to agree, especially when it comes to someone like Martin Tesch, who dropped by Vancouver last week. Then again, I happen to know they show just as well without him. It’s not hard to [...]

It’s Always Pimm’s O’Clock Somewhere

By |2019-04-04T16:26:27-07:00July 5th, 2014|Cocktails, Top Drops|

  Pimm's. Borage rules, cucumber too. Updated, July 7th, 2014. My recipe has evolved since the original post, so I thought I’d share it now. First of all, for some reason, this time around we’ve ‘graduated’ to Pimm's no. 6, and I’m not sure why. It doesn’t seem quite as ‘Pimmish’ as no. 1., [...]

Winners: 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines

By |2018-06-27T16:44:42-07:00June 18th, 2014|Hired Belly's Best Wines, Top Drops|

2014 Lieutenant Governor Award winners for Excellence in BC Wine The winners of last week’s keenly contested Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in BC Wine are announced by Government House this morning. As always, the final outcome was interesting because somehow we managed to select (from 436 entries between 119 wineries) just 12 wines [...]

8 Tasting Tips (and more) for the Vancouver International Wine Festival

By |2019-09-23T17:33:38-07:00February 20th, 2014|Hired Belly's Best Wines, Top Drops, Wine|

Next week’s Vancouver International Wine Festival will be one of the most well attended  in the festival’s 36 years. How come it’s so popular? There are a couple of key reasons: Arguably North America’s most important combined consumer and trade wine gathering, it’s a great opportunity for wineries to meet their customers face to face—in [...]

Toasting the New Year in The Right (Riedel) Glass

By |2024-03-05T10:21:15-08:00January 4th, 2014|Top Drops, Wine, Wine Reviews|

Waterford's pretty but ... Does the right glass really matter? You bet it does! Because we have a such a busy holiday season and Christmas, over the years, a restful, decidedly lazy New Year’s Day has become our tradition. Often we move little more than from the couch to the fridge—to extract more [...]

Broker’s, Brollies and Bowlers: The London Dry Taking the Gin World by Storm

By |2018-01-21T15:05:20-08:00November 29th, 2013|Cocktails, Spirits, Top Drops|

The Broker's Brothers  Martin & Andy Dawson... If the hat fits ... Andy Dawson is sitting at the bar in Gerrard at Sutton Place. Between measured sips of her Moét, the woman at the other end is staring at him intently. More precisely (no offence to the eminently handsome Mr. Dawson), she’s actually [...]

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