Pet Matt Landrusco 2019 If wine is first and foremost about having fun (it should be) then Pet Matt is just the ticket. Pet Matt is the latest in Okanagan Crush Pad’s Wine Campus series, in which BC’s Sommelier of the Year gets to make the wine of their choice. And a worthy cause—this year [...]
Vancouver’s food and wine year always kicks off with a bang. Make that a small salvo. First up is Dine Out Vancouver Festival, followed quickly by the lead up to Vancouver International Wine Festival (Feb. 22nd to March 1st). Each of these events have had a profound impact on Vancouver in their different ways. Looking [...]
The owner chef of on-line pie purveyor Gaia Kitchen, Lee’s pies took centre stage—and rightly so. From salmon en croûte, and steak stout mushroom (perfect with Strange Fellows Blackmail Stout) to Duck Cherry Goat Cheese, her butter double crust pies are superb.
The passing of legendary negoçiant Georges Duboeuf (1933-2020), who died on January 4th, leaves a large hole in the world wine community. There’s no doubt in my mind that Mr. Duboeuf single handedly changed the way in which we think about wine today. Those of a certain age ;-) will recall the days (years before [...]
(Sponsored post) I’m always intrigued by what people consider to be ‘food friendly’ wines. Often their choice is guided by little more than personal preference or regular buying habits. All well and good. But, as a rule, there’s no better guide than to turn to the wines of a given country or region from which [...]
The words “cocktail crawl’ alone might well have been enough to strike fear into my heart. But an evening with Marriott International Cocktail Crawl happily proved otherwise. This was a fun opportunity to check out contrasting programs at The Westin Bayshore, Marriott Pinnacle Downtown and Parq Douglas, with an array of ten cocktails over the [...]
I'm pretty sure that Judgment of BC 2019 was one of the largest tastings of its kind ever held in Canada. On October 29th 34 judges sat down at the Penticton Lakeside Resort. We concluded what’s been a worthy exercise for BC wines since the first ‘Judgment’ took place in 2015. It was an impressive [...]
Just a few steps from Lonsdale Quay, the remarkable evolution of Lower Lonsdale continues at a rapid pace. It seems this new community has blossomed almost overnight (well, in a few short years). However, it's surprising so many Vancouverites don’t realize just how close to downtown this bustling North Shore mecca is. Yet one more [...]
BC Bubble is on a roll. There's nothing really surprising about that in itself. But what is curious is why it's taken so long. I've been thinking about (and tasting) a lot of BC sparklers recently. Often as not with a toast to Harry McWatters—the godfather of BC Bubble. The 21 bottle ‘sabre salute’ at Harry's [...]
Toptable Group has announced that award-winning West Restaurant + Bar will close at year end. It will not be renewing its lease. It's by no means official. But I'll hazard a pretty good guess that the cost of the new lease didn't make sense to continue. The building is also possibly slated for development. The closing [...]
