Stag’s Hollow Winery, just outside of ‘OK Falls’ over 20 years ago, in 1995 has always intrigued me. Often as not, I find myself in awe of the perseverance displayed by winemakers and viticulturists. And in Stag's Hollow's case, that evolution has been truly fascinating.
The Vancouver International Wine Festival is hailed as one of the best of its kind anywhere. But walking into the Acura International Tasting can be daunting. It doesn't have to be. Here’s how to make the most of it.
The Stone’d wines are well-made blends which will doubtless get plenty of attention.
Pink seems to be a constant theme, which I guess makes sense. Hearts are good, too. And sex should be in there somewhere, hopefully.
There was some seriously hot competition at Vancouver's Rogers Arena this week. And it wasn’t on the ice. CAPS BC (more lengthily known as the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, BC Chapter) held its annual competition to determine the best sommelier in the province. Vying for top honours were Sean Nelson of Vij’s Restaurant (Vancouver), Shane [...]
In Valpolicella, a truly distinctive wine region, it's really all about drying, or Appassimanto
This year's event—the 38th —puts Italy firmly in the spotlight. That adds up to a perfect opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the remarkable variety of Italian wines from across its 20 contrasting regions, and with no shortage of Italian food, of course.
A few weeks ago I was having lunch at a fancy new modern bistro on top of an equally fancy new downtown department store, over which everyone’s gone ga-ga. The food was good, the service too, and the company delightful. But the stemware was downright clunky. Given the perceived cachet of the store, I was [...]
“So, what’s a good wine?”... “What can I buy that won’t break the bank?” What they’re looking for, above all, is Bang for their Buck. Well, that’s what we’re all looking for, right? In the trade it’s referred to as QPR, or Quality / Price / Ratio. We're all in search of wines not only [...]
Cava, Proseccco, Spumante, Sekt, Cap Classique. There’s no end of monikers for effervescent efforts that mimic Champagne—even if in Canada we’ve yet to come up with our own handle beyond, truly riveting, ‘Methode Traditionelle.’ The fact is: Champagne and sparkling wine sales are booming just about everywhere. That’s good news for consumers, who are [...]
