South Okanagan, including the proposed Golden Mile Bench, from Anarchist Mtn., Tim Pawsey photo Updated: October 17th, 2014 ... GOLDEN MILE APPROVED AS BC's FIRST SUB G-I As per the British Columbia Grape Authority: "Golden Mile Bench" Sub-GI Application On May 20, 2014 the Authority received an application from a group of proponents [...]
Flight of fancy, complete with 'silver bullet' Last week I was privileged to spend the best part of three days with a very focused group of wine judges from BC, across Canada and Kansas City. I’m convinced that, aside from an overall willingness to truly work together, the right setting enhances the process. As it [...]
(oops) wine label documents in detail the improbable but true story of how most of what used to pass for Merlot in Chile was actually Carmenère.
Prunelade: Papa de Malbec. Who knew? This week I got my nose into a whole bunch of new varieties. Actually, as it turned out, most of them weren’t that new—and some were pretty old. Just east of Toulouse, in Lisle Sur Tarn, is one of seven regional offices of l’Institut Français de la Vigne [...]
Chateau Gaudou's Fabrice Durou CAHORS, southwest France. Mention 'Malbec' and chances are your mind and palate will go straight to Argentina. That’s not surprising: the South American producer has done for Malbec what Australia did for Shiraz, or New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc. However, the fact that Malbec is now a household name—even if propelled [...]
Smoke & Oak overlooks this dramatic panorama Last week—on yet another glorious Okanagan summer’s day—we found ourselves on the patio at Wild Goose. Nothing unusual about that. But this was the first time I had managed to get back to check out Smoke & Oak Bistro, which they launched late last year. Some [...]
Izele Van Blerk One thing about the wine biz: it’s always changing—and usually for the better. It’s been a few years since I was in South Africa. But I vividly recall a visit to KWV’s hallowed Cathedral Cellar, for so many years the heart of the ‘old’ South African wine industry. At the [...]
Provence Food and Wine ... some pretty irresistible dishes Yes, it’s a none-too thinly-veiled promo for Provence. Never mind! I love this cookbook that was doing the rounds at about the same time as the recent B.C. Wines from Provence spotlight. Provence Food and Wine: The Art of Living (by François Millo and [...]
Riesling is very much on our radar this summer. Well it always is, but even more so thanks to Wines of Germany’s ’31 Days of German Riesling’ promo, now on across Canada. Drop by any participating resto* and you might just win yourself an all expense paid trip to Berlin—and likely a few slurps of [...]
Okanagan Falls: not a bad spot for a scenic tasting! The more focused evolution of the Okanagan’s specific wine regions continues, as sub-appellations seem likely to become a reality. Witness the progress of the Okanagan Falls Wineries Association. Last Friday night’s Party in the Park was just that: a delightful evening of wine [...]
