Harvesting Malbec in Argentina's Uco Valley (Supplied) No doubt you’ve already marked your calendar for Malbec World Day, which you surely must know is April 17th. And, in case you haven’t guessed, this celebratory salute to Argentina’s favourite grape was dreamed up by, well , Argentina. Wracking my brains, I can’t recall any [...]
A ground-breaking collaboration: Marc du Soleil, made by Long Table Distillery, TP photo The Hired Belly has attended more than few winemaker dinners. But some remain etched in my memory. The very first was when Howard Soon (now Peller Estates’ chief winemaker, then Calona Vineyards’) dropped by the original Raintree, in [...]
The last time I met Brent Marris—the man behind Marlborough’s The Ned, The Kings series, and a whole lot more—was almost exactly 20 years ago. He was part of a New Zealand trade mission that came to Vancouver. At the time, Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc was in the early stages of its remarkable ascent and the [...]
Joe Fortes scallop ceviche, with Nautilus Twin Islands Sauvignon Blanc Vintners Brunch, to the lucky crowd who book it soon enough, is one fun party. And why not? After all, it’s the major closing event of the Vancouver International Wine Festival; and a laid-back wrap-up for many of the wine industry people who [...]
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 [...]
Haywire Pink Bub sets the mood Roses are red Violets are blue But what would you think If we drank only pink? The Hired Belly has been busy checking his Valentine 's shopping list, and pondering just which wines might be best to go along. We’re tempted to throw caution to the wind [...]
Alexander Valley, in the heart of Sonoma County Next week Sonoma County Vintners descend on Vancouver in force with a full slate of events and a score of winemakers pouring tastes from across the region. (For a chance to win FREE TICKETS to the Sonoma public tasting, SUBSCRIBE to hiredBelly.com by entering your [...]
In recent years, the array of food and wine events have become a big draw for VIWF (David Niddrie photo) The Vancouver International Wine Festival is already on the horizon (Feb 24th to March 2nd). Hard to believe! This is by way of a heads-up that tickets are going fast! As of now, a [...]
Dine Out Vancouver: It's about food and wine UPDATED, Jan 16, 2014. The Trouble with Dine Out Lists... Is that you're guaranteed to miss not only a few worthy restos but likely many. So be it. However, here, in random order (i.e. as I think about them or hear about them from reliable sources), is [...]
Sun Peaks Village is truly accessible, Tim Pawsey photo I’ll confess: I’m not exactly a champion of winter sports. There was a time when I used to pretend to downhill ski. That was before I “graduated” to cross-country—back in the days when mohair was big. And I’m not talking about sweaters. More recently [...]
