¡Olé! – Tasting through 50 years of Bodegas Faustino wines!

One of the things that first drew me to the world of wine is the story that is told through the label on a wine bottle. There’s your classic old world label, weaving a story of the wine's origin and history. You have new world labels with their playful names and cartoonish images. Then there …

Carbonnade de Boeuf!

Over the years I've come to appreciate a well done slow cooked meal. There's just something about a warm, rich, & hearty meal on a chilly day that feels right. My normal goto for this type of dish is beef short ribs but I recently found myself with a package of stewing beef that I …

1976 Judgement of Paris, California vs. France…

On May 24, 1976, a selection of the some biggest names in French wine gathered at the InterContinental Hotel in Paris for an afternoon of wine tasting. The event was billed as a head to head blind tasting between some of the top producers in France and California. Journalists for all the major publications were invited …

Saying Goodbye to “CiC”!

Have you heard the news?  According to the Canadian Vintners Association, we could soon see some clarification on the issue of Cellared in Canada (CiC). Not sure what the issue about Cellared in Canada is? We'll simply put it's where a producer makes wine using foreign grapes but markets it as Canadian wine. The real …

New Review: Yangarra Estate Vineyard 2012 McLaren Vale Old Vine Grenache

I have a wine problem! I've fallen into a tendency lately to focus on only a few select wine regions when it comes to tasting, buying or drinking wine. When reviewing my tasting notes from the last couple of months I noticed this trend. A quick peek in the cellar confirmed my suspicion. Perhaps calling …

Traversing the Okanagan Valley: Tinhorn Creek & Covert Farms

The last 4 weeks feel like they have been a complete whirlwind and I'm only now catching my breath. I should have had this post done weeks ago but I'm only now sitting down to finish it. The last day of our absolutely fantastic trip to the Okanagan Valley. The last day! We had come …

Traversing the Okanagan Valley: Naramata Bench

So far in our trip, we had spent a day exploring the town of Penticton and touring wineries along the Black Sage Bench (see: Traversing the Okanagan Valley: Black Sage Bench). The next region we were off to explore was the Naramata Bench. It's a 14 km stretch of land set in amongst rolling hills …

Traversing the Okanagan Valley: The Beginning

In 2011 my wife and I decided to take a trip out to Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, specifically the city of Kelowna. As part of that trip, we went on a wine tour. It was the first time I had ever been to a winery and I wasn't sure what to expect. Right away …

Review: Summerhill Pyramid Winery 2008 Zweigelt

Sitting around the kitchen table one night after dinner, my wife and I got to talking about entertaining and we realized it had been quite awhile since we'd had a get together at our place. We only half seriously started to think about what kind of event we could have. At the same time my …

Review: Fox Run 2012 Lemberger

One of the blogs that I routinely look forward to reading is pop & pour, written by local wine aficionado Peter Vetsch.  I first came across Peter on Twitter and was quick to check out his blog,  becoming an instant follower. When it comes to the world of wine I still consider myself quite an …