Rosé

Provence Food and Wine: The Art of Living 

Provençal specialty layered omelette

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 Viktoria Todorovska) is a glorious, unabashed romp through Provence and all […]

Read on … August 6, 2014 cookbooks

A Clutch of Valentine Wines

Haywire Pink Bub

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 with this year’s crop of Valentine ’s wines, […]

Read on … February 13, 2014 Rosé

A Taste of Provence Rosé

A clutch of very drinkable rosés

Is Rosé still on a roll?  It looks that way. Last month we had a chance to test drive a quartet of Provence rosés (part of a BC Liquor Stores’ promotion) to see how they stacked up. Following on from last year’s tasting, it was interesting to note the ongoing emphasis on creative packaging, which […]

Read on … July 15, 2013 Rosé

Rosé Smackdown: Two of the Okanagan’s More Serious Wine Guys Go Toe to Toe

No fun at all ...

Rosé has a long and sometimes less than illustrious history in BC, which is one reason why, no doubt, messrs. Bartier and Scholefield (aka BS Wines) have elected to put on the proverbial boxing gloves and duke out their stylistic differences. In the Pink Corner we have “Donkin’ Dave” Scholefield, best known for introducing an […]

Read on … March 13, 2013 BC Wines and wineries

Six Last Minute Ways to Toast Your Valentine

Hot on the heels of Haywire

        Roses are red Violets are blue If I drink pink You will too     Some men (apparently) are notorious for leaving Valentine’s (and probably a whole lot of other things) until the last minute. And as you might have guessed, we’re no exception to the rule. That said. Here’s a […]

Read on … February 13, 2013 Hired Belly's Best Wines

No Champagne Discounts Please: We’re Canadian!

It’s a question guaranteed to pop up at this time of year. Where can I buy Champagne, (as in true, French Champagne) for a song? The short answer is “You can’t.”  At least not here in BC. Want to buy Big C Champagne at sparkling wine prices? Your best bet is to move to the […]

Read on … December 7, 2012 Artisan Producers

Rosé on the Rise: Tastes of Provence Rekindle Memories, with a Modern Feel

If wine is about place, chances are what’s in your glass (aside from—hopefully—tasting good) may also rekindle memories. My tasting last week with the folks from Vins de Provence did just that, as it transported me back several years to an unexpected four-day stopover in and around Aix-en-Provence, during which I was able to leisurely […]

Read on … June 4, 2012 Hired Belly's Best Wines

First Tastes from Lillooet: Fort Berens Unveils its Inaugural Estate Releases

Last week in Holland they were celebrating Koninginnedag or Queens Day—a national holiday in honour of the Queen, when everyone wears orange to the max. Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek (who came to BC from the Netherlands) were also celebrating (and wearing orange), for a different reason. They were pouring the first releases of […]

Read on … May 6, 2012 BC Wines and wineries

Wine Festival Vintners Brunch Food & Wine Smackdown: Lift Ascends

Most people know the Wine Festival’s Vintner’s Brunch as the festival’s flagship food and wine event. It usually sells out within minutes of tix being available—even more so now that it’s held in the dazzling surrounds of the new Convention Centre West, with its sweeping ocean-mountain vista. Few realize that beyond being a pretty nice […]

Read on … March 8, 2012 Belly's Best Bites

Canned Budget Bites by the Book: Moving Well Beyond Sardines on Toast

A few weeks before Christmas we dropped into Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks to take a peek at what’s hot in the culinary book world. And, as usual, we wound up picking up a couple of things that would make fun gifts—but somehow we forgot to give them away. One was Len Deighton’s French Cooking for […]

Read on … January 24, 2012 Belly's Budget Best

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